Uptight

It happens in Brooklyn
It happens in your backyard
Somebody comes home stinking
You kill the lights when you hear that car

And you can feel that wind blow
Like it was blowing right inside
But don’t you feel uptight

Now they’re talking in a vacuum
Nothing’s heard but in your head
Because no one is listening,
To anything that the other one said

You can swallow hard
And you can find yourself a place to hide
But don’t you feel uptight

Chorus
There’s a lot more to believing than taking somebody’s side
In those fights over trivial points with their twists and flip flops and lies

Now you’re floating in the water
In a boat on the ocean side
And the land is receding
And that gulf is getting wide

You can paddle all you want
But you will not touch the land tonight
But don’t you feel uptight

Solo

Now you’re driving through the darkness
Open road under open sky
A man’s hands on the wheel now
But that child’s never far behind

You’re looking at the moon tonight
It’s so far away, but so close, and so bright
But don’t you feel uptight

Chorus
There’s a lot more to believing than taking somebody’s side
In those fights over trivial points with their twists and flip flops and lies

 


 

18 Years
I worked 18 years in a mining system,
Doing a job that I didn’t even like.

I’m going to go outside,
Oh yes, I’m going to go outside,
I’m going to go outside ,
And clear my eyes.

I worked 18 years in a mining system,
Came 19 days from a pot of gold.

I’m going to go outside,
Yes, I’m going to go outside,
I’m going to go outside,
And clear my eyes.

Bridge
And when I feel that heavy hat come off my head,
I’m gonna feel just like I’m dead and gone to heaven.
And when I feel that breeze blow through me like a word,
I’m gonna feel just like a bird, in flight.

I worked 18 years in a mining system,
Taking orders from the top.

I’m going to go outside,
Yes, I’m going to go outside,
I’m going to go outside,
And clear my eyes.

I worked 18 years in a mining system,
But I ain’t gonna work no more.

I’m going to go outside,
Yes, I’m going to go outside,
I’m going to go outside,
And clear my eyes


 

Coldest Night
It was the coldest night in history
And she started out like a fire
Coming from loving her long-time man
Two hours of sweet desire

Arrived at the residence of two old friends
Where the neighbor boy had stopped in for wine
Her lover would never have guessed that night
What he would find

When the smoke cleared from his eyes
And he knew that a new love had been baptized
While the old one went out walking and wishing to die
Beneath the soft frozen light of a night city sky
And he wanted to be held and he wanted her to lie
About the heat in the room where she kissed that boy’s eyes

It was so damn cold that nothing could move
Just the young ones out in the bars
And that’s where she went to with that neighbor boy
And they drove in his car
And he sat beside her, his hand in her lap
And she smiled as if he was the first
To ever have warmed her on so cold a night
But she knew her lover loved her

Til the smoke cleared from his eyes
And he knew that a new love had been baptized
While the old one went out walking and wishing to die
Beneath the soft frozen light of a night city sky
And he wanted to be held and he wanted her to lie
About the heat in the room where she kissed that boy’s eyes

It was the coldest night in history
And she started out like a fire


 


 

Alcohol
I know where I’m going
I’m riding on a train
Down through the town by the parkline station
And out past the porters in the driving rain

And it’s a perfect destination
The weather’s cold and the winter’s hard
Living on drugs and a strong constitution
Where the bad fuckers all come down to the boulevard

Chorus
But out on the roadside I remember us standing there side by side
Hitching rides to a border town
Well you banged you head against the wall til you knocked it down with alcohol
I picked it up when you put it down

I was never really ready
I was never well prepared
Your words on the phone were a shock to my system
And the answers I gave well they weren’t really fair

But it’s a perfect termination
To a painful fucking mess
That one day you’d leave was a foregone conclusion
But it’s a far cry from a simple change of address

Chorus

I made you coffee in the morning
With a pill for the night before
I touched every part of that heart that was beating
And it beats me why you walked out that door

But it was childish adulation
And I was only just a kid
I knew it wrong to believe in your fiction
But I had no choice so I took a chance and I did

Chorus


 


 

Gravity
I learned the art of dancing when you dragged me on the floor
It was like speaking in a foreign tongue when you’re not quite sure
My feet felt like strangers, my legs were beams of iron ore
But I felt so graceful when I slipped my hand in yours

Chorus
Now I’m drifting slowly like the moon across the sky
While you spin in slow motion like the world beneath my eyes
And we’re pulling one another, deep inside

I learned the art of talking when I had to tell you more
Than perfect lies I’d used a million times before
My tongue started tripping over twists and turns that I had ignored
It didn’t make me happy but at least I was not bored

Chorus

I learned the art of living when just living was a cold and heartless chore
When I thought of leaving it behind, that’s it, no more
But your calm and faithful contact was there to reassure
Like the porch light shining through the night at your back door

Chorus


 


 

At The Mercy
Are you out in the rain, heartbroken brain, slow steps on a lonely street?
Well a good day is sure hard to find, when you’re just trying to find your feet
His well-measured words went much further than you first thought
The end of love can be a blindside blast, a sniper’s unexpected shot

Now you’re walking on the roadside of a loveless great unknown
The ghosts of former lovers, and your family on the phone

Chorus
At the mercy of someone above
You trust and try to be true
Be he don’t answer your calls
Does he even hear you calling at all?

