Have A Good Life

I want you to have a good life

Yeah I want you to have a good good life

If you need to walk out I won’t scream and shout

‘Cause I want you to have a good life

I know that you got a big heart

Yeah I swear you got the biggest big old heart

And to cause it to break would be a mistake

Cause I want you to have a good life

Last night I walked out in the rain

Last night I walked out into the rain

And it seemed such a cost

That you thought I was lost

‘Cause I want you to have a good life

I think I can hear that train whistle blow

Yeah I think off in the distance I can hear that train whistle blow

If you roll down the track and you don’t make it back

I want you to have a good life

If you roll down the track and you don’t make it back

I want you to have a good life

If you roll down the track and you can’t make it back

I want you to have a good life

Yeah I want you to have a good life

The All-Night New Year’s Kneeler

Last night I lost another battle to the bottle

It was New Year’s Eve and I went lookin for a place to hide

Through the stinging snow I came upon the stained glass light

The old oak doors were open so I walked inside          

I spent the whole night kneeling on this kneeler

But it’s better than the alley where I’ve been staying as of late

She said I had to clean up or get clean out of her life

And that’s what put  me here in this holy state

Now the church bells are ringing

And everybody’s singing

And I just woke up in this pew

Pretending to be praying

I don’t know what they’re saying

I don’t know what I’m doing here

Oh but happy happy happy Happy New Year

The congregation’s full of hope and resolutions

The first prayers of the new year delivered straight to heaven’s gate

Dressed in the their Sunday best they’re here to testify

And I’d like to get some rest but I guess I’ll wait

‘Cause now the organ is blaring

And everybody’s staring

And I woke up hoping no one knew

Pretending to be praying I don’t know what they’re saying I don’t know what I’m doing here Oh but happy happy happy Happy New Year

