Those 2 lines 'when yesterday is all that's left, don't let this picture fade' really resonated with me.
I spent the weekend with my sister who has health problems and is very low about all the things she can't do, she has had a great 'yesterday' and I was trying to encourage her to see this whilst still enjoying the things she can do.
I love this one. Obviously it makes me think of First Boy, but it's also all of childhoods, our dreams and the certainties you have as a child and what happens to them.
Nope, no idea to this day (and I wrote it back in 1992) what or who this is about. But I know that Chisel's 'Tomorrow', specifically the 'newspaper men are using my name' line was the inspiration point.
Oh, and an obvious allusion to Bruce's 'Valentines Day' also at one point. Just one of my magpie efforts where I managed to make it good enough to deflect from what I (pretty directly) borrowed. Although I guess owning up to it in the last verse gives me a pass...?
Riding And Crying
All my favorite songs are the ones somebody dies in
Is that too much to ask from rock and roll
The greatest western movies are the ones the cowboy cries in
An outlaw ought to have a troubled soul
All my life I've played that lonely role
I've been riding and I've been crying
There's something out there on the highway dying
You can hear it rising on the hot wind sighing
I've been riding and I've been crying
My favorite writers are the fearless independents
The ones who leave their blood on every page
The young romantic poets rhyming of love and transcendence
The dreamers caught up in this dreamless age
All my life I've set out to outrage
And I've been riding and I've been crying
There's something out there on the highway dying
You can hear it rising on the hot wind sighing
I've been riding and I've been crying
Too Young To Know
First time I saw her, she was sitting at the wheel
A blonde-haired freckled beauty in a yellow Oldsmobile
She was leaning out the window, she was laying on the horn
I was pissing in a field of young Nebraska corn
Come on and get a ride, boy, if you want one
I didn't ask her where to or how far
I was hitching east and she was driving west
But I crossed two country lanes and climbed into that big old car
We rode together, singing with the radio
She said, boy, you're singing songs you're too young to know
Somewhere in Utah as the sun was going down
She pulled off the highway in some small four-corners town
All the streets were dark and quiet and the moon was in full bloom
We ate pizza from the box in a roadside motel room
Come on and get a kiss, kid, if you want one
I asked her if she heard what she just said
I was just nineteen and she was thirty-nine
But I strippd out of my jeans and slipped into that big queen bed
We moved together with the lamplight burning low
She said, boy, you're doing things you're too young to know
Last time I saw her, she looked like a lonely ghost
Dancing barefoot in white linen on the California coast
She was golden in the sunshine, twirling in the crashing waves
I realized in that moment, life's a dance upon our graves
Go on and go your way, kid, if you want to
I didn't wait for her to say it twice
I walked the beach road until I caught a ride
And I left her out there dancing on the edge of paradise
I might have loved her all those long, long years ago
But in her eyes I saw all I was too young to know
My Low Life And Times
I killed a man, that's what I did
And really he was no more than a kid
But he threatened me with a cold blue knife
Said he'd have my money or he'd have my life
Down a dark dirt road, all for twenty bucks
In a graveyard for old rusted pickup trucks
He had black eyes and a face cold as stone
All I had was fear and a blade of my own
And I left him there with a long bloody gash
That boy lost his life and I kept my cash
And if I've not paid for my crimes
In all of my low life and times
When I leave this world my sentence begins
One day we've all got to pay for our sins
I shot a man, that's what I've done
But he was the one who pulled out the gun
And he said I'd do just as I was told
Or I'd die that night at just nineteen years old
Down an old bone road, all for a cheap thrill
With a hard-on so hard he was willing to kill
He had snake eyes and a grin of dark lust
But I grabbed his gun in a moment of trust
And I left him bleeding but nowhere near dead
Zipped up my jeans on the run as I fled
And if I've not paid for my crimes
In all of my low life and times
When I leave this world my sentence begins
One day we've all got to pay for our sins
OVER THE YEARS AND FAR AWAY
If our lives have all been pre-ordained
Where does that leave a lucky guess
If possession is nine tenths of law
Then I don't want to know the rest
We take our strength from the ones we love
When all is said and done
We face the grind of the everyday
For our one moment in the sun
When yesterday is all that's left
Don't let the picture fade
Remember me how you feel best
Over the years and far away
Travelling south on a long highway
Towards the promised greener grass
With a suitcase full of uncertainty
And a shadow from the past
There's a free wind blowing through my hair
There's the stretch of the open road
But like all good things, the story will end
When the writer is out of prose
When yesterday is all that's left
Don't let the picture fade
Remember me how you feel best
Over the years and far away
Don't judge my deeds in too harsh a light
Stones never hurt as much as words
There are things I've done I now regret
But they were done on my own terms
There's an order in the chaos that we call life
Just look into this mirror of truth
And when you accept that there are things we can never change
My reflection will stare back at you
When yesterday is all that's left
Don't let the picture fade
Remember me how you feel best
Over the years and far away.
A corny one about a story my mom used to tell me.
