"Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way"



Lord it's the same old tune, fiddle and guitar
Where do we take it from here?
Rhinestone suits and new shiny cars
It's been the same way for years
We need to change

Somebody told me when I came to Nashville
Son you finally got it made
Old Hank made it here, we're all sure that you will
But I don't think Hank done it this way, no
I don't think Hank done it this way, okay

Ten years on the road, making one night stand
Speeding my young life away
Tell me one more time just so I'll understand
Are you sure Hank done it this way?
Did old Hank really do it this way?

Lord I've seen the world with a five piece band
Looking at the back side of me
Singing my songs, one of his now and then
But I don't think Hank done 'em this way, no
I don't think Hank done 'em this way, take it home

"Armed And Dangerous"



Ran my Chevy through the car wash
Threw the beers cans out
Emptied all the ash trays
Cleaned a little house
Got my Allman Brothers cassettes
Stacked up on the dash
Got some jack back in the trunk
And a tank full of gas

Stopped and bought some roses
To sweep you off your feet
Yes I'm going for the limit, girl
I'm gettin' in the real deep
Dusted off my Dingos
Got my Levis pressed
Gonna break into your heart
And steal what I love best

Yes I'm armed and dangerous
Woman you've made me a desperate man
Armed and dangerous
Comin' for your lovin' yes I am

Take a ride out in the country
Where the grass is tall and cool
And do some barefoot dancin'
How's that sound to you
And I've got some other things
That I might suggest
But if I put them on this record
I'd be under arrest

Yes I'm armed and dangerous
Woman you've made me a desperate man
Armed and dangerous
Comin' for your lovin' yes I am

Yes I'm armed and dangerous
Woman you've made me a desperate man
Armed and dangerous
Comin' for your lovin' yes I am

"As The Billy World Turns"



You get a pen and I'll get a paper
We're gonna write ourselves a song
We'll drive the poetics crazy
I don't think the damn thing's gonna rhyme.

I got a friend and I think he's goofy
I guess he thinks the same about me
Guess it really takes one to know one
And you look like an old friend of mine.

Out all night and acting crazy
I've been up for two whole days
Turn me over and roll me over
Wind me up for one more rhyme.

Well, he called me friend and he called me brother
I called him back but he was gone
He took my songs and he took my money
But the jokes on him he's the friend of a fool
Of a fool, of a fool.

You get a pen and I'll get a paper
We're gonna write ourselves a song
We'll drive the poetics crazy
I don't think the damn thing's gonna rhyme...

"Baby, Don't Be Looking In My Mind"


Baby don't be looking in my mind
You might not like what you find
For honey, I know you better than you think
I do so baby, don't be looking in my mind.

Don't expect sweet I-love-you's on and on
If I didn't love you I'd be gone
Don't change the way I live just take what I can give
And baby, don't be looking in my mind.

Don't expect my every thought to be of you
For I'm a man and men have things to do
I'm proud to be your man and I love you all I can
But baby, don't be looking in my mind.

[Instrumental]

Don't expect my every thought to be of you
For I'm a man and men have things to do
I'm proud to be your man and I love you all I can
But baby, don't be looking in my mind.

Baby, don't be looking in my mind...

"Baker Street"



Winding your way down on Baker Street
Lite in your head and dead on your feet
Well, another crazy day you drink the night away
And forget about everything.

These city streets make you feel so cold
It's got so many people but it's got no soul
And it's taken you so long to find out you were wrong
When you thought it held everything.

Used to think that it was so easy
Used to say that it was so easy
You're tryin', you're tryin' now
Another year and then you'd be happy
One more year and then you'd be happy
You're cryin', you're cryin' now.

Way down the street there's a light in his place
You open the door he's got that look on his face
And he asks you where you've been
You tell him who you've seen
And you talk about anything.

He's got this dream about buyin' some land
He's gonna give up the booze and the one night stands
Then he'll settle down, it's a quiet little town
And forget about everything.

