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This old truck of mine, gonna roll it on down the line
and leave a little girl behind, and I don’t want to
Another load, another run; headin' out of a setting sun
thinkin’ maybe she was one I could hold onto
I’ve grown used to the way it feels, this home on eighteen wheels
where the truckstop showers and meals never make me feel clean
Another one of those lonely nights, in the glow of the running lights
with a full moon in my sights, and a long haul in between
I go where the highway takes me
to the places in my mind
where the objects in my mirror appear much smaller
like troubles left behind
the open road is the perfect place to lose a troubled mind
in the tail lights and the diesel smoke blowin’ out behind
These big wheels roll along, and they won't steer me wrong
singin’ their highway song, always runnin’ in my head
When I get to the end of the line, gonna find a light to shine
and rest this heart of mine, let my memories be my bed
I go where the highway takes me
to the places in my mind
where the white line in my mirror is still connected
to the past I left behind
I go where the highway takes me
to the places in my mind
where the road ahead appears to hold more promise
than the life I left behind
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Call me a saint, call me a sinner
man with the Bible, he comes by every day
thinks he can save me, make me a winner
but I’m the one that got away
in the graveyard, six feet under
ain’t no soul here left to save
I hear them crazy sons of bitches
and I feel ‘em walkin’ on my grave
Take a spin on the wheel of fate
watch the letters goin’ round and round.
they spell love, and they spell hate
they spell gone, like a lonesome sound
in the graveyard, six feet under
ain't no soul there left to save
when them crazy sons of bitches
come a-walkin’ on my grave
with a pick and shovel they're gonna dig a hole
I'm gonna take a number, and stand in line
they're gonna push me in, and cover me over
‘til I’m out of sight and out of mind
Some buy trouble with a credit card
and some, with a conversation
that winding road runs long and hard
between survival and annihilation
when you’re in the graveyard, six feet under
there won’t be no soul there left to save
you’ll hear them crazy sons of bitches
and you'll feel ‘em walkin’ on your grave
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3. |
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I work hard on my image, I want my fans to know
that I always put my best foot forward
I try to put on a good show
but the people show up with their cell phone cameras
like to photograph me onstage
and at the end of the night they put the picture on the Facebook page
They always seem to get my guitar face
with the drool runnin’ down my chin
and now there’s pictures made of every escapade
in all the places I shouldn’t have been
On the wrong side of town, foolin’ around
with women half my age
they take their telephone cameras and they call up the Facebook page
Oh, I’ve lost control
Fallin’ farther down that hole
Trying to keep my good side showin’ in the digital age
But there ain’t no privacy in a social network community
Lord won’t you help me get my picture off the Facebook page
I never used to mingle with the great unwashed
I traveled in a private plane
I was always protected by the company lawyers
now I’m livin’ in the public domain
thrown into the crowd where anything’s allowed
and everybody looks better than me
I tell you, bein’ a star ain’t what it used to be
Oh, I’ve lost control
Fallin’ farther down that hole
Trying to keep my good side showin’ in the digital age
But there ain’t no privacy in a social network community
Lord won’t you help me get my picture off the Facebook page
there ought to be a law about
the picture on the Facebook page.
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4. |
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There’s a storm in the distance, a bird in the sky
it dodges the raindrops as she watches it fly
She writes in her journal, and tries to keep score
and she tries to make sense of all the pain
that’s been laid at her door.
She has dreams about dancing, she’s out on the floor
safe in his arms, she’s not alone anymore
she can feel his heartbeat and the touch of his hands
and the way he pulls her close to him
she knows he understands
And she dreams about dancing, it’s all about sharing
to the music of loving and a song about caring
and the night is for dancing with the moon up above
and the dance will heal her heart, she’s a woman in love.
Lost in the music, two people as one
With a song of devotion, their dance has begun
And when she wakes from her dream,
She’ll laugh and she’ll cry
And she’ll know the rain won’t ever drive that bird from the sky
And she dreams about dancing, it’s all about sharing
to the music of loving and a song about caring
and the night is for dancing with the moon up above
and the dance will heal her heart, she’s a woman in love.
And she dreams about dancing, it’s all about sharing
to the music of loving and a song about caring
and it came in a dream, like a storm from above
and the rain will heal her heart, she’s a woman in love.
the rain will heal her heart, she’s a woman in love.
