1. Hejira © Joni Mitchell  

I'm traveling in some vehicle  
I'm sitting in some cafe  
A defector from the petty wars  
That shell shock love away  
There's comfort in melancholy  
When there's no need to explain  
It's just as natural as the weather  
In this moody sky today  
In our possessive coupling  
So much could not be expressed  
So now I am returning to myself  
These things that you and I suppressed  
I see something of myself in everyone  
Just at this moment of the world  
As snow gathers like bolts of lace  
Waltzing on a ballroom girl  
You know it never has been easy  
Whether you do or you do not resign  
Whether you travel the breadth of extremities  
Or stick to some straighter line  
Now here's a man and a woman sitting on a rock  
They're either going to thaw out or freeze  
Listen, strains of Benny Goodman  
Coming through' the snow and the pinewood trees  
I'm porous with travel fever  
But you know I'm so glad to be on my own  
Still somehow the slightest touch of a stranger  
Can set up trembling in my bones  
I know, no one's going to show me everything  
We all come and go unknown  
Each so deep and superficial  
Between the forceps and the stone  
Well, I looked at the granite markers  
Those tributes to finality, to eternity  
And then I looked at myself here  
Chicken-scratching for my immortality  
In the church, they light the candles  
And the wax rolls down like tears  
There is the hope and the hopelessness  
I've witnessed thirty years  
We're only particles of change I know, I know  
Orbiting around the sun  
But how can I have that point of view  
When I'm always bound and tied to someone  
White flags of winter chimneys  
Wave truce against the moon  
In the mirrors of a modern bank  
From the window of a hotel room  
I'm traveling in some vehicle  
I'm sitting in some cafe  
A defector from the petty wars  
Until love sucks me back that way  

2. Goldbridge Road © Michael Holbrook Moss  

Went by our old house a little while ago  
Nothing but a mailbox  
And weeds were growing  
Rusted red swing swaying in the breeze  
Handprints in the sidewalk  
Your name carved in the cedar tree  
I’m sorry I lied to you about Easter  
I lied about Santa Claus  
I lied about the tooth fairy  
And that monster in the hall  
Blow me down  
Blow me down  
I’m an autumn leaf falling to the ground  
Where roots run deep  
And memory sleeps  
Follow me down  
Follow me down  
You’re so far away now  
The weather’s cold  
I hear you don’t have a decent coat my baby  
Wish you were here now  
Wish you could stay  
Wish I could put you on my shoulder  
Let you point the way  
Come on baby follow me, follow me home  
I promise this time to let you live on your own  
Because good love never dies  
It just hides deep inside  
Blow me down  
Blow me down  
I’m an autumn leaf falling to the ground  
Where roots run deep  
And memory sleeps  
Follow me down  
Follow me down  

3. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress © Jimmy Webb  

See her how she flies  
Golden sails across the sky  
Close enough to touch  
But careful if you try  
Though she looks as warm as gold  
The moon's a harsh mistress  
The moon can be so cold  
Once the sun did shine  
And lord, it felt so fine  
The moon a phantom rose  
Through the mountains and the pines  
And then the darkness fell  
And the moon's a harsh mistress  
It's so hard to love her well  
I fell out of her eyes  
I fell out of her heart  
I fell down on my face  
Yes, I did, and I, I tripped and I missed my star  
God, I fell and I fell alone, I fell alone  
And the moon's a harsh mistress  
And the sky is made of stone  
The moon's a harsh mistress  
She's so hard to call your own  

4. How He Lost Her © Julie Christensen / Wendy Waldman  

He stands by the window  
Starin’ at the rain  
It came down all night  
And most of today___  
He’d go out to find her  
But it’s still coming’ down  
And it seems like a lifetime  
Since baby went to town  

And the wind roars like angels  
And it sounds like her voice  
How he lost her  
He’ll never know  
And the wind roars like angels  
And it sounds like her voice  
But he lost her  
So long ago  

The fire’s goin’ out now  
Supper’s almost gone  
And all evening long  
He watches the door  
All through the hills  
He thinks he hears her cry  
But it’s just some old coyote  
Talkin’ to the night sky  

And the wind roars like angels  
And it sounds like her voice  
How he lost her  
He’ll never know  
And the wind roars like angels  
And it sounds like her voice  
But he lost her  
How he lost her  
He’ll never know  
How he lost her  

5. Save Your Love for Me © Buddy Johnson  

Wish I knew  
Why I'm so in love with you  
No one else in this world will do  
Darling please save your love for me  
Run away  
If I were wise I'd run away  
But like a fool in love I stay  
And pray you'll save your love for me  
I can feel it  
Even when you're not here  
Can't conceal it  
I really love you, my dear  
And though I know no good  
Can come from loving you  
I can't do a thing, I'm so in love with you  
So darling help me please  
Have mercy on a fool like me  
I know I'm lost but still I plead  
Darling please save your love for me  
You may have fun with the crowd  
But for crying out loud  
Darling please save your love for me  

6. A Remark You Made © Joe Zawinul, lyrics by Julie Christensen  

You didn’t know why you said it  
Could you have been aware of  
How it would land?  
Underneath the words  
A pretty blur I wasn’t sure  
Exactly what I’d heard  
Didn’t know at the time  
What was on your mind  
But I had a kind of premonition  
There in mine  
And you know it might’ve been just fine  
But I’m resigned  
And now I know —It’s time  
I—will try to see how much of me  
I can be  
Without you by my side  
I’ll carry on  
It’s time to move along, I know  
Underneath the words  
I gotta wonder why you stayed  
Knowing what would - follow  

It was hard__  
And I hurt you and you hurt me  
But I should let—you be  
I know you’re leaving me__  
So off you go  
And I’m gonna tell you - now  
Just so you know  
I’m—gonna miss you  
Just so you know  
And underneath the words  
Just underneath the words  
Just underneath was what you wanted to say  

(solo 8 bars)  

Underneath the words  
You tried to say you couldn’t stay  
But underneath the words  
I saw the day you’d walk away  
Just underneath the words  
You tried to say you couldn’t stay  
But underneath the words  
I saw the day you’d walk away  
Just underneath the words____  

