every day I write things down

every day I write things down

that is what I do

sentences go round and round

and quotations show what's true

I've got words and words

and nouns and verbs

to do with what I like

every day I write things down

sometimes just for spite

ceiling fans

the ceiling fans are humming

you can tell that August's coming

by the rays of the sun

beating down on everyone

Lord have mercy

the lawns are gray and brown

all I do is lie around'

and complain

about the lack of rain

can you help me?

my apartment does not have AC

this will be the death of me

as far as I can see

we're on fire

I's like to be cool and wet

instead I am upset

all I do is sweat

and perspire

it's hot

and I am not

happy

you who work the earth

the sun beats down

on the workers that harvest 

the fruit from the trees

the berries from their bushes

the lettuce that we eat

I watch from my brother's car

air-conditioned, running fine

and I think about how different

their lives are from mine

          forgive me

          I'm not responsible

          for the advantage of the birth

          I respect you

          I admire you

          you who work the earth

all my friends are good looking

all my friends are good looking

I do not compare

I don't have brains, looks, or money

but I've got personality to spare

something happened

something happened

inside my mind

and it made me the way I am

something wrong

is inside of me

and I don't know how to stand

up for myself

if you're someone else

you win

all my life

I've suffered from

the emptiness within

but I ain't done yet

I'm still going

but there ain't no

way of knowing

what I find

or who I shall be

it's somewhere inside of me

and I can't see it yet

I can't see it yet

poor man's whiskey

I took a drink of poor man's whiskey

but it didn't make everything all right

it didn't make any damn difference

with the pain I am feeling tonight

now you're gone

and I'm moving on

but I can't leave you behind

I'm here missing you

and I'm learning to

ease my hurting heart and mind

invisible

I am invisible

not seen by the naked eye

everyone that passes by

is unaware that I am here

no one can hear me

not a kitten or a pup

just when things are looking up

I start to disappear

I am invisible

I am not worthy of you

everything that I've been through

fades when you are close

you don't understand

the failure that's inside of me

the sorrow that you can't see

from my head down to my toes

          don't look for me

          you'll never find me

          here amidst the ashes of your heart

          don't look for me

          you'll only remind me

          of the moment when we split apart

I am invisible

I am out on the run

needed by no one

a stranger to your eyes

there are no reasons

there is no place to hide

from the misery inside

but one day I'll arise

and I won't be

invisible

invisible

to you

I apologize

I apologize

for everything I did wrong

I tried to belong

but it just didn't work

I apologize

in my noble quest

I tried to do my best

but I wound up with so much hurt

I don't know how much more I can take

everything I do is a mistake

but now I've opened up my eyes

and I apologize

rivers of whiskey

I dreamed of rivers of whiskey

just like the good old days

when I was young and crazy

before liquor had its way

with me

now I see

where everything went wrong

ambition

I don't want to die yet

but time is running out

and I still have no idea

of what this life's about

I wake up every morning

feels like it's the same old day

except for these old feelings

that will not go away

telling me that life is precious

that I should live every moment

enjoying what's around me

instead of ambition's torment

I still need to accomplish

I still need to work

but time keeps moving onward

so much that it hurts

I still need to move

and live and love and shout

but I still have no idea

of what this life's about

feeling grateful

if I am angry

if I am sad

if I am ever

feeling so bad

that I want to throw

myself off a cliff

I just stop

and remember this

          life is hard but life is short

          life is not a spectator sport

          but life is good and life is great

          when you learn to appreciate

          makes no difference what you say

          I'm feeling grateful today

 

