Back To Something

When I write my letter to you friend I'll tell you how it's gonna read
With the lonesome pining of Hesse mixed in with Candide
In the barroom light
You pale just right
A pack of camel lights
On a small town night

If I don't make it home by labor day I tell you what I'm gonna miss
The drugs on Summit and the 40oz and my sweet baby Maddie's lips
Pressed on mine
But girl I'm making that drive
So warm the bottle of wine
Between your country thighs
And I'll be right on time

It seems a bit dishonest to recreate any of the good ole times
But if I'm lucky then the scene will seem enough to same that I can keep up til the morning light
On the balcony
Til its just you and me
As the midwest sleeps
And the cicadas speak

Hey Come Back

Oh look it's my bed again
My room ain't been cleaned since the last time
You were in town my friend
You still got some socks tangled up in the sheets down at the end

Oh look it's my broken heart
Guess we both thought it was on the mend
But it takes more than time apart
For a fool to understand it's the end

Oh look it's a starry night
Hope I get a chance to look up
The perfect canopy for a fight
The stillness is an indifference that I like

But hey the point is this
Turns out I still need you around
Hey the point is this
I still need you to make me, the me, that I want to be

So come on back with my old routine
I still need a stand to place my hat on
Lend me a nicotine
And call me each hour and ask me when I'll be home

Send me back my old high esteem
I don't think you meant to take it with you
Got caught in your makeup bag
On account of how quickly you left town last time

And don't misread my imprecision with words
Don't you know when I say, "Hey girl"
What I mean is I love you
Text me my final regret
Every morning at 9 so I'll wake to it and never forget

But hey the point is this
Turns out I still need you around
Hey the point is this
I still need you to make me the me that I like to be

And I broke all of my dishes
And forgot what a kiss is
And the only touch I've known is a touch of grey
And the laundry still needs doing
And the toothpaste is open
And the lightbulbs are all burned out
And my fridge just has ketchup
My lawn needs a haircut
And I'm cracking my first beer by 3 every day

But hey the point is this
I more than miss you

Oh Ellie

Under an open sky
Of ghostly light
A man feels like
He ain't much there

But it soothes the mind
To know with the passing of time
Ones passions and crimes
Turn to air

Suns up baby and I'm way passed gone like I knew the way
And every town looks the god damned same from that bad highway
Home looks just as fleeting as that old river bend
It's just one more place that I'll never see again

Well I've heard some say
There's an open plane
That spreads for days
Without a care

And it's peopled with
A lonesomeness
That once come across just seems to stare

Suns up baby and I'm way passed gone like I knew the way
And every town looks the god damned same from that bad highway
Home looks just as fleeting as that old river bend
It's just one more place that I'll never see again

Well I was passed Baton Rouge
When I heard the news
And knew it true
I'd been displaced

And then I had the thought
That the dream I'd sought
And believed well fought
Had all been chase

Oh Ellie
Why you gotta go girl
Oh Ellie
Why you gotta go

I chased your name
Left good men slain
And hardened my case against the world
All in the name
Of a long dead flame
And the angry love of a pretty girl

Suns up baby and I'm way passed gone like I knew the way
And every town looks the god damned same from that bad highway
Home looks just as fleeting as that old river bend
It's just one more place that I'll never see again

It Ain’t A Life

Sleeping ain't sleeping without you it's just resting my eyes
Dreaming ain't dreaming without you it's just thinking at night
Loving ain't loving without you. It's just trying to find something to hold
Living ain't living without you it's just growing old

But if could have foreseen the pain
I never would have got on that plane
If I would have known what it's like to be ate up with longing all night
I would have stayed
I wish I'd have stayed

Why must I leave just to see all the reasons you're perfect for me
Why must I go before I know I'd already found home
It ain't a life without you
No it ain't a life without you

Laughing ain't laughing without you it's just wrinkling my eyes
Singing ain't singing without you it's just whispering lies
Drinking ain't drinking without you. It's just drunk and alone
Going out ain't going out without you it's just waiting to go home

But if could have foreseen the pain
I never would have got on that plane
If I would have known what it's like to be ate up with longing all night
I would have stayed
I wish I'd have stayed

Why must I leave just to see all the reasons you're perfect for me
Why must I go before I know I'd already found home
It ain't a life without you
No it ain't a life without you

You Still Care

You tell me not to worry
Your feelings for him are gone
But I don't think you see that you still care

It's funny, to you it's silly
There's nothing going on it's clear
But I don't think you see that you still care

I see it in the way that you ask him how his days been
I see it in the way that you smile when he speaks
There are days when I'm gone and you're alone with your phone
And I can't help but wonder who you call first
Him or me

You tell me not to worry
Your feelings for him are gone
But I don't think you see that you still care

It's funny, to you it's silly
There's nothing going on it's clear
But I don't think you see that you still care

Now I'd never say that your way is towards lying
No I can see that you believe you've left him behind
But all I can say is to this day for as often as yall talk
How come I know his name but he still doesn't know mine

You tell me not to worry
Your feelings for him are gone
But I don't think you see that you still care

It's funny, to you it's silly
There's nothing going on it's clear
But I don't think you see that you still care

Good Enough

With his motorcycle helmet still on
And his gas tank full
He still hasn't looked away
From the night sky he glanced at a few moments ago

And the man inside working all night is just happy to be alive
And as I ease my truck back out into the street
And hope no cops pull up beside me

Sometimes I forget that It's good enough
Last night I got to thinking
Things could be way worse
Sometimes I forget that I'm doing good enough

The hum of the AC unit
Reminds me that it's summer outside
And the hum of your voice in the shower
Reminds me that I'm not alone tonight
Yeah, I still ain't eating quite like I'd like to
I got a few days left to pay day with my last check gone

And sometimes I forget that it's good enough
Last night I got to thinking
That things could be way worse
Sometimes I forget that I'm doing good enough

My dreams are bigger than my bank account and my credit card's defunct
I get 6 calls every 3 hours for debts that I can't outrun
My mama says that I'll never buy a house
I say I know I can hardly rent one

But worst is when I forget
That it's good enough
Sometimes I forget that it's good enough
Last night I got to thinking that things could be way worse
And sometimes I forget that I'm doing good enough

I'm not young enough to get away with it
But I'm doing good enough.

