Headin' North

I work under bridges
Tryin' to keep my head out of the rain
The cheapest tricks on Highway 6
No holds barred, no shame
I go and get loaded
At the end of every shift
Climbing the walls with these petty criminals
Planning for something big

Got family two states over
A kid that I'm s'pose to support
Got myself into some trouble
And since then I've just kept headin' North
Now in every train window
When it's dark I see his face
And I pray to the Lord I could stop headin' North
And hold my son in my embrace

But as it is all I'm holding
Is this black Colt .45
And the hope that it ain't got too late
To make it out of this bank alive
But the counter glass has risen
And I know the cops are already outside
So I hold the barrel up cold to my temple
And whisper good-bye to my child

Just Another Bone

You've got a secret
Don't tell it, just keep it
It's just another bone in the skeleton
You keep locked in your closet

You made some promises
To someone you can't keep
A promise like a heart can be ripped apart
But neither mend easy

And some promises you just can't break
Some take an earthquake
But ain't no earthquake in this world can match a red-headed girl
For devestation and heart-break

But with the walls broken down makes for an easy escape
And with this packet of tobacco I will be on my way
I've got a loose-fitting belt with all the notches on display
I've found some eggs to round-up and some more hens to lay
I've got lyrics that need writing and a guitar to play
I've got some sunshine to find and my own hearts to break
I've got a suitcase, some dreams and a weather-beaten face
That keeps the whores givin' me discount and the pimps out of my way
I've got a bottle in my pocket I can finish, smash, replace
And I can drink until the morning from the morning everyday
I got a coat that smells like sleeping rough that I've had for a decade
And when I speak it reeks of week-old spit at the bottom of an ashtray
But I'll be okay...

No...

I'll be great.

Picking Flowers in the Dark

This Sunshine is all the whores
and heroin that I could ever need.
The Sun ain't afraid to be alone,
just afraid to love. Still, she'll do that for me.

I don't suppose
I could have the Sun
all to myself,
but that's all I want.

The Sun finally went down and
I've never been so sad to see it go.
The greatest night-owl's been shot down;
not dead, just gone.

See, if you leave
a night-owl in the Sun,
he's the vulnerable one
but that's all he wants.

These afterthoughts of you
are the flowers that you gave light to,
still growing in my heart,
that I pick in the dark.

A Happy Song

I've tried drug-lords and street-gangs and prostitution rings
I've tried begging, stealing, selling just about anything
But my hands and my mouth and my feet don't move fast enough
And when you work that kind of job and it all goes wrong
You're on your own, ain't none of your con friends gonna take your fall
And the cops'll be the first to remind you there ain't no one you can trust

So I'm gonna write me a goddam happy song
As soon as something happy comes along
Down life's lonesome road, I suppose you never know what's rolling 'round the bend
All the roads I've been down - nothing happy's shown up yet

I've tried humanitarianism and I've tried vegetarianism
I've tried Buddhism, cataclisms, nihilism and narcissism
But none of that shit seemed to suit me right
I want a six-shooter Magnum and a big ol' hunting knife
A 12-gauge, shots and snares, a big ol' box of fireworks and a rocking chair
I want to make some real noise at night

Well, I've tried loving women but all that I can tell is that they always leave
I've had three wives, four mistresses, a daughter by a priestess and a queen
And with my heart in pieces, sick of women, I got me a dog
Well, that young pup softened me up and I got sweet again
This time with a green-eyed girl by the name of Gemma-Anne
Three months later Gemma-Anne ran off with my truck
And my dog

I won't take no more drinks now boys, I remember last time I took too much
I'll get sick tomorrow morning and I ain't got nowhere to go and sober up
But I thank you for your company the frustration in my life comes from the loneliness
That and I can't get a job 'cos I ain't got no fixed address
And I can't get a fixed address 'cos I ain't got no job
And you want me to write a goddam happy song

A Beautiful Whore

empty hand on empty hand your empty eyes are sullen, glazed and grey
broken heart on broken heart, a promise lying broken in its grave
hearts lying broken in the chests of every man you made
and every one woke up alone wishing you had stayed

no money for the heating bill and your bedroom gets real cold
a boxful of bruises drenched in tears from all the hearts you stole
scars on the insides of men from all the lies you told
asking me for money once again, but i'm so broke

a beautiful whore put on this earth
to take this desperate man for everything he's worth
so why does he come 'round
when he could just desert?
it's nothing more than he deserves

quiet steps down quiet roads these quiet streets don't offer up much change
a party-piece at someone else's party, at least everybody came
you must have put yourself somewhere else, i could see it on your face
asking them all for their money but no one's got that kind of change