1. |
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I’m tired of all this calculatin’, waitin’ round so long
Takes a lonesome rambler to sing a lonesome ramblin’ song
Honey, put your good foot in the road
Figure out the details, check your numbers twice
If you wanna make a break for it, well, don’t take that advice
Honey, put your good foot in the road
Boss man’ll tell you a card laid is a card played
When it’s him that’s dealing, well, exceptions do get made
Honey, put your good foot in the road
I sure like Mama’s biscuits and her homemade apple jam
But I love the feel of waking up not knowing where I am
Honey, put your good foot in the road
The road goes on forever, the road it never stops
Just easy on your liver, boys, and careful ‘round the cops
Honey, put your good foot in the road
There’s plenty generous people on the right and on the left
You’ll see we’re bound together like the warp is to the weft
Honey, put your good foot in the road
Hit a patch of good luck, people treat you nice
Got one foot in the open road and one in paradise
Honey, put your good foot in the road
Hit a patch of hard luck, people treat you mean
Wouldn’t be oases without spaces in between
Honey, put your good foot in the road
It’s a risky deal you’re makin’, forsakin’ house & home
To wander sacred territory out there on your own
Honey, put your good foot in the road
But you’re learnin’ when you’re burnin’ bridges, learnin’ when you fall
If you won’t dance ungracefully then you won’t dance at all
Honey, put your good foot in the road
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2. |
Leave a Light On
04:02
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This is a low-budget love song, there’s no car chase scene
No moon falling from the sky or mountains crumbling to the sea
I just wanna be around you, I’ll try to say it plain
And if you don’t believe me, I’ll spell it out again
I know it’s intricate step-work, we don’t wanna rush
This measured cadence and the distance between us
But I got a steady feeling, like I never knew
I’m thanking life for second chances, and glory for you
You know so many songs, if singing makes ‘em true
Play me one where the lovers make it through
When the miles stretch out between us like a hazy memory
When it’s storming on the highway, and it’s getting hard to see
Leave a light on in your heart for me
And if I’m running my mouth, won’t you put me in my place
Sit my fool self down and look me in the face
You know I’m not the quickest learner but I’m figuring it out
Waiting for those pretty words to tumble from your mouth
You say you got so many stories, plenty that I know
Tell me the one where you don’t have to go
When the miles stretch out between us like a hazy memory
When it’s storming on the highway, and it’s getting hard to see
Leave a light on in your heart for me
After all that time wondering what could be and could’ve been
Since I landed in your company the world feels new again
I’m just grateful for the sunlight at just that time of year
And whatever unseen forces conspired to bring us here
So go after your dreams, every place you dare
Just dream us one where I can meet you there
When the miles stretch out between us like a hazy memory
When it’s storming on the highway, and it’s getting hard to see
Leave a light on in your heart for me
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3. |
Just Enough Empties
05:30
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You may not believe me, but right here where we stand
There once was a creek-bed, carving through the land
Then a couple rows of houses, and nothing after that
But wheat fields and train tracks where we made our pennies flat
And on long summer evenings with dinner in the air
We’d fly our bikes down main street, wind running in our hair
And we’d pick up cans and bottles ‘til Davey said to stop
And take ‘em to the drug store for a couple ice-cold pops
Just enough empties for a full one
Look how it catches the light
It’s anybody’s ticket ‘til they pull one
I can see forever tonight
See that old factory, with the windows boarded up?
