rusted shells in salvage yards
like a metal house of cards
and the dogs are 24 hour guards
power poles and lives unclaimed
river’s high from all the rain
through the window of this slow
moving train

yesterday the sun was warmer
yesterday the world seemed blessed
now i wake up every morning like an
uninvited guest

on the telephone with you
looking for a word that’s true
y’know the one that never seems to
get through it can heal the deepest
sore but no one told you that before
so you turned love into your own private
war yesterday a song made me smile
my heart beat time inside my chest
now i wake up every morning like an
uninvited guest

yesterday the flowers were sweeter
y’know i didn’t mind getting dressed
now i wake up every morning like an
uninvited guest

in soft melodic measures
you rounded off the edges
and couldn’t see my aim was true
now all your threads of doubt
have sewn me inside out
and keep me far away from you

yesterday the grass was greener
i could even lie down and rest
now i wake up every morning…

you might as well be speaking underwater
when i hear “it’s all for the best”
all i know is everyday i feel
more like an uninvited guest

shawn pelton…drums
paul ossola…bass
duke levine…electric guitar
riley mcmahon…acoustic & slide guitar
jim campagnola…tenor sax
candace debartolo…tenor sax
kenny white…wurlitzer, organ

i could forgive you for something you did by mistake
i could forgive you but you just woke up too late
but hey remember that night in massachusetts long ago
was in december, the snow got to the second floor window
now i can’t imagine your coat in his closet
i can’t imagine his touch feels as warm, or does it?
i do believe you never wanted to tell me what was wrong
i do believe you needed to be guilty and be gone
’cause your eyes, they weren’t reflecting what you felt
and your words, they painted a picture of someone else
and i would have rathered instead of trying so hard to save us
i would have rathered a little more love instead of what you gave us
i’ll be ok, though it may take some time to start
i’ll be ok, as soon as i can heal this heart
in just a moment i’ll say a last good bye to you
in just a moment i’ll try to put your face in the rear view
and still i wonder, was it just some crazy spell
i was under that let me find the heaven in the hell
now i can’t imagine you sitting by the fire with him
with the same books, in the same chair, the same cold winter wind

shawn pelton…drums, loop
paul ossola…upright bass
duke levine…electric guitar
kenny white…wurlitzer
riley mcmahon…acoustic & arpeggio guitar
peter wolf…harmonica

she holds a cigarette up to her lips and draws it in with little sips
her eyes are on the tall ships in the bay
and when she sighs the smoke will make its getaway
i got drunk again last night and i had a hunch i might
i’d really like your arms to save me tonight

there’s a charlie parker tune runnin’ through my head
so my foot begins to move, naturally
and the chords go by so fast, you can feel ’em moving past
the beautiful changes of donna lee

in the darkness when you roll out of bed
you cut a handsome silhouette
i’m watching as you soft step ‘cross the floor
i can feel your heart just wanting more
the fireworks are showering the sky with colored light
and i really need to see me through your eyes tonight

there’s a charlie parker tune runnin’ through my head
so my foot begins to move, naturally
and the chords go by so fast, you can feel ’em moving past
the beautiful changes of donna lee

are you the wild blue yonder or the great escape?
are you the skywritten word that dissipates?

and the chords go by so fast you can feel ’em moving past
the beautiful changes of donna lee

shawn pelton…drums, loop
joe shepley…flugelhorn
paul ossola…upright bass
duke levine…electric guitar
larry campbell…pedal steel
tony beard…additional snare drum
kenny white…piano, wurlitzer

bolt the door and pull the blind, let me grab a glass of wine
there’s something lost we need to find
you can look behind the chair, but i’ve already been back there
and your eyes aren’t as good as mine
it’s a small part of your heart, got shaken loose one day
now every time you walk away it gets so hard for me to stay
every time you walk away a little more goes through the door

do you think love’s gonna bite, clamp down hard and hang on tight
is that why you’re afraid to touch
and do you think you’re being kind
keeping quiet all the time when silence is what hurts so much
lay down here right next to me it’s such a pretty day
please don’t wait until there’s really nothing left to say
’cause every time you walk away you make it hard for me to stay
every time you walk away

of all the faces in my dream it was yours that made me scream
but you won’t scare me anymore
not if you take me at my word
and just forget all that you’ve heard or seen or done or felt
or touched before
and hold me like the air you breathe, the prayer at night you pray

every time you walk away a little more goes through the door
every time you walk away

chris palmaro…string arrangement
riley mcmahon…electric guitar
kenny white…piano, snare drum
jonathan spottiswoode, del pedro, kenny white…background vocals

in my recurring dream we have a daughter with a boyfriend
with a moustache with a taste for younger women, like our daughter
and he has this little habit when he tries to make a point, points his finger
which if it had not been eaten by a table saw when he was 23
would really help to emphasize his point, instead we are distracted by the
sight of the missing joint and no one hears a word he says…
in my recurring dream

