I walk a crooked road to get where I am going
To get where I am going I must walk a crooked road
And, only when I’m looking back I see the straight and narrow
I see the straight and narrow when I walk a crooked road

I sing a lonesome song to anyone who’ll listen
To anyone who’ll listen I will sing my lonesome song
And when I hear you singing too, the sorrow sounds hopeful
The sorrow sounds so hopeful when I sing my lonesome song

And a lonesome song will be my true companion
When all else has abandoned for singing of their own
And a lonesome song will fill my days with gladness
Make joy out of sadness when I sing my lonesome song to you

I love with all my heart there is no way of stopping
I have no way of stopping I just love with all my heart
Through the broken and the beautiful the bad news and the good news
The bad news and the good news is I love with all my heart

And a loving heart will be my true companion
When all else has abandoned for loving of their own
And a loving heart will fill my days with gladness
Make joy out of sadness when I bring this loving heart to you

I long to be a happy man in this life that I am given
In this life that I am given I long to be a happy man
And when the noise turns to stillness I see I have the makings
I see I have the makings to be one happy man

And a happy man will be my true companion
When all else has abandoned for happy of their own
And a happy man will fill my days with gladness
Make joy out of sadness when I show this happy man

And a happy man will be my true companion
When all else has abandoned for happy of their own
And a happy man will fill my days with gladness
Make joy out of sadness when I show this happy man to you

I walk a crooked road to get where I am going
To get where I am going I must walk a crooked road
And, only when I’m looking back I see the straight and narrow
I see the straight and narrow when I walk a crooked road

It’s the day before Thanksgiving I’m not feeling much of thanks
Just a low-grade desperation leaves me reeling in the ranks
Just when I think I’m getting somewhere it’s somewhere further to fall
It’s the day before Thanksgiving that is all

I don’t believe the pilgrims sat with Indians for a feast
A self-proclaimed holy savior doesn’t break bread with his beast
But then again he had a musket and the Indian had a knife
And the musket man could make him eat for life

I don’t believe this country’s manifestering destiny
Someone just cooked it up and it is fed to you and me
They tell us who to love in war and never ask for help
And they cannot stand us thinking for ourselves

The day before Thanksgiving back in 1991
A millionaire let me drive his Mercedes just for fun
And I drove it with the top down on them Blue Ridge Mountain roads
He let me keep it thirteen weeks or so

And I know what he was saying with that car that wasn’t mine
That I could have one too if I just did not cross the line
But lines were made for crossing and I was born to crack the code
And there ain’t no shame in walking down this road

So it’s turkey breast and stuffing with gravy on the top
Mashed potatoes, peas and dinner rolls, you use them like a mop
Got my position at the table, got a child to say my grace
And a wife and boss that keeps me in my place

It’s the day before Thanksgiving I’m not feeling much of thanks
Just a low-grade desperation leaves me reeling in the ranks
Just when I think I’m getting somewhere it’s somewhere further to fall
It’s the day before Thanksgiving that is all

I knew that I first loved her with a meeting of the eyes
I did send my mental message under California skies
And I know that she received it before she turned to go
Down that long, wide-open road

It was only two weeks later in a San Bernardino bar
She was sitting by her lonesome shining like a northern star
And I asked her for direction, she paused before she spoke
Why down that long, wide-open road

We married in the springtime in a grove of tangerines
Said goodbye to friends and family, hello to all our dreams
Traded warm Mojave sunshine for Rocky Mountain snow
And that long, wide-open road

November nights were cold in our cabin on the hill
We’d gather oak and mesquite to chase away the chill
But a colder wind was blowing from deep down in her soul
That kept her on that wide-open road

I gave all I could give her and I looked around for more
While I was looking for forever, she was looking for the door
But her sad eyes were determined on the day she let me go
Down that long, wide-open road

That was oh, so many years now, I have other tales to tell
But if you see my Southern gypsy tell her Shakespeare bids her well
Maybe take this song to give her to lighten up her load
Down that long, wide-open road
Down that long, wide-open road

Instrumental

I’ve missed fathers’ days and birthdays and Sundays with my sons
And hiking on the Blue Ridge with my daughter one-on-one
I’ve traded time for money, traded nursery rhymes for song
I’ve traded sleep for other dreams, traded always there for gone

Some dads run the country and some just run away
Some mop floors, some hang doors or anything that pays
I sing and play my music; I take it across the land
This glimpse of muse is brought to you by Abe and Gabe and Mahala Ann

I didn’t travel when they were first born, no I kept the fires at home
With lullabies and early rise, I didn’t seek to roam
But the fire in me was growing; I couldn’t keep it all inside
Now it’s passing trains and aerial planes and another ticket to write

