Let it go

Copyright 1993, Robert DeNorris Darby and Robert Lindsay Nathan, Jr

Intro:

Let it go, and let it flow, said the river to the stream.
Don’t know where it ends, life as such, it seems,
Flows in a giant circle, as oceans turn to steam
And rainfall in the forest, and yet, another dream.

Verse 1:

I know you've that been damaged, but from your wounds will grow
New love from the scars of anger, if you’ll let it go.
Until you turn it loose, you can never free.
Let it go, let it grow, girl just let it be.


Let go of the heartaches, let go of the pain.
Let go of the anger, driving you insane.
Let go of the worry, regrets will turn to flame.
Let it go, and let it flow, so you can love again.

VERSE 2:

All those little intimations, of the circumstance gone wrong.
Ought to be the labor girl, which makes your heart so strong.
Until you turn it loose, you can never free.
Let it go, let it grow, girl just let it be.

BRIDGE:

I can take you far away, another place and time.
Away from scenes remembered, and sounds that always rhyme
But I can never take away, your reminiscent mind
Desire would surely leave me, surreal and so sublime.

Let go of the heartaches, let go of the pain.
Let go of the anger, driving you insane.
Let go of the worry, regrets will turn to flame.
Let it go, girl, let it flow, so you can love again.

Back Bar Blues

Copyright 1972, 1986, 2001 Robert Lindsay Nathan, Jr.

Low lights and Honky Tonks,
They’re what comfort me.
Since the day you left me,
You said you wanted to be free.

Lonely Bars and whiskey,
They make my eyesight dim,
As I just sit here wonderin’
How the hell your getting long with him.

Chorus:
There’s nothing’ wrong with me,
I just need some company.
What made you that way?
What made you want to leave that day?

Now I’m so sad and lonely
I feel so bad inside.
Those painted ladies comfort me,
They’ve taken all of my pride.

When will I find another,
Who walks and talks like you?
When will I find that special girl
To take away these blues?

Chorus

Low lights and Honky Tonks,
They’re what comfort me.
Since the day you left me,
You said you wanted to be free.

My only friend’s Jack Daniels,
Occasionally Mary Jane.
My blood shot eyes tell all who see,
They're both drivin’ me insane

Chorus

West Wind

Copyright 1997 Robert Darby and Robert Nathan

VERSE 1
Took a walk on the wild side - past a railroad track.
With nothing left to say or do.
On the south end of a side street - I turn to look back
Hoping to get a glimpse of you.
But somewhere in the shadows - I hear a whistle blow
Sounds like its calling your name.
But it's only a mirage - of a vanishing train
Yet, my heart still feels the same.

CHORUS 1
West wind leaving
Tell me where you gonna go?
My hearts grieving cause I'll miss you so.
Load up my heart - packed with memories of you
West wind leaving
You know, I'll miss you so

VERSE 2
As the train starts rollin - I'm shedding a tear.
For the luggage you left behind
On a cold winter's night - below a fog diffused light
A blistered leather bag waits for you
And on your way back - you came past these tracks.
But now all the luggage looks the same
That old cruel west wind - continues to blow.
And I hear it calling your name.

CHORUS1

CHORUS2
West Wind a blowin
Like a tumbleweed rollin
And thoughts of you fumblin in my brain
The instant of knowing
Is a seed that starts growin
From fantasies fallen like rain

Trouble

Copyright 2004 J. Mahony and R. L. Nathan

Trouble's not for every one
Trouble makes trouble just for fun
Trouble will keep you under the gun
Look out boys, here comes trouble

Troubles' jeans ride low on her hips
The trouble with trouble is her ruby red lips
Trouble's curves will run you down in a ditch
Look out boys, here comes trouble

Trouble sees trouble with her piercing blue eyes
Trouble is the devil in disguise
She gives the willies to all the guys
Look out boys, here comes trouble

Willie walk soft, Willie walk nice
Trouble can be a little bit of sugar or spice
Gotta behave or she turns to ice
All the boys, want to get into trouble

Trouble is tall, Trouble is tan
Trouble makes trouble whenever she can
Some of us turned, some of us ran
Look out boys, here comes trouble

Swingin' her hips and battin' her eyes
Trouble is the devil in disguise
She gives the willies to all the guys
All the boys, want to get into trouble

Trouble is long, Trouble is lean
Trouble is sweet a Peach ice-cream
She can be tart and she can be mean
Look out boys, here comes trouble.

Possum’s Lament

Copyright 2004 R. L. Nathan, Jr.

