Talk Radio
Pour a cup of coffee and pull up a chair
Turn on Talk Radio.
It's five o'clock and the birds are up
And there's really no place to go.
Every other week I do my time
In an unemployment line.
And I just thank God for the Government cheese
And these friends of mine.

I raised two children in the south of town
Down below the hill.
The wife and I put'em both through school
Working in the mill.
Now the wife is dead and the kids are gone
And I'm existing still.
Like the granite block that harbors space upon the hill.

I started work when I was sixteen,
Young and eager, wet and green,
A lean, mean, laboring machine, consumed in American dreams.
Yet in these golden years, yet to realize what that means

I got a son in California
I got a letter that says he's fine.
Got a picture on my dresser
Got medals all in the shrine.
The youngest was a rebel
Wouldn't follow protocol.
My first son's name's in Washington upon the wall.

I started work when I was sixteen,
Young and eager, wet and green,
A lean, mean, laboring machine, consumed in American dreams.
Yet in these golden years, yet to realize what that means

Away, they fly away,
Like robins in the Fall
When the grass has gone to hay.
We stay behind, In God we trust
And they'll return in Spring
If they haven't turned to dust.

There's a dozen wars or so
Going on all the time.
Of every creed and color
Some father's son lay dying.
Pour a cup of coffee, pull up a chair
Turn on talk radio.
The old timers are picking bones
I don't feel so all alone.

I started work when I was sixteen,
Young and eager, wet and green,
A lean, mean, laboring machine, consumed in American dreams.
Yet in these golden years, yet to realize what that means.

Away, they fly away,
Like robins in the Fall
When the grass has gone to hay.
We stay behind, In God we trust
And they'll return in Spring
If they haven't turned to dust.

Dear Walter
Dear Walter:
The path is overgrowing,
Will I open up my door and see my old friend walking in again?
I'd like to drink a beer with you,
Have a laugh, a tear or two,
Blow the dust off old war stories,
And the heroes will be us.
And watch the setting sun turn into rust.

I hear that you're not feeling well,
The old war horse is shot to hell,
The legs are giving out and the heart is giving in.
Remembering old Billy T.
And all that downhill history,
Do you think sometimes you've gone too far
To come back in the eighth?
Or have you already chosen your fate.

Me and Mare were Sunday riding,
The old gray Ford overheated,
I went down in the highway hollow,
For water from the stream.
And it brought me to my boyhood days,
When sunrises were warmly greeted,
Life before coffee, growing up was just a dream.
Ain't nothing ever turns out like it seemed.

Dreams are for children in a subtle kind of way.
Growing up is just giving in to practicality.
Growing old's when you realize that
You've stopped asking why.
When "I don't know" is easier
Than chasing butterflies.

Dear Walter:
The path is overgrowing,
Will I open up my door and see my old friend walking in again?
I'd like to drink a beer with you,
And have a laugh, a tear or two,
Blow the dust off old war stories,
And the heroes will be us.
And watch the setting sun turn into rust.

Lizzie
Lizzie waits, a giggling child, in an excited sway.
They've loaded and hitched the wagon,
For the country summer stay.
The summer home is a City girl's Camelot
It gets hot in the city. It gets hot.

Abby's in the parlor with Uncle John and Daddy said
He'd put the Swansea farm in Abby's name,
And Lizzie saw red.
Was the stone that honed the ax that played the plot,
It gets hot in the city. It gets hot.

I'm gonna take the wagon to the Swansea farm
And spend the day.
I got supplies, I got fishing line, I got sinkers
I got a friend of mine.
We'll go wading in the Taunton River.
Daddy gave her everything she'd need
He went out of his way to give her.
He crept into her dreams sometimes in the
Black of night.
It gets hot in the city. It gets hot.

Revenge would feed a hungry heart that fatal day.
Abby went upstairs to make the guest room bed,
Destined to Pay
With her life for the love that a poor child never got.
It gets hot in the city. It gets hot.
Daddy come home, to her surprise,
A change in plan.
Well I got no time for alibis, he's a suspicious man.
She took his coat. He took some time to relax.
She kissed his cheek. Then she gave him the ax.

