1. |
Ain't Just A Dream
04:11
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It ain't just wood and wire
There's more to it than that
An extension of condition
Initials carved in the back
I'll take leave when I can
Further on down the line
Start a three piece outfit
And play these songs of mine
(CHORUS)
It ain't just a dream
It's the reason for the dawn
Some spellbound scene
That keeps me hangin' on
Turn it loose, let it rip
But you better mind your grip
It's wild and free
It ain't just a dream
It ain't plain blind desire
There's more to it than that
Healin' and hidin'
Inside of every word
Sometimes it feels like lightnin'
Bouncin' in a bottle
Others it seems
I can't find the throttle
CHORUS
My heart overrules my head
I ain't got a choice
The highway serenades
I rejoice
(BRIDGE)
Backwoods fiddle without a case
Thumpin' time on the doghouse bass
Warmin' up like kerosene
Super glue when my fingers bleed
It's the damnedest thing
I believe I've ever seen
CHORUS
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2. |
Outsider
04:04
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I'm gettin' outta here fast as I can
Passin' cars one by one
Got the pedal pressed to the pavement
Goin' back to my mountain home
The speedometer needle had all it could take
Fell out the dash now it's layin' on the floor
I'm so tired of people, cars, and pavement
Don't wanna hear nothin' no more
(CHORUS)
This place moves way too fast
All these folks talk a little too loud
Take me back to my barefoot days
I'm an outsider from outside of town
I hope that I don't get pulled over
The badges don't play around down here
Thank God for radar detectors
With that and luck I should be in the clear
Checkin' back in my rear view mirror
At all the loneliness I'm leavin' behind
A bright smile fills up my face
Look away or you might go blind
CHORUS
(BRIDGE)
I can see the lights at the end of the tunnel
Guess I better slow this thing down
Pretty soon I'll be knockin' around the county roads
While the radio plays Live Forever now
Now I'm sittin' on the porch of my shack
Countin' up all the stars in the sky
Tomorrow is a long day in the garden
Pullin' weeds and killin' time
No more dreadful sorrow in the evenin'
Peace and quiet all the day long
I guess this is an eternal testament
To how I should've been livin' all along
CHORUS
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3. |
Gettin' By
03:58
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I woke up this mornin'
A shadow of myself
And walked the empty streets
Inside my mind
All of which I know well
That familiar concrete smell
Fills my nose as
The cold burns my lungs
It's as easy as one, two, three
One foot in front of the other you see
That's what
They tell me
But I can't remember my name
A victim of too much change
These days I can hardly
Catch my breath
(CHORUS)
Empty
I'm feelin' empty
Hollow as a dead man's eyes
Helpless
I'm feelin' helpless
Somedays it's a gamble just gettin' by
Get outta bed
Go downstairs
That yellow labels waitin' for me there
I need a drink before I start the day
Just a taste will do me fine
It's only a quarter to nine
But oh my
How that bottle shines
One pull and
I'm right back
Walkin' down the railroad tracks
Everything I own there on my back
All these feelings of guilt and shame
My memories are a steam engine train
Buildin' speed
Headed straight for me
CHORUS
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4. |
One Go Around
03:24
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Life is a measure
Of peaks and valleys
High as the sun
Deeper than the sorrow at hand
The best you can do
Is try and break even
When failure is knee deep
Wade towards lesson's bank
CHORUS
You get one go around
Some are lost some are found
Keep your feet right on the ground
And dreams in the sky
Don't cut down another man
For the cards in his hand
For his place could
Easily be yours
Love is a treasure
With a heavy coat of varnish
That high gloss shine
That won't ever tarnish or stain
A dove-tail joint
Between hearts in harmony
Shaped just right for a fit
Seamless and strong
CHORUS
(BRIDGE)
Meaningful words can turn a whole day around
A moonbeam voice is the way happiness sounds
CHORUS
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5. |
Shakespeare In Boots
04:11
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Long necks, cigarettes, A Face In The Crowd on mute
Ramblin' Jack singin' those Hard Travelin' Blues
Lots of laughs, photographs hangin' high on the wall
Dungarees, poetry read with a drawl
Memoirs, old guitars strung up playin' fine
Grass roots, sitka spruce, warm red wine
(CHORUS)
Shakespeare in a pair of boots worn away
You can tell a lot from a man's handshake
It's the holes you leave, what you don't say
Every word a chisel, every song handmade
Ashtray made of skulls, joint rolled perfectly
Vision blurred, slurred words chosen carefullly
Cassette tapes, nights late, fine prose on the page
Your works never done 'til you hit the stage
CHORUS
A couple chairs, Townes stares from a frame up above
A drill press, success measured by love
CHORUS
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6. |
Flyin'
04:09
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Instrumental
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7. |
Redbirds
03:03
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Here I sit among the holy
Warmin' my bones in the noonday sun
I know every grass blade
The green and the golden
The tree branches look like
The veins in my lungs
I have often found forgiveness
Whispered to me in the creek's gentle tone
She'll roll and she'll flow
'Til the end of time
Carryin' with her
All souls refined
(CHORUS)
Cast me away from the four lane highways
Cast me away from that concrete fate
When I die I hope to be returnin'
As a song the redbirds sing in the spring
No clouds of grief or worry to believe
