1. |
Night DJ
04:22
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Wheels keep rolling
deep into the night
Night DJ carry me through
until the morning light
There's only your voice and pitch black
across west Texas flats
I roll down the window for the scream of the road
and I try to forget my past
Night DJ
first time caller
play me something slow
I'm burning hot
to out run my life
and you can cool my soul
I don't have much with me
I left it all behind
scattered my life to the winds
because I wanted to make good time
There's nothing hanging over me now
only the moon and sky
shadows on the horizon line
and your voice on the night
Night DJ
first time caller
play me something slow
I'm burning hot
to out run my life
and you can cool my soul
Does it matter what I've done?
Does it matter
what I didn't do?
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2. |
A Hell of a Thing
02:21
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We'll keep on dancing 'til we feel the floor give away
We'll keep on dancing 'til the night clocks out for the day
you've got on your dress and your comfy shoes
I've lost my tie and kicked the blues
it was a hell of a night
it was a hell of a thing
We're so worn out, we're hanging like a side of beef
pull off to the side of the road and fall asleep
wake in the morning to passing trucks
try to get breakfast for just 3 bucks
it was a hell of a night
it was a hell of a thing
Was it just me or did that dude just wanna fight?
I made a quick joke, he had an even quicker right
now we're sharing some toast and a coffee cup
you keep laughing, my eye is swollen shut
it was a hell of a night
it was a hell of a thing
When we left the bar do you remember which way we went
at this hour we are homeless and hell-bent
my battery is dead, no GPS
we don't have a map, we'll have to guess
it was a hell of a night
it was a hell of a thing
We'll keep driving until the day clears our head
if the sun sets we'll find a bar and do it again
The party sparks when you're near
If Jesus is my co-pilot, you're the bombardier
it'll be a hell of a night
it'll be a hell of a thing
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3. |
Summer Oil
03:59
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She was called Helen of Troy
by Charlie the summer casual college boy
her skin was ruddy olive green
she rode the site with the Haz-Mat team
And oh how I’d watch her
as she rolled away half empty drums of polymer
and the way the sun fell on her gloves
didn’t get a single look but I was in love
Crazy Bernie worked the 200 Dock
he kept mail-order porn in a desk drawer he didn’t lock
cassette tapes scattered on the desk
you could tell by that room his mind was a mess
He wasn’t allowed on half the site
he thought she liked him, he wasn’t right
she cried foul when he tried to kiss her
we all held our breath and waited for disaster
Responsibilities were light
a toe in the water of real life
we were all young and stupid and probably spoiled
but we all smelled like summer oil
Mark had gone to MIT
till a cycle crash wiped him clean
you could hear it when he would talk
like the Phinneas Gage of the docks
He had no social skills
but he could move boxes, bags and bills
that’s why they kept him around
but behind his back they thought he was a clown
Responsibilities were light
a toe in the water of real life
we were all young and stupid and probably spoiled
but we all smelled like summer oil
When autumn came they were gone
I watched them go as I stayed on
I decided college wasn’t for me
I was nineteen going on forty
And now most of those buildings are gone
I drive past on the way to play my songs
But it still comes back to me
the light sweet crude on the breeze
Responsibilities were light
a toe in the water of real life
we were all young and stupid and probably spoiled
but we all smelled like summer oil
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4. |
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They say the day he was born
his father pushed him back inside
and it warped the boy
and caused a pain behind the eyes
1985
the Devil drove a blue Gremlin
and he broke the world
when he stopped to ask them for directions
I watched it unfold
as I was folding papers
I throw it onto their porch
and watch the pale grow across my neighbors
That's when I felt the change
summer of '85
we all locked our doors
when he took Melissa Ackerman's life
Hurry home
don't pick up the phone
Brian Dugan
could know you're alone
Brian Dugan
could know
A name already echoed
on suburban lips
Jenine Nicarico
the girl who had stayed home sick
Cops pinned her death and rape
on two Hispanic males
and Dugan had killed more
while two innocentsrotted in jail
Hurry home
don't pick up the phone
Brian Dugan
could know you're alone
Brian Dugan
could know
Our folks were left with the damage
Dugan had done
to two income world
and latchkey daughters and sons
I still feel the ripples now
30 odd years on
in the way I worry
and the rules I make for my son
Hurry home
don't pick up the phone
Brian Dugan
could know you're alone
Brian Dugan
could know
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5. |
Annie's Morning Brew
03:18
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Hey now Cajun Annie
she drank all the wine
and she bedded down in Baton Rouge
with a couple of friends of mine
and in the morning she made a brew
that she said would cure their ills
it looked like mud and it smelled like feet
and it tasted like dissolving pills
But my homeboys they were hurting
and they drank it without a word
they didn’t seem to care that it had bent a spoon
or scorched her fingers when she stirred
they drank it down and held it there
and their stomachs were rumbling mean
when the hallucinations lifted they had both been robbed