I'm gonna take the wagon to the Swansea farm
And spend the day.
I got supplies, I got fishing line, I got sinkers
I got a friend of mine.
We'll go wading in the Taunton River.
Daddy gave her everything she'd need
He went out of his way to give her.
He crept into her dreams sometimes in the
Black of night.
It gets hot in the city. It gets hot.

A brutal attack, a maniac, a wild goose chase.
Gave her time to shadow the mess,
Hide the ax, burn the dress,
A poor rich girl who cheated the hangman's knot.
It gets hot in the city. It gets hot.

Lizzie died and the mourners came, too late again.
The funeral was held the night before
Under the cover of darkness by black clad men.
Why again it seemed she escaped the heat,
She's in an unmarked grave at her father's feet.

I'm gonna take the wagon to the Swansea farm
gonna spend the day.
I got supplies, I got fishing line, I got sinkers
I got a friend of mine.
We'll go wading in the Taunton River.
Daddy gave her everything she'd need
He went out of his way to give her.
He crept into her dreams sometimes in the
Black of night
It gets hot in the city. It gets hot.

Whispers In the Wind (Butterfly)
Butterfly is a beautiful thing
He just flies here and there
World just turns and the sun just shines
Butterfly's got no care.

Butterfly is a beautiful thing
Just a whisper in the wind.
In a world of fear
In a world of guilt
Free from the confines of sin.

Ghetto child is a lonesome child,
He's just stumbling here and there.
No prospects, fate unknown,
Doesn't anybody care?

Ghetto child is a beautiful child,
Just a whisper in the wind.
In a world of fear
In a world of guilt
Ashamed of the shape it's in.

Caterpillar is a hopeful thing
Work is all that's on its mind.
Foraging food here and there,
Miles, an inch at a time.

Caterpillar's gonna guild a cocoon
Be a butterfly someday.
Determination full of hope
Spread your wings and fly away.

I'm gonna be a butterfly someday
I'll spread my wings and fly away.
When I die, I'll shed this skin,
Spread my wings and ride the wind.

Jesus Christ was a beautiful man
He just wandered here and there.
Full of love, wisdom and hope
And a wonderful, willfulness to share.

Jesus Christ was a beautiful man
Just a whisper in the wind.
In a world of fear
In a world of guilt
Free from the confines of sin.

I'm gonna be a butterfly someday
I'll spread my wings and fly away.
When I die, I'll shed this skin,
Spread my wings and ride the wind.

Muddy World
My own name's not my own,
Name I'm called is where I'm from,
Name I am's a secret one,
Oh muddy world you muddy me.

You hung my bloodline from a tree.
This birthright is a shameful place.
Shame's the veil that hides the face.

My own name's not my own,
Name I'm called is where I'm from,
Name I am's a smokin' gun,
Oh muddy world you muddy me.

You hung my bloodline from a tree,
This birthright is a dark dark place,
No lookout tree, no mirrored face.

Will I be strong, will I be tall.
Will I have hair, or will it fall,
Important things when I was small.
Oh muddy world you muddy me.

You hung my bloodline from a tree.
This birthright is a shameful place.
Shame's the veil that hides the face.

You broke my heart a thousand times.
When I hear a voice that sounds like mine,
I'm bound and gagged with guilt and shame,
A blameless soul without a name.

You would be mothers guard the night.
Yeah once it's done it won't be set right.
The stray who's sowing after hours,
Fade in the day like God skewers stars.

A child will never understand
A loveless sire, a horny man.
Who deni'ed a child a father's hand.
Muddy world you muddy me.

You blind my eyes, I cannot see.
This birthright is a shameful place,
Shame's the veil that hides the face.

My own name's not my own,
Name I'm called is where I'm from,
Name I am's a smokin' gun.
Oh muddy world you muddy me.

Barbtail Nag
I bet my money on a barbtail nag
The winner bet on the bay.
He held his ticket like a lifeline
I throw'd mine away.

We stood in line like chain links
Pickin' the chances we'd take.
Yeah the only difference between him and me
Was the choices we'd make.

Hey, yeah, the wind don't blow
So cold in Mexico
Sometimes I want to go
Where no one knows my name.
Drink Tequila on a red-eye flight
Change my luck, forget tonight
Kickin' down the highway in the pouring rain.

