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Up For Air

by John Egenes

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    Feel free to help yourself to any and all music here on my Bandcamp site. If you feel the urge to pay something for it, that's fine. I appreciate it very much, but it certainly isn't required nor expected. Thanks for listening. --john
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1.
I’m working up the nerve To ask you out. Me and you with nothin’ to do It’s what I been dreaming about. It’s the way you were at the start It’s that thing you do. Its’ the way you’ve stolen my heart. I’ve got a crush on you You and me, we’ll fool around while away the afternoon. We’ll count stars when the sun goes down From the dark side of the moon From the dark side of the moon. If the wind were playing a song, Would you take a chance? Would you let me take your hand? Could I have this dance? And if I got lost in your charms Could we be friends? I’d see that you were safe in my arms, And that the dance never ends. You and me, we’ll fool around while away the afternoon. We’ll count the stars when the sun goes down From the dark side of the moon From the dark side of the moon. The stars that shine above They'll light our puppy love. There’s a place where the universe ends In my dreams somewhere. with music like the soft summer winds That blow through your hair. You and me, we’ll fool around while away the afternoon. count the stars when the sun goes down From the dark side of the moon You and me, just foolin’ around Making love in the afternoon. We’ll take a trip when the sun goes down To the side of the moon, to the dark side of the moon
2.
Face down in another world, all alone, and so far from home with a bullet where my heart used to be oh, somebody help me, somebody help me there’s something wrong, it just ain’t my time but in one more minute I’ll be over the line. Here’s to the soldier with a gun in his hand just a boy forced to be a man here’s to the mother, never see her son killed in a battle, never could be won. He’s out on the street, he’s got nowhere to go, and the nights are so cold he smoked up his last cigarette but it ain’t over yet, it ain’t over yet he’s looking down at the water, trying to pick up a sign in one more minute he’ll be over the line Here’s to the man without a friend trying to make it to the bitter end here’s to the feelings of a favorite son lost in a battle, never could be won We’re all in our places, so settle down and look all around you might see something moving somewhere but it isn’t there, it isn’t there we’re just a pebble in the sky, part of a great design but in one more minute we’ll be over the line Here’s to the window down into our soul showing the way for the light to go here’s to the memory of the songs we’ve sung born of a battle, never could be won
3.
Now me, I’ve never been the one to keep up with the rest a day late and a dollar short, though I’ve done my very best I put the key in the mailbox, got my shirt on inside out and I ain’t stayin’ ‘round to see what the shoutin’s about Sinkin’ to the bottom seems to be my stock and trade it’s just “one more year… one more year” and then I’ll have it made so I think I’ll take it easy, try to catch my breath there ain’t no need to work myself to death It ain’t no use to paddle up the river rowin’ against the current won’t get you anywhere I can’t spend my life swimmin’ underwater I’m comin’ up for air I sit and watch my life go by from the bottom of a well in the darkness there ain’t that much to see I’m tired of chasin’ after livin’ I think I’ll stop awhile and let the livin’ come to me ‘cause it ain’t no use to paddle up the river rowin’ against the current won’t get you anywhere I can’t spend my life swimmin’ underwater I’m comin’ up for air I can’t spend my life at the bottom of the sea I’m comin’ up for air
4.
Long Run 02:23 video
Got a daughter, got a son makes no difference, either one love them both when day is done and they’re lying in their beds they got dreams to fill their heads A man he knows the things they'll see only is what he can be loves his children equally, in hopes that they will bring heart that touches everything And wherever you go, and whatever you do gotta be the thing that works for you days go by with the passing sun try to make a difference in the long run Love your children, teach them things you never know what tomorrow brings let them be a bird that sings the song that’s in their heart we all need a place to start And wherever you go, and whatever you do gotta be the thing that works for you days go by with the passing sun try to make a difference in the long run gotta make a difference in the long run
5.
