Driving down the Jersey Turnpike to Hightstown, NJ in the summer of 2013, I recorded 8 songs at Strange Dog Studios with multi-talented musician and producer, Bruce Hanson (frontman for the band Fellaheen).
Lyrics
Lake City Blues
Lake City Blues, that’s where I am
Lake City Blues, come around again
Just a mile or two, cross the tracks, out of town
There’s a country road, I’m going down
Lake City Blues, that’s where I am
Lake City Blues, coming around the bend
Past the sorghum fields and the live oak tree
There’s a low lying house, plain to see
Lake City Blues, that’s where I am
Lake City Blues, I’m home again
Waiting to see you in the garden outside
Talking about cardinals and the way that they fly
We’ll sit and joke about some good old times
We’ll sit and listen to the whispering pines
Lake City Blues, that’s where I am
Lake City Blues, I’m home again
Funny how time goes by
Chasing dreams and watching them die
It hard to hold on and be strong sometimes
When it feels like life is one long goodbye
Funny how time goes by….
I’ll take your hand and we’ll sing a song
The one about blue days, all of them gone
Lake City Blues, that’s where I am
Lake City Blues, coming ‘round again
Just a mile or two, cross the tracks, out of town
There’s a country road, I’m going down
Lake City Blues, that’s where I am
Lake City Blues, I’m home again
Lake City Blues, I’m home again….
Sparrow
Do you know
Where the sparrow goes
Do you know
Where the sparrow goes
In winter’s cold
Do you know?
Can you mend
A broken wing
Can you mend
A broken wing
With a stick and a ball of string
Does it feel the cold
In the rain and snow
Does it have a home
Is it all alone
Can you mend
What’s been torn apart
Can you mend
What’s been torn apart
A wing or a broken heart
A wing or a broken heart?
Sharp Devil
When will I stop fighting
That sharp devil in my head
When will life come easy
All my doubts put to rest
I’ve tried to follow
A straight and narrow path
But I just can’t stop fighting
That sharp devil in my head
There isn’t a promise
I’ve found that I can keep
Not for love, not for friendship
I’ve sold each one cheap
It’s the price I pay
To keep a bottle in my hand
It’s the price I’m paying
For the life I’ve led
Maybe tomorrow
I’ll find the strength that I lack
Maybe tomorrow
I’ll show the devil my back
And when sweet temptation rears her lovely head
I’ll wrap a chain around my neck
And fill my pockets with lead
I’m no fallen angel
Just a lost and lonely thing
my journey’s been a short one
From bad to misery
When will I stop fighting
that sharp devil In my head
When will life be easy
All my doubts laid to rest
I’ve tried to follow a straight and narrow path
But I just can’t stop fighting that sharp devil in my head
Falling
What is this thing called love?
What is this thing called love?
It takes me high but leaves me undone
This thing that some call love
We fell like stars from heaven
Bright and hot and fast
And where we went only lovers can tell
But I haven’t come back yet
I haven’t come back yet
What is this thing called love?
I sing the glory of
When it’s gone
There’s nowhere to go
But fall down and out of love
Fall down and out of love
I’m falling
I’m falling
I’m falling
Swing Me
We wake up tired and we wake up broke
It’s been the same since you walked through my door
The fridge is empty and the car won’t start
What are we doing this for?
I go to work and I work all day
I come home late and you’re away
Gone out drinking again with your friends
What am I doing this for?
I remember when
We used to swing round the floor one more time
I’d hold your hand and you’d hold mine
You’d lean in close and whisper in my ear
I just want to say that I love you one more time
One more time
Grab your partner, by the hand
Do See Do
And bring her home again
Grab your partner, by the hand
Do See Do
And bring her home again
We meet up late, just before the last call
You say you’re sorry and I say I know
The bar is empty, come on let’s go home
But you say, honey, just one more song
And we swing
round the floor one more time
I hold your hand and you hold mine
I lean in close and whisper in your ear
I just want to say that I love you
One more time
One more time
I gotta say that I love you
One more time
One more time
Maybe When
Maybe when its summertime
Maybe when it feels just right
Maybe then we’ll find the time
Maybe when can last a lifetime
Maybe when its all been done
Maybe when the glory’s gone
Maybe then we’ll make the time
Maybe when can last a lifetime
To sit and while the day away
To count the stars in the milky way
To talk about everything and nothing much
To know how and when to touch
Maybe when it quiets down
We’ll take off, find a no name town
Where the crickets sing
And the nights are long
Maybe when, baby, why not now
To sit and while the day away
To count the stars in the milky way
To talk about everything and nothing much
To know how and when to touch
These are the things I wish for you, honey,
Here and now while our love is new
Maybe when,
why not now?
Maybe when, baby,
Why not now?
Let’s sit and while the day away
Let’s count the stars in the milky way
Let’s talk about everything and nothing much
Let’s learn how and when to touch
Had a Penny
Had a penny and I didn’t shine it
Had a penny and I let it go
Had a penny and I must have dropped it
On my way to Ohio
Saw the sign and I didn’t read it
Heard the call but I didn’t go
Saw a flag and a line of soldiers
On their way to Ohio
Amber waves of grain
Amber waves of grain
Amber waves
Lookin for the penny with Lincoln on it
Lost in the state of Ohio
Had a dream but I forgot it
Had a dream but I let it go
Had a dream but some man shot it
Deep in the heart of Ohio
Amber waves of grain
Amber waves of grain
Amber waves
Had a penny and I didn’t shine it
Had a penny and I let it go
Had a penny but I must have dropped it
On my way to Ohio
Lost in the State
Lost in the State
Lost in the State of Ohio
Miles and Miles
Comes a day when it’s an empty hand you hold
When the cards you played and won were a lifetime ago
There’s no walking on water when you feel the pull of the tide
Going to that dark and lonely as life slides by
It’s miles and miles and the river is wide
Your hopes and dreams all gone to the other side
You’re a long, long way from that childhood home
Where the lessons of grace and love were all you’d known
You lost your way on a hard and wicked road
Trying to find a way back and you’re scared of being alone
And it’s miles and miles and the river is wide
Your hopes and dreams are all gone to the other side
Take my hand and we’ll make our way
to a promised land free of sorrow and pain
Let the waters wash over every sin and lie
This is the last and wildest ride of our lives
and it’s miles and miles and the river is wide
our hopes and dreams are there on the other side
Miles and miles and the river is wide
Our hopes and dreams are there on the other side.