LAST BEST RIDE
Hundred miles on a Sportster through the driftless hills of home
Root River Valley and the Valley of The Rolling Stone
Up and over the ridges
Down and up and up and down again
Rivers, roads, and bridges
Names ride on the wind
If it was anything, it was anything but bad
It was the last best ride that Harley ever had
All the colors of Autumn. Gooses on the loose
Yeah, I almost caught ‘em. Nearly kicked my caboose
A little too tight on the inside curve
Boy, you better straighten up and fly right
Keep a full tank on reserve
And keep your chrome shining bright
Take the best of what you’ve got and make it last
And the next best ride you’re gonna have
Gary knows where he’s going
Been down this road a time or two
Softtail or a Dyna-Glide, having fun out on a ride
Playing like us big kids do
Walking out to the Cenex. Couple three four times a week
Simple yet so complex. Feet on the street
Talking ‘bout a point of contrast
Sitting still like a frog or running free
Take the best of what you’ve got and make it last
And let your next ride be|
Take the best of what you’ve got and make it last
And let your next ride be
A hundred miles on a Sportster, through the hills that you call home
YOU + YOURS + ME + MINE
Empty hearts, cans, and bottles; symptoms of the fall
Stranger things have happened once and for all
There are lovers and losers in the down-and-out crowd
Stranded in the back alley ways
Beggars can’t be choosers, for crying out loud
That’s what grandma used to say
Then one day you wake up from another all-nighter
And just like The Sportswriter your pants fit a bit tighter
You and yours and me and mine, we’ve all got to walk that line
Platitudes and clichés leave a lot to be desired
These all but fleeting displays, like the echoes of a street corner choir
It’s a complex computation for something so direct
And it’s a strong correlation between cause and effect
Then one day you wake up and the sun’s a bit brighter
Your heart beats a bit lighter and you’re still a fighter.
You and yours and me and mine, we’ve all got to walk that line
For you and yours and me and mine, every little thing's going to be fine
LET'S GO TO SILS MARIA
Let’s go to Sils Maria
Find our eternal return
Build our days on the choices we’ve made
Live out the lessons we’ve learned
Let’s go to Sils Maria
Take that candle off the shelf
Climb the mountains, sleep in the woods
Imagine living so well
Let’s go to Sils Maria. Let’s go to Sils Maria.
Moment to moment, breath to breath
Finding the balance, releasing the rest
Moment to moment, breath to breath
Finding the balance, releasing the rest
Let’s go to Sils Maria. Let’s go to Sils Maria.
Lights at night guide our way
Born anew each dawning day
Hand in hand, to have and to hold
We may age but we’ll never grow old
Let’s go to Sils Maria.
Let’s go to Sils Maria.
ROLL ROLL ROLL
I grew up on that river, climbed up that old hill
People said, “Son, you don’t know. But someday you will.”
Now, life down on that river is tough as it is sweet
People on that river some of the best you’ll ever meet
As you, Roll, Roll, Roll, Roll right down that stream
Roll, Roll, Roll, Living your own dream
Roll, Roll, Roll, Just like a paddle-wheel
Roll, Roll, Roll, The Good Life is what you feel
As I’ve wandered across this country, from the deserts to the sea
One thing that I’ve found is love will set you free
And as you go out wandering, be just who you are
It takes a bit of courage, but that will take you far
As you, Roll, Roll, Roll, Roll right down that stream
Roll, Roll, Roll, Living your own dream
Roll, Roll, Roll, Spinning like a spinning wheel
Roll, Roll, Roll, The good life is what you feel
Do you hear what I’m saying, is it as clear as mud?
Tend to that river; it’s your own flesh and blood
And you can tell the children, and the children’s children too
All that you have done to help what that river does for you
As you, Roll, Roll, Roll, Roll right down that stream
Roll, Roll, Roll, Living your own dream
Roll, Roll, Roll, Like a wheel within a wheel
Roll, Roll, Roll, The good life is what you feel
SKOWHEGAN BOUND
Page twenty-two from my Gazetteer
About all he had to get out of here
Thumb in the air, he was headed my way
Like the February winds on a Maine highway
Steel blue eyes just like the sky
Up and over Knox Ridge we did ride
Army jacket with a Batman patch
I was the ride that he did catch
He’s hitching to town. World’s spinning ‘round. Still coming down
Hearing those Acadian sounds… Skowhegan Bound
Sometimes you just need a ride and a smoke
When it’s winter up in Maine, it ain’t no joke
He’s gonna do that Kennebec stroll
We all gonna watch him roll, roll, roll
He’s hitching to town. World’s spinning ‘round. But he’s coming down.
Hearing those Acadian sounds… Skowhegan Bound
I dropped him off he took my hand
Said “I don’t know if you’re a God-fearing man,
But you’ll be blessed one of these days.” (That's what he said!)
Then he turned around and walked away
With page twenty-two from my Gazetteer
About all he had to get there from here
Thumb in the air, he's headed that a-way
Like the February winds on a Maine highway
He’s hitching to town. But he’s coming down. He’s covering ground.
Hearing those Acadian sounds – Skowhegan Bound
He’s hitching to town. He’s covering ground. Hey, look at him now.
