TAKE THAT SHOT
(© 2023, Tim Stafford, Thomm Jutz, Daniel House Music, BMI; Thommsongs SESAC admin. Blue Water)
1) I came here wearing my brand new lid
I’m William Bonney, Billy The Kid
Now you show me what you got
It’s your turn- take that shot
2) I’m gonna travel till I’m 21
And then I’m gonna tarry some
Name’s Wild Bill, and I’m red hot
It’s your turn - take that shot
CH) Take that shot, it’s gonna mark time
Catch ‘em when they’re in their prime
It might feel like an afterthought
When It’s your turn — Take that shot
3) Got somewhere to be, gonna light up a fuse
I’m Robert Johnson, King Of The Blues
Now you show me what you got
It’s your turn - take that shot
4) I’m Bill Monroe, man in control
I’m the father of Bluegrass, Country soul
I’m ready even if you’re not
You back up and take that shot
5) A worried mother in Dust Bowl days
a ragged flag five soldiers raised
Winston Churchill in ’41
A kiss the day the war was won
6) Elvis before Rock ’n’ Roll
Zapruder from the grassy knoll
Marilyn on the subway grate
Not too soon and not too late
TAG) You’ll be glad that it got caught
When it’s your turn — take that shot
Enough to Keep you Going for a While
(© 2023, Tim Stafford, Thomm Jutz, Daniel House Music, BMI; Thommsongs SESAC admin. Blue Water)
1) one can’t talk and one can’t stop
they come together as they walk
on this hot and humid earth
2) He’s 65 alone next Friday
But he’s got to have it his way
on this hot and humid earth
It’s a blessing and a curse
CH) I believe there’s good in people
though sometimes it’s hard to find
when you almost give up faith
you’re about to lose your mind
someone walks your way
and gifts you with a smile
and that’s enough to keep you going for a while
3) One left home to fight a war
Came back home and closed the door
and would again for what it’s worth
4) Can’t kick him out, can’t keep him in
Don’t care to know where he’s been
on this hot and humid earth
Whiskey flows but blood comes first
BR) If it’s not one thing, it’s another
But you’re the keeper of your brother
Somedays it’s better, some days worse
on this hot and humid earth
THE BLUE GRAYS
(© 2023, Tim Stafford, Thomm Jutz, Daniel House Music, BMI; Thommsongs SESAC admin. Blue Water)
V) Just a bunch of guys from Elizabethton, Tennessee
Too far back in the sticks for the negro league
But From ’35 to ’55, the hottest team around
You couldn’t find a better show when the Blue Grays came to town
V) Played the Kansas City Monarchs and the Philadelphia Stars
The Asheville Blues, the Nashville Cubs, all comers near and far
Crack the bat, climb the mound another perfect throw
They took on every rival but they also fought Jim Crow
CH) Barnstorming baseball all across the South
In the years of segregation, until the final out
V) travel wasn’t easy and mostly done at night
They didn’t know a different way but they knew it wasn’t right
They often stayed in churches in the colored neighborhood
The white teams wouldn’t play them ‘cause the Blue Grays were too good
CH) Barnstorming baseball all across the South
In the years of segregation, until the final out
V) Chick Forney, Big Red, and all the other guys
The best that ever swung a bat along the color line
When Jackie finally broke it on the field of dreams
He was standing on the shoulders of every small-town team
CH) Barnstorming baseball all across the South
In the years of segregation, until the final out
THE BALLAD OF KINNIE WAGNER
(© 2023, Tim Stafford, Thomm Jutz, Daniel House Music, BMI; Thommsongs SESAC admin. Blue Water)
V) My name is Kinnie Wagner I made the front page news
A hero in Scott County if ever one they knew
I’m a poet and an outlaw, some say a ladies’ man
I busted jail in Blountville to Mexico I ran
V) I took off with the circus when I was just a kid
Ran moonshine in the mountains, the only trouble is
I shot a crooked sheriff in a shootout Christmas Eve
I might be a killer, but I never been a thief
CH) I’ve never once been lonesome I like my company too well
It’ll serve me either way, in heaven or in hell
I played the cards that I was dealt
What would you have done?
16 years in prison or 16 on the run?
