1. |
Lucky
04:03
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From Houston to Chicago
And New York to LA
Sleeping on the highway tryin’ not to worry about the pay
Cause we seen some hard changes here
Seems like we’re bound for better news
Cause you don't choose who you love
Or what you know how to do
I guess I got lucky babe when I found you
I got lucky babe when I found you
Now from the Ogallala prairie to the dust of Santa Fe
The windows glow in strangers homes
And I been missin’ my family
But that's just the way we play the game
You got to make your livin on the move
Cause you don't choose who you love
Or what you know how to do
So rock me mama soft and slow
Leave me cradled in the golden glow
Time moves fast these
Days are few
We were born to wander
But what were we born to lose?
Now this blackbird at my window
Is lookin’ like he’s got something to say
He cocks his head and starts to sing
But then he turns and flies away
But you don’t even have to say a word
Cause I been singin’ the same tune
‘Bout you don’t choose who you love
Or what you know how to do
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2. |
Moon
03:55
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There’s a big moon
Up in the tree
Looks so pretty
Orange as a peach
Looks soft and ready
Ready to eat
Dripping with honey
My sweet little peach
Starlight
Trails in the dust of the moon
She shrinks as she rises
And turns cold and blue
Well I know how you feel
Sad little moon
She left me feeling just like you
She used to give me her sweet heart
When I needed to rest my head
It was soft as a pillow
In a warm soft bed
Now it’s always too hot
Or too cold at night
Feels so lonesome when I turn out the light
Sunlight
Like strawberry wine
Pours through the window
Into my eyes
Strawberry wine that warms my heart
Quiet these voices
Keep me safe from harm
Song bird
Sing to me
Confine her memory
To your melody
Now fly little bird, fly away from me
Carry your song across the sea
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3. |
It's Kinda Hard
03:37
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These days are like lightning
Movin’ fast
Fast with a heavy load
Wake up to diesel groans and
Cigarettes
Another concrete lot a thousand miles from home
It’s kinda hard to keep your wits
When the hard days come
On days like this
You say I’m easy
I work too cheap but
What’s a man to do?
Oceans of people
Losin’ sleep
Everybody’s tryin to make it
I’m tryin’ to make it through
You blink twice and the world goes by
Nobody cares ‘bout the money when they die
You got to try to be kind
Try to be kind
That’s all you can take to the other side…
But it’s kinda hard
Been from Virginia to the
Pacific Beach this
Bad luck is everywhere
But the rich ain’t better they’re just
Clever thieves
It takes ninety-nine peasants to make a millionaire
Pass up the cheap motel
Put a little money in the tank
Forget the keys to the house
Send ‘em back to the bank
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4. |
Shelter
04:28
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Standin’ on the corner ‘neath the sign post
Waitin’ on the bus
Wishin’ that driver’d change direction
But they know where they must go
Same place everybody does
You were born with a glimmer in your eye now
They say “keep your toes to the line”
But you can’t keep from askin’ why
Cause honey I
I feel like a stranger here
But I got a little sunlight in my heart
When the day is dark
When my eyes ain’t seein’ clear
Cause you give me shelter in your arms
And you give me love
As soon as I come home
Highway’s so jammed the wheels are rustin’
Ain’t nobody movin’ too fast
These Monday morning’ blues keep bustin’ you
Till Friday afternoon
Lord, when salvation comes at last
This heart ain’t beating steady
It’s bangin’ heavy against my bones
It hurts to stick around here
But I ain’t ready to go
And you give me your love
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5. |
Hold On
03:22
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Maybe it’s the winter skies that cloud my mind
In this dreary little town
Because November came with its buckets of rain
And I was ready to lay it down
I been a blind man walkin’
Tappin’ my way along the stones
But though it’s hard to hold onto it
It’s even worse to let it go
Sometimes I wish I knew
Who put the music in the air
Why the branches of trees move to melodies
Why the birds sing and the poets dream
I can’t make it stop
At times I might have tried when I was feeling low...
So sing me a gentle song
I like ‘em sweet and soft and slow
The ones that they don’t play on the radio
So much precious time
Is lost without a thought
But who can say what lies ahead
We’ve done the best with what we’ve got
So hear me when I say
If there’s just one thing that I know...
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6. |
Ain't Goin' Down Easy
04:06
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Well you hound me
Like a dog down in your street
And you slap me down
Like a child you bore to beat
But if I go down
I ain’t goin down easy
When I rose up
When I marched up to your gates
Every time that I spoke up
You threw my ass back in jail
I ain’t gonna lay down
Ain’t gonna play your dead possum here
And I ain’t gonna stay down
While the bullets fly around my ears
I am the black blood
That stains your white pearly hands
I am my grandfather’s ghost
That rages through these lands
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7. |
Odysseus
04:29
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Did I fix my eyes
On a wandering star?
