Blue Sky

For Johnny and Me

Johnny sang of the magnolia tree,
too drunk to drive -
so I was the one to drive us home,
too drunk to drive.

And drive I did, in the early morning light,
until the Man I saw as I turned into the Wigwam
and passed out -

far too lucky I guess, home,
but another blackout later,
we were at it all again,
in another place and time.
Too cliched I guess, but for another lie.

Coltrane, go Johnny go,
blow my mind away.
Another place and time,
another phrase,
I'll play alone in my room and in my head,
not a great place to be, I'd be better fled.

Life things were different 'way back when,
must be getting old to use a phrase like that -
that is the way it is, being in this present state.
Can you write a song for me, with all this and that,
one that tells the truth for Johnny and me

Bandit

I guess I'm leaving in the morning
Before you open up your eyes
We got to be out and breaking onward
Miles away before sunrise

The bank we broke in won't take very long to find
The money's missing from the safe
The man we shot down when we left was still alive
Now there's a posse on our trail

We split the money and went four ways
Enough to make us wealthy men
I'll keep your lovin' in mind always
I'll be glad when we're safe again

I'll keep all your lovin' till I'm safe in Mexico
I'll send for you when I get there
We'll buy a villa and be rich with all our gold
Can't wait to touch those lips again (3 x)

Ride, bandit ride, don't look back, bandit ride (2 x)

My horse keeps pushing forward, I've got a hundred miles to go
To make it to the border of sunny Mexico

I can't keep looking backward; there's a posse on my trail
If I make it there by sundown, I won't end up in jail

Ride, bandit ride, don't look back, bandit ride (2 x)

Will You or Won't You

You were already promised,
but you loved her anyway.
Now you are leaving,
you're going away
from both of your loves.

Who will you be seeing?
Does she mean anything to you?
Who will you be meeting?
Will you love her too, someday,
Anyway?

Oh, will you break her heart?
Oh, are you going to break her heart?

You were already promised,
but you loved them anyway.
Whether one time or many,
on a whim or well-planned, that's the way
that it was.

You've the best of intentions,
you're a generous sort;
You've given your pledge,
yet you still want to court and woo
another one.

Oh, will you break her heart?
Oh, are you going to break her heart?

Will you ever be promised
to your new love, heart and soul?
Will she give herself to you
to have and to hold, and stay,
come what may?

Will you or won't you?
This she'll never know.
She'll always be wondering
if you'll want to go, someday.
No one can say.

Oh, will you break her heart?
Oh, will you break her heart?
Oh...maybe she'll break your heart.

Coffee for Breakfast

Today I mistook coffee for breakfast,
Rolled out of the house already on empty.
Fell into the day in a haphazard way,
Bleary and groggy, in a stunned kind of daze.

I'll have coffee for breakfast,
whatever for lunch,
hell if I know for dinner.
Ice cream morning and evening,
Crackers and nachos,
My mother would freak.

Some mornings begin with good wholesome food,
An egg and some toast, yogurt or oatmeal.
But there is an ideal I don't always achieve:
Having presence of mind before I leave.

I'll have coffee for breakfast,
whatever for lunch,
hell if I know for dinner.
Peanut butter by spoonfuls,
Carbs and caffeine
Send me on my way.

Doomed to an anti-salubrious hell,
Where the grinning chef is the angel who fell -
A sizzling entrée is the catch of the day,
With a side of brimstone on the half shell.

I have to confess that I eat no meat,
So that all-carnivore diet was never a problem.
But fresh greens and fruit prove elusive at best -
I fear I would fail a nutritional test.

I'll have coffee for breakfast,
whatever for lunch,
hell if I know for dinner.
Smushed granola bars fill me,
Emergency rations
On a rushed kind of day.

Today I mistook coffee for breakfast,
Rolled out of the house, already on empty.
Fell into the day in a haphazard way,

I'll aim for improvement – but heaven can wait.

Trying to Reach You

In this day of cell phone and computers
paper letters are all I've got
I can't reach you, where have you gone
Still can't reach you, still can't reach you

We're all so very busy now
Can't even stop to smell the flowers
Time is short, so gobbled up
Still can't reach you, still can't reach you

Taking a break to play some music
Listening helps my mind relax
Artful noise, my writing table
Still can't reach you, still can't reach you

Spring is here, but it's too hot
Can't find a screen to fit my window
I'll finish this letter, get it in the mail
Still can't reach you – still can't reach you

Trying to reach you, trying to reach you,
Trying to reach you

Will technology take us over
Cause us to become obsolete
It seems machines have become our ruler
Still can't reach you, still can't reach you

Just as my idols did in the past
Writing songs to reach the people
Maybe I'll write this one for you
Trying to reach you, trying to reach you

Trying to reach you, trying to reach you,
Trying to reach you

The Way It Is

My body and me – it's a difficult state
I am seventeen – and it's a slightly different age