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