V) A thousand dollar bounty and a woman Kingsport way
Three cops set up an ambush but it’s me who made ‘em pay
I shot one through the heart and the other in the head
They brought a hearse to take my body, but it carried them instead
V) They gave me the electric chair, but I ran to Arkansas
Killed two brothers in a poker game turned myself into the law
The sheriff was a lady and she took a shine to me
Doing life in Mississippi beats death in Tennessee
CH) I’ve never once been lonesome I like my company too well
It’ll serve me either way, in heaven or in hell
I played the cards that I was dealt
What would you have done?
16 years in prison or 16 on the run?
V) The Parchman farm is hell on earth, they had me training dogs
I taught them not to follow me, that’s why I wasn’t caught
Hoover had enough of me, and I’d had enough of him
Deep down he must’ve known someday I’d pay for all my sins
V) Listen all you people, don’t start down a road of crime
I sent five men to eternity and now it’s come my time
Two widows and ten children, I know that they’ll be glad
Jesus died for being good, I’ll die for being bad
TAG) Don’t cry for Kinnie Wagner, that mean son of a gun
that 2 gun desperado done paid for what he done
CALLIE LOU
(© 2023, Tim Stafford, Thomm Jutz, Daniel House Music, BMI; Thommsongs SESAC admin. Blue Water)
V) They moved from Kentucky when she was only four
Up to Detroit to help win the war
Just a sharecropper’s life back in the hills
Her Daddy found work pouring Michigan steel
V) She never fit in, the kids called her names
You’re a hillbilly girl, no count anyway
With hand me down shoes too big to walk
They’d laugh and point fingers every time she talked
CH) Callie Lou you know it’s suppertime
Why won’t you come on in?
Callie Lou, it’s getting dark And your coat is wearing thin
V) So she stayed by herself and talked to Cassie her doll
A world once wide open now turned so small
She told her you know we’ll go back in the Spring
When the laurel is blooming and the whippoorwill sings
V) The trains rolled all day as she played by the tracks
Her mother had warned her, you better stay back
But it was one place she could always be all alone
Away from the teasing and a scolding at home
CH) Callie Lou you know it’s suppertime
Why won’t you come on in?
Callie Lou, it’s getting dark And your coat is wearing thin
V) The noon time freight roared through with a blast
She never saw it coming, it happened so fast
All left by the tracks on a cold day that Fall
a crushed pair of glasses and a dirty old doll
CH) Callie Lou, honey we’re taking you home
Lay you down down by the river where you used to roam
CH) There’ll be no more shame, no reason to hide
And Cassie we’ll lay her right by your side
The Wild Atlantic Way
(© 2023, Tim Stafford, Thomm Jutz, Daniel House Music, BMI; Thommsongs SESAC admin. Blue Water)
1) Walk the cliffs by the breaking of the day
Hear the seabirds calling through the waves
I will turn my face against the wind
And see my old friend Once again
Ch) By the wild, By the wild, By the wild, By the wild,
By the wild Atlantic Way
2) Raise a glass at Nolans with the boys
while the fire sings a joyful noise
Stroll slowly down the narrow lane
Soaking in the gentle West Cork rain
3) You won’t forget the blue against the green
It’s the finest sight my eyes have ever seen
The tales and tunes will all remain
Like the sun that’s sinking in the bay
NO WITNESS IN THE LAUREL BUT THE LEAVES
(© 2023, Tim Stafford, Thomm Jutz, Daniel House Music, BMI; Thommsongs SESAC admin. Blue Water)
CH) blood and water, thicker than thieves
You believe what you want to believe
Ain’t no witness in the laurel but the leaves
If you’re a stranger you’ll be just fine
you got nothing to worry about
But if you’re caught in the middle like so many were
No way you’re gonna get out
There’s a million hollers back in these hills
and branches without any names
And on the banks of one a small wooden cross
Is the only thing that remains
Redwines and Kisers all got along
Till Cassie and Billy ran off
One day she came home with the child on her hip
On a train ticket Billy had bought
Cassie’s brother had raised the child
And treated him like his own son
And when he heard that Billy was home
He knew what had to be done
a tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye
For years it went on that way
Redwine and Kiser, bullet for bullet
Another one laid in the clay
It took fifteen years, blood, shots and tears
till finally the feud would wane
And when children ask what the killing was for
Honestly, what can you say?
