So Long West Texas 

you can't say one thing about me / that I ain't said before / well it's been years since I've been wanted / but I don't want that anymore / yeah they burned down the Kmart / and the walls textile plant / and I never learned to speak spanish / but they still call me a wet back / and my momma drank herself to death / but my daddy raised us right / and my brother drank himself to death / but my daddy raised us right / we had more kids than mattresses / and I grew up on the living room floor / say "you can't get high" to folks like me / well what are we bleedin' for / but the city they done went and changed / the marijuana law /

now it looks like I might get to do some livin' after all.

Yeah my sister she went back to school / they said she was too damn old / yeah but she knows there's worse things in life / than payin off student loans /cause her husband put her in a cast / she shot him last fall /

now it looks like I might get to do some livin' after all. 

they said sign right on this dotted line / or else you'll go to jail / so I shipped off to the service / yeah but I still went to jail / hey by all accounts i'd settled down / but I's born raisin' hell / some soldier picked a fight with me / now he can't taste or smell / seven days inside a courtroom / told my story standin' tall /

now it looks like I might get to do some livin' after all. 

I got a hotplate in my motel room / and I'm a week behind on rent / but I heard the city's hiring / and they don't do background checks / and by buddy said his band is gonna cover one of my songs

yeah i looks like I might get to do some livin' after all, motherfucker!

Barstool

bottles of whiskey / drink of wine / smoking my cancer / another line / is this the way / you think you wanna live life / it gets kinda cold out there when that wind blows at night and I been/

wakin up on a barstool no knowin' where I am / ain't the way that I pictured my life when I was just a kid / no where to turn to / I got no place to go / all these so called friends but I still feel all alone

and it's hard / but I guess / it's where I belong

another day / it's just another night / drinkin' up booze / and startin' up fights / and it's the same old me / and still the same old you / you get low down spending your life payin' dues and I been

wakin' up on a barstool not knowin' where I am/ this ain't the way that I pictured my life when I was just a kid / no where to turn to / I got no place to go / all these so called friends but I still feel all alone

and it's hard / but I guess / it's where I belong

I woke up in a cold sweat / straight feeling like death / I promised myself I'd never feel this way again / then I let myself down / I wouldn't be the first / sometimes I find it's hard to tell what's left behind these eyes and I been

wakin' up on a barstool not knowin' where I am/ this ain't the way that I pictured my life when I was just a kid / no where to turn to I got no place to go / all these so called friends but I still feel all alone 

and it's hard / but I guess / it's where I belong.

Sandra

Sandra left to San Antone they said about three days ago and I guess she forgot to scream my name

well i heard her scream it once before i kicked down the bedroom door but i know she still loves me just the same

cause sometimes she'd say please don't wake me / she'd say please from this dream / and i'd often times agree

so i packed my bags to follow her and make sure everything's alright cause i know those babies can be a handful in the middle of the night

well her mom gave me her phone number and i found her dancin' in a bar while the kids shared a happy meal by the door

she cried when she saw my face and i started bustin' up the place cause i know Sandra ain't nobody's whore

cause sometimes she'd say please don't wake me / she'd say please from this dream / and i'd often times agree / yeah i'd often times agree

well she kept dancin' i'd wait for her / we changed our town but no who we were / we let cocaine drive the train

well the kids lost weight but we fed our hate and we longed for lives alone but there was no where to go but home

home

and If i don’t leave now i’ll live regret / you know my heart can't take anymore / and i burned this town almost to the ground / but this next battle might just win me the war

she lost the kids and i lost my mind and i cry when i think about those times when Sandra used to say to me

she'd say please don't wake me / she'd say please from this dream / and i'd often times agree / i'd often times agree, yeah

i'd often times agree

When I'm Gonna Fall

I’ve been livin' I’ve been dyin' / for some time now / either drinkin' or cryin' / out running around it's been a barstool or bedroom / or some place i can't recall / been stumbling for so long i'm wondering when i'm gonna fall

well kind faces once surrounded me and laughter filled the air / now it's me and this bottle / there ain't no body here it seems like / all my company consists of is an old bark keep and unfaithful women and this dog at my feet/

it's another job another boarding room / off in another town / spend time with these people they wish i wasn't around and i been / running from something i can't remember / toward something i don't know / this life keeps passing me by it's been passing to damn slow / this life keeps passing me by it's been passing too damn slow

i’ve been livin' i’ve been dyin' / for some time now / either drinkin' or cyrin' / out running around it's been a barstool or bedroom / or someplace i can't recall / been stumbing for so long i'm wondering when i'm gonna fall

been stumbling for so long i'm wondering / when i'm gonna fall

Melissa

you never sing me sad songs anymore / and your're always talking like we're gonna die / does that mean you've finally come to life / oh Melissa your sweet dreams still make me cry

we finally saved enough to follow through / but i drank up all the money before noon / i made me a lot of friends at the liquor store / oh Melissa looks like you've been here before

but if i ain't chasing women you're ok / you know i try not to explode or run away / you ride the bus to visit me in jail / oh Melissa i've been dragging you through hell

you cut your arm cause it's the only thing you hear / your friends all say that you ain't thinking clear / you done the sign of the cross when i leave the house for years / oh Melissa all your worries lead to fears

