Paradise 2010-06-05 I live in Paradise And its pretty nice, baby The grass is always green And every street is clean I live in Paradise And you can't beat the price here, honey Fitting in ain't hard With two nice cars and a well kept yard I live in Paradise The schools are great here, sugar Ground stone for every nose And the righteous here are bold Sometimes I want to tear it all down Sometimes I want to kick it around Sometimes I want to break all the rules Sometimes I want to call them all fools I live in Paradise And the crime rate's low, sweet heart The straight and narrow road We start young at growing old I live in Paradise But the price can seem high, darlin' And there's a hidden space That I don't always know how to face Sometimes I want to break some glass Sometimes I want to shred my free pass Sometimes I want to shout out loud Sometimes I want to scatter the crowd Sometimes I want to throw some bricks Sometimes I want get in some kicks Sometimes I want to get some sleep Sometimes I want to just get some sleep I live in Paradise And its pretty nice, baby The grass is always green And every street is clean

Ghost of Route 66 (American Daydream) Slow and steady always wins the race. That's what we all believe in. Its a shared and saving grace. Idle hearts and idle hands are the devil's to command. We all understand. But during every commute to work from our suburbs in the sticks, in the middle of every road lurks the ghost of Route 66. We try to find some sleep in the beds that we've made. We try to be content building on the foundations that we've laid. But we're haunted that we might have put aside everything that makes us feel alive, content just to abide. But during every commute to work from our suburbs in the sticks, in the middle of every road waits the ghost of Route 66. But during every commute to work from our suburbs in the sticks, in the middle of every road waits the ghost of Route 66. But during every commute to work from our suburbs in the sticks From the middle of every road calls the ghost of Route 66 But during every commute to work from our suburbs in the sticks From the middle of every road calls the ghost of Route 66 So we pay our pipers and we mind our stores. We try so very hard, always working a little more, hoping no life lived can be counted bad if we give them more than daddy had.

Happy Breaking Day Something broke around 8:35 am But his dashboard clock runs fast So he's not sure exactly when. He was halfway to work when a chill set in And sat frozen through a green light Waiting for reality to slip in again Now good enough is not good enough And ok is not ok anymore Just managing has become unmanageable Something has changed Happy Breaking Day Sitting still, his heart filled up with cement Till something buried deep inside Broke instead of bent. And turning left instead of turning right, So desperate for a new street He ran through his first red light. A phone call from the heartland A little detour, to be sure But everyone would understand Need some road in the rear view mirror Run down the clock until the shock wears off Looks like he won't be home for dinner Now good enough is not good enough And ok is not ok anymore Just managing has become unmanageable Something has changed Happy Breaking Day Happy Breaking Day Don't know what's coming down the line But I have to drive Though I'm driving blind

Endless Days Fields flicker by in unending rows. It feels like Summer. And the blue sky unfolds all the way. Even the landscape somehow knows and we're all waiting. How I wish that I could just stop and stay. But I know these endless days These endless days Are coming to an end But I know these endless days These endless days Are coming to an end. A faint line of storm darkens the horizon But the warm air still shimmers here in this perfect day. Lightning flashes faint and far in the distance While our shadows lengthen to be lost in the shade But I know these endless days These endless days Are coming to an end But I know these endless days These endless days Are coming to an end. Holding hard to the day Fighting the slow decay But I know these endless days These endless days Are coming to an end But I know these endless days These endless days Are coming to an end.