7. All The River © Julie Christensen / Karen Hammack  

When I hear that bird in the morning sky  
Sounds like she sings, whatever comes to pass  
(And) When I - woke up today I forgot to cry  
All my tears have — been wrung dry  
From filling the river  
And it’s all the river  
If I close my eyes and remember  
My own love is all I have to give  
If I let my heart float there in surrender  
I don’t need to — give up, ever  
It’s all the river  
All the river  

Hard times happen in every life  
No—body’s free from pain and trial  
And all the birds will keep on singing  
Even after they cannot fly 
It’s all   
———It’s all the river  

There are days I worry ‘bout what’s to come  
Or I’m sad for what has departed  
Another whole world will circle the sun  
Even when my — days are done  
It’s all the river  
It’s all the river  
All the river  
It’s all the river  
All the river  

8. Away With Words © John Scofield, lyrics by Julie Christensen  

Away___with all the things  I know you want to tell me  
And away__with all the words I wish I’d hear you whisper  
(Of) love and beyond____  
If we started all over, and you wouldn’t have gone…  
I just need you to know I’m gonna stay  
And I hope you can try and find a way for now with few words  
You’re home. And even though you want to say you’re sorry  
Away With Words  

9. Can’t Find My Way Home © Steve Winwood  

Come down off your throne and leave your body alone  
Somebody must change  
You are the reason I've been waiting so long  
Somebody holds the key  
But I'm near the end and I just ain't got the time  
And I'm wasted and I can't find my way home  

Come down on your own and leave your body alone  
Somebody must change  
You are the reason I've been waiting all these years  
Somebody holds the key  
oooohh
But I'm near the end and I just ain't got the time  
And I'm wasted and I can't find my way home  
Yeah
But I can't find my way home  
Still I can't find my way home  
And I ain't done nothing wrong  
But I can't find my way 
Can't find my way
Can't find my way home  

10. Hilltop © Terry Lee Burns  

In my mind I see you 
Just the way you used to be  
Small and frail, but full of life  
You were everything to me  
Your face, Your voice, your very soul  
I’ll miss until I go  
But you’ll be there when I return  
To the place we were before  

Looking from the hilltop  
I know I’ll see you then  
We’ll laugh and talk and touch  
And live again  

When I reach that hilltop  
And my days of life are through  
When they ask me what I liked the best  
I’ll tell them it was you.  

Looking from the hilltop  
I know I’ll see you then  
We’ll laugh and talk and touch  
And live again  
 

When I reach that hilltop  
And my days of life are through  
When they ask me what I liked the best  
I’ll tell them it was you  
When they ask me what I liked the best  
I’ll tell them it was you. 

 

LYRICS FOR 
11 FROM KEVIN - SONGS OF KEVIN GORDON 2022

11 from Kevin: Songs of Kevin Gordon 

Julie Christensen 

Find My Way 
(©Kevin Gordon, Little Rain Music BMI & Gwil Owen, Turgid Tunes admin Bluewater BMI) 
When the night comes creeping, 
And my family’s sleeping 
I slip out and take a ride 
No destination, no woman waiting 
Just a rage inside my mind 
I’m feeling things I don’t understand 
Baby can you sympathize 
til I find my way 
baby til I find my way 

I think I’ll drive down to the river 
Stare out at the lights of town 
Sometimes a man will walk that bridge 
Just to lay his lonesome down 
I’m coming back home tonight 
I’m just taking the long way around 
til I find my way 
baby, til I find my way 

There’s hawks on my fence, snakes in the grass 
Change is a burning, blurring line 
World’s got me crazy, can you tell me baby 
Why the cure’s always the compromise 
There’s what you want, and what you need 
What ties you down, what sets you free 
til I find my way 
baby, til I find my way 

Crowville 

(©Kevin Gordon, Little Rain Music BMI) 
Red wing bird splits the sky 
Green grows wild on the highway side 
Just like they know you, 
Folks wave from the wheel 
Cars passing 
Crowville 

Out in the field, outside the wall 
Coyotes coming, hear ‘em call 
Running on hunger and free will 
Gone in the morning 
Crowville 

Little jambox blares from the ground 
Preacher’s voice like a tearing sound 
The Lord’s at hand and the devil’s on the kill 
Way down there 
Crowville 

Charles Ray, he’s long gone 
Ms. Martha carries on 
I hear us laughing with him still— 
Hand slaps the table 
Crowville 

Red wing bird splits the sky 
Green grows wild on the highway side 
Just like they know you, 
Folks wave from the wheel 
Cars passing 
Crowville 

Fire at the End of the World 
(©Kevin Gordon, Little Rain Music BMI) 

Me and Billy, seventeen 
 Sitting in class, feeling bored and mean 
 In came the teacher, said we had a guest 
She introduced the sheriff, and put off the test 

He talked about pot, how folks grew their own 
Statistics were given, slides were shown 
Pills, powders, LSD 
 I found out what all that would do to me 

Around here things stay pretty slow 
 Hound dogs sleep in the middle of the road 
Gotta shuck the oyster to find the pearl 
 And I heard about a fire at the end of the world 

Didn’t know what we were doing, but we were gonna get it done 
Headed down Louisiana highway 1 
Life’s a magazine; the pages start to curl 
Down there by the fire at the end of the world 

Drove straight south til the road met the water 
Split a half a gram, & a hit of good blotter 
 Every bit of evidence was gone 
Sitting on the hood feeling it coming on 

There it was, a gold flame in the black velvet sky 
 Over the refinery so wild and high 
That’s when a parish deputy appeared 
Asked what we were doing down there 

He stared at Billy, he stared at me 
 I mumbled something about what we came to see 
I give the devil neither the credit or the blame 
I was just down there looking for that flame 

Sometimes you just want things to tilt and shine— 
 Change it up a little bit inside your mind. 
You gotta shuck the oyster to find the pearl 
I heard about a fire at the end of the world 

Joey & Clara 
(©Kevin Gordon, Little Rain Music BMI) 

Joey, Clara calls from the sidewalk dawn 
won’t you come out and run all day long 

I know where the berries hang heavy on a thick sticker bush 

Sweet as sugar way back in the woods 

Bring yourself a bucket and we’ll have some fun 

Back where the ghosts and the wild things run 

I got sandwiches and chewing gum 

Oh come now joey or you won’t get none 

Runnin’, Joey comes jumpin’ down the front porch stairs 

Clara like a woman with her hands on her hips 

“Took ya long enough” 

Over the Brambles underneath barbed wire 

Round the ashes of the old campfire 

Chandler’s fence took a piece of her dress 

Old tennis shoes in the dew turn wet 

Joey and clara, la la la la 

Gloryland 
(©Kevin Gordon, Little Rain Music BMI) 

You might be a preacher 
Broadcasting on a satellite 
Miss Mamie's looking for an answer 
Watches your program every night 
Diamonds shine from your praying hands 
She sends you all the money she has 
Just to feel a little closer 
A little closer to gloryland 

You might be the president 
Take a lot of power in your hands 
Bend the laws to your advantage 
Drive your armies to a foreign land 
You say your cause is just 
Lie only if you must 
Just to keep them believing 
They're on their way to gloryland 

People keep believing, people keep deceiving 
Am I my brother's keeper? 
Am I my brother's keeper? 

