Against the Grain 

Folks call me a maverick 
Guess I ain't too diplomatic 
I just never been the kind to go along 
Just avoidin' confrontation 
For the sake of conformation 
And I'll admit I tend to sing a different song 
But sometimes you just can't be afraid 
To wear a different hat 
If Columbus had complied 
This old world might still be flat 
Nothin' ventured, nothin' gained 
Sometimes you've got to go against the grain 

Well, I have been accused 
Of makin' my own rules 
There must be rebel blood 
Just a-runnin' through my veins 
But I ain't no hypocrite 
What you see is what you get 
And that's the only way I know 
To play the game 
Old Noah took much ridicule 
For building his great ark 
But after forty days and forty nights 
He was lookin' pretty smart 
Sometimes it's best to brave the wind and rain 
By havin' strength to go against the grain 

Well, there's more folks than a few 
Who share my point of view 
But they're worried 
If they're gonna sink or swiim 
They'd like to buck the system 
But the deck is tacked against 'em 
And they're a little scared 
To go out on a limb 
But if you're gonna leave your mark 
You can't follow like a bunch of sheep 
You got to listen to your heart 
Go bustin' in like old John Wayne 
Sometimes you got to go against the grain 

Nothin' ventured, nothin' gained 
Sometimes you've got to go against the grain 
  

Rodeo 

His eyes are cold and restless 
His wounds have almost healed 
And she'd give half of Texas 
Just to change the way he feels 
She knows his love's in Tulsa 
And she knows he's gonna go 
Well, it ain't no woman, flesh and blood 
It's that damned old rodeo. 

(chorus) 
Well, it's bulls and blood 
It's dust and mud 
It's the roar of a Sunday crowd 
It's the white in his knuckles 
The gold in the buckle 
He'll win the next go 'round 
It's boots and chaps 
It's cowboy hats 
It's spurs and latigo 
It's the ropes and the reins 
And the joy and the pain 
And they call the thing rodeo. 

She does her best to hold him 
When his love comes to call 
But his need for it controls him 
And her back's against the wall 
And it's "So long girl, I'll see you." 
When it's time for him to go 
You know the woman wants her cowboy 
Like he wants his rodeo 

*chorus* 

It'll drive a cowboy crazy 
It'll drive the man insane 
And he'll sell off everything he owns 
Just to pay to play her game 
And a broken home and some broken bones 
Is all he'll have to show 
For all the years that he spent chasin' 
This dream they call rodeo. 

*chorus* 

Well, it's bulls and blood 
It's dust and mud 
It's the roar of a Sunday crowd 
It's the white in his knuckles 
The gold in the buckle 
He'll win the next go 'round 
It's boots and chaps 
It's cowboy hats 
It's spurs and latigo 
It's the ropes and the reins 
And the joy and the pain 
And they call the thing rodeo. 
It's the broncs and the blood 
It's the steers and the mud 
And they call the thing rodeo 
  

What She's Doing Now 

Last time I saw her it was turnin' colder 
But that was years ago 
Last I heard she had moved to Boulder 
But where she's now, I don't know 
But there's somethin' 'bout this time of year 
That spins my head around 
Takes me back, makes me wonder 
What she's doin' now. 

(chorus) 
'Cause what she's doin' now is tearin' me apart 
Fillin' up my mind and emptying my heart 
I can hear her call each time the cold wind blows 
And I wonder if she knows what she's doin' now. 

Just for laughs, I dialed her old number 
But no one knew her name 
Hung up the phone, sat there and wondered 
If she'd ever done the same 
I took a walk in the evenin' wind 
To clear my head somehow 
But tonight I lie here thinkin' 
What's she doin' now? 

*chorus* 
  

Burning Bridges 

Yesterday she thanked me 
For oilin' that front door 
This morning when she wakes 
She won't be thankful anymore 
She'll never know how much I cared 
Just that I couldn't stay 
And I'll never know the reason 
Why I always run away. 

(chorus) 
Burning bridges one by one 
What I'm doin' can't be undone 
And I'm always hoping someday 
I'm gonna stop this runnin' around 
But every time the chance comes up 
Another bridge goes down. 

Last night we talked of old times 
Families and home towns 
Whe wondered if we'd both agree 
On where we'd settle down 
And I told her that we'd cross that bridge 
Whenever it arrived 
Now through the flames I see her 
Standin' on the other side 
  

*chorus* 

Like ashes on the water 
I drift away in sorrow 
Knowing that the day 
My lesson's finally learned 
I'll be standing at a river 
Staring out across tomorrow 
And the bridge I need to get there 
Will be a bridge that I have burned. 

*chorus* 

Another bridge goes down 
  

Papa Loved Mama 

Papa drove a truck nearly all his life 
You know it drove mama crazy being a trucker's wife 
The part she couldn't handle was the being alone 
I guess she needed more to hold than just a telephone 
Papa called Mama each and every night 
Just to ask her how she was and if us kids were alright 
Mama would wait for that call to come in 
When Daddy'd hang up she was gone again. 

(chorus) 
Mama was a looker 
Lord, how she shined 
Papa was a good'n 
But the jealous kind 
Papa loved Mama 
Mama loved men 
Mama's in the graveyard 
Papa's in the pen. 

Well, it was bound to happen and one night it did 
Papa came home and it was just us kids 
He had a dozen roses and a bottle of wine 
If he was lookin' to surprise us, he was doin' fine 
I heard him cry for Mama up and own the hall 
Then I h heard a bottle break against the bedroom wall 
That old diesel engine made an eerie sound 
When Papa fired it up and headed into town. 

Well, the picture in the paper showed the scene real well 
Papa's rig was buried in the local motel 
The desk clerk said he saw it all real clear 
He never hit the brakes and he was shifting gears. 

