So much love

I cannot believe amy’s gonna leave him
She told me she would stay if she could find a reason
And it nearly broke my heart cuz I get so invested
There goes one more love that failed when it got tested

We had so much love
How could something start so true and leave
So much hurt

My friends Tom and Jessica still talk every day
She moved out to Iowa, he stayed in la
Nothing came between them, still they came apart
The distance didn’t end it, that was just the start

Jessica says maybe this was meant to be
Maybe empty cornfields are what I’m meant to see
Or maybe I’m the master of my destiny
Could it be a scarecrow is what I chose to be

Chorus

We said it was the pressure, we said it was the past
We said it was the timing, we said it moved too fast
We said it was forever, whenever that ends
Whatever we hoped for, whatever I said, we won’t be friends

Tara’s had so many, I cannot keep score
If love was a battlefield, she’d have won the war
Therapy came easy, she could talk for days
She could leave a lover in fifty different ways

Tara says I’m waiting for what I feel is right
And when I find that woman, I will know inside
But what if there’s no peace in finding someone else
Only finding missing pieces of myself

Chorus

silver suitcases

I was driving south on 39 on my way home from a gig in northern Wisconsin where I played for a handful of hippie kids. They sat in the audience and made soap and knit sweaters and passed around hunks of whole grain bread while I played my songs. I was thinking life and my plans, and whether I’m building them out of concrete or sand and how sometimes money really does make the world go round But trying to measure your life is a bit like trying to measure the current from inside the boat Sometimes all you can tell for sure is that the damn thing still floats

You needed the car, so I’m trying to get home fast, I was short on time and low on gas

I pulled into the rest area but they were closed. The car starts to sputter as I get back on the road, but I remain calm cause I’ve been here before and I know with this car I can usually make it another mile or two out of it if the hills go right. Yea, I’ve run out of gas before, hell, I do it all the time, it’s almost a hobby, but I’ve never had to actually walk.

Rolling into a gas station, or running on fumes makes me feel like a superhero or like a marathon runner who knows exactly how far he can push his body before it finally gives upbut having to get out and walk makes me feel like a delusional moron, so I keep driving another four long miles. I get off at the next exit and it’s a suburban mall. I can’t find a station anywhere in sight, the car finally dies, I’m on a hill at a light

--------------------

I open the door to start pushing into a parking lot and my foot lands on a soggy five dollar bill. I figure it’s play money someone left there just to fuck with my head. It’s not…there’s other bills scattered across the grass next to the mall on the side of the road. My head is down, all I’m thinking about is getting as much of it in my pockets before I get in trouble. Before someone finds out and tells me it’s not mine to take. I pick up a five, I pick up a ten, I pick up a twenty dollar bill. A woman pulls up in an SUV, my instincts say “it’s her money. She lost it. She’s come to claim it. She wants it back, she wants half. But she’s picking it up and stuffing it in my hands.

How did it happen? She wants to know, I don’t know, I say, and that’s the truth. Another SUV pulls up behind me. A young man gets out and asks if I need a push into the parking lot. He doesn’t see the money, Yes, that would be great, I say. The woman hands me a one hundred dollar bill and says again “how did it happen?” It flew out the window I say.

He doesn’t know what I’m talking about, She doesn’t know what he’s talking about. She keeps handing me bills, She grabs the last bill and says “is it all here? I say yes, cause I am the lord of the bills. And my pockets are filled with somebody else’s soaking wet cash.

--------------------

My friend Jay is an artist, He believes if you put it out there, things come back to you. Whenever I ask him if I can get him anything, he says “yes, two large silver suitcases full of 100 dollar bills”. He’s quite specific. He’s been saying it for 6 months. I call him up and tell him about the money and he says “we’re getting closer"

So I’m sitting in the parking lot, counting my cash and I see the woman getting out of her SUV and I know I should tell her the truth. It’s not mine. But no, I tell myself she doesn’t need the money, that she knew the money was there for me and that she was sent there to help me harvest my cash.

But the truth is, at that moment, I really needed the help, and there it was

And the timing seemed too weird to ignore, too symbolic to just let go

And it’s not even about the money. It lifts me up, puts wind in my cape, tank in my gas, it feels spiritual. Some people would thank jesus for it, Others would thank allah, or Krishna, or Buddha or whoever they’re in to. I’m still thinking about it…Don’t get me wrong, I consider it a gift, I know it’s a gift. I just haven’t figured out who to thank yet, I just have to figure out who to thank.

