A Gallon at a Time
3-13-2015 John Delk

I was raised up in the whiskey
Like grandpaw and my dad
An the hills of kentucky
Is the only home I've ever had

          An I'd rather go to prison Lord
          Than to the bottom of a mine
          That's why I make my living 
          A gallon at a time

          An it's a gallon for the sheriff
          To keep me out of jail
          An it's a gallon for the doctor
          That keeps my baby well

          An it's a gallon for the groceries
          An the sugar that I need
          An a gallon for the banker
          Owns my 30 acre deed

I get water from the mountain
It makes the purest stuff around
An Grandpaw's old still
Ain't never let me down

       It's a gallon for the farmer
       To keep that corn alive
       An a gallon for the preacher
       Cause the good Lord does provide



A Gallon At A Time

Broke Down in Tupelo
John Delk 2015

She took the high road out of Memphis
She had all that she could take
She called off the wedding
An her heart was about to break

Now he use to be a better man
But the whiskey changed  it all
She got tired of picking him up
Every time he'd fall

She drove a while in a pouring rain
Got as far as she could go
Stopped the car and started crying
She broke down in Tupelo

       Too many times changed her mind
       Made her question what she knows
       They broke up in Memphis
       She broke down in Tupelo


Now she don't know why
But when she stopped  to cry
She thought about going back

But she said right then
He's probly drunk again
An she ain't looking for that

       chorus

He use to be a better man
But the whiskey changed  it all
She got tired of picking him up
Every time he'd fall

She drove awhile in a pouring rain
She got as far as she could go
Stopped the car and started crying
Broke down in Tupelo

 chorus

Broke Down In Tupelo

I wrote this sometime ago back in 2013. 

The fabulous Phil McWalter worked on it. 
Thank you Phil !
The guitar and vocal was recorded on my cell phone because I didn't have a computer to record on then. The subject is a bit more Hollywood than Nashville but came from a flyer that I had seen on a city street that advertised certain services from a young lady. I know my fair share of Tennessee country girls and they are special. This is more of a tribute song about doing what it takes to get by, whatever that is.
Peace, Love and Time ! only one is limited!
---------------------------
Blue Sky
John Delk  2013

He’s down at the diner, at Hollywood and Vine
Drinking coffee and booking her time
She’s a pretty girl, he hears it everyday
From the rich old men that he sends her way
         
Whatever you want, that’s what she'll be
He calls her Blue Sky, it’s a business you see
     
She’s wild and free, like the wind and the sea
She loves the sun and the redwood trees
A country girl here from Tennessee
Whatever you want, that’s what she'll be
He calls her Blue Sky, it’s a business you see

Blue Sky, just look at them eyes
Blue Sky, she's just a little bit shy
Blue sky, you can be her guy
Blue sky, want you give her a try

Blue Sky

Image from: http://www.hipdiggs.com/tv/

Life I Live
John Delk

Sometimes I sit back and I watch TV
I catch a show about some place I'll never be

I close my eyes at night It's alright with me
Cause Hollywood's just another place in Tennessee

I don't drive no big fine car
Ain't never met no movie star
Ain't got much that's mine to give
That's the life I live, the life I live
The life I live and the life I love

There's so much more to life than what we see
Just look at my baby's eyes when she looks at me

There ain't no place in this world I'd rather be
Than right here just living my life in Tennessee

Chorus
instrument
chorus


Life I Live

Chris O has taken this song that Jonas Hornfeldt and myself put together and made it her own. It's good. !!!!

Chris O's cloud: 
https://soundcloud.com/chris-okunbor

Jonas version:
https://soundcloud.com/surprise-youre-dead/get-out-of-memphis-tonight

Get Out Of Memphis by Chris O

Closer to Gone
John Delk 2017

Now this old house ain't a home
I'm too damn old for this
I've lived here so long

But we use to talk every day
Before she run off to LA

She never said she was leaving
Now I'm here all alone
Every day ...she's ...so far away
An I'm a little closer …..closer to gone

Its a long way to California
I'd be warm if I was there
I hear she's got a job..an. she's doing OK
I'd be a circle in that square

The pedal steel is Gary Carter.
He is the composer of the music. 
I put my lyrics and vocal on it in the dog house.

