BLUE GOLD LP LYRICS
WHEN TOMORROW NEVER COMES
Life was a dream inside four walls
With marionettes and voodoo dolls
I was just swept aside
Waiting for you to find
What happens when tomorrow never comes
You were a riddle I could not get
You were a stone I could not lift
Guided by foolish pride
Now I’m left high and dry
What happens when tomorrow never comes
For better luck how I could taste it
To live a life that is not wasted
But every chance I have forsaken
For you
Another matinee crowd
I hear them say, “what a let-down”
Come here we’ll fix you up
Like a broken coffee cup
What happens when tomorrow never comes
For better luck how I could taste it
To live a life that is not wasted
But every chance I have forsaken
For you, for you
NOTHING’S GONNA SAVE YOU NOW
The news is claiming 75 again
But I still dream of rain
On the asphalt of the promenade
And the smell of cheap champagne
But there’s no time for dancing now
You hung up your shoes when they broke your crown
You’re living for nothing now
Gave it all to some darkened crowd
Nothing’s gonna save you now
Nothing’s gonna change
This small time living’s got you down
Nothing’s gonna save you now
I hear the helicopters overhead
I see a darkness in your eyes
Wish I could make it disappear
If only for a while
There’s a raven on the power line
There’s thunder by the 405
It’s heading north over the hills
In search of one last thrill
Nothing’s gonna save you now
Nothing’s gonna change
This small time living’s got you down
Nothing’s gonna save you now
I hear Billy’s on the outs again
Selling food stamps and fountain pens
Standing over his brother’s grave
Crying mama there’s nothing left in my veins
METAL DREAMS
On a greyhound or on a train
Waits a man without a name
Where the gamblers and the dark eyed women play
Not going back to where they came
In a city bursting at the seams
Chasing down those metal dreams
Paradise is a road
Stretches out through the great unknown
At the end the story goes
Waiting for you a pot of gold
The light is heavy the air is dry
The desert bird sings a lonely lullaby
Living at the edge of the western sky
Often leaves one asking why
In a city bursting at the seams
Chasing down those metal dreams
Paradise is a road
Stretches out through the great unknown
At the end the story goes
Waiting for you a pot of gold
Magnolia
Cashed out in Indy, 4th of July
My number on an old receipt
From CVS or some dollar store
Where the light is antiseptic green
Now it’s lonely in New England I can’t escape the chill
Reliving all the promises you have yet to fill
I tried to follow you to places I couldn’t see
But the darkness it would not free
No the darkness it would not free
Oh I know
You’ve got ways
Oh I know
Take it easy
Your sister Jo is calling me
Says I should show my face
But what’s the point of showing up
For a birthday you wont make
I hear you singing in my mind
Ohia in the spring
The only band you ever liked
Magnolia Electric Co.
Magnolia Electric Co.
Oh I know
You’ve got ways
Oh I know
Take it easy
I’m living in a better place now
Amidst the smell of pine
Hoping I don’t get that call
from the hospital tonight
Oh I know
You’ve got ways
Oh I know
Take it easy
CHRISTOPHER
Sit down on these soiled sheets my friend
The time has come to meet the modern man
All hubris and mirrors in his thin skin
Step right up before the smoke gets in
But he’s gone looking for Jehovah again
In his rags of Egyptian linen
They said he likes paint on confessional walls
First comes the flood then comes the fall
C’mon now Christopher lay down your gun
The war is over the race has been run
No use in trying to change what’s been done
What would you give for your only son
He talks to virgins with lily-white hands
They come to him asking how to find a man
Just ask the officer who lives in the tower
He’ll sort you right out but he charges by the hour
You and I could make a killing out here
Put up a for sale sign ransack it in a year
While these blonde Madonna’s compare their scars
And the Governor’s in his mansion counting his cars
C’mon now Christopher lay down your gun
The war is over the judgments are done
Out on The boardwalk’s only pimps and thugs
And snow cones melting in the midday sun
ALCATRAZ
There’s a salt inside the wind
Brings me back to knowing you again
Like a storm you can’t outrun
Like a stone the past can’t be undone
Alcatraz my body is risen
Alcatraz all is forgiven
There’s a calm inside your eye
Makes me wonder why I always chose to hide
Underneath you I would lie
And dissipate just like the ebbing tide
Alcatraz my body is risen
Alcatraz all is forgiven
Counting shadows in the rain
Always wondered what you wanted me to say
Alcatraz my body is risen
Alcatraz all is forgiven
MARQUEE MAN
These hands weren’t made for shoveling dirt.
