Parts Unknown

I tried hard to keep her home
Tried talking common sense
She said she had to see the world
Through a different lens

She bought a new Minolta
Dyed her hair Rotten red
Quit her job at the Blackstone
Where she worked on the weekend

Left her cat with mother
Promised one more roll in bed
But our last night together
She got drunk with all her friends

Parted at the station
Lips smacked of menthol
Promised that she’d write
Promised that she’d call

Then she turned around
Got on the Greyhound
I guess she can be found
In parts unknown, unknown

Well I used to miss her so
The selfish stuff she’d do
Took money from my wallet
To get her next tattoo

Then some days she slept till noon
And walked to the coffee shop
Reciting nonsense poetry
Off of the tabletop

She’s the one that’s gone away
But I’ve reached a milestone
I don’t miss that silly girl
Who’s off to parts unknown

Parted at the station
Lips smacked of menthol
Glad she didn’t write
Glad she didn’t call

Then she turned around
Got on the Greyhound
I’ll never look around
In parts unknown, unknown

****


The Getaway

Starts the morning with a cup of coffee
NutraSweet and no-fat cream
Lights a Winston turns the sign on
Every day it’s the same routine

Opens the door open for business
But the cars stop less and less
Ever since they put in the freeway
Neighbors say it’s the price of progress

Where are the families and the screaming kids?
The nervous guys with the pretty girlfriends?

Where are the hunters? The motor homes?
Where are the bikers with the two-wheel testosterone?

Chorus
On the freeway
On the freeway
On the freeway
They made a getaway

First opened in 1964
Moose head hanging over the double door
The glass eyes they could almost cry
Staring out at the empty dining floor

Another summer praying for business
Another summer at the same address
Ever since they put in the freeway
Might have to sack another waitress

Where are the families with the screaming kids?
The lost soul asking for directions?

Where are the couples on their honeymoon?
The truckers found another greasy spoon

Chorus (twice)

****

No Luck Tears

Land’s so flat, you could see for miles
If it weren’t for crops and the tall tree lines
Was the kind of town to which the college kids came
Spent their parents’ money on booze and football games 

It’s all soured now like cheap, warm beer
With one-eyed jacks, and no luck tears 

No place stays the same for long
This town used to move with its evening fog
It found a fast and furied track to fame
What’s the use? Things will change

It’s all soured now like cheap, warm beer
With one-eyed jacks, and tourist tears
No luck, no luck, no luck, no luck tears 

Moraines to the west and oil to the east
Farms in-between, hey, this land has got no peace
Betrayed by all including its own sons
What’s the use when money speaks in tongues? 

No luck, no luck tears

****

Too Late

I walked in with a look on my face
You slapped me with eyes that smile
Guilt’s hittin’ me like a truck
The path to Redemption seems like a mile 

Chorus
Is it ever too late…ever too late to make right (x 2)  

Walls of emotion bar me from peace
The truth is on the tip of my tongue
Push me hard, I can take it no more
Communication was left at the door 

Chorus (x 2)

Your warmth smothers me as I lay still
Dark hair fans out on the bed
Confession fills the empty space
Our bond is made whole again 

Chorus (x 2)

****

Sobering Encounter

Unlike jazz guitar, floating through groaning horns
You shift through days and people, with an awkward gait

Learn the currents of Grand River; they don’t seem so dangerous
Now it flows in-between, between your pain and your despair
You sober me, sober me

Try and fail and try and fall, changing who you want to be
You’re covering up a painful past, always changing, always a-changin’

Have you come down at all? Have you found yourself at all? Have you come down?

****

Lonely Street

She walks down lonely street, afraid to face the fear inside.  We heard…
demons slowly closing in the dark.  Don’t want to face the truth.

Mistakes seep through the past.  A hand slowly closes in around the dark.
Without much pain she cries for the one who let the fear inside her heart.

Chorus
I saw her on the road last night, the tears fell down and now she’s gone
Without much pain she cries for the one who let the fear inside her heart.
She walks down lonely street, afraid to face the fear inside.  We heard…  

An empty space is left.  Shadows play with soft light in the dark.
Bricks fell one by one.  And endless chain is finally put to sleep.

Chorus (x 2) 

****

Jackson County, 9:30 PM

Four full beers in the ‘fridge, eight empty cans in the truck
You went out and lost your life tonight, and you lost control of your luck  

Swervin’ down that dusty road, you musta not known who you were
You smashed into my cousin’s car, and you screwed up his whole world  

Somehow he pulled himself out between the windshield and the frame
With broken ribs and a busted leg while your soul went up in flames

You had four full beers in the ‘fridge, eight empty cans in the truck
You went out and lost your life tonight and you lost control of your luck  

****

Gone So Many Years

It’s a quiet downtown
Junk shops and a legion hall
Better stores and cafés
Moved out to the shopping mall

Veterans come and go
Shuffle past the sidewalk cracks
Every now and again
They take a glance looking back

Chorus
They say hey,
The sound of that train whistle?
It was music to my ears
The bread at that old bakery?
It’s been gone so many years

