THIS MACHINE NO LONGER ACCEPTS COINS

 

When you wake up in the morning hold your breath now

The news headlines gather round and set the stage now

We hold these truths to be self-evident, we’re created equal

Distorted bankrolls set the precedent, fall apart now

Well November spawned a monster, under a clown’s face disguised

A fool cut from the fabric of a republic’s base thin lies

And this machine no longer accept coins

This machine no longer accepts coins

I used to think that certain things were set in stone some

A great divide once paid in blood and reclamation

Now a fool can turn the tables in the time it takes to send

Exposing our dark underside whatever it takes to win

And this machine no longer accepts coins

This machine no longer accepts coins

Now a fool can turn the tables in the time it takes to send

Exposing our dark underside whatever it takes to win

And this machine no longer accepts coins

This machine no longer accepts coins

 

 

THE SINGER

 

You won’t see me around, I move from town to town

I’m not one to water roots it seems

You turn me upside down, put the singer in the song

And sang our tune deep within my arms

Your ukulele strum, what a way to turn me on

You fret a chord and complete me

It was love, I know it, what a way you showed it

I just wish I could have seen it then

Some lessons are hard won, many roads to set upon

Where I go you’re right beside me

Biting tongues to an itinerary of crumbs

I’ve gone solo here, if my resolves unclear

It’s that I still see you in the song

It was love and I know it

What a way you showed it

I just wish I could have seen it then

I just wish I could have seen it then

 

 

WOODEN HORSE CAROUSEL

 

It took a long time, but I finally found a reason

Abandoned load and left a new

The cards did not foretell the days and nights unwell

Kicking up dust on a wooden horse carousel

Seasons changed and I hit the road

Headed west to Idaho

Had to see a friend, three days around the bend

To crack the whip on a wooden horse carousel

Round and round, round and round

Round and round and round

Strip the wood to find the grain, sand it smooth add varnishing

Clear coat renewed, protected through and through

I’ll leave it for you, a wooden horse carousel

Shiny and new my wooden horse carousel

Round and round, round and round

Round and round and round

 

 

EXIT SIGNS

 

You’re in the dark, bidding time

Hiding away from those who love you

An April snow, October’s glow

Green turns gold with no surrender

Feel the road call with no direction

No postal code or sign divine

An aching hole, once slow to grow

Pulled you in and grained momentum

A rocket ship at a highway’s clip

A rearview mirror, a life’s reflection

They don’t know, just armed with best intentions

Your heavy load, your hill to climb

Painted lines and exit signs

Faded song on the station

A distant storm, just being born

Lost in a connected nation

And now it’s time

Yeah now it’s time

 

 

HOME/MADE

 

Lost myself again when I stopped listening

Couldn’t find your song on the dial

The words you sang out were true

But honey you ain’t coming through

Lost your frequency, lost your range

It looks like you’re gone for good

If I could travel back I would

And cast some light into the gray

You’d be glad I stayed, you’re my first aid

I’d kiss you so hard, I’d kiss you so hard

In our home made, In our home made

From the first I knew, you stuck to me like glue

The kind with a warning sign on the pack

Bonded me and you, no words or witness to

Only choice ones we can’t take back

But at the first sign of fray, I’d turn back the page

And kiss you so hard, I’d kiss you so hard

In our home made, in our home made

I’d kiss you so hard, I’d kiss you so hard

I’d kiss you so hard you’d stay.

 

 

ADAM BEFORE THE FALL

 

So

Your hands are beat up and raw

From hammering too long at the wall

That’s built up between us

With craft like a masonry

She stacked them foot tall

Seeking a purity, like Adam before the fall

So

The night sky shines from above

Waiting to break through the cloud

Of thickness between us

A light year of mystery, just waiting to star

Shining with a purity, like Adam before the fall

So

You fool no illusion, head strong

Your heart bears a wounded red scar

That’s hidden within you

And beats with a mystery, in time with a song

Seeking a new purity, like Adam before the fall

So

 

 

DON’T TREAD ON ME

 

Time and time again, the siren song of trouble we’re all in

Can’t stop the ringing in your ear, hijacked childhoods of fear

Again

You must stay out of sight

Don’t play the hero, please don’t run away

Make sure our doors are locked, no whispers don’t you talk

Again

In our home on the range, the price of liberty we pay

Cause don’t you tread of me

We all soon forget

When it’s daily news, it impacts less and less

Can’t start to register a change, positions locked just the same

In our home on the range, the price of liberty we all pay

Cause don’t you tread on me.

Yeah don’t you tread on me.

 

 

LAST SAW YOU IN EUGENE

 

Last saw you in Eugene, shining bright and beaconing

People out in the street, a birthright of liberty

In our time of great divide, that old song feels so right

Louis Armstrong clouds of white, and skies of blue

Red roses too

When I last saw you in Eugene, all our TVs were flickering

On our channel of choice, pledge allegiance to the broadcast team

For a minute things went all right, sat in tune all through the night

Louis Armstrong clouds of white, and skies of blue

Red roses too

Bye bye the promise you have known

Bye bye the security of home

Bye bye the passive ways of talk

Bye bye it’s the coming of the storm

When I last saw you in Eugene, a dangerous clown had become king

Stripping you to your core, humbling you to fight some more

For a moment things went all dark, spun you around, didn’t know where to start

No patriot song, no clouds of white

No skies of blue

No roses bloomed

You were beaten black and blue

But you’ll make it through

Yeah, you’ll make it through

 

 

COMING INTO VIEW

 

Security and sanity, some measure of taste

Distant shores are calling, hope ran out of change

One more chance to feel it, one more shot to get it right

This boilerplate of emotion, this simple swipe of fate

Can drown you if you let it, can pull you under from its weight

All you want is all the time, all the time is all you want

To drive through sky convertible into blue

The sun’s obscured by clouds but it’s coming into view

California golden gate, California emigrate

I swear above it we’ll get to skies of blue

The sun’s obscured by clouds, but it’s coming into view

The sun’s obscured by clouds but it’s coming into view

The sun’s obscured by clouds but it’s coming into view