So, if I was doing a live show, I would have some kind of intro for each tune before playing it.
Think of this as kind of like the liner notes on an old fashioned LP
1. Another Year Gone
I can remember when each season took it’s time, spring sliding into summer, summer falling into autumn, autumn stumbling into winter, winter melting into spring.
Now they sneak up on me.
Lyric
Summer’s over
It’s cold in the morning
Night comes fast
Don’t give no warning
Another year gone
Another year gone
It’s been good
I can’t complain
There’s been sun
There’s been rain
Another year gone
Another year gone
Ain’t life grand
Ain’t life strange
You deal the hand
You play the game
Another year gone
Another year gone
Wish I may
Wish I might
I would wish
You were here tonight
Another year gone
Another year gone
2. I Been Worryin
I wanted this to be a live recording with an audience but it was just not possible, so we recorded the tunes live in the studio to give you that feeling when you listen.
After all, there’s no sense worrying about things you can’t control, although sometimes it’s hard not to.
Lyric
I been worryin…worryin all the time
I been worryin…worryin all the time
If I don’t stop worryin
Think I’m gonna lose my mind
Worry ‘bout money…never seem to have enough
Worry ‘bout money…never seem to have enough
If I ann’t got money
How’m I s’posed to buy my stuff
Worry ‘bout the future, worry ‘bout the past
Worry ‘bout the present ‘cause it never seems to last
I been worryin…worryin all the time
If I don’t stop worryin
Think I’m gonna lose my mind
Worry ‘bout heaven, worry ‘bout hell
Don’t know why I worry if I’m dead how will I tell
I worry when it’s easy, worry when it’s tough
Sometimes I even worry if I’m worryin enough
I been worryin…worryin all the time
If I don’t stop worryin
Think I’m gonna lose my mind
3. Woke Up This Mornin
Now when you get to a certain age you become aware of the possibility that one day you might wake up, gone…so every day is a gift, each day a birthday.
Lyric
Woke Up This Mornin, once again I was surprised
Woke Up This Mornin, once again I was surprised
Sometimes when I lay down to sleep
My whole life passes ‘fore my eyes
Feels like a birthday evevry day when I wake up
Feels like a birthday evevry day when I wake up
But I don’t need no cake and candles
Just some coffee in my cup
I may move a little slower and my hearing’s not the best
I may move a little slower and my hearing’s not the best
But just sit down here beside me
I believe I’ll pass the test
I have lived a life of wonder, no complaints and no regrets
I have lived a life of wonder, no complaints and no regrets
All I’m askin for’s a bit more time
So I can see how good it gets
4. Don’t Pray Me No Prayers When I’m Gone
That said, when the end does come, as to all it must, there’s some things I feel quite sure about, about what should and shouldn’t happen after.
Lyric
Don’t pray me no prayers when I’m gone
Have a drink, tell a joke, sing a song
Don’t pray me no prayers
I ain’t goin’ upstairs
Don’t pray me no prayers when I’m gone
Don’t you weep don’t you moan when I’m gone
Just accept that I’m gone when I’m gone
I have lived as I cared
I have done what I dared
Don’t you weep don’t you moan when I’m gone
What is left behind is nothin’ but a shadow
I’ll have gone ahead into the night
Go ahead and get on with what matters
Celebrate the livin’in the light
Don’t you buy me no flow’rs when I’m gone
Take a walk by the sea all alone
Plant a tree in the woods
If it makes you feel good
Don’t you buy me no flow’rs when I’m gone
5. You Just Might Get It
I suppose it is impossible to be aware of what is happening in the world and not have some questions about what the hell is going on. And sometimes it’s better not to be spending time on wishes…
Lyric
Now there’s a whole new kinda dancin’ with a very different beat
The enemy of my enemy used to be my friend
Now the rulin’ class is wearin masks
And the hounds are loose again
We been through this many times before
Underdogs and overlords are at the door
Be very careful what you’re wishin’ for
You just might get it You just might get it
Watchin’ as the superstars are leavin’ one by one
And the renovated pantheon all want to carry guns
The truth they said would set us free is yesterday’s fake news
So they serve up bread and circuses
And 1000 dollar shoes
We been through this many times before
Underdogs and overlords are at the door
Be very careful what you’re wishin’ for
You just might get it You just might get it
6. Don’t Come Runnin To Me
Popular music, whatever genre, has a tendency to be about relationships, good love or bad, like this next one, a lyric that spans decades and arrives at a sad conclusion.
