front door

open up your front door
lift your right foot
go outside
there's nothing to be afraid of
no reason left
for you to hide
lock the door behind you
feel the wind on your face
you don't know where you're going
but you're going someplace

okay

I'm tougher than you think
I can do surprising things
I have fought the fiercest enemy
I have grabbed the golden ring
now I face a new risk
I don't know what to do with this
but I'll find a way
I'm tougher than you think
I'll be okay

prayer

Jesus, I need help
I'm shaking, trembling in fear
please take care of me

southeast streets

on/off of buses
walking on these southeast streets
one of many homes

looking for candy

there was a girl
down at the bar
one look I knew
she was gonna be a star
I said "say there miss
why are you in a joint like this"
and she said
"I'm looking or candy"

I don't remember my passwords

I am not good
at being me today
so I'm trying on costumes
I'm putting on masks
I'm changing my voice
I don't remember my passwords
and when I grow tired
I'll head home
and breathe freely 
like I used to

are we there yet 2

my body is the car
and my mind is the driver
sometimes I'm leaving
and sometimes I'm an arriver
my brain keeps saying
words I should forget
are we there yet

no matter what I do
no matter where I am
my mind keeps causing
its traffic jam
in words whose meaning
I disrespect
are we there yet

I don't care why and
I don't care how
just get me out of
the here and now
present tense
makes me upset
are we there yet

are we there yet

there's this voice
inside my head
been there since
I was a kid
a voice I never
will forget
saying over and over
are we there yet

I don't mean drive's
in the family car
I talking 'bout stuff
anywhere you are
the here and now
is anyone's bet
when you're always asking
are we there yet

please don't make me

please don't make me
write a song about you
'cause heartache songs
are all I ever write
God only knows
how I'll live without you
please don't make me
write a song tonight

I don't want to tell
my therapist about you
'causes his time is too expensive
and I don't even know your name
when I see the bill
that says "amount due"
I'll write a song
and you'll be the one
to blame

          it'll be a sad one
          three chords and the truth
          I think it could be a hit
          let me find my rhinestone suit

please don't make me
write a song about you
'cause heartache songs
are all I ever play
please don't give me cause
to ever doubt you
please don't let the muse
get in our way
hey hey
please don't make me
write a song today
          

something up your sleeve

can't you see
that northern star above us
guiding us on
our long journey home
blessed savior
if you truly love us
you'll have the wind and waves
leaving us alone

          life is hard
          but death is harder
          sometimes I don't
          know what to believe
          so I'll believe
          that you are smarter
          and that you have 
          something up your sleeve

can't you see
that clear new morning 
another chance
to start anew
I've spent my life
obeying every warning
now I know
exactly what to do

          life is hard
          but death is harder
          sometimes I don't
          know what to believe
          so I'll believe
          that you are smarter
          and that you have 
          something up your sleeve

all my favorite people

all my favorite people
are people I don't know
I see them on computer screens
on the old cellphone
I don't ask them how they're doing
and they never answer back
all my favorite people
are all the friends I lack

up your sleeve

can't you see
that northern star above us
guiding us on
our long journey home
blessed savior
if you truly love us
you'll have the wind and waves
leaving us alone

          life is hard
          but death is harder
          sometimes I don't
          know what to believe
          so I'll believe
          that you are smarter
          and that you have something special
          up your sleeve

can't you see
that clear new morning 
another chance
to start the day anew
I've spent my life
obeying every warning
now I know
exactly what to do

          life is hard
          but death is harder
          sometimes I don't
          know what to believe
          so I'll believe
          that you are smarter
          and that you have something special
          up your sleeve

writing rule #1

the only way
I can be free
is to fill the page
in front of me

good then

life was good then
we were ageless and young
I'm the father of three kids
and their dad is a son of a gun
some folks don't like me
so I don't like them back
I may not be your kind
but you don't need to attack

love was good then
without her is a drag
memories of two of us
as one in a sleeping bag
if it hadn't been for the drinking
I'da never gone after that girl
she got my brain to thinking
and she firmly rocked my world

          it's so damn strange
          the way things change
          what I would give
          to have something remain

day after

the day after
when all has been completed
is a good day
time for well-earned rest
that ends all too quickly
the next morning

liar and a thief

I didn't know any better
I believed every thought
you fed my weak mind
every word, every letter
you knew every way
life could leave me behind
I believed you
you deceived me
I would do anything
to make you leave me
I cannot give in to your beliefs
you don't know me
time has shown me
you're a liar and a thief

you have been my constant companion
since my first days
on this wild earth
you convinced me I was abandoned
you convinced me
I had no fucking worth
I believed you
like a damn fool
a monster who knew best
how to be cruel
you've caused only pain and grief
but I know I'm right now
I'm ready to fight now
you're a liar and a thief

there isn't one single reason
for you to be with me
for you to be standing here
get ready to change seasons
get ready for a change
get ready to disappear
I believed you
you deceived me
getting rid of you
it won't be easy
but I'm out from underneath
say so long now
you're gone now
you're a liar and a thief

nothing

nobody can tell me nothing
that I don't already know
like that voice inside my head
that won't leave me alone

fresh blueberries

natural sugar
color of a new evening
bursting in your mouth

you and me and a loaded gun 2

I will destroy the evidence
I will lie like a son of a bitch
I will change my residence
I will pull the switch
I will do what I need to do
and won't stop until it's done
this is between 
you and me
and a loaded gun

stand up for something

you gotta stand up for something
in this God-forsaken life
where danger is no stranger
and it's right between the eyes
you gotta stand up for something
in this grumpy one-horse town
if you don't stand up for something
then, by all means, sit down

you don't have to be alone

when your world
is much too much
snd everybody
is out of touch
call me
I'll pick up
no message, no tone
you don't have to be alone
you don't have to be alone

when you car
needs to be fixed
when your job
is making you sick
call me
I'll come running
I'll take you home
you don't have to be alone
you don't have to be alone

sky

I'm waiting 
for all these gray clouds
to get the hell out of my sky