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5. |
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Borrow trouble, lend a hand
we left our silent lives behind
in a house of cards on shifting sand
at the edge of the sea, in the land of the blind
We had it all and we let it go
just a bunch of fools without a clue
hypnotized by the TV show
hopin' it would tell us what to do
In the land of the blind, in the land of the blind
in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
We had it all and we threw it out
that easy life, it was fine with me
but now I know what it was all about
and it's a helluva road to eternity
In the land of the blind, in the land of the blind
in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
Oh the one-eyed man he plays his fiddle
and everybody sings along
but there's no one left to solve the riddle
they're dancin' to a one-eyed song
The light's a-dyin' and it's fadin' fast
blind man got no day or night
if you're livin' every day like it's your last
y'know, one of these days you might be right
In the land of the blind, in the land of the blind
in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
In the land of the blind, in the land of the blind
livin' in the land of the blind,
we're followin' a one-eyed man
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6. |
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Interstate 40 don’t hold much for me
From Little Rock to Nashville, Tennessee
But I’ve been pushing this rig from Charlotte to Seattle, Washington
Now I’m on my way to Nashville on a big red label run.
I’ve driven northern 80 ‘cross the plain
My windshield wipers slappin’ at the rain
I’ve crossed the great divide so many times I can’t keep score
I’ve drove a hundred sets of tires off a hundred trucks or more
And it’s been heartbreakin’, and I’ve been bellyachin’
About working this big rig rodeo, always moving down the line
Been driving a Freightliner, and there ain’t nothing finer
But it’s been 21 days from Macon and that Georgia gal of mine.
I started out of Tonopah the day before yesterday
And I ain’t seen much of interest on the way.
But I could feel them doubles dancin’ as I made the Denver climb
And I think I’d like to be in another place, in another time
And it’s been heartbreakin’, and I’ve been bellyachin’
About working this big rig rodeo, always moving down the line
Been driving a Freightliner, and there ain’t nothing finer
But it’s been 21 days from Macon and that Georgia gal of mine.
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7. |
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Give me a hundred dollars, let me find a place
and I'll buy a frame to put your picture in
I'll keep it with me, just to see your face
Give me an empty barstool, sawdust on the floor
and I'll drink alone for just a few more hours
until I don’t remember anymore
flowin' like a river, take away the pain
whiskey in the bottle, take me home again
Give me a hundred dollars, let me place my bets
and I'll wait until my horse comes runnin' home,
take my winnings, and settle up my debts.
flowin' like a river, take away the pain
whiskey in the bottle, take me home again
Give me a hundred dollars, and let me take my place
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8. |
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Saw a little bird sitting on a limb
high in the briarwood
so many things revealed to him from the shadows where I stood
He had some ribbon and a piece of string
for his love when she came home
far away, she was on the wing
and the little bird all alone,
the little bird all alone
I said, "if wings could carry me, I'd ride the wind and sail away
but fate has claimed my destiny from the shadows where I stay"
"Fate is nameless by design," the little bird said to me,
"And she never was a friend of mine,
and I know she'll never be, I know she'll never be."
And it's a long, long way
a long, long way
but come someday
I'll fly away
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He’s a walkin’, talkin’ lie in a banker’s suit and tie
just a cowboy on the lone prairie
he says’ he’s your saddle pal, put your stock in his corral
but he’ll steal your horse before he takes his fee
He’s driving cattle in his sleep, the herd’s a half a million deep
and the trail ahead’s as pretty as you please
but to the stockyards they will go, to their final rodeo
while the campfire smoke blows softly through the trees
It’s time to get along little doggies
and move that rounder’s money up the line
and when the sun sets on the trail, and you hear that closing bell
you can still pretend that you’re a friend of mine
Banker howlin’ at the moon, paper hits the floor
come wintertime the closing prime won’t matter anymore
And now it’s hard times tradin’ down on the jobs that left this town
when the stampede come, and the banks they all went bust
where did all that money go? Well, I guess we’ll never know
we trust in god when we put it all in trust
It’s time to get along little doggies
and move that rounder’s money up the line
and when the sun sets on the trail, and you hear that closing bell
you can still pretend that you’re a friend of mine
you can still pretend that you’re a friend of mine
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10. |
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one time out on the road
I stopped at a barber shop in a small town
I stumbled into it by chance,
it was hidden away on a back street, in the old section
time had sort of passed the place by
and the doors and windows hung off the building
like an old suit
the barber was a small man, he had glasses and thin grey hair
he had a kind face and a delicate manner about him
he told me he'd been there since 1957
half a century in the same place
treadin' water, cuttin' hair
seems hard to believe nowadays
we talked about the times back then
and about how music was when we were young
and about the music now,
and how it all sort of seems to come out of
computers these days
he said he'd never even used a computer.