In the brick town square
Still stands the old clock tower
But it’s silent now
No bell to ring in the hour

Those damn crazy kids
Broke into the tower one night
And one fell to his death
The vets say it served ‘em right

Chorus
They say hey,
The sound of all that traffic?
It was music to my ears
The soup at that old diner?
It’s been gone so many years

The grand old theater
Where vaudeville used to play
Then came Hollywood
And the kids saw the matinee

Then came the big box
Eight screens and stereo sound
Then came the plywood
To board up the jewel in crown

Chorus
They say hey,
The sound of that train whistle?
It was music to my ears
The bread at that old bakery?
It’s been gone so many years

The sound of all that traffic?
It was music to my ears
The soup at that old diner?
It’s been gone so many years

****

Be Seen

If Ma says, “Pack your stuff,” it ain’t time to mess around
Pile in the Ford again, find us a better town
Run away from problems, do our best to hide
They always seem to find us like a hound that’s left untied  

You say, “Do some work,” but I know how to stall
You’re talkin’ in my ear, but I don’t hear you at all
I’ve done somethin’ wrong, so you stand me against that wall
And I would throw these books if it meant your world might fall, just fall  

You say, “Be still,” but I got plans of my own
You won’t get no help ‘cause no one sees me at home
Try to act tough but I’m really not that mean
And I would throw these books if it meant I would be seen, yeah

Just wanna be seen, and I just wanna be seen, yeah, be seen

****

His Autumn

His hair is getting thinner with every passing year
To get the same effects it takes a few more slugs of beer
The boat pulls in harder with every passing fall
Never did replace the mirror on the bedroom wall  

Chorus
It was such a short time ago when all was within reach
Now the kids are gone, their rooms bare, there’s no one on his beach  

His friends don’t stop for coffee too much any more
The phone rings less and less, he’s tired and he’s bored
Talkin’ to the TV, they think that he’s going insane
Thank God for cable, always finds a Tiger game  

Chorus

He can’t wish it all away
Facing truth was never his forte  

Chorus

****

Many Falls

Oh long ago, men and women / laid down below tears went up to heaven  
Pulled from their home, chains weighed ‘em down / they were bought and sold, no one made a sound

No potatoes to feed the peasants / A million died – no one heeding the lessons
Millions more sailed in hopes of plenty / They just found a promise to be empty 
 
Chorus
Hate and rage forced on us all
Its always They or Them that have to take the fall  

First nations roamed free on the land / Manifest destiny forced its hand
Trails of tears told of their plight / Now slots ring out in the night  

Chorus

Reich of hate forced down yellow stars / death trains, black boots, steel bars
Teeth of gold, bodies burned and broke / Up to the sky lifted souls and smoke  

Chorus  (x 2)

****

Stuart Lonely

Lost himself in 1980
Feelin’ sad and feelin’ empty
Ten years after leavin’ high school
He’s still aimless, he still feels low

Oh oh, Stuart Lonely
Oh, oh, sad and lonely 

Workin’ at the local diner
He’s in the back room breaking china
He spends his money on his comics
And his paneled two-room apartment 

Oh oh, Stuart Lonely
Oh, oh, sad and only
Oh oh, Stuart Lonely
Oh oh, maybe you know me
Maybe you know me

****

TV Land

Father knows best in my hometown
Kids they don’t mess around
Wife’s home and keeps it clean
Makes her favorite recipe

A picket fence world of laughs in a can
Look out for the sign
My better home not the Twilight Zone
Look for me on prime time

That's where I’m from
That's where I’m from

All the girls are sweet sixteen
Skirts fall below the knee
Kids know how to duck and cover
We don’t raise no commie lovers

A Boy Scout world of black and white
Gee that’s swell, that’s grand   
My better home not Twilight Zone
Look for me in TV Land

That's where I’m from
That's where I’m from

No broken homes no single moms
It’s lily white ain’t got no bums
No working poor ain’t got no slums
March to the beat of the same drum

A white bread world of fantasy
Nothing gone awry
My better home not Twilight Zone
Look for me in TV Guide

That's where I’m from
That's where I’m from

Look for me on Nick at Nite
That's where I'm from
Look for me on prime time
That's where I'm from
Look for me in TV Guide
That's where I'm from

****

Friday Night Hero

Well, he could throw that ball a mile
And the path looked bright ahead
Well ain’t he great, he made All State
So the local paper said

Won every game that season
Captain of the team
Sis boom bah and rah rah rah
Life’s a touchdown dream

Chorus
He was a Friday night hero
That’s what he became
Friday night hero
Whole town knew his name
Friday night hero
They watched every play
Friday night hero
Hip hip hip hooray!

Coach said son, I know you’re good
And they love you in the stands
But to me it’s plain, you’re no Bobby Layne
Better have a back-up plan

Well he paid coach no attention
And he screwed around in school
Skipping class for a piece of ass
And partying like a fool

Chorus

Now he gets his check on Fridays
And finds his favorite stool
Sips his ale and tells his tale
Life can be so cruel

Gets home after midnight
Yearbook’s off the shelf
He flips the page to another age
And dreams about himself

Chorus