1. |
My Story
03:02
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My Story
If they ever tell my story If they ever sing my song
I probably won’t be there to sing along
I hope they round off all the edges and make the third line rhyme
Humor me with harmony and play it samba time
Maybe they’ll try harder than I usually did
And skip the part where I was just a lost and lonely kid
Make every reference so obscure that no ones gonna guess
An occasional crescendo followed by a lengthy rest
The bridge has gotta be
connecting you to me
And every little trip along the way
With every clever turn of phrase you should’ve learned
It wasn’t what I said
but what I meant to say
Add a chorus at the end
sung by a choir of friends
Dancing with the Big Chief on parade
Make a righteous sound. and when that last note comes around
Think of me and let that last note
fade
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2. |
Joni from the Canyon
04:49
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Joni from the Canyon
The summer lawns are silent now
a black crow circles overhead
In a cabin in north Ontario an old women goes to bed
She dreams she’s on a river
floating to the coast
A dulcimer plays softly
as the shadow of a ghost
She’s Joni from the Canyon
With a voice so gold and blue
The songs so sad and beautiful
And most of them are true
She takes a taxi to the cafe
it’s almost Christmas Eve
She plays the Penny Farthing and she’s the last to leave
Theres notes and napkins filled with words
inside her guitar case
Somewhere dreams have died and devils dance
Behind an angel face
She’s Joni from the Canyon
With a voice so gold and blue
The songs so sad and beautiful
And most of them are true
The boys who once came courting
are gone or moved away
They promised love eternal so where are they today?
Today the pain just like a train
comes clickin down the track
Sometimes it disappears from view
but it always circles back
Will you paint another picture?
Will you write another song?
Will you fall asleep to echoes of the crowd singing along?
Singin to Joni from the Canyon
With a voice so gold and blue
The songs so sad and beautiful
but none as sad or beautiful
As you
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3. |
What Can I Do For You?
05:13
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What Can I Do For You
I should know better but sometimes I don’t
I wrote you a letter but it’s still in my coat
It said all the things I should’ve said
See sometimes love gets rusty not all roses are red
Who knows where the wind comes from or which way its gonna blow
But we’re traveling together and I go where you go
What Can I do for you That no one else before me could do?
What can I tell you that you never knew To make you feel love What Can I Do?
You don’t believe in magic well I got nothin up my sleeve
I know that you’ve been left before but I ain’t gonna leave
I’ll be the voice at the end of the line
See baby I got your number
so call anytime
(chorus)
Days turn in to years
And if times the test whatever’s left I swear
I’ll still be here
You looked like an angel so I thought I’d let you sleep
It’s been ages now but I made a vow that I intend to keep
Forever doesn’t feel as far as it did yesterday
We cannot change a thing and I wouldn’t anyway
And who knows where the wind comes from or which way its gonna blow
But we’re traveling together
and I go where you go
What Can I do for you that no one else before me could do?
What can I tell you that you never knew To make you feel love
What Can I Do?
Who knows where the wind comes from or which way its gonna blow
But we’re traveling together
and I go where you go
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4. |
This River
05:27
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This River
When God made this river
He dragged a finger through the dirt and sand
It brought water to the valley
And beauty to a barren land
And then He built that mountain stone by stone
But He didn’t much like being alone
So that why you and I are here
And now I’m lookin at life through the rear view mirror
And that moment that just passed
Puts you one closer
To your last
Chance
I am not a young man anymore
I’ve made choices and mistakes that I have no excuses for
But I am still my fathers son
And he dreamed I was the chosen one
Some dreams die no matter what you do
And some of them die
While they’re waiting for you
And that moment that just passed
Puts you one closer
To your last
Chance
If you only had today or ten minutes or an hour or a year
Would you behave a little different
Just knowing that the end was near
You gonna try your best just to do what’s right
You gonna head for the hills
You gonna head for the light?