*chorus* 
  
  

Shameless 

Well I'm shamemeless when it comes to loving you 
I'll do anything you want me to 
I'll do anything at all. 

And I'm standing here for all the world to see 
Oh baby, that's what's left of me 
Don't have very far to fall 

You know now I'm not a man who's ever been 
Insecure about the world I've been living in 
I don't break easy, I have my pride 
But if you need to be satisfied 

I'm shameless, oh honey, I don't have a prayer 
Every time I see you standin' there 
I go down upon my knees. 

And I'm changing, swore I'd never compromise 
Oh, but you convinced me otherwise 
I'll do anything you please. 

You see in all my life I've never found 
What I couldn't resist, what I couldn't turn down 
I could walk away from anyone I ever knew 
But I can't walk away from you. 

I have never let anything have this much control over me 
I work too hard to call my life my own 
I have never let anything have this much control over me 
I work too hard to call my life my own 
And I've made myself a world and it's worked so perfectly 
But it's your world now, I can't refuse 
I've never had so much to lose 
Oh, I'm shameless. 

You know it should be easy for a man who's strong 
To say he's sorry or admit when he's wrong 
I've never lost anything I've ever missed 
But I've never been in love like this. 

It's out of my hands. 

I'm shameless, I don't have the power now 
I don't want it anyhow 
So I got to let it go. 

Oh, I'm shameless, shameless as a man can be 
You make a total fool of me 
I just wanted to you to know. 

Oh, I'm shameless, I just wanted you to know 
Oh, I'm shameless, Oh, I'm down on my knees 

shameless 
  

Cold Shoulder 

There's a fire burning bright 
At our house tonight 
Slow music playing 
And soft candlelight 
On her lips I keep tasting 
The warm red wine 
I'm there in her arms 
But it's all in my mind. 

(chorus) 
The snow is piled high on the highway tonight 
I'm a ship lost at sea on this ocean of white 
Eighteen wheels anchored somewhere out of Dover 
I wish I could hold her 
Instead of huggin' this old cold shoulder. 

This old highway 
Is like a woman sometimes 
She can be your best friend 
But she's the real jealous kind 
She's the lady that leads me 
To the life I dream of 
She's the mistress that keeps me 
From the ones that I love 

*chorus* 

God, I wish I could hold her 
Instead of huggin' this old cold shoulder 

We Bury The Hatchet 

Hey, all the neighbors lights 
Came on last night 
Just like they do every time 
We have a little fight 
It's gettin' to the point 
We can't get along 
We're always fighting about things 
That should be dead and gone. 

(chorus) 
We bury the hatchet 
But leave the handle stickin' out 
We're always diggin' up things 
We should forget about 
When it comes to forgettin' 
Baby, there ain't no doubt 
We bury the hatchet 
But leave the handle sticking out. 

Well, I was kissing on Cindy 
Hey, that I won't deny 
But that's a long time ago 
I let a dead dog lie 
But if you want to cut deep 
How 'bout you and ol' Joe 
I caught you down at the creek 
Just ten years ago. 

*chorus* 

Hey, we got enough on each other 
To wage a full scale war 
If we could ever remember 
What we were fightin' for 

*chorus* 

We bury the hatchet 
But leave the handle stickin' out 
  

In Lonesome Dove 

She was a girl on a wagon train 
Headed west across the plains 
The train got lost in a summer storm 
They couldn't move west and they couldn't go home 
Then she saw him ridin' through the rain 
He took charge of the wagons and he saved the train 
And she looked down and her heart was gone 
The train went west but she stayed on 
In Lonesome Dove. 

A farmer's daughter with a gentle hand 
A blooming rose in a bed of sand 
She loved the man who wore a star 
A Texas Ranger known near and far 
So they got married and they had a child 
But times were touch and the West was wild 
So it was no surprise the day she learned 
That her Texas man would not return 
To Lonesome Dove. 

(chorus) 
Back to back with the Rio Grande 
A Christian woman in the devil's land 
She learned the language and she learned to fight 
But she never learned how to beat the lonely nights 
In Lonesome Dove, Lonesome Dove. 

She watched her boy grow into a man 
He had an angel's heart and the devil's hand 
He wore his star for all to see 
He was a Texas lawman legacy 
The one day word blew into town 
It seemed the men that shot his father down 
Had robbed a bank in Cherico 
The only thing 'tween them and Mexico 
Was Lonesome Dove. 

The shadows stretched across the land 
As the shots rang out down the Rio Grande 
And when the smoke had finally cleared the street 
The men lay at the ranger's feet 
But legend tells to this very day 
That shots were comin' from an alleyway 
Though no one knows who held the gun 
There ain't no doubt if you ask someone 
In Lonesome Dove. 

*chorus* 
  

The River 

You know a dream is like a river 
Ever changin' as it flows 
And a dreamer's just a vessel 
That must follow where it goes 
Trying to learn from what's behind you 
And never knowing what's in store 
Makes each day a constant battle 
Just to stay between the shores. 

(chorus) 
And I will sail my vessel 
'Til the river runs dry 
Like a bird upon the wind 
These waters are my sky 
I'll never reach my destination 
If I never try 
So I will sail my vessel 
'Til the river runs dry. 

Too many times we stand aside 
And let the waters slip away 
'Til what we put off 'til tomorrow 
Has now become today 
So don't you sit upon the shoreline 
And say you're satisfied 
Choose to chance the rapids 
And dare to dance the tide. 

*chorus* 

And there's bound to be rough waters 
And I know I'll take some falls 
But with the good Lord as my captain 
I can make it through them all. 

*chorus* 

Yes, I will sail my vessel 
'Til the river runs dry 
'Til the river runs dry 

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