If your brother’s don’t come home
And you’re weary in your bones,
Will you sell your soul,
Just to toe the line
Cause the reckoning will come,
When the King becomes the pawn
And all is lost before you know it’s gone.

There’s a line across the water
There’s a darkness in the sky
And it’s time for seeking shelter for the night
Well somewhere in the distance
They keep the hope alive
If we all band together
We can see the light

Come all you pretenders
Come on out tonight
I do not condemn you
I share the stars in your eyes
Yeah you can be forgiven
and face the truth inside
But that tremble and shake
from the weight of the take
Shows the fear that cannot hide

Why should we fight for the cause
If we might die at the hand of the law
You gotta keep your head right
You gotta keep your cards real close
Don’t let the fire die

I get tired worried
I’m always in a hurry
And there’s no time left to care
And there’s not much left to share

I kept my head down when I split town
Left the whole damn mess behind me now
Where does that leave you
If nobody could see you

You know that this ol world can get you down
But you gotta get lost if you’re ever gonna be found
I chased that buzz just a little too long
Like some forgotten song
Go on and call me the lucky one

We hauled the weight in
the load out
The caravan was a throw down now
Shine a light and see it
We got a reason to believe

If we got left out
let down
Got nothing to feel bad about
Show me the odds and I’ll beat em
Save your tears, I don’t need em

Times are changin
There’s a cold wind
That ol devil creepin in again
And the same ol song is spinnin
You believe the words your singin.

His old man was a scoundrel
But his mother she didn’t care
They looked well after themselves
But acted as if he wasn’t there
Brown whiskey and Irish blood
Paper white skin
He had enough

He could hear the birds of summer calling
He could see her down in the river
she’s treading water
He prayed the flood would come and carry him
Carry him with her
He could hear the birds of summer calling
Calling him away

Hard winter down in the holler
Ice on the windows
Cupboards were bare
He could hear the struggle above him
The heavier truth
Too much to bear
Knew well he had to keep still
Better not cry
Better not tell

Set out up the road
But the creek was too high
Couldn’t get home
Found shelter in an old mill shack
Stayed for the night
There was no going back

What can be said about New York City
That’s never been said before
A few days late and a couple bucks short
With the landlord at the door

We can go if you want to
And come back when you’re ready
A little more time and a little less wine
We’ll get back on the straight and steady

Maybe the sun will make it better
We’ll get found in finer weather
I don’t care where your heart is
Far away out in the west
Honey here, right back where we started

Now the wind blows cold and this town gets old
And I never see the stars at night
Do you want to trade the truth for a golden hue
Thin veneer on a paper smile

Still I’ll go if you want to
And come back when you’re ready
A little more time and a little less wine
We’ll get back on the straight and steady

I know her well and I know she will
There’s a power in her way
If I test it out and give it back
She will give it to me straight

I worried then and I can’t pretend
I could guess just what she knew
But we said it all and we broke it off
Just a thing I had to do

And all my memories seem to serve me well
And all of it just brings me back to
The night that Jackson fell

A pretty girl with a worried mind
So many tales to tell
Been around the world on a lover’s dime
He slipped under her spell

He did his best to love her well
But she took more than he could give
So he slipped away with a battered heart
But happy to have lived

A year or two when she told him she was his
The foundation cracked and crumbled then
The night that Jackson missed

The fire bright I could not sleep
For five nights in a row
Just a foolish kid with a one track mind
So much wildness left to sow

Yeah we fell hard and we fell fast
Hurried home to tell our folks
Of the love we found
And the life we made
Then we set out for the coast

And I still feel her standing with me there
Looking over what was left of town
The night that Jackson fell

I swear to God she hears my thoughts
I seldom have to say
What is on my mind or where I’m at
But I tell her anyway

The mystery fades but history
Makes us stronger every day
As a decade fades a new begins
We have cause to start again

And all my memories still do serve me well
But all of it just brings me back to
The night that Jackson fell

Yes all of it just brings me back to
The night that Jackson fell

My brothers are all God forsaken
And it’s not cause they never call home
My best friend’s a sister of fiction
Just afraid of dying alone

And oh how the wind has a way
Knowing without words what to say
If we stumble through the years
Let’s laugh away the tears
Save a place at the table for me
My shelter from the storm and disorder
Is the memory and the hope of the fight
Not the kind that wrecks your home
But what you feel inside your bones
When you make it through the night

After chasing the moon into the dirt
Carrying on until it hurts
If we stumble through the years
Let’s laugh away the tears
Save a place at the table for me

I hope you know I never meant to hurt you
I hope you know I never meant to cause you pain
Though I’ve gone away
They’ll be more sunny days
With the love
And the family we’ve made

In the office in the den and everywhere
I see you there beside an empty chair
As you make it through the years
Please laugh away the tears
Save a place at the table for me

Now I can see a room with all the lights on
And I can see that all my friends are there
Laughing with the reckless kind of abandon
That you have in the company of friends

And oh how the wind has a way
Knowing without words what to say
As we stumble through the years
Let’s laugh away the tears
Save a place at the table for me

Twist my words like an old barbed wire fence
Pin me down so I have no defense
Take away my rights, Take away my pride
The truth is revealed, I have nothing to hide

I saw the news and it damn near made me sick
Big man of the law carrying a big stick
Innocent or guilty he didn’t even care
No mercy or pause for a last breath of air

Will we ever learn
Or just sit and watch it burn
I demand a little more
But I still believe that you
Can tell me something true

