1. |
Dig
04:03
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He was a troubled young man who drove a white Nova
With a coffin-shaped box on the seat to hold his cigarettes,
And all his notebooks read of bad, bad things,
Turns out, he carried a Bible everywhere he went.
We'd get high on the beach and we'd dig deep holes,
And try to find words to describe a soul,
Then we'd drag driftwood wood and we'd fill em back up,
And light em on fire when the moon got full.
He'd say man is the beast
So the beast is me,
Learn to tame the beast
And you set yourself free.
So we drank our Jack
And we sang our hymns,
For the angels on our shoulders
And the devil within.
I liked the safety pins,
He liked the razor blades,
Sometimes you gotta know how to hurt,
Just to learn how to live
And I guess every good summer
Has to come to an end,
But I'd never forget
Those good old days
So we drank our Jack and I bid farewell,
Smoked a last cigarette and I wished him well,
Every now and then I think of my old friend
And I wonder if he ever won his war within.
He'd say man is the beast
So the beast is me,
Learn to tame the beast
And you set yourself free.
So we drank our Jack
And we sang our hymns,
For the angels on our shoulders
And the devil within.
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2. |
Still I wait
03:24
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Though I try to settle in,
I'll pack up my suitcase again
I knew, I would.
Well it's another year, Another town,
Burned all of my bridges down
I knew, I would.
For just another girl that read my mind
Another pair of hazel eyes
I knew, I would.
It's just another night I shouldn't spend,
Gave my heart away again,
I knew, I would.
Though now I wish that train would come,
And I'd leave this one horse town,
But I watch the sun go down,
Still I wait,
Still I wait for love.
Well I didn't mean to stay this long,
Had to let you steal my heart,
You knew, I would.
Hell I know it's all my fault,
Like the way that you lead me on,
You knew, I would.
So tonight it's whiskey on the rocks,
Playing your song on the old jukebox,
You knew, I would.
And I'd sit there on the empty tracks,
Wondering if your coming back,
You knew, I would.
Though now I wish that train would come,
And I'd leave this one horse town,
But I watch the sun go down,
Still I wait,
Still I wait for love.
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3. |
I Don't Belong Here.
03:16
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Lost my job so I hit the road,
Made my way down the western coast,
This weary harbor is a great black hole,
I don't belong here anymore.
I left the things that I needed most,
Spent my last dollar on a pack of smokes,
This old highway is alive with ghosts,
I don't belong here anymore.
I got to Portland, I was less than broke,
Hung around by the train depot,
The city streets are full of dyin' folks,
I don't belong here anymore.
So I headed South to outrun the cold,
Lost my head down in San Diego,
Now I'm heading further East ya know,
I don't belong here anymore.
I don't belong here,
I don't belong here anymore.
I crossed the desert on an empty road,
The winter sun gets hotter than you know,
Talking to vultures when the time moved slow,
I don't belong here anymore.
So I caught a train from New Mexico,
Ended up out in old New York,
There ain't no place for a ramblin' soul,
I guess I'll go home.
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4. |
Country Trouble
04:23
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As I walk through every town
It seems I've been there twice before,
Something about this place
Is too familiar to ignore,
The faces have all changed,
There's different locks on every door,
And the brown haired girl I loved,
Well she don't live here anymore.
But there's still that awful Sheriff
That seems to have it out for me,
He keeps one hand on his gun
And eyes the holes in my blue jeans,
And I get that same old scowl
From everybody in between
Who ain't used to seeing folks
Who look like this
Just a' walkin' down main street.
Now the bulldog at the train yard
Is just as awful as the rest,
He's got no respect for transients
Hell he hardly loves his wife,
And the waitress at the truck stop
Looks like she's hangin' by a thread,
Smokes that cigarette
Like it's gonna get her outta here someday,
And there's a few old men down at the bar
They been drunk since World War Two.