Raised On Rock And Roll
Momma taught me how to dance
Before I learned to walk
I knew the words to Love Me Tender
Before I could even talk
And I remember how she cried
On that August afternoon
When Elvis Presley died
The King is gone, gone, gone too soon
And we stayed up all night dancing
We did The Madison and The Stroll
She came of age in the nineteen-fifties
She was raised on rock and roll
She was raised on rock and roll
And she always used to say
"When I was seventeen..."
She knew a boy who drove a hot rod
He had hair just like James Dean
And if he only hadn't died
Then she would have worn his ring
She always thought of him
When she heard Frankie Valli sing
Late one night I heard her praying
Father, please receive his rebel soul
He lived his life like a teenage movie
He was raised on rock and roll
He was raised on rock and roll
Momma taught me how to dance
Before I learned to walk
And I could sing Be-Bop-A-Lula
Before I could even talk
I've got a hot rod heart and a jukebox soul
I was raised on rock and roll
I was raised on rock and roll
The Last One Home
Who told Momma where I went
That night I stayed out long past dark
She found me crying in the cold
At the empty baseball park
Her winter coat around my shoulders
Her fingers through my hair like a loving comb
She said I could run away when I get older
She knew I would always be the last one home
Who told Momma where I went
That day I played hookie from class
She caught me wandering in the woods
And she whipped my little ass
And now she's three years gone and buried
An orphan nearly grown, I was free to roam
A backpack and a broken heart was all I carried
I knew I was born to be the last one home
No one came to meet the train
That night I came back into town
No welcome home, I walked alone
In the soft rain falling down
I went out to the cemetery
I climbed that hill and stood over her stone
I came to her at last, not in a hurry
She knew I was gonna be the last one home
The Stake
Hers was white magic and a strong love potion
As sweet as wine, nothing bitter did she pour
She filled my cup and I grew drunk on true devotion
She forever mine and I am hers forevermore
And on the streets of town men talked of her in fearful whispers
But they never spoke her name, only quiet words of blame
All the ladies of the church cursed her as a weirdling sister
And they chanted shame, shame, shame as they put her to the flame
Drunk in some back alley, I hung my head and cried
My soul without its mate, my spellbound heart did break
I hid like a coward on the night she died
But I swore revenge on all who set her burning at the stake
She was a woman of divine perception
If a witch she was, nothing evil did she host
Among that kind, she was a beautiful exception
I saw her last night and I danced with her lovely ghost
And on the streets of town the children sing a rhyme about her
But they never say her name when they play their silly game
The townfolk stare at me and say ol' Joe can't live without her
And they say she called my name when they put her to the flame
Early in the morning, before the sun arose
I stole the streetlamp oil before the town did wake
I slunk like a coward in my sleeping clothes
And I took vengeance on all who set her burning at the stake
Good Enough
She was never too good for me
I just wasn't good enough for her
And we were never going to be
Anything more than we ever were
In those cheap motels on the weekends
When her kids were with her ex
Friends when we weren't fighting
Fighting when we weren't having sex
And that should have been good enough for me
Just like it was good enough for her
But I wanted more than we would ever be
And she wanted less than we were
Doo-Wop Kids
Well, I was born too late to be a doo-wop kid
But I combed my hair back just like the greasers did
I wore a motorcycle jacket and pressed blue jeans
I was too young to drive but I read hot rod magazines
On the corner smoking cigarettes and drinking soda pop
Me and my best friends singing Elvis songs and doo-wop
A woman hollered out a window, you kids better stop
All that caterwauling or I'll call for a cop
And when the cop came round, down the alley we hid
We were born too late to be doo-wop kids
But I was brought up right on old-time rock and roll
My momma loved country music and blue-eyed soul
She used to play those old records on the stereo
And I stayed up late at night listening to the radio
In the evening in the summertime outside the pizza shop
Me and my best friends singing boogie woogie be-bop
An old man shook his fist and shouted, you kids better stop
Standing in my doorway or I'll call for a cop
And when the cop came round, down the sidewalk we slid
We were born too late to be doo-wop kids
Long Time Running
Thunder rolling on the open plain
Black smoke rising from a long freight train
A lonely rider under wind and rain
I'm a long time running, such a long time running
I'm a long time running from the ghost who'd
have me wear her chain
An old love song on the radio
Black geese flying when the cold winds blow
Summer surrendered to the ice and snow
I'm a long time running, still a long time running
I'm a long time running and I've still got
a long way to go
A lone biker in the pouring rain
Black crows laughing while they steal the grain
A hitchhiker in the breakdown lane
I'm a long time running, such a long time running
I'm a long time running but I'm still
chasing love in vain
Scarlet Rain
In this cesspit of madness where I was reborn
Explosions greet those who wake to face the dawn
Reduced to rubble, an orphan cries in pain
For God to release her from the scarlet rain
We're prisoners of anger, just prisoners of hate
Roll out our numbers and choose for us our fate
Tombstone heroes stretch out in a silent plain
From the daily ritual of the scarlet rain
In a nightmare of chaos, when some civilian dies
We're asked to burn feelings and maybe close our eyes
We're told they're heartless, we're told they have no name
Because their sons dance with us in the scarlet rain
You and I may meet yet
In the scarlet rain.