Now some dads wear a three-piece suit, others boots and gloves
Some dads are out of work boys; I hope we face it all with love
I sing and play my music with heart and lungs and hands
This message too is brought to you by Abe and Gabe and Mahala Ann

Sometimes I take them with me and one will pick my shirt out
And one will set the stage and one will count the money before we drive away
It goes without saying they made me what I am
A father who is singing too to Abe and Gabe and Mahala Ann

This glimpse of muse is brought to you by Abe and Gabe and Mahala Ann

There’s a full moon rising high filling up my empty sky
Oh wash me clean and light my way
Take me back to yesterday

Early frost is bound to kill leaves will fall just like my will
I’ve lost my faith and I can’t pray
Take me back to yesterday

Yesterday when you were mine and life was full and we were finding
All the ways that lovers try to be
Yesterday when all we knew was you’re with me and I’m with you
And forever didn’t seem so far away

Now this dark night of my soul have these tears out of control
Oh why can’t I get love to stay
Take me back to yesterday

Yesterday where did you go?
There’s so much more I need to know
You were here and now you’ve flown away

There is so much that I miss
Like the whisper of your kiss
Like all the words I meant to say
Take me back
Take me back
Oh take me back to yesterday

Instrumental

Most days I never even notice
Most nights are much the same
But every now and then I get a picture
A familiar face without a name
Oh when I see a loving mother
Kissing a hand that’s hers to hold
I see a part of me I can’t recover
I get the feeling all I’m growing is old

I met a man who was on fire
He had a wife he had a family
And I fanned the flame of his desire
Til he was burning, burning just for me
Oh late one night he took me flying
Into the fire on wings of wax
Flying and melting and falling
We landed on our human backs

Childless mothers don’t need pity
Childless mothers don’t need blame
No we beg our own pardons
And rake our rock gardens
And carry on past the need to explain
And light our candles in the rain

Cut to the room where we were waiting
Young people reading old people magazines
All past the point of hesitating
All past the hopes and the dreams
He left me standing in the doorway
I guess he’d gone as far as he could go
He watched me walk the plank hallway
The rest I’ll still have to face alone

Childless mothers don’t need pity
Childless mothers don’t need blame
No we beg our own pardons
And rake our rock gardens
And carry on past the need to explain
And light our candles in the rain
We light our birthday candles in the rain
Light our candles
Light our candles in the rain

Most days I never even notice

She’s been written in song by the greatest of names
Steven Foster, Leonard Cohen and Sweet Baby James
But I got this feeling this won’t be the same
My love song for Suzanne

There’s ghosts in the rear of that showcase of dreams
A vortex of hope by the cigarette machine
You can pay for the whisky but she’ll never come clean
You’re just holding a loaded hand
But the old-school passion is not to be missed
The entrance exam is a soul-to-soul kiss
The final is tears, clenched teeth and raised fists
And a love song for Suzanne

Give her the grace to face herself
Too long she has languished up on the top shelf
The bearskin, the mattress, the judgmental health
The prize of another man
Give her some wisdom for all she’s been through
Her dance with the spirits, a lover or two
She’s been sleeping it off but someday she’ll come to
This love song for Suzanne

And if you get the nod on some cold aimless night
From a death-do-us partner preparing for flight
You can ride on that carpet, but you best keep your sight
On the tender who takes your hand
I love her, I love her, I’ve cried to the moon
My orphan in rags said, “You gave up to soon.”
I’ve got twelve years of crazy and this overused tune
As a love song for Suzanne

Give her the grace to face herself
Too long she has languished upon the top shelf
The bearskin, the mattress, the judgmental health
The prize of another man
And give me some wisdom for all that I do
My dance with misfortune, a time or two
I’ve been under the weather but the sun’s shining through
I’ve been under the weather but the sun’s shining through
This love song for Suzanne

Well it’s fair thee well my true love a song is in the air
I hear the west calling to see what’s for me there
And with the sun I’m leaving I’ll be Montana bound
Ain’t no use in grieving I’ll show you what I’ve found
Show you what I’ve found

Some folks have it easy at least that’s how it seems
Reach up and pick an apple reach up and find a dream
Some travel in the darkness and rest upon the shade
Some wrestle with their demons and face them unafraid
We argue with our better selves we only ask for more
We take the mirror from the shelf and find the open door
We find the open door

I love you with a fever I love you with a past
My heart is a keeper as long as it will last
As long as it will last I’ll tell you what I know
We walk this road together and we walk this road alone

I have heard the young girls cry
Thinking love has passed them by
They’re struggling with a heavy load
Well, if love’s not here it’s down the road

And I have seen the young men run
Just like their father’s father’s son
They take the love and leave the shame
But one day love will call their name