Vaudeville Blues
(© 2023, Tim Stafford, Thomm Jutz, Daniel House Music, BMI; Thommsongs SESAC admin. Blue Water)
CH) Meet me at the back door, cause I ain’t got a dime
You wouldn’t know it now, I was a big deal in my time
I was right on the front page now I’m yesterday’s news
And I’ll fade into the twilight singing the Vaudeville Blues
V) Last night I found my pockets lined with cash and change
I tried to leave the stage but folks was in a rage to hear
The Lovesick Blues again
Rolling dice and drinking, lost it all but my clothes and shoes
Now I’m Walking down the alley singing the Vaudeville Blues
CH) Meet me at the back door, cause I ain’t got a dime
You wouldn’t know it now, I was a big deal in my time
With Valentino on the big screen I was bound to lose
Can’t fight a talking picture singing the Vaudeville Blues
V) I heard a stranger singing on the street in Asheville town
He sang a yodel ad-ee-oh and wouldn’t you know
Told me he was Bristol bound
Pretty soon he was a rich man, I read it in the evening news
Then I threw it in the gutter crying the vaudeville blues
BR) It’s a century of progress
But the times has got me feeling sore
I put my blues in an old gin bottle and never sang no more
CH) Meet me at the back door, cause I ain’t got a dime
You wouldn’t know it now, I was a big deal in my time
I was right on the front page now I’m yesterday’s news
And I’ll fade into the twilight singing the Vaudeville Blues
TAG) Ain’t no business like show business to leave you battered, broke and bruised
Just fade into the twilight singing the Vaudeville Blues
CODE TALKER
(© 2023, Tim Stafford, Thomm Jutz, Daniel House Music, BMI; Thommsongs SESAC admin. Blue Water)
V) Born of the Sleeping Rock People in 1921
Torn from his mother, Uncle Sam’s chosen son
The boarding schools taught him not to speak his native tongue
But he never would forget
V) 29 brothers joined in 1942
Fought for their country until the war was through
Tasked to find a code the only ones who knew
what they were taught to forget
CH) spirit walker
Send a message through the fire
Code talker,
Warrior on the wire
V) a word for every sentence and no mistake was made
a weapon much more lethal than the bullet or the blade
the Marines at Iwo Jima would not have won the day
without the ancient sounds
V) A country celebrated those who fought and fell
But the Navajo nation was never treated well
The Japanese dug in and gave them blazing hell
But they never broke the code
CH) spirit walker
Send a message through the fire
Code talker,
Warrior on the wire
BR) Was the land of enchantment on your mind
When the shells and hand grenades were flying
Did you think about the canyons and the wind
When the bombers overhead were coming in
CH) spirit walker
Send a message through the fire
Code talker,
Warrior on the wire
THE STANDING PEOPLE
(© 2023, Tim Stafford, Thomm Jutz, Daniel House Music, BMI; Thommsongs SESAC admin. Blue Water)
V) The standing people of the forest glen
Deep-running roots that remember when
When water and thunder and the songs of the birds
Were the only music the world had heard
V) Shade for thinkers, fruit to tempt seekers
Hatching ideas and feeding believers
The Buddha and Newton, Judas and Jesus
Beginnings and endings, joyous and grievous
CH) Silent until lifted up by the wind
But if you could talk, where to begin
Songs are made by fools like me
But only God can make a tree
V) Paper for poets, violins not yet made
The cycle of life, from acorn to grave
Born anew each Spring and Fall
You took all our bullets but outlived us all
CH) Silent until lifted up by the wind
But if you could talk, where to begin
Songs are made by fools like me
But only God can make a tree
V) A thousand years fall to the blade
for towers and temples, trestles and trade
You understand the need to go on
And if we keep going soon you’ll be gone
The Queen and Crescent
(© 2023, Tim Stafford, Thomm Jutz, Daniel House Music, BMI; Thommsongs SESAC admin. Blue Water)
V) Headed out on 43 in the year of 26
Pulling Pullmans and a dining car
Rolling through the towns and flying through the sticks
You could hear her whistle blowing’ near and far
CH) To me it seemed the engineer was the noblest profession
guiding cars along the track through the Great Depression
Nothing in my memory is ever quite so pleasant
than riding in my mind on The Queen and Crescent
V) Headed South from Cincinnati all through the Commonwealth
Across the grade and into Tennessee
Coming through the depot down on Main and 12th
Steaming all the way to New Orleans