Survivor

Wait for me
For seven weeks
Cause I’m not coming home
Till I’m left standing in the australian outback all alone

I lived in Japan till I was seven years old
Moved to New York, Philly, San Francisco
backpacked through europe, rode trains through asia
trekked through the mountains of thailand and malaysia
When I was 16 I thought I’d be a rap star
But I was skinny and white, so I started playing guitar
Follow my dreams, whatever I do
After 10 years, they’re starting to come true
merrill lynch is where my days were spent
I lectured investors to plan for retirement
Now I’m a folk singer and the irony I guess
Is I no longer have any money to invest

Wait for me
For seven weeks
Cause I’m not coming home
Till I’m left standing in the australian outback all alone

I go to the gym so I’m fast and I’m strong
I’ll listen to your side, but I’m rarely wrong
A great mediator, let’s talk this thing out
Thrifty and brave, I used to be a Boy Scout
Smart like Like McGuyver I’ll solve problems with anything
I Once fixed a car with a guitar string
Give me an hour and a pile of stone
I’ll build you a three-story victorian home
I’ll be hunting and fishing for food every day
I’ll help out my teammates with their 401ks
We’ll work together till the sun goes down
Then I’ll plot against them when they’re not around

Chorus

Well I sent in my tape and I thought wait and see
I realize my odds weren’t the best they could be
And after a week I’d forgotten it all
So imagine my shock when I picked up the call
It was cindy from casting and she wanted to know
Yo, where did you learn your mad lyrical flow?
So we set up a time to have in interview
She said I’d like to learn a bit more about you
I hung up the phone and I’m embarrassed to say
I started to train for 10 hours a day
Cause there were some skills that I still had to learn
Like how to survive on just rice and grub worms
How to catch fish, how to start a fire
I knew I couldn’t win it just by singing kumbaya
The interview came and cindy was cold
I wanted to say yo where did the love go
But she said “you’re great” and “thanks for applying”
But she was L.A. so I knew she was lying
The call never came so it’s sad but it seems
That was the end of my survivor dream.

Chorus

Who were you

there you are, in your chair
the tv on, the volume down, the bathrobe and the stare
was there more, I can’t say
what makes a woman close her eyes and fold herself away

but I have got this picture of you
I’m holding on to
the woman that you were
1962

I have got this picture of you
I’m holding on to
Seventeen years old
In black and white and gold

what it was, that made him whole
he told me you could catch his eyes and stare right through his soul
and she comes back, now and then
only lingers long enough to make it hurt again

chorus

He walks in, it’s on again, his silence fills the air
I can’t win, it’s always him, it’s more than I can bear
you take yourself downstairs
there’s a bag under the sink
the plastic cup, you fill it up
you close the door and I think
who were you?

chorus

Ain't it Strange

we were standing on the corner of East 14th Street
I was squinting towards the mean Manhattan sky
as if I might stare down the rain,
as if my New York attitude could win
as if there was ever any hope of keeping dry

we tried to hide under the scaffold with 60 other soggy people
who seemed to only laugh the more it rained
the daily news and broken glass
flew in loose formation past
basking in the freedom that they'd gained<

oh ain't it strange how I miss the New York City rain blackening my shoes
oh, how long will it be 'till San Francisco loves me
the way that you do

you said if you were truly clever, you'd have known about this nasty weather
I searched in vain for higher, dryer ground
but we had 10 minutes to make it downtown
our only hope was to take it underground
to abandon the friends and shelter that we'd found

we hadn't seem Kurt in 6 months, he'd been seeing Melissa for 6 weeks
the time for the approval board had come
he knew by now we'd like to meet her
and if we didn't like here, he couldn't keep her
we'd save his wasted time if she wasn't the one

oh ain't it strange how I miss the New York City rain blackening my shoes
oh, how long will it be 'till San Francisco loves me
the way that you do

I'm standing on the corner of Castro and Market Street
but my head is still 3,000 miles away
the fog surrounds me, I try to speak
it plants a wet one on my cheek
and says welcome home, I think you're here to stay

oh ain't it strange how I miss the New York City rain blackening my shoes
oh, how long will it be 'till San Francisco loves me
the way that you do

oh, ain't it strange how I miss the New York City rain
oh, how long, maybe not so long 'till San Francisco loves me
the way that you do

Tonight

There's a clock on the wall above me, it's keeping perfect time
It's keeping track of me as I lose control of mine
I'm sitting at this desk like an overworked whore
I've seen so many pricks today, I no longer keep score

