Got your letter in the mail today
Hurt me so much I almost tossed it away
But I read it again and again and again
So many times now the paper’s worn thin and I say
Things might have been different had I stayed
And you say… Things might have been…
Let’s let it go
When we last finished on the telephone
Kinda made me wish that I never left home
But I just can’t go on like this again and again
I tried so many times and it wore me so thin and I say
Things might have been different had I stayed
And you say… Things might have worked out okay…
Let’s let it go…
Bridge
What could we have done we hadn’t tried already
The last few years had been one big steady
Tug of war with no end in sight
Your side and my side, no wrong and no right
Let’s let it go
What might have happened next was anyone’s guess
What could we have done to be in such a mess?
Well I know we both tried our best again and again
Tried so many times that it wore us both thin and I say
Things might have been different had I stayed
And you say things might have different had I stayed
Then I thought I heard you say…Things would have been different had I stayed
But let’s let it go…
One last compromise ain’t gonna cut it
I can tell by the look in those eyes you ain’t got it
But neither have I Why should we try…
One last compromise?
We’ve been down this road here one too many times before
I’ve made my wrong turns along the way
You won’t rest until you see me walk right out your door
Could we pretend we were once friends,
Or is it just too late?
Chorus
You painted me as if I was the only one that ever brought us down
That is where I need to draw the line
I’d done my best to lift us up and get to that higher ground
But as they say we’ve had our day
It won’t work out this time… oh no
Why must it hurt, so badly I break down inside
Every time I look into those eyes?
Wish it was easy for me to tell you how I feel
Without endangering all our other ties
What is it about me that would let me feel this strong for you?
We both know we have somebody else
But Baby you don’t know me if you think its just some passing thing
‘Cause when you’re on my mind I have nothing else
Like stars hung from a moon. You’ve got me so hung up on you
Like stars hung from that moon…Looks so beautiful…hanging down off of you.
You told me once that, stranger things have happened
Wish I could take that for a maybe soon
A smile or a maybe, you know would surely keep me hanging on
Girl, will I ever be inside of you
The basic groove was waiting around for the right set of lyrics for some time. My fanzine mogul bud,
Damon, challenged me to compose a little ditty for a compilation CD he was putting together by other
co-workers at a ‘publicly traded natural foods store’ in Houston. I immediately dismissed the idea, but I’m glad I had a change of heart. The result is my most requested original performance piece. Besides, we’ve all been there. Check out sample clip.
For the disc, it’s the one song where I really lean into a solo on the electric guitar. Go Figure! Check the sample elsewhere on the site.
Hey there, lady, put that plastic in your purse
And don’t pull out no checkbook
Cuz you know its even worse
How’s about lettin’ that sweet young thing behind ya
With the melons and the cash go first
Wasn’t that you in my line last week?
Lookin’ up at the sign and sayin’
“Oh I did not know”
Here you are just a few days later with that same look on your face
Did you travel back in time, or spend those few days out in space?
It’s the express lane…
Come on, it’s the express lane, ten items or less for cash
Look at it my way Baby, your debit card’s just trash
It’s the express lane… oh yeah…we take cash
What is it about that green neon
That just won’t catch your eye
And makes you think you should waltz right up Just to give it one more try?
There are seven people behind ya with an item or two at best
And they all know why they’re standing in this line, it says express
It’s the express lane… oh yeah
Well I listen to the girl with the blue tattoo
In her naugahide boots she reminds me of you
Slip into that blue chair with a red wine in my hand
I’m looking around for one last one night… stand
Funky baggy pants and a tattered denim jacket
Their all looking at me like I caused some kind of racket
Slip into a new chair with the red wine in my hand
I’m looking around for one last one night…stand
It’s a full moon night and the skyline looks so pretty
Me, I’m all alone in the heart of the city
Slip into a new chair, the red wine in my hand
I’m looking around for one last one night…stand
I know their games, played them before. I know what they lack…
Why don’t you just show me the door, before you wind up…
Flat on your back
Well I look into a mirror just to see if I’m still in it
I saw vampires with reflections and closed my eyes for a minute, yeah
Sit back in that blue chair with the red wine in my hand
Still looking around for one last one night… stand
The pace here is so fast that it could make your head spin
You’ve really gotta be careful ‘cause you might get pulled right in
It used to be so easy, when it was all just for fun
Take a look at me now little girl I’ve gotta take it on the run
Take it on the run Baby. Look at me go.