Now I'm waiting for the church to be empty again

I’m looking up at Jesus hanging there on the cross

I thank him for the shelter and the wafer and the wine

And I pray the congregation will get lost    

But there's a little baby screaming

And I wish that I was dreaming

But I'm trapped in the middle of this pew

Pretend to be praying

I don’t know what they’re saying

I don’t know what I’m doing here

Oh but happy happy happy Happy New Year

So if you find yourself out there in the cold cold night

And the winter winds against you are blowing strong     

Just find yourself a local house of worship

And pray they keep a little heat on all night long

Trombone John

You lived a childhood on a farm

Played your horn out in the barn

And when the banks came to repossess

You had more than anyone could guess

You spent your days fixin’ cars

And your share of nights behind bars

Carry on

Trombone John

You were here but now you’re gone

Late at night I can hear your song

Play it all night long

Trombone John

Then you fought the war across the sea

Came back home and you still weren't free

Sharecroppers son with an American gun

Milk and honey you had none       

You lost your home but you had to survive

So you played your horn at the corner dive

Carry on

Trombone John

You were here but now you’re gone

And late at night I can hear your song

Play it all night long

Trombone John

Nothing but blue skies, Night and day

In The Wee Small Hours and Purple Haze

But when the moon was high and the crowds had gone

In the midnight hour you'd play a song   

A song that lived down in your soul

Into the starry night you’d let it roll

Carry on Trombone John

You were here but now you’re gone

And late at night I can hear your song

Play it all night long

Trombone John

Real Life

I wanna live a real life on my own terms

I wanna live a real life where the fire burns

I wanna live a real life like the ones I see on my TV

I wanna live a real life wild and free

And when I look into the mirror

I wanna see clearer the dreams of a young man realized

I wanna live a real life

I wanna win the prize

I wanna live a real life get back to the land

And never look behind or try to understand

I wanna live a real life I wanna burn my phone

Say hi to my neighbors in another time zone

And when I look into the mirror

I wanna see clearer the dreams of a young man crystalize

I wanna live a real life

Take off the disguise

I wanna live a real life in a house on the shore

Salt water breezes blowin’ through my door

I wanna live a real life I want an instant upgrade

To the land of the living where all my debts are paid

And when I look into the mirror

I wanna see clearer the deeds of a grown man recognized

I wanna see a real life when I look into your eyes

I wanna see a real life reflected in your eyes

I wanna see a real life in your eyes

The Beholder

They say time flies by  

It flies by so fast

And beauty is fleeting

It doesn’t last

But I know what I see

Over my shoulder

Yeah I know what I see

Cause I’m the beholder

Some say fools rush in     

Where angels won't tread

And hold back your heart

‘Cause it's all in your head

But high on this mountain

Where I've pushed up this boulder   

I can finally see      

That I'm the beholder

I’m the beholder

The one who sees

Beauty unfolding

And I’m down on my knees

I’m the beholder

The one with the view

I'm the beholder of you

Some say beauty fades away

It’s not something you keep

Some say it's all around us

Some say it’s skin deep

But if beauty is truth

As I get older

I can clearly see   

That I’m the beholder

I’m the beholder

The one who sees

Beauty unfolding

And I’m down on my knees

I’m the beholder

The one with the view

I'm the beholder of you

Some say you can't know    

What's true and what's not

And until you lose it

You don't know what you got

Some say beauty is youth   

And in time we grow colder     

I know time has crowned me    

King of beholders

I’m the beholder

The one who sees

Beauty unfolding

And I’m down on my knees

I’m the beholder

The one with the view

I'm the beholder of you

Queen of the rodeo

My name is Nick Wright and most of my life has been wrong

Where ever I was it seemed like I never belonged

And when I turned 18 with Molotov cocktails I fire bombed my school

When they asked why I replied with a smile cause the kids there all thought they were cool

Well they ain’t so cool anymore

I spent the next year in a state penitentiary room

I didn't many friends but I learned how to push on a broom

When I got out I was feeling pretty ugly so I tried on my momma’s clothes

I felt so much better in a tight fitting sweater and a pair of black pantyhose

Now they don’t call me Nick anymore

Born again, born again

How far would you go

To be born again

Queen of the rodeo

I got a job doing nails at a local salon

Everyone loved me and nobody ever caught on

Each day I would glide along the avenue catching the corners of eyes

At night I would stare out my 4th story window and watch all the people go by

Who would never come through my door

One day I worked late and rode on a train back home

Some boys with a blade and a chain wouldn’t leave me alone

But to their surprise I could accessorize and I wrapped that chain round their heads

Before I was done I’d cut ‘em and clipped ‘em and filed ‘em and painted ‘em red

Now they don’t bother no one no more

Born again, born again

How far would you go

To be born again

Queen of the rodeo

Back in my room at the state penitentiary for life

I think of my father the preacher and my mother his wife

I think of the time when I was 5 how I was told that Jesus died

For all my sins and all my crimes and how I was lucky just to be alive

When I was only five

Lucky to be alive

Born again, born again

How far would you go

To be born again

Queen of the rodeo

Busted In A Boomtown

I came to New York to look for work

Got a day job workin as a night clerk

A sure-fire tip from a shell-shocked friend

Gave him all my money never saw him again

So I headed down south to the lone star state

I got lost in Austin and I couldn’t relate

Everybody I knew was an up and coming brand new

ext best thing redefining the genre

I'm busted

Busted in a boomtown

Nashville Nashville everybody Nashville

It's not just country and everybody’s real chill

Met for a writing session over breakfast

Had one mimosa made a beeline for Memphis

But everybody’s moving to the great Northwest

So I picked up my pieces and I joined the quest

One night in Tacoma it was plain to see

I missed the boat again and the boat missed me

I'm busted…

Oh babe dontcha let it bring you down

Oh I know you know I know it's hard

Oh don't it make you feel like a clown

When you're busted

Busted in a boomtown

Then I heard myself saying what I never thought I would

I caught myself doing what I never thought I could

It's come down to this, today's the day

I grabbed my guitar and moved to LA

But I gotta move forward I don’t wanna look back

I gotta tear down a mansion and put up a shack

Saw a sign drive by on the back of a truck

“At the end of the day you’re at the mercy of luck”

I'm busted…

Then a friend said the windy city's where you should be

I said you mean where Bo Diddly, Sam Cooke, Smashing Pumpkins

Nat King Cole, Buddy Guy, Howling Wolf, John Prine, Cheap Trick

And Chicago came from?