I make my stand, I'm a family man
Well God and love come first.
I ain't no saint, and what I ain't
Lord knows I got the thirst.
Cards passed around, the chips were down
And the bottle called my bluff.
He bet my life and family and
I'd had enough.

Now what I know about Steven Foster
That I do now recall,
I just thank God I didn't get that high
I couldn't take the fall.
They say he died, poor and alone
Not a penny to his name.
Why, better poor and humble
And still in the game.

Hey, yeah, the wind don't blow
So cold in Mexico
Sometimes I want to go
Where no one knows my name.
Drink Tequila on a red-eye flight
Change my luck, forget tonight
Kickin' down the highway in the pouring rain.

Now MaryJane and Alzheimer's were good old friends of mine.
She made me laugh, he held my thoughts,
I held them sublime.
I woke up in the 90's and the 70's were gone,
Why'd we skip the 80's?
Something was wrong.

I worked the mill I do recall
I was a fisherman for a while,
I labored for some bourgeoisie
And I put that on file.
I found myself in a job market
Mid-life can be cruel,
Minimum wages were stakes
I'm going back to school.

Hey, yeah, the wind don't blow
So cold in Mexico
Sometimes I want to go
Where no one knows my name.
Drink Tequila on a red-eye flight
Change my luck, forget tonight
Kickin' down the highway in the pouring rain.

I bet my money on a barbtail nag
The winner bet on the bay.
He held his ticket like a lifeline
I throw'd mine away.

We stood in line like chain links
Pickin' the chances we'd take.
The only difference between him and me
Was the choices we'd make.

The Strong Man Charade
Sitting at a bar stool, a little white haired man,
Making more sense than most, with a shot in his hand.
A toast "living life's regrets",
Was his way of paying his last respects.

My mother was a saint, she carried the ball,
She'd reach out to catch me, no matter how hard I would fall.
My father couldn't understand, the strength
In her lily white hands.

Johnny be good, Johnny don't lie.
Don't hurt nobody, don't fly so high.
Make someone smile every day,
And never make debts you can't pay.

Put your mind in gear, 'fore your mouth goes in motion.
Weigh all the facts before you take a notion.
Never show your cards out of play,
And you'll never regret yesterday.

She'd bail me out of jail.
He'd throw away the key.
She'd wait up all night,
He'd lock the door behind me.
He never knew his words cut so deep,
The black, on the lily white sheet

I worshiped the strong man, I invited the fight,
I sought out the whores, I'd drink through the night.
I would never come to understand
The strength of the mild mannered man.

Johnny be good, Johnny don't lie.
Don't hurt nobody, don't fly so high.
Make someone smile every day,
And never make debts you can't pay.

Put your mind in gear, 'fore your mouth goes in motion.
Weigh all the facts before you take a notion.
Never show your cards out of play,
And you'll never regret yesterday.

I was king of my own hill,
I had to be my own man.
I had a woman who loved me,
Who bore me three children, and now
I'm ashamed to tell, of how
I put that woman through hell.

The sins of the fathers
Will be bor' by the children,
Now two of them dead,
And one unforgiving. The hard heart
I passed on like the plague,
The curse, of the strong man's charade.

Johnny be good, Johnny don't lie.
Don't hurt nobody, don't fly so high.
Make someone smile every day,
And never make debts you can't pay.

Put your mind in gear, 'fore your mouth goes in motion.
Weigh all the facts before you take a notion.
Never show your cards out of play,
And you'll never regret yesterday.

Put your mind in gear, 'fore your mouth goes in motion.
Weigh all the facts before you take a notion.
Never show your cards out of play,
And you'll never regret yesterday.

Fish Boat
Captain Lou, he quit school,
A nineteen year old teenage fool,
60s took its toll on him
And things were looking dim.
He got himself a job in the mill,
Working second shift and hot as hell.
He found God and stayed until
It was time that he moved on.

And he got himself a fishing boat,
And boy that boy, he loves to float,
From Atlantic City to the Island shoals,
Shining in the sun.

