from across the street, rewrite two

the life I used to live
is across the street
I see you walking in and out
but our eyes never meet
I see the doors and windows
were moonlight would come in
when I was the magnet
of your touch upon my skin
I wish I could be again

I still see our boys
from across the street
showing off on skateboards
day to day
week to week
I can see your face
inside each one of their's
I can feel a love
that I once believed was shared
that was never really there

         what I recall
         I see it all
         from across the street

I see your new friends
from across the street
each one a new replacement
for the sorry likes of me
I hate every one of them
with all the rage inside me
I'm a ticking time bomb
and you're right there beside me
just waiting to ignite me

the man I used to be
is across the street
all my history 
is across the street
there's no place for me
across the street
but you can't erase me
from across the street

my imagination

my imagination
has ambitions
that it needs 
to fulfill
my soul's the victim
of malnutrition
I can't bend it 
to my will
I am not
young anymore
some might say
I'm over the hill
but my imagination
no one can touch that
it only belongs to me

my imagination
knows no borders
only bridges
never walls
no need for
law and order
my imagination
is above it all
I am not
young anymore
in seasons,
I'm traveling through fall
but my imagination
no one can touch that
it only belongs to me

my imagination
gets me in trouble
it somehow always
gets its way
I fight it
I start to struggle
but my imagination
says that ain't okay
I am not
young anymore
soon I won't be here to stay
but my imagination
no one can touch that
it only belongs to me

people be helping

people be helping
that's what they do
you might not believe it
but I swear it's true
there are angels 
watching over you
except they're just people
you meet
people be helping
you you may not see it each time
since it's now all statistics
about punishment and crime
but some people just want
to be decent and kind
regular folks out on the street

if I had a bar

if I had a bar
the kind of place I'd own
would be a bar 
where I played guitar
I'd call it home sweet home
it would be my job
to make the noise
each night I'd play
buckmaster's choice
and you would eat 
your burger with avocado
the food and the mood and the music
would make you shout "bravo!"
you'd rate it four stars
if I had a bar

if I had a bar
the jukebox would play
only songs by Sam Cooke
and Hank Williams Sr.
all damn night and day
and people would drink
tequila with lime
couples be dancing
in three quarter time
clear out to the farthest car
if I had a bar

if I had a bar
I'd ask her to waltz
in my arms 
to a new melody
I'd hold her close
yeah, I'd be the most
impressive man she'd ever seen
and the place would empty
except for us two
I'd take every dream 
and I'd make it come true
like fireflies in mason jars
if I had a bar
if I had a bar

from across the street, rewrite one

the life I used to live
is across the street
I see you walking in and out
but our eyes never meet
I see the doors and windows
were moonlight would come in
once I felt the tenderness
of your touch upon my skin
I wish I could again

I still see our kids
from across the street
growing up like tumbleweeds
day to day
week to week
I can see your face
inside each one of their's
I can feel a love
that I once thought was shared

         what I recall
         I see it all
         from across the street

I see your new friends
from across the street
each one a new replacement
for the sorry likes of me
I hate every one of them
with all the rage inside me
it's like a ticking time bomb
and you're right there beside me
just waiting to ignite me

the man I used to be
is across the street
all my history 
is across the street
there's no place for me
across the street
but you can't erase me
from across the street
you can't erase me

hammer in hand

I got a hammer in hand
I'm gonna build a house
I'm gonna lock my blues in
and never let them out
you can knock on my window
you can break down my door
but I ain't gonna play
your game no more
'cause I can do what I want
'cause I'm a freeborn man
I'm gonna do it all
with my hammer in hand

I got the keys to the car
I'm gonna fill it with gas
and drive far, far away
on my own behalf
I might go to New Orleans
or down to Mexico
or maybe Montreal
baby, I don't know
I'm just like an old folksinger
this land is my land
I'm gonna hammer out freedom
with my hammer in hand

ain't got a full-time job
ain't got much bills to pay
but I got imagination
and it's getting its way
and I'm leaving today
to see where it will lead
oh Lord, grant me vision
oh Lord, grant me speed*
I'm getting out fast
while I still can
I'm building a new life
with my hammer in hand

*from "In My Hour of Darkness" by Gram Parsons/Emmylou Harris

amateur tattoo

somebody hurt you
somebody hurt you as a child
and you never learned how to love at all
now you stand 
you're standing in a big mean world
feeling five years old 
lost in a shopping mall
there ain't no bonding when all you see
are fractured thoughts of what used to be
hiding inside you
a pale shade of blue
like the scars 
of an amateur tattoo

somebody left you
somebody left you all alone
and alone you remain to this day
now you cry
crying tears that never end
no one to tell you it'll be okay
life plays a cruel, cruel game
you waited for help that never came
out into your view
the pain,
it still shows through
like the scars
of an amateur tattoo