in my recurring dream i give a man a 20 dollar bill
’cause he likes smokey robinson and lives on the street, but still
will never confuse the temptations with the miracles
when he walks into the grocery and hears them on the radio
and i’m sad he’s on the street, but glad he can feel the thrill
when “tracks of my tears” comes on and then “blueberry hill”
so here’s my 20 dollar bill…in my recurring dream

in my recurring dream, and this one comes too often
there’s a plane filled with people with carry-on coffins and
i don’t know all the rules regarding karma, but i suspect that
when the good outweighs the bad,
some automatic self-protect should kick in
but here y’got this plane and as it starts to rise
i can see the panic in every pair of eyes and the
silent voices calling in slow motion, trapped and falling, falling…

wake up, you sleepy head – get up, get out of bed
cheer up, the sun is overhead

in my recurring dream, i was eleven when it started
i am standing in my backyard, shooting arrows at a
target
while inside the house, my mother, now remarried
since
last night’s untimely death of my dad
she leans over the couch where he’s still lying – to kiss
him
it’s not that we are ghoulish, it’s just that we would
miss him
so we leave him there a little while longer
and a good thing too, i guess, cause dying’s made him
stronger and three days later he gets up to watch the
news
and the news is often bad, and the news is often sad
and i know a lot of us are happier when we’re sad

wake up, you sleepy head – get up, get out of bed
cheer up, the sun is straight overhead

in my recurring dream, i am working with my brother
we are drawbridge operators and cannot see each
other
when we pull the ropes that raise the road
this cloud above me suddenly explodes
into a million little lullabies that fall into my ears
and steal my attention, but they take away my fear
so when i slip off the rope and fall through the icy waves
i realize it’s not jesus, it’s music that saves
and the fish swim by me with faces like goats
i sink into the darkness – but still hear all the notes

in my recurring dream, i am saying what i feel like
to anyone i feel like and i don’t care what they think of me
to any girl i feel like and i don’t care if she’ll sleep with me
i like what i feel like and i like who i’ve come to be
i’m locked into the moment, and i love with all my might
i am giving all i have, and i’m fearless of the night
i am hopeful – yeah, not holdin’ on so tight
i am giving up the fight – i am giving up the fight
in my recurring dream

shawn pelton…drums
paul ossola…bass
duke levine…electric guitar
kenny white…piano, organ

johnny’s got a crush on marilyn
goose bumps up and down his skin
he runs to the door when she walks in
and life won’t be the same again

bracelets rattle on her wrist
as she pulls her hair up into a french twist
he’s never seen her look like this
and bites the fingers on his fist

johnny’s had a crush on marilyn
from the day he watched her life begin
he pours a 7-up and gin
crosses himself once, and then again

just a little bit after ten
he turned on the tv in the den
and pressed his lips onto her skin
saying “don’t be frightened marilyn”

outside april’s in full bloom
as evening slides into her room
he’ll be home from work real soon
close the shade, silence the moon

duke levine…guitar
paul ossola…upright bass
kenny white…wurlitzer, piano, sweater drum

julia checks me out with a scornful eye
lookin’ back at sammy as if to say why
with all the fine boys put together so tight
why you wanna do this, baby, don’t go out tonight

don’t go out tonight, are you insane?
the hope in your eyes is gonna go up in flames
you’ll try to hold him tight, you’ll try to make him care
but don’t go out tonight, girl, there’s nobody there

we are the lucky ones, we have been blessed
with sensuality of the soul and breast
you’ll scour his eyes for the truth you need
his lips are broken glass and he wants you to bleed

don’t go out tonight with that reckless heart
you swear he makes you tremble, you were
shaky from the start you’ll try to make him
notice the sweet night air but don’t go out
tonight, girl, there’s nobody there

stay with me, i will hold you tenderly, i’ll rub
your shoulders and maybe when the morning
light tiptoes through the windows
you’ll remember how the song goes

yeah he loves your eyes, your dionysian bod
he swears that mouth came directly from god
but he’ll see something else when you show
him your heart and call it self defense when he
tears it apart

don’t go out tonight, don’t go there alone
tell him you’re sick, c’mon here’s the phone
he’ll open your door, he’ll pull out your chair
but don’t go out tonight, girl, there’s nobody
there don’t go out tonight, girl, there’s nobody
there.

shawn pelton…drums
paul ossola…upright bass
duke levine…electric guitar
kenny white…acoustic guitar
amy fairchild…harmony vocal

one step up, two steps back
fighting off this heart attack
the southern sky’s got northern lights
but they don’t even seem so bright
i won’t go back there without you

pinch me i believe i’m dreaming
words take on a whole new meaning
pictures, they don’t look the same
i don’t respond to my own name
i won’t go back there without you

if i live to 90 years
i couldn’t cry this many tears
as it is, i’m beyond blue
and less and less i know is true
and i won’t go back there without you

bent over the stove at home
i catch myself in the chrome
i kind of recognize the face
but someone’s walking in my place
my heart is full, full of space

how’d i get here, where’d you go?
is there anything i know?
the wind is stirring up the lake
this constant dull and vicious ache
is something i may never shake

