touchdown

we have just enough time to spend touch down and we have made many a rhyme my friend touch down lies and spirals run me blind and chasing rainbows takes it’s toll across the line but you put me back on solid ground and it feels so good to touch down we are all here tonight, right now touch down and we have turned out alright, somehow touch down

and all their beauty’s lost its charm and if i stayed there long i’d no doubt come to harm but i knew you’d turn me right around and it feels so good to touch down

anytime you can find me anywhere I may hide...

when it’s time to touch down

coverman

i have written many lines lost forever in the back of time and i listen to the tired radio where i know my lines will never go

chorus and so i am a coverman the less you know the less i show so throw em’ back and watch the hack and call em’ if you can oh i am a coverman new and old they’ve all been told i’ve got your evening in my hand….. coverman

and i’ve been playing twenty years people listen while they drink their beers and i’d like to play the songs that are my own but the owner says to sound familiar to their ears

chorus

out of high school i worked hard laying concrete and spreading tar but when i hit those chords they rang into my soul and i’ll never go back…...no, no

chorus

throat soar and my fingers raw i’m the man on the mic in a smoky bar owner tells me to play it on through cause a coverman does what he gotta do to get the bills in the mail pay the rent on time yeah i’m the next best thing you will ever find coverman cruel as can be half way and as close as i’ll ever get to my dreams

chorus

the less you know the less i show so throw em’ back and watch the hack and call em’ if you can i am a coverman new and old i play the role yeah i’ve got your evening in my hand coverman

california

sometimes i think the strongest people hurt the most no matter what they do or dance or think or say and there is california rising up from the coast in my dreams and in my head

chorus

it’s alright there’ll be other times california’s just another dream of mine and oh, they come and they go so slow

i think that if I walk the straightest line that i can i’ll only think of how much straighter it can be and there’s the thought of california in my hand i grip it tight and carry it close to me

chorus sometime i wish that i could think in words except for all the time that i don’t have to speak and i see california laced in colored swirls showing me the parts of me that will be week

chorus

Playing For Two

you say you can't regret the things you've done and since the day we've met, we've been a setting sun

i say you're not the only one, and i know things can't be undone and one day i will be with you but until then i'll be playing for two

and i know what you've got locked behind your eyes and i do understand, i've used the same disguise

but what sweet music we make and if my tattered strings should break. no replacement will ever do cause i'll be playing for two

and as i sing i'll picture you're mine and it will take me back in time to when i was infallibly tuned now i'm playing for.... and where you are i do not know i didn't look and so i did not see you go now my masterpiece has come unglued and i'm playing for... and i say you're not the only one and i know things can't be undone and one day i will be with you but until then i''ll be playing for two

Lonely Mile

i hung around late night looking for a pretty smile. i said my goodbyes and i swallowed my pride and i went out to walk a while. as i strolled myself down an empty road the sun came up in the sky and i said to myslef, “far as i can tell, i’m back on the lonely mile”

chorus

and i don’t talk to the devil ‘cause she makes me cry don’t spit at the wind when she blows in my eye don’t flirt with disaster ‘cause she’s much to smart don’t look for forever ‘cause she’ll break my heart and i don’t know how and i don’t know why i get into trouble every time that i try sometimes i laugh loud, sometimes i just smile back on the lonely mile

i went to town the other day to pick up some wine for my soul. when I got back home she’d packed up and gone left a note on the radio. it said I’m tired of this station so I’m moving on sometimes you got to turn the dial. she wished me the best and i ventured a guess i was back on the lonely mile

chorus

she could be buried deep like gold inside the ground. and she could play hide and seek where no one is around and she could be out of reach like a bird up in the sky but that won’t stop my trying

chorus

chorus 2

i don’t run with the cheetah ‘cause she’ll tucker me out don’t fall for the righteous ‘cause she’ll just leave doubt don’t hang with the wisdom ‘cause she’ll make me think don’t fall for the water ‘cause she’ll let me sink and i don’t know how…

