They put me away in Tent City
Back in 1989
Did 20 years for smugglin’
cocaine ‘cross the borderline

When I got free I had nothin’
No money and no wife
Didn’t know shit about nothin’
Been locked up half my life

I tried to live an honest life
But I couldn’t pay my rent
So I picked up the phone and dialed
Some guy I met in Tent

He said he had some stuff he needed to unload
Way down in Mexico
He said he’d pay me 80 grand
And I’d be set to go

Well I loaded up my Dodge
Just about 3 am
Just one last job to get me
On the right track again

But the border patrol they caught me
When I thought I was all clear
But now I’m servin’ 20
as my life disappears


One Last Job

Flyin’ down the highway
In a 1960’s Ford
Ain’t nobody gonna catch me
Push the pedal to the floor
Cause man, I’m on a mission
Got Thunder in my veins
If you see me comin’ towards you
You better turn away

It was about a year ago
Almost to the day
My wife she took our boy John
and drove to another state
Said she never wanted to see me again
Said I was out of line
I told her I’d never do it again
That it was the last time

Before she left with Johnny
Things were gettin’ bad
I gambled away all our money
Everything we had
I ruined Johns college fund
I gambled it all away
Now he’s gone and I can’t
Live another day

So I’m headed towards the bridge now
I guess this is goodbye
The iron barrier twists and finally snaps
Letting me right by
As the Ford falls towards the water
I see John’s face again
Tellin’ me it’s ok
That we will meet again

Thunder In My Veins

My name is Jason Peterson
I’m a judge in the circuit court
I try to do the best I can
at diggin’ through the dirt

When a man came in the courtroom
One that I’d seen before
He said he wasn’t on trial
He’d done it all before

His name was Nick Johnson
I’d put him away for drugs
15 years in a state pen
He’d served each and every one

So on this day he told me
How he had gotten clean
And how he had me to thank
I saw in his eyes a gleam

It was after work at a local bar
I saw Nick out of the corner of my eye
Slinking into the alleyway
I decided to follow him nearby

He fished into his pocket
and pulled out a bag of coke
He looked around and exchanged it
for some money, he must have been broke

Sometimes my job is rewarding
Sometimes I throw the book
Sometimes staying positive
Is harder than it looks

The Judge

An acoustic cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road"

Thunder Road (Acoustic) [Cover]

The Priest of Nowhere Town

On a hot summer night down in Nowhere Town
the city shines like a switchblade
it rises above the alleyways
as the Gangs fight out their serenade

Well now Jimmy is the Priest of Nowhere Town
The leader of this symphony
He reads the holy scriptures that are scrawled on the wall
Down by the bombed out factory

The streets are abuzz with V8 Angels
But the traffic jam is slowin’ ‘em down
Jimmy and his chosen apostles
Lead the holy wars way downtown

Well two switchblades flash near a street lamp
It’s a duet in the parking lot
Jimmy dances with this false prophet
Givin’ it everything he’s got


Well False Prophet cut Jimmy in the shoulder
But Jimmy was better with his blade
He got False Prophet real bad
Before he knew the mistake he had made

Well now Jimmy steals away so silently
With the Pharisees hot on his trail
They chase Jimmy until their engines burned out
But to no avail

Because Jimmy’s got the fastest Chariot in the city
A souped up ‘67 chevrolet
With his apostles in the backseat
He blew the Pharisees away

Jimmy and his Apostles
Laughed and gunned the engine 
Speeding down towards the interstate
that would lead them to Salvation

The exodus lasted about 6 hours
They had made it to the Promised land at last
Priest Jimmy walked to the trunk and opened it up
and then he breathed his last

False Prophet had his Heathens
And one followed Jimmy to this place
When he opened the trunk and looked inside
The Heathen put Jimmy in his place

The Apostles quickly brought down the Heathen
But they knew it was too late
Jimmy lay quietly dying in the sun
This Heathen had sealed his fate

Now there’s no more Priest of Nowhere Town
The streets are quiet tonight
But one thing’s for sure, this Holy Man
Put up one hell of a fight

The Priest Of Nowhere Town

Now Chris he rides the train in
from Brighton into the city for his job
He sees his familiar beggars
as he walks to work in the fog

But this day he sees this new guy
Something draws him near
The man says his name was Harry
And that Chris needed to hear

His story and his troubles
Says his wife Sue was sick real bad
But they couldn't afford the treatment
Not with the money they had

Well Chris he looked into this man's eyes
He knew what he would do
He went to the Bank near his work
withdrew 15000 for Sue

Well Chris he got laid off
Bout 2 years after that
and his wife developed cancer
On top of all that

He couldn't afford the Chemo
that his wife needed bad
He couldn't stand to lose her
Not with the love they had

When everything seemed hopeless
Something came in the mail
He opened it to find 15000
in a check signed Harry Macneil

"Dear Chris you saved my wife's life
I got a job downtown
Here's my first 15K
I hope you're doing well"

What Goes Around

I write what I want to write.
EXTREMELY inspired by Springsteen, especially his Street Epics and his Acoustic stuff

Michael Steele