She could tell tales
And hers was so sweet,
But his was much taller,
Why they happened to meet

So they lived both together
And their stories would unfold
But the sweetness was leather
And the book cover mold

Chorus

And the train cars were stacked
About thirty years deep
When at maximum speed
They ran off in a creek

So let it be said
And let it be told
The story of Possum
And the land that he sold


As he looked through the wreckage
For something to keep
Across half of Texas
It was a mighty fine heap

He found that his partner
Was not what she seemed
Her fine linen cloths
Were hidden by her jeans

Chorus

So he picked up the pieces
And in order to keep her
Cut through the crap
And tried to dig deeper

Held a gun to the head
Of all that they had
The memories were better off
Dying or dead.

Chorus

She could tell tales
And hers was so sweet,
But his was much taller,
Why they happened to meet

It ruined all in Tarply
Near Hondo Creek
Where the tales they all ended
Now they nevermore speak

Chorus

The Old Man and the Sky

Copyright March 2003: Cross, Nathan, Mahoney, Wakeland

A wrinkled wink from the steel blue eye
Of an old man as he stumbled by
Broke the heart of a clear blue sky
And as tears rain down, I wondered why.

I was still seeking shining steel of pink
With one good eye and a broken blink,
I scavenged the faces for the wrinkled wink,
And the nod that only old men think.

Another daybreak and the skyline wrinkles
With a broken promise, and some icy sprinkles
As the pink ray of a new day, lo
Becomes the steel of the caged rainbow.

No stare or care, I rambled on by
But that old man blinked, and so did I
Well, it seems we see somewhat eye to eye
And that’s the answer to my why

Chorus

Why indeed does the steely heart bleed
On what moldy bread does our love feed
For all that man knows young & old
In the end we’re freed to the ground so cold

Yet still with the knowing of an aged smile
Comes the wrinkled wink of the steel blue eye
One good eye and a broken blink
The nod that only old men think

Repeat 1st

Chorus

Repeat 1st and fade

Girl from the South

Copyright 2004 James Mahoney & Robert Nathan

She had a Southern slack jaw
She had a long Texas drawl
She was close to my type
There was no, pretense or hype.
So we hit it off
And we hit it on
I found her by my side
When the moon slept at dawn

Chorus (follows each verse):

Oh, a Girl from the South
I love those Girls from the South
Just gimme a Girl from the south

Now I could go on
And I could go off
She won’t egg me on
She won’t beg or boss
She’ll just leg me on
As we turn and we toss
You slow talkin' girl
With that back slidin' drawl

She was a slow talking girl
She was a gem from the south
And her drawl was a pearl
That slid from her mouth
And the drawl was so slow
That time stood quite still
With no where to go
And flat out of will

I’ll show you the way
Where the bonnie belles play
Maybe you’ll find one
With a Southern slack jaw
And a long Texas drawl
And maybe you won’t
So try not to bawl
If even you don’t

Find a slow talkin' girl
With a back slidin' drawl
She’ll make you beg,
She’ll make you crawl
And her drawl will be so slow
That you’ll stand quite still
With no where to go
You’ll be, flat out of will

Altro:

Gotta have a girl
Gotta love a girl
Wanna squeeze a girl
Gotta tease a girl
Wanna please a girl
Oh, I need a girl
Have you told that girl, ya
Just wanna hold that girl?

And - you - love - her - so.......

Wet Sloppy Kiss

Copyright 2004 Robert Lindsay Nathan, Jr.

My dog Medina, she guards my home
She chews up my socks and an old ham bone
When ever I arrive, she let’s me know I’m missed
Cause she gives me one big fat wet…sloppy kiss.

I had a girl once who just adored me
Precious as gold but I couldn’t see
She’s the one and I’ll always miss
Cause she gave me my first fat wet…sloppy kiss.

Chorus:

It don’t matter who ever I’m with
I know it don’t make a whole lot of sense
Sweet thing show me I’m the one ya miss
Give me one big fat wet… sloppy kiss

Big Fat Middle

Copright 2004 Robert Lindsay Nathan, Jr.

I’ve got a friend, she’s good as gold
She’s always with me, or so I’m told
Whenever I work, whenever I piddle
My dog Medina’s in the Big Fat Middle

Big Fat Middle
Big Fat Middle
Big Fat Middle
Almost all the time

We all know good old David Clary,
His music’s so good; it’s kind of scary
He can make a rhyme; he can make a riddle,
If you’re gonna play music, he’s in the Big Fat Middle

Big Fat Middle
Big Fat Middle
Big Fat Middle
Almost all the time

Gat another good friend, his name is Jim
We never ever know exactly what to do with him,
Well he can dattle and he can dittle
And if you’ve got some Shiner, he’s in the big fat middle

Big Fat Middle
Big Fat Middle
Big Fat Middle
Almost all the time

And we all know Mr. Gary Cross
Never a stranger has he come across
Cause he can rattle and he can whittle
If there’s a conversation, he’s in the big fat middle

Big Fat Middle
Big Fat Middle
Big Fat Middle
Almost all the time

Moments

Copyright 2005, Robert Lindsay Nathan, Jr.