You might be a young man 
Out of work in a war-torn town 
Streets you walked as a smiling child 
Are blown to rubble, death and infidels all around 
You're drinking thirst, eating hunger 
Praying to the east, and the mullah 
Is the only one you can trust 
Who gives himself in sacrifice 
Passes the gate to paradise . . . 
You walk into the market, cool wind across your face 
Virgin visions in your head & a bomb strapped to your waist 
Because it's all waiting there, somewhere far from here 
It's all waiting there, out there somewhere 
In gloryland 

Heart’s Not in It 
(©Kevin Gordon, Little Rain Music BMI & Gwil Owen, Turgid Tunes admin Bluewater BMI)
 
I've played this bar a hundred times 
Same four walls, same old lines 
The show goes on when they dim the lights 
I play my part, but my heart's not in it tonight 

Play a couple of fast ones, then we take a break Somebody buys a round for old times' sake 
Guess she looks familiar, I try to be polite 
But it's hard, ‘cause my heart's not in it tonight 

Sometimes I get this feeling 
All I'm doing is spinning my wheels 
I just want to stop for a minute 
Just until my heart's back in it 

The crowd's all gone, but you're still here 
What you want is all too clear 
The line's so fine between wrong and right 
We could step right over, but my heart's not in it tonight 

Down to the Well 
(©Kevin Gordon, Little Rain Music BMI & Colin Linden, Colin Linden Music, Warner Chappell SOCAN) 
Mud-covered dogs guarding shotgun shacks 
A red door on a green Cadillac 
Hot wind blowing smoke through graveyard streets 
A face I recognize looking right through me 

Ain’t goin’ down to the well no more 
Believe I’ve had my fill 

I worked that ground til I done got sore 
Ain’t goin’ back down to the well 

You played that dive twenty some-odd years 
With the faith and whiskey you  killed your fear 
I remember the night you broke down to the core 
Threw that black Stratocaster through a plate-glass door 

Ain’t goin’ down to the well no more 
Believe I’ve had my fill 

I worked that ground til I done got sore 
Ain’t goin’ back down to the well 

See that woman in the corner, brother, she knows 
Every inch of my body, every mile of my soul 
We used to shake ‘em on down til the blazin’ day 
What’s she doin here tonight watching me that way 

Ain’t goin’ down to the well no more 
Believe I’ve had my fill 

I worked that ground til I done got sore 
Ain’t goin’ back down to the well 

Jimmy Reed is the King of Rock n’Roll 
(©Kevin Gordon, Little Rain Music BMI) 

Dark sunglasses, sharkskin suit, standing in the 
Broken glass of East Dubuque 
On a Sunday morning 
On a Sunday morning 

You ramble and you tamble, it’s a rotgut town 
Lose your mind til it can’t be found 
Now your head is burning 
And your heart is yearning 

Jimmy Reed is the king of rock n’roll 
Jimmy Reed is the king of rock n’roll 

Down in Ottumwa, layin’ up in that room 
Light bulb flickin’ its tongue at you 
And the hours passing 
And the hours passing 

Jimmy Reed is the king of rock n’roll 
Jimmy Reed is the king of rock n’roll 

Dark sunglasses , sharkskin suit, standing in the 
Broken glass of East Dubuque 
On a Sunday morning 

On a Sunday morning 

Gatling Gun 
(©Kevin Gordon, Little Rain Music BMI) 

If I had a rocket ship and a Gatling gun 
 I’d fly all the way up to the sun 
Shoot it full of holes til I put out the light 
Fall back to the ocean and call it a night 

Gonna call John Henry help build me a railroad 
Straight through the coal mines, pick up a big load 
Dig a hole to China, ride it on down 
Keep sinking low til I come out on higher ground 

I still see her there 
How the river wind plays her hair 
Gold in fallen light 
Right by my side 

I could take a razor to my blank stare 
Bleed out every memory of her in there 
Toss my eyes like dice into the sky 
But I’d come up empty, still asking why 

I still see her there 
How the river wind plays her hair 
Gold in fallen light 
On the levee by my side 
Giving me her time 
The wild meadow of her mind 
The bloom of her soft kiss 
Why can’t it stay like this 
And nothing less? 

These days nothing stays the same 
But my tongue remembers the shape of her name 
Love is free and free to roam 
But I can’t quit no matter how far away she goes 

Following a Sign 
(©Kevin Gordon, Little Rain Music BMI) 

I stood up in church one Sunday prophesyin’ a storm to come 

I stood up in church one Sunday prophesyin’ a storm to come 

Monday morning lightnin’ stuck the doubters dumb 

When the preacher kicked me out 

Threw a thumb up for a ride 

$20 bill in my bible 

Watchin’ them cars just blow on by 

I keep holding on to the sweet divine 

Get there how I can 

Following a sign 

Meridian to Memphis, like a dog in the back of a truck 

Meridian to Memphis, ridin’ like a dog in the back of a truck 

Through a stranger’s kindness, saw St. Louis from a bus 

There’s tuna fish and crackers pocket knife in a calico skirt 

Blade it came out shinin’ when that boy tried to feel up under my shirt 

I keep holdin’ on to the sweet divine 

Get there how I can following a sign 

Ever since I can remember I’ve seen angels in the air 

Heard voices in the wind 

Grace is everywhere 

Chicago December 

South Cicero somewhere 

Chicago December 

South Cicero somewhere 

ask a lady in a doorway 

Is anybody sick in there 

She led me to a room 

Daughter lay shakin’ on the bed 

Sweat poured off my hands when I laid ‘em upon her head 

And I prayed like I pray In every town I’m driftin’ through 

She just brlinked three times and stood up well as me or you 

I keep holdin’ on to the sweet divine 

Get there how I can following a sign 

Chicago December South Cicero somewhere 

Goodnight Brownie Ford 
(©Kevin Gordon, Little Rain Music BMI) 