in a train yard out of Memphis, snow blowin’ through the door on a cold november evening, 1954 hole up in a boxcar, in a world outside my dreams on the rails of the IC line, down to New Orleans As I waited for the train to leave I tried to stay awake the cold cut through my mackinaw and I began to shake and the chill ran long and deep inside, ‘til I was almost froze just a grim reminder of the livin’ that I chose. then the boxcar door slid open and a figure crawled inside just another isolated soul looking for a ride with a longcoat tied around him, he pulled his suitcase in that eight wheel driver hit a lick and the wheels began to spin he turned to set his grip down, closed the door against the snow He said, “thank you, friend, for lettin’ me in. I got nowhere else to go.” Well I thought he might be crazy, maybe borderline insane I’d seen his kind down every track, on every kind of train But he handed me a bottle, and he rolled himself a smoke I watched him as he settled in, and listened as he spoke. he said, “it’s only you and me now, ain’t no one else outside. “I guess the lord makes room for fools and thieves, looking for a ride.” There was something in that boxcar I couldn’t comprehend Though I’d traveled every mile of railroad track from end to end That stranger looked right through me, he just stared out into space and I could see that he was blind by the look upon his face He said, “Boy, I can see the future. I can see the years ahead. “I’ve seen the day when you were born, and the day when you’ll be dead. “There ain’t no such thing as fortune, ain’t no such thing as grace. “There ain’t no way to beat the odds, you’ll never win this race” “But there’s room enough for foolishness, so just take it all in stride. “Life’s an empty boxcar, and we’re all just looking for a ride” I must have drifted off to sleep, when I woke up he was gone The boxcar it was empty, and I sat there all alone And in his place a half full whiskey bottle on the floor and the sound of the big wheels singin’ down the rails outside the door There’s ghosts who walk among us, things ain’t what they seem I couldn’t tell if he’d been real, or if it was all a dream But somewhere I crossed over, and I was feelin’ fine About the time that freight train crossed the Louisiana line And as I finished off the bottle, I was feeling warm inside And I let it carry me away, ‘cause I was looking for a ride
6.
You know the boys are watching you but you don’t give a damn you’re carryin’ their fortune on a string your songs go down like whiskey and the drunkards gather ‘round don’t they love to hear you sing don’t they love to hear you sing A picture of a young girl reminds you of the words to an old song that your mother used to sing and you cry sometimes when you hear it when you try to sing along it takes you right back to your sisters on the wing right back to your sisters on the wing Don’t do nothin you don’t want to and don’t do nothin’ that I wouldn’t do southern girl you’re a southern girl Empty rooms, empty halls faded pictures on the walls and you you’re goin’ home So you pack up all those sorrows and you find a better way and it’s a southern wind that carries you along with a penny in your pocket and a ticket in your hand the price you paid is written in your song the price you paid is written in your song so don’t do nothin you don’t want to and don’t do nothin’ that I wouldn’t do southern girl you’re a southern girl yeah, southern girl
7.
I live on a dead end street this old car is my home I sleep all day in the back seat I use the front for my living room I drink my whiskey and I smoke my weed I get secondhand clothes for free I got “LOVE” and “HATE” on the backs of my fingers aint nobody messes with me I served my country as a young man should but it turned its back on me I came back home with a pocketful of hate in the place where my leg used to be and now I aint much good for nothin’ I aint proud of what I am there’s a song I should be singin’ but I just don’t give a damn It’s one more down, another life to go one more down, back on poverty row cleanin’ up the mess that others made has left me standin’ here with the baldheaded end of the broom They handed me a gun and they told me, “Son, be all that you can be.” and now I’m down in a hole, about to swallow my soul gonna be the death of me You can take your pity and your good intentions and stick ‘em where the sun don’t shine if I can get this old car to runnin’ it’ll roll me on down the line with just one more down, another life to go one more down, back on poverty row cleanin’ up the mess that others made has left me standin’ here with the baldheaded end of the broom cleanin’ up the mess that my country made has left me here dancin’ with the baldheaded end of the broom It’s one more down, one more down….
8.
no more conversations we ain't got the time ain’t no place for a face to face we do our talking on the line tv’s on, you’re too far gone to tell the bad news from the good the life you knew was stolen by the ghost of hollywood Look around you and tell me what you see the face in the mirror it don’t look like you or me stories spun to suit them, to look the way they should just digital connections to the ghost of hollywood Look around you tell me what you see the man in the mirror he don’t look like you and me distraction does the talking, diversion spreads the news entertainment does the walking, when celebrities wear the shoes walk around town always lookin’ down, we wouldn’t look up if we could ‘cause we get our kicks and we get our fix from the ghost of hollywood yeah, we get our kicks and we get our fix from the ghost of hollywood