Lyric
7. Random Walk Start All Over Again
I have always had trouble with mathematics, but I have always been fascinated by mathematical concepts and problems. Thanks to google and Wikipedia I can at least try to understand some of it.
Lyric
Feel like I’m stuck in a Random Walk
To much thinkin and too much talk
One step forward and two steps back
Start all over again
One plus one isn’t always two
All depends what you’re tryin to do
Might be time for a different tack
Start all over again
Life is hard on this Moebius strip
Watch your step or you just might slip
Fingers scrabblin to grab a crack
Start all over again
Sometimes feel like that famous cat
Here, not here, and now where’s here at
Inside the box it is warm and black
Start all over again
Laid my hand on infinity
I saw him but he didn’t see me
Keep on tryn til I get the knack
Start all over again
Start all over again
8. Only The Blues Remains
I have explored over the years the meaning of the blues, its inevitability, how it should not ever be unexpected.
Lyric
Lessons learned in the school of life
Joy is often followed by pain and strife
Just because you’re feeling good today
Doesn’t mean the Blues is gonna stay away
Like a bad penny it’s bound to return
Castles in the air can crash and burn
Just because your life is on track
Doesn’t mean the Blues ain’t coming back
Don’t get too comfortable
Don’t get too sure
You never know when the Blues will come
Knocking on your door
Keep your eyes wide open
And your feet on the ground
Don’t wanna be surprised
When the Blues come around
I ain’t saying that it’s got to be so
I wish you the best but you gotta know
There’s just one thing for sure in life that’s change
And when love is gone only the Blues remains
9. Too Damn Down To Weep
There are times when I have despaired, about my music, my heart, my life in general. Those moments are fertile ground for the blues.
Lyric
It’s a long dark road that I travel
It’s a cold hard bed where I sleep
As my dreams slowly unravel
From the bottom this hole looks so deep
Can’t even think ’bout tomorrow
To damn down to weep—–
Can’t get no help from the gypsy
Can’t get no help from the stars
You can only drink so much whiskey
Before they close all the bars—–
Hands stuck in empty pockets
Songs full of empty pain
Home town honorless prophet
Shouting it out in vain
Nobody sharing my sorrow
Cry’n in the pouring rain—-
No sense looking for answers
No sense railing at fate
Keep your eyes on the dancers
Keep your hand on the gate—-
It’s a long dark road that I travel
It’s a cold hard bed where I sleep
As my dreams slowly unravel
From the bottom this hole looks so deep
Can’t even think ‘bout tomorrow
To damn down to weep
10. Southbound Train
I can remember songs from my youth about leaving, about saying goodbye.
They come back to me every once in a while.
Lyric
I think it’s time to take that southbound train
The days are growing shorter I can feel the snow behind the rain
Stuck around too long one time don’t wanna do that again
I think it’s time to take that southbound train
I got to go
It’s nothing personal
Sometimes I get rambling on my mind
Look for me in springtime
When the green is on the tree
Meanwhile let’s not bother with goodbye
We had a time
I will remember
We both know I’m not the stayin kind
I will hear your laughter
When the summer breezes blow
Give me one last kiss before I ride
11. Won’t You Come And See Me
One never knows where inspiration will come from, a simple accident and lingering injury that had me moving slowly sparked this tune, that afterwards took me on a different journey.
Lyric
Won’t you come and see me, if I’m ever on your mind
Won’t you come and see me, if I’m ever on your mind
I been movin’ kinda slow
I won’t be very hard to find
All the things that I remember, as the years go rollin’ by
All the things that I remember, as the years go rollin’ by
I think of how you loved me
I just hang my head and cry
I have lied and I have cheated, I have hurt the ones I loved
I have lied and I have cheated, I have hurt the ones I loved
Sittin’ in my solitude
Sadness fits me like a glove
12. Nowhere To Go But Up
When you are paralyzed by the past, when the future seems daunting, sometimes simple movement is the beginning of the solution.
Lyric
When you’re down at the bottom station
When you’re down to the finish line
When you’re breath is nearly bated
When it’s always overtime
All your dreams have finally faded
All your sins have been sublime
All your luck has been abraded
All your tears have long since dried
Well there’s nowhere to go but up
Nowhere to go but up
Go on start to climb the ladder
There’s nowhere to go but up
When your back is against the wall
And you’re too far down to fall
Keep your head pointed skyward
There’s nowhere to go but up
All the love you you have wasted
All the friends that you have lost
All the bitterness you’ve tasted
All the pain that you have caused
When you find yourself in shadow
When you cannot see the light
When your field of vision narrows
When it’s time for flight or fight