Cause after ten years runnin’
Now we’re comin’ back to the start
Through the night through the shadows and the mist
So many ways to shatter your ship
So many ways the years adrift
Will tear a your mind apart
So take this ship and point it home
Cause I been away for way too long
Twist of fate
And trouble flows
Open the sky and let the west wind blow
Take this ship
And point it home
So tell me did you change your mind
Did you wander off?
Maybe you found yourself somebody else
That could play the part
Cause I bet that there’s a hundred men
Begging you to let them in
I’m just another old beggar
Buried deep down in your heart
So take this ship and point it home
Cause I been away for way too long
Fates be kind
Let your mercies flow
Open the sky and let the west wind blow
Take this ship
And point it home
Phosphorus shines like a million stars
Sirens wail through the wandering rocks
Drank the Calypso’s wine
She promised me a song
Then she wouldn’t let me move on
Take this ship
And point it home
So take this ship and point it home
Cause I been away for way too long
Apollo’s flame
Lights a golden road
My love she sleeps where the west wind blows
Take this ship
And point it home
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8. |
Sweet Love of Mine
03:31
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Well we took the train down to the airplane station
Well she kissed me so sweet and said “don’t bother waitin’”
So I watched that bird cut a hole in the sky
I kissed my fingers and I waved goodbye
Wonderin’ who do you love this time?
With those youthful hearts pumpin’ hot blood
It’s hard to tell the truth from the lies
But all that confusion
Don’t matter now
At least we had us some good times
Sweet love of mine
I walked the uneven stones down by the old canal
I was wishin’ that evening sun would go down
I floated Summerhill road down to the shores of the Liffey
While you were lookin down over Iceland I bet it looked so pretty
Please don’t bother callin’ me when you get to California
You got to try to stop breakin’ my heart from half the world away
All the livin’ you do, it just can never seem to warn ya
That when the changes start you’re a fool to try to keep it the same
But I hold your name in my heart
Like a star in the sky
I’m gonna wish you well
Or at least I’m gonna try
Sweet love of mine
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9. |
Saint Patrick's Day
05:27
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Well they were dancing in the streets
While the band played the drums
Even the President waved a shamrock flag
While the pipers played Gaelic songs
It was all on TV
On Saint Patrick’s Day
A plate of corned beef and hash
A side of green eggs
I wore an old rugby t-shirt
From my brother’s old rugby days
I was dreamin’ bout the west coast of Ireland
On Saint Patrick’s Day
“That’ll be six and a quarter
Would you like some more coffee?”
“Yes, please, but no cream”
She laid a green mint beside it
Everybody claims a little Irish
On Saint Patrick’s Day
So I turned the corner on 3rd
The bar was already open
A fiddler played “A Pair of Brown Eyes”
By the Pogues
I was walkin’ long the Liffey with you
On Saint Patrick’s Day
But it’s a hard thing to know
When it’s already over
And all you wanna do
Is lean over and hold her
I had a pain in my heart, from rememberin’
On Saint Patrick’s Day
So I dropped my quarters in the can
And took the bus down to Shilshole
A cold salty breeze
Made me weak in the knees
I hurled a rock
Into the pit
Of the sun
On Saint Patrick’s Day
She said “I don’t know what to do
If I can’t forget it”
I said “it wasn’t what we thought”
We musta just been pretending”
I didn’t mean to cut you through your heart
On Saint Patrick’s Day
The sky finally dropped the curtain
And the evening came on
I paid five bucks to hear some more
Songs by the Pogues
They were shovelin’ pints of Guinness
With no discretion
On Saint Patrick’s Day
All the lights were turnin’ blurry
But I was feelin all right
When a red headed girl in a green dress
Laid some beads ‘round my neck
And my heart skipped
Though she looked nothing
Like you did
On Saint Patrick’s Day
She laughed, “why don’t you dance?”