He said, yeah, among others, let’s go

Sweet home, Chicago

I said, you got any money? He said oh no...

He said you got any money? I said oh no...

I'm busted

Busted in a boomtown

Firefly In a Thunderstorm

Sometimes I feel like a firefly in a thunderstorm

Lightening flashes, thunder crashes

Making me feel so small

You know it’s been raining so long

And I just wanna shine on

Sometimes I feel like a firefly in a thunderstorm   

Waiting for the rain to end

So I can go out and find a friend

It’s  been coming down for so long

And I just wanna shine on

Shine on, shine on, shine on, shine on

Sometimes I feel like a lightening bolt in a thunderstorm   

Brighter than a midnight train

Stronger than a hurricane

You know it don’t last too long

And I just wanna shine on   

Sometimes I feel like a firefly on a hot summer night

One in a million times a billion

Turning the dark to light       

You know it don’t last too long

And I just wanna shine on   

Shine on, shine on, shine on, shine on

A Lot Like You

My fear is crawling on my skin

But I keep it hidden deep within

Impossible for you to see

But it’s there as long as I will be

You sit above me on that stand

With a wooden hammer in your hand

To set the hour of my death

While the family waits with bated breath

And I’m a lot like you

I know I took her life it’s true

A thing I never meant to do

But you, you look me in the eye

Aware, you meant for me to die

And I’m a lot like you

Tonight you’ll carve the family meal

And drink until you cannot feel

Before you thank the Lord you’re free

I hope you raise a glass to me

Cause I’m a lot like you

The Train Of Life

The train of life

Rolls down the track

It starts out slow

And you don’t look back

It picks up speed

As the night comes down

On the train of life

The wheels go ‘round

The train of life

Is never on time

Making stops

No reason or rhyme

Through dark of night

And blinding rain

No one knows

Who drives the train

One of these days

To a better place

We’ll make our way

One of these days

Though I don’t know when

We’ll be golden

Golden

The train of life

Sways and swerves

Rolls over rivers

Around blind curves

The conductor smiles

And gives no clue

If the light at the end of the tunnel

Is you

One of these days

To a better place

We’ll make our way

One of these days

Though I don’t know when

We’ll be golden

Golden

Sha La La

When i was a young man

Unwilling and able

I went looking for a record label

I met a man who sat behind a desk

Holding all the cards

He said son it’s just business and if you wanna go far

Don’t tell me any stories that’ll put me to sleep

Don’t bore us just get to the chorus and don’t get too deep

And if you wanna be an artist well son that’s up to you

But if you wanna make a million here’s what you do   

Give ‘em something they can dance to

You gotta make ‘em wanna sing your song

Give ‘em something like sha la la

They’ll play it all night long   

Let em know it’s gonna be alright

And they can do no wrong

Give em something like sha la la

If you want em to sing your song

Sha la la la...

I guess i just listened to too much Bob Dylan

Too much Woody Guthrie too much Steve Earle

Too much Joni Mitchell Rickie Lee and John Prine

But when I hear Otis Redding sing I remember it's fine

To give ‘em something they can dance to

You gotta make ‘em wanna sing your song

Give ‘em something like fa fa fa

They’ll play it all night long    

Let em know it’s gonna be alright

And they can do no wrong   

Give em something like fa fa fa

If you want em to sing your song

Fa fa fa fa...

Now I’m older and I’ve learned the game

But at the end of the day I’m pretty much the same

I like to think i got integrity and all that good stuff

But it really doesn’t bother me and it's prob'ly enough

Give ‘em something they can dance to

You gotta make ‘em wanna sing your song

Give ‘em something like sha la la

They’ll play it all night long   

Let em know it’s gonna be alright

And they can do no wrong

Give em something like sha la la

If you want em to sing your song

Sha la la la...