The old man’s face 
A map of scars 
Straw Stetson brim 
Half Comanche 
They called him Brownie 
For his Indian skin 

I met him once 
In a cafe 
In my hometown 
In a corner singing 
Black Jack David, 
Don’t Let the Deal Go Down 
We called him back for more 
Goodnight Brownie Ford 

Just a kid 
Breaking horses 
Working wild west shows 
Rope and leather 
Cards and money 
Learning fast how the old song goes 

Declared me dead twice, he said 
But I never was that far gone 
Yeah that saddle bronc dragged me to the gates of heaven 
I couldn’t stay down long 
Dying ain’t what living’s for 
I snuck out that hospital ward 
Goodnight Brownie Ford 

Played his guitar 
From here to far 
Woodsmoke and campfire songs 
Float up to the stars til the night is gone 

I remember talking to him 
More likely, he was talking to me-- 
Saying “Don’t let ‘em mess with your music 
If you go to Tennessee” 

As the fire flared and died 
From his cigarette 
And he looked me in the eye to ask 
A riddle with his next breath-- 
All the free advice I could afford 
Got in his car and closed the door 
Goodnight Brownie Ford 

Rest Your Head 
(©Kevin Gordon, Little Rain Music BMI) 

Stars above the clouds tonight that I can’t see 
Pictures swirling up in my head say what you mean to me 
You're a thousand miles away 
You get tired this time of day 
That bad feeling ain’t all it seems 
Baby rest your weary head and dream 

Work is good but wants to steal away our time 
Hours and frustrations lead to nothing but 
Paper dollars and thin dimes 
It’s here and then it’s gone 
So we labor on 
Polished shoes and Listerine 
Baby rest your weary head and dream 

Rest a while 
Hear that laughing river flow 
When I find it I’ll follow it 
As far as it goes 

Cool wind in the shadow of a redwood tree 
I can’t see that bird but I’m a fool to think 
it’s singing just for me 
Whippoorwill or mockingbird, 
Lonesome song ain’t got no words 
But I think I know what it means 
Baby rest your weary head and dream 

Rest a while 
Hear that laughing river flow 
When I find it I’ll follow it 
As far as it goes 

And that bad feeling ain’t all it seems 
Baby rest your weary head and dream 
Baby rest your weary head

 

LYRICS FOR 

A SAD CLOWN 2018

A Sad Clown

© 2017 Julie Christensen

 

Now that you are grown

You might be considering a profession

You’ll be leaving home

It’s hard to admit you have some questions

I know that we’ve grown apart 

But I want to tell you with my heart:

Do what you love, ‘cause you only get paid in lessons.

yeah yeah

 

Your mama’s a sad sad clown

How long has she been around? 

There’s work to be done

There’s no time for her to slow down

Your mama’s just a sad sad clown

 

You’d think she’d have figured it out by now

And passed on the news to you

You’d think she’d have given it up somehow, 

But what else is she gonna do?

Your mama’s just a sad sad clown

 

When I was alone 

I never wondered about the ending

Lonely to the bone, 

Still I had no intention of bending 

They all tried to tell me what to be

I was working on trying to set it free

If push comes to shove, 

I don't wanna be caught pretending ___

yeah yeah yeah

 

Your mama’s a sad sad clown

How long has she been around? 

There’s work to be done

It’s too late for her to slow down

Your mama’s just a sad sad clown

 

There’s no joy in Mudville to be found

There’s no money in it, no reknown

No pieces to pick up off the ground 

Your mama’s just a sad sad clown

Your mama’s just a sad sad clown

 

Your mama’s a sad sad clown

How long has she been around? 

There’s work to be done

It’s too late for her to slow down

Your mama’s just a sad sad clown

 

Sad Sad Clown

Sad Sad Clown

Exile on Myrtle Beach

© Darrin Bradbury

I was countin’ roaches in a Chicken Shack

Down on Myrtle Beach

The sun to my back

Got caught stealin’ hubcaps off a Pontiac

Yeah, and here I am

 

Skippin’ stones and watchin’ birds

Headed from Albuquerque

And I made a wrong turn

So I picked up some cardboard

And I wrote down some words

Someone said it was a sign

 

Yeah well, you and me 

Yeah we’re off scot-free 

Like Bruce on a bike with some boardwalk queen

They two lanes’ll take you anywhere,

But I guess they’ll take you on down

Down past Myrtle Beach

 

I saw Richard Pryor throw a stone into the ocean

Had a couple new jokes

But none of them were worth quotin’

A couple good quips, yeah, and I guess that’s it

Nothin’ really on fire

 

I seen Elvis Presley down at the popsicle stand

Gettin’ cues from Andy Kaufman

On how to shake his ass

They’re doin’ a double header

Three night stand

At Fran’s Eastside 

 

Yeah well, you and me 

Yeah we’re off scot-free 

Like the heads that roll off the French Royalty

The Revolution was nothin’ but a strong narrative

Great publicity. Keeps the tourists in Myrtle Beach

 

Well I guess I’ll keep quiet, like Ol’ Charlie Chaplin

Didn’t like the steak,

So I spit it in the napkin

It was too well-done for anything to happen

Guess I wanted somethin’ rare

 

But the ballgame’s startin’

So everybody cheer

You know it’s a good song if it sells som beer

You held me in the nosebleeds

Sayin’ “why are we here?”

I said, “why do you care?”

 

Yeah well, you and me 

Yeah we’re off scot-free 

Like Eva and Adolf in a submarine

Some folks say they’re in Buenos Aires 

But I’ve seen ‘em both chompin’ on hot dogs

And strollin’ down Myrtle Beach

 

Yeah well, you and me 

Yeah we’re off scot-free 

Like Bruce on a bike with some boardwalk queen

They two lanes’ll take you anywhere,

But I guess they’ll take you on down

Down past Myrtle Beach

 

Honey Let’s Go To Town

©2017 Julie Christensen 

 

At the Lakewood RV and Campground

South of the Drag, Outside of town                          

We were welcome to pull in on the Yamaha for the night

So we stayed for a month and drank a bit

Saw the beach, but mostly we got lit

Not a morning went by wouldn’t one of us pick a fight.