V) She went all through the war till the year of ’49
Till finally she was running out of steam
Now all that’s left’s a dream rolling down the line
of golden trim on fine Virginia green
HIGH MOUNTAIN RISING
(© 2023, Tim Stafford, Thomm Jutz, Daniel House Music, BMI; Thommsongs SESAC admin. Blue Water)
V) The whole town smelled like tobacco and she couldn’t wait to leave
She wasn’t used to all the people and the traffic in the streets
Had to go where life meant something, up a long and lonely way
To listen to the wind and watch the seasons slip away
CH) On a High mountain rising, high mountain rising
High mountain rising alone
V) She was a midwife and a healer, and people knew her name
Whenever they would send for her, they knew she always came
She gathered foxglove in the springtime, dug ginseng in the snow
She knew the ways of healing a doctor wouldn’t know
V) She walked a little more bent over with each and every year
She knew what lay ahead but it didn’t bring her fear
One day in late September, a trapper found her cabin bare
They searched all along the ridgeline but they never found her there
REVOLUTIONARY LOVE
(© 2023, Tim Stafford, Thomm Jutz, Daniel House Music, BMI; Thommsongs SESAC admin. Blue Water)
V) Do unto others
always turn the other cheek
Sell your worldly goods
The world will end up with the meek
Quit the work you’re doing
and follow me alone
The love I had for you
no man has ever known
CH) Revolutionary love, simple man from Galilee
Revolutionary love, forgiveness is the key
Now as then, heaven sent Revolutionary love
V) The wind blows where it pleases
Can’t tell where it’s coming from
For those born of the spirit
so it is with every one
I have told you earthly things
that you don’t believe,
What you gonna do then
with the things you cannot see
CH) Revolutionary love, that’s what he was preaching
Revolutionary love, that’s what he was teaching
Now as then, heaven sent Revolutionary love
V) The last one when he died
And the first when he arose
She was the one he trusted
Out of all the ones he chose
Don’t hold on to me,
Go and tell the others
I have conquered death
for all my sisters and my brothers
Revolutionary love, that was what he told her
Revolutionary love, with the cross upon his shoulder
Now as then, heaven sent Revolutionary love
the one and only answer
Now as then, heaven sent Revolutionary love
LOST VOICES
(© 2023, Tim Stafford, Thomm Jutz, Charley Stefl, Daniel House Music, BMI; Thommsongs SESAC admin. Blue Water; Maddy Dog Music (SESAC) admin by Eleven Eleven Music Group)
MUDDY ARE THE WATERS THAT SWIRL AROUND
SWEEP AWAY OUR SENSES AND DROWN THE SOUND
EMPTY OUT THE WORDS AND LINES THAT BLURR
SO MANY CRIES FOR JUSTICE THAT HAVE GONE UNHEARD
CAN’T HEAR THEM IN THE HALLS WHERE FREEDOM RINGS
THEY’RE CALLING OUT TO HEAVEN ON ANGELS WINGS
SILENT AND STILL IN THEIR GRAVES THEY SLEEP
LOST VOICES CAN’T BE HEARD UNTIL WE SET THEM FREE
ONE ETERNAL SOUND SINCE IT ALL BEGAN
WE LISTENED THROUGH THE AGES JUST TO UNDERSTAND
THEY’RE TRYING HARD TO TELL US WHERE THEY’VE BEEN
WE TRY TO GIVE THEM LIFE, STEALING FROM THE WIND
SCATTERED IN THE CORNERS OF HISTORY’S FLOOR
TILL SOMEONE COMES ALONG, THERE LEFT IGNORED
AND SWEEPS UP THE YEARS WITH A RIGHTEOUS BROOM
SINGING TO OUR SOULS OUTSIDE EVERY ROOM
BR) PUT ‘EM ON A PAGE AND PUT ‘EM IN A BOOK
BRING BACK THE BURIED AND THE OVERLOOKED
LYRICS, STEVE GULLEY & TIM STAFFORD, "STILL HERE" (2021, Mountain Home Music)
Still Here
(Tim Stafford, Steve Gulley)
1) Up at 6, Every day, punch the clock, draw my pay
A Union job, and they’re hard to get, but I’d leave today, cause I
never seemed to fit
I love the money, but I hate this town, every day I’m here, just wears me down
CH) Another day in this big lonely city, Another month, Another year
It’s cost me more than this place will ever give me
But here I am, Still here
2) Stopped for gas, and a loaf of bread, the man just laughed, shook his head
“Where you from?” I heard him say. I said, “Not from here,” shut the
door and walked away
Don’t fit in, but I won’t change, It’s who I am, sure as my name
CH) Another day in this big lonely city, Another month, Another year
It stole my life, and one day it's gonna kill me
But here I am, Still here
3) Look at me, that's who I am, just no way you'd understand
Where I'm from, folks still speak, they wave their hands if they see you on the street
30 years and nothing to show, just a pension plan and a longing for home
© 2021, Daniel House Music, Gulley's Curve Music (BMI)
Living Shouldn't be this Hard
(Gulley, Stafford)