Don’t bring me no hammer or hoe
They’re diamonds in the hills where I’m going
84 with no chance of snow
Don’t ask me to stand in for Brando .
This square jaw looks best to the right
Don’t ask me to follow instructions
I keep my chin up in a fight
So find me a gold tuxedo
And line up the studio men
I’m heading out west where the sun sets
Baby, I’m a marquee man
Not gonna croon like Sinatra
Or drink to an early grave
At the Burgundy Room on Cahuenga
Where nobody has a last name
So find me a gold tuxedo
And line up the studio men
I’m heading out west where the sun sets
Baby, I’m a marquee man
So gather you celluloid women.
I’ve come with a foolproof plan
No need for rabbit’s feet or lucky numbers
Baby I’m a marquee man
So find me a gold tuxedo
And line up the studio men
I’m heading out west where the sun sets
Baby, I’m a marquee man
DUKE ELLINGTON’S BLUES
You were in the bathtub with yesterday’s paper
I sat down on the edge you say, “can we talk about it later”
All the dreams we could’ve had all the dreams we could’ve known
Guess we didn’t notice when they walked out the door
Seven years on and we’re still dancing to that ol’ song
What am I do?
What am I do?
What am I do with you?
I met you in New Orleans, a drink in each hand.
Talking ‘bout all the places you’d been, talking ‘bout Duke Ellington
Said you knew a friend of mine long since passed
Said you could read my mind, how could I last?
Seven years on and we’re still dancing to that ol’ song
What am I do?
What am I do?
What am I do with you?
It’s hard to tell what you’re looking for
When you don’t care anymore
Seven years on and we’re still dancing to that ol’ song
What am I do?
What am I do?
What am I do with you?
Now we, “don’t get around much anymore”
TOO TIRED TONIGHT
I put out the fire and I put you to bed
Now alone in the stillness of time
When I look in the mirror the lines crowd my eyes
I could cry but I’m too tired tonight
There are pictures in frames and a two-car garage
There’s a distance inside of your arms
As you pass me again with no words exchanged
I should fight, but I’m too tired tonight
I’ll leave you alone to your newspaper thoughts
I’ll leave you alone with my life
For I love you still, but I’m losing the will
It’s alright, I’m just too tired tonight
PINK ELEPHANT
Another ham sandwich with a Mexican coke
Another long day with a shortening rope
Another silent prayer on a plastic rosary
Another day in the cavalry
And all the wild-eyed girls they gather in the night
Beneath the neon collecting all the light
Exaltation in an ATM machine
The light that draws us here is farther than we think
The daylight’s rising on the long boulevards
I see a pink elephant in a lot selling used cars
Pawnshops and payday loan billboard’s fill the sky
Hey I’m just looking to get by
And all the wild-eyed girls they gather in the night
Beneath the neon collecting all the light
Exaltation in an ATM machine
The light that draws us here is farther than we think
So make that last request take that final bow
There’s always another pretty face out there in the crowd
When everybody gives it out for free
This land wasn’t made for you and me
THE DEVIL IN ME EP
THE WANDERER
Years pass us by
Just like fog in the harbor
What once was a new day
Doesn’t dawn any longer
Headlines are shouting
It’s all gonna end
Why are we watching
Playing pretend
It’s plain to see you won’t need me much longer
So I’ll go back to the life of a wanderer
You stopped wearing make-up
And curling your hair
What once was a girl
Now a women standing there
We used to joke over cocktails of gin
Now we’re just strangers in familiar skin
It’s plain to see you won’t need me much longer
So I’ll go back to the life of a wanderer
Years pass us by
Just like fog in the harbor
What once was a new day
Doesn’t dawn any longer
ONE-MAN SHOW
Everybody knows a man in every little town
His curtain rises as the sun goes down
You’re just the big-top man waiting for your cue
Give the world a laugh that’s we expect from you
And everybody knows You’re the one-man show
No ticket needed I know Gather round for the one-man show
He’s so quick and fearless they say
Nothing gets under your skin much these days