Promised Land Into the storm I'm driving fast From hazard to harm A reprieve that never lasts A long way from home Is it forward or behind? Looking for a place stand That the miles just can't find There is no promised land any more No... There is no promised land any more The grey light fades As the night closes in A heavy rain falls Cuts horizontal in the wind Buffet and blow Water between wheel and road I slide through the curves Under my shifting load Roll the windows down Shout angry songs into the wind Though the storm steals my voice If I'm singing then it cannot win Oh no keep those windows down No promised land any more No... There is no promised land any more No promised land any more No... There is no promised land no more Only this engine roar Drowns out the noise in my head If you find me like this Just leave me for dead Oh oh only this engine roar Drowns out the noise in my head If you find me like this Please leave me for dead Oh no promised land any more Oh no... There is no promised land any more Lit from within Thunderhead heart flashes bright Cities long dead Fall under my headlights So many storms Have already beat me here From hazard to harm And from harm on to despair There is no holy ground You only find what you find And with luck You can stand on what you have found Oh no there is no holy ground We only find what we find And with luck We can stand on what we have found Oh no promised land any more Oh no... There is no promised land any more Oh no promised land any more Oh no... There is no promised land no more

Phoenix, AZ On the dry side of the desert Beneath the unrelenting sky In rebirth's ironic shadow That's where I could go and hide And no one would ever find me Because its off all my beaten paths I could find some space to lay my heavy burdens down And there would be no coming back Disappear beneath this clear sky In Phoenix Arizona Arizona... I could try Ah, in a little while, just take a little while To fade away Yes, in a little while, just take a little while To fade away Transparency Will suit me just fine And if anybody sees me, they'll see right through me Every time Disappear beneath this clear sky In Phoenix Arizona Arizona... I could try And in the morning... oh, in the morning... I could smile And in the morning... oh, In the morning... I could smile Disappear beneath this clear sky In Phoenix Arizona Arizona... I could try Disappear beneath this clear sky In Phoenix Arizona Arizona... I could try I want to fade away, fade away...

Four Corners Falling forward into the rising sun Another wound up night has finally come undone Desolation so stark and serene Too much space to think, so very little else in-between My feet now kicking up the dust I'm looking for something not sure what's been lost Standing fixed in space Caught between conflicting states of grace I've wandered into Four Corners And now I don't know where to stand I've wandered into Four Corners And now I don't know where to stand These abstract boundaries that define and enclose Are indifferent to the landscape on which they are imposed Dissolution can be its own reward But some walls should remain standing and some pressure safely stored Fixed to a target on the ground (I clearly see the lines) But I'm not sure where my heart can be found (Lines are all around me) I lift my eyes from the compass bronze (But do they define me?) And suddenly all the boundaries are gone I've wandered into Four Corners And now I don't know where to stand I've wandered into Four Corners And now I don't know where to stand I've wandered into Four Corners And now I don't know where to stand I've wandered into Four Corners And now I don't know where to stand I've wandered into Four Corners

Lost I think that I've been been blown off course Somehow drifted beneath strange skies None of my maps or charts can help me here I'm not even sure I can trust my eyes The compass needle is spinning The compass needle spins Spins around I took a wrong turn in the night Now the world has turned upside down Above is below and left is right And I don't know how to turn it back around The compass needle is spinning The compass needle spins The compass needle is spinning The compass needle spins Spins around And around And around And around Maybe I've slipped some chains Maybe I've ducked a noose Evaded some cruel pursuit Maybe my fortune's changed Finally run out of bad luck Been kicked loose from an awful rut Maybe not... I was clearly caught off guard Now I can't see the right road for all the trees Even my instincts have failed me... hard Don't know where I am or where I should be The compass needle is spinning The compass needle spins Around

Dead Horse Point This narrow road Its a long way down And its a long way around Sometimes the only way out is through Miles and miles I can see where I think I want to be But its the here to there that's stumping me And everything is so far below How did I lose the ground? How did I get so high When I carry around this Persistent fear of heights? How did I lose the ground? How did I get so high When I carry around this Persistent fear of heights? I've lost the world I've seen past so many lines I've grown too tired of all the lies That I have told myself so well Moved beyond the game Become too aware of a futility Stuck between a new reality And an old gilded cage How can I hate the dark Then find my guiding light In the insufficient glow Of these dim headlights? How can I hate the dark Then find my guiding light In the insufficient glow Of these dim headlights? But its ok I've got plenty of time and gas to burn on through I've got plenty of memories and thoughts to chew While I slowly find (make?)my way I know who I am And I know what they think they see But oh, that ain't really me I wish they could understand How did I lose the ground? How did I get so high When I carry around this Persistent fear of heights? How can I hate the dark Then find my guiding light In the insufficient glow Of these dim headlights?

