On the cutting room floor

all I want is a peaceful life

with space to stretch and room to breathe

where fresh fruit and vegetables

are not forbidden luxuries

where I can watch my children play

without the fear that one will stray

a good home for my kids and wife

all I want is a peaceful life

all I need is a bench to sit

a front porch to watch the setting sun

a glass of wine and a hand to hold

when the hard work of the day is done

where we can watch the girls and boys

make their fair share of joyful noise

no sound of guns

no siren cries

all I need is a peaceful life

all I want is somewhere to be safe

all I need is a little faith

all I want is hope for a better day

each night I lie in bed and pray

all I want is a peaceful life

to rest these weary bones at night

to forget about the rent and bills

or groceries when money's tight

a job to go most every day

where I can make a decent wage

where hope is not an empty lie

all I want is a peaceful life

I know it's here

just out of sight

So here's the latest rewrite on "A Peaceful Life."

I see. You chopped quite a bit out of it. Not that that's a bad thing.

No, it's not. I sort of combined two verses into one. I may take out that second bridge. We'll see. The song may have more changes to come. We'll see about that too.

Is it painful to cut, farmboy?

(laughs) I feel like we're in the cutting room, making a movie. And you know all sorts of stuff ends up on the cutting room floor. Editing, man, that's important.

There was only one line that I cut that hurt. But, man, it fuckin' killed me, you know?

And the line was...?

No sounds of guns, no siren cries

Oh, yes. I liked that line.

Yeah, me too. Plus, it's a line that I rewrote. It's slightly different than the one I showed you before.

It fuckin' killed me, man. But I wanted the "empty lie" line. I like the "guns" line because it's visual and it gives you an idea of where this man and his family live. But "Where hope is not an empty lie," well, that's an emotional line.

But, who knows? The "gun" line may go back in at some point. We'll see, man.