They all got sons named after them
That think they got something to prove,
And every now and then, those boys get drunk
And try to get into something bad,
And end up whoopin' on somebody
Who ain't been whooped just like they had.
Ah, huh.
Country Trouble.
You count your troubles.
But me, I'm just a drifter
'Spose I've seen my share of things,
It's funny how these little places
Turn out all the same,
What goes on behind closed doors
Has got shit to do with me,
But I can see in the stain
That its just the same, as anywhere else that I've been,
So I'll pack up my old suitcase
And I'll head to the next town
And hope I find something
That makes me wanna stick around,
Till then, this troubled Troubadour's
Forever highway bound
And I'll let these lonesome wheels roll,
Until they put me in the ground.
Ah, huh,
Country Trouble...
You count your troubles...
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5. |
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'Times I wake with a heart so heavy,
Can't remember why I do this,
Make a dollar, earn a living,
Take a gamble, pull the trigger,
But I missed the target, Lost my footing,
Fell so hard I got tired of trying ,
Hit a wall and so I went out drinking
And woke to find that my youth had abandoned me.
Lonely places this life will take ya,
Blink your eyes and it's halfway over
Climb the mountain, to drag the river,
Suffer the valleys and try to be grateful,
Cause we all know that someday, time will take us
Wild horses, in a world made to break us,
So make the most if it, like isn't fair but,
We're lucky just to be Free.
Old age will bring you a heart full of misery,
Praise every beautiful thing in your memory,
A dream in the field with a head full of whiskey
A time when your mind wasn't so full of worry,
A day in the Cain, when the lovers were pretty,
We didn't have so many scars on our bodies,
But a hunger for greatness and a fire in our bellies,
Cause one day the fire grows weak.
But don't drag your coffin around,
Don't drag your coffin around...
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6. |
Boots
03:57
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It only hurts
When it rains,
And I think on the days
That I wasted on chasing
A woman like you.
And there's nothing round home,
Helpin' me to forget,
So I packed up my suitcase
And I bought some new boots.
And I ran through the town,
Closing all the bars down
But I still woke in the morning
All blood shot & blue.
Suppose their ain't enough whiskey
To help drown your memory
So I'm setting my sights
On that old highway east.
And if I find nothing
For all of my rambling
'Cept stories for scars
Let it be.
Cause it'd serve me better,
Than chasing your ghost through these streets...
I'm too tired for living,
I'm too young for dying
And I'm sick to my bones
Of being played for a fool.
If I had a fortune,
I'd buy me a stallion
And ride like the wind
To the edge of the world.
And if I find nothing
Across the horizon
Then one day I might turn around...
But I'd never let a memory of you
Bring me back to this town.
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7. |
Ride For The Brand
04:10
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There ain't a true heart left out in the west,
Checked every waterin' hole,
Friends don't count for nothing,
Love will cost you something,
Ain't nothing sacred no more.
I searched the territories,
Listening to their stories,
They're all digging the same hole,
Another hearts been broken,
Drowning in the bourbon,
Anything to not feel alone.
And in the night I hear the highway calling,
The only loyal friend I've ever had,
There's nothing honest like an open road
That's why I'll ride,
I'll always ride for the brand.
And all across the desert,
You hear a thousand buzzards
Begging you to sell your soul,
The wandering missionaries
They all forgot what God is,
They're out there on the Salt flats
Collecting dollar bills.
And every new age harlot,
Is clinging to a bar stool,
Waiting to be saved by something else,
'Spose I ain't any better
My burned barrel breath
Will get me into trouble every time I come to town.
Outside the bars
I hear the highway calling
The only loyal friend I've ever had,
There's nothing honest like an open wound
That's why I'll ride
Goddamn I'll ride for the brand.