All the friends I’ve ever had
Like slices from a loaf of bread
Have kept my searching spirit fed
Sustaining this lonely life I’ve led

Like diamonds in the shifting sands
Or leaves that drift upon the winds
Only God knows where it all will end
Precious moments that we spend

Chorus

So don’t let another minute pass
Since the one I remember was our last
The insanity of the vanity
That you hold with such esteem
Is just a ripple
On the ocean of a dream

So if your sails have lost the wind
Think of me your long lost friend
I’ll keep foul weather all at bay
And lead you to a calmer day

Storms behind us never last
Like passioned colored petals they will pass
To memories that never end
From precious moments that we spend

Chorus

Repeat first

Only God knows where it all will end
Precious moments that we spend

Fade

All Along

Copyright 2005 Robert Lindsay Nathan, Jr.

I paid off all my debts
With a lifetime of regrets.
And I called in all my bets,
On a dream I ain’t had yet.

And I hit the open road
With a pocket full, of empty songs
Told all my friends
That I wouldn’t be gone to awfully long.
But my dis-jointed destiny
Knows I’m crazy and I don’t belong
You should’a been with me all along

So I sit here once again
With paper and a pen
And no rhyme to begin
Or story line to spin

What could be worse,
My languishing life or chaotic verse?
And what came first,
This random route or cantonic curse?
When a candle burns at both ends
No one knows where the story begins
You should’a been with me all along

Somewhere on the open range
I began to feel a little strange
The cactus spoke; said “you need to change”
I felt my spirit rearrange

So all it took at best
Was this unplanned trip into the west
As the dry air filled my chest
I finally felt my soul at rest

I found a new verse
And its melody began to burst
All about
A new beginning, I began to shout
If a candle burns at both ends
Slice it in two; a new story begins
I should’a left you long ago
Why‘d I keep your memory with me so damn long?.

Jim’s Affliction

Copyright 2004
Robert Lindsay Nathan, Jr.

He left me a sink full of dirty old dishes
And a six pack of Shiner Bock beer
Well the times and the brews we had were delicious
Before he skee-dattled from here

He left with a pocket of money at most
And a sad sack of Canyon Lake blues
Bound for the western most Florida coast
For some sand buried down in his shoes

Lookout whenever he’s comin’ around
Doors are left open, shit’s strewn on the ground
He’s some kind of wonder, he’s some kind of mess
His affliction is known….. as severe Jimboness.

He left me a sink full of dirty old dishes
And a sad sack of Canyon lake blues
While the times and the brews we had were delicious
Now I’ve got nothin’ to lose

And though he would pinch me at times for a dime
Or a bed or some food or some drink,
I’ll be missing my muse, as I rhyme
These words that I scribe here in ink.

Lookout whenever he’s comin’ around
Doors are left open, shit’s strewn on the ground
He’s some kind of wonder, he’s some kind of mess
His affliction is known… as severe Jimboness.

Down and Out in Dudeville

Copyright 2005 Robert Lindsay Nathan Jr.

I miss my home in Texas
A place that I dearly love
I miss migas and beans for breakfast
And her bluebonnet skies, above

If I could get off, this company tit,
And their drip-fed bread, I’d take a long trip
Back to my Texas hills and her wide open land
With a song in my heart, and a Shiner in my hand!

Well I miss my friends in Texas
Folks that I truly love
I miss lovin’ and livin’ that’s reckless
That’s all I’ve been thinking’ of.

I miss campfires and guitars on starry-lit nights
Banjos and fiddles, tuned and played right
Rednecks and hippies, that howl at the moon
For beefsteak and spuds, on the side with a tune!

Well I miss my home in Texas
A place that I dearly love
I miss migas and beans for breakfast
And her bluebonnet skies, above

Now I’m lost here in Dudeville, feeling down and out
In a hotel here in SoCal in the middle of a drought,
Nobody knows me here and nobody cares
When I sing my songs of Texas life, all I get are stares.

So I miss my home in Texas
A place that I dearly love
I miss migas and beans for breakfast
And her bluebonnet skies, above

And I miss my friends in Texas
Folks that I truly love
I miss lovin’ and livin’ that’s reckless
That’s all I’ve been thinking’ of.
And those blue bonnet skies above