No Consolation : You were long gone long before your departure And I knew better Sitting there sight unseen building up a head of steam And debauchery stole your nights When you left you didn’t leave me much And this sad song is no consolation Your latest scheme goes far beyond explanation And I ain’t hearing them Winds picking up again, airborne allergens And you’re wasting your breath When you left you didn’t leave me much And this sad song is no consolation What once was steel has turned to dust And this sad song is no consolation In the end I found chaos in the order When you came around you outgrew it too soon In the end I found another system failure Time to pay the jailer on my own

Minor Enough : I just stand aside While you walk a hundred miles Through my living room The next chord is dischord, I’m sure And the drunkards in the bathroom drinking boiling oil Knock knock on the door Its quarter to three And the song you sing is not minor enough for me Slip into a coma Up half the night When I finally realized you weren’t breathing right Its just another tragedy, in reality It will burn going down just like the label read I still stand aside While you walk a hundred miles through my living room the next chord is dischord, I’m sure and the drunkards in the bathroom drinking boiling oil

Failure of Liver : Waxed and glazed, she’s ready to go Tuesday evening, eight dollar show Went downstairs to meet her friends for a tall glass of gin Straight to the tables, rack ‘em up girls Its ladies night out in this mans world Walls are stark white and so am I ‘Till I turn out the light In an instant it’s all blue and so am I without you Empty frames upon empty walls You left no return when you broke my heart Mile a minute, song requests Hidden track it’s never the best one and It’s a cold lonely house, man I got to get out Failure of liver, I’m calling for help But I get no reply save myself Waxed and glazed, she’s ready to go Tuesday evening, eight dollar show Here am I in my room all alone, passed out drunk by the phone  

Whiskey Jars : He had a haircut like Martin Van Buren Sideburns way down his chin He wore a smoking jacket like Hugh Hefner always did And in the throws of winter when everything is slow Warm whiskey at 14 below, he traded in that snow for Mexico Turntable turning, no sound Breakfast burning southbound Take out the whiskey and pass the jars around And from the rooftops the hollers came 40 pesos for a friendly game Unbroken horses and women just as tame

Sunday Special : Throw it down again, even the score Beaten the best so what’s one more?  Sacred ground I found just lying here on the floor Hitting pay dirt Throw it down, throw it down again Waiting on the number 9 to send me heaven bound Gravel upon my back as I roll into town All I ask of you is that you see that my grave’s kept clean Waiting on a train, waiting on a train I didn’t come here and I ain’t leaving That’s what Willie told me first time, second hand Sunday special, Sunday special Coming down again Pulling in state, pulling out all the stops Pull back up for another take down Valor’s hand touched me then againA heavy payload Pulling in state, pulling in state I didn’t come here and I ain’t leaving That’s what Roger told me first Sunday special, Sunday special Coming down again

Discarded : It’s hard and uneasy Living in this skipped over town Once was called a music city Since then it’s been scaled down The oil that once was pavement The mud that once was brick Engulfs the gossamer river Like hot wax on a wick What once was grey is now greyer What once was cloudy is gone The streets are all layered With discarded honky tonk songs Discarded honky tonk songs Everyone fears the color scarlet With a misguided prejudice They all point their crooked little fingers At the high school reading list

Here but Missing : It’s all watching and learning or so they say But half of the time it just ain’t that way It’s moving and doing and spouting and spewing And driving this rig ‘til the end of the day Exercise there’s just no more time Switched from the beer to the fortified wine Far less calorie with far more effect Doesn’t take long ‘til I’m half way to wrecked Well the boss is made ‘cause I stole all the sterno Drain it off and its hell don’t you know One little sip and the colors start whizzing Call the police cause I’m here but I’m missing 

Big Dipper : Where do the old moonshiners go when they die? What of their stills in the pines? Is there kettle still burning bright? Or has that still run dry? Papa was a whiskey man and his before him Now so am I Lord knows I miss them but I know I’m not alone When I look up into the night sky Where do the old moonshiners go when they die? I’ve been told that their living in that big dipper in the sky It’s their kettles still a burning bright When I’m alone out there in the middle of the night Sitting with my weed and my wine I look up through the pines and give a nod to that big dipper in the sky Way down South Georgia back 1932 Old Uncle John was in a bind Owned himself the only general store for miles Controlled all the farming supplies It wasn’t long before the I.O.Us piled up People just couldn’t pay So it closed that store and up into the woods He went back to that moonshine And I know that they’ll walk with me When its time for me to pass to that great by and by And I pray the Lord will forgive me ‘Cause even Jesus Christ could use a little wine

17 Miles of Bourbon : Overdrive Kentucky 62 Smoke is rising thick and blue Wild Turkey burning, high lonesome sound 17 miles of bourbon flowing down Turn of the century it was a mystery The day that river caught fire The Lord looked down and he breathed a heavy sigh 40 gallon barrels firing at the sky And the catfish were in town looking for ginger ale And the stores sold out of all the garden hose Sheriff Amos White took the train out of town At least that’s what we all suppose It was a fateful day that clear, windy May When that green river turned a milky brown The bibles were all closed and people danced in rows Whiskey river flowing through the town

Pale Colored Hue : I confused a few people and whistled a tune In the cold grass where I lie And the beasts were all tame as we lay down beside them Light from the darkness shown in their eyes Oh, that night We were sedated and strewn on the ground Like the leaves in the trees we were blowing And she was there too but she did not approve of the songs that we sang But we did not oblige her Her cries that night Oh, that night I woke up And the river was burning, very concerning to me Off the cuff It was a pale colored hue Oh, that night I woke up And the band was still playing People were saying to you Looks like the sky is on fire Me in the grass hon and you in your cap I don’t care much for your temper But I’ll come home with you if you give me a few Of those little pills that you sell by the dozen

Head of Steam : Spotlight down Wander downtown feeling weary and mighty weak Seeing ghosts out on the hills Semaphore or just opium’s will? No explanation makes much sense Newsprint lies and false pretense We’ll read about all in the morning when we arise Blood found by the number 4 mine You know she caved in back in ‘49 At quitting time only souls would arise From that deep, dark anthracite mine The company explanation made no sense Just propaganda through a rose colored lense And we’ll hear all on the radio when we arise With teeth like tombstones And arms like graves There’s no escaping the tongues sharp blade Or a slow ride upon your head of steam A slow ride upon your head of steam Paul Sizemore and Eldridge Ray dug their own graves And there the lay But their souls and axes wander through my sleepAnd from this valley, revenge they seek

Gold Dust Twin : Salt in your bed I’m so tired of being in this bedroom with you Flakes of livelihood You embody everything that’s not good Wilted flowers, eleventh hour Beaten down by your super powers Here we are again Gold dust twin Salt in your bed I’m so tired of listening to what you said, in my head Flakes of livelihood You spoke up just like I knew you would It’s you Melted wires, amplifiers Count your blessings and toss them on the fire This is the end Gold dust twin