Lonely Mile

i hung around late night
looking for a pretty smile
i said my goodbyes and i swallowed my pride
and i went out to walk a while
as i strolled myself down an empty road
the sun came up in the sky
and i said to myslef, ìfar as i can tell,
iím back on the lonely mile

chorus

and i donít talk to the devil ëcause she makes me cry
donít spit at the wind when she blows in my eye
donít flirt with disaster ëcause sheís much to smart
donít look for forever ëcause sheíll break my heart
and i donít know how and i donít know why
i get into trouble every time that i try
sometimes i laugh loud, sometimes i just smile
back on the lonely mile

i went to town the other day
to pick up some wine for my soul
when I got back home sheíd packed up and gone
left a note on the radio
it said Iím tired of this station so Iím moving on
sometimes you got to turn the dial
she wished me the best and i ventured a guess
i was back on the lonely mile

chorus

she could be buried deep like gold inside the ground
and she could play hide and seek where no one is around
and she could be out of reach like a bird up in the sky
but that wonít stop my trying

chorus

chorus 2

i donít run with the cheetah ëcause sheíll tucker me out
donít fall for the righteous ëcause sheíll just leave doubt
donít hang with the wisdom ëcause sheíll make me think
donít fall for the water ëcause sheíll let me sink
and i donít know how lonely mile

The Judgement

the time had come, the deal went down
there were signs all around the town
and for the first time we all looked around
and we gathered as the sun went down
along with the sky

we found a spot up on Old Town Hill
where the trees turned white and the grass stood still
and for a moment took a breath without regret
as we waited for what would come next
and Janie held my hand

she said ìwhat if there is something that I have to do before I die?î
then she held me and she kissed me in the moment she began to cry
for her last time

chorus

and the band was playing thunder
and the sky was throwing flame
and we danced in the stream of a poetís dream
on the day the judgement came
on the day of the judgement

tumbling fury, the sky it gleamed
flashing shades the world had never seen
and the hill began to shake and roll
to the rhythm of the human soul
never known before

some were scared, some were broken-hearted
but the rest of us we got the party started
and we feasted on a meal to meet the gods
and with the wine that we had saved for so long
we raised up our cups
and we shouted ìhereís to you and hereís to me and hereís to us my friends
let us live it for a while in style as we meet our end
as we meet our end

chorus

and the band played on and we danced all night
underneath the shattered moon and the falling sky
and our souls burned bright like the summertime
cause summer would come no more

the world stopped turning, the sun melted away
erased our doubts, yeah it was judgement day
and the fire felt like a soft rain
and we didnít feel any pain
just the fleeting love of it all

and we knew that all the madness and the glory wouldnít stop until
it had swallowed up the party that was raging up on Old Town Hill
and I was dancing with Janie still

chorus

Fairytales

in a town of magic thoughts
where treasures lay in wooden boxes
with cobblestones and candle light

waves caress the rocky coast
and souls fly like translucent ghosts
on their final flight

i will walk down empty streets
my pants rolled up above bare feet
with a suitcase filled with lyric sheets
left undone

and the angels will all gather round
to take me in and lay me down
chanting welcome, welcome

chorus

and i could be gone like the wind
it doesn't take a lot to take away the things you've got in store
and would you cry for a friend
who couldn't bring you fairytales anymore

the iron gates will creek in time
with the thatched roofs and the clinging vines
and all good things will form a line
and pass through me

and i'll be forced to catch my breath
and know the warmth inside my breast
and this will surely be my test
divinity

and soon i will forget the past
and all the things that wouldn't last
and all the dreams and spells i cast
within my mind

and if you look you'll see me there
and i'll return a humble stare
and you will know i'll always care
about what i left behind

chorus

and i will still be singing
but i will change my tune
and i'll go:

as loud as you shout you will always be sleeping
time's slow hand will always be creeping
around to the top and back again
another life gone and another begins
the weight of the world is a soft caress
there's no such thing as a wasted breath
and the things that you want should cover a lot
and the things that you need you've probably got
and as long as there's love there will always be pain
cause we soak in the sun through the knowledge of rain
even water coming down will wash you clean
and the hurt will make you strong, you'll see

chorus

Side to Side

grew up in the back woods of a small town -- my home town
sneak out through the back yard, where the boys would be waiting around
and weíd go creeping and the night was our time
oh i remember the way that the moon would shine

and all of the mischief done and the lessons learned
the times i kicked on through and the times i was burned
and itís not so far that i canít see
theyíre still a part of me

