I could be a king if I only knew
I could be a famous big film star if I found my cue
The simple words are so hard to find
I went and opened my mouth when I should have known

Haven't had a drink in an hour or two
'Cause the way it feel when it holds me - familiar, not new
The simple words are so hard to find
I went and opened my mouth when I should have known

My guard's down wide open then I hit the floor
The river runs deep but the scars make me sore
My head must be broken in six
'Cause I don't know anymore than you of what's leaving my lips

Sentimental things that I put me through
Wrap myself in dreams it's the best way of dodging the truth
The simple words are so hard to find
I went and opened my mouth when I should have known

The Simple Words are Hard to Find

We continue to talk a lot
But when did we last converse in romantic verse my love?

Got the pictures and puzzles on my mind
Jagged lines that melt my spine
All I ever know
So it goes, I consider the gist of it

I'd rather stand and look 
Beside the thieves and the crooks
I'd rather run and scream
From your American dream

Not regretting the consequence
Just forgetting the hearts and the minds of the ones we leave behind

But the pictures and puzzles still remain
My incentive - what's my gain?
All we ever know
So it goes, for the fools in the midst of it

Lately, we continue to talk a lot
But when did we last converse of a universe we know so little of
I'll tell you 'bout it any given month of Sundays
Any given month of Sundays

Pictures & Puzzles

Wrong beginning
For the gentlemen and the women
And the plastic dreams they find
Inside shit magazines
For your own sake
A little bit slow on the uptake
Never rush to judgement while
Cowards' words can be so, so cruel

At times it feels so simple not to think what I say
And patience is a virtue for all the fools that trample in your way
Maybe not believing the tales they tell as truth
The world is ours in the meantime

How i wonder
If everything's painted by numbers
Can I live outside those lines
And maybe exist for a while?
And you're reeling
From all you're never achieving
But that's a waste of time my dear
Catch the stars as they fall, fall, fall

So I'll paint by numbers and maybe exist for a while
Take my hand and I'll take your hand
Take my hand and we'll pull through


Painted By Numbers

Make your own damn entertainment
Like it was when I was a lad
Jimmy's gonna take it all in his stride

She said it's just a joke but I think that she meant it
Unsure about the girl that I just befriended
Oh, nothing more
I never say a thing when I'm really offended

Kicked in the teeth well you know he'd like to
Kick straight back well he's every right to
From your high horse it might surprise you
You're not any different up there
Get a real job don't ring my number
The brother in law that stole my thunder
From your high horse you come to discover
You're not any different up there

He's tearing up the social fabric
Though he's never seen it before
Jimmy's gonna take it all in his stride

High Horse

Standing down on the street tomorrow
To catch the whims of the passers by
To the men that they should call brothers
A look of hatred in the eye

To realise you're not the only one
To realise there's a second line
Got the fear and under arrest again
In the thrall of vulgar cries

And you're limited when you only look one way
And you're limited boy when you look one way

A price to pay for the promises
For the rights that we all demand
See the world through the eyes of another
Maybe then you'll understand

Tunnel Vision

Six o'clock and I'm leaving
'Cause honesty can be so deceiving
The girl in the picture postcard from Maryland
And I whispered it softly but she don't understand
That all her dreams are nothing in my hands
And I'm trying
I was trying
But all her dreams are nothing in my hands

Find another companion
Maryland my broader horizon
Through all the single minded fights we had designs to fly
And it makes me do angry only half of the time
That all her dreams meant something - they were mine
And I'm raging
Blindly raging
'Cause all her dreams meant something - they were mine

Screaming from Appalachia
Deluded I might be her saviour
The girl in the picture postcard don't need my advice
Now we talk of a friendship that will not suffice
When we've been so much nearer - so alive
And I'm dreaming
Sweetly dreaming
'Cause we've been so much nearer - so alive 

Maryland

The monkeys are in the asylum
I bet you don't have a rope to swing from do you?

Trying to find the middle ground for whispering or shouting
So I never reply
Trying to find the antidote for what you're arousing
I never batted an eye

Small-town mentality
Expose it for what it is

The charlatan and the heroine are one
They'll never forget you


Artwork by Texas Equine Artist Laurie Pace

The Charlatan and the Heroine

Back on the dancefloor as rejections ferment
No nails for the dirt that clings at this hour of the morning
I tried to ignore you but you never relent
Crave attention for the little things I hesitate to call boring

And then I had to laugh like hell at your suggestion
Off the beaten track and I'm rudderless without you

Picked up what I came for but I'm reluctant to leave
Heartbreak is irresistible - it intoxicates me
A chip on the shoulder and a trick up the sleeve
Another year lived in flashback will not rearrange me

So far
Should I know more
So far


Artwork by Texas Equine Artist Laurie Pace

At This Hour of the Morning

Walking around like an oaf in the crowd
Never asking - afraid of the looks
Lord knows I won't get very far very soon in this get-up
These rag-a-tag threads are never enough
Like the time I brushed past your side
Without humour, banter or wit
Lord knows I've done it any many number of times before

It's dawn when it should have been noon
You're leaving, might I ask why so soon?
The last strand of truth that remains 
I was never the expert I claimed
I'm just tonguetied
Tonguetied

That's not me there - so astute so aware
That's a gentleman playing guitar
A dream to be had down the bar in his mod-cravat get-up
Just filling the void of the glance from afar
Like the thoughts thought with little remorse
Understanding or pathos in sight
Lord knows I've done it any many number of times before


Artwork by Texas Equine Artist Laurie Pace

Tonguetied

Sat on her own with her head dipped into her handbag
Nothing inside just the secrets of her past
She keeps it, keeps it, keeps it to herself

Over the edge she said can you feel it?
Over the edge she said come on breathe it
Keep it, keep it, keep it to yourself

Slow down, slow down, slow down
Keep up the fight

Heartache and pain washing over
The cloud poured with rain - she stood under
Chemical souls, pills and more - we're still trying
Undo the screw, look right through - you're still hiding

Keep it, don't keep it, keep it to yourself


Artwork by Texas Equine Artist Laurie Pace

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