Lyrics
Don’t Want No Bad Luck
I don’t want some black cat crossing in my path
It’s smarter just to turn around and don’t look back
Why tempt the fates, they say, or risk their wrath
Don’t want no bad luck, come creeping over hear
Don’t want no bad luck, that’s why I never break a mirror
Don’t want no bad luck, no I steer clear
Keep my rabbit’s foot close by, rub it on my knee
It’s a little bit worn down from protecting me
Got a 4 leaf clover, I keep it hidden up my sleeve
Don’t want no bad luck, takes too long to cure
Don’t want no bad luck, that I got to endure
Don’t want no bad luck, no spirits un-pure
Now if somebody asked me, well I guess I would say
Life’s been good, I’ve been damn lucky, but precautions I take
Now some call me foolish, superstitious at best
But here’s the thing my charms work
Why else would I be so blessed?
Walk around all ladders, keep three steps away
Don’t walk under them, that’s the rule I obey
Cause I could wind up with bad stuff and never see old age
Don’t want no bad luck, come creeping over here
Don’t want no bad luck, that’s why I never break a mirror
Don’t want no bad luck, no I steer clear
Don’t want no bad luck
Vagabond Blues
There’s a full moon a hanging
Above the fog and rain
And off in the distance
The sound of a mournful train
There’s a light in a window
But it is not meant for me
You see I am the homeless
Better left unseen
The vagabond blues
Just a rolling stone
The vagabond blues
Weary to the bone
The vagabond blues
And I wonder if I’ll ever find my way back home
Lose these vagabond blues
Some are born into privilege
It’s all they’ve ever known
But for me and for most
We fight for scraps we’re thrown
We sleep in the alley
Behind the mission wall
Adrift in a mist
From drugs and alcohol
Repeat Chorus
I was destined to wonder
A wayfaring, fearful man
Well acquainted with violence
The back of my father’s hand
But I’ve known such kindness
From strangers I have met
Who would share a bottle
Share their last cigarette
Repeat Chorus
Puerto Escondido
There is a town in Mexico
Where I once lived long, long ago
The Pacific was so blue
In Puerto Escondido
That’s where I met my sweet Marie
She was swimming in the sea
She lost her footing in a wave
Where I was walking down the beach
I caught her in my arms as we fell to the sand
I pulled her up, but she did not let go of my hand
We walked and talked ‘till the sun set the sky aglow
I still see her silhouette, on that day that we first met
In Puerto Escondido
We talked until my flight arrived
She kissed my lips and said goodbye
I flew home to sell my things
Tidy up my old life
We married in the month of May
The mariachi music played and played
Smiling in her cotton dress
She looked so beautiful that day
For two years we were seldom far apart
The days and nights exploring each other’s heart
But fate, ever cruel, took her and left me so alone
There was a siren down the road, Marie was never coming home
In Puerto Escondido
We buried her beneath green trees
I laid red roses on the grave
I saw a rainbow arch towards sea
Joined a crew and sailed away
I sometimes wish we’d had a child
He or she would have her smile
Maybe give my heart a chance
To be healed and reconciled
I never loved again nor settle down
Adrift in time, forever from that day unbound
But in my mind the sun sets the sky aglow
I still see her silhouette, on that day that we first met
In Puerto Escondido
The Great Race
The Denver and the Rio Grande
The Santa Fe Midland
Racing to the Leadville mines
Blasting through dirt and rock
Working around the clock
Hear them steam engines whine
Almost out of money
Loan requests were denied
And each firm knew what they had to do
Be the first to the mines
It’s the great race
A fortune to be made
Got to get that silver down
Got to get that silver down
Got to get that silver down the line
Across the Sangre de Cristo
Going toe to toe
Soon to fight the Royal Gorge War
