She said her mama died on the cross,
Wearing pearls and an albatross
With Jesus and a benzo in her brain

On Easter Sunday they laid her down,
So when I’m broke, that’s when I come around
To avail myself of all my mother’s pain

Mama let me in to take a shower
Mama let me in to clean my clothes
Mama let me in, to wash away the sin
But like Good Friday mama, I come and go

Under a scaffold, far below
High as hell, nowhere to go
I watched her sitting with a book between her hands

Choking on some fresh regrets
And electronic menthol cigarettes,
Praying that one day I’d understand

Mama let me in to take a shower
Mama let me in to clean my clothes
Mama let me in, to wash away the sin
But like Good Friday mama, I come and go
And I guess that’s why you always tell me no

Cause you can’t help,
And I can’t help myself at all
Your boy is just another junkie on the street
If this is hell and every angel has to fall
Then I’ll be crawling home for one more score
With nails right through my feet

Mama let me in to take a shower
Mama let me in to clean my clothes
Mama let me in, to wash away the sin
But like Good Friday mama, I come and go
And I know that’s why you had to tell me no

Good Friday

How long will this last?
Oh lord how many times will I ask?
My well has run dry
And there ain’t a cloud in the sky

And my body’s aching from all of the years I’ve carried this curse
And the weather ain’t breaking
Oh lord I’ve just got to quench my thirst

I’m praying for rain
Praying for the purpose in all of this pain
I’m praying for rain
And that I’m not shedding these tears in vain

I don’t know what to say
So just name your price I’ll be happy to pay
I don’t know what to do
Can you hear me lord I’m talking to you

Cause nothing is changing
And I still feel like I’m alone
And the soil is baking
And there’s no water for all of the seeds that I’ve sown

I’m praying for rain
Praying for the purpose in all of this pain
I’m praying for rain
And that I’m not shedding these tears in vain

Cause Lord you know me and you know that I’m not a humble man
But you’ve shown me life can only come from your hands
I understand

I’m praying for rain
Praying for the purpose in all of this pain
I’m praying for rain
And that I’m not shedding these tears in vain

Praying For Rain

On deck aboard a pilot boat
We waited for the light
Huddled close we warmed our hands breathing fog into the night
Through ancient ways of navigation, following a star
Oh brother I can't tell you where you’re going but I know just where you are

Cause every time I close my eyes
And sink into a sleep
Or stare across the sky
I hear the sound of your heart beat
I see the man that you've become
Following a dream
Dream dream

Skate across the ocean like a figure on the ice
But waves will come a crashing down like tumbling dice
Place no faith in destinations, be they near or far
Oh brother I can't tell you where you're going but I know just who you are

Cause I've watched you as you've grown up tall
Humble in your rising
And gracious in a fall
You'll see the world, you'll see it all
As the man that you've become
In service of a call
Just listen for your call

And when the night begins to fall for days
Soon you'll ask what makes this world this way
Inside the silence if you start to pray
You will hear,
A voice will say

That patiently the water's waiting there for you and me
A thousand miles of ocean only leads into the sea
But your hands will trace the state of Grace, a map from up above
Cause brother I can tell that where you're going
You're bringing light and bringing love

So I'll follow as you light my way
With the wisdom of a child joyously at play

The Wisdom Of A Child

Don’t try to lie or to pretend
Everybody knew that I would end up here again
And I might have even been relieved
If only Lucy wasn’t counting on me

But don’t let her see me in this place
Don’t make me have to see that look on her face
So here’s what I need you to do
First tell her that I’m sorry she has to hear this from you

Tell Lucy that I love her but I’m not what she needs
Tell her I said she’s better off without me
Tell Lucy that I love her but I’ve gotta set her free
Tell Lucy not to worry
Tell her not to worry bout me

Then give her everything I own
Tell her to find someone and try to make a home
Then tell her everything I’ve done
All the reasons why I can’t be a father to her son

Tell Lucy that I love her but I’m not what she needs
Tell her I said she’s better off without me
Tell Lucy that I love her but that’s how it’s gotta be
Tell Lucy not to tell him
Tell her not to tell him ‘bout me

Yea I know someday he’ll be grown
I don’t want him to have the kind of life that I’ve known
And I’ll be just fine here on my own
Somewhere in the silence on the end of this phone

Tell Lucy that I love her but I’m not what she needs
Tell her I said she’s better off without me
Tell Lucy that I love her but I’ve gotta set her free
Tell Lucy not to worry
Tell her to forget about me

Tell Lucy That I Love Her

Last time I was on these streets I was only 17 years old
But in the eyes of the law that was old enough to be tried as an adult

Now after all these years the folks round here still remember who I am
Sometimes I catch them watching me close or they just act like they don’t give a damn

Cause lord I’ve been gone so long
Now this place don’t feel like home
I’ve been gone so long
And all I want is to move on

Early in the morning I go looking for work, I bum rides since I lost my car
Hitch a couple miles to my PO just to tell him no luck so far