chorus

it's the highest high
itís the paths we fly
itís an unpaved road, itís a rocky ride
and all i can do is shake my head from side to side

she must have been four years older, i was so young -- just fourteen
i saw her staring at me, it was a look i hadnít ever seen
she said be ever so slow as she came around
oh i remember the way that she lay me down

and all of the wonder and the mystery
as i glimpsed the man that i would learn to be
and sheís not so far that i canít find
her with me all the time

chorus

and iím still keeping time
to the things iíve left behind

i fill up the tank as i head west out of town
i turn the radio up to my favorite sound
a guitar strumming with the sound of the wheels on highway 9
and i wonder -- will i remember this day for the rest of time?

chorus

The Faithful

i will follow you down
down the road that may lead to our end
and I will come when you sound
again and again and again

and Iíll protect you from harm
with these hands that are champions of men
and you can rest in my arms
again and again and again

chorus

and your load will get harder to bare
as our fableís unwound
but I know that you can make it through
with the faithful around

and Iíll follow you down

I will follow you down
with my vision Iíll help you to stand
with your feet on the ground
again and again and again

I will help find the way
all my wisdom to you I will lend
and by your side I will stay
again and again and again

chorus #1

chorus #2

itís twisting itís taken control
we will rise, we will rise
when darkness has captured your soul
we will rise

I will follow you down
by my oath you can call me a friend
when evils about Iíll be there
again and again and again

through the toughest of times
my heart and my will I can bend
to every obstacle climbed
again and again and again

chorus #1 + 2

Companion

thoughts shredded in the back of my head
all broken over something you said
and i hope by morning itíll smooth on down

a half a mile from the tip of my tongue
left sticky from the web that i spun
dangling over this jagged ground

all my trust, the two of us
we both lie here in the bed we made

chorus

loneliness -- my companion tonight
reaching out for the wind to ride
hold me close as i turn out the light
and iíll see you tomorrow in the morning
with the morning tide

paint the city in yellow and brown
mix the colors from the avenueís sound
make a portrait of your shameless eyes

you caress me when iím starting my day
snatch meaning from the words that i say
feign solace in your pale disguise

all my trust, the two of us
we surrender now to the setting sun

chorus

Shiny One

hey there shiny one
i remember when you used to come around my door
and i can see you standing there
the goofy smile across your face that's not here anymore

chorus

and you left too young
and you left too soon
and my guitar, it still remembers you my friend
and i see your light again

hey there shiny one, though sometimes at a loss for words
you never ceased to make me smile
and i am thankful for the time you had
although it was just a little while

chorus

and i see you sometimes
and your memory it shines

hey there shiny one your glow affected everyone
and i wish that you could hear me sing about you
but chances are that if there's justice in the universe
this song will shine although it's sung without you

chorus

Dying Man

cry for you, save my soul
darkness comes, lose control
cry for you, read my mind
i lose it as i die

chorus

and i'm feeling the world has stopped turning
and i'm reeling but the pain has subsided
and i'm free to cry for the mountains i never climbed
while alive

memories fall, fall in waves
through my eyes, in a haze
time exists, in my mind
i loose it as i die

chorus

holding on, on so tight
to sunny days, starry nights
now i'm numb, to the sky
i loose it as i die

chorus

love my wife, love my name
love the kids, love the game
you deal the cards, you role the dice
and you lose them as you die

chorus

The Boy

a boy wakes up from his dream
jumps out of bed and knows that he will conquer the world
he looks up at the sun
and smiles because his light shines just as bright

and all the people that go running through his mind
join the chorus of his heart and lungs combined and step in time

and the haphazard motion of his dreary dismal day
brings the song out from within his memory
and he knows that lack of direction
directs the intuition of the undaunted mind

and singing softly to avoid a scene
he stifles voices in his heart that want to scream - i am free

and he sings all the time
prophecies in rhythm and in rhyme
and if you listen very closely you can hear him sing the words
he sings out:

i am the sun and moon
and Iíll make the angels swoon
i am the wine within your cup
iíll give myself to fill you up
and if I die before i wake
pray my friends my soul to take
and when my bleeding heart runs through
my six brass strings will ring out true