I’d say “Honey Let’s Go To Town.”

But he would not take me there.

He bought me a new tattoo 

On the boardwalk at Wither’s Swash                              

We rode the ferris wheel and that was cool.

But the roller coaster, 

I didn’t like that much

It wasn’t the Skywheel or the real boardwalk

But he would not take me there.

solo ||:                              

 

Hey someday I’m gonna take a ride

Jump on your Harley and head up 95

I’m gonna know what it is to be alive  Maybe Atlantic City                          

C’mon Honey Let’s Go To Town

Hey  Honey Let’s Go To Town

Honey Let’s Go To Town

Cause he would not take me there.

 

Like Nothing Hurts

©Julie Christensen

 

Oh, I’m just having a bit of a hard day

It’s not like I’m dyin

Though we die a little bit all the time, okay?

It isn’t violent, 

Like Death walkin in with an AR-15

And opening fire

God rest all their souls

And let us pray____.

 

Oh, I just really mustn’t complain.

I’m whinin, is all.

I’m talkin about just a little pain

Makes me feel so small.

I’m not in a war zone:

No water, no electricity for days on end, 

Where my killer or rapist waits around the bend

It’s not insane_____.

 

But when I rise up from my seat, 

An invisible torturer cranks up the pliers on my knees

And I may wince when I come back to sing or talk or play

It might be that the show looks easy

And I’ll make like nothing hurts

And I’ll make like nothing hurts

I’ll just make like nothing hurts

Well I’ll make like nothing hurts

And maybe it’ll help to get through

On days like these

On days like these...

 

Burning Star

© Tim Easton 

 

I heard your voice out in the parking lot

It was 3 am — the bar doors were all locked

A bottle was passed with an old guitar

And you conjured the sound of a burning star

 

Burning Star, Burning Star

The night sky spits fire wherever you are

And wherever you are is another place 

You’ll never be again.

 

We can all see hell dancing in your eyes

As you’re crossing the pond tossing out your lines

Well you might reel one in, but you’ll never get far

Only warmed by the embers of a burning star

 

Burning Star, Burning Star

The night sky spits fire wherever you are

Burning Star, Burning Star 

Scattering ashes over battle scars

And wherever you are is another place 

You’ll never be again.

 

Listening to you now in this hotel room

Singing “Two Girls” or “Some Lonesome Tune” 

I only see the shadow of who you really are

Just ash and smoke signals from a still burning star__________!

 

Burning Star, Burning Star

The night sky spits fire wherever you are

Burning Star, Burning Star 

Scattering ashes over battle scars

And wherever you are there you go

And wherever you go there you are

And wherever you are is another place 

You’ll never be again

Burning Star, Burning Star

Burning Star.

 

Cold Tennessee Rain

© 2017 Julie Christensen

Woke up to the grey 

Of a Cold Tennessee Rain

Was steppin’ through my jeans

Full of holes and plenty of stains

Nothin about these clouds has got a silver lining

If I tried to reach you now, it’d be bad timing

In the Cold Tennessee Rain

 

You just could not stay 

In the Cold Tennessee Rain

You got good and mean

And you sold whatever you gained

Something about the wild and changeable weather

Made you wonder, child, if it’d ever get better

In the Cold Tennessee Rain

 

I just decided that I liked it here 

Without you anyway

Just figured that I’d get along

Without you anyway

I know that the sun won’t shine

Without you anyway

And I’ll have to face the day

In the Cold Tennessee Rain

 

Raised the window up

To the Cold Tennessee Rain

The night is interrupted 

By a Cold Tennessee Rain

Nothin about these clouds has got a silver lining

In the Cold Tennessee Rain.

 

Vienna, Illinois 

© 2016 Julie Christensen  

I read your letter again today 

I didn't even feel sad 

I wonder, if I picked up the pen and the paper
Could I even write you back? 

Vienna, Illinois 

Vienna, Illinois 

You never came to visit me

I never wanted your tears 

My window looks right out onto the Shawnee
I saw a sweet runnin deer

So free. 

So free. 

Vienna, Illinois 

Vienna, Illinois 


I hardly talk to the other man who shares my cell 

I try not to think too much in between the bells 

It don't feel like livin any more than it feels like I'm dyin 

It just feels like I'm shufflin' through hell

It just feels like I'm shufflin' through hell 

Vienna, Illinois 

Vienna, Illinois 

Downwind from trouble at the swamps at Grantsburg 

Murderers out walkin after eighteen years 

Then there are those of us whose lives changed forever 

Due to blindness from the beer 

And I've never even seen the town 

No I've never even seen the town 

Vienna, Illinois 

Vienna, Illinois 

So free (We're not that different, you and I) 

So free (I think about that all the time) 

Vienna, Illinois 

Vienna, Illinois 

Vienna, Illinois 

Vienna, Illinois 

 

Slow Blue Fly 

©Julie Christensen and Laura Mayo        

Slow blue fly in the living room hummin’                                

Sky so quiet like a dark storm comin’

Out the window's a world unknown            

All's I know is the curtain's torn 

Send me down a stronger dream

(Cause) The ones I got___ are losin steam___

Broken sign by the Trinity Southern                           

Never been changed by the drunken breth’ren

I sure hope that message lasts

Says "Every Saint Has A Worried Past."

It's half a mile out of my way

But I drive by there every day

A woman came by work today

Asked if I knew how to pray____

She had something in her eyes

Something I don't recognize

(solo over verse)

Slow blue fly in the living room hummin

Sky so quiet like a dark storm comin

Out the window's a world unknown                         

All's I know is the curtain's torn          __________

Send me down a stronger dream______                                                                        

(Cause) The ones I got___ are losin’ steam___

                                                                            :||     ___________.

Anything Like Home 

© Julie Christensen 2017

 

Then came the cataclysm of the words 

No one had to tell us what we heard 

They fell in my ears

They fell in your ears

I waited in a twisted knot for you to hear In vain

Til it was over.

Is it over?

We are broken

On the Inside

By the window

Like a war bride

And it doesn't feel 

Anything Like our home

You had a secret moment all alone

No one else to whom you'd need atone 

Not on my side

Not on your side

I waited for you out across the great divide In vain

Til it was over.