You best decide because before too long
You’re standing there
and then
you’re gone
And that moment that just passed
Puts you one closer
To your last
Chance
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5. |
Going/Gone
06:27
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Going
I was born the son of a plantation owner
In the summer of 43
The cotton was high and the gold that was flowin
would one day fall to me
My mommas favorite maid she raised me up
And she loved me like her own
Sometimes I could play with her children
But never inside our home
I’d say
Follow me
Down by the river there’s a trail thorough the trees and there’s a place
so far from here
We might just disappear
Now she had a daughter just my age
Her daddy called her his Honey Bee
Prettiest girl in Camden county and she was always sweet to me
We both knew that we shoulda known better then to
go and fall in love
We whispered vows to God as our witness and the
Georgia sky above
I’d say
Follow me
Down by the river there’s a trail thorough the trees and there’s a place
so far from here
We might just disappear
When the war began we had our plan
And we were headed north
We’d sleep with the sun and rise with the moon
And use the stars to map our course
The night we left was warm and clear
But there came a wind on that seventh day
And the storm that it was blownin in
Would wash our map away
But I said
Follow me
Down by the river there’s a trail thorough the trees and there’s a place
so far from here
We might just disappearGone
They followed us down to the river
They followed us through them trees
They followed us all the way through Georgia
And in to Tennessee
We ran like we was on fire
We ran and we did not rest
They never would’ve tracked us down
If we’da headed west
You could hear that choir singin
In the church outsida town
Their songs of mercy risin up
While we
were headed down
Now they took my Bee away from me
We fought em the best we could
But all our pleas and supplications
Didn’t do us any good
You see you cannot fight a hardened heart
You cannot fight a gun
You put one behind the other
And our runnin days were done
You could hear that choir singin
In the church outsida town
Their songs of mercy risin up
While we
were headed down
There are no morals to this story
The only lesson to be learned
Are some pages in our history books are too heavy
To turn
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6. |
The Watcher
04:48
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The Watcher
Something just aint right I can feel it in my bones
Dump the weight and split what you can save
Turn out the lights and stay off of the phones
Could be we got too greedy Mighta got a bit too brave
Just as I feared these walls have ears. don’t no one make a sound
We stayed a day too long
on the wrong side of this broke down border town
That cat back in the alley I thought he was with you
But he disappeared when Donny rolled on up
I couldn’t make his face Who wears sunglasses at night?
Who wears a three piece in the middle of July?
I kept the motor runnin I’ll bring the ride around
We stayed a day too long
On the wrong side of this broke down border town
The roads are blocked the powers out there’s someone on the roof
Looks like this stinking shack is where we make our stand
The ironys just killing me We handed them the proof
We woulda just touched down buyin rounds
If we’d just stuck to the plan
Brothers been good to know ya But no ones backing down
We stayed a day too long
On the wrong side of this broke down border town
Fifteen years ago today returning to the scene
I gotta say I’d play it just the same
See back then I had a family It was just business as they say
Ten years to life in Lockhart or trade it for a name
They pushed the place right over
And burned it to the ground
They stayed a day too long
On the wrong side of this broke down border town
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7. |
The Gumshoe
04:15
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The Gumshoe
The captains gonna kill me If I can’t crack this case
And if he don’t get me Donny will cause I think he made my face
As soon as this is over
I’m givin up the gun
But first I gotta make it to the morning sun
What a waste of moonlight it hides behind a cloud
And this suits too tight and in a certain light looks like a funeral shroud
These boys are desperado but they’re not ready for a fight
And the first one in is gonna win
And we’re goin in tonight
I bought a place in Juarez on the quiet side of town
A garden by a pool Ocotias all around
And no ones gonna find me They’ll never know my name
I’ll disappear like dust
After the rain
This alleys like an oven and we’re turnin up the heat
There’s a Caddy with it’s lights off
And it’s sneakin down the street
I’m sensitive to light that why I wear these shades
And that wire runnin up my back
It cuts my shoulder blade
But I heard every word every move they made and how
Guess this ain’t no game cause no ones laughin now
You might find yourself in Juarez on the quiet side of town
In a garden by a pool Ocotias all around
And no ones gonna find you they’ll never know your name
You’ll disappear like dust
After the rain
There’s evil and there’s angels
Guess I fell somewhere in between
But in my side of the story
My hands are clean
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8. |
Life is Hard
03:52
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Life is Hard
I went to two doctors to see what was ailing me
One of them said “you’re fine” and one said “we’ll see”
Every day is the roll of the dice
Every page on your calendar comes with a price
And with every turn you learn
That life is hard
But your heart is strong
Sometimes you wanna get off
Sometimes you’re just hangin on
And just when it feels like you’ve figured it out
It catches you off guard
The answer is easy
Life is hard
They say we’re all equal they say we’re the same
But them good ole boys making the rules
They’re fixin the game
You gotta stand strong learn to take a good punch
or the next thing you know they’ll be eatin your lunch
They swear that they’re right but they’re wrong
And life is hard
But your heart is strong
Some days take all that you’ve got
You might feel like you’re falling you’re not
But just when if feels like you’ve figured it out
It catches you off guard
Who said it was easy?
Life is Hard
I had a good friend but he went away
There’s a photo out front of the Woods way back in the day
We were just kids startin too shine
We had us a run till he ran outta time
Now so long
He’s gone
And life is hard
But you’re heart is strong
Who thought you’d ever get older? Who thought that you’d last this long?