But you know he'll always keep moving
Know he's never gonna stop moving
'Cause he's rollin', he's the rolling stone
And when you wake up it's a new morning
The sun is shining it's a new morning
You're goin' you're goin' home...

"Be Careful Of The Stones That You Throw"


[Chorus:]
A tongue can accuse and carry bad news
The seeds of distrust, it will sow
But unless you've made no mistakes in your life
Be careful of stones that you throw.

A neighbor was passing my garden one time
She stopped and I knew right away
That it was gossip, not flowers, she had on her mind
And this is what I heard my neighbor say:

"that girl down the street should be run from our midst
She drinks and she talks quite a lot
She knows not to speak to my child or to me."
My neighbor then smiled and I thought:

[Chorus]

A car speeded by and the screamin' of brakes
A sound that made my blood chill
For my neighbor's one child had been pulled from the path
And saved by a girl lying still.

The child was unhurt and my neighbor cried out
"oh! who was that brave girl so sweet? "
I covered the crushed, broken body and said
"the bad girl who lived down the street."

[Chorus]

"Be Mine"



When the green, green spring
Is waiting for the sun to shine
It knows the sun will shine
In time... in time
How long until the dawn?
Is there any sign?
How long until your love will be mine?

The sweetest dream
I ever dreamed in all my life
Was one of having you
In time... in time
Are you ever gonna wake up
From the sleep you sleep?
How long until your love will be mine?

Be mine
Be mine
How long until your love will be mine?

I've heard it said
That a thousand years is like a day
Just a twinkle of an eye
In time... in time
Just a moment full of grace
My whole life would be
If you would say your love could be mine

Be mine
Be mine
How long until your love will be mine?

Be mine
Be mine
How long until your love will be mine?

"Beautiful Anabel Lee"


I was a child and she was a child
Yet our love was something to see
My parents were poor I was turned from the door
Of my beautiful Anabel Lee.

Now the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of my beautiful Anabel Lee
And the stars never rise but I feel the soft eyes
Of my beautiful Anabel Lee.

[Instrumental]

But not even the angels in heaven above
Nor the demons down under the sea
Can't keep me away from my meeting someday
With my beautiful Anabel Lee.

And the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of my beautiful Anabel Lee
And the stars never rise but I feel the soft eyes
Of my beautiful Anabel Lee.

My beautiful Anabel Lee...

"Belle Of The Ball"


A vagabond dreamer, a rhymer and singer of songs
Singing to no one and nowhere to really belong
I met a beautiful lady, a pure Southern belle of the ball
Like Scarlet O'Hara loved no one and wanted them all

[Chorus:]
I'll never forget you and love you inspite of your faults
The good and the bad I want to remember it all
I did a new dance and you did your Tennessee Waltz
The party's all over I came uninvited
I'm leaving and taking the belle of the ball

There will always be someone I guess that's the way it should be
I guess i should know that someone used to be me
They'll gather around her soon they'll all look the same
At the feet of the lady are lover's without any names

[Chorus]

"Best Friends Of Mine"


I guess Phoenix hard times and hard work helped shape the mold
We pushed an old Chrystler a hell of a lot further than we rode
I remember when our biggest dream
Was breakin' the bank on some pinball machine
Well ol' Jim hit the jackpot in Idaho Falls, Idaho
After all of this time, he's still a best friend of mine, one of a kind

In Missoula Montana out under that unending sky
There in a valley it would make any southern boy smile
With the stars and the bars and a breeze
Hank and his lady are takin' it easy
Deep in the west you might say colonial style
After all of this time, he's still a best friend of mine, one of a kind

He was a legend, I was a redneck and green
The first to believe, he took me under his wing
Now the edges are still pretty rough
But when I'm loggin' that guitar and struttin' my stuff
Old Buddy, old friend, you were the start of the dream
And after all of this time, he's still a best friend of mine, one of a kind

[BRIDGE:]
All laughin' and jokin' aside
I can honestly say and say it with pride
Somewhere, sometime in this life of mine
I must have done somethin' all right
Somewhere, sometime in this life of mine
I must have done somethin' all right

"Between Fathers And Sons"



My father had so much to tell me
Things he said I had to know
Don't make my mistakes
There are rules you can't break.

