Gamefighter
Rise and shine to the wreck
Picks up his head and runs to the light
Waits for the unborn ghosts to come alive
Another tale of chance
How a restless boy becomes a wanted man
Waits for the unborn ghosts to come alive
Daddy was a gamefighter who died in the fight
A gamefighter who died in the fight
He knows what he knows
Carries it wherever he goes
Born to pay the sinner’s toll
First Angola chains
Then the rain it fell both night and day
No where to run to when the flood it came.
Slams the door and runs
Just the way his momma done
No where to run to when the flood it came.
He knows what he knows
Carries it wherever he goes
A life on loan
With a slight of hand he grabs ahold
Born to pay the sinners toll
Daddy said “a gamefighter must die in the fight”
“A gamefighter must die in the fight”
He knows what he knows
Carries it wherever he goes
A life on loan
With a slight of hand he grabs ahold
Born to pay the sinners toll
Born to pay the sinners toll
Raylene
Raylene, my heart is burning
I hope you hear me singing to you through this song
I walked back, back to where I started
I swear I’ll make it all up to you someday
I watch the clouds roll on through the foothills
Until at last they make their way out of sight
Lets say goodbye in the last days of summer
Knowing we got every bang for our buck
Raylene, my heart is burning
I hope you hear me singing to you through this song
I walked back, back to where I started
I swear I’ll make it all up to you someday
The wind calls me now so I must be going
There were so many things I could never say
I’m worried I forgot how to walk with another
Cause you know I’ve walked so far now on my own
Raylene, Raylene, Raylene, Raylene
Baby the end’s upon us
Oh and here comes the storm
I still cherish all the days I spent with you
Raylene, my heart is burning
I hope you hear me singing to you through this song
I walked back, back to where I started
I swear I’ll make it all up to you someday
Gospel
So it was that I found myself
In the cold hands of the night
I learned to fend for myself long ago
I recite what I learned in Texas
Exclaimed what I knew in Illinois
I’m still picking up the pieces as I go
There I was caught running
With hellhound on my tracks
Keeping clear of the spotlight that they shown
But oh wouldn’t ya know
I now call that old dog my own
Oh how I had him so misunderstood
Here I am, and I swear that I’m not lost
Momma you can finally turn the backlight off
All up and down the road
They’re getting ready for the show
Girl don’t you wait for me when you hear that call
I never sought to own you
Keep you for myself or control you
I’m just happy that I’ve known you in my life
When the curtains close, I won’t be scared of goodbye
We both know when it’s time to leave it’s time
The engine sound still soothes my mind
Like it had in my younger days
I still ain’t got a penny to my name
But oh I am still hungry
Still got many more miles to go
The world outside is cold
And I miss your tender arms
More than you’ll ever know
Momma you can finally turn the backlight off
Haunts Me Now
Over there was the punch that you gave
That left me black and blue for days
But I’m as swift as a boxer now
I’ll take any man here on
There’s the lamppost where we carved our names
Swapped blood with the kid across the way
I heard he fell numb to the gleaming
light of the darkest kind
And this place it haunts me now
And this place it haunts me now
And this place it haunts me now, oh Lord
Torn soul, night cold, lost runaway
Oh how I walked and walked for days
Left my heart piece by piece to the thieves along the road
Mississippi Dust gave me a name
I never wanted your help anyways
Someday you’ll see my face on the television screen
And this name it haunts me now
And this name it haunts me now
And this name it haunts me now, oh Lord
My old friend what else can I say
I really wish there was a better way
I fear that the ships have sailed
And I’ve been left here to wait
Said goodbye out in the pouring rain
Dragged along a suitcase that wore Pa’s name
I keep trying to turn the page
But oh how the ink bleeds
And this face it haunts me now
And this face it haunts me now
And this face it haunts me now, oh Lord
No Home
Dog in heat out running
Looking for some scraps to eat
Like the plover birds we dine
In the jaws of the beast
Behold a con man exhibition
A real firebomb display
Your faith is but a pillow
For the tired heads to lay
I looked out beyond the mist
That rose up from the sea
I knew i’d never go back
And the streets would father me
A man in a coat was preaching
On a milk crate to a crowd
“I can see the ones you lost,
They’re alive in the night”
There’s no such thing as home, in this world
There’s no such thing as home, in this world
The buttonhook charade
Took your better half away
Caruso was singing Psalms
In the great hall on Christmas Day
Shadows in the city scape
Under unforgiving skies
Last words are being spoken
On many blocks tonight
There’s no such thing as home, in this world
There’s no such thing as home, in this world
In a small basement bar
A broken man was preaching
“our only duty here and now
is to die on our brothers side”
In small basement bar
Beneath the slums where they shoved me
We toasted to the fire
That burns in the night
There’s no such thing as home, in this world
There’s no such thing as home, in this world
There’s no such thing as home, in this world
There’s no such thing as home, in this world
Roll the Dice
Pushed my way through the market
Me and little John were on the run
The man in blue stood at the corner
So we laid low till the day was done
Oh Marie I’m getting closer
To that light inside my dreams
Well they pushed me to the corner
So I rolled the dice Marie
Up here by Union Station
Girl you’d better learn to hold your own
You can kiss me on the platform
Just as long as nobody knows
Laughing, wild dreams
Nothing’s ever quite as it seems
When the sun sets over the skyline
We’ll just roll the dice Marie
She said “why are you waiting
On a prayer that’s been lost to the world”
But some nights I still hear a wailing
It’s a battle cry, a last gasp at a lost cause
Now and then I walk the train tracks
To see if you’ve come back around
At night I light the candles
Ever since you left town
But I’m alright here on my own
Girl, just remember wherever you roam
When you see no sense in tomorrow
Roll the dice Marie
Roll the dice Marie
Roll the dice Marie
Out in the Night
It was late in the evening
And I couldn’t sleep
I walked down the avenue
Just the full moon and me.
