Things We Never Say

(B)..E/A/EC#mB/E/A/EC#mB/A/BE
A/E/A/E/A/E/F#m/B


I'm gonna make
Like I'm gone
I'm gonna thank you all for coming
And staying up so long
It's gonna seem
Like I'm not sad
Like watching you all, walking away
Ain't the best thing that I've had
I'm gonna make
Something better

Drifting Blues on the radio
First snow is in the skies
Everything's gone grey and cold
So easy to give up and cry
But...
CHORUS

Last time I saw you, walking away
Summer sun was in your hair
I can't remember, if you turned to say
It got easy not to care
But...
CHORUS

Something better...because
It's the things we never say
Get all piled up, and in our way
It's not the things we don't do
Keep us from saying kinder things
Like I...love..you....

So...CHORUS

(I Don't See You 'Round Here) Anymore

(I Don't See You 'Round Here) Anymore

E/G/A/B/E/B7

I just walked by your door

Won't do that anymore

It's all creaking stairs, rocks, and bones

Felt you pass by on the street

Just the way we used to meet

But you don't seem to remember me anymore

A/E/A/C#m/F#m/D/B7

"We can work it out"

I don't think so somehow

'cause I don't see you 'round here

Anymore

Remember you left me sitting there?

Empty house, cold and bare

Said you'd see me again real soon

So I went back again, giving you

The benefit of the doubt and then

Saw I'd been treated like a fool

CHORUS

CHORUS

The Clencher

The Clencher

Glistening eyes over steaming coffee cup

She's looking through you to say your time is up

When the fruit is budding before the vine...

When the truth's been the fiction all the time...

she says, "you can't catch me...

I'm just too fast

Stumbling in the dark,

I slip right through your grasp"

And in that moment she's gone, you can't have her

She's done with you, that's the clencher.

Burning cigarette in a darkened doorway

Ignore the silhouette, only see the cherry

Wayfaring Stranger

I'm just a poor wayfaring stranger
I'm traveling through this world of woe
Yet there's no sickness, toil nor danger
In that bright land to which I go
I'm going there to see my mother/father
I'm going there no more to roam
I'm only going over Jordan
I'm only going over home

I know dark clouds will gather 'round me
I know my way is rough and steep
Yet golden fields lie just before me
Where God's redeemed shall ever sleep
I'm going there to see my father/mother
S/he said he'd/she'd meet me when I come
I'm only going over Jordan
I'm only going over home

I want to wear a crown of glory
When I get home to that good land
I want to shout salvation's story
In concert with the blood-washed band

I'm going there to meet my Saviour
To sing his praise forever more
I'm just a going over Jordan
I'm just a going over home

Trubloff

Trubloff

E A

and the trouble with you is that sting in my shoulder where your brother punched me, last july.  And maybe you can pardon my bitterness, but he can rot in that jail cell for another night

And the trouble with taking your cowboy home is they always rouse when you take off their boots.  And I'd like to apologize, but it's fair to say you rarely look before you shoot.

And the trouble with all these lullabies that I sing is that they get me so damn tired.

And I'd offer you a tilt-a-whirl time, but I'm afraid the midway's closed tonight.

And the trouble with me is you.

And you might be surprised, but the trouble with you, is me, too.

A & S

A & S

A Dm C#m E

I see you standing there

it's dark, the parties over, letting down your hair

and you're still wearing a lazy smile, i bet i could make that last for quite a while

Sure your hips fit my hands, but we're so tired we can barely stand

And this wall is sturdy sure, but afflicted by what only that bed can cure

D A D A D A E

There was a time...there was atime....when you put your hand in mine....

Your mouth keeps moving, saying all the things, 

that i want to hear, that make my heart sing

But your eyes still  apologize, and it's them that anesthetize

Shadows creep across the room, barely lit by a slivered moon

and dreaming now, your eyelids dancel, but nothing I couldn't rouse given half a chance

And there was a time...

Morning comes, blurry eyes and cotton mouth,

I couldn't care less, but i bet you'll send me out.

Covering up, suddenly so shy, you have to know, that I'm not that guy...

A snowglobe reflection on the way out the door

shows a future im wanting more and more

with your hair gone grey, but the sweetest smile

And I wilt against the closing door, and soak up the feeling for a while.

And remember that there was a time...

________, Shut Up

Darcy, shut up

Darcy...convinced that you've got nothing to say.

Darcy...you'll be better off that way.

Spent a day in a suit, shoveling for my long lost muse

Seems it's a mystery, a sucker punch, yeah a kick to my knees

Darcy...convinced that you've got nothing to say.

Darcy...you'll be better off that way.

Then a day on the road, fighting through this falling snow

Mistakes were made, but nothing I can't blame on old age

Darcy...convinced that you've got nothing to say.

