Lyrics 2:

DUST BOWL TOWN

[The great depression and the effect it had on the mainly rural communities of the mid west]

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The ground is cracked and the well’s run dry in dust bowl town
No sign of rain in a cloudless sky in dust bowl town
Sell the plough and the old John Deere
There’s nothing left to keep us here
In dust bowl town

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Load our lives on the Model T in dust bowl town
And try for work in the factory in dust bowl town
Left the land back in ‘31
To the drought, the dust and relentless sun
In dust bowl town

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They’re laying off the working men
No chance of honest toil again
Nowhere to work and earn our daily bread
And keep our children clothed and fed
    
CH:
We sowed our dreams in the promised land
Then watched them die in the shifting sand
We broke our backs on the hallowed ground
In the barren earth of a dust bowl town
But in every farm and mill
You’ll find a heart is beating still 
In dust bowl town

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They’ve closed the school and general store in dust bowl town
They’ve locked the bank and barred the door in dust bowl town
No words can ease or try to hide           
The hard and troubled road we’ll have to ride
In dust bowl town

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They’ve boarded up the old saloon in dust bowl town
And left us howling at the moon in dust bowl town
Tumble weed blows through the bar
Where Jimmie once yodelled and played his O-O guitar
In dust bowl town

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They’ve shut the church and chapel hall
So God has gone and left us all 
No pointless prayers on broken knees
We might as well go shoot the breeze

​

CH:
We sowed our dreams in the promised land
Then watched them die in the shifting sand
We broke our backs on the hallowed ground
In the barren earth of a dust bowl town
But in every farm and mill
You’ll find a heart is beating still
In dust bowl town
In dust bowl town
In dust bowl town

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FLYING ON FRACTURED WINGS

[The fragility of life and questioning Persistent Vegetative State]

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There's not much time, might lose the line

Been an RTA out on the highway
A truck has rolled, now I’m going cold Feel so alone, please pick up the phone

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I’m trapped at the wheel in the twisted steel

I’ve broken my back, had a heart attack
Just want you to know that I love you so

But there’s a hole in my head and the line's gone dead

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CH:
And I’m flying on fractured wings suspended by fragile strings

I'm drifting away to I don’t know where
Heading out into empty space life’s blood running down my face

From a hole in my head and I just don’t care

There’s a hole in my head and I just don’t care

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It's hard to explain but I feel no pain

From my head to my toes, arms and elbows
Must be paralysed and there’s blood in my eyes

'Cos I’m crying red tears, strange sounds in my ears

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Then a voice from afar; “cut him out of the car

Check his neck is OK, clear his airway 
He’s just borderline - don’t let his pulse rate decline

You’re doing fine boy, we’ll have you out in no time”

​

Hushed words being said round a hospital bed

“Think of the wife – quality of life
Kinder to say he just faded away

Matrk him PV state - don’t resuscitate”

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I struggle and shout, no sound comes out

I need them to know it's not my time to go
But I'm trapped in a dream, they can’t hear me scream

Please hear my cry, I'm not ready to die

​

CH:
And I’m flying on fractured wings suspended by fragile strings

I'm drifting away to I don’t know where
Heading out into empty space, life’s blood running down my face

From a hole in my head and they just don’t care
A hole in my head and they just don’t care

There’s a hole in my head and they just don’t care

FUFFOCK'S ACHE

A song by our friend and collaborator, Cornelius Bumble-Pratt.

[A malady first diagnosed by Dr Fuffock in 1763]

I'm lying in bed and my eyes are bloodshot red, there’s a thumping in my head
My legs are full of lead, I’m feeling full of dread and wishing I was dead
I’m soaked to skin but I can’t get in, locked out in the rain
Life’s gone down drain, think I’m going insane then here it comes again

CH [after every verse]:
No mistaking it, no faking it, there’s no shaking it, Fuffock’s Ache
 
I’m putting on weight as there’s too much on my plate or was it something that I ate
I’m very late for an important date and I’m getting in state
Bills are overdue but I couldn’t give a screw ‘cos I’m feeling kinda blue
Haven’t got a clue so I’m getting in a stew and I don’t know what to do
 
Had too much to drink and I’m too tired to think, must have pissed into the sink
Or I’m standing in a stream and it’s just a wet dream ‘cos my life is on the blink
A small trouser cough and I might have touched cloth ‘cos I think I followed through  
And now I need a crap and there’s no turning back but I can’t find the loo
 
I’d like to end my life but I can’t find a knife when I want to cut my throat
Drowning would suffice but the water’s turned to ice and I can’t float my boat
I can’t find a rope so I know I’ve got no hope to try and hang myself
So I think it might be fun to blow my brains out with a gun but then I’d miss myself

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JUST ONE MORE BURNED OUT, BROKE DOWN, SAD OLD SONG

[Many don't make it and end up as addicts on skid row]

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Looking back through the wasted years

Close my eyes and taste my tears
Nowhere to go, down on skid row
Left my hopes and my easy smile

Somewhere along that country mile
And it's all gone wrong like a burned out, broke down song

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Played all the dives and the honky-tonks

From Nashville’s Broadway to the New York Bronx
Now I’ve sunk so low, down on skid row
Broken promises and stolen dreams

Lost in liquor and amphetamines
Been around too long in a burned out, broke down song