As I awkwardly stumbled
I fished for somethin’ witty
It was all seaweed, all jumbled
Her fingers were soft powder white
On Saint Patrick’s Day
As the disco ball gleamed
It was a sight to behold
Green top hats and grown men
Dressed up as Leprechauns
I was laughin’ just to keep myself from cryin’
On Saint Patrick’s Day
When the song finally ended
We landed on the couch
“Why do you look so sad”
She said, “come on, lighten your heart”
Two shots of Paddy’s
For last call
On Saint Patrick’s Day
So I said “pucker up darlin’
Come on, kiss me, I’m Irish”
She laid her hand on my cheek
And said, “you’re drunk but you’re sweet
I hope that she’ll
Give you
Another chance
One Saint Patrick’s Day”
Cause I was wishin’ I could win back your heart
On St. Patricks Day
Cause I was wishin’ I could win back your heart
On St. Patricks Day
Cause I was wishin’ I could win just a piece of your heart on St. Patricks Day
Well they were dancing in the streets
While the band played the drums
Even the President waved a shamrock flag
While the pipers played Gaelic songs
It was all on TV
On Saint Patrick’s Day
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10. |
Windowsill
05:41
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Windowsill
When the air is cool and the streets are still
Meet me ‘neath the windowsill
Cause I’ve been stained in your starry light
And I just wanna be yours tonight
Lonesome hearts like paper leaves
Fall from distant memories
Like a stone I fall into your eyes
And I just wanna be yours tonight
So say you’ll follow say you will
Meet me ‘neath the windowsill
I’ll pull you close and hold you tight
I just wanna be yours tonight
Cause I been alone for way too long
Singin the same sad sorry song
And you keep sailing across my mind
And I just wanna be yours tonight
So say you’ll follow say you will
Meet me ‘neath the windowsill
I never meant to make you cry
I just wanna be yours tonight
Streetlights burn like a procession fire
And passion burns with sweet desire
But trouble moves like a thief in the night
And I just wanna be yours tonight
So say you’ll follow say you will
Meet me ‘neath the windowsill
Wanna be good to ya, wanna make a bad thing right
I just wanna be yours tonight
So say you’ll follow say you will
Meet me ‘neath the windowsill
The morning sun breaks the blackest night
And I just wanna be yours tonight
So say you’ll follow say you will
Meet me ‘neath the windowsill
Cause a good love deserves another try
And I just wanna be yours tonight
So say you’ll follow say you will
Meet me ‘neath the windowsill
In the summer nights in the cool breeze
Let the moonlight make you weak in the knees
I walked a barefoot mile to make it to your door
I met a stranger that said you don’t live here anymore’
I tore my favorite sweatshirt on your garden gate
I made it back honey nineteen years too late
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11. |
Night Train
03:06
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Distant train slices through the fog
Howlin’ low and sad like the coyote calls
Got the window open but I can’t catch my breath
You stole the air from the room the night that you left
What does it mean, where do we go?
We travel through dreams
While the night train rolls
Streetlight slices through the kitchen blinds
I’m drinkin’ coffee at midnight, slice of strawberry pie
Broken threads tangle in the wind
I only wish I’d known
I wanna see you again
Shot rang out through the telephone
We travel through dreams
While the night train rolls
You stood on the platform when they called your name
And though your back was turned I recognized your frame
Shout through the fence, “where are you goin’ to?”
The night train screams
Ain’t nothing you can do
What does it mean, where do we go?
e travel through dreams
While the night train rolls
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12. |
This is the End
04:21
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There’s a notch in a tree on a mountain
Words with a heart as a frame
I dug it in deep cause I meant it
I meant every word that I said
But years cut down even the strong oak
And promises carved in a tree
Still ain’t as good as a white dress
They just don’t compare to a ring
So fairly well sweet darling
I hope that your lover is a friend
Hope you never get stuck with a heart ache
Honey now this is the end
I walked in the shades of the night
Bathed in the light of the moon
It smelled like mid-summer’s romance
And letters you sent with perfume
But some people don’t change till it’s too late
And some people never forgive
Sometimes there ain’t no good answer
Some people can never be friends
So fairly well sweet darling
I send this to you with a kiss
I never did mean to hurt you baby
Honey now this is the end
So fairly well sweet darling
Honey we were just kids
And kids don’t know what is sacred
Honey now this is the end
You threw your verdict down
Said I was guilty and it’s true
But in crimes of broken vows
Honey you were guilty too
So I lay my armor down
And I’m calling for a truce
Might be the last to leave
But I’m letting go of you
So fairly well sweet darling
I hope it ain’t hard to pretend
That love is a bed full of roses
Honey now this is the end
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Ian McFeron Seattle, Washington
Ian McFeron’s writing has been compared to Bob Dylan, John Lennon and Ryan Adams. Over the course of a decade-long independent music career, he has attracted media attention stretching across the Atlantic. He currently tours in support of his 7th album Time Will Take You, recorded in Nashville with members of Ryan Adams band The Cardinals as well as Patty Griffin and John Hiatt’s touring bands. ... more
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