Darcy...you'll be better off that way.

It's a breath, and into the tides, masking these salty tears that sting my eyes.

You say, "silence is gold", but I can only hear this darkness, and this cold.

So Darcy, shut up, you'll be better off in the long run

Darcy...convinced that you've got nothing to say.

Darcy...you'll be better off that way.å

View From Below

view from below

B

Every time I look up there, you look down

Smiling whether through tears or frowns

I've seen you crying, when you think you're fooling

But salt water's never been shower water for me

Laying my head upon your chest, sweaty nights

"Where are we going...?" sleepily swirling kites

And you reply, "We're going nowhere." I'm sure

You think I don't see the many many layers

E D#m7 C#m B

This is my view from below

Your tears fall freely

E D#m7 C#m F#

These days moreso

And I can always see

Most of You

most of you

C am G C am G am

and there was a time, when i was awed just by your steps, and your caress, but now  that's history, and it fades like the bleeding heart, embroidered there, upon my sleeve

am       C E    am F                       

and I heard you say, "who are you....to tell me what i can and cannot do" and i 

C          E              F G

thought the most of you..the most of you...

 and into the day...into the best kept memories that i ever could have saved and in the morning sun, I'd drive just like you always said i never should have done...

am       C E    am F                       

and I heard you say, "who are you....to tell me what i can and cannot do" and i 

C          E              F G G7

thought the most of you..the most of you...

F C G              am              F

and it's always been the mel--Ohhh - deeee that's been so hard to find, but now it's

am F              G

been cruuuushhhh--ing me under it's heel, and I'm leaving you all behind...

solo verse

am       C E    am F                       

and I heard you say, "who are you....to tell me what i can and cannot do" and i 

C          E              F G

thought the most of you..the most of you...

half verse

Spent alot of time, discussing wrong and right and black and white, and pictures of that night.

Indoor Rodeo

Indoor Rodeo

We used to walk down

To the fairgrounds

And let the dogs run and play

When we were almost 

Up to the gatepost

There was a sign which used to say

Mother Mary

Full of Grace

Keep us where we go

Whether we're in love

Or out of place

As an indoor rodeo

You surrender to

Me and I to you

And with the times we both changed

We fought back hard

From our own back yard

As the town got rearranged

There used to be a field

With an old caboose

And a place for the pony show

Then they paved it all 

And built a strip mall

And an indoor rodeo

What's a hog tie without the heat of the sun?

Like a bull ride without a cowboy to throw

It means progress I guess, but it aint as much fun

It's an indoor rodeo

Baby you got me pegged

I'm a bit bowlegged

And I'm a sappy sonofagun

You call me knobby kneed

Other people have agreed

But you're my favorite one

I want to live outside

In the spring

And every fall we'll go

Long as I see your face

I'll never feel out of place

Like an indoor rodeo.

Best of You

Best of You

You slipped in underneath my shutters like a cold breeze

Shock to the senses, it's hard to see that love

That gets the best of you.

I may have lied once before but you believed it

Never hesitated to think about how I dreamed it

The roads that I've run were paved with lies of gold

And just like a slave, you were sold

So I snuggle up to the bar; order up another cold round of blues

It's something I don't need, wouldn't you agree?

I think I got the best of you

CHORUS

SOLO/Bridge

I slipped out your upstairs window like I'd never been...

free as a bird in the rain, now's my chance, and I'm gonna sing.

It's an old tune, but the words are new; the moral's still the same,

I keep my shutters closed, 'cause I've got everything, everything:

I've got the best of you...

And I may have lied once before but you believed it

Never hesitated to think about how I dreamed it

The roads that I've run have been well-traveled

And the things that I believe in come unraveled

My way of thinking's never been more than one single step ahead

And I cannot remember the things I may have said

Please forgive me for the things that I've said

No don't remind me of things I may have said

Please forget all the things I may have said

A Letter (From Lloyd, to Agnes His Love)

Agnes, love, the fish have been biting.

It'd be such a waste to ignore.

I have to go, didn't pay attention to how late it's gotten.

You know, I gotta go.

Maybe then we can get to that vacation.

Next month, to see your folks.

Sure, she's a pain, but she's still your mother.

Maybe we'll get "stuck" on the road.

Like that time, when we went to Phoenix.

I can't remember a better sunset.

It's been too long, that's for sure, since we had a nice trip.

Maybe next month, let's talk tomorrow.

I know, you were planning to do some shopping.

I'm fresh out of good socks, could you get me a new pair?

Black should be fine, remember we have that wedding.

Saturday, the catholic church in the afternoon.

If I get home late, I won't wake you.

Got some work in the woodshed I need to do.

