TRAINS ACROSS THE SEA – “WHAT A DAY, WHAT A TIME WE HAD”
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01. GODS
early in the morning
when he wakes and faces the day
he pours all of his heart down the drain of his guitar
but if he sang a song would you sing along
to the gods of rock and roll
when he was a baby he was told he could be
anybody that he wanted in the land of the free
but he could never be the best center fielder in the league
and he knows he’s on his own road (though he don’t know where it goes)
and if he sang a song would you sing along
to the gods of rock and roll
but we’ve heard that jive a thousand times, boy
it’s all been done before
it don’t seem they’re distracted by the baring of your soul
but i hear he’s playing shows still belting out those same old notes
that if he sang a song would you sing along
to the gods of rock and roll
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02. LETTERS
when you woke me i was having that nightmare again
you know the one where you tell me you’re leaving
and i waste another five years in this city all alone
driving home and watching the tv
but when i opened my eyes and you were right by my side
(you know when you smile wide i feel alright)
but in your hands was a letter said you start in september
in a west coast city
a letter came today
that sent you on your way
you said “it’s my dream school! this is the one i want to go to
“this is the only way that i can be me
“maybe in a half year you’ll like what you see here
“you’ll move out and move in with me”
but both you and i know that i’ll never leave home
and you’ll find a nice boy and you won’t feel alone
and when i’m asked whether you and i are together
we’ll i’ll say
a letter came one day
that sent her on her way
but now that we’re older and i’ve drank myself sober
and i’ve come to realize there’s nobody half as swell as you girl
and so i’ve made up my mind to stop wasting my time
because if you want her, you’ve got to go get her
i wrote a letter today
that sent me on my way
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03. THE CAPTAIN
we could go get wasted in the alley
we could race each other to the top of the tree
let’s take a ride downtown to the park now, darling
you could bring the bocce and i’ll bring the weed
we could climb a mountain, if we had one
lose another friend to nyc
we used to buy bagels from a captain
everybody grab a mate, we’re gonna sail all the streets
we’re gonna sail all the streets of our city
don’t you play me that tired tune
about the santa maria gone astray
we’re too busy dancing anyway
but if you get lucky
if you find somebody similarly ugly
who will hold you closely
you should never let him go
we could go back to my place after the party
drink ourselves brave enough to make a move
all the cool kids are out at the show tonight
i guess they didn’t have anything better to do
we could climb a mountain, if we had a mountain
lose another one to the second city
let’s take a ride behind the captain
everybody grab a mate we’re gonna sail all the streets
we’re gonna sail all of ’em
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04. LANSING
i heard about your baby and the pictures look great
and it looks like he’s making you smile
and i hope it didn’t hurt like you were afraid it might
when we were foolishly planning a family
but we could never agree on baby names
no we could never agree on our favorite places
we kept holding out hope it’d get better
until we finally admitted defeat
so honey i hope you got what you wanted
honey i hope you found exactly what you wanted
hope your new man will take you dancing
and when he drives you home to lansing
he’s gotta laugh all your uncles’ shitty jokes
but if you ever need a babysitter
or if he ever needs a father figure
or when he 15 and hates you, honey
and your husband ain’t home, he just sends you the money
and you need to be held, you had your chance
so don’t think of me
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05. CALL ON ME
well i can’t help you
in the mornings when you’re on your way out my door
you stop to kiss me,
but you decide to watch me sleep
well i can’t help you if you’re lonely
and you can’t find the right time to tell the one that you’re leaving
cause girl i might refuse to let you go
so you gotta let me know
cause i can help you
get through the night
and believe me, darling, i don’t mind
if you get that look in your eye
but i can’t help you
if you don’t call on me (call on me)
call on me (call on me)
say what you want to me
(two, three, four)
say just what you want to say to me
don’t leave me hanging around until world war three
cause you know, pretty darling, got a lot on my mind
and if you worry when you leaving, you ain’t doing it right
so if you’re gonna do it do it tonight
cause this other girl is giving me eyes
yes and if you gonna leave me girl please do it by the end of the night
well maybe you don’t need me
maybe you’re all right without me by your side
but tell me how is a lonely boy to know
if you don’t call on me
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06. THE RAIN
break out the fancy clothes