I still don't have a Grammy in my 27th year
I went searching for my destiny, and all I found was fear
Called upon my inner child, but he said nothing in reply
I found him weeping softly in the corner of my mind

Hey but tonight I'm walking on the water
And this here sky over Texas couldn't be calmer
You can have my soul back tomorrow
But you can't touch me tonight

I grew myself a goatee, cause I was angry, mean and raw
Wore a Dukes of Hazard belt so I could feel like an outlaw
Got to work at 9:15, thought I was living wild and free
All the secretaries had an autograph from me

Hey but tonight I'm walking on the water
And this here sky over Texas couldn't be calmer
You can have my soul back tomorrow
But you can't touch me tonight

I woke this morning at 5:15
Thought I'd try writing music with the dawn
Man I must be losing my mind so slowly,
I don't seem to notice that it's gone

Hey but tonight I'm walking on the water
And this here sky over Texas couldn't be calmer
You can have my soul back tomorrow
But you can't touch me tonight

More Like a Year

I put down the phone,
I went back to bed
I just missed your call
You'll try from Istanbul instead
I might take a walk
I might take the dog
I've finally got time to clear my head

I'm having so much fun
When the phone rings, my fingers just go numb
This house is a still life of a home without you here
When the wind blows, the dog thinks it's you
She's getting senile, but I thought I heard it too
You've been gone ten days, it feels more like a year

There's no interruptions when I write
I'm playing music every night
I guess I got the prize,
But it feels like I lost a war
My only human contact this week
Is the guy at the corner store and he don't speak
But I keep trying to think of something else to buy

I'm having so much fun
When the phone rings, my fingers just go numb
This house is a still life of a home without you here
When the wind blows, the dog thinks it's you
She's getting senile, but I thought I heard it too
You've been gone ten days, it feels more like a year

My eyes catch the picture on the wall
Of you and me at Niagra Falls
We only had sunburns on one arm,
From two weeks in a car
I wanted to quote you in a song
You said let me think of something deep
I said there's poetry in every word you speak

I'm having so much fun
When the phone rings, my fingers just go numb
This house is a still life of a home without you here
When the wind blows, the dog thinks it's you
She's getting senile, but I thought I heard it too
You've been gone ten days, it feels more like a year

Special K

Rap music was my first love, the second love,
my only love until I fell in love with you
A somewhat unusual obsession in an all white private school
But I had dreams of becoming a rap star
But you see that was before the Beastie Boys, before Vanilla Ice
Before white kids in the suburbs worshiped Farrakahn and Public Enemy

Clap your hands and say
I love you Special K
Clap your hands and say
I love you Special K

I had a limp like a pimp, blue suede pumas and a Kengol hat
I was in touch with my roots, I was young, gifted and black
I was crazy cool, I was old school, I had mad style, I could freestyle
Had a master plan, a million records my man
I was laying low but in control
Acting ill, but feeling chill
Spinning lovely, my freshness never fails

Clap your hands and say
I love you Special K
Clap your hands and say
I love you Special K

I turned 17 and my fame it hadn't progressed too much
I looked in the mirror and I saw skinny, white and out of touch
And as my career began to sputter and choke
You know I did the only natural thing
I made just a minor transition into folk

But Lord sometimes that groove still comes around
When my mood is right, when my guard is down
I could lose my head, I could lose my mind
Just want to grab the mike and break out in a rhyme

Clap your hands and say
I love you Special K
Clap your hands and say
I love you Special K

4000 Miles

Packing up and leaving town again
What can I say
But how many fresh starts do you get 'till you're only running away

Well the moon's on the horizon as the daylight begins
In a face-off with a rival that he thinks he can win
And the clouds are watching breathlessly,
not sure just what to do
You turn to me and say the clouds they look like egg drop soup

3 weeks on the road so far
4000 miles, oh we sure could use a larger car
5 provinces, 12 states,
the legroom sucked but the mileage was great
4000 miles in this goddamn car

And I say 10,000 lakes seems like a lot for only Minnesota
I bet half are really just ponds
When Columbus sailed for Asian ground,
he figured that the world was round
He's obviously never driven through North Dakota

3 weeks on the road so far
4000 miles, oh we sure could use a larger car
5 provinces, 12 states,
the legroom sucked but the mileage was great
4000 miles in this goddamn car

We got customs searched in Canada, no firearms in Manitoba
I said man look around, there's nothing here to shoot
As the roadside produce vendors boast,
peaches from the California coast
Sweet land of liberty and fruit