9.
when they were young I could share the endless laughing days ahead with love in such abundance there like sand upon the shore in vain to find what once was lost I watch the setting of the sun into the sea where love was tossed and waits beyond the shore Days of sunshine, stolen then nowhere left to stand love and memories slowly washed away like footprints in the sand the years have left me lost at sea I steer a course, in hopes to find on sailing ships that pass by me a message from the shore in silent dreams the memories stay in picture frames on dusty walls with golden wishes locked away in shells beneath the shore (The morning sun on sandy hills sets the patterns of the day in shifting tides where driftwood spills left upon the shore) Days of sunshine, stolen then nowhere left to stand love and memories slowly washed away like footprints in the sand a father’s love no longer there a child’s empty hand to hold and broken dreams beyond repair like waves upon the shore
10.
Old Car 02:47 video
An abandoned car on the side of the highway it came to rest not long ago the windows have been broken, and the wheels are all gone the seats disappeared along with the radio He ran out of luck when he ran out of road that old car just couldn’t carry the load his heart has been broken, and his dreams are all gone his plans disappeared along with the woman he loved And every few miles there’s another old car and for every one there’s a broken heart like a beat-up Chevy, rusted out and lying by the side of the road pushed along just a little too far There’s a church bell calling people on a Sunday morning there’s a man alone, standing out in the cold the ties have been broken, and his friends have all gone his life ended up like a wreck on the side of the road And every few miles there’s another old car and for every one there’s a broken heart like a beat-up Chevy, rusted out and lying by the side of the road pushed along just a little too far he’s been pushed along just a little too far
11.
There’s a train pulling out of this lonely old trainyard and the whistle is calling to me as I toss my belongings up into the boxcar I can feel the wheels breaking free it’s just about midnight, and the big rolling headlight burns a hole in the night with its flame there ain’t no denying, I’ve given up trying the railroad’s calling my name I’ve been here a year come December trying to make me a place in this town it’s been a year with my nose to the grindstone now it looks like I’ve let myself down as the train pulls away I know I should stay but my thoughts, they’re always the same they keep turning to trainyards, and old dusty boxcars and the big steel rails calling my name As the train moves away from the city I can see the lights down below and behind every one, there’s a hard working man with a wife and a family to show but I’m just a man without any plan like a picture without any frame and as I leave one more place, there’s a tear on my face ‘cause this freight train was calling my name as I leave one more place, there’s a tear on my face ‘cause the railroad’s calling my name
12.
Fly 04:14 video
Saw a bird outside my window yesterday, and she was trying to help her baby on his way there’s something in the way she pushed him out that told me it’s the struggle that living’s all about And he will fly, he will fly he will find his own direction in the sky he will sail upon the wind where no one’s ever been he will fly The price I’ve always paid for being free is the loneliness that grows inside of me there’s a long and desperate road that takes me home and it’s the only way that gets me there from the places that I roam And I will fly, I will fly I will make my own direction in the sky I will sail upon the wind where no one’s ever been I will fly There’s a younger generation on the way, and they will change the rules before they start to play how can you keep love and loneliness apart when there’s a hundred million children knocking on the doorway to your heart? And they will fly, they will fly they will make their own direction in the sky they will sail upon the wind where no one’s ever been they will fly we can fly…

credits

released February 1, 2009

Marcel Rodeka: drums
Mike Moroney: rhythm guitar, harmony vocals
Jane Clark: fiddle
Greg Waite: Irish pipes
Rob Burns: bass
John Dodd: bass
Anthony Lander: harmony vocals
The Sami Sisters (Madelaine, Anji, Priya): harmony vocals
Haunted Love (Geva Downey, Rainy McMaster): harmony vocals
Gunther Flutney: bass, drums
John Egenes: guitars, mandolin, banjo, dobro, Weissenborn lap guitar, accordion

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John Egenes Dunedin, New Zealand

Download anything you see here for free (you can pay if you want, but you don't have to...) Author, multi- instrumentalist and session musician for countless artists, producer, songwriter, all around likeable guy.

And you might want to read his book, Man & Horse: The Long Ride Across America
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