Always have quip or a clever turn of phrase
Ready on your tongue to lighten the weight
I came to your side again
Just like the last time you couldn’t hold it in
Always got the last word in always run the show
With your eyes as wide as a thief had to let me go
And everybody knows You’re the one-man show
No ticket needed I know Gather round for the one-man show
Fate never dealt a hand so predictable
I knew you’d rather burn out than become another joe
But they wont make a martyr out of you
No t shirts with your face, made your escape to soon
Now Houdini’s in the graveyard and the dogs howl at the moon
I hear a flash of lightning, guess that means your passing through
My old friend who had all the lines, We both know living can be the harder life
And everybody knows You’re the one-man show
No ticket needed I know Gather round for the one-man show
HAPPY EVER AFTER
Hiding from the daylight
Hiding in your high heels
Everybody’s lost something
Sign up for a new deal
Running to the doctor
Running to the chapel
Happy ever after
Oh happy ever after
Hiding in the graveyard
Meet you down at high noon
All the things we try to hide
All the vices we pursue
Running to the doctor
Running to the chapel
Happy ever after
Oh happy ever after
Touch me in the moonlight
After my bones rust
Out of the big city lights
In god how we trust
Running to the doctor
Running to the chapel
Happy ever after
Oh happy ever after
THE DEVIL IN ME
Three in the morning sweat on your face
your blood is boiling your heart starts to race
you say, “there’s a man I gotta see
Just past downtown I need some relief”
You say, “honey hold your chin up right
We’ve all got our battles to fight
And don’t you worry about what you can’t see
Oh it’s just the devil me”
There’s garbage in the street Smog in the sky
We met at 21 No fear in your eyes
A decade’s past I’m losing my will
You’d break my heart for a dollar bill
You’d break my heart for a dollar bill
You say, “honey hold your chin up right
We’ve all got our battles to fight
And don’t you worry about what you can’t see
Oh it’s just the devil me”
Now summer’s coming your bag is packed
“Give me a ride” you say, “I’ll be coming back”
Life in this place has lost its thrill
You’d break my heart for a dollar bill
You’d break my heart for a dollar bill
You say, “honey hold your chin up right
We’ve all got our battles to fight
And don’t you worry about what you can’t see
Oh it’s just the devil me”
IF ONLY HE WERE YOU
He sets a table for two
Playing Bacharach saying I love you
He promises me the moon
With two strong arms that could carry me through
He’s a good man and I swear I could be true
If only he were you
The wedding has been set
Mama bought me a second hand ivory dress
I stopped waiting for your call
Probably passed out in some no-name corner bar
I found a good man and I swear I could be true
If only he were you
Now the garden’s overgrown
It takes more than one to make a home
Now your encore’s overdue
Still I wait for the sound of your worn out shoes
I had a good man and I swore I could be true
If only he were you
If only he were you
EASY MONEY
All dressed up at seventeen
In a borrowed dress and a big girl sheen
I waited through the night by the phone
No we never made that high school dance
You were never one for cheap romance
And I guess that’s where the easy money goes
we took off like the setting sun
wind was in our hair
Tangled up in innocence off to anywhere
Now I don’t pick daffodils
Just stare over my windowsill
I guess that’s where the easy money goes
Never got to bear your child
I went cold and you went wild
Never got to wear that wedding dress
Now you’re on 3 packs a day
Livin off those checks from state
I guess that where the easy goes
we took off like the setting sun
wind was in our hair
Tangled up in innocence off to anywhere
Tell me lord there’s something more
there’s some left beyond these shores
Tell me lord you’re coming soon for me
I’ve ran out of things to say
I’ve made my bed I’ve had my way
I guess that’s where the easy money goes
SINGLES
TROUBLE
With eyes full of bourbon and a stomach full on sin
I’m looking for my baby in a hundred dollar bill
Oh well the levees busted open
Can you hear the dogs howl?