The sign said walk upon a glacier as it melts into a crystal lake
Water so bright blue it looks fake
And on the other side of Calgary, where dinosaurs left mystery,
lies a vacant tourist facility
Jurassic park of history

3 weeks on the road so far
4000 miles, oh we sure could use a larger car
5 provinces, 12 states,
the legroom sucked but the mileage was great
4000 miles in this goddamn car

Wonder Woman Belt

My sister wears a Wonder Woman belt
A cruelty-free jacket, and very comfortable shoes
She drives faster than Californians like to do
Battles evil with a New York attitude

Linda Carter only played you on TV
While you were sleeping in the bedroom next to me

Can you teach me, or at least give me a clue
Will I ever be half as cool as you
And you could hold me in a headlock of you choose
But in an hour, you would always let me loose

Linda Carter only played you on TV
While you were sleeping in the bedroom next to me
She is building up her body for a war
I have seen her go so far away before
I'm afraid to ask who she's fighting for

Ronald Regan, he did not recall a thing
You magic lasso might have jogged the gipper's memory
But you were busy and I'm amazed that no one sees
On the subway there's a superhero holding on to me

Linda Carter only played you on TV
While you were sleeping in the bedroom next to me

My sister wears a Wonder Woman belt

Me and Buddha

I was hanging out with Buddha on a Friday night
And I know he drinks Rolling Rock 'cause me and Buddha,
we've always been kinda tight
Well the other night, he shook me up, he was a bit confused
He leaned in close and said, I'm worried about something Drew
(that's what he calls me)

He said, lately I've been wondering, what if I got it wrong
Millions of people following me and my confidence is gone
I mean what if Jesus was the real deal, what if I'm nothing but a fake
What if Nirvana's just a myth, and I made a big mistake

Buddha he been drinking, and he's a little down on himself
Buddha, he been drinking, and he's talking about repenting for his sins
He's giving up on meditation, and he wants to be born again

Well I tried to talk to him, I said Buddha, you're the best at what you do
And all those prophets and messiahs, dawg they got nothing on you
I mean you're the king of spiritual enlightenment, come on,
that's gotta be pretty cool
People shaving their heads and chanting Ohmm just to be like you
He said yea, but lately I've just been feeling out of style
and out of step with the times, I think I'm in a rut
We need to get you out of those robes and into some bell-bottom jeans,
Buddha, you need to loosen up
Yea, but I'm overweight and I'm out of shape, look at my beer gut
I said Buddha, that's the beauty of it, they rub your belly for good luck

Buddha he been drinking, and he's a little down on himself
Buddha, he been drinking, and he's talking about repenting for his sins
He's giving up on meditation, and he wants to be born again

I helped him from his barstool, I said Buddha we better get your butt to bed
Before someone overhears what you've been saying and rumors start to spread
You'll be hurting in the morning in your old sandal shoes
It's the fifth Noble Truth, even Buddha's get the blues

Buddha he been drinking, and he's a little down on himself
Buddha, he been drinking, and he's talking about repenting for his sins
He's giving up on meditation, and he wants to be born again

Happy Life

I'm sitting on the steps of a brownstone on Bergen Street
Thinking about you, as a rhythm slowly finds my feet
I'm staring at the pavement, searching for a song
They say there's music in everything if you look hard and long
I see bugs, I see dirt, I see a pile of decomposing stuff
That don't make much of a song. Maybe I'm not looking hard enough

I've got such a happy life
Got a dog
Got a cat
Got a well adjusted wife

I tried to catch James Taylor's fire by standing out in the rain
Constructing false memories of suffering and pain
Wishing on a Jersey-bound red-eye, mistaken for a shooting star
Freedom and loneliness, so romantic from afar

I've got such a happy life
Got a dog
Got a cat
Got a well adjusted wife

My car's too clean, my seatbelt fits a little too tight
I find myself longing for a squeegee guy
To smear a filthy rag on the windshield of my car
While I'm waiting at the light

I've got someone to talk to to help me figure it all out
That don't leave me too much to write songs about
Have you thought about leaving me, maybe just for a month or so
It sure would help my career
I'd write song after song about how you left me cold
Stole my childhood, left me miserable and growing old
Then we could get back together and you could sit in the front seat
on my first world tour
Kiss me and act surprised at the Grammies
When I received my lifetime achievement award

I've got such a happy life
Got a dog
Got a cat
Hoo ha, imagine that
I got a dog, got a cat, got a well adjusted wife

