Falling Out Of Love

Gauthier

It’s a cheap hotel, the heat pipes hiss
The bathroom is down the hall, and it smells like piss
It’s another night in another town
And I’m another blues traveler headed down

Falling out of love is a dangerous thing
With its slippery slopes and it’s weighted wings
With it’s birds of prey circling overhead
Casting vulture shadows on barren beds
Let me out, set me free
Let me out, set me free

The clock inside the church bell tower
Rings your name every hour
I see your face I touch your hair,
Then the ringing fades and nobody’s there

Falling out of love is a treacherous thing
With its crucible kiss and it’s ravaged ring
With its holy whispers and labyrinth lies
Sacrilegious hungry sighs
Let me out, set me free
Let me out, set me free

I walk the streets and I taste the dirt
I am flesh and blood and my body hurts
I search your silence, looking for a crack
For a passageway where I can pull you back

Falling out of love is a tedious thing
With its jailhouse smirk and its chain gang swing
Its time to serve and its sentence set
With its warm blood and cold sweat
Let me out, set me free
Let me out, set me free

Mercy Now

Gauthier

My father could use a little mercy now
The fruits of his labor                                                         
Fall and rot slowly on the ground
His work is almost over
It won’t be long and he won’t be around
I love my father, and he could use some mercy now

My brother could use a little mercy now
He’s a stranger to freedom
He’s shackled to his fears and doubts
The pain that he lives in is
Almost more than living will allow
I love my brother, and he could use some mercy now

My Church and my Country could use a little mercy now
As they sink into a poisoned pit
That’s going to take forever to climb out
They carry the weight of the faithful
Who follow ‘em down
I love my Church and Country and they could use some mercy now

Every living thing could use a little mercy now
Only the hand of grace can end the race
Towards another mushroom cloud
People in power, well
They’ll do anything to keep their crown
I love life, and life itself could use some mercy now

Yea, we all could use a little mercy now
I know we don’t deserve it
But we need it anyhow
We hang in the balance
Dangle ‘tween hell and hallowed ground
Every single one of us could use some mercy now
Every single one of us could use some mercy now
Every single one of us could use some mercy now

Wheel Inside The Wheel

Gauthier

The parade of souls is marching across the sky
Their heat and their light bathed in blue as they march by
The All Stars play “When the Saints Go Marching In”
A second line forms and they wave white hankies in the wind

Satchmo takes a solo, and he flashes a million dollar smile
Marie Laveau promenades with Oscar Wilde
Big Funky Stella twirls her little red umbrella to the beat
As the soul parade winds its way down Eternity Street

Souls ain’t born, souls don’t die
Soul ain’t made of earth, ain’t made’a water, ain’t made of sky
So, ride the flaming circle, wind the golden reel
And roll on brother, in the wheel inside the wheel

Mardi Gras Indians chant in the streets at sundown
Spyboy meets Spyboy and Big Chief meets Big Chief uptown
They circle and sway in their rainbow colored feathers and beads
They prance like peacocks, children of slavery freed

Souls ain’t born, souls don’t die
Soul ain’t made of earth, ain’t made’a water, ain’t made of sky
Ride the flaming circle wind the golden reel
Roll on brother, in the wheel inside the wheel

The Krewe of the Crossbones parades into the midnight sun
They march through the fire and come out beating homemade drums
While the French Quarter Queens in their high-heeled drag disguise
Sing “Over the Rainbow” ‘til Judy Garland quivers and sighs

Souls ain’t born, souls don’t die
Soul ain’t made of earth, ain’t made’a water, ain’t made of sky
Ride the flaming circle wind the golden reel
And roll on brother, in the wheel inside the wheel

The flambeau dancers light the walkway to Jean Pierre’s
There’s a party tonight and all the girls are gonna be there
Sipping wormwood concoctions, drinking absinthe and talking trash
It’s a red carpet, black tie, all night, celestial bash

Souls ain’t born, souls don’t die
Soul ain’t made of earth, ain’t made’a water, ain’t made of sky
Ride the flaming circle, wind the golden reel
And roll on brother, in the wheel inside the wheel
I said, roll on brother, in the wheel inside the wheel
Yeah, roll on brother, in the wheel inside the wheel

I Drink

Gauthier/Harmon

He’d get home at 5:30, fix his drink,                       
And sit down in his chair,
Pick a fight with mama,
Complain about us kids getting in his hair.
At night he’d sit alone and smoke
I’d see his frown behind his lighter’s flame
Now that same frown’s in my mirror
I got my daddy’s blood inside my veins

Fish swim
Birds fly
Daddies yell
Mamas cry
Old men
Sit and think
I drink

Chicken TV dinner
6 minutes on defrost, 3 on high
A beer to wash it down with
Then another, a little whiskey on the side
It’s not so bad alone here
It don’t bother me that every night’s the same
I don’t need another lover
Hanging round, trying to make me change

Fish swim
Birds fly
Lovers leave
By and by
Old men
Sit and think
I drink

I know what I am
But I don’t give a damn

Fish swim
Birds fly
Daddies yell
Mamas cry
Old men
Sit and think
I drink

Just Say She's A Rhymer

Howard

When they ask about us
As friends always do
Remember the good times
Honey we had a few
I’ll never condemn you
I’ll take all the blame
You got a good answer
When they speak my name

Just say she’s a rhymer
And rhymers get restless
Just say that she’s out there in search of a song
I know I hurt you
But I never meant to
Just say she’s a rhymer
Just say she’s gone

