Hard rain drivin’ down through Virginia Ain’t seen the sun since she crossed New River She hoped by now she’d seen the worst Ain’t no dowry, ain’t no blessing Driven by the love he’ll be acquiescing At the chapel down in Gatlinburg All of this rain and southern tears keep falling Is this all worth fighting for? All of this rain, and southern tears keep falling She’s gonna cry ‘til she just can’t cry no more She met Johnny on her daddy’s farm Hiding in the woodshed, bullet in his arm She was smitten by the honesty in his eyes An ounce of compassion can be dangerous can’t mix your love with your politics He said, “I’ll send for you when this madness all subsides” All of this rain and southern tears keep falling Is this all worth fighting for? All this pain and still they just keep marching Gonna fight ‘til they just can’t fight no more Pray in time all these wounds will heal And widows won’t work the tobacco fields And the black man shall be free to face the new frontier Johnny kept his promise, he was at the church In a pine box covered with blood and dirt It was said that he died fighting back, fighting back the tears When the rains subsides, and the tears run dry… Wildflowers bloom on the battlefield.

She keeps skipping over cold hard facts Like a needle skipping over dust A broken record on a phonograph When a groove becomes a rut I know, I know, I know she’ll deny it I know, ‘cause I’ve played that song But, I just can’t listen to it anymore ‘cause she thinks there’s nothing wrong I’m tired of excuses, tired of the usage Tired of her crazy mood swings I’m tired of dysfunction, selfish destruction I’m tired of the whole damn thing I’m tired…I’m so tired She keeps running with that same rough crowd Her Southern California weather friends Up all night, trashing husbands and wives Sneaking out and sneaking in It’s sad enough to have enough and always want some more She can sleep around, she can sleep it off But, she can’t sleep here no more I’m tired of forgiveness, tired of conditions Tired of us living this way I’m tired of illusions, the drugs and delusions I’m tired of her wasting away I’ve been killing her with kindness as she slowly kills herself It’s killing me ‘cause she don’t want my help I’m tired, I’m so damn tired Yeah, I’m tired I’m so damn tired

We had a little home down in the valley…used to make us feel good To live a life of perfect balance…we did the best that we could We worked hard from day to day…getting by on what we made Then the whip come down…and drove the good folk out of town They don’t live here anymore ’cause they can’t even work here anymore My dad, he walked in with his lunchbox and he kissed my ma Said, “They’re closing the steel mill down even though the company’s going strong.” So we loaded on up and moved ‘em on out Breaking up the family and sellin’ off the house He said, “Son, this here’s one lesson you could’ve lived without.” You be the hammer and life is your nail Sink it in smooth or you can wail and wail Work with your hands and think with your mind But, don’t get caught dreamin’ on Company Time From that day on I’ve been working to finance my rights Pounding nails all day and banging on this guitar all night I’ve done my part to pay for the land of the free With my daddy’s work ethic and a sense of social insecurity I’m a bona fide member of the working class Ain’t rubbin’ no shoulders, ain’t kissin’ no ass He said, “Live everyday like it might be your last.” You be the hammer and life is your nail Sink it in smooth or you can wail and wail Work with your hands, yeah, think with your mind Don’t get caught dreamin’ on Company Time Don’t get caught dreamin’…on Company Time We work hard, we work hard from day to day And we’ll get by, we’ll get by on whatever they pay We made a solemn vow, to live life strong…to live life proud And we ain’t movin’, no, we ain’t movin’ anymore

The band has quit playin’ and the house lights are on Pry this drink from my fingers and the good times are gone There’s a girl in the corner, she’s been waiting all night For some road-weary gypsy to take her home for a while I ain’t got it in me… all I got’s this guitar Yeah, I’ll keep breakin’ strings, But, I’ve long since quit breakin’ hearts So, I’ll stick to my guns and keep ridin’ Got my sights set on the one that I love And I’ll go where the music will take me All the while gatherin’ dust A wise man once told me, “Play it straight from the heart… if you don’t stand for something it will all fall apart.” Like a lonesome dust devil spinnin’ out of control Gonna flare up and burn out, that’s just the way that it goes And I’ll look for a good star in this big Texas sky There must be a heaven, the road is my angel tonight And I’ll stick to my guns and keep ridin’ Got my sights set on the one that I love And I’ll go where the music will take me All the while gatherin’ dust The band has quit playin’ and we’ve tore it all down Take this drink from my fingers, we gotta head out of town

Sometimes, as you go through life You’ll turn a corner And go down a ways And stop at the convenience store You pick up a few things for no particular reason Other than it seemed like a good idea at the time You purchase an eyeglass repair kit and some Rolaids Thinking they might come in handy in the future And you walk on a ways And turn the corner And decide to look around at the thrift store And buy yourself an old western shirt with some pearl snaps Thinking that might be nice to wear out one night to a Derailers show, sometime in the future And you walk on a ways And turn the corner And stop off at the music store for some guitar strings Because one of the certainties in life is that Inevitably a guitar string will break And if you wanted to play on five strings you’d have picked up the banjo, or the bass And you walk on a ways And you turn the corner And supposing now that you’ve made a right turn At a right angle on four consecutive corners And the laws of geometric nature still apply This should put you headed back to where you came And you walk on a ways You walk on a ways with your bags of newly acquired stuff that you’ve collected for future indulgence And you stop in at this little bar Set your bags down at the base of your bar stool And have a beer, or two And you walk on over to the jukebox and load in a five spot And make a few selections of your favorite songs Songs from your past And after a couple of more beers and about twenty songs later You walk on a ways with a staggered gait Back to the place you call home And the next morning you wake up to realize You had left behind the things intended for the future At the place you spent reflecting on the past And your present condition is the more or less the same as when you set out on your walk just yesterday So, as you walk through life and you turn a few corners Think about this… If you spend too much time in the past, you’ll forget about the future And, if you spend too much time thinking about the future You’ll keep walkin’ around in circles and pining for the past It’s best to just go through life just walkin’ with a sense of purpose for the moment For no other reason than, because… An eyeglass repair kit won’t help you see into the future Rolaids won’t cure an ulcer nobody really cares what you wear to a Derailers show And now is as good a time as any to think about picking up the banjo However, a cold beer sure goes down nice after a hard day of walkin’ That is, if you don’t go staggering home and forget the moment So, here’s to here and here’s to now The past is present and the future’s all around Here’s to you and to comfortable shoes Now, if you will excuse me I’ve got some walkin’ to do