Sleep well, my love, see you in the morning.

I'll lock up like I always do.

You're a bird that's flown away.

You're a spiraling plume of smoke.

In the distance, too far to see.

You're an empty mason jar.

You're that hand print too high on the wall.

You're what no one thinks of...

When they think of love.

I would have loved you any way that you wanted.

I would have drowned in just the hint of your smile.

But this water's so cold, that's what I get for hunting,

I guess I'll see you on the other side.

If I get home late, I won't wake you.

Got some work in the woodshed I need to do.

Sleep well, my love, see you in the morning.

I'll lock up like I always do.

Houston...

Houston When You Change Your Mind

E

A                          E        Bm                            A

Where you goin, boy?  Where you been this time?

Bm                        E                          D                        E

Just punch that ticket, love, before I change my mind.

It's always Houston, when I find you in my line,

What's down there that's got you tangled up inside?

D A     D A

Is it the way they walk? Like they've got nothin' more than time to kill?

D A E         E7

Is it the way they talk? That Southern drawl that makes you stay so still?

solo

I can see you've got not time to wait, you got things to do.

But take a second, love, make sure you think this through.

I can see it in your eyes, as sure as anyone can tell.

What's so hard, love, that's got you under its spell?

CHORUS

Be on your way now boy, you got a job to do

On up the ramp, a few more steps, and you'll be through

Good luck in Houston, I hope she treats you kind

I'll be waiting here, in case you change your mind--because I like

The way you walk, like you've got nothin' more than time to kill

They way you talk, that long southern drawl, that makes me sit so still...

REPEAT CHORUS

REPEAT V1

D       E        D      E    A

It's always Houston when you change your mind

Shoes...

I like your shoes, the way the sit, the way the fall...with mine.
Not in a line, but where they may, it's the most beautiful thing.

My dad used to say, "there are some things that you'll never find.
Like that home run ball in the cornfield, or the end of the Friday night checkout line.
But he never said "stop".

I like your shoes, the way they run, fast or slow...away you go.
Far away, or under mine, it's when I know, I'm home.

Dad used to say, "son you can't keep playin' that game".
Cause you'll never gonna find a sweet lovin' woman like mine.
But he never said "stop"

Maybe I'm just a boy, and you're just a girl.
Playing this game together in a mixed up world.
You might say, "that's trite", and I'd say "I'm ok if you're right"
I've been wrong before.

But there's no one else I want to play.......this game.

I like your shoes, the way they move...that's when I knew.
When you walked into the room.

And I'll never say stop.

Telling You...

Traded my bruised heart today, for a new one.
3rd place must be my fate, 'cause all they had was bronze.
That bronze tarnished to green, oh what a sad day.
But under fallen leaves, I found a silvery way.

I'm tellin' you, you're the only thing that takes away
The blues and greys of fallen skies.
I'm tellin' you, I'm only home when you're on my mind.
On my mind.

Traded your shiny lined rewards for gold,
It could be a fool's errand, but it feels good, and it feels old.
Like a homecoming, too late on a winter's eve,
Ain't nothing wrong, the gift's in the giving and I receive.
I receive.

I'm tellin' you, you're the only thing that takes away
The blues and greys of fallen skies.
I'm tellin' you, I'm only home when you're on my mind.
On my mind.

REPEAT

Not letting go now, no trades or sales, no not for me.
No your heart is all I'll ever need.
All I'll ever neeeeeeeed.

CHORUS
CHORUS

A Letter From Lloyd to Agnes, His Love...

Agnes, love, the fish have been biting.
It'd be such a waste to ignore.
I have to go, didn't pay attention to how late it's gotten.
You know, I gotta go.

Maybe then we can get to that vacation.
Next month, to see your folks.
Sure, she's a pain, but she's still your mother.
Maybe we'll get "stuck" on the road.

Like that time, when we went to Phoenix.
I can't remember a better sunset.
It's been too long, that's for sure, since we had a nice trip.
Maybe next month, let's talk tomorrow.

I know, you were planning to do some shopping.
I'm fresh out of good socks, could you get me a new pair?
Black should be fine, remember we have that wedding.
Saturday, the catholic church in the afternoon.

If I get home late, I won't wake you.
Got some work in the woodshed I need to do.
Sleep well, my love, see you in the morning.
I'll lock up like I always do.

I would have loved you any way that you wanted.
I would have drowned in just the hint of your smile.
But this water's so cold, that's what I get for hunting,
I guess I'll see you on the other side.

Marvin's Eulogy-final chapter

I've never been good with funerals, mourning, or grief. I don't berate myself for that. But sitting at my desk, trying in vain to process how things are, versus how they might have been, versus how they were, I feel like I've missed something.

