a little song

transparent tape

some guitar strings

a little bit

of everything

kalimba keys

sunflower seeds

get your favorite person

and give them a squeeze

please, ma'am, won't you give us a chance

a little song

a little dance

you used to fall in love

you used to drive on mountains

you used to fly above

so many blessings you can't count them

you used to fall in love

you always did your finest

passion always first in line

who are you now, my highness

you're running out of time

I am afraid of past mistakes

they haunt me night and day

if you give me a handshake

I will quietly go away

my words aren't working

they don't come out of me

all I have is this hurting

that no one can see

waiting on you

I'm waiting on you

to bring me the bag

that holds my future in it

I check the time

the scene of the crime

the second hand moves a minute

I don't know who I am

tomorrow moves slow

and yesterday's lone gone

all I need

is a place in need

for which I can hold on

        I'm waiting 

        I'm waiting

        I'm waiting on you

I'm trusting that you

can keep all my secrets

that I can never tell

I've given up on ways

to get through the day

just relying on myself

you are my hope

that the world will run smoothly

lately it's been rough

my fingers are aching

for what's there for the taking

I believe I've had enough

          I'm waiting

          I'm waiting 

          I'm waiting on you

I'm using my hearing

to lift up my spirits

I need your knock on the door

right to the letter

I will feel better

when you bring me more

I'm trying not to be desperate

I know there's some meaning

deep within this space

I don't need advice

but I'll pay the price

as soon as I see your face

'

          I'm waiting

          I'm waiting

          I'm waiting on you

bad habits

bad habits continue

to poison my mind

things are returning

I thought I'd left behind

no questions or answers

no reason or rhyme

no one around to save you

bad habits take time

that could be better spent

earning the money

to pay this month's rent

the way things are going

you'll be living in a tent

nobody to behave to

          I can change, I know I can

          I can change, I know I can

bad habits have got me

afraid of myself

always checking to see

if I'm somebody else

absence of glory

no self-worth or wealth

did I waste all of my time here?

I could if I would

I should set my own self free

claim my stake

in history

working for some

destiny

it's been a long hard climb up here

          I can change, I know I can

          I can change, I know I can

first day outdoors

first day outdoors

I've been a long time gone

nobody but me

to rely upon

I feel no rain

I'm immune to heat

I don't touch carpet

with my feet

a feeling to be stealing one more

first day outdoors

the midday sun

making you and the ones you knew

forever young

I'd sell my soul 

to the company store

just to feel

the first day outdoors

first day outdoors

be still and catch the wind

time for breathing out

time for breathing in

feet planted firmly

on solid ground

open your eyes

look around

a present you cannot ignore

first day outdoors

I don't need your pity

give me something I can use

no more of your abuse

when times were good

they were as good

as times could be

a strong walk in the neighborhood

knock on wood

the way it should be

I wanted good times

a lot more than it was allowed

I don't need your pity

I don't need your pity

I don't need your pity now

new way home

I was looking for a new way home

something previously unknown

called me on the telephone

saying "Hurry! Make it quick!"

I said politely and I turned around

turn that fuckin' jukebox down

Amazing Grace how sweet the sound

I would not throw a brick

heartless

why do you have to be so heartless?

you used to be as free as the wind

now you can't conceive of justice

in this hopeless mess you're in

when did you stop believing?

why do you let life hold you down?

all of your friends take turns in leaving

they just can't take you hanging around

all of your hope has been taken

by circumstances beyond your control

you think it's over but you're mistaken

you still have goodness in your soul

take a moment to search your conscience

you'd be surprised by what's inside

I know you fear the consequences

you can look around but you cannot hide

          where are you going?

          no one can tell you

          you turn the corner 

          at the strangest times

          now you know that

          no one can help you

          you'll have to pay 

          for committing the crime

why do you have to be so heartless?

I know you're afraid to cry out loud

it's so damn hard to be apart, yes,

always somewhere you're not allowed

only you can stop the madness

only you can rearrange

the missing pieces that turn to sadness

you've still got time to change

you've still got time to change

why do you have to be so heartless?

why do you have to be so heartless?

 

I am not hopeless

I'm not as helpless 

as you think I am

I will find my way 

out of this jam

right now things look hopeless

but your eyes deceive you

the only way to cope is

in what you say and do

I am not hopeless

I've known it all along

you may think I'm weak

but I know I am strong

I'll wake up tomorrow

and find a brand new day

trouble may cause sorrow

but I will find a way

          problems may knock 

          hard on my front door

          but they won't possess me 

          like they did before

I am not helpless

I still have my dignity

I have found the courage

hiding deep inside of me

I don't need your worrying

and I don't want your fear

one way or another

I will make it out of here

my persistence is something

I cannot ignore

I am not helpless

anymore 

I still have my mind

you have your facts and figures

about my biology

you've got your mind made up

when it's concerning me

can I meet your approval?

can I pass all your tests?

can I believe your opinions

when you say you know what's best?