Gun slinging roustabouts
Deputies and army scouts
Which side prevailed would haul the ore
Blood was spilled as they battled
Two hired guns shot dead
The Santa Fe lost the day
When their gun toting gang fled
Repeat Chorus
Working with a pick and axe
Watching for an avalanche
Every day a long, hard grind
Driving spikes into ties
High above the timberline
Inching towards the Leadville mines
How they celebrated
When the train finally came
And the silver flowed from the mother load
Until the vein finally waned
Repeat Chorus
Tends To End Too Soon
The sun is shining and I’m taking it slow
Out on the river just feeling the flow
I hear the Towhees sing and croon
Just a drop of time that tends to end too soon
I like to float down a cool, cool stream
My innertube is all the boat that I need
Under a big blue sky of June
Adrift on a dream that tends to end too soon
I hear cicada calling, drown out the wind
Looking for their lady, drumming their abdomen
They got them red eyes, well aware of the time
Another brood with attitude
With just one thing on their minds
They say that life is just a blink of an eye
Moments so precious that fly right on by
Under the sun and stars and moon
We dance the dance that tends to end too soon
A game of chance that tends to end too soon
A little happenstance that tends to end too soon
Love Has It’s Day
I watched them fuss and bicker
Tearing each other down
Talking over one another
Unwilling to find common ground
I wouldn’t want be like that
Screeching like a feral cat
Maybe try to work things out
Instead of sowing seeds of doubt
Love has its day
For how long who can say
Love has its day
Hold tight, don’t let it fade away
Love will have its day
We try to not take things for granted
Shake up those old routines
Revel in those simple pleasures
Flood the mind with Dopamine
We gotta keep the joy inside
We gotta keep the love alive
Remember not to be unkind
Remember how we’re intertwined
Repeat Chorus
We gotta keep the joy inside
We gotta keep the love alive
Remember not to be unkind
Remember how we’re intertwined
Repeat Chorus
Waltz of the Once Divine
Instrumental
Bound For Buffalo
I stepped aboard the schooner Prescott
Stowed my gear below
Captain Mitchell in command, the cook and us four hands
Sailed from Chicago
Inside our hold Minnesota barley
Destined for some mill
We trimmed the sails tight, the sky was clear and bright
Good tidings and good will
Away boys, away we go
Bound for Buffalo
We sail the seas of the deep blue inland lakes
Bound for Buffalo
The wind hauled ’round from south by southwest
We ploughed and dipped and planed
With all our canvass stacked we laid her on a starboard tack
The bow threw a silvery spray
Repeat Chorus
Ahead the narrow Straits of Mackinac
Captain at the helm
We shouted out three cheers when we passed the rocks so near
Into Lake Huron’s realm
Repeat Chorus
Beneath a moonless night on my watch
Fog hung like a veil
But off the starboard side the Harbor Beach’s shining light
Showed through the shroud so we sailed
Down past Detroit and into Erie
Three hundred miles to port
We’ll get our hard-earned pay, two dollars and a half day
We’ll drink and dance, cavort
Repeat Chorus
Dystopian Blues
My blood pressure’s high
My spirits are low
From watching this bad
Reality show
He’s petty and vengeful
But what the hell can we do?
The chaos is coming
The dystopian blues
Now I don’t understand
Who would vote him in again
So wretched and flawed
As corrupt as sin
They cheer at his madness
They eat the pablum he spews
But soon they’ll be singing
The dystopian blues
I turned off my news feed
Couldn’t bear to see him crow
The orange little despot
The circus side show
His entourage of dimwits
The sycophants and the fools
The lemmings are marching
The dystopian blues
He’s making a mockery
Of the oath that he swore
It reads like the novel
Nineteen Eighty Four
And where is the outrage?
