… The middle
of the night
is when we meet
the riddles
of the night
and to find
the answer
you’ve got to live
the question.
“Television Cowboy”
March 11, 1991
Virginia:
…At least we set
a few fears free
and I never did
a thing to you
I didn’t do
to me…
“Letter To Virginia”
May 22, 1994
…Time was the sand
that ran through my hands
Love was the want
I never could say
Thanks was the debt
I never did pay…
“Long Dusty Road”
August 30, 1994
…In dreams I run
clutching your hand
Voices blur your laughter
you slip inside the sound
I look where you were standing
just footsteps in the crowd
I’m crossing tonight
this frozen sea
Looking for you
Looking for me.
Love is the hunger
Love is the force
Looking for you
Looking for me…
“Looking For You”
September 19, 1996
…I only saw the side of you
I wanted to be me.
Only heard the songs you sang
that set the people free.
Never saw the loneliness
Only saw the fame.
Never saw the troubled man
hiding from the pain.
“Grand Chameleon”
November 2, 2001
…Moths
to the flame
Feeding the fire
Drawn to the pain
Trying to go higher
Caught in a trance
Struggling to breathe
Locked in the dance
Fighting to leave
But in the night
I remember.
“French Lady”
June 5, 1980
…I think of you
Who I never kissed
That was right somehow
You are always missed
I think of you
My southern star
Shining still
Wherever you are.
“Augusta”
January 21, 1995
…As the morning came
You went with the dark
Yet you live on
In the quiet of my heart.
Do you witness my sorrow
Do your eyes hear my cry
Do we meet ever after
Or was this goodbye
Lifted by laughter
Baptized by tears
All of the memories
All the lost years.
“Baptized By Tears”
August 13, 1992
…Early morning grey
Same old debts to pay
Then I heard you died
Closed my eyes and cried
You said never lie
And if a woman matters
Walk her line
And big shots ain’t that big
Now the ring of fire is broken
Still the circle holds the song
Lost a man I never knew
Heard him sing
So did you
“Early Morning Grey”
February 22, 1985
Met little Joey
Back in ’62
Used to call him Bang Bang
That name fit him too
‘Cause while we were acting big shots
And playing out our dreams
Mine was only guitars
His was guns and things
We said we’d own the world
Have it on a plate
I was gonna sing my songs
He was gonna take
Little Joey always was that way
I can still hear him say…
Don’t wanna be no fireman
Ain’t gonna be no fool
Don’t want no ten cent job
Ain’t wasting time in school
Gonna get my own money
Gonna find me my own fun
Gonna get me my own woman
Gonna get me my own gun…
“Joey”
April 15, 1999
Christian cries
Frightened baby
In her dressed up eyes
What a way to be
Christian lies
Sleight of hand
Magic tricks
False alibis
She’s gone too far
“Christian”
March 11, 1998
Life on the row
Stood stopped
On a spot
Of yellow and gold
Then a man with a hammer
Dressed in a checkbook
Disguising a knife
Cut down the vine
But I guess that’s life
You lived next door
That’s all gone
John’s, Page’s
My house, and yours
It changed so much
But so did we
But you don’t live
That far from me.
“Linden Row”
October 30, 2005
Night horse
rides again tonight
Laughter chills
the hall
I hide alone
inside the dark
Scratching
claws
the wall
The cat
tipped
the bottle
and
there’s
no place
to hide…
“The Cage”
December 5, 2004
There’s a film I saw long ago
Of a King called Kong
And a girl he knew
I’m not sure why
That story’s so true
Maybe we all feel misunderstood
We’ve had that feeling
That hurt inside
When the lady’s lost
And so is our pride
I know you’re not real
You’re made of mache
And men I can’t see
Move you that way
But I love you
When you’re fighting the planes
I forget you’re fiction
I just feel your pain.
It could have been different
If you’d just understand
It’s tough being a stranger
In another man’s land
It’s hard trying to play
Another man’s hand
The rules aren’t the same.
“War Song”
July 14, 1999
You and me ran a long road
99,000 miles
Give or take a turn or two
The high road
The hard road
The long road
The wrong road
Always the song road
Me and you Old Blue
Now they’re coming for you
The man says
You’re through
Says you’ve been hurt too hard
To be worth making new
Blue can you hear me
They’re coming soon for you
And I’m left with the load
On a long empty road…
“Old Blue”
January 2, 2007
Pattison Road is a place in the past
Where little boys giggle
And little girls gasp
Mrs. Green whistles
And pulls up your socks
Mums fold the washing
And iron the frocks
Long ago on Pattison Road…
“Pattison Road”
November 24, 2008
We ride the black night naked
with shields of broken glass
Our horses dance with devils
and now we ride to hell
At dawn we’ll scan the sky
for some sign from Bethlehem
But the Iron Gates of Babylon
will bar the way again
I closed my eyes at Calvary
and looked the other way
I ate the flesh at Belsen
then quietly walked away
Tonight I ride for glory
Tonight I ride for fame
Tonight I ride for Caesar
Tonight I ride for Cain
Tonight I ride forever
Tonight I ride again…
“Lost Highway”
July 7, 2000
I met Murray the K
In an elevator
Wedge shoes
And a wide brim hat
He was one of
The last people I knew
That would call you ”cat”
Murray was a DJ
Like Ruth was a hitter
He put songs together
In a way that hadn’t
Been done before.
Later that night
He took me home
Fixed some food
And then a pipe
Talking in riddles
Most of the night
About the past
Who he’d been
Eight million eyes
And a submarine.
After that
He left DC
I’m sure he forgot
To remembered me
A few years later.
I heard he was sick
Murray had guts,
But that doesn’t always
Get you through
Anyway Murray
These thoughts
Are for you.
So if your playlist
Runs short
And you’ve got nothing to say
Spin one
For Murray the K
He always said
He was the fifth Beatle
He wasn’t
So what
No one else was
Either.
“The Fifth Beatle”
March 28, 2009
Broken hearts that sing
Songs of lives
That might have been
Echoes off a wall
That don’t return
Hope out of breath
Turned to hurt
And still regret
Bits and pieces
Thrown away
Love can draw you higher
To a place where
Troubled minds
Like broken toys
Wrapped in glitter
And children’s things
Fall…
As bright new shiny
Spinning things.
Turn your head
And look away
What you’ve seen
Isn’t yours to say
Mirrors can deceive you so
Love lends the softest glow.
Turn your head and look away…
“Thrown Away”
February 11, 2005
Take a ride
To the other side
A side of you, you haven’t seen
And things you thought
would never be
Pour out of your head to reality
On the darker side…
“Darker Side”
April 4, 2003
The years are gone
I drift on
and wonder
now and then
We all want something beautiful
Won’t make that mistake
Again.
These last few words
are hard to say
There’s a lump inside my throat.
Do you dream?
I don’t.
“Woman’s Rain”
November 2, 1993
A
tear
rolls
down
the
window
pane
you
say
it’s
only
the
rain
Then
you
never
lived
in
this
house
of
pain
Won’t
somebody
close
the
gate
“The Gate”
November 8, 1993