And every now and then I stumble through some dust haunt,
And see the same old alcoholics
Claiming that they talk to God,
I ain't ever searching for salvation down here in the dark,
But I ain't ever met a Christian
Willed enough to bare a cross,
Meanwhile Rattlesnakes are laughing
Watching sheep out in the pasture
Trade their faith for a dollar bill
And they put it in the bank,
From the highest mountain to the trees,
You hear the folks that used to be
To remind us of the blood we shed
In the name of being free.
I feel alright
So long as I keep moving,
Save me from the chaos I can't change...
There's nothing honest like an open road
That's why I'll ride,
I'll always ride for the brand.
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8. |
Mercy
03:29
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If an outlaw wrote you a love song,
Could you take him for all his mistakes?
Cause it's harder to be a good cowboy,
Livin' in these tryin' days.
Home is so far,
And left without heart,
There ain't no good reason to stay,
It's hard to go on
With no good love at home,
There's so much left I couldn't say,
But the sun will come up
Over the hills,
And the state line will take you away,
Mercy, me.
So if an outlaw asked your forgiveness,
Could you take him for all he's got left?
Cause it's harder to be a good lover,
With a heart full of whiskey and debt.
Home is so far,
And left without heart,
When there ain't no good reason to stay,
It's hard to go on
With no good love at home...
There's so much left I couldn't say
But the sun still comes up
Over the hills
And the state line will take you away
Mercy, me.
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9. |
Old Empty Bottle
03:03
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You broke my heart and I lost my head,
Went to sleep and then I woke up dead,
feelin' like a ghost on that old highway,
Since I lost that woman, been walkin' for days.
Now I don't know if I'll ever love again
Can't place a bet with your money spent
Sometimes it takes a bottle to put me to sleep,
Gonna take a lot more to drink you away.
Cause that old empty bottle,
Has got me thinking 'bout the one I used to love
I know she's never coming home,
And it's hard to swallow,
Feel like a man without a purpose
Drag my feet along that long dark dusty road,
Leading to nowhere,
Gave you my heart so you could break it
Now I'm nothing but a bag of skin and bones,
Cold and hollow,
Here's to another couple years
Washed down the drain,
Here's to that old
Empty Bottle.
And I thought heaven was in girl with the long dark hair,
Them hazel eyes and that skin so fair,
And I gave that woman all my heart,
But when you give to much it tears you apart.
So I lost all that I had to lose,
Took the last of my love and I put it on you.
And you threw it away like I wasn't enough,
Now it's just me and a long, dark, walk.
With that old empty bottle,
Has got me thinking 'bout the one I used to love
I know she's never coming home,
And it's hard to swallow,
Feel like a man without a purpose
Drag my feet along that long dark dusty road,
Leading to nowhere,
Gave you my heart so you could break it
Now I'm nothing but a bag of skin and bones,
Cold and hollow,
Here's to another couple years
Washed down the drain,
Here's to that old
Empty Bottle.
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10. |
Ode to Youth
04:37
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I'll sleep alone tonight,
Besides the howlin'
Of the wild dogs outside,
And the sounds of the desert
Are holding me tight,
To a memory, of when we were young.
I think I miss those times,
But nowadays
I get too sad to cry,
I can still hear our voices
In the big empty sky
And they remind me of why I'm on my own.
But I hope you'll think of me,
Am I a ghost in your memory?
Am I haunting the hallways
Of the places we've been?
Do you see me, the way I see you?
Cause I've been out ramblin'
And I can almost swear I've seen
A dark haired girl dancing
In the big empty streets,
But there's nothing in the world I can do.
I didn't mean a thing,
By leaving town the way I did,
I was running from something
I couldn't explain,
But I hurt you, and I'm sorry I did.
Coming of age is cruel,
It's the destruction that we owe to youth,
If we only knew
The damage we'd do...
But then again, we didn't know much as kids. .
We didn't know a goddamn thing...
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Johnny Bourbon Bend, Oregon
Johnny Bourbon is a lifelong poet and musician who honed his skills writing & performing in various alt-country and punk rock bands from the age of 17.
Mostly throughout the greater pacific northwest area.
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