Fading Away

There's a burn in my eyes, and I can't see the bar
The smoke fills my future, tomorrow seems too far
The room's filled with faces, they don't know my name
Don't like my story, the characters are too plain
They'd like to hear something they can dance to
They forget where they're going when they get a chance to
If I give them this next dance, can they give me more time?
I don't own the hours, but these minutes are all mine

What more can I say
I'm fading away

I worry too much for a man of my age
I'm angry too often for a man without rage
I scare much too easy for a man without fear
I cry too often for a man without tears
I've learned far too little for all that I've seen
I only recall how to run from where I've been
I've searched far too long to discover my door
I'm afraid when I find it, I'll forget what I came here for

What more can I say
I'm fading away

I'll sing it again as I've sung it before
They won't hear a thing and they'll walk out the door
So one more time for that man at the bar
If you're back here tomorrow, will they know who you are
I can see you're drifting alone with the stars
You burned with a passion, but your memories are charred
Me I'd like to listen to what I hear inside
To follow the music, not follow the tide
And perhaps it will dump me too soon in the sea
But Harry was right, anywhere's a better place to be

What more can I say
I'm fading away

Bobbie Williams

Bobbie Williams sits beside me and says she's doing mighty fine
She's got a comfortable chair and a job that she don't mind
Two weeks paid vacation, a window view of the street
A non-abusive husband and a boss who's short and sweet

And she says I ain't going nowhere soon
I'm happy with the silence in the room

Bobbie moved out to the suburbs to a spacious ranch-style home
The classic American dream
Husband works in the garden, seems the yardwork's never done
Echoes in the hallway remind her how far she's come

And she says I ain't going nowhere soon
I'm happy with the silence in the room

But I've been working right beside her for two years and fourteen days
I can see my future in her eyes
Twenty years and a pension are the reasons that she stays
But I still can't understand her pride

But oh, how she blossoms every Sunday
To the Lord she sings her praise
She says he has healed me and made me so strong
But her eyes reveal a longing in her gaze

And I say you could be a star one day
Her eyes they close just enough to say
They've seen enough loss for one good day
And I say you could be a star one day
Her lips they part just enough to say
You go get it for me

Because I ain't going nowhere soon
The music fills the silence in the room
That's enough, I ain't going nowhere soon

Lifelong Friend

I was 7 years old, scrappy as hell
You were still 6, you always ate well
Our parents they came from the same side of town
But I was born pink, you were light brown

I was 10 years old when Terry knocked me out cold
You said to look strong but my legs wouldn't hold
My arms were too weak, my mouth was too wild
You carried me home in your arms like a child

And it's 4 in the morning
I knew you'd understand
2500 miles between us
Your blood runs inside me, my lifelong friend

I watched you grow, I saw you change
I knew your angry, I've felt your rage
You searched for your roots, you searched for your place
I loved you still while you hated my race

Well I saw through your eyes, and I couldn't sit still
Your parents just laughed when I said white folks were evil
I said you know Ed, you can't trust the man
We've got to fight the power the best that we can

And it's 4 in the morning
I knew you'd understand
2500 miles between us
Your blood runs inside me, my lifelong friend

We moved apart, time goes by and by
It was too far to walk, too near to fly

On my wedding day, you said it was too soon
Then you cried in my arms alone in the bathroom
Next Saturday, I'll be your best man
And it's my turn to cry like only a true best friend can

And it's 4 in the morning
I knew you'd understand
2500 miles between us
Your blood runs inside me, my lifelong friend

Rock Star

last week I played a show
in a quaint town by the sea
for an audience of 5 including me
where the seagulls hunt in packs
locals call them winged rats
and as I sang, they harmonized off key
people’s faces seem to show
they’d rather hear something they know
it’s great to hear your pain
we’d rather hear fire and rain

I do it for the glory
I do it ‘cause they all adore me
living out the life of the rock star

last night I played inside a mall
in a town called chester
I was the food court jester
so grab a taco and sit down
I’m all that’s happening in this town
I’m your suburban music clown
I promise no obscenity
good clean fun for the whole family
is that your lovely child I see
climbing up on stage with me

I do it for the money
I do it cause they think I’m so funny
living out the life of the rock star

well I drove 800 miles today
in the little engine that tried
and if it was 98 degrees out there
it was 198 inside

one day while watching MTV
or VH1 behind the scenes
you’ll see a face that looks a lot like me
you’ll tell your friends how much I’ve changed
how success has made me strange
how those aren’t even my real teeth
how you once saw me play at borders
background music in the café corner
how we once hung out in some bar
how I slept out in my car

I do it ‘cause you want me
I do it for the screaming groupies
living out the life of the rock star

