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Lookin' Back

Some call this world a veil of tears
But I’m enjoying bein’ here
Seems like new adventures
Are everywhere to find

That clock that used to be a friend
Sings a never-ending hymn
’Cause I’ve got less left ahead
Than I’ve left behind

As the breeze of my time blows
More doors keep blowin’ closed
But a few are still open just a crack
I figure just once more
I can catch one of those doors
If I don’t waste too much time lookin’ back
Lookin’ back

When I hear a distant thunder
Is it just a storm I wonder
Or could it be that God
Is laughing at my plans?

That trail behind me
Is just a memory
I need to move ahead
The best I can

As the breeze of my time blows
More doors keep blowin’ closed
But a few are still open just a crack
I figure just once more
I can catch one of those doors
If I don’t waste too much time lookin’ back
Lookin’ back

The shiftin’ wind will push one open I expect
But if that’s to the world that’s coming next
I had to learn the hard way to forget
Just want to leave with no regrets

As the breeze of my time blows
More doors keep blowin’ closed
But a few are still open just a crack
I figure just once more
I can catch one of those doors
If I don’t waste too much time lookin’ back
Lookin’ back
Lookin’ back
Lookin’ back

You Turned Red (That Made Me Blue)

You’ve been awarded four Pinocchios
For saying you’ve been good
Been giving equal time
To that guy just ’cause you could

You more than just endorsed him
Pulled his lever for him too
You couldn’t hide it from me
Your blushin’ face said what was true

You turned red
That made me blue
You claimed the right
So I left you

I’m looking for a candidate
Nominate somebody new
You turned red
That made me blue

I found a new girl for my party
A sultry suffragette in red
She is a strict conservative
Except when she’s in bed

Found her when I was poll watching
As she spun in just her heels
Taking low dollar donations
From her text appeal

You turned red
That made me blue
You claimed the right
So I left you

I’m looking for a candidate
Nominate somebody new
You turned red
That made me blue

Then I saw her at the rally
I tried to get her number
It was progress when she asked me
To slap a sticker on her bumper

My heart began to race
My thoughts were getting raucous
When I harvested her ballot
In a private caucus

You turned red
That made me blue
You claimed the right
So I left you

I’m looking for a candidate
Nominate somebody new
You turned red
That made me blue

You turned red
And that made me blue

You turned red
That made me blue

Hard Of Hearing Heart

My eyes can clearly see
That she’s no good for me
My brain is worried
It just won’t work

Decisions ’bout the fairer sex
Get made below my neck
My chest is pounding so hard
It hurts

Got a hard of hearing heart
Don’t mean that it ain’t smart
You can try to shout
But it still won’t figure out
What you’re saying

I’ve got a hard of hearing heart
Its list’nin’ skills ain’t that sharp
You can try to tell me twice
But it won’t take advice
It’s a hard of hearing heart, hard of hearing, hard of hearing

Friends say she’ll be cruel
Playin’ me for a fool
They’re not the ones
I want to please

Will she be mine?
Or am I wasting my time?
Guess I’ll just have to
Wait and see

Got a hard of hearing heart
Don’t mean that it ain’t smart
You can try to shout
But it still won’t figure out
What you’re saying

I’ve got a hard of hearing heart
Its list’nin’ skills ain’t that sharp
You can try to tell me twice
But it won’t take advice
It’s a hard of hearing heart, hard of hearing, hard of hearing

I’ve got a hard of hearing heart
Don’t mean that it ain’t smart
You can try to shout
But it still won’t figure out
What you’re saying

I’ve got a hard of hearing heart
Its list’nin’ skills ain’t that sharp
You can try to tell me twice
But it won’t take advice
It’s a hard of hearing heart, hard of hearing, hard of hearing

You say she’s a bad plan
Just tell it to my hand

Kansas

There’s no doubt about my guilt
The law in Kansas wants me killed
I borrow railroad bullion sacks
But I don’t bring them back

Left Lawrence, Kansas, years ago
When blameless blood began to flow
Goin’ back’s a risky bet
But that girl I can’t forget

Wonder if I’ll die in Kansas
Buried in a grave without a stone
Good luck’s more than taking chances
When luck turns bad you better make your own

So I ride north on the Chisholm Trail
That woman is my Holy Grail
She vowed she’d always watch for me
By the river maple trees

Wonder if I’ll die in Kansas
Buried in a grave without a stone
Good luck’s more than taking chances
When luck turns bad you better make your own

I’ve been waiting three nights and days
She still ain’t come
Just as I’m leavin’ I hear
Three shots from a gun

The raging river left no retreat
Jumped off the bluff, fell 50 feet
I figured that I’d rather drown
Than the gallows drop me down

At a quiet glade just down the river
Early that day a lady delivered
A saddled horse she tied to a tree
Her silent gift to me

Headlines say I was killed in Kansas
But they never found a body, not a bone
I had my plan, took my chances
When luck turned bad I had to make my own
When luck turned bad I had to make my own
When luck turned bad I had to make my own

Waking Up Dead

There’s light coming in through the curtains
Casts its rays ‘cross the head of my bed
Clock says it’s almost morning
Then I remember what we said

Not quite sure if I’m dreaming
Afraid I might be awake
I’m feeling an ache in my gut
Don’t seem I’m at the pearly gate

Feel like I’m wakin’ up dead, no life ahead
When I think of what happened last night
Wakin’ up dead, only thought in my head
Have we had our final fight?

It started like all the others
Didn’t feel like we had a choice
But this one ended different
The resignation in your voice

So hard for two hearts to make one
So hard not to blame or condemn
Never thought I’d be worried
That we’d never fight again

Feel like I’m wakin’ up dead, no life ahead
When I think of what happened last night
Wakin’ up dead, only thought in my head
Have we had our final fight?