so many losses

there are so many losses that you go through

that you don't recognize it when you win

it always feels good till the next morning

when you have to get up and do it again

you say "it's not real" when it happens

when the winds of change are on your side

but little do you know that it's real

the good news that you try so hard to hide

          it's going to be okay

          it's going to be all right

          it's going to be rough all day

          but you'll be able to sleep at night

          it's going to be all right

          it's going to be okay

          everything's going to work out anyway

I go out walking

I go out walking

I see the neighbors

I walk the same path

I walked the day before

I go out walking

like I do every day

nothing less

nothing more

I walk on sidestreets

and cul-de-sacs

I walk to where I'm going

and then I walk back

I arrived back

where I'd begun

back at home

my walking's done

I worry about you

do not stop me from caring

it's what I do best

when I'm worrying and fretting

that's when I have reached success

if you have a problem

you can give it to me

it'll join all the others

just wait and see

this is what I do

I worry about you

I know it's nobody's business

least of all, mine

but I am here to be the witness

of all that you've left behind

I know it doesn't concern me

I don't need to know

but I am curious

as if it didn't show

I don't know what to do

I worry about you

go ahead and leave me

do whatever you need

I'm just stating my opinion

I'm just planting a seed

I know it doesn't matter

what my feelings will be

all I know is I'm interested

in things that have no interest in me

it's what I do

I worry about you

gotta keep moving

gotta keep moving

can't stand still

I have to make it

to the top of the hill

if I don't do it

no one will

so I've got to keep on going

gotta keep moving

no time to rest

I have to give it

all of my best

life is a battle

and I'm passing the test

I feel a strong wind blowing

          I'm not a passenger

          I'm the driver here

          and I'll keep on going

          until I disappear

gotta keep moving

I cannot be late

I'm showing up early

and I can't wait

in constant motion

I appreciate

I have to keep on going

gotta keep moving

no time to waste

there is nothing worse

than staying in one place

where I am heading

is first in this race

I have no way of knowing

          I'm not a passenger

          I'm the driver now

          and where I am going

          I'll find out somehow

gotta keep moving

out over the line

where I am heading

I'll find out in time

looking for somewhere

that I know is mine

I have to keep on going

I have to keep on going

sidewalk in Galway (rewrite 4)

I am playing on a sidewalk in Galway

I am a million miles from home

there is no one paying attention

me and my songs are all unknown

but I keep on playing

it's what I was born to do

and if no one listens

I'll be singing to you

there are people here in Galway

but they don't ever slow down

no coins in my guitar case

I'm just trying to stand my ground

they weren't here when I started

they won't be here when I'm through

and if no one listens

I'll be singing to you

I remember you from Dublin

I remember your sweet smile

I remember our sweet loving

I guess it's been a long, long while

I don't need no audience

you alone will do

and if no one listens

I'll be singing to you

I'll be singing to you

lot in life

nobody understands me

I guess that's my lot in life

everyone reprimands me

says I don't do nothin' right

I'm going to show them all someday

all my worries will fly away

and I won't have to stay

around here that much longer

because I just found out

that I am stronger

than I think I am

stressed

I am not stressed

I tell myself this over and over again

while I am stressed

and worried

and concerned

about everything that could go wrong

but I tell myself it doesn't exist

and it doesn't help

because it does exist

this period of stress

and I don't know how to get out of it

but I will get out of it

I always do

and things will be fine

for now

Hollywood I'm on my Way

nothing is going the way it should

I wish it would

be something good

something in the neighborhood

of untold fortune and fame

I'm sick and tired of all this drama

call my mama

an oxford comma

I would be the Dalai Lama

if it would make well known my name

          I need exposure

          I need my name up in lights

          it's my composure

          that gets me through the night

          I say yes and no sir

          I'm always so polite

          but that's what it takes to get me through

          Hollywood I'm on my way

          and I'm heading for you

all I need is one little chance

I can do a dance

a brave romance

nothing left to circumstance

is what I hope to find

I could be a superstar

hang out in bars

and fancy cars

all this scuffling leaves a scar

but I pay it never mind

          I need exposure

          satisfy my every need

          everything's kosher

          I'm one of a tough breed

          I'm moving closer

          I'm at my chosen speed

          but that's why I do

          what I must do

          Hollywood I'm on my way

          and I'm heading for you

nowhere left to hide

I am hiking down a trail

that I hope leads me to you

I will make it through the forest

it;s what I have to do

to be near you

to be right by your side

I still need you

I have nowhere left to hide

I am sailing the ocean

I am thrown off by the waves

I am thinking about true love

and how it could save me

from the shadows

far from the tears I've cried

I still need you

I have nowhere left to hide

will you recognize me

will you hold my hand

will you be the woman

who finally understands me

will you accompany me

on this strange, weird ride

I still need you

I have nowhere left to hide

heavy lifting

you don't have to worry

you don't have to be afraid

you don't have to feel sorry

for the choices you have made

I am here to lean on

if you ever feel dismayed

I will do the heavy lifting

if you need somebody strong

if you need a friend

if you feel you're running short

and your race is at an end

I'll be here to help you

time and time again

I will do the heavy lifting

          and when you want somebody

          to hold you tight

          throughout the long

          dark and endless night

          I will be there 

          I'll always be in sight

          you can count on me

no matter what happens

no matter what you see

I know that you

know the way to be free

if you're ever in trouble

you can call on me

I will do the heavy lifting

out of breath

let me stop a while and rest

I am out of breath

I am trying my very best

I am out of breath

I've been running

I've been working

and it scares me half to death

I'm still going, but I'm 

out of breath

this old world keeps spinning 'round

I am out of breath

it shows no means of slowing down

I am out of breath

I got worries

I've got problems

and now I'm tempted to smoke meth

I'm still moving, but I'm

out of breath

one day I'll run out of breathing

I am out of breath

but I'm not thinking of leaving

I am out of breath

from my nose

to my diaphragm

I will breathe 

any way I can

I'll earn an A, not an F

I'm still going, but I'm

out of breath

sidewalk in Galway (rewrite 3)