Billboards and Traffic Signs The endless ribbon unrolls... ever present, unbroken Moving towards and away, grey worn to black, I keep my eyes on the road just like I've been told to Billboards and traffic signs to the front and the back Stop, Yield, Keep Right, Caution, Danger, Food and Gas, Triple-X... exit 35A Pressure builds, am I finally breaking? But I'm blown clear of that up and away Like a leaf caught on the wind Of the world but pulling from in it From this terrifying new height I see the world has wider limits The unyielding veneer, severe as a ruler, the passing world rises like weeds Tossing out the map isn't easy, get me off of this road, and further from its debris. So many people driving by seem to miss it, air-conditioned, seatbelted, safe Moving fast from one point to another, mistaking the road for the place Like a leaf caught on the wind Of the world but high above it And there are far more meaningful paths Though few can see or even admit it Unaccustomed eyes focus beyond the blacktop To the deep-breathing distance, expanding sunlit and free. Dirt roads curve with the land reaching past the horizon And I feel the strongest pull to see where they lead me Life a leaf caught on the wind Of the world but no longer in it And if there's no road where I want to go Then I can just press on without it

Don't Tell The Rain Blue skies traded for grey Why do I feel the way I do? Is it something about the weather, baby, Or something to do with you? There's sunlit rain on the windshield But not enough to wipe away I've been through so many storms now No changing weather defines my day. From the moment that we're born We're all falling down, all falling down Some say there's no cause for alarm Cause its a long way down, its a long way down Others try to save our souls They tell us how to hit the ground, how to hit the ground. I think its all less help and more harm. Don't tell the rain how to navigate a storm. Its sometimes so hard to forget Everything we think we know It requires so much effort To let a final few things go But when they've all been dropped from your back You just might find You're free for a more interesting road Than what you thought you'd left behind. From the moment that we're born We're all falling down, all falling down Some say there's no cause for alarm Cause its a long way down, its a long way down Others try to save our souls They tell us how to hit the ground, how to hit the grownd. I think its all less help and more harm. Don't tell the rain how to navigate a storm. From the moment that we're born We're all falling down, all falling down Some say there's no cause for alarm Cause its a long way down, its a long way down Others try to save our souls They tell us how to hit the ground, how to hit the grownd. I think its all less help and more harm. Don't tell the rain how to navigate a storm. Blue skies traded for grey. Why do I feel the way I do? It has nothing to do with the weather, baby and everything to do with you. 2011-09-21 Blue skies traded for grey. Why do I feel the way I do? Is it something about the weather, baby, Or is it something to do with you? There's scattered rain on the windshield But not enough to wipe away I've been through so many storms now Chorus From the moment that we're born We're all falling down, We're all falling down. And some say there's no cause for alarm 'Cause its a long way down Its a long way down. And others try to save our souls They tell us how to hit the ground How to hit the ground But I think its all less help and more harm Don't tell the rain how to navigate a storm. Its sometimes hard to forget Everything that we think we know. It requires so much effort To finally let some things go. But when it all falls from your back I think you just might find You're on a far more interesting road now Than anything you've left behind Chorus From the moment that we're born We're all falling down, We're all falling down. And some say there's no cause for alarm 'Cause its a long way down Its a long way down. And others try to save our souls They tell us how to hit the ground How to hit the ground But I think its all less help and more harm Don't tell the rain how to navigate a storm. [Verse Instrumental] Chorus From the moment that we're born We're all falling down, We're all falling down. And some say there's no cause for alarm 'Cause its a long way down Its a long way down. And others try to save our souls They tell us how to hit the ground How to hit the ground But I think its all less help and more harm You don't tell the rain how to navigate a storm. [Chorus Instrumental] Blue skies traded for grey. Why do I feel the way I do? It has nothing to do with the weather, baby and everything to do with you.

Instrumental