Taught to be Proud

I was taught to be proud of where I come from
And I'm so sad that I'm the only one
Like a cold preacher boy talking only to himself
How did he think that he got to promised lands

Sometimes I'm confused and I don't know where I'm going
Mistaking gentle rivers for that cold wind a-blowing
And I'm always sure of an angel when she gets here
But I never see her coming and I miss her when she disappears

But it's gone, gone, gone
Not gone for long
If you're taught to be proud of where you come from

Gone, gone, gone
Not gone for long
If you're taught to be proud of where you come from

It's hard to be cool when you're playing for the prophets
They really know if you got it or you lost it
I’ll sing this song and I don't know where it came from
Reminds me of a mountainside to stand upon and gently hum

Cause it's gone, gone, gone
Not gone for long
If you're taught to be proud of where you come from

Gone, gone, gone
Not gone for long
If you're taught to be proud of where you come from

Sometimes I'm confused
I don't know where I'm going
Mistaking gentle rivers for that cold wind a-blowing
And I'm always sure of an angel when she gets here
But I never seen her coming and I miss her when she disappears

And it's gone, gone, gone
Not gone for long
You're taught to be proud of where you come from

Gone, gone, gone
Not gone for long
Taught to be proud
 

Ten Billion Years

The moon is just a hunk of stone
Sculpted by her lover’s hands
She’ll never shine while she’s alone
Or turn her back to us on land

Our interstellar ocean gulfs
Are turbulent with storms unknown
And time is only space transversed
By waves of radio unowned

It took ten billion years
To look across the void
It took ten billion years to find a friend

I’ve heard them say it all might end
By fire or ice or a bad decision
And friends, we’ll all melt to one
Where it all begins again
 

Texas

It’s a long way from here to Texas
Why’d you want to move away from here
If you’re from California they won’t take your driver license
It’s clear they don’t like us

Lets go to Reno before it snows there
My cousin’s got a farm an hour from there
I hear the state’s building a prison next door
And they won’t farm there much more

Don’t depend on them for nothing
They don’t know where it ends or begins
If you’re true, relax, we’ll get through
These hard times fine

Do the clouds appear more real
Than the road you’re riding on
Does the fence that travels with you on each side
Reach up to the sky?

So you’re bringing home a paycheck
To the girl you met in school
Are you thinking about having children
And what you’ve got to loose?

Don’t depend on them . . .

You used to play the guitar
And sing a song from time to time
Did you think that you would get far
And leave this behind?

Don’t depend on them . . .
 

Think She'd Be Pretty

Think she’d be pretty
If it weren’t for the scars on her face
And on her back will rise
Cherry blossoms of pain

Neutral I met her
And neutral I tried to stay
Though blown by her breath
As if I had sails

How many holes can you count
In the palms of her hands
Drawn there by pens
That she stole from the liquor store

How many smiles can she crack
In the course of a day
Or crush in a night
Just to watch ‘em slip away

Think she’d be pretty
If it weren’t for the stars in her eyes
Burning through space
And into my mind

Riding in a camel is the way
I remember her best
Sloppy with her ash
And messing up her dress

How many teeth can you pull
From the base of her spine
To put in a box
With the needles from her eyes

I know I sound confused
But what’s the point of being clear
I think that I’m alone
But I know that she’s here

I’ve been holding on too long I’ve got to go
Morning lights a pretty path down the road

Think she’d be pretty
If it weren’t for the scum on her teeth
She leaves in the sink
In a bathroom she won’t clean

Painted a heart
And she threw it on the floor
I painted in black
And threw it out the door

Think she’d be pretty
If she was but don’t so she’s not
All I do is think
If the things she hasn’t got

How can we live in a world
That’s so insane
To hide from ourselves
Such a beautiful brain

I’ve been holding on too long I’ve got to go
Morning lights a pretty path down the road

I’m sure we’ve exhausted
Everything we’ve ever wanted
Why don’t we get up and then
Why don’t we get up and then
I’m sure there’s nothing to it
Why don’t we just go and do it
I’m sure I’ll meet you down the road
 

Three Dollars

The people that you meet
Are smiling all the while
The callused hand you greet
Offer up a simple style

People come and go
But all the ones you know
Keep on traveling to the show
Just to hear the music grow

I haven’t bathed in weeks
Feeling strung out on the meds
From all those lost souls
Offering the cure for my head

But I don’t refuse them
Sometimes I know I should
Don’t want to feel like I’ve used them
I know I surely would

Come together in the mountains
And meet me at the sea
Driving westward on teusday
Skating on ice patches in the dark
In the dark

Fly me over your place
After the show is done
Got some beer right here in my suitcase
Have you got the weed to fill my lungs

Got three dollars in my pocket
Just enough to see me through
‘Til I get back to my girl
Where my love keeps shining through
 

Two Parts

These two
Parts of 
Broken
Hearts grown
Apart 
But start 
To grow another half
A second chance

Oh, another show
Around the world
With pretty girls
Turn inside my dreams
Always fade and slip away
Someday I’ll be released

I dream
Of old kings
Praying
Beneath these
Hearts grown
So full
Light like gold
The crown will burst
Returns us back to earth

Oh, another show
In the naked sun
Returning love