Over the lies that he spews
There’s one man selling out the country
The dystopian blues
Bitter Brew
Alone on a scornful night
Lightening flashing bright
The wind howling like a wolf betrayed
Came the knock upon my door
Two then three then four
I would soon learn just how far a man could stray
It was the deacon and his wife
Drenched by the rain and strife
That I knew poured down upon their life
I told him it was late
And surely this could wait
But the deacon said no, pushed me aside
I looked into Melissa’s eyes
Ever clear, ever kind
Would our deceit be my demise
Would I drink that bitter brew and lose my life
There was Whiskey on his breath
Saying, “Sin must lead to death”
“And how God cannot abide a cheating whore”
He drew a pistol from his vest
And as he aimed it at my chest
Said he’d “Send us both through hell’s fiery door”
I saw the stoker in her hands
Grabbed from the fireplace stand
She crept behind him, swung it hard against his head
He fell to the floor
Where she struck him three times more
And in a pool of blood the deacon lie dead
I was floating in time
Was it self-defense or a heinous crime
I watched her wipe that stoker clean
As I felt that bitter brew churn in my spleen
She said she couldn’t ever face
The scandal, the disgrace
And now she needed my help to avoid arrest
“If I could just throw him in the bay”
“Let the tide take him away”
“She’d stay behind and clean the bloody mess”
Now I knew that it was wrong
But my lust for her too strong
And I so easily agreed to what she asked
I drove him away
Stuffed in the trunk of my Chevrolet
Oh it was a grisly, gruesome task
When I returned to my place
The flashing lights all interlaced
They cuffed me, they mased me in the face
That burning bitter brew all I could taste
She pretended to mourn
I guess a rose can hide its thorns
And how well she played the grieving wife
Well the law was satisfied
With her story, with her lie
That I must have been the one who took his life
And on the stand she testified
That on the night the deacon died
He had left the house alone to pray with me
And when the hour had gotten late
Called the sheriff to investigate
Where he found the blood
She had never cleaned
The judge sentenced me to life
The perfect patsy for the perfect crime
For forty years parole denied
And I drink that bitter brew each and every night
You Don’t Remember
You don’t remember the first time I kissed you
And all that our hearts felt the moment we knew
That we’d spend a lifetime, no matter what fate might say
You were my woman, the stars of the Milky Way
You don’t remember how we’d sit on that front porch swing
Feeling the breeze blow, hear the blue birds sing
I’d watch you garden, wearing your wide brimmed hat
And all of that auburn hair falling down upon your back
Sometimes it’s hard to see it through
But I know I got to be the one
‘Cause who but me could ever tell your story
Remember I’m the one that loves you the best
You don’t remember the names of our children
But you would be so proud how you raised up such fine men
John’s still the dreamer, you know he’s traveled all around the world
And David builds houses and he’s married to a sweet girl
You don’t remember the day of your granddaughter’s birth
Her name is Emily and she has your unbridled mirth
How she loves to draw and sing, she paints fairies riding dinosaurs
And I love they named her after you, and somehow, she’s almost four
Sometimes it’s hard to see it through
But I know I got to be the one
‘Cause who but me can tell your story
Remember I’m the one who loves you the best
You don’t remember this man who comes and visits you
Takes hold of your hand just like we used to do
I read you stories ’cause I know how much you love a good read
Out on the veranda, where the sun tries not to weep
But sometimes your eyes shine and I believe you can hear me down low
But I know the pain I’ll feel when that moment fades and goes
‘Cause you won’t remember me, God it’s like being torn in two
And I would give anything just to sit and talk with you
Down The Quincy Mine
I once lived in far-away Finland
In the famine years when we ate the bark of pine
The Americans came to sign up miners
To dig copper down the Quincy mine
Destined for the Keweenaw Peninsula
Lake Superior’s forested shoreline
We walked the hill up to the Finnish quarter
To Hancock town, down the Quincy mine
At dawn descend and at dusk come back up, dig four tons every day
But with my brothers, sisters and mother, we keep the old Finnish ways
On the top the Swedes work the smelter
But for us Finns it’s a mile deep decline
Thirty men squeeze into the steam hoist
Like cord wood, go down the Quincy mine
Work all day to make my five dollars
Down the shaft to the gloomy grit half-blind
We drill the holes and then we place black powder
Light the fuse down the Quincy mine
The only light the flicker of my candle
And if it should die you better pray your kindling’s dry
We load the cars with ore that has copper
Break our backs down the Quincy mine
But I believe better days are coming
If we just save our nickels and our dimes
Buy cheap land become stump farmers
From the money made down the Quincy mine
At dawn descend and at dusk come back up, dig four tons out every day
But with my brothers, sisters and mother, we keep the old Finnish ways
So many die, killed by machine or rock slide
Deep down below where the sun don’t shine
But I believe one day I’ll stand on my land
And work my farm, my family by my side
No more down the Quincy mine