Oh trouble she’s a coming
She’s a coming round
If I could get a lifeboat
If I could find my tongue
And like lady Madonna
You see the damage is done
Oh when I’m under your spell again
Where the killing is fast
Oh trouble she’s a coming
She’s a coming at last
I got my eyes wide open
I got a dagger for a hand
And with a pocket full of nothing
I’ve come to steak my land
Oh when you come in the dead of night
I hear the thunder in the leaves
Oh trouble she’s a coming
She’s a coming for me
SAINTS & LIARS
Saints and liars crowd around my bed
My head’s on fire am I alive or am I dead?
I need you like a bullet in the head
You and me were one in the same
A savior in blue jeans gave me a name
Covered me in gold said it was ok
Now I’m counting rain clouds on stormy days
Ghosts in the radio were calling my name
Ghosts in my bones told me to run just the same
But I was looking for a little fun and games
And you were looking for someone to change
Why tell me why? Why tell me why? Why tell me why?
Seasons are a changing but you won’t pass me by
Now look at you so thin and reposed
Leather on shoes, Shakespeare in your throat
I stare at trashcans pretending to be cool
But you pegged me right from the start I knew
Saints and liars crowd around my bed
My head’s on fire am I alive or am I dead?
I need you like a bullet in the head
Now the crow’s in the sky, there’s blood on the wire
There’s smoke on your tires no more walking on water
Dancing on train tracks with the whites of your eyes
I’m stuck in your bull’s-eye one last time
Saints and liars crowd around my bed
My head’s on fire am I alive or am I dead?
I need you like a bullet in the head
GREATEST UNKNOWN
Time came on by
Looked us in the eye
I know you could never mine
So said, so said brother time
I was driving past Riverside on the radio, 1999
and all those records that you played for me
Donny Hathaway, Brenda Lee and Warren G
The day is getting tired and I heard you moved
You and wife way down to ol’ St Louis
But you will always be my greatest unknown
even though we never made the cover of a Rolling Stone
Time came on by
Looked us in the eye
I know you could never mine
So said, so said brother time
And here am I am still in the same ol’ scene
You moved on to buy a pair of golden rings
And why am I still in the bar room gleam?
The crowd is dancing but I’m still in the in-between
Time came on by
Looked us in the eye
i know you could never mine
So said brother time
Now the music is slowing down
LA without you just a another dead-end town
So take my watch and throw it fire
I’ve got nowhere to be nobody’s waiting for me
Time came on by
Looked us in the eye
I know you could never mine
So said, so said brother time
NOT IN THIS TOWN
I was in the basement you were somewhere
See you on a postcard wishing I was there
not in this town nobody sees you’ll be the one to get the best of me
It’s a wasteland a promise-land where the devil is your only friend
It’s broken-down beat-up lullaby, God’s on the streets looking for dimes
Who do you love when I’m not around?
we could catch a break but not in this town
Done it again Done it again
Make your money but don’t pretend
We’re back on both sides we’re back on both sides
It’s all done my friend
Gunning for your maker hit me in the mark
Meet me on a phone call hit me in the dark
But not in this town nobody sees
You’ll be the one to get the best of me
Running down the road that leads to you
honey always leaves me black and blue
Who do you love when I’m not around?
we could catch a break but not in this town
I lost your paper I lost your pen
It’s just words again
Done it again Done it again
Make your money but don’t pretend
We’re back on both sides we’re back on both sides
It’s all done my friend
I can see your hearts it’s beating down,
hold me like a ghost without a sound
Who do you love when I’m not around?
we could catch a break but not in this town