Saturday Night (kinkos song)

I come to this place about once a week
everyone knows my name
long past the time when the world goes to sleep
I come here to work through my pain

and I wave to the guys as I stumble in
feeling the love of the homecoming king
it’s quarter to one and I’m feeling all right
I pull up a chair cause I’ll be here all night

and it’s saturday night, you’re laying in bed, you wonder where I am
baby I ain’t got nobody else, I just need you to understand
I’ve been hanging at kinkos again

now tom at the counter’s a friend of mine
he gives me a deal on computer time
and he’s talking with sean, who’s worked here too long
turning out copies from midnight till dawn

sean said he was once married himself
he thought it was love, but it was living hell
he was just 21, got married too young
moved west, shaved his head and tattooed his tongue

and it’s saturday night, you’re laying in bed, you wonder where I am
baby I ain’t got nobody else, I’m just hanging with my friends
I’ve been hanging at kinkos again

I long for my bed but you won’t find me in it
I work pretty fast but they charge by the minute
but I’ll copy it, print it, scan it from there
get help from the guy with pierced lips and green hair

so sign on the mailing list or look in the hall
you might see a poster of me hanging on the wall
all the faxes and fliers and postcards I send
means I’ve been hanging at kinkos again

well it’s saturday night, you’re laying in bed, you wonder where I am
baby I ain’t got nobody else, but it’s halfprice after 10
I’ve been hanging at kinkos again

Rub you down

girl you are looking fine tonight
I’m the mac to treat you right
words are so hard to find
how can I express to you what’s on my mind
so I ask myself what would barry white do
he would take it down and deep and dark to get you in the mood

girl, I want to rub you down
girl, I want to rub you down

I have been all around the world
and I have seen a million lovely girls
but you, you…you…god damn
when the funk is in the room and we get into the groove
I know the vibe is tight enough for me to bust my move

girl, I want to rub you down
girl, I want to rub you down

Bad ass breakdown…

girl, I want to rub you down
girl, I want to rub you down
you can be my green eggs baby and I can be your ham
If you’re waiting for a sign from god,
I’ll be your preacher man
Girlllll…..

Everything is Everything

I am sitting in my parents house
Waiting for someone to move
Hiding in this piano
Looking for something I can use
And I moved out of town seven years ago
Now I can swear I’m never gone
Resentment hangs in the picture frame
Makes it feel like home

Everything is everything
What is real is what you need to see

My mother shuts and opens doors
It keeps her alive
Never touching certain rooms
Cause she knows what waits inside
And I learned long ago not to go myself
But I can’t help but lean against the door
And it’s all I can do to keep from asking
Was there once something more

Everything is everything
What is real is what you need to see
Here I am
Light and free
But I will be in this house forever

I was only 5 years old
But I seemed to understand
There were places I could go
When it was more than I could stand
And a room with a view waiting in my head
In a house I buried underground
And I’m tired and I'm through holding on to
What was handed down

East Kentucky in My Mind

It was 4 o clock in the morning on the back roads of rural East Kentucky, I guess that’s a bit redundant I was following Bill Campbell, a self confessed redneck, head of human resources at East Kentucky coal Bill was leading the way in his solid steel 72 mailbu, The thing was like a boat, but he was losing me on every turn I can handle 100,000 cabs in midtown Manhattan with no fear But I seem to lose my edge when the road gets too clear We were headed for the mountains, headed for the coal mines I was here to talk about investing for retirement to a bunch of guys who were running out of time Thought maybe I would skip the life expectancy slide

So we're burning up route 1410 we need to get to the mine by 4:30 to catch the boys as they’re surfacing Bill says they’re cutting through these mountains, but it looks more like the mountains have cut through them. They’re blackened from head to toe, like some tasteless racial joke you might see Ted Danson doing at the Friars Club. They’re black, that is, except for their pretty pink lips, where their tongues have licked the coal away day after day after day

In my mind I’m gone to east kentucky, I'm gone to east kentucky in my mind

Bill's assistant Jerry took me out for lunch, we had soup beans, spare ribs, biscuits and gravy, He said I had a great time in Vietnam, although I wouldn't do it again But hell, I was young, I had fun, I got to play in the woods with a gun I was glad to have Gerald on my team… He asked me how many guns I had. I told him outside of boy scout camp, I didn't think I'd ever seen one He got a kick out of that, a boy from New York City without a weapon we asked everyone we passed how many they had, turns out the real men had about 25, the sensitive new age guys only about 10