My chest feels light beneath the blue sky
All of the livin'
Enable each other
For they know in harmony
They'll all get by
To the ground I am rooted as deep as the sea
For I am the mountain, these mountains are me
To the ground I am rooted
Just as old as rhyme
Intertwined with forever
And the silence divine
CHORUS
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8. |
Fadin'
04:21
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A break in conversation for just a little too long
Silence smothered out by the phone
There's a storm progressin' clouds black as soot
It's been buildin' up off the coast
That torturous humidity just hangin' in the air
Why you could carve it with a knife
It don't seem too bad to me, we've endured worse
Remember the flood of '91
And holdin' water like a fifty gallon drum
But still kept dry our heads
(CHORUS)
Oh-oh there's trouble overhead
Winds shiftin' our foundation
Oh-oh hold onto what you say
It could be all you have come mornin'
Well, the storm passed without much shattered
The air blew away the moon
It's the calm after that's never mentioned
That feelin' that nothings made to last
CHORUS
A break in the drive for just a little too long
Fadin' like summers warmth
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9. |
Good Place To Hide
04:10
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He's got the windows rolled down, radio on
Just waitin' for the heat to get along
Hear that hammer ringin' in his concrete heart
An old oak tree playin' its part
Sippin' on a soda lookin' down the street
All those lift kit trucks from the oil filed fleet
The bottom sank low over the years
Now it's turtle shell buildings, smiles gone tears
(CHORUS)
Up and down around she goes
Back in town before you know
Turn it over, let it ride
Get on home it's a good place to hide
Busted up tile dirty grout
Paint all chipped faded out
He takes a good long drag off a Winston Light
Sayin' "it ain't much and that's alright"
He's got a tangerine sky smeared with white
Neon signs burnin' bright
People all passin' without aim
Some things change most stay the same
CHORUS
Now the nights pitch black and he's back on track
Back down the road where he always went
When times got hard all his troubles abound
When he needed a place to settle down
Where the moon glowed brittle and little stars shine
Like a million diamonds and a big pork rind
While the world gave out with a bang and shout
He just stood there still without a doubt
Then he closed his eyes and fell asleep
Dreamin' of that place that he longed to see
Where he'll always be
CHORUS
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10. |
Margaret Allen
05:42
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John Allen is a card playin' fool
Stays drunk all the time
Everywhere that he goes
Trouble he'll surely find, boys
Trouble he'll surely find
Up and down that holler road
Where he can be found
If you're goin' up that way
Best take higher ground, boys
Best take higher ground
Margaret is his daughter fair
Known her all my life
Yellow hair eyes of green
I want her for my wife, boys
Want her for my wife
"Spin and dance Margaret dear
Twirl 'round so fine
Cut a rug where you like
But keep me on your mind, girl
Keep me on your mind"
I went to see her on cold day
When I got to the door
John Allen struck me down
Said "don't come here no more, boy
Don't come here no more"
Brought myself to my feet
Staggered away
Laughin' to myself
"I'll be back someday, boy
I'll be back some day"
Doctored up my face with care
Played a mournful song
John Allen better count his days
I'll tell ya they ain't long, boys
Tell ya they ain't long
Bout myself a pistol cold
Barrel and six round
Stuck it down in my grip
Gonna put him in the ground, boys
Put him in the ground
Went back up that holler round
Slithered up the drive
John Allen was waitin' there
Pistol at his side, boys
Pistol at his side
He drew his, I drew mine
Whiskey made him miss
I put two rounds in his side
And one in his head, boys
One in his head
Margaret cried "what have you done
Took my daddy's life
I always knew his mean old ways
Would be met with strife
Would be met with strife"
And "no I won't go with you
You're no better than him
One don't outweigh the next
A sin is a sin
Sin in a sin
I felt the blood rush to my head
My guts in my feet
You won't see another soul
If you won't have me, girl
If you won't have me
I pulled that trigger two times more
Laid Margaret low
I just killed my one true love
And I hate to see her go, boys
Hate to see her go
John Allen was a card playin' fool
Stayed drunk as a hound
I guess I was the very last
Trouble that he found, boys
Trouble that he found
Spin and fall Margaret dear
Lie there alone
Your green eyes are no more
From this world you've flown
From this world you've flown
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11. |
Blue Ridge Skyline
03:45
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The settin' sun's orange glow
Shown through her hair
As we sat on the mountain top
I wondered in my life
What I'd done to deserve
To be in the face of beauty so pure
With emerald eyes
And voice soft as the breeze
She spoke sweetly to me
Of life and love
And the precious things
Stowed in her heart
For days of rain
(CHORUS)
And time slipped away
In my mind a melody rang
Just as sweet as muscadine wine
There on that Blue Ridge Skyline
I sat back, drink in my lap
And let it all sink in
Then I knew
The feelings were true
My heart would always
Hold a place for her
The trees waved goodbye, moon hangin' high
Full as a drunkards cup of rye
In her hand she held
Stars from above
And they took shape
Of a lily white dove
CHORUS
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Dalton Mills Middlesboro, Kentucky
Dalton Mills is a songwriter from Middlesboro, Kentucky.
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