Woke Up In Love

I met her on a Thursday night
At the bar up by the TV
We sat a talked and watched the Cowboys
Though they weren't either of our teams

I bravely asked you for your number when I felt my heart give a tug
I went to bed the same lonesome old fool
But I woke up in love

I used to use the word love casually
Used to use it on things it could never be
Fleeting feelings that were gone by the end of the week
Til I woke up in love

A feeling in my mind but never my heart
A poetic device only used in the arts
But dreaming that night I saw your face in the stars
And I woke up in love

I was taken aback
*Oh my lord*
Tell me, what could of that been
A feeling like love that I didn't think I believed in

I've seen movies
I heard songs
I've read poetry and quoted along
But not til i felt it did I know behind them words
Was a feeling quite as strong

I used to use the word love casually
Used to use it on things it could never be
Fleeting feelings that were gone by the end of the week
Til I woke up in love

A feeling in my mind but never my heart
A poetic device only used in the arts
But dreaming that night I saw your face in the stars
And I woke up in love

Ruby Close It Down

Hard times
Yeah I've had a couple but I'm fine
Living with the struggle has made mine
A cultivated life

Ruby
Closing down the evening when you're free
If you got a minute to see me
I'm just trying to be nice

Sit down by my side
Not my left my right cuz my injury
Baby you smell nice
Plus I really like your company


Smoke signs
Reflecting from the fire off our eyes
Couple bald tires and high pines
And we're still on my street

There's time
For our intimations like tuned tines
Plucked and vibrating with soft sighs
By the fallen sheets

Days that follow nights
leave us in a light with a gentle breeze
Lets not go outside
Flip the other side of the record please


Toll roads
Unpaid tickets and cold snow
Leaves us in the thickest of warm clothes
Down the highway at night

Sad homes
Sunken in a panic of school loans
Last spent paychecks a red nose
And a miller lite

The sky is horrifying
Blank and cutting lines to a scattered beat
Lets make this our night
Promise that you'll try not to fight with me

Coulda Been A Monday

Well It coulda been a Monday
Lord it coulda been a Tuesday
But it had to be a Saturday night that I'm waiting on my girl to call
And I just had a payday
I didn't need that last whisky
So I'm sitting on a Saturday night waiting on my girl to call

You really know how to make it hurt
You really know how to make a man doubt his self worth
look at me and I'm a tell you true
I don't know why you do
The things you do

But It coulda been a Monday
Lord it coulda been a Tuesday
But it had to be a Saturday night that I'm waiting on my girl to call
And I just had a payday
I didn't need that last whisky
So I'm sitting on a Saturday night waiting on my girl to call

Maybe I'm a fool to count on you
Maybe I'm to blame for giving you chances 1 and 2
Well I ain't giving you no more
Past number 4
So please come through

And It coulda been a Monday
Lord it coulda been a Tuesday
But it had to be a Saturday night that I'm waiting on my girl to call
And I just had a payday
I didn't need that last whisky
So I'm sitting on a Saturday night waiting on my girl to call

Til Next Time

Hey friend have you ever been to Australia
Well neither have I
But i'd like to go real soon
I got a woman down there with curls in her hair and even though I've never been
I know when I go she's gonna make it feel like home

I met her out traveling around
But I'd like to see where she's from
I wanna walk with her in her house
And sing her all her favorite song

I wonder does she have a porch or does she have a balcony
I wonder when she's off her travels will she still make time to think about me

Hey friend have you ever been to Australia
Well neither have I
But i'd like to go real soon
I got a woman down there with curls in her hair and even though I've never been
I know when I go she's gonna make it feel like home

I wanna go down under
Where we can lie around on beaches drinking 4x by the fire each night
I wanna go down under
Where I can hang a slash in the outback under stars so bright

Sand upon our bodies stuck from ocean spray and sweat from our loving
Cigarettes and showers burning candles making love til the morning

Hey friend have you ever been to Australia
Well neither have I
But i'd like to go real soon
I got a woman down there with curls in her hair and even though I've never been
I know when I go she's gonna make it feel like home

Leavings The Last Thing

You woke me up once again while I was sleeping
You needed to hear me say your name
You know my past and the women I have cheated
And you need to know that I won't do you the same

Leavings the last thing
Oh baby leavings the last thing
Leaving you is the last thing on my mind
You woke me from dreaming
But it was you I was seeing
Because leaving you is the last thing on my mind

I smiled and said you don't ever have to doubt me
Can't you see it in that space just past my eyes
I'm a new man reborn beside your body
And it's you my love I've been searching for this whole time

Leavings the last thing
Oh baby leavings the last thing
Leaving you is the last thing on my mind
I love you completely
So you can rest your head easy
Because leaving you is the last thing on my mind