They didn’t even try him, Some loop hole in the law
Said he wasn’t guilty, though everybody saw
An officer’s intention to kill with his hands
A glimpse of the darkness that can live inside a man

The promise of salvation, chimes of freedom ring
The pledge is getting hollow, that bird can’t even sing
The hopeless find hope in the shadow of the king
Let’s take a page from their book and fix that broken wing

Now all of my ex lovers and all of my old friends
Is there some coincidence you’re reaching out again
Cause I welcome all you comers in spite of your intent
Let’s all get together at the end of the world
Make the best of what is left

We can sing some old time harmony
That high and lonesome sound
Sing for saints and the sinners
And turn our amps up loud
So loud

Cause it’s not enough
We can’t let it rust
Hear the tune that calls you out
And leaves you on your own
With the highest highs
And the lowest lows
Pack it all up do it all again
And get back on the road

The drive was long and no one spoke
Our nerves were shot to hell
But the bottle turned and the whiskey flowed
For a minute all was well

That’s just what they say they say
Or so the saying goes
But then the tables crashed bottles smashed
And they canceled our last show

She came out in San Francisco, Shot down in Omaha
Said I know that you can see me
But you never sing my song
She made a scene threw a drink on me
And scared off all my friends
Still to this day if I had the chance
I would do it all again...All again

It’s been so long that I could sing you
A thousand verses about lonely
If I told you every single conversation
That I’ve had since we parted ways

I would just give up, you got me caught, I’m guilty
Of staying up and raising hell again
Now the wind may blow truth be told
I could’ve loved you girl so well
From that big old river to the hills of Caroline

Recall the last night we spent together
You told me that your heart was moving on
I shrugged a little shaken said, ‘I don’t believe you’
Cause darling, I was sure you were the one

But the jokes on me, it’s clear to see I stumbled
Though I meant no harm, I know I done you wrong
Still there’s a bit of fire in this beat up heart
That I keep lit just for you
From that big old river to the hills of Caroline

You know I never failed to tuck you in
But I sure do love some whiskey with my friends
And I know that I should not have had another
But good times like these well they don’t last for long

And so I keep you with me when I go
The late night sunshine driving rain and snow
And when I’m alone I just go home
If only in my mind
To that big old river and those hills of Caroline

well the rambling life ain’t easy, but it's the only one you know
wouldn't trade it for nothing, pockets full of gold
you know where the line is
and damn well not to cross
you always find welcome
you never get lost

you are the contender
you’re the last of your kind
and the road goes on and on

at home out on the highway
good times all around
but the lonesome creeps in
when the bright lights go down

and though your soul is bruised
your expression doesn't change
you keep your head up
you stay in the game

you are the contender
you’re the last of your kind
and the road goes on and on

if you think this life could crush you
i promise you it will
cause the wolves get restless
just before the kill
it keeps you up at night
and you don't what to do
but pray for forgiveness
and pray to stay true

you are a contender
you’re the last of your kind
and the road goes on and on

in a cheap motel in Abilene
is where i heard the news but couldn't bring myself to make the call
too many years since we last spoke
you've had a pretty good run
I've had some pretty good shows

maybe, katy
remember when, before we began
when you broke down on the telephone
can you tell me
am i crazy
betting it all on an old pipe dream
when the doors are closing
help me find a way

fame has a way of cutting strings
with your every move in a magazine
for the world to see
all the photographs and acetates
you're big girl now
but do you know who you are

everybody gets a little hurt sometimes
but you get back up
shake it off and carry on
feels a little strange to end up where you wanted
you're gonna be all right
we're gonna be all right

it was a cold wind from the badlands
that chilled her to the core
she was a farmer’s daughter
a child and nothing more

She longed for some connection
to take her from the plains
what she found was a drifter
a heathen full of rage

he said walk with me
hold your hand in mind
he said look at me
see through my disguise
cause i am your future
and darling you are mine

he kept his darkness hidden well
had a softness with his words
he said darlin i must have you
if i can’t no other man will


don't let it all be true
she said I wish the end of you
i rue the day
my lonesome young heart fell
you are not my future
you sir can burn in hell

it's not too late to change your mind
the deal ain’t done
and the sun is high
taken up by worry
and your conscience is not clear
come down, come down now
get your head out of the clouds
so unsettled
where there’s knowing there is hope


now the new stuff ain’t the same
made of plastic, such a shame
if the calvary complains
wake me when it's over
take me back in time

why can't you look me in the eye
you're somewhere else
I don't know why
distracted by invention
we built the future
we made a mess
if the angels all stopped listening
get distracted from our song
if the statues start to crumble
are we lost

people come and people go
some go young, some grow old
sometimes fate can be cold

now allison was a lonely one
she had fuse just like a ticking bomb
still so easy to love

she broke down out of town
lost her throne, cracked her crown
and she had no one to call

so she walked a while
on a country road
feeling old and kicking stones
she had no where to go

it's a long way down
somehow she's gonna figure it out

her mind went back to years before
when she fell in love, but closed the door
chasing a dream and a ghost

what a memory can fail to see
is what hurt so much was meant to be
if she only knew

it's a long way down
somehow she's gonna figure it out

she walked for miles
then thought a while
her phone lit up and she sat down
heard a voice that she knew

say please don't cry
take your time
there's still no rush
but you get in line
life will pass you by

you know it’s hard, and talk is cheap
your pity cries are lost on me
so love, you better listen now

i forgive, but I don't forget
the best part hasn't happen yet
for me or for you

it's a long way down
I know you’re gonna figure it out