And it's all over.

We are broken

On the Inside

By the window

Like a war bride

And it doesn't feel 

Anything Like our home 

Like Our Home.

Are you sleeping soundly there upon your bed? 

Are you still believing something that he said? 

I'll be on your side

You be on my side

I'll be waiting for you here across the great divide 

Til this is over,

'Cause We are broken

On the Inside

By the window

Like a war bride

And it doesn't feel

Anything Like our home

We're only broken on the inside 

Open the window

Raise your voice and fight 

If it's gonna be

Anything Like Our home.

Like Our Home

Like Our Home.

 

Sunday

© 2016 Julie Christensen

 

Bare Trees in a sunlight crown

White patent leather shoes on the cold hard ground

In the dry brown grass of early spring

Out there in the yard beyond the swings

 

Mother Mary Open Arms

I am raising up my palms

Sunday

Praying to make sense 

Of where the Fridays went

Sunday

 

I smiled but the camera knew

Little cat-eye glasses hid my eyes so “blue”

Grandma’s daffodils came up in time

For April First Communion in Oelwein

 

Mother Mary Open Arms

I am raising up my palms

Sunday

Praying to make sense 

Of where the seasons went

Sunday

 

All my people left that town

Got married or they died or they’re not around

Used to be a homemade grotto there

That my daddy built for the Virgin Mary

 

But I don’t see her now

I can’t feel this place any more

I close my eyes just like before

 

Mother Mary Open Arms

I am raising up my palms

Sunday

Praying to make sense 

Of where the decades went

Sunday

Sunday

Sunday

 

Hold On

Written by Kathleen Brennan, Thomas Alan Waits •  © Peermusic Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group

They hung a sign up in our town

"If you live it up, you won't live it down"

So she left Monte Rio, son

Just like a bullet leaves a gun

With her charcoal eyes and Monroe hips

She went and took that California trip

Oh, the moon was gold, her hair like wind

Said, "don't look back, just come on, Jim"

Oh, you got to hold on, hold on

You gotta hold on

Take my hand, I'm standing right here, you gotta hold on

Well, he gave her a dimestore watch

And a ring made from a spoon

Everyone's looking for someone to blame

When you share my bed, you share my name

Well, go ahead and call the cops

You don't meet nice girls in coffee shops

She said, "baby, I still love you"

Sometimes there's nothin' left to do

Oh, but you got to hold on, hold on

Babe, you gotta hold on and take my hand

I'm standing right here, you gotta hold on

Well, God bless your crooked little heart

St. Louis got the best of me

I miss your broken China voice

How I wish you were still here with me

Oh, you build it up, you wreck it down

Then you burn your mansion to the ground

Oh, there's nothing left to keep you here

But when you're falling behind in this big blue world

Oh, you've got to hold on, hold on

Babe, you gotta hold on

Take my hand, I'm standing right here, you gotta hold on

Down by the Riverside motel

It's ten below and falling

By a ninety-nine cent store

She closed her eyes and started swaying

But it's so hard to dance that way

When it's cold and there's no music

Oh, your old hometown's so far away

But inside your head there's a record that's playing

A song called "Hold On", hold on

Babe, you gotta hold on

Take my hand, I'm standing right there, you gotta hold on

You gotta hold on, hold on

Babe, you gotta hold on

Take my hand, I'm standing right there, you gotta hold on

You gotta hold on,

hold on

Babe, you gotta hold on

And take my hand, I'm standing right here, you gotta hold on

You gotta hold on, hold on

Babe, you gotta hold on

And take my hand, I'm standing right here, you gotta hold on

You gotta hold on

 

The Sun

© Julie Christensen, Mary  Bragg

 

Long nights when you were mine

Might rain but it would clear up

We bathed in love and moonshine

No reason not to stay up

And holler at the dawning day

To just come on      Just come on _____

 

And the sun________was shinin' down on me

For a little while

Some kind of heaven was smilin' down on me

Felt like I was a little child

Yeah, the sun____ was shinin down on me

For a little while

For a little while

 

Now days are full of rain

There's no sign of a let up

These days it's hard to name

A good reason just to get up    

And face down every cloud                    

And darkness comin' on    It's comin' on_____

 

But the sun________was shinin' down on me   

For a little while

Some kind of heaven was smilin' down on me

Like when I was a little child

Yeah, the sun________was shinin' down on me

For a little while   

For a little while

For a little while

For a little while_________.

 

Getting Through

© 2018 John Hadley, Sergio Webb, and Julie Christensen

                    

Maybe it's just the coffee talkin

Maybe it's all of the money walkin                                    

Sure am tired of dancin on this wire                                        

Got a few new irons in the fire                                                    

It's good to have 'em now that I have learned                                                                                     

How to pick 'em up without getting burned___

                                     

Sailin'                                             

Navigatin through the tribulation                      

Sailin'                                                              

The stars will take me to my new destination

___And I'm gettin through

And I'm gettin through___

 

Interlude:                                                                        

                              

Standin by an old highway sign                                

I've driven by 'em all a thousand times                                      

Down to where the ocean meets the land                         

To bury yesterday in the sand                            

Endless sky out beyond my bow                                                                               

The wind is with me and I'm movin__now

                   

Sailin'                             

Navigatin through the tribulation                  

Sailin'                                                             

The stars will take me to my new destination   

And I'm gettin through                     

And I'm gettin through___                                                                                                              

Am I gettin through___?

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

LYRICS FOR 

THE CARDINAL 2016

The Cardinal

© Julie Christensen

Oh the cardinal he's a red red bird

Up there in my hickory tree

Singin' too---purty purty purty purty purty 

And a-callin' back to me.

 

I danced at the home games in crimson velvet

I always wore black whenever they played away

I fell for a boy with a bird on his helmet

And I wonder about him to this very day

 

Oh the cardinal he's a red red bird

Somewhere he is a-flyin' free

Singin' too---purty purty purty purty purty 

Never comin' back to me.

 

Under the stands, we stole a kiss

To the strains of the band, I tore my dress____

 

I traveled the world, I sang hundreds of places

I'd sing it all again if I had one more go

Yet I still see the boy in the thousands of faces

For I have not forgiven him, God only knows

 

Oh the cardinal he dives way down hill

Down where I can barely see

Singin' I’m— purty purty purty purty purty 

But I'm scarlet as can be. 