but they were both running clean
She took a big kettle and you threw it all in
They think they saw hot sauce, they think they saw gin
Turned off the lights and it started to glow
What else went in we might never now
She said “there’s nothing you can do
that can’t be handled by Annie’s Brew
My buddies they were desperate
and the cops were called to the scene
they told them the story about the beautiful girl
and the drink that brought them to their knees
but only one drop of the magical brew
was all the Federalis could find
they sent it to the lab cause they wanted to know
how it did a number on their minds
Baton Rouge Parish detectives
Burning midnight oil
This Annie’s some kind of wicked chemist
What evil plots must we foil
Cops’ hearts sank when morning came
The lab had lost the brew
With nothing to test and nowhere to start
There was nothing for them to do
The leads dried up, it was cold case now
And no one was making a fuss
So they sent my pals on back up north
With empty pockets on a Greyhound Bus
Off Interstate 10 out of Baton Rouge
West, near Lake Bigeaux
There’s a flash of white near some cypress trees
Every time the wind will blow
A lab coat from the forensics lab
Way back in Baton Rouge
The name tag says Annie and there is a stain
From an unknown, mystic brew
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6. |
Melt the Snow
04:02
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Raise the curtain
on December '88
Leading Lady and Supporting Actor
in the parts they played
and he dreams of loving her
but he never seems to see
that she loves him
but not enough to fill his dreams
Raise a cup
for the lovers and actors
the ones most wounded by the show
They play their parts
and they swallow their hearts
and hope for a love
to melt the snow
The party goes on around then
her Leading Man in his space
but she can see Supporting Actor
and the things he hides on his face
and she wants to show her love for him
but that's not what he needs, she knows
but she wants to see him happy
so she whispers "I'll kiss you under the mistletoe"
Raise a cup
for the lovers and actors
the ones most wounded by the show
They play their parts
and they swallow their hearts
and hope for a love
to melt the snow
The moment is made
the moment exists
even after decades
he still thinks of that kiss
Outside it was snowing
shining up the pavement and the wood
inside he was glowing
he knew she loved him as much as she could
and for the stars watching from the heavens
and all the actors down below
we close the curtain
and move on with the show.
Raise a cup
for the lovers and actors
the ones most wounded by the show
They play their parts
and they swallow their hearts
and hope for a love
to melt the snow
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7. |
Three Whiskeys
04:52
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Bartender
pour me three whiskeys
And I'll tell you what
what made a blind man
come out tonight
I can't see it
but the sun is setting
and the night is pushing down
I know it's strange but pour me 3 whiskeys
and I'll tell you what brings me
to town
Stay here
pour me three whiskeys
one for every time she broke my heart
Stay here and listen to my story
I'll drink the first one
then I'll start
I had my eyes through our falling
and her early days as my wife
So I knew her beauty
I can still see her in this blind man's mind
Hair, black as shadow
and her hips when she would sway to a song
clear eyes of blue that moved 'round my face
as an evening wore on
Please! Stay here
I've got two more whiskeys
and more tale to tell
Her love left with my vison
and my story, you can guess, doesn't end well
When I lost my light, she kissed my eyes
and she had to work to make sense of our lives
and the years rolled by
and the tears rolled by
and I didn't need my sight
to feel there was something new in her nights
I couldn't sleep last night
and my wife talks in her sleep
so I knew I'd need whiskey for courage
for the appointment, I have to keep
Thank you for listening bartender
and let me finish with this
I came to town tonight to find you
and this close a blind man can't miss
Stay here because you love her
and I've got nothing left to lose
You've got 3 breaths to feel the night on your face
and this last whiskey is for you
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8. |
Greenhouse Tomatoes
05:17
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Ruth grew the best tomatoes in the valley
she made her own preserves
and sold jars by the score
she had a little stand out beside the highway
that's where she met Jeremy
the man she would adore
La la la
Jeremy was driving from Braeden to Bricktown
he stopped for a spell
to check out her stand
he had one taste of her tomato preserves now
he dropped to one knee
and took Ruth by the hand
"Be my wife
and I'll build you a greenhouse.
We'll love each other
the best that we can.
Vines'll climb the walls
of your greenhouse
And I promise to love you
for as long as I stand."
La la la
The years went by for Ruth and for Jeremy
wouldn't say they were cruel
wouldn't say they were kind
When Ruth found out she couldn't have a baby
Jeremy took to drinking
Ruth took to her vines
La la la
She'd taken the tomatoes out of the sunshine
24-hour flourescent lights
now shone down on the vines
She still sprayed with Nicotine for the bugs now
it's the way she always did
when she was young, in her prime
She was his wife
but she was always in the greenhouse
he was always at the bar
this wasn't what they planned
He'd broken the promise
of the greenhouse
He didn't love her anymore
but he could still stand
La la la
Then one night a moment of clarity
blew air across an ember down in Jeremy
"Why'd I let this bitter cloud take my heart?"