In my mind I’m gone to east Kentucky, I'm gone to east kentucky in my mind

I gave Bill free investment advice, and he got me out of a speeding ticket. I was doing 81 in a 55 zone I was kinda upset, Bill said Andrew do not fear, the laws don't work the same way here He made couple of phone calls, and the ticket disappeared I went out to dinner with Craig, his wife and his kids to a local high school basketball legend’s restaurant. Bill said he was proud to have snagged a big city girl from Lexington, Rhonda said she didn’t know why the hell she had married a redneck. It felt like family we ate out big hunks of meat (like I had at every meal that week) and we talked high school basketball and hunting. Two of my favorite pastimes… I just nodded along at the appropriate times and that seemed to be enough. Bill did the same for me when I talked about investing and folk music. Would you believe we had nothing in common? It didn’t matter, because we weren't really talking about sports, money or folk, we were talking about friendship, pride and hope.

On my way back to the airport, I started thinking about all the stereotypes and expectations I brought with me to Kentucky, and about how kind these people had been to me, welcoming me into their homes, their families, their lives and I didn’t know what to think… The Californian in me said believe it man it's beautiful, it’s true The New Yorker said shut up, they want something from you

In my mind I’m gone to east Kentucky, can’t you see my future's all planned I can buy myself a mansion here for 50 grand, I’m gone to east kentucky…in…my…mind

don't forget your fans

every morning I go down
to my fan club po box downtown
a stack of mail is what I hope to see
but so far this has eluded me
well yesterday I had a surprise
a lovely fan letter waiting inside
As I welled with joy and fought back tears
I saw it was addressed to britney spears

It was covered with flowers in blue and green
it was the prettiest letter that I've ever seen
I knew it was wrong, I knew britney'd be pissed
But I looked around as I opened it quick
it said I'm 10 and a half years old
I have been to all your shows
I know you Britney and I think
you should marry justin from n'sync

Don't forget your fans, britney, don't forget your fans
Don't forget your fans, britney, she sent it to you but I took it for me

Your music touches me deeply
the dance remix sets my soul free
I told my friend kate it isn't true
but she thinks you've had surgery
there's one more thing I have to say
you'll never read this anyway
Cause I've written to you 19 times
and you've never written back to me

don't forget your fans britney, don't forget your fans
don't forget your fans britney, I wrote to you and you forgot about me
I wrote to you and you forgot about me

okay I know how you can make it up to me
you can come next weekend to my party
I promise you won't even have to sing
you can just relax, I'll do everything
but I've invited you before
and you never showed up at my door
but this time's gonna be special and fun
I love you britney so please please come

don't forget your fans britney, don't forget your fans
don't forget your fans britney, I'll see you sunday at my party
I'll see you sunday at my party

one day I hope to be
as successful as you britney
I will know that I am there
when 4th graders are stalking me
When I go down to check my mail
All the letters will be addressed to me
saying don't forget where you came from
without your fans you'd be no one

don't forget your fans britney, don't forget your fans

I'm Leaving

Ha ha, did I tell you that I was staying this time?
I was just playing with your mind
Life always gets too complicated
Can always find something worth escaping
I smuggle myself across state lines

I'll find me a place
With wide open space
And a thousand miles of insulation

I find most of my friends are not worth keeping
Don't want to see me 'till I'm leaving
Never have time 'till there's no time
And distance is helping me see the real ones clearer
They hit me like objects in the mirror
Suddenly closer than they appear

I'll find me a place
With wide open space
And a thousand miles of insulation
And a head full of dreams
that I still believe in
You can miss me 'cause I'm leaving

So we'll keep bringing this circus town to town
Never stay long or put roots down
You be the gypsy, I'll be the clown
'Cause my life is a study in hyperactive motion
I'm floating like rocks upon the ocean
Never at home without commotion

So find me a place
With wide open space
And a thousand miles of insulation
And a head full of dreams
that I still believe in
You can miss me 'cause I'm leaving

More for me

I've had a lot of small jobs in a lot of small places
a lot of long days in a lot of tight spaces
never stayed long enough to make it stick
always been afraid I might be good at it
I've seen the seasons flashing before my eyes
20 years in a comfort compromise
the corporation could swallow me up
feed me the sermon, I'll drink from the cup

I could work all year for a week's vacation
to lie on the beach of a third world nation
give up my time but I'll be rewarded
how, at that price I can I ever afford it
I hate my job and I dread my days
I should have resigned but I'll settle for a pay raise
a bigger house and an SUV
say to myself this is everything I need

chorus:
this is not the book I meant to read
this is not the life I meant to lead
this is not the way I saw the ending
There will be more for me
I will see what I intended
There will be more for me
cause I am tired of (finished with) pretending