He's Fall River born and raised,
Between Southern Mass and the Ocean State.
Reared on the shoals of the Mount Hope Bay,
Shining in the sun, you're the one.

L.A. sure sounds fine.
The sun just shines and shines and shines.
It don't snow, it don't rain,
There's lots of places to go.

I missed the Spring and I missed the Fall,
I missed the Massachusetts shore,
Missed the people most of all,
It was time that I moved on.

I got up on that fishing boat,
And boy this boy, he loves to float,
From Atlantic City to the Island Shoals,
Shining in the sun.

I'm Fall River born and raised,
Between Southern Mass and the Ocean State.
Reared on the shoals of the Mount Hope Bay
Shining in the sun, you're the one.

Old Bob Hyson sure was tough,
He got himself in all kinds of stuff,
The law got close, things got rough,
It was time that he moved on.

He had to go away for awhile,
But he's a Fall River born child,
He come home, got a job in the mill,
Until he had his fill.

And he got up on that fishing boat,
And boy that boy, he loves to float,
From Atlantic City to the Island Shoals,
Shining in the sun.

He's Fall River born and raised,
Between Southern Mass and the Ocean State.
Reared on the shoals of the Mount Hope Bay,
Shining in the sun, you're the one.

Throw out the hose, let out the rope,
Lower the dredge tape oe'r the boat.
Haul it back and cull the stock,
Til all the work is done.
Here's to all them fishing boats,
And all them boys that love to float.
Here's to the island and the big blue sea,
Shining in the sun.
You're the one, your're the one.
Your're the one.

The Last Day of May
On the hillside of tears
Stones stand like soldiers,
All at attention, all in a row.
Frozen in time, youthful in pictures,
Too brave to stay, and too young to go.

Here's to the boys who all went before me.
No honor or glory could ever repay
The lives that you spent
Just tears in showers, and hands full of flowers
On the last day in May.

Though the valley of death did swallow them whole,
God let no soul die in vain.
When the boundaries of peace get out of control,
Let the Angel of Mercy hold close their names.

There's a house with a wall
With all of the pictures, of all of the children,
All of them grown.
There's a woman in the house,
Who raised all the children,
Who could never sleep easy til all where at home.

Here's to the mothers who paid the ultimate price,
Made to live out their lives, in grief all the years.
And here's to the fathers, who comfort their wives,
With nothing to offer, but buckets of tears.

Though the valley of death did swallow them whole,
God let no soul die in vain.
When the boundaries of peace get out of control
Let the Angel of Mercy hold close their names.

In fields of green pastures
They lie by still waters,
All at attention, all in a row.
Though flesh turned to dust, souls are forever,
They've restored the order, our cups overflow.

Though the valley of death did swallow them whole
God let no soul die in vain.
When the boundaries of peace get out of control
Let the Angel of Mercy hold close their names.

Furrows In The Wind
I knew a man in my hometown
And he was always right.
His hands and lawn were manicured
And his house was nice and white.
And all his friends and family
Were along for the ride.
All neatly pressed, it seemed to me
The world was on his side.

He got a money mega stereo
It only played the news.
And a suit for every half a day
And twice as many shoes.
And his dreams were filled with dollar bills
And it took up all his time.
And his children hardly knew the man
Who worked from five to nine.

And I tore my heart out trying to understand
The wisdom of the hardened heart
The virtues of the man.
To see and hear through his eyes and ears
What is and what has been,
And lie low within the furrows of the wind.

There's a woman down in music town
Who finally cut the cord.
With the kids in school and a house to keep
There's no time to be bored.
We tear these days, one at a time
'Til the kids are grown and gone.
Weekends they're yours, weekdays they're mine
Are we dying, or being born?

She had weekends free, and gas money
Come Friday she'll be torn.
And her cycles filled with spills and bills
And an occasional John.
And all the trials and tribulations
Were settled in the dust.
And her life was full and empty
With love and loveless lust.

And I tore my heart out trying to understand
The wisdom of the hardened heart
The virtues of the man.
To see and hear through her eyes and ears
What is and what has been,
And lie low within the furrows of the wind.