But just when it feels like you’ve figured it out
It catches you off guard
Its not sposed to be easy
Life is Hard
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9. |
The Unknown
03:38
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The Unknown
If you’re lookin for answers
You won’t find em here
Not from the man in the moon or the man in the mirror
There’s no frame of reference no map from the past
How soon is it coming? How long will it last?
This imminent ill has been here all along
Its why doctors make medicines and poets write songs
It’ll shake your foundation break you down to the bone
Your fear has a name and its called
The Unknown
The unknown is a stranger who rides in after dark
It sleeps in the shadows it sleeps in the park
You can’t kill it with bullets
A sling or a stone
It’s the knock in the night
When you’re home all alone
Now someone said someone knows the road up ahead
If you follow them blindly you’re already dead
Like the ring of the church bell or the ring of the phone
Your fear has a name and it’s called
The Unknown
The Unknown is tomorrow just out of view
It’s the ghost in the closet and its coming for you
It’ll smother your spirit
If you let it take hold
But your spirit is golden
Your spirit is bold
It’s as big as a mountain
It’s as strong as an oak
The Unknowns just a story
That’s never been told
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10. |
The Life
04:27
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The Life
I was touched by the Dalai Lama… I broke bread with the pope in Madrid
I never got to meet the King… but I know someone who did
I broke open a bottle of Cheval Blanc and I poured in the sea
You should’ve seen their face when all I said was c’est la vie ….
c’est la vie
I watched the sunrise over Tokyo… Kopi Luwak in one hand
the air I breathe is rarified… you just wouldn’t understand
I signed on for safari…in the mountains of Nepal
I stalked the Golden Tiger…just to hang him on my wall
On the roof of the Burj Khalifa
overlooking the Gulf of Oman
it’s parties like this.. strictly A list
A salute to bon vie vont
I’ve been bored since the moment I met you
Another face with nothin to say
But I’ll smile and pretend… that we’re casual friends
cause the cameras pointed this way
My looks are the looks born of a legend…immune from the ravage of age
If you’re standing by me… we both better be…
center stage
In the SubSix bar…watch out below
it’s a sea of Dom Perignon
it’s parties like this.. so strictly A list
A salute to bon vie vont
They say money and fame is a dangerous game… it’ll bring you no peace in the end
But how would they know…they look up at the stars
Just wishing one day it was them
I am everything you’d want to be … the winner… the best of the best
And if you’re wondering if I care about you
To be honest…. I couldn’t care less
Anchored off of Corfu
On the top deck of the Azzam
Its parties like this. So strictly A list
A salute
To bon vie vont
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11. |
Grace and Good Fortune
03:45
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Grace and Good Fortune
By grace and good fortune
Here go I
I’ve done nothing to earn today
You could tell by the tear in my dear Mother’s eye
It coulda gone either way
Why do some of us flounder and some of us float?
Some guys just can’t catch a break
Some men are captains
And some build the boat
And others get lost in her wake
Now the angles watching over you
They will find you where you fall
But as long as you’re tryin
They gotta keep flyin
There’s gotta be fifty good reasons
That you should be gone
And fifty times more for me
Aint it funny how reason
Just gets in the way
Of believing the things You can’t see
You never cursed the church when it let you down
You were broken and where were they then?
When you carried their cross and you kissed their crown
And you prayed to their holy men
Now the angels Watching over you
They must cry themselves to sleep
But as long as they’re flyin
You gotta keep tryin
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12. |
End of the World
04:27
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End of the World
This is not the end of the world
They’ve said it before and they’ll say it again and again
Till the end of the world
This is not the final goodbye
You’re gonna make it I think you can fly
This is not
the final goodbye
Remember when things go wrong
It’s gonna get better
You’re gonna get strong
You’ll find your way I don’t care what they say
It’s still goin around
it spins and it twirls
So this is not the end of the world
This was the very best day
The first breath of spring blew the winter away
Yes and this was the very best day
This could be a new beginning
You’re still alive you should be singing
This could be a new beginning
Remember when things go wrong
It’s gonna get better
You’re gonna get strong
You’ll find your way I don’t care what they say
It’s still goin around
it spins and it twirls
So this is not the end of the world
This is not the end of the world
They’ve said it before but I’ll say it again
Not the end
I promise you friend
This is not the end of the world
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Mac Cherry/Brad Steine Alma, Wisconsin
Brad Steine is a freelance musician and private instructor in St. Paul, MN. A native of the Winona area, he received a
degree in music from St. Mary’s University in 1989 where he taught as an adjunct instructor from ’89-’96.
Mac Cherry is a singer/songwriter/husband/father/grandfather (not neccesarily in that order) He lives in the deep woods of Buffalo County Wisconsin
... more
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