V) I ain’t buying what you’re selling
and I don’t care what you think
You can lead a horse to water,
but you can’t make him drink
CH) Seems like it takes a month of Sundays just to get through one more day
I’m tired of close but no cigar
Nobody said it would be easy, but you know what they say
Living shouldn’t be this hard
V) Feels like the deck is stacked against me
I seem to stay one step behind
A day late and a dollar short,
That’s the story of my life
CH) Seems like it takes a month of Sundays just to get through one more day
I’m tired of close but no cigar
Nobody said it would be easy, but you know what they say
Living shouldn’t be this hard
V) Friends all try to tell me
It’s not as bad as it looks
Well I don’t need to see the movie
and I already read the book
CH) Seems like it takes a month of Sundays just to get through one more day
I’m tired of close but no cigar
Nobody said it would be easy, but you know what they say
Living shouldn’t be this hard
© 2021, Daniel House Music, Gulley's Curve Music (BMI)
So Far
(Tim Stafford, Steve Gulley)
Verse
Some are lucky and I've had my share So far
There's been good times and bad, times I wish I'd never had
Now matter where you go, there you are
And I'm still here so I'm glad, so far
Verse
I'd like to hold it all in a jar
Take out a little at a time, re-creation by design
And I wish that I could wish upon a star
But I've never needed to ,So far
Chorus
So far, I guess life's been pretty good to me
So far, it's been everything I thought it should be
But things aren't always gonna stay the way they are
And you can only see so far
Verse
This place keeps getting more and more bizarre
Can we really keep this Stuff? will it ever be enough?
I guess for me it's never been that hard
I've never needed much so far
Verse
It all depends how high you set the bar
If you don't make it, it's Okay. Doesn't matter anyway
There's really nothing wrong with even par
It's worked pretty good for me, so far
Tag) we only need to see so far
Publisher : Daniel House Music, Gulley's Curve Music (BMI)
Copyright © 2021, Tim Stafford | Steve Gulley
There Ain't No Good Way to Go
(Tim Stafford, Steve Gulley)
CH) There ain’t no good way to go
car or train, bus or plane, fast or slow
Take the the credit or the blame, In the end it’s all the same
Cause there ain’t no good way to go
V1) There ain’t no Headstones for heartaches, no good time for bad breaks
Why worry about something you can’t change?
There’ll be a time for Grieving once it’s time for leaving
After all, it all gets rearranged
V2) You’re running the rat race, hanging on to first place
But soon you won’t be running anymore
You could write your ending, but you won’t be attending
So there really ain’t no use in keeping score
CH) There ain’t no good way to go
car or train, bus or plane, fast or slow
If everybody knows your name, In the end it’s all the same
Cause there ain’t no good way to go
TAG) Take your money and your pride, push it all aside
Cause there ain’t no good way to go
© 2021, Daniel House Music, Gulley's Curve Music (BMI)
She Threw Herself Away
(Tim Stafford, Steve Gulley)
1) She's not the kind of girl who volunteers her mind
Never lets you know her heart is in a bind
People wonder why she don't have much to say
I guess she thinks it wouldn't matter anyway
2) She can't turn off these voices in her head
They keep saying, "What's the use? Just stay in bed"
The only sign that they're doing any harm
are all the purple tracks up and down her arm
CH) If she was your daughter would you look the other way
Could you convince yourself that life is just that way?
If she was out standing on that ledge every day
Would you try to stop her
Before she threw herself away
3) A couple months ago I saw her at the store
You could hardly recognize her anymore
I know she saw me, but she looked the other way
I wanted to tell her, but what could I say?
4) I saw her picture in the paper, and I thought
nobody ever knew the demons that she fought
Somewhere a mother cries and a father shakes his head
She never listened to a single word I said
© 2021, Daniel House Music, Gulleys Curve Music (BMI)
My Last Excuse to Drink
(Tim Stafford, Steve Gulley)
1) Another sad love story--that's how they all begin
I can't tell you where it started, but I do know where it ends
Could be a woman or a bottle, no matter what you think
There's always a last excuse to drink
2) If Daddy hadn't left us, if Momma hadn't died,
If living on the streets hadn't robbed me of my pride
If you hit rock bottom, how much lower can you sink?