Hear all those Acadian sounds – Skowhegan Bound
FLYAWAY
Circle ‘round the moon, circle round the sun
Midnight or high noon, it don’t matter none
On the flyway. Fly away. Hey hey hey.
Open up your ears. Close your eyes.
Listen to the rhythms of the riverside
And fly away. Mississippi flyway. Hey hey hey
Here we are again, at the riverside
It’s only sink or swim until we decide to
Fly away, on the flyway. Hey hey hey
Rodea la luna, circula al sol
De medianoche o mediodía, es no importa “na”
En la ruta aerea; la ruta migratoria
Vuela lejos
Abre los sentidos y cierra los ojos
Escucha el ritmo de la ribera
En la ruta aerea; la ruta del Misi-ziibi
Vuela lejos
STUMBLE IN THE STREET
I have stumbled in the street, left my boots on when I sleep
Gone quite a few days, without a shower or a shave
I’ve poured gas on the fire, fell down from a few high wires
It’s a mighty fine line between foolish and brave
But when I stumble home and find you smiling all alone
I’m here to tell ya, honey, you don’t have to behave
It’s gonna be a fine night, tender touches by the moonlight
Leave your drawers on the floor, baby, we don’t need them anyway
You know I ain’t lying, this is a knot we’ve been tying
To have and to hold, honey, all the way to the grave
We'll be living well, drawing water from a deeper well
Maybe stop stumbling in the street, one of these days
We’ll be taking flight, watch The Eagle rise tonight
We’ve got all the loving anybody could crave
But if we should stumble in the street, sometimes life is bittersweet
When you’re out on the big water, you just ride the waves
And you know I ain’t lying, someday a knot we’ll be tying
To have and to hold, honey, all the way to the grave
Here we are living well, drawing water from a deeper well
Maybe stop stumbling in the street, one of these days.
We'll go on and on and on, always.
SEVEN SISTERS
Going out into the night. Moon and stars above to guide
Shadows on the midnight ice. Trees are talking and you feel alive
There’s a wolf that cries. There’s a wild wolf that cries
There’s a wolf that cries. There’s a wild wolf that cries
Landmarks tell the stories of old. Summer’s sun and Mr. Winter’s cold.
Stories change, they stay the same. Playing the changes is the way of the game
You can’t deny… words whispered in the middle of the night
You can’t deny… the power of truth in the face of a lie
Seven sisters in the sky you bet. Orion chase ‘em but he ain’t caught ‘em yet
He never will, now they’re runnin’ and gunnin’. You know them girls, they just want to have fun
Yeah, girls. They just want to have fun.
Like… I come home in the middle of the night
My mother says when you going to live your life right
Mother dear we’re not the fortunate ones
And girls, they want to have fun
Yeah, girls, they want to have fun
So go on out into the night. The moon and stars above will guide
Shadows on the midnight ice. Trees are talking and you’ll feel alive
There’s a wolf that cries. There’s a wild wolf that cries.
A wolf that cries, there’s a wild wolf that cries.
LONG GONE
Long gone, like turkeys through the corn.
Long gone, like turkeys through the corn.
Long gone, with our long pajamas on.
I say hello central, give me 6-0-8
I want to talk to my baby ‘fore it gets too late
Hello central, can’t you see
The ghost of Lightnin's coming after me
We’re long gone, like turkeys through the corn
Long gone, like turkeys through the corn
Long gone, with our long pajamas on
I say hello central, give me 5-0-7
Me and my baby’s on an airplane to heaven
We’re hitting the road, we’re riding the blinds,
Gonna get out of town before anybody finds
We’re long gone, like turkeys through the corn
Long gone, like turkeys through the corn
Long gone, with our long pajamas on
Hello central, give me 8-6-4
I’ve been so long gone but now I want a little more
Up on the hill, looking out on the town
Feeling so good we’re never gonna come down
FANCY PANTS
Well, you shouldn’t trust me baby. You shouldn’t trust me babe
My heart hasn’t learned from mistakes it’s made
Don’t you hear me baby. Can’t you hear me babe
My eye’s been telling lies. It ain’t no holiday parade
Yes, my eye’s been telling lies. They’ve lost their honest look
Next time I see you babe I may be hanging off the hook
But maybe I could try just one more time
Each time I see you babe you get me hypnotized
So just move on down the road, walking tall and talking bold
This heart is too heavy for even your strong hands to hold
And don’t you say goodbye . No don’t you make me cry
Everybody has to pay for the soul they’ve sold
Now this may be the very last straw
This may be the line I hear by draw
Don’t you come a-knockin’ unless you want to take a chance
That this might mean more than just some midnight dance
So you’re towing that heavy line thinking every thing’s just fine
Rolling off your back like the dew rolls down the vine
But you just can’t let it be no there’s visions that you see
Motion pictures moving through the back of your memories
So one of these days you might come back around
And I’ll be standing steady when you’re shaking on a breakdown
But don’t you come a knockin’ unless you want to take the chance
That this might mean more than just some midnight dance
No don’t you come a knockin’ unless you want to take the chance
That this might mean more than just your Fancy Pants