1. |
cruel highway
04:30
|
|||
|
cruel highway
gimme a stretch of road where i can get some thinking done
draw me a straight line forever
to hear my engines run
i want to taste that desert sand beneath my teeth
i want to fade right into the day
that i was headed down that
cruel highway
600 miles with nothing but gospel on the dial
i saw a motel 6 to kick my boots up a while
lord lay me down i'll be gone by the very first
light of day
i had a bad dream again last night
of that cruel, cruel highway
such a cruel, cruel
highway
such a cruel, cruel
highway
morning i went in search for coffee
sat down at a road stop
6 truckers turned my way
and one yelled, "hey what's a city boy, doin' in a place like this"?
"didn't your mama tell you, sometimes it just ain't safe
to go out riding down a cruel highway
such a cruel, cruel
highway
such a cruel, cruel
highway
we hit the city limits
outside the damaged night
well i couldn't even remember
what happened on that night
something incredible hit me
when that trouble turned my way
and i had a taste for living
somewhere down that cruel highway
yes i got a taste for living
somewhere down that cruel highway
yes i got a taste for living
somewhere down that cruel highway
|
||||
2. |
shimmer
04:53
|
|||
|
shimmer
for every dream there's a gutter to wash it down
where've you been baby?
cause it's been rain for days and days
easy comes to where easy goes
are you still looking for a hole
to bury your head
well i know what it's like to hide
dustin' for clues along your steering wheel
didn't know the payback on free ride
was worth the trip downtown
a turncoat
a cut throat
in this town they grow like wildfire
up in the hills is that your house i see
burning?
on the darker side of paradise
too real to ever want to stay
and watch the winners fall
through the darker side of paradise
reflected on your face
throwing shadows on the wall…
who turned the light out
on your picture perfect smile
should of known by now
it was just a fool all the while
and by the looks of things
the shimmer's gone
and all your luck is lost
and the diamonds that your flashing
get burned at any cost on the darker side of paradise
for every dream there's a gutter to wash it down
where've you been baby?
cause it's been rain for days and days
easy comes to where easy goes
are you still looking for a hole
to bury your head
well i know what it's like to hide
from the darker side of paradise
too real to ever want to stay
from the top your bound to fall
through the darker side of paradise
reflected on your face
throwing shadows on the wall…
|
||||
3. |
stranglehold
03:35
|
|||
|
stranglehold
money and women
anyone to set your sights
so many ways to fuck it up fight
feed the hunger
or starve a deadly cold
all these evil things got you in a stranglehold
running on faith
somedays to take your claim
gypsies sell you voodoo
from a bucket in the rain
what in the world do we sink our teeth into
all these evil things
can get the best of you
well i don't want no preacher man
to tell me how to pray
when all I've got is this loose change
and that bus ain't goin' my way
well walkin' the line
just johnny and me
half way down to memphis
when the lightning struck a tree
well i'm not runnin' scared
I don't feel a thing
'til i hear that devil man
inside me start to sing
'til i hear that devil man
precisely start to sing
sing about a world in confusion
built from pain and despair
jump into that fire,
he'll gladly meet you there…
sing about a world in confusion
built from pain and despair
jump into that fire,
he'll gladly meet you there...
money and women
anyone to set your sights
so many ways to fuck it up fight
feed the hunger
or starve a deadly cold
all these evil things got you in a stranglehold
all these evil things got you in a stranglehold
|
||||
4. |
detour
05:22
|
|||
|
Detour
Pour me down another bee before it's closing time
never knew just when to stop
when i was feeling fine
well it's my first night back in town
and i'm looking for a love
a friend that won't bring me down
i came up from carolina
yes i drove all night
and i could use a place to rest my weary head tonight
and if you take me home
forget about what's right
i'll be gone before the morning light
cause i'm just passion' through
and i'm lonely just like you
and i hate to see such sadness on a pretty face
if you forget your man, just for a while
you could lay it down next to me
this detour, after detour
what would you say
it's just a detour after detour along the way
in my rearview see the sunrise on another day
and the highway beckons on 600 miles each way
and to the crossroads i've returned
to the bridges all but burned
stood witness to the heavy toll i've paid
and it's so hard to get across
when i think of all i lost
and the wicked things that people say and do
here's a chance to change your mind
in a dust storm drivin' blind
maybe i should drive straight thru
this detour, after detour
what would you say
it's just a detour after detour along the way
i fell so far that day i wore a crown
my hands got splinters on the long way down
i curse sky up above my head
i fell so far that day i wished i was dead
ain't life just a detour after detour along the way
|
||||
5. |
small town lie
02:55
|
|||
|
smalltown lie
goin' back where my life got started
want to see what's kicking' and still remains
so much trouble done followed after
well my mama always said
my life was down the drain
met a young girl-to this day i see her
well didn't fall in love
but sure did try
went around saying'
she would marry me
big mouth speaks
such a small-town lie
was around the time of
jimmy carter
well we party'd in the woods on billy beer
all my friends said we'd be friends forever
well a lot of things changed
in the coming years
met a sullen girl-to this day i see her
i said i played guitar as we got high
mouthed the words, and i faked the chords
i hit the big time with a small-town lie
oh yeah- well there ain't nothing' much that you gotta do
oh yeah
when you live in a small town
live in a small town
live in a small town lie
live in a small town
live in a small town
live in a small town lie
flower power spun into a disco ball