She Overheard
She overheard me talking to the sky
On a night when all the stars were glistening
Later in bed, she asked me why
If I thought there was no one out there listening
She said it seemed like something odd
To catch me praying in the evening dim
She said you don't believe in God
And I told her I wasn't talking to Him...
She overheard me crying late one night
In a peaceful dream of the old neighborhood
She said when she turned on the light
She saw upon my face my vanished childhood
She said I looked so young and calm
And I said it was all a blur
She said I know you miss your mom
And I said oh I wasn't dreaming of her...
She overheard me singing to myself
In the darkness with a vintage radio
I rescued from a thrift shop shelf
It only played the songs from a long time ago
She said I sang them all so well
But all those old songs made her sad and blue
Sometimes the truth is hard to tell
So I just said but I'm not singing to you
Days Gone By
Late summer breeze blowing hot August kisses
Kids on the block blowing dandelion wishes
A drink of water from a neighbor's garden hose
Creek-bottom mud squishing in-between our toes
And in the evening, fireflies like living embers
We swore we'd never forget, now no one remembers
How it felt to be young, just to run barefoot beneath blue sky
That was the time of our lives, now it's all days gone by
Wind through the trees whispers a chilly warning
Frost on the grass and car windows in the morning
Bright yellow slickers splash through puddles in the rain
Back-to-school blues only children can explain
We loved each other just like brothers that September
We swore we'd never forget and I still remember
How it was to be young, oh so young you think you'll never die
That was the time of our lives, now it's all days gone by
A winter storm and the first snow is falling
In the silence I hear my last summer calling
I build a fire, but I can't keep out the cold
When I was young I never dreamed I'd get this old
Looks like it's gonna be another long December
I swore I'd never forget and I still remember
How it felt to be young, to know love, to be born just to die
This was the time of my life and it's all days gone by
My Mother's Hands
Hers were the hands of love
Hers were the hands of pain
In one she held the sunshine
In the other, only rain
Hands that cooked our supper
Hands that washed the dishes
Sometimes they were empty
Sometimes full of wishes
And I was too young then to understand
That I was seeing time slip quickly
through my mother's hands
Hers were the hands that built
Hers were the hands that burned
In them she held the promise
Of a punishment well-earned
Hands that pulled our splinters
Hands that tied our laces
Hands in prayer to Jesus
Hands that smacked our faces
But I was still a boy, not yet a man
When I saw all the time fall softly
from my mother's hands
Hers were the hands at peace
Hers were the hands at rest
Hers were the hands of death
Crossed over her breathless chest
A Haunted Heart
My heart's a haunted house
My eyes are broken windows
My mind a darkened hall
Down which the autumn wind blows
Through empty rooms like tombs
From which no memory escapes
Where evening shadows gather
Cast in vaguely human shapes
And sing a deathly chorus
A long song of wailing moans
For all the love I buried here
In my graveyard of lost bones
Where you're my welcome guest
And I'm your charming host
My heart's a haunted house
And I'm its only ghost
Second Glance
I'm pushing 60 and it's pushing back
I'm still running hard, but I'm running out of time
Grey is the color of invisibility
But you should have seen me back when I was in my prime
Back when I was long and lean, oh how I could dance
I've lost a step or two, but I'm still worth a second glance
I'm just as handsome as I never was
Even if I'm scarred by time's lines upon my face
Age is the hunter of a man's mortality
But you might have loved me in another time and place
Back when I believed in love and true romance
I've lost a little faith, but I'm still worth a second glance
And if it's true that time is just a line
I'd walk it with you straight on to its very end
Death is the promise of an everlasting dream
One we all dream alone, but right now I could use a friend
Even if I'm old, don't I deserve a second chance
If I admit it's true that I look best at second glance
Nothing More
If I could be uplifted
By the things with which I'm gifted
Satisfied by what I've got
And not defined by what I'm not
That's more than I could ask for
And I would ask for nothing more
If all I'm ever blessed with
Are the clothes that I've been dressed with
Wealth enough to keep me fed
To keep a roof above my head
That's more than I could ask for
And I would ask for nothing more
Someone Knows My Name
Hey all you children, why haven't you been told
That polishing silver won't turn it to gold
You're all facing east with your heads in the sand
Upturned by the duststorm that's sweeping the land
The newspapers say that's it me who's to blame
Somebody, somewhere, somehow knows my name
But don't cast my memory too soon onto stone
You know I move fastest while travelling alone
You talk of commitment with no shoes on your feet
And a one guest reception at the end of the street
You can swim with your demons in a whisky and dry
But when you start drowning, don't ask me to cry
I've loved you for money and chased you in lust
Now my heart's full of feelings that I just can't trust
We sit out of danger and watch from the wall
We die once an hour and say nothing at all
So all you children, learn well from your time
That stealing ideas is no major crime
I've murdered my way into ungrounded fame
And someone, somewhere, somehow knows my name.