But I had to find out on my own
Now when I look at my own son
I know what my father went through
There's only so much you can do.

You're proud when they walk
Scared when they run
That's how it always has been
Between fathers and sons.

It's a bridge you can't cross
It's a cross you can't bear
It's the words you can't say
The things you can't change
No matter how much you care.

So you do all you can
but then you gotta let go
You're just part of the flow
Of the river that runs
Between fathers and sons.

Your mother will try to protect you
Hold you as long as she can
But the higher you climb
The more you can see.

That's something I understand
One day you'll look at your own son
There'll be so much that you want to say
He'll have to find his own way.

On the road he must take
The course he must run
That's how it always has been
Between fathers and sons.

It's a bridge you can't cross
It's a cross you can't bear
It's the words you can't say
The things you can't change
No matter how much you care.

So you do all you can
but then you gotta let go
You're just part of the flow
Of the river that runs
Between fathers and sons.

"Big D"


Stranded here in Dallas cold and hungry
I ain't got a dime
Sleepin' in the filty trainyard
At the warmest driest place that I can find.

What have I done that would justify
the way you treatin' me Big D
Stranded here in Dallas cold and hungry
I don't know a soul.

I could feel a little warmer
But I find that there's no coat in my wardrobe
My clothes're paper thin still you
Let your chill of winter fall on me Big D.

[Instrumental]

Why I wanna go where the winds don't blow till summer
Somewhere the sun will warm this chill in me
Stranded here in Dallas cold and hungry
I don't even know my name.

Oh, my temperature keeps risin'
And I feel that it's done damage to my brain
Could this dirty trainyard be
The last and final restin' place for me, Big D, Big D...

"Billy"



Billy we've come along way together and through it all
You've been just like a brother to me
And Billy we've had our share of ups and downs
Froze our tails sleeping on the ground
When the jobs were few and far between.

We've been knocking around together so long
Singing them same old songs
Been out in the rain so long I swear we're shrinking
Billy lately I have done some thinking.

When I look back on our lives
We've sure had ourself a time
But you know it's been a wild world we traveled
And it's startin' to unravel.

We leave so many loose ends behind
We've been bucked off and kicked so many times
And the ground just keeps gettin' harder
Billy you know well as I we ain't gettin' no younger.

Billy another summer's come and gone
Now with winter coming on
I know we planned on heading south
But Billy I thought about it several days
And these words I'm about to say.

They don't taste good in my mouth
But there's someone who's waiting back home
Lord, if she'll still have me
Guess I'll be saying so long you go on without me.

Ain't no easy way of saying goodbye
So be sure and tell 'em all down in Texas I said hi...

"Black Rose"



Way down in Virginia
Amongst the tall grown sugar canes
Lived a simple man and a dominique hen
And a rose of a different name.

Well, the first time I fell lightly
I was standing in the drizzling rain
With a trembling hand and a bottle of gin
And a rose of a different name.

Well, the devil made me do it the first time
The second time I done it on my own
Lord, put a handle on a simple handed man
And help me leave that black rose alone.

When the devil made that woman
Lord, she threw the pattern away
She was built for speed with the tools
You need to make a new fool every day.

Way down deep and dirty
On the darker side of shame
I caught a cane cuttin' man with a bottle of gin
With a rose of a different name.

The devil made me do it the first time
The second time I done it on my own
Lord, put a handle on a simple handed man
And help me leave that black rose alone.

The devil made me do it the first time
The second time I done it on my own
Lord, put a handle on a simple handed man
And help me leave that black rose alone...