Me and Davey used to work there before the times got tough
Paydays he’d play the lottery, put his numbers down
But it was an army recruiter had his ticket out of town
I just kept on working, but I never got ahead
One day a man in uniform informed me Dave was dead
And I drained every bottle, and I broke every glass
And when they took the house I slept under the overpass
And it’s a quarter for the big ones, the little ones a dime
The normals don’t hassle me, they haven’t got the time
And you’d need a couple bags full, to drink another day
Oh, but there were always people just tossing ‘em away
Just enough empties for a full one
Look how it catches the light
It’s anybody’s ticket ‘til they pull one
I can see forever tonight
This town full of strangers, I remember it back when
How they look at me, they’d never guess that I was one of them
It’s getting rougher by the river, people I never seen
Dropped off by oxycontin, and methamphetamine
But I’m trying to stay sober, trying my best to care
Sometimes at night I catch a whiff of dinner on the air
And I’ve seen the light drain out of every dream I ever had
But Rosa says she’s pregnant, and I might be the dad
Just enough empties for a full one
Look how it catches the light
It’s anybody’s ticket ‘til they pull one
I can see forever tonight
I can see forever tonight
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4. |
Say Can You See
04:02
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I love this country, I love the people and the land
But there’s a lot of stuff happening that I can’t understand
We got billions for bailouts, we got trillions for wars
But it’s hard for working people to make a living anymore
Hear me out for a second, this ain’t a partisan song
It ain’t about right and left, it’s about right and wrong
We’re fighting over the scraps while a few are living like kings
‘Cause screwing us over’s a bipartisan thing
And it’s working people who made this country great
Not the greedy opportunists or the peddlers of hate
And if a new day’s coming, it’s gotta come from you and me
Oh say, can you see?
See, I got a neighbour, we don’t always agree
He’s a bit of a redneck, according to a hippy like me
But if you’re in the ditch, he’ll pull you out, I know he will
And that’s more than I can say for all those dickheads on the hill
He works hard for his family, he’s got loyalty and pride
The company took all he gave and then cast him aside
See, there’s profit in poverty, hell, there’s profit in prisons
And they don’t even pay taxes, they just buy politicians
But it’s working people who made this country great
Not the greedy opportunists or the peddlers of hate
And if a new day’s coming, it’s gotta come from you and me
Oh say, can you see?
Oh say, can you see?
In New York Harbour there’s a lady with a flame
Still calling in the huddled masses in Liberty’s name
But there’s fear on the airwaves and hatred wrapped in the flag
Turning strangers into enemies and our riches into rags
And a revolution to break the grip of greed
Don’t need a strongman or a saviour, but I believe we’re gonna need
Whatever magic this old world’s got left to start
And all the ammunition in the chambers of our hearts
It’s working people who made this country great
Not the greedy opportunists or the peddlers of hate
And if a new day’s coming, it’s gotta come from you and me
Oh say, can you see?
Oh say, can you see?
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5. |
Tulsa
03:48
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The sunset in your rearview feels like
You could run forever
You’d love someone to hold you
But they can’t hold you together
That endless stash of careless years
You burned through it somehow
The marrow you sucked out of life
You sure could use it now, sure could use it now
And your heroes all died young
They were racing, chasing the sun, singing
A short time running and a long time gone
You said you were an outlaw
And you raged ‘til they believed you
It took you for a hell of a ride
But where’s it gonna leave you?
How’d you make it home last night?
Where’d you get those bruises?
Could it be that all your reasons
Are nothing but excuses?
And all the lovers you string along
Oh, you catch and release them with your song that goes
A short time running and a long time gone
The whispers of your conscience
That get drowned out when you’re bingeing
Come back around to haunt you
Whenever you turn off the engine
But you’ll tear through another town
Like everywhere you’ve been
If you can’t turn yourself around
Just turn yourself in
On the tangled road ‘tween here and home
What’ll you leave as you go along on your
Short time running and your long time gone
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6. |
What to Keep
03:50
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Going through old boxes, getting rid of things
Feels kinda like a part of you dying
Found an old journal where I’d written my dreams
And suddenly I don’t know why I’m crying
And I’m wondering if I’m anything
Like that bright-eyed boy had in mind
And what to keep, and what to leave behind
Everything just blows by in the open air
Forever young and living for the chase
But life sat me down for a long, hard stare
At what had me running in the first place
And the parts of me I refused to see
For fear of just what I might find
Of what to keep, and what to leave behind
I dreamed I built a raft to cross a river
And it took me over to the other shore
But then I got scared to leave it there
In case I had a need for it once more
So I dragged it on across the burning desert
Where the wind-blown sand made me blind
And as I fell to my knees, I still couldn’t see
What to keep, and what to leave behind
Everywhere they’re taking down old statues
Calling out the shadows of our past
The men we called heroes, the vice we call virtue
The ways that served us once but just can’t last
And it can break a heart to tear apart
What’s been so long and closely intertwined
As what to keep and what to leave behind
Going through old boxes, getting rid of things
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7. |
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Passin’ through, passin’ through
Sometimes happy, sometimes blue
Glad that I ran into you
Tell the people that you saw me passin’ through
I saw Adam leave the garden with an apple in his hand
Said, “Now you’re out, what are you gonna do?”