and drive slow to the funeral home
let the mother know she’s not alone
tell her you always saw him smiling
and he always kept you laughing
she did a good job, she did the best that she could do
there’s a hole in the ground
and the green grass grows all around
when the world loses one of the good ones
long before he shoulda gone
all his friends who believe in heaven know that he went there
but when you don’t believe in heaven
you’re just wishing
you coulda said goodbye
and the sun’s gonna hide behind the rain today
sometimes the sun hides behind the rain
–
07. JANUARY FRIEND
he’s a little bit nicer than the last one
he don’t bruise you half as bad
there are times when he gets sober
he can almost make you laugh
anyway, you just watch movies
and the sex it ain’t so bad so
he’ll be your january friend
he’ll be your best friend in the world
until the next best friend
some of the boys will play games with you
some will sweep you off your feet
some will feed you whisky tryin’ find out what you think
but every time you break a lover’s heart
you got another next in line
to waste your january nights
and i know that the stakes are high my dear
you were just a girl
he was never home
but if you keep on leaving em
they’re gonna stop believing you when you
say you’ll be their january friend
but i know that the water’s rising darling
i know there’s runs in your hose
you don’t know how many more times
you can lose another year of your life
to the wrong boy
or to the wrong girl
with the wrong boy
or with the wrong girl
when you don’t know who to blame
for the ache at the end of your day
you get confused by his actions
distracted by your passions
and you let another good one slip away
you say “i am independent
“stay the hell outta my way”
but when i ask you where you’re going
and you smile and look away
well i guess i’m just another january friend to you
but i could use a january friend too
so let’s be january friends
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08. A MILE NORTHEAST
hey remember before we turned 25
bellies full of wine
we were living the single life
and we still believed in song
we thought a song would help us understand the world
we thought a song would help us understand the girl
we were just looking for our chance to understand
the worth of half hours on earth
well me i moved a mile about northeast
where there’s no lease and more trees
i built me some fires and i watched the full moon
and i listened to the trains roll by
“but do you ever feel alone” she says
“don’t you ever feel alone”
and i hope you’re having a nice time
out there on the coastline
yeah and don’t you worry i’m living the good life
with my wine
yeah i’m fine
but before you go asking questions
ask them of yourself
is where you are where you want to be?
do you want to be where you are?
“but do you ever feel alone” she says
“don’t you ever feel alone”
“you know, it’s okay to feel alone”
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09. GIRLFRIENDS
let’s go stealing girlfriends from the boyfriends we don’t know
let’s tell ourselves we’re the best guys in this city
yeah we’ll laugh and drink and we’ll still believe
that the good ones aren’t all gone
or at least that’s what we hope
let’s go raise the bar of what it means to be a man
let’s all paint the portaits of our fears
and maybe the best of the girlfriends
will leave their asshole boyfriends
or at least that’s what we hope
and i hope that you have found a friend in that city i have never been
because it’s a hard time trying to find one as cool as you
and when you’re done dancing with argentinians you’ll come back home to me again
or at least that’s what we hope
at least that’s what i hope
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10. LOVE
i woke up hungover and alone 180 days in a row
it says here the midwest ain’t so bad as the mideast
so i guess i’ll walk the streets again no particular place to go
but i walked the river instead
and i felt the river again
and i held the river again like we did last year
i think sad songs are happy songs
for when you’re sad
but i’ll feel alright if the room tonight
will sing along
to my idea of what the west would sing
if the west could sing a song
tell me when it’s my turn to sing
tell me when it’s my turn to solo
i write songs instead of letters to friends
maybe i should put that in a song
that’s okay if there’s no missed calls
there’s still some whisky left at home
because ever since the first of the year
the last time i woke up in your home
it’s not that i don’t want a drink with you
it’s that i’d rather do it alone
well i thought it was a feeling
with a complicated meaning
i thought that i would know for sure
when it came along
i thought that it was up to the other
i thought that it was impressing your mother
yes i thought that that was our goal
but she thought it was the bible
and he thought that it was for sale
because he mostly cared for the making of it
and she mostly cared for the saying of it
and i knew that was not my goal
but if you’re asking my opinion
what i really think about it
take a deep breath and sing along
love is something that you do