I am playing guitar on a sidewalk in Galway

I am a million miles from home

nobody is paying attention

my songs are all unknown

but I keep on playing

it's what I was born to do

and if no one hears me

I'll be singing to you

I'll be singing to you

there are people here in Galway

but they don't ever slow down

no coins in my guitar case

I'm trying to stand my ground

they weren't here when I started

they won't be here when I'm through

and if no one bothers to listen

I'll be singing to you

I'll be singing to you

I remember you from Donegal

I remember your sweet smile

I remember laughing in the morning

I guess it's been a long, long while

I don't need no other audience

you alone will do

and if no one here needs me

I'll be singing to you

I'll be singing to you

last night's whiskey

I had too good a time with last night's whiskey

and I'm paying for it today

I've been in bed and sick the whole damn morning

now I'm praying for it to go away

but it was sure fun while it lasted

I hung the harvest moon out to dry

but why did I have to get so blasted

now the only thing that I can do is cry

     

          it was last night's whiskey

          sure as my family name

          it was last night's whiskey

          last night's whiskey is to blame

I had a thought

I had a thought

it wasn't good

I wasn't thinking

the way I should

so I waited

for it to change

but it somehow

stayed the same

oh what am I

going to do

my thoughts are false

but they think they're true

I had a dream

when I was young

imagination was

my native tongue

but I grew up

it disappeared

'cause everyone

said it was weird

oh what can I

begin to say

my dreams always turn

the other way

normal

I want to act normal

like the folks on TV

who are everything I

would like to see

when I look in the mirror

there I am

sad, lonely, and sorry

and I don't give a damn

I want to be normal

like the man on the street

friendly and caring

to every person I meet

but instead I pull inward

and I can't see outside

to the love and friendship

that I've been denied

if you know normal

if that's what you see

please take your secret

and give it to me

I won't pass it on

that's what I won't do

I want to act normal

exactly like you

wasting time

sitting in the sunshine

waiting for the rain

someone stop me quickly

before I start to complain

that time moves swiftly

like an old steam engine train

and I am wasting time

waiting for something 

to come my way

until it comes

nothing good to say

if it's going to happen

it's going to happen anyway

and I am wasting time

          nothing happens

          I still worry

          I ask myself

          what's the hurry

someday soon

I know it will

be waiting for me

quiet and still

until peace comes

I've had my fill

and I am wasting time

and I am wasting time

waiting for a ride

I am waiting for a ride

to take me off into adventure.

I've been waiting all my life.

I say to myself

any day now

any day now

party in the yard

I am riding on the city bus

it's the fourth of July

the sun has git no clouds today

the weather's warm and dry

everybody's taking it easy

nobody's working too hard

and that house that we're passing

there's a party in the yard

there's people by the barbeque

an ancient boom box playing tunes

a bunch of youngsters running

throwing water balloons

I imagine chicken and potato salad

and tortilla chips and beer

I life that I would love to live

if I wasn't stuck on here

it's hard to be alone on holidays

more than any other time

the rhythm's not in tempo

the lyrics never rhyme

I look out at the family

and envy what they've got

I ride the bus home

pretending what I'm not

happy fourth of July to everyone

as I stay home alone

listening to fireworks

drinking beer and getting stoned

so as you meet with every friend

every neighbor on your path

take some time to look around

and appreciate what you have

do you have a secret

do you have a secret

whisper in my ear

I won't tell anybody

no one will ever hear

tell me if you want to

I won't share a word

I will assure you

your secret's never heard

do you have a secret

you've carried your whole life

whose sharp words and emotions

cut you like a knife

if you have a secret

you can set it free

you can keep it buried

or you can tell me

every mistake

today is the day

where every mistake I have ever made

comes to mind

no matter what I do

every mistake comes shining through

I can't leave them behind

so many wrong decisions

so many I cannot live in

a world where everything I do

turns out wrong

today is the day

where no matter what happens

I can't forgive myself

I think I'm okay

feet in air and fingers snapping

I need to be somebody else

so many empty movements

find no way to self-improvement

in a world where everything I do

turns out wrong

I don't belong

but I'll be strong

because every mistake

that I make

has tried to teach me

take it easy on yourself

summer is calling

the crows are talking to themselves

the squirrels are hiding in telephone poles

cats are staring out of windows

and ladies are wearing their summer clothes

and me, I wish I was gone

I wish I had a highway to drive away on

because summer is calling

and I feel like I'm falling

behind