“Plant some crops and pray for rain, maybe raise a little Cain
I’m an orphan now and I’m only passin’ through”
Passin’ through, passin’ through
Sometimes happy, sometimes blue
Glad that I ran into you
Tell the people that you saw me passin’ through
I asked Christ on his cross on a hill called Calvary
“Do you hate mankind for what they done to you?”
He said, “Speak of love, not of hate, so much to do and it’s getting late
I’ve so little time and I’m only passing through”
Passin’ through, passin’ through
Sometimes happy, sometimes blue
Glad that I ran into you
Tell the people that you saw me passin’ through
I was at Roosevelt’s side on the night before he died
He said, “One world must come out of World War II” (bless his heart!)
“All creeds and colours, every one’s a father’s daughter, a mother’s son
We’re all on one road and we’re only passin’ through”
Passin’ through, passin’ through
Sometimes happy, sometimes blue
Glad that I ran into you
Tell the people that you saw me passin’ through
They broke the hands of Victor Jara and then told him to play guitar
In Chile Stadium after the coup
And though they beat him and they mocked him,
he kept singing ‘til they shot him
“Hasta victoria, I’m only passing through”
Passin’ through, passin’ through
Sometimes happy, sometimes blue
Glad that I ran into you
Tell the people that you saw me passin’ through
Tell the people that you saw me passin’ through
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8. |
Rollin' to You
02:34
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Darlin’, I heard about your breakup
You’d think he and me were in cahoots
‘Cause I know just the dance floor, you don’t need no makeup
Girl, just put your hair up and shine up your boots
High rollin’ or low rollin’, I’m rollin’ to you
When I get back to town, won’t you drag me around
See what kind of trouble we can get into
This radio’s got every kind of lonesome
This road map’s got everywhere but gone
If I call off all this rollin’ on my own, some
Day do you think we could call it on?
High rollin’ or low rollin’, I’m rollin’ to you
When I get back to town, won’t you drag me around
See what kind of trouble we can get into
Knowing all the rough roads I travel
Knowing all the dangers in a day
Knowing all the turns where the plot could unravel
Come hell or high water, I’m comin’ either way
High rollin’ or low rollin’, I’m rollin’ to you
When I get back to town, won’t you drag me around
See what kind of trouble we can get into
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9. |
Let Love Have Its Way
05:01
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I been looking all over
For the heart of this land
It’s all the same from the highway
Paranoid and bland
But I found a string of outposts
Dug in deep behind the lines
It’s getting harder to hold hope
But that’s where I’m keeping mine
And it’s scary breaking cover
It’s hard breaking ground
And it’s the nail that sticks up
That gets knocked down
Oh, and every bit of brilliance
In all that you do
They’ll find a way to twist it
And try to sell it back to you
Considering your options, you could play it smart
Or you can let love have its way with your heart
You might think that it’s hopeless, before you even start
Let love have its way with your heart
See, I’m just like the system
Stubborn and scared of change
In the throes of addiction
Turning hungry-eyed and strange
And the more I see it in myself
The more I kick and shout
Like we hate the infidel
‘Cause he shows us our own doubt
You can point fingers, deny any part
Or you can let love have its way with your heart
You might think that it’s hopeless, before you even start
Let love have its way with your heart
Love’s talking through the mothers
And singing through the Earth
When we’ve dug the last dollar
We’ll see what it’s worth
And this is coming down hard, friends
Not if, but when
And just as cruel as we are now
We could be crueler then
And you can shore up the walls that keep the world apart
Or you can let love have its way with your heart
You might think that it’s hopeless, before you even start
Let love have its way with your heart
Oh, let love have its way with your heart
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10. |
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Why am I leaving my home again?