You know that I loved you
You know that I tried
You know that it hurt me
Each time that you cried
When your crying is over
And your new life begins
I won’t be around much
So when you see our friends

Just say she’s a rhymer
And rhymers get restless
Just say that she’s out there in search of a song
I know I hurt you
But I sure never meant to
Just say she’s a rhymer
Just say she’s gone
Just say she’s a rhymer
Just say she’s gone

Prayer Without Words

Gauthier/Damphear

Packing vagabond visions and a dream drenched hunger for a home
Swaddled in road dirt, blood stained blankets and poems
On a stormy suitcase Sunday I awakened to the scream of the birds
They held their high notes and offered prayer without words

Sinking in asphalt, speechlessness and what could’a been
Surrounded by strangers, scarred stars, stoned broken men
Riding the narcotic night ‘til she swerved and smashed into the curb
Morning spilled from the wreckage and offered prayer without words

Chains on the mast pull the past, nothing lasts but nothing ever ends
I leave town, break new ground, break down, leave town again
Trapped in the circle, anchored to the weight of the world
Under shooting stars that sink the skies and offer prayer without words

Justice rides with jaundiced eyes, jaded judges bleed the broken bench
Liberty’s a homicide, she been flogged to death with money’s monkey wrench
Desperado apostates set fire to every holy word we’ve heard
Silence billows from the burning book and offers prayer without words

Surrender, that sweet cleaning girl, folds white flags in Hallelujah Square
She can’t remember where she’s been, one day I’m gonna join her there
Unpack my battered traveling case, hang out a sign that says Do Not Disturb
Dissolve into a dreamless sleep that offers prayer without words

Your Sister Cried

Eaglesmith

Well I stared out of the windshield into the rain so light
And I turned on my dims and somebody flashed me their brights
And I reached over and turned the radio way down low
Your sister cried all the way home
Lightening crashed and the road shone like a mirror
A dog came out of the ditch then he disappeared
And I remembered a conversation we once had on the phone
Your sister cried all the way home
I’ll never know how you got into such a mess
Why do the bridesmaids all have to wear the same dress?
Everybody said you looked real good
But I think you looked stoned
Your sister cried all the way home
Your sister cried all the way home
Your sister cried all the way home
Your sister cried all the way home

Empty Spaces

Gauthier/Keys

Silly me, what was I thinking
I could have sworn you still loved me
But I’m a fool born to chase rainbows
I could never hold you to what you said with your eyes
You and me, hey, weren’t we something?
You’re holding my hand in that picture, hanging in the hall
Well, I took it down, after you left
Now there’s an empty space on the wall

Empty spaces ain’t nothing new
Rainbows ain’t something that you hold on to
They move out as the storm moves through
Empty spaces ain’t nothing new

Every day
I wake up and wonder
How will I make it on my own?
Silly me what was I thinking
I was on my own all along

Empty spaces ain’t nothing new
Rainbows ain’t something that you hold on to
They move out as the storm moves through
Empty spaces ain’t nothing new

Drop In A Bucket

Gauthier

Happy Anniversary, baby
It’s been a year now since you moved away
Even though I asked you to go
I miss you every day
I miss you in the evenings
Alone in the bed where I lie
I miss you in the morning
Before I open my eyes

I went and sold everything that I could, babe
Then I gave away what didn’t sell
I moved south to Nashville
I might like it there but I can’t tell
I been hanging in Austin
Eating chili’s and good Bar-B-Q
Writing songs about losing and heartache
Hey babe, I been writing ‘bout you

A year, that ain’t nothing
When you lose someone you love
A year is a drop in a bucket
When you lose someone you love

I been traveling hard since September
I won’t get back to Nashville till June
I’ve played my songs all over the world
But I can’t find a home without you
I press on like a mad rushing river
I press on with the will to survive
Part of me lives for the wind in my face
While the other parts barely alive

A year, that ain’t  nothing
When you lose someone you love
A year is a drop in a bucket
When you lose someone you love

So Happy Anniversary, baby
May fortune and fate be your friends
Wherever you go, I want you to know
I don’t think my love ever ends
I carry it down the highway
It’s a part of my body and soul
And one day it’ll be, the part of m
That will pull me up out of this hole

A year, that ain’t nothing
When you lose someone you love
A year is a drop in a bucket
When you lose someone you love

It Ain't The Wind, It's The Rain

Gauthier

There’s a big storm a coming
Of this I’ve no doubt
That storms gonna blow your little world inside out
When the wild winds let up
When the violence wanes
You’ll think of me then, when you’re watching it rain
It ain’t the wind, it’s the rain

When the rain won’t stop falling
When the flood waters rise
When all that you’re sure of washes out with the tide
You’ll have no crazy lover there to make you look sane
You’ll think of me then when you’re knee deep in rain
It ain’t the wind, it’s the rain

When rain fills the river and dark waters spill
Over the levee and rush down the hill
They’ll carry me with them
I won’t have to explain
They’ll be no confusion
They’ll only be rain

I was born lonesome and I’m lonesome still
Ain’t nothing you done ever changed how I feel
When the storm clouds are building, when the deluge takes aim
I know what’s coming, I know the rain
I see what’s coming, I know the rain

It ain’t the wind, it’s the rain
It ain’t the wind, it’s the rain
It ain’t the wind, it’s the rain
It ain’t the wind, it’s the rain