CH:
Because I broke my hopes on the studio doors

The Grand Ole Opry and the record stores
And washed away my pain in The Sad Café
They bled me dry, they stole my soul
Now I’m all burned out but it’s rock and roll
Time for moving on, it's a burned out, broke down song
Just one more burned out, broke down, sad old song

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It ain’t living the dream when you play guitar
Singing sad old songs in a cold boxcar
In a last chance no-go show down on skid row
But I’ll raise my voice just one more time
For a shot, a rock or a lousy dime
And play one more burned out, broke down sad old song

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JUST PASSING THROUGH

[Originally written about a dear friend for his funeral but later edited to be more general with religious allusions]

He was just passing through was there anything he could do

If you help yourself he'll make it work for you
He's an ordinary man doing the best he can

And he's trying his best to make it right for you
 
If he can help you today you’ve just got to say

And help yourself to make it work for you
So if you need a hand to make the most of your plans

He'll try his best to make it right for you

CH [after every other verse]:
His vital spark is gone but his flame is burning strong

Lighting up the road for the human race
Through the darkest night, he'll keep our dreams in sight

And tomorrow may be a better place
 
A bigger picture he can see and he’ll give you the key

If you help yourself he'll make it work for you
And if you do your bit just as you see fit

He'll try his best to make it right for you
 
So be happy now he's free, no more troubled times he'll see

You helped yourself to make it work for you
He was just passing through, hope he made it better for you

Like he tried his best to make it right for me
He was just passing through, hope he made it better for you
Like he tried his best to make it right for me

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LOSING CONTROL OF THE ROCK & THE ROLL

[The debilitating effects of alcoholism]

A run down bar, an old boxcar, a doorway for a home
The north wind bites through sleepless nights so I’m condemned to roam
Nowhere to go when you fall so low, no excuses can explain
But I’ll be fine when I’ve cleared my mind and washed away the pain
Washed away the pain
 
I was out on the town trying hard to drown my sorrows the other night
Need to unwind and free my mind, got involved in a drunken fight
Found no reasons for the private demons that are driving me insane
They can’t be real but it’s how I feel, they’re feeding on my brain.

​

CH:

So roll out the barrel, crack open the bottle, I’ll drink all my cash can buy
I’m a bum and I’m scum and I’ve drunk too much but I’m still feeling dry
I’ll be high ‘til the day I die and it’s time to pay my dues
I’m losing control of the rock and the roll, the rhythm and the blues
Rhythm and the blues
 
Pour me another, help me to recover, a small one to start the day
Don’t need a drink but it helps me to think and find the right cliché
Save me the trouble, make it a double and I’ll keep the bottle too
So until the time that I toe the line and my drinking days are through

You better....…CH:

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Losing control of the rock and the roll, the rhythm and the blues
Losing control of the rock and the roll, the rhythm and the blues
Rhythm and the blues

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LOVE IS

[Love is many things - hopefully an uplifting, happy-clappy song!]

Love is the child newly born, love is the long lost friend we mourn
Love is the breaking of the dawn, love is the calm after the storm

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Love is a cause worth fighting for, love is the hardship we endure

Love is the healing to restore, love is the peace that follows war

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CH:

Love's a call that's beckoning, love's a rock to which we cling

Love is our hope's eternal spring

Love is life's awakening, love's the start of everything

Love is the final reckoning

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Love is a power so positive, love is the courage to forgive
Love is so delicate and sensitive, love is a gift we freely give

Love is our strength and energy, love is the root, the branch, the tree

Love is our quest to find the key, love is the force that sets us free  CH:

 
Love is the sanctuary after flight, love is the comfort in the night
Love is the flame that burns so bright, love is the way, the truth and light

Love is the word to reassure, love is the feeling we adore

Love is the soul we're searching for, love is the feeling we adore, love is for now and ever more           CH:

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NO GOING HOME

[Thoughts of home during a long tour]

Two o’clock in the morning and I’m winding down, another lonely night playing some distant town
A strange hotel and I’m hearing those foreign sounds so I close my eyes and I dream I’m homeward bound

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Four o’clock in the morning and it’s cold and grey, another restless night, it just won’t slip away
I lie and wait for the dawn of another day so I close my eyes and I dream I’m home to stay

CH:
When I’m down I need your shoulder to cry on, when I’m lonely I need your company
When I’m tired you’re a friend I can rely on, that’s the time I need you here with me

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I’ve spent my life travelling, I’m a rolling stone, no time for loving, lived it all alone
I feel my heart breaking and I start to moan so I close my eyes and I dream I’m going home

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Then it’s six o’clock in the morning, I’m still lying here, think ahead, start planning for another year
But it’s time to stop my running, need to face my fears so I close my eyes, don’t want to see my tears
CH:

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NOTHING MORE TO SAY

[When it's over there's nothing more to say]

I look into my mind at the break of day, see your face and I have to turn away
The grieving and the pain, the memories remain but it’s too late now – nothing more to say

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So I gaze into the distance through the day and I think of all the times we passed this way
The happiness and tears we shared across the years but it’s too late now – nothing more to say

CH:
No compromise – a victim of your lies. No pointless talk - just run away and hide
No sorrow or regrets - just angry, empty threats, a hostage to your stupid, misplaced pride

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So I’ll search into my soul at the close of day and wonder are these feelings here to stay
Or will I have to fight another sleepless night but it’s too late now – nothing more to say

CH: + V3 + Too late now – nothing more to say x 2