He raced with a foggy head out into the dark
Headed home
La la la
The morning sun lit the detectives
putting together pieces
from the night before
Ruth on the porch was crying gently
Jeremy was still where he died
on the greenhouse floor
La la la
See, Ruth couldn't stand to sleep in their bedroom
she'd crawled into the guest bed
and fell asleep in the dark
Jeremy came home and couldn't find his wife now
Still drunk he ran outside
to tell her what was in his heart
La la la
When Jeremy got out to the greenhouse
he found a jar of whiskey
but he couldn't find his wife
He took a deep drink when he thought she'd left him
The whiskey tasted funny
The nicotine took his life
Ruth tore down that
old greenhouse
she covered it with earth
moved her tomatoes to the sun
but vines still grow
where there was a greenhouse
Ruth sees the love they'd had
inside of every one
La la la
Now Ruth grows the best tomatoes in the valley
she cans her own preserves
and sells jars by the score
La la la
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9. |
Atlanta Turns
02:35
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Atlanta lit her cigarette
through the smoke she tried to swallow
she's a tough act to follow
And me, I'll never shake Saigon
even with this wallet on
no money can buy my scars away
She's far too young to care
what on earth we were doing there
or to understand where to stand
All the battles are over now
haircuts, no victors bow
and lonely men, stagger on home
See, Atlanta, some wounded walk
Hold, Atlanta, wounded mouths can talk
some of us only twisted inside
My God, Atlanta, what have we done
what kind of world have we passed on
or passed over
Atlanta snuffs her cigarette
she laughs as she scans the room
her gaze falls on me, falls on me
"Money-grubbing old man"
She couldn't see my burns
and carelessly Atlanta turns
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10. |
Picasso Alley
03:56
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Oh, Sunshine
how'd you find me
in this Pueblo town?
Earthtone tuning
timing right
I was walking deftly
out of the crowd
And I knew you were smiling
in the interim
I knew you were smiling
during the interim
I was nominated
to be the one to ask
what comes next
for two Pueblo passing strangers
at the start of the second act
and in Picasso Alley
it feels like rain
'cause the Cubists dance
and the martyrs gain
Oh, Sunshine
I'm glad you found me
in this Pueblo town
Earthtone tuning
turning out
a discarded program
on the ground
just one Pueblo Stranger
reaching down
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11. |
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He didn’t see it coming
didn’t know it was drumming
at his door
He didn’t know at all
kissed his kids like he did
every night before
When he got up to his room
the cold and the shadows
started to move
he slipped up through the ceiling
he’d already forgotten
that he’d left too soon
So tonight
I don’t want to drink no more
I just want to stare
out at the evening surf
how would I
float up through the sky
and spend
my last night on the Earth
I was there when he took the call
he just said “thank you” and
hung up the phone
then he sat with a silent bourbon
when he was drunk
he went to bed alone
In the darkness I could hear him crying
in the morning
he didn’t say a word
I never forced the question
Never told him
what I had heard
So tonight
I don’t want to talk no more
I just want to stand
out in the evening surf
Now can I
celebrate a life
and Howard’s last night
on the Earth
And if my father had his way
he’d set Howard adrift out on the bay
and arrows from the shore
would set his Viking boat ablaze
But he fastened on the lid
because I was just a little kid
with the moon
and the rocks
and the sea
So tonight
I don’t want to sing no more
I just want to drift
into the ocean surf
How can I
celebrate my life
and dance like
it’s my last night on the Earth
And tonight
try to love each other more
kiss or hug or hold
whatever you fancy
and then he
won’t have died in vain
on the last night
of Howard Delancy
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12. |
Nowhere on Earth
04:16
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There’s a moon shining
hanging in the sky like a Japanese lamp
and the coyotes howl
on the edge of town
Three kids from up north
ain’t seen nothing like this before
and their car breaks down
on the edge of town
And it feels just like a movie
complicated and suspenseful
and they get just what they came for
the greatest nowhere on Earth
So they slip into the bar
all the cowboys are heading out
up the hill to the cat house
on the edge of town
They get drunk with this Indian man
who says the nuns beat God into him
and he hides peyote in the mine
at the edge of town
And it feels just like a movie
complicated and suspenseful
and they get just what they came for
the greatest nowhere on Earth
What did they expect to find?
A desert drama and a copper mine?
A night so far from what they know?
And just as far gone as they care to go
So they stumble up the street
into a barn and fall asleep
they crawl out at dawn
on the edge of town
Shadows crawl on the valley floor
time to head back up north
they turn one last time
from the edge of town
And it felt just like a movie
complicated and suspenseful
and they got just what they came for
the greatest nowhere on Earth
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13. |
Bulletproof Bible
02:42
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I won't lie face down
and let them take
my gun away from me
and I've got a bible
in my pocket
to remind me of you
it's metal on top
you gave it to me
for my protection
it's close to my heart
where you are
forever
Waves of emotion
clouding my mind
as if God's verdict
has shortened my time
I'm so afraid this place
is home
now
to me
I've got a son
waiting at home
to finally meet his dad
he's waiting for me
to make up the moments lost
make up the time apart
This time apart
is not of my making
if there was any other way
this bulletproof bible
will keep me alive
for you
I make no promises
promises I can't keep
because my fate's not in my hands
it's way beyond my reach
just pray I make it home
to you
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Eric Peter Schwartz Aurora, Illinois
Acoustic rock and some instrumental rock. Where heart and quirk collide.
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