Closer To Gone

This song came about while I was helping with one of my older brothers during his last days. He passed away in Dec last year after a battle with cancer. He lived up on the mountain where we grew up. The song actually came from thoughts about one of my other brothers because he was unable to come and visit in time due to his own failing health. It is hard when you are sitting and watching someone on their death bed and there is nothing you can do. 


Running Out of Time
John Delk 2017

I went up...on the mountain
In the cold …winter snow
I looked down ...at the valley
Where the wild flowers grow

Now where... does the time go
I can't say that ..... I don't know
I called on.... an old friend
Just to say... how you been
I was too late... to see him again
His days.... had ...come to end
damn
(chorus)
There's old souls an us younger fools
We're all running out of time
Tomorrow might be...your last chance
Tonight it feels like mine

I'm gonna sit here ...with a bottle
An remember …my old friend
Think about…..the good times
An forget about…how they end

When it's too late....It can't be again

GC music composer

Running Out of Time

Lyrics from myself and David Graham (mctownmusic)
Music is an old track from Gary Carter
--------------
Must of Been Luck
JD/DG/GC 2018
She grew up down in Texas in a little one horse town
Her daddy was a cowboy Never did come back around

Her momma didn't trust her So she drove off by herself
I saw her on the side of the road An I asked if I could help

(pre chorus)
She climbed up on my Harley We rode off into the wind
For years and years we were lovers Now we can’t even be friends

Chorus
We needed something more But I was never sure what of
I thought it was love It must of been luck
Must of been luck....Must of been luck

(music only then verse)
I loved being with her under that big Texas sky
One day my luck run out an she…told me goodbye

I climbed up on my Harley I rode off into the wind
For years and years we were lovers Now we can’t even be friends

We needed something more But I was never sure what of
I thought it was love ….It must of been luck (short)

bridge
I was lucky to learn from her   what it means to be free

I was lucky to be the man …that she  ..Use to need

I climbed up on my Harley I rode off into the wind
For years and years we were lovers Now we can’t even be friends

We needed something more But I was never sure what of
I thought it was love It must of been luck
Must of been luck....Must of been luck

Must of been luck....Must of been luck

Must of Been Luck

People Like Me
John Delk 2015

People like me, are born too late
We die too soon, no time to wait

An people like me, have to grow up fast
We're scared of the future and troubled by the past

People like me, learn to pray for rain
We hope it soaks in, an washes out the pain

People like me, one thing we know
Nothing comes easy, but a hard way to go

When I look around all I see
Is more and more, poor people like me
 
People like me, living a day at a time
Ain't got a nickel an can't save a dime

People like me, from the wrong side of town
Never had nothing, that ain't broke down

People like me, one thing we know
Nothing comes easy, but a hard way to go
(instrument)

When I look around all I see
Is more and more, poor people like me
(instrument)      

People like me

People like me

People Like Me

Written for a young terminally ill cancer patient. 
His story just got to me. 
His words that stuck out to me were 
"I'll give all I got till then" 
He passed away just before I wrote this.
-------------------------------------
One of These Days
John Delk 2015

Now one of these days my time will come
An I'll open my eyes to the father and son
One of these days I don't know when
He'll lift me up from this troubled skin

I'll give all that I've got till then
Don't you cry for me my friend
One of these days I know we'll meet again

An one of these days he'll take my pain
Wash it away with the pouring rain
An one of these days he'll set me free
There'll be no sin living in me

I'll give all that I've got till then
Don't you cry for me my friend
One of these days I know we'll meet again

I'll give all that I've got till then
Don't you cry for me my friend
One of these days I know we'll meet again

One of These Days

This is an old one I put lyrics to. 
Drew Ford did the music.
We need more of Drew's art in this world.

That High Mountain
John Delk / Drew Ford  2013

The road is long
when your soul is weak
Time is now
But not yours to keep

The mountain's high
An the valley's low
Ain't no easy
Way to go

Don't be afraid
To turn around
Don’t let the past
Slow you down

When you come down ..... from that high mountain
When you finally …..... understand
That you ain't...... one bit better
Then you'll be.... a better man

When you get, all you're after
When you find, there ain't enough
When you come down, from that high mountain
You never will ….. go back up



It's just you an that high mountain's
Then it's just you, it's just you

John-Delk

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