I served my time and I paid my debt but there’s always something more I owe
Seems like all I can do is what I’ve always done and just go back to what I know

Cause lord I’ve been gone so long
Now this place don’t feel like home
I’ve been gone so long
And all I want is to move on

At night I lay awake and wonder how else to make amends
But can’t help but start to think they’re never gonna let me start again

Cause lord I’ve been gone so long
Now this place don’t feel like home
I’ve been gone so long
And all I want is to move on

Been Gone So Long

I’ve been trying to talk with my old man
Says he knows me better then I’ll ever understand
But still he can’t explain the things I’ve done
Or what it’s like to be the father of a Reckless Son

And for all the years I made sure I was numb
All the liquored up conversations where I played deaf and dumb
For all the screaming angels in my heart and in my head
Not a word was spoken until my father said

I can’t hide you from your own hands
Or lift you from your knees
But I’m preparing myself to have to dig your grave
We’ll both be humbled by the will of God
And the wrath of your disease
But how could any man have to be so brave
To know that nothing can be done
For the father of a Reckless Son

Alone inside a family where we pass around the blame
You can keep your interventions, all you gave me was my name
Waiting for the moment where I can meet you with my fists
But punishing myself was the only thorn that I could twist

Cause you can’t hide me from my own hands
Or lift me from my knees
But you’re preparing yourself to have to walk away
We’ll both be humbled by the will of God, 
And the power of our needs
And all that’s left for you to do is pray
For all the battles that you’ve won
You’re the father of a reckless son

And I know you’ve had to see me walk into the rain
And you knew you couldn’t pull me back
But your love was never shown to me in vain
You put your arms around me and the walls begin to crack

But I know I’m the only one
Who can do what must be done
So with every breath in my lungs
Hear the promise of a Reckless Son

Reckless Son

There’s ash in my mouth and dust on my skin
Mud on my knees and blood on my shins
And another dead end means it’s time to begin
The road back home to St. Christopher’s Inn

Now folks look at me like I’m destined to lose,
With my track marks and Jesus Christ tattoos
But I’m too tired to tell them to walk in my shoes
So I’m going where a man is never refused

Oh but I fear I’ll never feel free
And sick and tired is all I’ll ever be
And it grips me so tightly I barely can breathe
Oh merciful lord please take this from me

And now every time that I rise from the dead
St. Anthony’s cross hangs over my bed
And the prayer of St. Francis is stuck in my head,
I’ve been there before and I’m going again

Oh but I fear I’ll never feel free
And sick and tired is all I’ll ever be
And it grips me so tightly I barely can breathe
Oh merciful lord please take this from me

But the hope that sustains me comes deep from within
And God loves the sinners cause God’s in the sin
And I am who I am cause of where I have been
On the road back home to St. Christopher’s Inn
Yes I’m going back home to St. Christopher’s Inn

St. Christopher's Inn

I think I ask too many questions
And I know I’ll never understand
How to help all those around me
When I am just one man

And there’s so many who feel helpless
That there’s just too much to be done
But I know that it makes all the difference
That revolution has begun

If I can help just one
And he can help just one
And she can help just one
If we can help just one

I’ll put my heart into my labor
And I’ll burn my back under the sun
I’ll share the harvest with my all my neighbors
I’ll work until my hands are numb

If I can help just one
And he can help just one
And she can help just one
If we can help just one

I always gave to the collection
Always hoping I’d get something back
So now I’ll offer this reflection
To all the mourners dressed in black

Lord knows it’s so hard to pray
When mercy only comes to some
But we seek forgiveness when we rise each day
Because our work is never done

I think I ask too many questions
And I know I’ll never understand
How to help all those around me
When I am just one man

And there’s so many who feel helpless
That there’s just too much to be done
But I know that it makes all the difference
That revolution has begun

If I can help just one
And he can help just one
And she can help just one
If we can help just one

I’ll put my heart into my labor
And I’ll burn my back under the sun
I’ll share the harvest with my all my neighbors
I’ll work until my hands are numb

If I can help just one
And he can help just one
And she can help just one
If we can help just one

I always gave to the collection
Always hoping I’d get something back
So now I’ll offer this reflection
To all the mourners dressed in black

Lord knows it’s so hard to pray
When mercy only comes to some
But we seek forgiveness when we rise each day
Because our work is never done

If we can help just one
If we can help just one
If we can help just one
If we can help just one
Just One

Just One

Reckless Son, performed by New York City musician Matt Butler, is the narrative of a nation’s lost boys.  Told in episodic fashion, Butler recounts the story of how his concert at the Albany County Jail ignited a passion that set him off on an odyssey like road legends Jack Kerouac and Woody Guthrie.  Having performed over 150 concerts in jails and prisons across the country, Matt shares the songs he wrote along the way and the stories of the people who inspired them.  Painting vivid portraits of voiceless characters that inhabit shadowy places we rarely allow ourselves to see, Butler invites us to come along on a journey that’s as equally heartbreaking as it is inspiring.

Good Friday

Reckless Son

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