How I’ll ever get through this one without you,
Baby, I don’t know
Take it on the run Baby. Look at me go.
How I'll ever get through this one alive, Baby I don't know
It used to be so easy, when it was all just for fun
Take a look at me now little girl I’ve gotta take it on the run
You stood there so lovely with your summer tan when we met, what a deal
The hand that I’ve been dealt since then, you know sure makes me wonder…
Just Whose hands are on the wheel.
Is anyone driving this bus…?
Has anyone else gotten on?
Or is it just us?
I really wanna know,
How do ya… feel tonight?
You keep saying you’re sorry, I don’t know for what, but that’s just how you feel.
Is the way that you’re feeling right now making you wonder,
Just Whose hands are on the wheel?
Chorus
Don’t make the mistake of thinking I think, cuz I don’t, I just feel
The way that I'm feeling right now, you know sure makes me wonder...
Just Whose hands are on the wheel.
Chorus
Why can’t the two of us just sit back and relax, enjoy the feel…
Of life rolling by like a highway and never even wonder,
Just Whose hands are on the wheel?
Chorus
How do you feel tonight?
How do you sleep at night?
You know you’ve got me runnin’ in these circles once again
Wanting to be lovers, needing to be friends
Well if you take this chance on me, I’ll take a chance on you
And if we find that spark, baby, hit the mark
We know just what to do… We’re gonna
Hold it in the road and let it slide
Take a look around us, see the other side
Hold it in the road and let it slide
Remember all those tears we laughed
And all those smiles we cried
You know that sometimes you can hardly control a thing
Not when you say you like the way I like
The way you like the way I sing
And if you take this chance on me I’ll take a chance on you
But if the fire burns out there ain’t no doubt
We’d know just what to do… We’re gonna
Thinking more about you, most every day
Wishing that you weren’t so far away
How’s the weather now in New England?
Wish I could be near you now
But you know, I just can’t stand…the cold
Just once a year, you know, it isn’t enough
I wanna see you every day but I know that would be too much
Especially if I would be out there like at your birthday party
If I was, you’d probably just send... me away from you
Looking back at the summer with such happiness
But it brings along with it this melancholy madness
I wish I could tell you all of the things I feel for you
But I guess I’ll stay here where I’m safe
And I’m gonna keep right on…singing this song for you
How’s the weather now in New England?
Wish I could be near you now
But I just can’t stand the cold
This song was a direct response to Tom Waits’ song ‘Better Off Without a Wife’ from his
‘Nighthawks at the Diner’ disc. Being the flip side of the coin, I consider it my bachelor’s lament. One of my early mentors, Chris Hewitt of the Chris Martin Group, out of Boston, turned me on to the album, and it’s still one of my ‘desert island discs’, reminiscent of an afternoon stroll through the French Quarter in New Orleans. Check out alternative track.
Call her up, take her out, for a little wining, a little dining…
Cruise the streets, wave to friends you meet, holding hands as you go…
But then, she says those awful words, words she knows that you hate…
Its getting late
You told her lots of times, never to use such a phrase
You’d much rather hear her say
“Honey, let’s go to my place for a while”
But no, she says those awful words, words she knows that you hate…
Its getting late
So you drive her home, and escort her to her door…
Might even get a little peck on the cheek and then…
You’re hopin’, oh my you’re hopin’…
That sweet little lady’s gonna let you in, with a grin on her face…
But no, she says those awful words, words she knows that you hate…
Its getting late