"Blues Come Around"



Once I was happy as I could be but I let a gal make a fool of me
And ever since she let me down the blues come around when the sun goes down
Oh the blues come around yeah the blues come around
Lord the blues come around every evenin' when the sun goes down

As long as the sun is in the sky the doggone blues don't make me cry
But ever since she left this town the blues come around when the sun goes down
Oh the blues come around yeah the blues come around
Well the blues come around every evenin' when the sun goes down

I built my castle very high and then she went and said goodbye
Ever since she tore'em down the blues come around when the sun goes down
Oh the blues come around yeah the blues come around
Lawd the blues come around every evenin' when the sun goes down

Once she called me all her own but now she's gone and I'm alone
And every evenin' I'm sorrow bound
Cause the blues come around when the sun goes down
Oh the blues come around...

Oh the blues come around...

"Bob Wills Is Still The King"



Well the honky-tonks in Texas were my natural second home
Where you tip your hats to the ladies and the rose of San Antone
I grew up on music that we called western swing
It don't matter who's in Austin,Bob Wills is still the king

Lord I can still remember,the way things were back then
In spite of all the hard times,I'd live it all again
To hear the Texas playboys and Tommy Duncan sing
Makes me proud to be from Texas where Bob Wills is still the king

You can hear the Grand Ol' Opry in Nashville Tennessee
It's the home of country music,on that we all agree
But when you cross that ol' Red River hoss that just don't mean a thing
Cause' once you're down in Texas,Bob Wills is still the king

Well if you ain't never been there then I guess you ain't been told
That you just can't live in Texas unless you got a lot of soul
It's the home of Willie Nelson,the home of western swing
He'll be the first to tell you,Bob Wills is still the king

"Born To Love You"


Born to love only you
Destined to die alone without you
Knowing my dreams can never come true
Yet knowing that I was born to love you.

Night after night wanting for you
Living a life built around you
Knowing my dreams can never come true
Yet knowing that I was born to love you.

[Instrumental]

Knowing my dreams can never come true
Yet knowing that I was born to love you...

"Bottle Let Me Down"



Each night I leave the barroom when it's over
Not feeling any pain at closin' time
But tonight your mem'ry found me much too sober
I couldn't drink enough to get you off my mind.

Tonight the bottle let me down
Let your mem'ry come around
The one true friend that I thought I'd found
Tonight the bottle let me down.

I've always had a bottle I could turn to
Lately I've been turning every day
But the booze don't take effect the way it used to
I keep a hurtin' in an old familiar way.

Tonight the bottle let me down
Let your mem'ry come around
The one true friend that I thought I'd found
Tonight the bottle let me down.

Tonight the bottle let me down
Let your mem'ry come around
The one true friend that I thought I'd found
Tonight the bottle let me down...

"Brand New Goodbye Song"



Baby, go down to the drugstore buy me a guitar string
Be sure to wear your coat girl 'cause it might rain
'Cause honey, you know that rain is bad for my guitar strings
Put on your warm coat honey, it's gonna be cold tonight
Put on the one that's warm and long
'Cause you're just before hearin' my brand new goodbye song.

Baby, I've tried your doctors, they just couldn't make me well
The higher I tried to climb the farther I fell
I guess it must have blew my mind sniffing the fumes of hell
Put on your warm coat honey, it's gonna be cold tonight
Put on the one that's warm and long
'Cause you're just before hearin' my brand new goodbye song.

Baby, throw away my pillow just before you turn the light
All you'll have next to you now will be the night
I'll be somewhere wrong you'll be somewhere right
Put on your warm coat honey, it's gonna be cold tonight
Put on the one that's warm and long
'Cause you're just before hearin' my brand new goodbye song.

"Breakin' Down"



I've been a fool, fool, such a fool
I've been a fool, fool, such a fool

Thinking you'll return my love to me
Thinking life would be what I want it to be
I lay awake at night and I roam around
I've been a fool I'm breakin' down

I've been lost, baby so lost
I've been down, baby so low

Being so lonely so hard on a man
Baby, I know you just must understand
I've been trying hard as any man can
To be your man I'm breakin' down

I love you, baby I do
Take my heart and my soul, they all belong to you

Stay with me, please baby please
My heart's in your hands and my mind's between your knees
You know what to do, that could put it all at ease
Just look at me, I'm breakin' down