And say, can you love without needing?
Lift it up as a silent prayer
Can you open your heart without bleeding?
Take that open heart everywhere
Can you hold a place within your breast?
For someone you’ve never met?
Then, love’s not through with you yet

I have climbed to lovers’ lane
I've felt the joy I felt the pain
Asking for another's soul
And thinking they could make me whole

And I heard a voice from deep inside
Say you’re not blamed for love you’ve tried
Oh, you may think that love takes two
But love’s a gift from you to you

But can you love without needing?
Lift it up as a silent prayer
Can you open your heart without bleeding?
Take that open heart everywhere
I have tried without ceasing
To give love without regret
I know love’s not through with me yet

Can you hold a place within your breast?
For someone you’ve never met
Then, love’s not through with you
Love’s not through with me
I know love’s not through with us yet

Colorado I need healing
From this sorrow I’ve been feeling

Give me old souls with healing hands
The misunderstood, surely they will understand
It takes a goddess touch to touch a godless man
And get him back to believing

Give me a small-town mayor who should be dead
But, he trades in old guitars and art instead
Well, he brought the fish and I brought the bread
And he says, miracles still happen

Colorado, I need healing
From this sorrow I’ve been feeling

Coyote walks through the light of day
He hides behind a rock like he had plans to stay
And I never did know just what he meant to say
But I can tell you, I was listening

And there was Pedro with his cigarette sleeves
Full of Friday pay and rattlesnake dreams
He shared his Marlboros and I shared my cheese
His steady eyes were glistening

And I heard an uplifting sound in a downtown park
Playing his own tunes on an Irish harp
And he played with just one hand as the August sky grew dark
The other hand was for a lover

Colorado, I need healing
From this sorrow I’ve been feeling
I need your ancient winds to dry these tears
I need your silver lakes to be my mirrors

I closed my eyes and met this song
And the whole damn state of Colorado sang along
And I knew right then that somewhere I belonged
But hey, I know I was only dreaming

So I’m gonna take what little's left of me
Strap me in a plane eastbound for Tennossee
Cause a man can only take so much being free
And then he starts to charging

Colorado, I need healing
From this sorrow I’ve been feeling
I need Chautauqua wind to dry these tears
I need your silver lakes to be my mirrors
So that I might see the fool I’ve been
And maybe I can then begin again
Colorado, Colorado

Last night I asked to see you, needing to apologize
And the woundings there were deep, I could see it in your eyes
And we spoke of softer days since the hard ones we had known
And a healing peace was slow but sure in coming- where the spirit meets the bone

And I reached for my compassion and I held you through the tears
And a river did flow freely that had blocked us all those years
And we looked with eyes forgiven at the wild seeds we had sown
Some had grown to love while we had just grown weary- where the spirit meets the bone

Oh, the nights being lost in the smell of your hair
Oh, the lines we had crossed, heart-to-heart, everywhere
From a bed in Amsterdam to a boat in Windermere
In silence or in song or the whisper in your ear

And it comes as no surprise; we could love again, again
Both co-stars in this movie; but, we cannot change the end
No, the director’s up in heaven and he never checks his phone
We’re frozen in this scene called, “Someone’s Leaving” -where the spirit meets the bone

Oh, the times being lost in the touch of your skin
Oh, the lines we have crossed; I would cross them all again
From a cool lake in New Hampshire to a field in Tennessee
You always made it known- you had saved the best for me

Now, in this clear, ironic moment, it is not lost on me
We’re both locked in separate airplanes six miles above the sea
You on your way to California and me to parts unknown
Both looking for a love that’s ours for keeping
Where the spirit meets the bone

Instrumental

They were waiting at the depot but it wasn’t for a train
They were underneath the weather seeking shelter from the freezing rain
Snow Queen to Drama Llama, said, "you’re weary to the bone
Though I’m not accustomed to it I invite you to my ice home ...come on the over
I will put you on my table, I will rub you up and down
I will take a Russian fur hat and I’ll wear it like a Snow Queen crown"

And the mountains they did tremble
And the walls came tumbling down
And the feeling it was simple
As the snow lay on the ground
As the snow lay on the ground

Drama Llama to his snow queen, said, "it’s you I’m dreaming of
All my life I’ve been a roamer and it’s led me to this pilgrim love
My eyes are overflowing; hell, they are not even tears
There’s a rushing of a river that will flourish for a thousand years"
Snow Queen to Drama Llama: "I know just what you mean
I went to see the gypsy- said she saw you in my childhood dream"

And his fingers they did tremble
As hair came tumbling down
And the loving it was simple
As their clothes lay all around
As their clothes lay all around