And so I turn back to the screen, where I'm dutifully doing my job, staring at line after line of text, trying to give the submissions that we've been sent "meaningful, yet critical feedback" (as the mission statement reads) and I know I'm done here. This isn't the work that I wanted. I went to school. I got a degree. I found a job, at least somewhat related to that degree. I've always said that I could do any job, no matter where, or what, and find happiness in it. I'm beginning to think that this is what grief does to us. And I turn to the last page of Marvin's story, placing the page I've finished reading in the upturned lid of the giant box it came in to the left of my keyboard, and staring down into the now seemingly cavernous box at the final page. It's barely half a page really, and it reads:

Sue stood over his plot, after the other few mourners had gone. She'd told Jennings that she'd meet him at home for supper. Reaching into the recesses of the dark woolen coat that she reserved for funerals, she found it, the small bit of paper, gently folded into quarters, and then quarters again, to reduce its size to virtually nothing. She had no more tears to shed, only resolute desire to let things be...to let things go...

Unfolding it, letting it grow between her wind-burned fingers, she strove to grasp it gently even though the strong winter winds threatened to tear it from her.

She read, quietly, barely aloud,

"You're a bird that's flown away.
You're the spiraling plume a smoke in the distance
You're the unexplained palm and fingers, too high up on the wall.
You're what no one thinks of, when they think of love.
It's not what I miss, but everything I dream."

And she let it go, letting the wind take it away, across the plots, twisting and dipping in the wind around the headstones, and into the countryside.

I had no comments for that page.

Later as I walked home, climbing the steps and finding my way to the living room, I understood, for perhaps the first time, grief, and mourning, and loss, and funerals, and dark woolen coats kept in the back of closets, under plastic, to only be worn for such moments. I don't own a coat like that. I refuse to. Instead I sat down at the piano that I hadn't touched, save to brush the dust off of it, since before I lived alone. It was the family piano--dad had moved out of the old house after I did, and didn't have the space, and so asked that I take it. Grudgingly at the time, as was the way that I did everything then, I engineered it's removal and replacement in my apartment.

And I played a waltz, like the ones that I'd heard grandma play at family gatherings when I was little, and I missed some notes, and then missed them on purpose the second time through, deciding to call it revision instead of mistake. And it went like this...

You're a bird that's flown away.
You're the spiraling plume a smoke in the distance
You're the unexplained palm and fingers, too high up on the wall.
You're what no one thinks of, when they think of love.
It's not what I miss, but everything I dream.

...

Most of You...

most of you
C am G C am G am
and there was a time, when i was awed just by your steps, and your caress, but now that's history, and it fades like the bleeding heart, embroidered there, upon my sleeve

am C E am F
and I heard you say, "who are you....to tell me what i can and cannot do" and i
C E F G
thought the most of you..the most of you...

and into the day...into the best kept memories that i ever could have saved and in the morning sun, I'd drive just like you always said i never should have done...

am C E am F
and I heard you say, "who are you....to tell me what i can and cannot do" and i
C E F G G7
thought the most of you..the most of you...


F C G am F
and it's always been the mel--Ohhh - deeee that's been so hard to find, but now it's
am F G
been cruuuushhhh--ing me under it's heel, and I'm leaving you all behind...

solo verse
am C E am F
and I heard you say, "who are you....to tell me what i can and cannot do" and i
C E F G
thought the most of you..the most of you...

half verse
Spent alot of time, discussing wrong and right and black and white, and pictures of that night.

Can't Get Back...

Can't Get Back
C F C C G C
Come on moonshine, come on heartbreak keep your eyes on the white line, keep your foot near the break,
C Dm F G Am (2) am G G7
and drive...

C am Gsus4 G(2)
On a Southern road we came, we saw, we were unimpressed.
Although I'm certain you provided what you thought was your best.

F G C...F...G C
And I'm sure that we owe you another chance,
But there's nothing we've lost here, that we can't get back.

Off to the right, I'm sure I remember the blinking lights
All in a row, Telling us in no uncertain terms how high we could carefully go.

And I'm sure that we owe you another chance,
But there's nothing we've lost here, that we can't get back.

So we drive on, push away from the crowds that cling
Dust off, brush away the webs to find the true things, true things

C Dm F G Am (2) am G G7
La da da da's...

View From Below...

view from below
B
Every time I look up there, you look down
Smiling whether through tears or frowns

I've seen you crying, when you think you're fooling
But salt water's never been shower water for me

Laying my head upon your chest, sweaty nights
"Where are we going...?" sleepily swirling kites

And you reply, "We're going nowhere." I'm sure
You think I don't see the many many layers
E D#m7 C#m B
This is my view from below
Your tears fall freely
E D#m7 C#m F#
These days moreso
And I can always see