he talked about all the changes that he’d seen over the years
he apologized for having to raise his prices
"that was a couple of years ago", he said
turns out that a couple of years ago
was back in 1986
now, some folks sit down and write a song
because they think they’ve got something to prove
and others, they try to right every wrong
‘cause to them, life’s one big mountain to move
y’know, you can choose just one thing to get along
you put your head down and you stay in the groove
he asked me how I wanted it, and I said,
oh, just shorten it all up a bit
"number one or number two?", he asked
I didn't understand what he meant at first
but that old shop suddenly brought back memories
from when I was a kid
and I looked over at the "Approved Haircuts" poster on the wall
It was faded and shopworn
probably hung there back when the place was new
it had drawings of mens' haircuts
and each was a shorter version of the one above it
it was as if more time, and more work made you smaller and smaller
I chose the number two and I figured, what the hell
the only difference between a good haircut and a bad one
is a couple of weeks
he didn't cut hair the way they do these days
he didn't gather it in his fingers
and take little snips with a comb and scissors
he used an electric blade, runnin' it up from the bottom
he asked if I wanted it tapered or blocked
and I didn’t know, so I said tapered
I was a little uneasy at first but then I figured,
the man's been doing this since I was a boy
I reckon he knows his job
seven bucks later and a three dollar tip
I left that old shop with the best haircut I'd had in a long time
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11. |
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Man beholds the heavens, stardust makes the man
Searching for the pieces that fall into the plan
Gonna be a big change come
Gonna be a big change come
Gonna be a big change coming down, someday
Cosmic observation, a universal chart
Stars like pearls of wisdom shine on worlds apart
Gonna be a big change come
Gonna be a big change come
Gonna be a big change coming down, someday
Dreams will become our realities
Changing the rules we obey
Holding up the many possibilities
That separate tomorrow from today
People in the heavens, out beyond the sun
Searching for a new home, pilgrims every one
Gonna be a big change come
Gonna be a big change come
Gonna be a big change coming down
Gonna be a big change come
Gonna be a big change come
Gonna be a big change coming down, someday
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12. |
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13. |
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my solo’s coming up
my hands are getting sweaty
and my mouth is getting dry
my heart is beating faster
and the place is full of people
they’re staring right at me
everybody says I’m good
they all think I’m a hero
and they’re waitin’ for my solo
I’m gonna make it happen
and I hope I can remember
just where to put my fingers
I hope this old guitar
turns out to be my friend
because my solo’s coming up
yeah, my solo’s coming up
got a solo coming up
got a solo coming up
now she’s walking out the door
taking her belongings
she leaves me blowin’ like a leaf
like a feather in the wind
I’ll have the place to myself
and I won’t have to answer
to anybody else
I’ll eat anything I want
I’ll fall asleep in the chair
watching television
come and go as I please
and maybe take a long vacation
now I’m waiting on my solo
I’m gonna make it happen
I hope I can remember
just where I left my life
I hope my solitude
turns out to be my friend
because my solo’s coming up
I got a solo coming up
got me a solo coming up
now my solo’s coming up
and I’m lying here and thinking
that my life is almost over
and there’s nothing left to do
it’s one more door to open
and you pass through it alone
if I could make my body younger
I don’t think that I’d do it
because the older that I get
the more I understand
that we live until we die
and not a minute longer
and now I’m waiting for my solo
I’m gonna let it happen
and I hope I can remember
just where I left my soul
and I hope that my departure
turns out to be my friend
because my solo’s coming up
yeah, my solo’s coming up
My solo’s coming up
got me a solo coming up
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This album was put together from spare parts. It’s a hodgepodge, stone soup mixture of offerings from friends and compatriots around the world. It has somehow managed to organically synthesize itself from its humble beginnings as musical rocks and boiling water into the feast it has become. It follows the same folk process that has carried our music and stories down to us over the centuries, and it did this within a digital environment.
I’ve been blessed over the years by having many great friends who also happen to be great musicians. A few graciously shared their chops with me to create this record from the ground up—within what students of digital culture might call a communal, bottom-up system. I simply refer to it as the 21st century folk process.
Digital media allows—requires—that music (and all other content) be made and consumed within a community, and this is done via a many-to-many network of both creators and consumers. The music industry has done a fine job throughout the past century, filtering and supplying (and fueling) our music consumption. But in today’s digital communal world we will no longer wait as passive consumers for it to deliver what it thinks we should hear.
The musicians and engineers on this album were supplied with minimal song sketches and were given little or no direction about what to play or how to play it. I relied solely upon their musical instincts. This wasn’t such a big gamble. I knew each of them would step up and deliver whatever suited the song, and I wasn’t disappointed. And it made my job as producer redundant, which is what digital culture is all about.
It has been a treat to sift through all the tracks submitted by my friends. It was a pleasure to hear how each perceived a particular tune, and what they did with it. And it was even more fun to experience the taste of all these ingredients landing together in the same pot of rocks and boiling water. If you care to add to the soup, or if you want to use some of it to make your own, I’ll be supplying stems from these tunes for you to download and remix, repopulate, and share. Just follow the QR codes. You can be a part of the 21st century folk process.
Enjoy
--je