it’s a cooler night than usual
so i pull out the winter wool
the footsteps that i’d hoped were yours
keep stopping just outside the door
and i won’t go back there without you

i got my friends, i make ends meet
i got my dog who’s awfully sweet
i got my family, i’m not alone
i just have to pick up the phone
but i got no place to call my home

as kids we laughed and screamed and yelled
chased each other, ran like hell
the saddest things, the scariest
would vanish with a little kiss

so take me to another day
wash me in the ocean’s spray
let’s talk about the things to do
there’s so much to look forward to
but i won’t go back there without you
no i won’t go back there without you
i won’t go back there without you

shawn pelton…drums
paul ossola…upright bass
duke levine…electric & baritone guitar
larry campbell…mandolin, fiddle
kenny white…acoustic guitar
marc cohn…harmony vocal

not a smoke in the pack
and the sky’s turning black
and i’m tryin’ to wash down this aching
so i drag off to bed
with a prayer in my head
for one night to pass without shaking

where is the road that you said we’d come to
and where is the child my mother would hum to
and when will the future stop showing the past
i think i’ll just turn out the light

took a vow to be true
and now look at you
chasing small girls with big shoes and punctured skin
staring blank with fatigue
’cause you’re out of your league
are you sure it’s your heart that you’re following

how far is heaven and how long to get there
and when did this pain cut so deep
will you brush back my hair so i know that you’re there
and hold me ’til i fall asleep

and how many years can we blow out the candles
and still not understand
that love, like an old piece of cloth from the attic
just came apart in our hands

kenny white…piano, string arrangement
shawn colvin…duet vocal

“last stop,” says the driver
and everybody rushes to be the first one to see what this night holds
for them
“last stop,” he says, and with a collective lurch forward
they reach for cover when the air’s a bit too cold for them
hilfiger bags bounce off each seat up the aisle, fruits of a day-long
mall attack
boppin’ mexican boys with their hair cut short on top and long in the
back
ears stuffed with portable sonys
still manage to hear each other say somethin’ about cajones

“last stop,” and the murder mysteries close and the word jumbles
get rolled up and put under the arm
i suppose to be dropped into the nearest trash

“last stop” to the click, click, click of the cell phones snapping shut
in some crazy syncopation

except those whose time is just way too valuable to let a little
interference
get in the way of making sure we all hear how important their lives
are

“hello, hello, hello, i’m losing you”
“hello, hello, hello, can you hear me?”
“hello, hello, hello, is this better?”
“hello, hello, how ’bout now?”
“hey right there, don’t move…… shit”

“see you tomorrow, have a good one,” they mumble
some headed out for a cold one
some home to give the wife a tumble

“last stop,” says the driver
and everybody rushes to be the first one to see what this night holds for them
“last stop,” he says, and with a collective lurch forward
they reach for cover when the air’s a bit too cold for them
hilfiger bags bounce off each seat up the aisle, fruits of a day-long mall attack
boppin’ mexican boys with their hair cut short on top and long in the back
ears stuffed with portable sonys
still manage to hear each other say somethin’ about cajones

“last stop,” and the murder mysteries close and the word jumbles
get rolled up and put under the arm
i suppose to be dropped into the nearest trash

“last stop” to the click, click, click of the cell phones snapping shut
in some crazy syncopation

except those whose time is just way too valuable to let a little interference
get in the way of making sure we all hear how important their lives are

“hello, hello, hello, i’m losing you”
“hello, hello, hello, can you hear me?”
“hello, hello, hello, is this better?”
“hello, hello, how ’bout now?”
“hey right there, don’t move…… shit”

“see you tomorrow, have a good one,” they mumble
some headed out for a cold one
some home to give the wife a tumble

“hey last stop, pal”
and he looks at me frozen in my seat and i’m thinking
anything i’ve ever done in my life…if i’d done it
one minute sooner or one minute later
i might’ve landed in a whole different place with a whole different view
there’d still be me, but maybe not you
same fingerprints on different doors, a loving father, a casualty of war
hero or zero, phenom or flop
we’ll never know ’cause tonight it’s
last stop

it doesn’t matter how many miles we cover
we’re measured by the love that we give to each other

shawn pelton…drums
paul ossola…upright bass
duke levine…electric guitar
riley mcmahon…acoustic guitar
kenny white…wurlitzer
kenny white & amy fairchild…background vocals

i know it seems when you look back on it nothing was true
that i never loved you and you just were wasting time

i should have been fair i could have been proud instead of
so scared, and i know it now that i’m ready to leave all this behind

i never had it in my heart to be untrue and i was just as
sad and shaken up as you

i thought i was strong and letting my guard down was
weak, but that’s wrong i’m changing my mind and i’m
ready to leave all this behind

i hope you find the missing pieces for your heart
that chapter had to end before this one could start

maybe a place or a song that gets played will remind you
of something you still wouldn’t trade`and that some of it
was real and some of it was kind and we’re ready to leave
all this behind

kenny white…piano
bob magnuson…clarinet
richard locker…cello