I've known a lot of good people with the best intentions
a lot of requests for a lyrical mention
man when you gonna write one about me
where are you going, don't leave without me
write the words that'll make them say
nobody's ever seen me that way
cast me in gold and immortalize me
cast out the ghosts that are living inside me

I'm not your poet or your ghostwriter
I'm not your prophet red sea divider
I'm not the spell that'll break this curse
I'm not the drink that'll quench this thirst
I know you're scared, and I don't blame you
we all have dreams that will never come true
sleep with the fear, never let it lead you
keeping it near, it'll always feed you

chorus

so punch my ticket and check the time
you tell me you'll miss me, I'm sure you'll be fine
this is my stop, I'm alive on arrival
take a snap shot and stick it in your bible
no need to say a prayer for me
I don't follow jesus, I follow my dreams
no need to worry, I'll turn out all right
I found the door, you can turn out the light

without you

you asked for one more song, sorry it took me so long
I've got nothing to say until something goes wrong
I was afraid of my head and losing my time
afraid of my heart and what I might find

chorus:
where I've been, I can't say
on my own, far away
In my heart, I was not true
but I'm not leaving without you

I don't need you to fill me up anymore
It scared me to death to even think that before
I'm not the boy that I used to be
But I still choose you, do you still choose me?
chorus

I've seen you grow, I've felt it too
I'm feeling old, how about you
so take me home, I'll open it all
together we'll find a soft place to fall

chorus

Dancing in the Kitchen

I cook.
You look.
And before I can decline
Garlic clove
Warm stove
Your hand slides into mine
Music drifts in across the room
Conducted by a wooden spoon

So take my hand and pull me in
we are dancing in the kitchen
spin me round and round again
we are dancing in the kitchen

I dice
You slice
As we glide across the floor
Red wine
A little more thyme
Cooking is my favorite chore.
Our hips and our feet groove to the beat.
I hope we never get to eat

So take my hand and pull me in
we are dancing in the kitchen
spin me round and round again
we are dancing in the kitchen

Cooked spaghetti.
Sauce ready.
Twirls and spins and fancy bends
Candles lit.
we sit
You take your bow as music ends
Sitting still is so hard to do.
May I have one more dance with you?

So take my hand and pull me in
we are dancing in the kitchen
spin me round and round again
we are dancing in the kitchen

As Good As We Get

I thought God bless the great promised land
As I walked through the airport, guitar in my hand
stepped through security to get on my flight
It's not just their new uniforms that are all white

I'm not saying I was happy with security
But couldn't they have trained one minority
Now you've got to be a citizen to work in an airport
Why, do you think most immigrants want to blow up this country?

They came here from Mexico or Haiti
To settle their family in New York and Miami
Just to have a shot at the American dream
Just to have a shot at equal opportunity

Then they move to the hood where the only shots they find
Come from the cops, and skin color's the crime
And god forbid you're of arab descent
We've cut out the trial so you can be sent

Straight to a prison in an undisclosed location
Until the government decides if you're a threat to the nation
If protecting America comes at this cost
If you ask me, it's a war we already lost

God bless America, land that I love, god damn America, is this as good as we get?

---

Ain't it a bitch to be the land of the need
There's no healthcare, but our military
Budget larger than the rest of the world's combined
And we want everyone else to disarm?

Our CEOs can't steal fast enough
Get busted, do hard time at the country club
And welfare reform is sweeping the nation
Cause handouts are strictly for rich corporations

So let's go to war, maybe that will solve it
Divert our attention from our internal problems
Let's go to war, pick a country and spin
We'll take out their government and abandon them

Going to war cuz the president's mad
Going to war cuz they fucked with his dad
Like Jessie james with a posse of marines
Delivering death from the land of the free

We're bombing a country that keeps firing back
With weapons from Colorado we gave them back
when we were friends cause we wanted them to kill
somebody else to keep the blood off our hands

---

I've been hearing a lot that god's on our side
But rumor has it, there's one on their side too
So what I want to know is
When it comes down to it, can my god kick their god's ass or what?

And I think what kind of a god could be this chilling
And could he really be asking for more blood spilling
Or do you think maybe we heard him wrong
And that he really said just stop the god damn killing

So who are the terrorists, who should we kill
And who gets to decide just who is evil
And if this is the government of the people,
My god, who are these people?