and you wouldn't ask the sun not to shine / you say you wouldn't change this troubled heart of mine / forged inside Nolan County Line

you wanna know just what it is i'd do / to make an honest woman out of you / and finally unpack my suitcase by the door / oh Melissa i can't do this anymore

oh Melissa i can't do this anymore

oh Melissa i can't do this anymore

Locusts

I may not be the one you can run to but i know / i will stand here and let you scream at me all you need / cause i know you tried real hard to leave the past behind / but it hitched a ride on memory and know it's holding your hand / while they're singing songs about songs they listened to when they was a kid / our search for answers led to questions 'bout the questions we had instead / and he hates the world for being born into that place / and he's gonna take it all by punching somone in the mouth / and he hates to fall asleep / it's like dying every night / he wishes he didn't want more and left without sayin' a word / but he's so easily impressed by the thoughts inside his head / and he spends his nights coverin' the walls with the words of the dead / and he shuts his eyes and sees a woman wearing clothes / and wishes he woulda seen her naked more whenever she was around / but you know the judgement's come through and she's no longer a wife / he won the kids but somehow he knows she's won the life / and now he dreams about hanging himself from the top of the stairs / in the dead of the night. 

Parasites

smokey old bar rooms with them whores runnin round / disease in the air yeah and piss on the ground / i get so down lord got nothing left to do / except run around with some old no good crew

there was a time we'd laugh and share a smile / but even back then i was living in denial / i never could be good enough for you my dear / you ever come down well i'll be right here

she walks that hillside with the flowers in her hair / i'm sittin' here drinkin' trying hard not to care / she walks through the valley lord where the sun shines so bright / i'm down in the gutter with all them parasites

all the blow and whiskey can't numb my pain / the devil's bene calling me yeah drive me insane / they say there's blue skies but i'll never know / cause i'm down at the bottom where nothing ever grows

there was a time we'd laugh and share a smile / but even back then i was living in denial / i never could be good enough for you my dear / you ever come down well i'll be right here

she walks that hillside with the flowers in her hair / i'm sittin' here drinkin' trying hard not to care / she walks through the valley lord where the sun shines so bright / i'm down in the gutter with all them parasites

maybe someday it’s gonna all go away / sun will shine in yeah brighten my day / until that happens well i'll keep holding on onto the edge cause that's where i belong

she walks that hillside with the flowers in her hair / i'm sittin' here drinkin' trying hard not to care / she walks through the valley lord where the sun shines so bright / i'm down in the gutter with all them parasites

i'm down in the gutter with all them parasites

No One's Ever Gonna Know Your Name

don’t go wishin away the things that make me me / i don't mind the world needs my kind to kick around / how the else are you gonna feel better about yourself without someone like me / to leave behind

my first tooth rotted out when I was thirteen years old / remember you’re a man and all your heroes will die /and you don’t look so official in that collared shirt as you think you do /so kindly wipe your feet and step into the light

well you used to have it bad but that ain’t gonna save you now/ don’t be afraid / you ain’t the only one

she’s got half a mind to leave you here sinkin in what you made /and a heart that’s been makin excuses for the ones she loves

we’re sittin round a table made from a giant wire spool / remember you’re a man and all your enemies will die /  you don’t look so official in that collared shirt as you think you do / so kindly wipe your feet and step into the lightdon’t go wishin away

don’t go wishin away

don’t go wishin away

don’t go wishin away

cause you don’t look so official in that collared shirt as you think you do / so kindly wipe your feet and step into the light

Heart

you can pick your licks / do your tricks / act real cool and talk real slick / but it all comes down to heart

do you mean what you say or you just try to rhyme what other people play / it all comes down to heart

what we all got beating down inside / what makes us smile in the warm sunshine / what makes us wake for another day

it all comes down to heart

sometimes it don't make no snes but i can feel it and that's what counts / it all comes down to heart

my body's tired and my head hurts but it don't matter let them do their worse / it all comes down to heart

what makes us smile what makes us laugh / what makes us grateful for what we have / what makes us care about what other people say

it all comes down to heart

i never claimed to be the best or even compete with the rest / it all comes down to heart

i love you and i hate nothing i love to play and i love to sing / it all comes down to heart

Chris N' Sally

standin in a line for government cheese / you come by and ask me please / come over to the porch and sit with me / kickin' suits and money on out of your dreams

step outside about a hundred degrees / climbing up a rope in a sycamore tree / in the middle of the river with one good swing / we'll hold hands and enjoy the breeze

and i don't wanna go to work in the morning / oh lordy lordy lord / gonna make me do some shit i don't wanna / oh lordy lordy lord!

flotain' in the river when the sun comes up / the moment i know that i was in love / you had a paddle and i had a pole / headed for my favorite fishin' hole

and i don't wanna go to school in the morning / oh lordy lordy lord / gonna make me learn some shit i don't wanna / oh lordy lordy lord!

a case of beer ain't no match for me / i ain't blacked out in a bout a week / my buddy's goin' half on a bag of weed / i hope you didn't plan on getting no sleep

cause i ain't gonna go to bed til the morning / oh lordy lordy lord / gonna stay up and do some shit i don't wanna / oh lordy lordy lord!

and i don't wanna go to work in the morning / oh lordy lordy lord / gonna make me do some shit i don't wanna / oh lordy lordy lord!