          there is more to me

          than you'll ever see

          you have not witnessed

          my history

          you're looking for

          what you will never find

          I may be an old man

          but I still have my mind

I can still remember

the places of my past

I can still do long division

my knowledge seems to last

I may need help in some things

but listen, so do you

I've still got some miles to go

before my journey's through

          there is more to me

          than you'll ever see

          you have not witnessed

          my history

          you're looking for

          what you will never find

          I may be an old man

          but I still have my mind

so take your facts and figures

your plans and studies too

take your unanswered questions

and all the stuff you do

you think you know what's right for me

but you don't have a grasp

take all your false projections

and shove them up your ass

          there is more to me

          than you'll ever see

          you have not witnessed

          my history

          you're looking for

          what you will never find

          I may be an old man

          but I still have my mind

          I may be an old man

          but I still have my mind

   

worried

I am worried

that's what I do

it doesn't matter

if it isn't true

all of the day

and all of the night

I worry about

everything in sight

come the morning

I wake and find

that worrying has

taken over my mind

I'm tense and nervous

and I'm afraid

that my worrying has

to be obeyed

          take your problems

          make them bigger

          out of proportion

          pull the trigger

          take your problems

          make them worse

          is it a blessing

          or a curse?

I worry about

everything I see

with all the strength

inside of me

I know that it does

no damn good

but I still worry

like I think I should

          take your problems

          make them large

          let them know

          they're in charge

          take your problems

          make them devour

          all your hope

          they've got the power

I am worried

I'm in bad shape

it holds me hostage

I can't escape

my worrying knows

how to attack

but one day I

will fight back

I miss being young

I miss being young

my life spread out before me

like a four-lane Texas highway

that never ends

laughter on my tongue

trouble would ignore me

my parents still alive

good times with all my friends

appreciating stillness

never fearing illness

looking toward the future

with every youthful breath

now I am an old man

doing everything I can

to try not to think about

my upcoming death

I miss being young

hitchhiking by the roadside

flirting with the girls

being one of the boys

climbing every rung

joy was never denied

taking every opportunity

to make a joyful noise

appreciating friendship

not having to defend it

experiencing freedom

with a song inside my heart

now I am an old man

fighting to understand

the meaning of my life

and why I must depart

          no need for excuses

          no reason and no rhyme

          now I just feel useless

          and I need some more time

I miss being young

searching for a companion

hunting for adventure

I never was afraid

always having fun

I never felt abandoned

I never had regrets

for the decisions I have made 

summers in the sunshine

I never feared the bad times

I never thought there'd come a day

when my songs would all be sung

now I am an old man

and I do not give a damn

somehow I still feel hopeful

like my life has just begun

I still want tomorrow

I miss being young

driving across Texas

life takes a long time

when you're driving across Texas

with the windows wide open

and the radio on

destination's clear

and the family expects us

we'll be home by morning

sometime after dawn

you try your damn best

when you're driving across Texas

beer in paper bags

you wish you had AC

eyes on the highway

I hope no one forgets us

there will be better times

for you and for me

          three more hours to Austin

          the engine is humming

          a tune we've always known

          you can tell all the neighbors

          that we are coming

          home

look how the summer stars

shine on the windshield

there's no chance of rain

on this hot July night

unending white lines

tumbleweeds in the field

we're both bone dead tired

but we're feeling all right

          three more hours to Austin

          the engine is humming

          a tune we've always known

          you can tell all the neighbors

          that we are coming

          home 

life takes a long time

when you're driving across Texas

one more Dr. Pepper

one more cigarette

we'll drive forever

if common sense lets us

vanish into the night

we'll get there yet   

          

sweet yesterdays

all my sweet yesterdays

I can see them in my mind

all the people in my past

all the ones I've left behind

they return now and I smile

hoping they will stay a while

keeping me from being alone
coming back to take me home

lost inside of memory

I remember you back then

singing songs down at the beach

you were more than just a friend

when I heard you went away

there was nothing I could say

I could not pretend to know

tell me why you had to go

          you were falling

          and I could not see a thing

          you were falling

          and I could not see a thing

the mistakes that I have made

they come back to haunt me now

they overtake my thoughts

and I really don't know how

this is not the way it seems

they never visit in my dreams

except now they come into view

and all I really know is you

          you were falling

          and I could not see a thing

          you were falling

          and I could not see a thing

all my sweet yesterdays

I will never get my fill

I still have them in my mind

and I know I always will

and I know I always will

          

hiding place

the night is frozen

it's as still as an unknown breeze

it's what has been chosen

it'll bring you to your knees

you say "where am I?"

but you know just where you are

in the blink of an eye

in the falling of a star

          you are here

          exactly where you've been

          someday you will return

          to the hiding place again

everything is broken

nothing is the same

all these words unspoken

except the sound of your own name

you say "who am I?"

but the answer doesn't come

all you can do is try

the trial has begun

          you are here

          exactly where you've been

          someday you will return

          to the hiding place again