 

Oh the cardinal he's a red red bird

Oh the cardinal he's a red red bird

Oh the cardinal he's a red red bird.

 

 

Shed My Skin

©Dan Navarro

 

Come on and take a ride

Across the border

To a place that once was mine

Out of focus

Out of order

Pictures from another time

 

On the outside

Turning lighter

So much darkness in my eyes

Gas or water

On the fire

Makes no difference

Something dies

 

So I take a piece of who I am

And stretch it thin

Every time I start to feel the walls 

Closing in

I Shed My Skin

 

Come on and take a ride

On the dragon

Hiding out behind the lines

Piling bodies 

On the wagon

Everyone's a friend of mine

 

But when I feel that bitter chill

In the wind

I swear that I can feel the room

Start to spin

So I Shed My Skin

I Shed My Skin, Oh

 

Through the smoke

Through the rubble

Through the crossfire - friends in need

On the inside

Of the bubble

We see what we choose to see - yeah.

 

Heart of Darkness

Hope and anger

The road to freedom paved with fear

Lead me back to

Where I came from

Somewhere far away from here

 

But the light to find my way back home

Is growing dim

And the sirens from behind my walls

Draw me in

So I Shed My Skin

I Shed My Skin

I Shed My Skin

 

Riverside 

©Julie Christensen and Laura Curtis

 Stone Cupid Music BMI, Laura Curtis ASCAP

 

Bought a beater from John Morrow

It was thirty-five dollars without tags

Grabbed the keys

Climbed in through the window,

Goin' down to Riverside

 

I did something

I don't remember

So I can't apologize

In that red dress, she kicked in the fender

Sat down on the road and cried

 

I will get release

I will make my peace

Hit the mud and fly

Demolition time

When the flag goes down

 

In between jobs for building silos

I just barrelled through my pay

Tired of waiting for a sure thing

Goin' down to Riverside

‘Cause they get bored down in Winterset Iowa

Come around to watch us drive

Gonna floor it out onto the highway

Goin’ down to Riverside

 

Bridge: 

Nothin' in this world is made to last

Gas tank under me, window’s got no glass

Safer than a race, 'cause you don't go too fast

When you know you're gonna crash

 

I will get release

I will make my peace

Just like you and I

It’s demolition time

When the flag goes down

 

I ain’t waiting

For a sure thing

Goin' down to Riverside

So grab the keys and climb in through the window

We’re goin' down to Riverside.

 

Broken Wing 

©Laura Curtis and Julie Christensen

Stone Cupid Music BMI, Laura Curtis ASCAP


I see a hologram of us 

Dance across the table

When I rub my eyes

It's just the empty bottles

Like the knowing in your bones

Right before the rain

I could feel the storm coming

In the quiet of your pain

 

Broken Wing

There's no moremedicine
We both knew this kind of hurt

And we went after it again

Broken Wing

Driftin in the wind

When we watched each other fall

It felt like fly____ing

 

I have a photograph of us 

And we're laughing at the sky

But now I can see the hollow aching in our eyes

I can't save the part of you

That doesn't see a way to be

And it's killin me to leave you

But staying here is gonna be the death of me

 

Broken Wing

There's no more medicine

We both knew this kind of hurt

And we went after it again

Broken Wing

Drifting in the wind

When we watched each other fall

It felt like fly____ing

Felt like fly_____________ing

Felt like fly_____________ing

 

Girl In The Sky  © Amelia White

 

It's a long way down when you're standing on a high wire

every tide of the wind can shake you to the bone

lose your focus and the ground will surely break you

 

you asked for the danger, you had to try

you passed on a simple life, your father cried

you wanted to get that high, but it's a long way down

 

Im so lonely I"m only a Girl in the Sky

Far from holy I'm only a dreamer

 

Everybody thinks your life is so exciting 

they'd love to taste the altitudes they' ve never known

when the birds sing out they think of you and wonder

 

how you came to that leap of flight and passed them by

why you changed to a different girl who had to try

how dare you to get so high, but it's a long way down

 

I"m so lonely I'm only a girl in the sky 

far from holy I"m only a dreamer

everyone walked away when they saw that I knew that I might fall

OH I MIGHT FALL…. LORD I MIGHT FALL

 

I'm so lonely I"m only a girl in your eyes

far from holy I"m only a dreamer…….

 

Saint on a Chain


©Kevin Gordon, Little Rain Music (BMI)

I grew up right down the road
Never had too far to go
Making it here, your chance is slim
Folks leave this town, you won’t see them again Mama died in ’93

This silver medal she gave to me St. Christopher ‘round my neck Wherever I go, my soul he protects

Every river’s a daughter of the dirty rain
But see how it shines
Water’s running like the blood pushing through my veins See how it shines, like a saint on a chain

Heather was so sweet to me
Her daddy owned some property
Maybe my drinking was a little much
She turned cold to my touch
That story ‘bout the woman,
maybe it was true--
Heather put together 2 and 2
Kicked me out and changed the locks
On my motel door now the sheriff knocks

BRIDGE: Now after work I take my lonesome down With a Percocet, and a double shot of Crown But now the higher I get, the harder it seems

To get back to that place that floats like a dream

One hand on the wheel, doing 85
All my trouble just flies on by
I want to forget everything I know
I want to close my eyes and just let her go Rearview glow of the city bright
Angel of death got no headlights
You who’d protect me, I ask no more
Just carry me ‘cross to that other shore 

Every river’s a daughter of the dirty rain
But see how it shines
Water’s running like the blood pushing through my veins See how it shines, like a saint on a chain

I grew up right down the road
Never had too far to go

 

No Mercy

 

© 2014 David Olney, 

Julie Christensen, John Hadley

 

That's just the way of the world

You're a swine, or you are a pearl

You're a king, or you're a fool

That's the law. Just the rules.

Do you have any questions?

 

Look, there is no in-between

What is real and what is a dream

Nothing's sacred, Nothing's profane

You're no different, you're just the same

You can keep your suggestions.

