Don’t Suppose

5/18/2010
I don’t suppose there’s any reason you should trust me when I say to you there’s gonna come a day when you feel fine again.
‘Cuz I know right now you’re so far down it seems like that’s what normal is: Open up your eyes on rainbows, and see only shades of gray
But you’ll be fine. You’ll be fine again one day.
I think he really wanted you more when you were number seven on his list of things to do before he settled down than when you were right there in his arms - what a fool - but that’s the way he wants to be.
He got down so deep inside your mind you thought that you were nothing when he said you weren’t exactly what he thought his girl should be
But you’ll be fine (you’ll be fine, you’ll be fine). You’ll be fine again one day.
Oh it’s so sad - like a barn abandoned out on the prairie somewhere: rafters sagging, rain driving, doors don’t swing right on the hinges, don’t shut anyway.
But you can fix all that up in time - stop the leaks, true the doors, stack the sweet hay right up to the roof and watch the green shoots rise up from the prairie all around just like they did before.
But you’ll be fine (you’ll be fine, you’ll be fine). You’ll be fine again one day.
I don’t suppose there’s any reason you would believe me when I say to you there’s gonna come a day when you’re just fine.

Every Five Years

2/20/2010
It wasn’t hard to fall for you
It wasn’t right; it wasn’t true
I made a solemn vow to my wife
But I was young and I was lonely; I was trying to save my life
I was drowning in diminished expectations
I was sinking in a slowly shrinking space
All my promises were closing in around me
I was hoping you could set me free
And you were riding out along a rainbow
You were sailing out across the sea
You were dancing all around my dreams
Everywhere you were is where I wanted to be.
You always smelled like cornsilk and honey
You felt like sun on a winter day
How I dreamed we would be together
How I dreamed we would steal away.
And you were riding out along a rainbow
You were sailing out across the sea
You were dancing all around my dreams
The way I was with you is how I wanted to be.
Maybe I was just taken with your beauty
Maybe I just wanted the choice I didn’t make
Maybe I just loved the thrill of the deception
Maybe I just didn’t care whose heart might break
It don’t mean a thing
I can’t make it real
But the memory of you
Is the only thing I feel
Every five years to the day
I call you up and see if you’re ok
Your life moves on; mine, too
But I can’t shake the thought of you
I still see you riding on a rainbow
I still see you sailing on the sea
I still feel you dancing through my dreams
Just the way you did when you were with me.

Algiers Point

4/29/2010
The Gulf rolled up in the MRGO
Sixteen feet of water in the lower ninth ward
At the ferry landing on Algiers Point
The National Guard has got buses--take you to Houston
Run for your life, get to high ground
Get on one of them buses, get out of town
Now Algiers Point – a clean neighborhood
Good citizens, don’t need police
Trouble come knockin’, they take care of their own
They know who belongs, damn sure know who don’t
Better run for your life, get to high ground
Lord this crescent city is about to drown
Well any ninth ward boy fool enough to cross Opelousas Street
Can’t be surprised he ain’t welcome up there
They’re rolling around in pickup trucks with riot guns
They’re not giving tours in Algiers Point today
Hard fact: you have to do what you have to do
Pick ‘em off like pheasants, leave the bodies on the side
Beer cans rattling on the ground, buckshot in the air
Somebody wind up on a levee in a burnt out car
Run for your life, head to high ground
Someone in Algiers Point will shoot you downv Hey now, my my; hey now my my
Hey now, my my; hey now my my
1600 miles upstream from Algiers Point
The Mississippi river rises in Lake Itasca
A child just six years old can step straight across that river
Great Norway pines sway against the sky
Six giant steps, five glistening stones
You comprehend the river in a glance
Hold on to your life, seek the higher ground
From here to Algiers Point, it’s a long way down

What’s Worth It

10/18/2008
Someday somebody’s gonna ask you to carry a flag
Someday somebody’s gonna ask you to carry a cross
Someday somebody gonna ask you for everything you own
All for love of their cause
But there’s gonna come a day
When you take a good look at what you got
In that bright morning you’re gonna have to figure out
What’s worth it . . . and what’s not.
It may be expedient to tell a howling lie
Or rouse up some ancient, ugly dread
Some day it may seem like a play to hate and fear
Is gonna be your best move to try to get ahead
But there’s gonna come a day
When you take a good look at what you got
In that bright morning you’re gonna have to figure out
What’s worth it . . . and what’s not.
Someday somebody’s gonna offer you a deal
They gonna make your shining dream come true
In return all you gotta do is say that up is down and in is out,
And wrong is right, and red is bright green or blue
But there’s gonna come a day
When you take a good look at what you got
In that bright morning you’re gonna have to work it
Is anything sacred . . . or not.
Somebody’s gonna ask you to bring a letter
Somebody’s gonna ask you to send a bomb
You live your life behind the choices that you make
The consequences echo on and on and on
And there’s gonna come a day
When you take a good look at what you got
In that bright morning you’re gonna have to figure out
Is anything sacred . . . or not
What’s worth it . . . and what’s not.
Brother, was that worth it . . . or not.

When The Rain Falls

9/15/2009
Oh little sister, somebody broke your heart
Oh little sister, somebody did you wrong
Took another shot while you sang your sweet love song
Oh little sister, time to move on
And when the rain falls down I will be with you
Wrap you in my arms as the storm rolls through
And when the night is dark I am by your side
I will hold a light until the sun shines
Oh sweet darling, somebody turned you out
Oh sweet darling, somebody put you down
They took care of themselves, they took care of you.
Oh sweet darling, time for something new.v You can’t take a single step in someone else’s shoes
Or pay a dime on somebody else’s dues
But you could stick with me, I would stick with you
And that might be just enough, just enough
Oh my brother, somebody dried you up.
Oh my brother, somebody spilled your cup.
They never wanted anything good for you
Oh my brother, that sorry tale is through.

Everyday Love Song

9/15/2009
I’m writing you a love song, every day
I’m doing everything I can think to do to show you how I feel about you.
Cuz I looked in the dictionary, and there’s no magic words to say
So I’m singin’ a love song, I’m singin’ a love song, I’m singin’ a love song of the everyday.
Hangin’ up the laundry, changin’ the sheets
Fix a decent dinner, try to keep the kitchen neat
Turnin’ off the television in the middle of the game
That’s singin’ a love song, singin’ a love song, singin’ a love song of the everyday.
Ahh Ahh Ahh Ah
Ahh Ahh Ahh
A poet has a muse to guarantee each word rings true
And make the ancient romance new
But I can’t make a poem fit for you
So I sing the song of everything I do
Wakin’ up with the baby in the middle of the night
I come and kiss your beautiful cheek and whisper “everything’s all right.”
There’s no glamor in it, but it’s the only way
Singin’ the love song, singin’ the love song, singin’ the love song of the every day.
I’m singin’ the love song, singin’ the love song, singin’ the love song of the everyday.

Gentle Heart

4/9/2010
I’m working on a plan
With realistic goals
Meaningful milestones
I can mark off as I go
Gentle heart
Open eye
Steady hand
Ready mind
Cuz I waste so much time
In idle reverie
But I know one day I’ll be
Everything you think I’ll be
Won’t hide from love
Won’t run for cover
Won’t make up stories
And play one off against the other.
I’m gonna focus my attention
On the work that’s left to do
Cuz I’m capable of something great
I’m capable of you
And your . . .
Chorus
I don’t twist the truth
To suit my point of view
I don’t turn away
I move closer to you
Chorus