She’s as tall as the doctor, but he won’t look her in the eye
He says, “You might not be able to walk, but we’ll do our best to keep you alive.”
Strange, cause she worked as a nurse, 'til her hands couldn’t feel a pulse
Is it Murphy’s law, a genetic flaw, or just life’s ironic waltz
And now she stumbles round the edge of the lifeless great unknown
Feigned smile of acceptance, forced small-talk on the phone

Chorus

I dropped off my daughter, but her mommy was crying at the door
Her wildest brother had drowned, in a wasted group of four
The others swam west to land, but he always took a different tack
He laid down in calm water, and he ain’t never coming back
He’d finally fallen off the edge into that lifeless dark unknown
A life well-worth preserving, dropped silent as a stone

Chorus


 

 

Rob’s Deep River Blues
Deep snow, heavy load,
Here I come, there I go,
Well, I’m just a rollin’ down a line
Radio playin’ low,
All the way to Tupelo
Well, I could run this highway blind

But I like it,
Yes, I like it now.
I’m not scared, no, no, no, no, no, no how

Drive west, take a test,
Make a grade and be the best
Lonesome hobo I can be
Deep breath in my breast,
Not expecting nothing less
Than wild wind from sea to shining sea

But I like it,
Yes, I like it now
I’m not scared, no, no, no, no, no, no how

Weak strong, glide along,
Find something right to feeling wrong,
Cause now she’s gone and I am all alone
I left the house, driving south,
I cursed myself and my big mouth,
Well it’s over now and I’m back out on the road

But I like it,
Yes, I lke it now.
I’m not scared, no, no, no, no, no, no how


 


 

Indecision
There’s a sweet girl waiting for you,
In the lot outside the bar,
You hide in the can, not even half the man
That she thinks that you are

Cause you told her that you loved her
And you knew it was a lie
Now you’re dying to slide, to cut the ties
That hold you to her life

But you waffle and you wait there
For a better way to hide
And a tender word in seldom spoken
Each time you can’t decide

You walk this road alone
And you wonder what’s gone wrong
Out on the fringes, out where no one cares
How you’re getting along

He had a rough road, they’ll say
He had promise once you know
But when one door shuts, it takes guts
To get back up and go

But you just sit there and stew
Choking on your foolish pride
While the rest of your life hangs in the balance
Each time you can’t decide

There’s a sweet girl waiting for you,
In the lot outside the bar,
You hide in the can, not even half the man
That she thinks that you are

Cause you told her that you loved her
But you know that was a lie
Now you’re dying to slide, to cut the ties
That hold you to her life

But you waffle and you wait there
For a better way to hide
And a tender word in seldom spoken
Each time you can’t decide


 


 

Awake in the Morning
It was a storm in the middle of an avalanche
There you were smack dab in the middle, even slow was moving too fast
Cause grand emotion ain’t a part of your everyday
And you feel like a spot in the ocean when you’re floating alone that way
But on the Delta you can play, down that restless road a way

Send me a postcard from the misery,
Let me know how it’s going
Cause I can’t give you a reason to be
Awake in the morning, awake in the morning, awake in the morning light
Alright

Cause your burden is bigger than it ought to be
You’re caught between your life in shambles, and the deep blue sea
But while you’re slowly sinking there’s a soft refrain
In your mind, working double-tme to pull you up again
Cause on the Delta you can play
Down that restless road a way

And I am not descending down down into misery
I’m not sinking, I am floating
Because I finally found myself a reason to be,
Awake in the morning, awake in the morning, awake in the morning light


 


 

Red Bull Blues
Well I got bad, bad news, I got blood on my shoes, on my mind
Well you told me well, but you told me well down the line
That your love was dying, now I’m sitting here and crying

Well if I could go home, I’d jump on the next plane flying
Well my feet feel to roam, but I know that there’s no use in trying
Well how could I have know that your love for me was dying

I got the red bull blues, I need a whiskey and beer
I got the red bull blues, I got to get myself out of here
I got the red bull blues, I’m gonna shout it our far and near


 


 

Letter in the box
Little Girl, when are you coming home
Can’t you see, that I don’t want to live alone
There’s a letter in the box that has your name
It’s telling you that I want you back again

Little girl, why do you do
All the mean and hurtful things you do
You know we’ve all been hurt before
And I know, you don’t want to hurt no more

Bridge
You’re thinking your race is almost run
But I’ll tell you it’s not even halfway done
The end is not near
It’ll be a long way, a long way, a long way from here

Little girl, I heard you’re coming home
I guess that you don’t wanna live alone
There’s a letter in the box that has my name
It’s telling me, that you want me back again


 

Hometown
If I am late or I am early,
Ain’t noone needs to know
If I get clean all white and pearly
Ain’t noone here to show

I’m a thousand miles from my hometown
On the river, on the Rothesay road
But I’ll still reside in my hometown
In my soul

Well it’s been years, since I last saw you
You were standing there at the bar
Then you left and no one’s heard a single word so far

You’re a thousand miles from your hometown
On the corner of the Gibbon Road
But you still rely on your hometown
It’s your home

We’ve all know since we were children
We’d keep moving all our lives
But something’s lost in every leaving
Something always stays behind

We’re a thousand miles from our hometown
And we know for sure we’ve grown
But inside we’re tied to our hometown
Our home