 

Oh____There is No Mercy

Oh____There is No Mercy

 

When did words become weapons of coice

In their sinister whispering voice

In their smiling, sweet disguise

Just some lies among all the lies

To fit any occasion

 

Oh____There is No Mercy

Oh____There is No Mercy

 

They tied my hands behind my back

Stood me up against the wall

They accused me of a crime

And demanded confession

 

Oh____There is No Mercy

Oh____There is No Mercy

Oh____There is No Mercy

 

That's just the way of the world.

 

Gasoline

 

©Julie Christensen

 

Golden girls with oily curls

Manly men and all their friends

Pump dinosaurs into the bellies of machines

Gasoline

 

Get that black stuff out the ground

Out of the deep, we're goin' down

Even if it stinks like a latrine

To get the gasoline.

Gasoline

Gasoline

 

I___ wanna get out of here

But I___ don't have the means

Or the gasoline.

Gasoline

Gasoline

 

Instrumental break 

 

Never mind who's president

It won't matter how you pay the rent

When that well runs dry your cash won't mean a thing.

Just Gasoline

Gasoline

Gasoline

 

I wanna get out of here

But I don't have the wheels

Or the gasoline

Gasoline

Gasoline

 

Down a Hundred Floors                 © Julie Christensen

This burning pain, I'm going numb

Can’t find my breath

It will not come

The wind was siphoned out of me

And I want to cry all day.

 

Things that I know how to do

The little chores that get me through

I can operate about an hour

And then I crumble

And then I tumble

 

Down a hundred floors

In an elevator with no doors

And it’s hard to be alone 

You are never coming home

 

Like a flower being crushed

A drying blossom turned to dust

I knew that I could get the call

But that knowing

Didn’t break my fall

 

Down a hundred floors

In an elevator with no doors

And it’s hard to live alone …

(Instrumental verse)

 

They tell me you’ll be lighter as a spirit

Than you were as flesh and bone

But I do not want to hear it

You are never coming home.

Would You Love Me?


©CHUCK PROPHET

Published by
BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC

Sittin' in a movie
And I'm starin' at the screen
They're draggin' Jesus from the town
It don't look good to me

Well, if I had a bucket
Or better yet a spoon
I'd go down to that river baby
I'd bring that river home to you

Would you love me?
Would you really love me?
Would you love me?
Would you really love me?

Elvis rode the wheels
Right off the gravy train
They could've shut that mother down
But they rode it just the same

Oh, and the women threw their panties
And the women threw their bras
Elvis hung his head and said
"They'll forget me when I'm gone, when I'm gone"

Would you love me?
Would you really love me?
Oh, would you love me?
Would you really love me?

I was afraid you wouldn't answer
Did I wake you up?
Listen, I still got this box of band aids here
From the night we patched things up

Oh, there's still some at the bottom
Yeah, I got the box right here
Man, if I could hold that moment to my chest
I swear I'd disappear

Oh, would you love me?
Would you really love me?

 

Broken As I Am

©2013 Julie Christensen

Stone Cupid Music BMI

 

The moon is almost full

And I can feel it pull

I can almost see the fireworks from Disneyland

And on this outbound train

The whistle blows a tired refrain

And I hope that you will take me back

As Broken As I Am

Broken as I Am.

 

The moon is almost gone

And I am movin on

Did some dirty work to get away from Disneyland

If you can hear this train

Clear out on the lonesome plains

Well, I hope that you will take me back

As Broken As I Am

Broken As I Am.

 

Instr

I couldn't see the forest for the trees across the road

Instr

But I never really found the one to lighten up the load

You lighten up the load

 

The moon's a thumbnail dome

And I am headed home

'Cause I've had my fill of fireworks and Disneyland

And now the leavin' train

Is gone and out of range

And I feel like you're the only one who even gives a damn

So I'm begging you to take me back

As Broken As I Am

 

Live and Not Die Trying

©2015 Julie Christensen

Stone Cupid Music BMI

My dreams are rich, but my aim is poor

My aim is truly untrue

I was aimin' for that homeplace

But it just kept slippin' through

You would think I had it all, 

But I just had everything.

You would think I'd seen it all,

When I'd probably seen too much of what the world can bring

 

The show must go on, weather permitting

Just want to Live and Not Die Trying

I want to Live and Not Die Trying

 

I want my pockets to be lined with a modest sum

Made with my own two hands

I want the streets to be paved with goldenrods

And smiles upon the land

'Cause there's a lot of room at the bottom

And still it is not lonely.

I was on top of the world

With the weight of it all on me, and I need wings.

 

The show must go on, weather permitting

Just want to Live and Not Die Trying

I want to Live and Not Die Trying

 

The end of the rainbow is fading off the ledge

The end of the world has lost its edge

 

My dreams are rich and my aim's been poor

Oh, but I aim to please you true

And a little bit of heaven underneath the clouds 

I want to build for you.

'Cause there's a lot of room at the bottom

And still it is not lonely

We are on top of the world 

And you are my one and only, and why I sing.

 

The show must go on, and on and on and on.

Just want to Live and Not Die Trying

I want to Live and Not Die Trying

I want to Live and Not Die Trying

I want to Live and Not Die Trying

 

Anthem                

©  Leonard Cohen

  

The birds they sang 

at the break of day 

Start again 

I heard them say 

Don't dwell on what 

has passed away 

or what is yet to be. 

Ah the wars they will 

be fought again 

The holy dove 

She will be caught again 

bought and sold 

and bought again 

the dove is never free. 

 

Ring the bells that still can ring 

Forget your perfect offering 

There is a crack in everything 

That's how the light gets in. 

 

We asked for signs 

the signs were sent: 

the birth betrayed 

the marriage spent 

Yeah the widowhood 

of every government -- 

signs for all to see. 

 

I can't run no more 

with that lawless crowd 

while the killers in high places 

say their prayers out loud. 

But they've summoned, they've summoned up 

a thundercloud 

and they're going to hear from me. 

 

Ring the bells that still can ring 

Forget your perfect offering 

There is a crack in everything 

That's how the light gets in. 

 

You can add up the parts 

but you won't have the sum 

You can strike up the march, 

there is no drum 

Every heart, every heart 

to love will come

but like a refugee.  (unison)

 

Ring the bells that still can ring 

Forget your perfect offering 

There is a crack, a crack in everything 

That's how the light gets in. 

 

Ring the bells that still can ring 

Forget your perfect offering 

There is a crack, a crack in everything 

That's how the light gets in. 

That's how the light gets in. 

That's how the light gets in.