Snow Queen and Drama Llama they just could not make it last
While they were living in the moment, all right, they could not outlive their past
It came rushing in to choke them like a blind thief in the night
Stealing kisses from a stranger hoping this time they could get it right
These masters of impermanence, they know everything must end
Another quarter in the jukebox and you play that song again and again

And the mountains ceased their trembling
And the walls began to rise
And they saw what they were missing
When they opened their eyes

And the mountains ceased their trembling
And the walls began to rise
And love turned into a memory
When they made up their minds
When they made up their minds

They were waiting at the depot but it wasn’t for a train
They were underneath the weather seeking shelter from the freezing rain

(It's cold outside...let me in...let me in)

Tonight I’m missing you
Nothing original, nothing new
Yeah, I got better things to do
But, nothing compares to this time without you

Lonesome as the day is long
You run with me like a song
A silent soul in search of melody
I take comfort in the wind
From the moon and back again
Reflections of what’s been and what could be

Tonight I’m missing you
One part longing, one part déjà vu
It got quiet and I knew
It was my spirit friend passing through

You can lay me down to sleep
You can make these eyes to weep
Not from sadness but from recognizing
I know who and what you are
You’re an undiscovered star
Shining from afar but never hiding - never hiding

And when the night is through
I will have morning birds to listen to
They will sing their hopeful tune
And I will listen; and think of you...

I hold this love up to the light
I wish I may, I wish I might
I wish my arms could hold you tight that’s what I do
We will be again someday
If our paths can find their way
Until that day, I’ll say this much is true-
I love you, and tonight I’m missing you

I dreamed of you in white dress and garlands
With llamas in golden to give you away
With Riesling and huckleberries gracing the table
Teaching the children to laugh and to pray

I grieved for you in the hills of Sienna
I called out your name to the great North Sea
I reached for your hand in a snowfield near Gardner
My longing for you always brought me to me

Oh, sweet longing
I drink from a cup that will never be filled
Oh, sweet longing
I long for you now and I always will, always will

From the foot of a redwood I looked up in wonder
From the side of a canyon in fresh fallen snow
On the bank of a mountain spring I heard you calling
I know I must follow wherever you go

Oh, sweet longing
I drink from a cup that will never be filled
Oh, sweet longing
I long for you now and I always will, always will

I live in the hope you stir up inside me
Filling my heart and filling my eyes
Like a river love flows to the valley below me
I stand on a mountain and hear my own cries

I believe in old souls, I believe in forever
I believe that this moment is all we can see
I believe in the one who calls lovers forward
My longing for love always brings me to me

Oh, sweet longing
I drink from a cup that will never be filled
Oh, sweet longing
I long for you now and I always will, always will

Instrumental

This time ‘round I’ll be like water
I have learned to let it flow Oh, there is no need to dam me
I will go where I must go
I'll drop this suit of armor
Put away my thorny crown
Gonna lay my heart wide open this time ‘round

This time ‘round I’ll be a giver
I have saved me long enough
I will dig down to the bottom
And I’ll fill me right back up
And, I’ll end this search for savior
I’ll be a lost without a found
A pilgrim on life’s highway this time ‘round

Every time I play the game of love I play to win
And it always breaks me open and I try to fly but fall and crash and burn
That’s how I learn

This time ‘round I’ll be forgiving
I have harmed myself too long
I will speak the words of healing
And it will fill my heart with song
And I’ll sing this song with others
Who were born to make the sound
A ragged choir of angels this time ‘round

As I sail out on the ocean
And I look back on the shore
I can see the sweet perfection
Of the one’s I’ve loved before
In each face I see the lesson
That has brought me here and now
They will all give me their blessing this time ‘round

Oh every time we play the game of love we play to win
And, it always breaks us open and we try to fly but fall and crash and burn
And then we learn to love again
This time ‘round

This beggars’ heart that I’ve been given
This beggars’ heart has a working door
It may swing wide; it may be bolted
To feel this world no more

This voice I sing it has been given
This voice I sing will break down the door
And once inside, will find a friend or two
And sing along no more

These hands of mine will do your bidding
These hands will play in time and tune
And time will show these hands have mattered
If they have mattered to you

These eyes of mine they take your picture
These eyes that see in two and four
I close my eyes, and I still see you
And see myself no more

These feet have walked me through this lonesome world
These feet have dropped me here today
And I’ll be damned I’m going where I’m going
I really know no other way

These words I sing they ring familiar
These words I sing we’ve heard before
Oh, fare thee well, my one and own true love
I’ll see you in my dreams once more (once more)

This song I sing is finally over
You’re free to go about your way
So, bang the drum and turn the house lights on
I’ve really nothing more to say