|
1. |
|
|
|
|
I saddled up my young horse one day, I reckon I was tryin' to provide
a means of escaping my own sorry life, so I took him out for a ride
you might say that I was a knotheaded fool,
to put a good horse through all that
well, I ain't gonna argue, you're dang sure correct
there wasn't much under my hat.
Young and stupid, I was lost in a dream
as I stumbled my way through it all
we left California in the bud of the spring
and didn't stop riding 'til fall
pretendin' to know what the hell I was doin'
I picked up a trail to the east
and I drug him through all kinds of hell and high water
not fit for human nor beast
and it's yipee ki yo on the prairie
where the deer and the antelope roam
I'll put my trust in god and my horse
'cause they know how to find the way home
So listen up all you drifters and bounders
there's something you shouldn't forget
what's done has been done, the race has been run
but it dang sure ain't over just yet
it's snowin' up there in the mountains
and the river's beginning to rise
And I still hear the sound of my horse on the range
I can still see the fire in his eyes
and it's yipee ki yo on the prairie
where the deer and the antelope roam
I'll put my trust in god and my horse
'cause they know how to find the way home
|
|
2. |
|
|
|
|
Pickup truck, two lane road, rollin' down the line
away from Louisiana that green eyed gal of mine
I was only seventeen, she was twenty-two
hypnotized, mesmerized, things I thought she knew
she ran off with a hippie boy…
never saw her again
women do me wrong
but the whiskey do me in
barroom conversation, trouble at the door
talkin’ to a drunk man, says you can’t fall off the floor
cowboy hands his money to the redneck sellin’ weed
the hooker in the corner and a bottle’s all I need
a dark room and cheap perfume
set my head to spin
let them do their best
let the whiskey do me in
another empty night, life’s a big motel
sometimes you make it to your room, sometimes straight to hell
sometimes you check out early, sometimes overstay
neon sign, no vacancy, gonna be the price you pay
devil gonna get you
but you just don’t know when
livin’ do a number
but the whiskey do me in
oh, the devil have to take a number
while the whiskey do me in
|
|
3. |
|
|
|
|
I keep my bottle in a paper sack
spend my day in a one room shack
lookin’ out the window at the railroad track
waitin’ on a train that won't be back
clothesline blowin’ in the autumn air
old blue jeans and underwear
neighbors a-wonderin' what they're doin' there
looks like rain but I don’t care
CHORUS:
it's tooth and nail
for the one who rides
that big steel rail
to the finish line of the human race
someone come along and take my place
scarecrow lives across the way
never has too much to say
stands out there in the field all day
scarin’ them damned old birds away
preacher says there's a place for me
when the angels get here to set us free
but that don't come with a guarantee
and I ain't as young as I used to be
CHORUS:
you find redemption in a paper sack
retribution in a one room shack
you leave your dreams by the railroad track
settle up your debts and you dont come back
|
|
4. |
|
|
|
|
Had a tough time last year, sweatin’ all the way
Playing my guitar, trying to make it pay
Diggin’ myself a dark hole, deeper every day
But you know that’s been and gone
And it seems I’m moving on
Better luck next time son
Who you gonna blame?
Watch out for the flaming arrow
Ain’t it just a game
I’m supposed to play?
I cut my trail, ain’t that time enough?
Sittin’ in the saddle, ridin’ in the rough
They thought I was a cowboy, but cowboys aint that tough.
But you know that’s been and gone
And it seems I’m moving on
Better luck next time, son
Who you gonna blame?
Watch out for the flaming arrow
Ain’t it just a game
I’m supposed to play?
storm clouds above and fire below
we sold our lives just to see the show
with rain comin’ through the window cracks
and wolves howlin’ at the door
but this freedom train don’t run no more
the price we pay is only half the cost
of what is gained and what is lost
now the road we’re riding
is coming to an end
and right now the earth could use a friend
Army scout, what are you looking for?
Hoofprints on the prairie, the cavalry’s gone to war.
It looks okay from where you stand
but you know you can’t be sure
‘cause you know it’s been and gone
And it seems you’re moving on
So better luck next time, son
Who you gonna blame?
Watch out for that flaming arrow.
Ain’t it just a game
You were supposed to play?
copyright 2004 by John Egenes
|
|
5. |
|
|
|
|
6. |
|
|
|
|
7. |
|
|
|
|
the whole wide world was changing when I was just a lad
my parents wanted more for me than they ever had
a red brick university, a view across the bay
a sailing ship with great white sails to carry me away
carry me away
But I turned away from all of that and headed down the track
my dreams were in my pocket and I never did look back
the distance was my siren, horizon was my call
I grew up knowing nothing, but I thought I knew it all
I thought I knew it all
I sailed the winds of destiny
and the tempest it replied
and set me in the shallows
with the rising of the tide
the rising of the tide
an old man sat down next to me
and in the instant that it took
he started quoting scripture
from an ancient leather book
he said, there’s more where this came from
if you just know where to look
I dreamed I saw a shining light, where the highlands meet the sea
a young girl on a silver horse runnin’ wild and free
riding toward the setting sun, the dimming of the day
to a sailing ship with great white sails to carry her away
to carry her away
she rides the winds of freedom
until the fates decide
to bring her home to rest once more
on the rising of the tide
the rising of the tide
I’ve sailed into the harbor
back from the great divide
and rest here safe at anchor
on the rising of the tide
the rising of the tide
|
|
8. |
|
|
|
|
With a halter and a lead rope, I step inside the pen
the young horse keeps an eye on me as I walk about within.
I don’t want to spook the mare, so I keep my eyes turned down
pretendin' I'm more interested in what is on the ground.
I keep my back turned to her, and not a word is said
she finally sidles up to me, I slip the halter on her head
It ain’t just what you do, it’s what you know
It’s easy come and easy go
Livin' in a line shack, forty miles from town
not another living soul nearby, and my pickup truck’s broke down
phone ain’t gonna work out here, the line don’t run this far
barb wire fence is the only thing between me and the northern star
so I saddle up the roan mare, throw my bedroll on for luck
it’s two days ride to town and back, for a part to fix the truck
it ain’t how tall the trees, it’s where they grow
It’s easy come and easy go
Poor man works the vineyard, rich man drinks the wine
Each one knows the other, through the grapes upon the vine
Cowboy works the cattle, horse is always there
Each one knows the other through the saddle that they share
and the moral of this story, if a moral can be found
keep a good horse close to you, when you live this far from town
'cause it ain’t just who you are, it’s who you know
It’s easy come and easy go
|
DON'T BUY THIS. IT'S NOT REALLY AN ALBUM. It's just a place where all my mavericks are caught up and kept. It'll continue to fill up as time goes by. If you want to pay something, I appreciate it. But I encourage you to download these tunes for free. Think of it as a guilty pleasure. Best, --je