This one was fun to work on over two day time frame.  Hope ya'll like it!

Before You Play 
by Jason Bible 3-16/17- 2019

It was a Tuesday night in a local bar when my hero came to town
bout ten folks paid at the door with the leftover happy hour crowd
The world's best songwriter the poster read and I believed it was true
The world's best songwriter was on that stage and it seemed like nobody knew

I sat down at the bar and listened close to every word
 when he was finished I bought him a drink and asked him to sign some merch
I told him I had written some songs and asked him for a little advice
a dark expression crossed his face, but since I bought him a drink he was nice

Chorus 1
Try to make them pay you before you play the set
or else you might get all messed up and then you might forget
if you were in this for the love of money then, son, you got it wrong
the only love a songwriter knows ends up in his songs

I helped him load his gear in the back of his beat up truck
we went back in and sat back down and he asked if I could find him drugs
He said, buddy, if you're looking for answers you'd be better off to pray
he said the rhymes are easy it's the living that's hard but I can't think of another way

Chorus 2
Lead over verse 

Maybe I didn't listen maybe I should've quit
Maybe I should've went back to school but that ain’t what I did
I'm still out here banging away looking my next inspiration
whenever I'm blocked up or the words get stuck I remember his explanation.   
 Chorus 3

Before You Play

This is a tin pan alley type thing I did over three days.  I wanted to make a timeless song people can dance to.  Dean Martin and Swing music were the inspiration for this.  

I Don’t believe in fate
I Don’t rely on miracles
If they come they're  much too late
if they ever appear at all

But I think you’re the kind of girl that I’m lucky just to know
Yesterday was great
But it ain’t got nothin on tomorrow

I thought I heard a sound
I never caught the melody
Since you've been around
The tune is getting the best of me

There’s something about your smile that just won't leave me alone
Yesterday was great
But ain’t got nothin on tomorrow 

[Bridge]
Time seems like the only thing that just has to go away
But from the second that I met you life just gets better every day

Ain't Got Nothin' On Tomorrow

This song is from my first solo record since 2001. This tune was released  on "Things So True" in 2015.

Things So True

I wrote and recorded this song in the morning.  It was inspired by a worn out voice and Leonard Cohen.

Hymn of Hope
Crashed outside of Houston with our sights set on the beach
All was lost but we made the most of what was in reach
I've still got my guitar and no one told me life was fair
But I cannot write a love song while the bombs are in the air

How much time do we got left was on everybody's mind
How could we make such an awful mess unless we had been trying
I left my home with what I could think clear enough to take
And if I die a coward's death just leave me where I lay

Love was in our voices when we sung ourselves to sleep
Love was in the promises we figured we would keep
Love was in our children's hearts it always served us well
There was hatred in guns they built to send us all to Hell

I can't blame our future on the promises of our past
No use in second guessing broken blessings never last
Today I'm getting all messed up on any thing that works 
And I'll sing a hymn to hope that we can't make things any worse

Hymn Of Hope

Roger Miller inspired this tune.

"Four Twenty Five"

Think about back in the days 
when 4.25 was the minimum wage
Every other Friday I'd get paid and I'd go pick you up
deliveries on your side of the tracks 
talking on a carphone in a bag
When my boss got the bill she got real mad
But it was worth it cause we were in love

Chorus:
Maybe I won't love you when we make it out of our hometown
But heaven knows I love you now
Maybe you won’t hate me if you get stuck in this old town
But Heaven Knows I Love You NOW

We thought that we felt things much more
than any kids had felt before
If we heard any wisdom we could ignore anything in our way
took so many hours of working part time
never have money turns out I was right
So what I was broke you didn't mind all of your bills were paid

Chorus:
Maybe I won't love you when we make it out of our hometown
But heaven knows I love you now
Maybe you won’t hate me if you get stuck in this old town
But Heaven Knows I Love You NOW

Four Twenty Five

Breaking up the weed
We weren’t in need of anything but an easy escape

Rolling up the green
We began to proceed in a crime some folks love to hate

Clouds of smoke rose high
Our mouths got dry
As we took a midnight moonlight drive

There was no victim
There was no crime
We just have to wait till the illegal smell
Won’t make anybody do time x3… no more

Breaking up the weed
We weren’t in need of anything but an easy escape

Rolling up the green
We began to proceed in a crime some folks love to hate, some folks love to hate, some folks love to hate

Clouds of smoke rose high
Our mouths got dry
As we took a moonlight midnight drive

There was no victim
There was no crime
We just have to wait till the illegal smile
Won’t make anybody do time x3 no more some folks love to hate, some folks love to hate

Illegal Smell - 4:20:19, 12.24 AM

When I met you I could tell that you let things get you down
Your heart was as big as an ocean I worried one day you’d drown
Some folks don't feel anything they're selfish and unaware
Some folks they feel everything some folks really care

I'll hold on to the memories of those times I made you smile
But I can't hold on to nothing and that's nothing after a while

Some days you were scattered and didn't make much sense
Some days you would make me laugh like we were little kids
I tried to keep up with you whenever I had the chance
But life gets pretty busy and I guess I had other plans

In January I couldn't find you I just figured you lost your phone
In February some dude working on your apartment told me you died alone
I know better than to blame myself but I miss you all the time
And I know sometimes you hated yourself but you were a friend of mine

I'll hold on to the memories of those times I made you smile
But I can't hold on to nothing and that's nothing after a while

You Were A Friend Of Mine

Loneliest Bar In Town

Shards of glass they sparkle
Like another planet's sun
Minivans and beige sedans
Lined up one by one
Cigarette butts from weeks ago
Turning brown and green
Loading in the speakers
And a karaoke machine
You probably shouldn't come here but don't let it get you down
As the sun sets on the parking lot of the loneliest bar in town

Shadows stretch and move away
The patrons sit alone
And think about the people who they wish they'd see
When they drink and drive back home
A fast food bag and old receipts 
Rest along the curb
Like crumpled paper messages
filled with meaningless old words
Some folks grab a drink or two and some folks stick around
As the sun sets on the parking lot of the loneliest bar in town

At least one hour is happy
For the sad sack gang inside
Half price wells to was away all their dreams that died
If I can't forget you I guess I'll buy another round
As the sun sets on the parking lot of the loneliest bar in town

jasonbible

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