took a janitors job sweeping floors
by springtime i was open to all suggestions
spun my wheels goin' nowhere fast
but i made a good impression on her father
said i was waiting around for my ship awhile
said son you're nothing but a liar
you see the closest drop of water ain't but a thousand miles
oh yeah- well there ain't nothing' much that you gotta do
oh yeah
when you live in a small town
live in a small town
live in a small town lie
live in a small town
live in a small town
live in a small town lie
|
||||
6. |
deadringer
05:38
|
|||
|
deadringer
down at the bus stop
she's just waiting to go
she don't care just a bus
that will take her
her belongings are few
and scattered like dust
but kept a framed souvenir
from her brother
he was older than she
and much wiser in ways
of her old man
who broke bread with satan
he would drink and would curse
and his stare that much worse
she often looked at his death
as not dying
cause living with him was the closest she came
to brimstone and fire on earth
with the turn of a key
in her head she did see
the demise of her father's dark life
the demise of her father's dark life
they called her dead ringer
dead ringer
created in the likeness of he
yes she was
a dead ringer
for her old man was she
twilight in tucson on the corner she's free
to wander all night if she wants to
down at the bar
she just stood there to the tales of lust and decay
to the tales of lust and decay
they call her dead ringer
dead ringer
she's the queen of the cruel highway
yes she was
a dead ringer
for the queen of the cruel highway
back in the parlor the piano keeps playing
a melody that haunts her like no other
can't remember from where
or why she knew the words no one dared to say
the words no one dared to say
about a dead ringer
dead ringer
created in the likeness of he
yes she was a dead ringer
for her old man was she was she
for her old man was she
from her old man
she's free
|
||||
7. |
redemption street
04:29
|
|||
|
redemption street
in my waking hour
staring lost around the room
lay your worries down beside me now
your love is living proof
when i'm drained of inspiration
tonights a far off whistle down a lonesome track
put your memories around a memory
cause there's no turning back
rise to the sunshine
and stand on our feet
let's walk out together
in a line down redemption st.
search my soul for answers
to questions i could never know
they say it's out in california
beneath a desert stone
we'll ride thru the valley
and drink the wine so sweet
let's stand all together
in a line down redemption st.
my moonlight salvation
standing where the rivers meet
won't you show me the way now
down redemption st.
well i've been down each road
without a friend to help me through
and there are so many roads
well i can see a little light
yes i can see a little light
around you
rise to the sunshine
and stand on our feet
let's walk out together
down redemption st.
we'll ride thru the valley
and drink the wine so sweet
let's stand all together
in a line down redemption st.
my moonlight salvation
standing where the rivers meet
won't you show me the way now
down to redemption st.
down to redemption st.
down to redemption st.
|
||||
8. |
nowheresville
04:58
|
|||
|
nowheresville
feels like i've seen this place you know i've been this way before
don't know, but i think i've climbed these stairs
a thousand times before
you sat right there
under the back porch light
seein' fireflies burnin' holes
in the hot august night
but don't you take me down
that mad mad river
where i dove right in
don't you take me back to that place on that map
where time stands still
hey this is nowheresville
oh darlin' what's a pretty girl
doin' here?
don't you know this town is gonna wear you out
well it's already sucked you in
you sat right there
and talk like the future's past
take a drive around the block
goin' nowhere fast
but don't you take me down
that mad mad river
where i dove right in
don't you take me back to that place on that map
where time stands still
hey this is nowheresville
i know plenty of people
who sit like cement
and huddle like flocks of strays
i know plenty of fools who fell thru them cracks
and live and tell of darker days
|
||||
9. |
worthless thoughts
05:39
|
|||
10. |
color inside
04:42
|
|||
|
color inside
can't judge a book by it's cover
why do we judge men by their skin
across the finished line they flag you in
from a race where no one wins
we all get born into this atmosphere
one day our lungs will breath their last
anger frustrated thru a TV screen
eye to eye we carve a valley so vast
we all dream the same
for a better day
we all reach for the same piece of pie
we all fall between the truth and the fictional
it can't be denied
you see we're all the same
color inside
two hundred years still
the fire burns
how could we ever forget
when a child is taken from her mother's arms
to be enslaved or put to death
i know one day far in the future
we'll look back and say
was that prehistoric living
when even now it feels that way…
and we all dream
we all dream
for that day
we all dream…
© chris merola 2003
|
||||
If you like Tumbleweed Mile, you may also like:
Out on the line
by The Blue Highways
The slashing roots rock on “Out On the Line” always makes its way to the kind of triumphant chorus that quickens the pulse.
go to album
the happiest man on earth
by Michael VM
Rollicking roots music from Michael VM, “the happiest man on earth” is equal parts grit and soul.
go to album
On “WARM,” Tweedy offers his most honest and direct songwriting to date.
go to album
Parisian indie pop quintet En Attendant Ana bring smart songwriting and considered arrangements to their latest and strongest record.
go to album
Echo Dancing
by Alejandro Escovedo
The legendary Alejandro Escovedo returns with another country-rock scorcher.
go to album
24th Street Blues
by Tom Heyman
Tom Heyman documents life in San Francisco circa 2023, refusing to succumb to easy characterization & instead capturing the city’s nuance.
go to album
An Evening at Macri Park
by Seán Barna
Singer-songwriter Seán Barna writes a moving and tuneful character study of the dimly-lit Brooklyn queer bar.
go to album
