She Has a Way of Finding Me Out

​

I follow the river

sweet infinite giver

down the narrowing branch of the road

I’m a tall tale spinner

I’ll be late for dinner

that is if I even show

if I were reconciled

I’d stay a long while

but for now I’m on the go

see as long as I’m amountin’

to nothin’ I’m countin’

every mile I tow

cause she has a way of finding me out

she has a way of finding me out

 

so forgive this actor

this small crowd attractor

and all of the money he owes

by my estimation

we’re fit for creation

and fortunes from finery row

in the badlands and flatlands

a little rock n’ roll band

stares out their van windows

at all the vast landscapes

to which they escape

with thousands of miles to go

cause she has a way of finding me out

she has a way of finding me out

 

so the cables are tangled

and the tambourine jangles

with every seam in the road

and just like you’d guess

without randomness

this wheel shall explode

but back home I envision

the key, the ignition

they hover and loom in my mind

when your willpower fails you

the cure for what ails you

is the forgiving kind

cause she has a way of finding me out

she has a way of finding me out

 

oh, and I want her to find me

I want to be found

yes, I beg her to find me

oh, how I want to be found

 

so as long as I’m leading

two lives I’m pleading

for her to bear with me

and I know that’s not fair

but I bet that she cares

enough to at least wait and see

so it’s 'mind your own business,' 

but can I get a witness?

I’m telling you all that I know

with what little know-how

I’m doing my best now

making it up as I go

​

​

California

​

here I go now to California

see me awash in the sun and the sea

nevermind my mere misfortune

in the land of opportunity

all my fears will be forgotten

all my dreams will be redeemed

once I get to California

eat the fruit right off the tree

​

last night I dreamed of California

stars hanging low and bright in the sky

just like diamonds down from heaven

California diamond mine

all my fears will be forgotten

all my dreams will be redeemed

once I get to California

eat the fruit right off the tree

​

California, dream machine

igniting on and off-screen

carry me in your slipstream

to your milk and honey

all my fears, may they be forgotten

all my dreams, may they be redeemed

once I get to California

eat the fruit right off the tree

once I get to California

eat the fruit right off the tree

​

​

Somewhere Else Tonight

​

I’ve been working seven days a week

wish I had a sabbath to observe

one day I’ll vanish from these streets

if I ever build up the nerve

you see I am weary but I’m restless

I got a mind to take flight

so if we leave right now

we could be somewhere else tonight

 

what if all my childhood dreams came true?

my adolescent fantasies intact

maybe I should have shed them long ago

never can convince myself to stop looking back

you see I’m weary but I’m restless

I got a mind to take flight

so if we leave right now

we could be somewhere else tonight

 

but honestly all these thoughts that ail me

don’t outweigh my fear of failing

so let’s just admit to ourselves

we’re not going anywhere

besides you know I’m no good with a map

and the traveling would set us back

and besides I’m resigned to simply wait and see

entrusting my fate to the hands of destiny

to take care of me

 

but I recall my reocurring dream

the one where I am driving at high speeds

but I’m confined to the back seat

reaching for the wheel as I veer off of the street

you gotta get scared to get courageous

and I sure am scared alright

but if we leave right now

we could be somewhere else tonight

yes, if we leave right now

we could be somewhere else tonight

​

Sourwood

​

Sourwood Mountain, church bells ringin’

hitch a ride at the foot of the hill

all green and serene like heaven

where you get the impression time stands still

where the grandfather pine trees tower

over homes where the fence lines cower

we’ve both lived here since we were children

I get the feeling that feels so fulfillin’

seedlings and saplings sproutin’

greetings from Sourwood Mountain

 

now one day a stranger arrived here

no one had ever seen him before

and he told me I lived for nothing

as if he knew what I should live for

I shook my head and dismissed him

and went on my merry way

up through the forested side of the water

under the newly harvested sky

so by nightfall I was exhausted

with the glass and smoke sealed around my eyes

and she swore to herself, “I’ve had it

I won’t live on with these habits

I’ve made my decision

I’m gonna get myself free from

Sourwood Mountain.”

 

so just as the engine engages its pistons

she was firing off down the road

in that old car her parents bought her

it was the only thing she owned

heading east as the engine died

she hung her head in her hands and cried

with all green prairies around her engulfing

her heart in the vastness and size

she prayed to the crucified wires

she was afraid to dare look at the time

and she swore with her hands on the dashboard

“I will reach my destination,”

and she spoke to me in my dream

it went something like,

“now when your hammer’s all wet in the morning

I imagine you’ll long for me

and you’ll wonder where I am going

as you try to thwart your own rusting

to the sound of the faucet leaking

and all your lost opportunities

I’m staring across the water

the carpenter’s daughter

at the torch of liberty

as you stagger to the foundry

I’m entering the Holland Tunnel

as the moon gives way to the sun

you’ll toil away while I seize the day

forgettin’ Sourwood Mountain.”

​

now, I wish you could see me

back through the thicket

the lanes narrowing back to our door

under the moonlight glowing

rolling cigarettes on the porch

feel my weak lungs breathing inside you

with tobacco on my tongue

as you forget about me

as you forget about me

I admit you don’t get what you merit

forfeiting your vision to the local bars

like a sentry maintains their station

you are always on your  guard,

but by what means could I persuade you

to leave a trail of crumbs

please tell me how to make you happy

please tell me how to get you home:

she said,

“just like a baby bird waits for its mother

I knew you would wait for me

to return to our nest by tomorrow

making sure you got food to eat

but what kind of man does that make you

to rely on me is such a way?

I should crown you the prince of pity

still for every ill will I feed you

I could love you all the same

I have no right to name you

I have no right to cloak you in shame

above all know I love you

and all will be forgiven

still I do not see myself returnin’

to Sourwood Mountain.”

 

Sourwood Mountain, I can spin a tale

in my drunken revelry

all wrought with confidence over

a brimming sea of insecurities

now I’m watching the county clerk lower

the American flag all bright and sober

I'm outside the courthouse rendered

so weak I've surrendered

any chance to be with her

I fear I'll never bridge that river

don’t worry, I’m not worried

​

​

Cross You Bear

​

don’t you know that you are home to me?

why should I choose to leave?

I could stay here just as easily

call me if you need anything

when the front door cries, “I’m lonely,”

the screen door screams, “I’m scared.”

I was delivered under your good care

don’t let me become the cross you bear

 

out the window of that rolling train

the wildflowers speak your name

as my phone roams in and out of range

the clouds look like they want to rain

over these small town cemeteries

their lives and stories buried

I was delivered under your good care

don’t let me become the cross you bear

 

so here’s to hopin’

we can fix what’s broken

we can become what we want to be

cause I know you’re thinkin

with your wet eyes blinkin’

but darling won’t you raise your glass with me?

 

I wish I knew what I came here for

watching the rain pour

half drunk amongst these either-ors

lost souls through the revolving door

and I’m just like that falling rain

a stranger without a name

I was delivered under your good care

don’t let me become the cross you bear

​