Whispered words were weapons
And consequences threatened
Is there hope for resurrection?

Feel like I’m wakin’ up dead, no life ahead
When I think of what happened last night
Wakin’ up dead, only thought in my head
Have we had our final fight?

Magical

She said “I think I need to be goin’”
My heart yelled “please, please stay”
But I said “just go do what you want”
As she turned to walk away

I thought our love was magical
Perfect peace, amazing thrills
But magic has a darker side
That makes me run every time
I feel it get too near
I conjure up some hurtful words
That make love disappear
Disappear

She said “maybe we could try again”
My heart yelled “yes, we should”
But I said “I’m afraid it won’t work out”
Now she’s gone for good

I thought our love was magical
Perfect peace, amazing thrills
But magic has a darker side
That makes me run every time
I feel it get too near
I conjure up some hurtful words
That make love disappear

I can’t get a rabbit out of a hat
Don’t ask me to try, I don’t do that
But to make a true love end real quick
I’m the one to call, I know that trick

But, I thought our love was magical
Thought our love was magical

I thought our love was magical
Perfect peace, amazing thrills
But magic has a darker side
That makes me run every time
I feel I get too near
I conjure up some hurtful words
That make love disappear
Disappear

Too Much Fun

In Xanadu ol’ Kubla Khan
Said let’s have a bash
Somehow I got invited
So I went back to the past

Hordes of Mongols cheered
When the riders drinkin’ beer
Began to brawl
Playin’ pickup games of polo
With a severed head as the ball

When you find you’re partyin’
With drunk barbarians
You might just want to run
It’s too much fun
Too much fun

Then those Vikings in Valhalla
Asked me to come for a meal
Their mouths were dripping blood
From chewing on their shields

They ravaged and they pillaged
Every town, every village
They could find
Then passed a freshly polished skull cup
Asked if I’d like some more wine

When you find you’re partyin’
With drunk barbarians
You might just want to run
It’s too much fun
Too much fun

I’d been wantin’ an invitation
To a bacchanal celebration
But this soirée’s gotten way out of hand
They’re throwing axes at the guys in the band

When you find you’re partyin’
With drunk barbarians
You might just want to run
It’s too much fun

Too much fun
Too much fun
Too much fun

Minotaur

The Minotaur’s a mythic beast
King Minos did condemn
To live life in a labyrinth
Where he feeds on men

Half of him’s a bull
But just like you or me
He plans and plots and figures
How can he get free

Did Eve give you an apple Mr. Minotaur?
Knowin’ no way out must be so bizarre

You try escaping from your plight
You know you don’t get far
You look up in the night
And see that evening star
And wonder where you are
And wonder where you are

He studies ancient scripture
And learns to meditate
To try to overcome
His labyrinthine state

He longs to see the bigger world
That those walls conceal
He is just a myth to us
But he sure thinks he’s real

Did Eve give you an apple Mr. Minotaur?
Knowin’ no way out must be so bizarre

An amazing maze of mirrors
Trapped in a twilight zone
You don’t get any nearer
To feeling less alone
And wonder where’s your home
And wonder where’s your home

It’s a riddle of a puzzle
Entangled in a web
He’s hopin’ to find answers
Somewhere up ahead

Did Eve give you an apple Mr. Minotaur?
Knowin’ no way out must be so bizarre

You try escaping from your plight
You know you don’t get far
You look up in the night
And see that evening star
And wonder where you are
And wonder where you are

Hard To Keep

From a train pulling out of Union Station
She yelled “it’s the journey, not the destination”
She don’t think much ‘bout tomorrow
Lives like all her time is borrowed

Tried to keep her safe
Wanted to protect
From rocky shores
Where dreams get wrecked

Held on too tight
Dug in too deep
I lost what I tried
Too hard to keep

I knew she was headed west
She left a photo, but not a forwarding address
Our love wasn’t what it seemed
We were chasing different dreams

Tried to keep her safe
Wanted to protect
From rocky shores
Where dreams get wrecked

Held on too tight
Dug in too deep
I lost what I tried
Too hard to keep

I begged her not to go, I needed her near
Should have known I couldn’t protect her from my own fears

Tried to keep her safe
Wanted to protect
From rocky shores
Where dreams get wrecked

Held on too tight
Dug in too deep
I lost what I tried
Too hard to keep

I lost what I tried
Too hard to keep

When The West Was Won

He was running out the door
With his dog ready to play
On a bright and clear
1840 Georgia day

Blooming springtime flowers
Branches bending down with fruit
Best time to be a kid
’Til he heard the marching boots

Soldiers yelling at his Daddy
He started cryin’ then
He kept his dog behind him
Tryin’ to hide it from the men

Their names are gone, but memories
Of their pain and fear
Reflect in a salty stream
Flowing from the Trail of Tears
They had nowhere to run
When the West was won

He walked beside their wagon
Too scared to even cry
His dog tried to follow
But gave up and ran to hide

By sunset they’d gone farther
Than he’d ever been from home
A line of frightened refugees
Forced into the unknown

For months of desperate marching
Dad fed his hungry boy
Swore they’d make Oklahoma
But Dad died in Illinois

Their names are gone, but memories
Of their pain and fear
Reflect in a salty stream
Flowing from the Trail of Tears
They had nowhere to run
When the West was won

50 springs, 600 moons
He lived out on the plain
When men came to his farm
Told him to move again

He wasn’t going to move
He would protect his land
He stood outside his door
Winchester in his hands

He could have shot them all
But he let a couple run
Then thought back to that Georgia day
His long road had begun

Their names are gone, but memories
Of their pain and fear
Reflect in a salty stream
Flowing from the Trail of Tears
They had nowhere to run
When the West was won

He knew men would keep coming
Now that he’d been found
The only way it ends
Is six feet underground