I thought back to the old days
I knew long ago
The place where I started
The place I call home
They all sailed
so far away from me now
I wish I could paddle
Back to them all somehow
I just laid in the gravel
Overcome by the chaos in the night
She said “Boy where you headed”
“I’ll be damned if I know”
She smiled like a princess
I didn’t want her to go
We stood at the station
To part there that day
She said “wherever you’re headed
Don’t lose yourself along the way”
I never knew
Quite how to say goodbye
What words can conclude
What we shared over so much time
And in one quick instant
We both became strangers in the night
Nobody can teach you
What’s begging to be seen
Nobody can show you
What your painting shall be
Leap from the shoreline
To the rocks surrounded by the sea
Yes, the current is strong
But the demons won’t ever let you be
I just laid in the gravel
Overcome by the chaos in the night
And in one quick instant
We both became strangers in the night
On the Mountain
Up here on the mountain, we’ll sing our song
Transfigurations under pale moonlight
About the rays of a new day sweeping
I saw the red lights flashing in the rain
Out here in the periphery of the night
The battle’s waging all around me
There’s a premonition we all have to face
Lay down your arms, it’s all over now
The sky was red as the Devil’s eyes
The Maids of Sorrow danced above the flames
The choice is really not ours to make
We walk arm in arm in symmetry through this life
Past the wounds and the shackles of a careless past
We shall pay all our debts here today
Lay down your arms, it’s all over now
I’ll carry you home
Up here on the mountain, we’ll sing our song
Are we all but lambs in the King’s eyes
Led astray by a desert mirage
No, I never once trembled at the blade
I’ll find my redemption
out there on the dark, lonesome path
Where the pale horse rides
Shed all my guilt for a world gone mad
How I wanted to be just like you Pa
A prophet spawned from virtues womb
But I know I lost you way back then
Transfigurations under pale moonlight
There’s a price we all have to pay
Up here on the mountain, we’ll sing our song
Madame Marie
Here comes Madame Marie, are you ready?
I swear I can hear the whispers of your lost soul in the wind
I walked to Harlem, to fill my cup with the Reverend’s blood
They say you can only run with the hunted for so long
I awoke in a dried out riverbed down South
In a dream I relived the stories of Jack and Neil
Sunk my fingers down, into the dirt of West Virginia
The same dirt that they walked on in the Civil War
Burned through the valley at first morning light
Singing out all the songs I thought you’d like to hear
I thought back to that New England town
Whose name escapes me now
Where waves of volts came rushing through the atmosphere
Way back in the garden our seeds were sown
Fury had the hour, but I know
Since you’ve left the garden
Your world’s grown cold
I’ll always remember you from days of old
Surrender yourself to the unknown
Took a knee down in the valley
Waited my whole life just to sing your song
It was a warm summer night, the radio was on
I always wondered how it would end
Crusade
Hoist the anchor boys
We’re on our way back home
I don’t want to be lost anymore
As you were my brothers
Welcome to this day where reverie dies
Don’t look from the anger born of betrayal
Take to the sea when the land has lied
There’s a darkness seeped in all history
A black core neither you nor I can hide
Sign your name on the dotted line
To save yourself from the perils of the damned
Redemption waits to the east my friends
A gold sun shines in the promise land
The everlasting arms embrace you now
Walk to your duty when the trumpet sounds
Hoist the anchor boys
We’re on our way back home
I don’t want to be lost anymore
For 50 days and 50 nights
We sailed to the end of the universe
I dreamt we running wild down Main Street
Loretta’s braids swaying in the cool breeze
Some forever walk in the path of darkness
Well I walk to my duty when the trumpet sounds
Hoist the anchor boys
We’re on our way back home
I don’t want to be lost anymore
I don’t want to be lost anymore
We swore to death to the infidels
Prayed to the saints like our mothers had taught us
I kissed the locket my wife had given me
On the eve of our first anniversary
I’ll meet you there by heaven’s citadel
Walk to your duty when the trumpet sounds
Hoist the anchor boys
We’re on our way back home
I don’t want to be lost anymore
Light of My Soul
Put your tiny hand in mine
Smile one last time
Know you’ll always be
The light of my soul
The ladies in golden robes
Will show you to your new home
When you think I’m out of reach
Know that I’ll never let you go
Never let you go, never let you go
When you think I’m out of reach
Know that I’ll never let you go
Meet me in the garden
I’ll push you on your favorite swing
It won’t be long my darling
So don’t be scared when you don’t see me
Put your tiny hand in mine
Smile one last time
Know you’ll always be
The light of my soul
The light of my soul
The light of my soul
Know you’ll always be
The light of my soul