There's a miller, without a mill
Just stone upon stone.
There's a fisherman without a boat
Beyond his last trip home.
There's a carpenter who lost the will
To drive another nail.
Each end is a beginning,
Each beginning a tale.

And I throw my hands out
That's life I suppose.
How could there be such glorious highs
Without the woeful lows.
Just realize what's hurting you
And begin to have an end,
And lie low within the furrows of the wind.

There's a town cry a thunder
That reveals the blackened form.
There's a hard wind that sweeps the front
That brings the mighty storm.
There's a blue sky that's twice as high
That never will be gone.
There's a frightening crack that rips the clouds
That pours if your torn.

And I throw my hands out
That's life I suppose.
How could there be such glorious highs
Without the woeful lows.
Just realize what's hurting you
And begin to have an end,
Lie low within the furrows of the wind.

Stevie's Song
Looking back over the years
At a curly headed boy, with glasses,
A dark complected child.
Could never sit still, always looking out the window,
And the teacher would yell,
I always think of him lightly.

Could always be found, down River Mills Pond,
With a fishing pole and wet shoes on,
Christ, you fell in again.
He'd laugh, oh well,
And his grandmother'd start yelling,
And he'd run like hell.
I always think of him laughingly.

And them hot summer days,
In the fields where we played, the clubhouses we made,
I called him friend.
And alliance to the end,
Cigarette smoking was his only crime,
He never had a dime,
I always think of him lovingly.

Tossed by the tide of misfortune then dried
And then tossed in again, mercilessly.
Scarred by the wife, that he loved more than life,
As he threw out his hands at responsibility.
Onward to Maine where he thought he could run,
Ain't no place 'neath the sun
Where a man can hide from himself.
A broken-hearted man, shot by his hand...

Looking back over the years,
At a curly headed boy, with glasses,
A dark complected child.

Charlie Pike
Steppin' out Friday night,
Going down to Charlie Pike's,
I got a guitar and some beer.
Going out to Common Ground,
Pickers from miles around hang there.

Charlie's an institution,
Making his contribution
Singing and swinging with a mandolin.
I wonder if he knows,
What an inspiration he's been?

I don't care to go too far,
I don't care to be a star,br> All I want to do is play.
A stand-up bass slapping time,
And voices harmonize in rhyme,
Music junkies are just that way.
All I want to do is play-eeeee

Jeffrey was a postal worker,
Working the Graveyard shift,
Being nocturnal seemed to pay.
But as a musician, "Hell"
Was not having time to play.

Catch him down at Charlie Pike's,
Stealing time on Friday nights,
With a guitar and some beer.
Goin' out to Common Ground,
Pickers from miles around hang there.

I don't care to go too far,
I don't care to be a star,
All I want to do is play.
A stand-up bass slapping time,
Voices harmonize in rhyme,
Music junkies are just that way.
All I want to do is play-eeeee

Listen to the guitar ringing,
All around the fiddle's singing,
The old wood burner's in full swing.

The scent of hard wood fills the air,
And bodies sway without a care,
The cold outside don't mean a thing.

All I want to do is play-eeeee

Lullabye
Someday you'll grow, into a beauty,
Someday I'll grow, and be old and gray.
We'll laugh at the good times, we've had so many,
We'll laugh at the hardships of these troublesome days.

Now that I look back at it, I never thought I'd submit
To life, working the mill.
Taking it day by day, ten years just slipped away,
And look, I'm working it sill.

And someday you'll grow, into a beauty,
Someday I'll grow, and be old and gray.
We'll laugh at the good times, we've had so many,
We'll laugh at the hardships of these troublesome days.

The world's full of peril, goblins and boogiemen
Imagination in a negative way.
But if you believe in magic, parting seas and true love
A good thought will hold them at bay.

When the shiver in your bones, won't let you alone
For fear of what people might say,
You'll never live your dreams, if you don't take a chance,
And let the chips fall where they may.

And someday you'll grow, into a beauty,
And someday I'll grow, and be old and gray.
We'll laugh at the good times, we've had so many,
We'll laugh at the hardships of these troublesome days.

Life can be hard, in between jobs
When the old whirl wind is blowing that way.
But seems insignificant and I become indifferent
My little girl's smiling at me.

And someday you'll grow...