Why am I leaving my best good friends?
Why am I leaving my home again?
Somebody please make me wanna stay
Here comes that old feeling again
Old travelin’ bone trumps everything
Just like Ol’ 55, I got tears in my eyes
I wanna see those highway pearls tonight
Why am I leaving my home again?
Why am I leaving my best good friends?
Why am I leaving my home again?
Somebody please make me wanna stay
I guess I got friends in lower places
And I can’t stand not to see their faces
My stay-put roots ain’t real strong, I got good boots and better songs
Come help me now, fellow vagabonds
Why am I leaving my home again?
Why am I leaving my best good friends?
Why am I leaving my home again?
Somebody please make me wanna stay
Somebody (somebody!), somebody (somebody!)
Somebody please, make me wanna stay
Somebody (somebody!), somebody (somebody!)
Somebody please, make me wanna stay
Nobody (nobody!), nobody (nobody!)
Nobody’s gonna make me wanna stay
Nobody (nobody!), nobody (nobody!)
Nobody’s gonna make me wanna stay
Why am I leaving my home again?
Why am I leaving my best good friends?
Why am I leaving my home again?
Somebody please make me wanna stay
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11. |
Tangle of Souls
05:27
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As a kid all I could think about
Was getting out and running around
Heard my teachers and my bosses making offers to tie me down
But the poets and the misfits, the lost and profound
Were talking like the world’s a big ol’ tangle of souls
So I set out for the shimmering distance
Not dressed for the wind and rain
Unaware that any blessing worth having comes with a burden of pain
And all the love and all the hurt, the sacred and profane
Are bundled together in the bittersweet tangle of souls
The way wound through towns and tenements
Through deserts and dirty streets
I struggled to hear a kindred heart in the chorus of concrete
But by happenstance I chanced upon the ones I needed to meet
Such a rare thread in this vast tangle of souls
Between the field of stars above
And the fields of dead below
Taking a wayward shot at love
Giving it all back when we go
I saw plenty people living with nothing
And felt grateful for my shoes
For all the road took from me and all I’ve still got left to lose
Some nights I swear I hear this whole old world croaking the blues
Howling the hurt of this tragic tangle of souls
It’s a fleeting incarnation
It’s a gift that you can’t keep
Stardust with a will to live is all there is to me
Every atom’s borrowed and every heart’s a refugee
Looking for home in this strange tangle of souls
Between the field of stars above
And the fields of dead below
Taking a wayward shot at love
Giving it all back when we go
Some say this world’s an accident
Just a clockwork running down
Some talk like it’s a tournament where the cruelest gets the crown
Seems to me it’s a pilgrimage and every step is hallowed ground
A walk through fire in a holy tangle of souls
My brain boggles at the distance
That brought this song to you
All the bottlenecks and borders I put my body through
Hualien City to Haida Gwaii, Katoomba to Kalamazoo
Wide-eyed wandering through the fathomless tangle of souls
Between the field of stars above
And the fields of dead below
Taking a wayward shot at love
Giving it all back when we go
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12. |
Right to Roam
03:29
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Scott Cook Edmonton, Alberta
Canada's prairie balladeer Scott Cook has managed to distil the stories collected over years of near-incessant touring across Canada, the USA, Europe, Asia, and Australia into straight-talking, keenly observant verse. All the hard miles notwithstanding, he still believes that songs can change your life, and your life can change the world. ... more
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