You don't need a last excuse to drink
CH} I saw it in the mirror in the way I wore my skin
I saw what I'd become, not what I could have been
30 years had come and gone in the time it takes to blink
Just searching for my last excuse to drink
3) Stand up and say your name, tell 'em what you are
Tell 'em all the reasons why you let it go this far
A family of believers tries to pull you from the brink
And take away that last excuse to drink
4) She was always waiting every Tuesday night
There at 7:30, to help me fight the fight
She'd stand and tell the sinners, "I believe in you."
I'm not here to judge, 'cause I'm a sinner too"
CH) I ran out of reasons for running from myself
from reasons for believing when there was nothing left
Cause when she came into my life, I found the missing link
She took away my last excuse to drink
© 2018, Daniel House Music, Gulleys Curve Music (BMI)
She Comes Back to me When we Sing
(Tim Stafford, Steve Gulley)
V1) There’s a table and a chair, one picture on the wall
A room like all the rest, just different numbers down the hall
She brought me in the world and taught me how to sing
She stares out the window but who knows what she sees
V2) But when I bring her Martin, it’s hard to understand
the look in her eyes when I put it in her hands
Peace in the Valley, and Brother Have you Heard
She may not remember me, but she remembers every word
CH) Rock of Ages, Oh how sweet the memories
Peggy Sue, Secret Love and Maybelline
time fades away into two-part harmonies
Most days I miss her, but she comes back to me when we sing
BR) She taught me how the notes fit together, how the words on the paper came alive
And I’ve learned nothing lasts forever, but the music and love still survive
© 2021, Daniel House Music, Gulley's Curve Music (BMI)
Long Way Around the Mountain
(Tim Stafford, Steve Gulley)
1) Loading up the cars in the dark and dusty night
Our shift was finally over, as we headed toward the light
We heard the rifles and the shotguns come roaring down the hole
I’lll not be shot down like a dog for your damned old dirty coal
CH1) There’s blood running down the highway
They’re shooting men down at the gate
Take the Long Way Around the Mountain
Get away before it’s too late
2) It’s a sad way to go, filled with pain and strife
When a man can’t make a living without fearing for his life
It’s methane gas or gun thugs, you’re a dead man either way
I don’t mind a-dying but it won’t be today
CH2) There’s blood running down the highway
Yellow creek is a-running red
Take the Long Way Around the Mountain
Staying means you’ll end up graveyard dead
3) All along the ridgeline and down the other side
From Bell County to the Valley with starlight as our guide
And when we reached the river by the widow Baker’s shack
We thanked the Lord above for passage safely back
CH3) There’s blood running down the highway
They’re shooting men down at the gate
Take the Long Way Around the Mountain
Get away before it’s too late
© 2021, Daniel House Music, Gulleys Curve Music (BMI)
HE’S TRYING TO TELL YOU SOMETHING
(Tim Stafford and Steve Gulley, 2003)
V1) Didn’t get home till after eight
Supper’s cold but he already ate
Missed you too, and by the way
About this Friday’s dinner date
V2) His hair’s not as gray as it used to be
He’s looking good for forty-three
There’s always some new friend to see
She’s thinking, “Where does this leave me?”
CH) He’s trying to tell you something
You may have to open your heart to see
He’s trying to tell you something
And girl you know it as well as me
V3) When she was a girl of seventeen
He was the sweetest thing she’d seen
But times they change and people too
And she’s left wondering if it’s true
Br) This feeling won’t go away
She don’t know quite what to say
But one thing is for sure
CH) He’s trying to tell you something
You may have to open your heart to see
He’s trying to tell you something
And girl you know it as well as me
© 2021 Daniel House Music, BMI, Gulleys Curve Music, BMI
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE GAME
(Tim Stafford, Steve Gulley)
V1) Staring in the mirror, not one line on his face
Airbrushed smile, loads of style and every hair’s in place
He swaggers to a barstool like Bogart meets James Dean
He’s got stealing hearts down to an art
He’s a heartbreak machine
V2) Straight off a Cosmo cover, she’s smoothed out every flaw
Microderm abrasion, Ten hours at the Spa
Hourglass figure, the best a man can buy
She’s a poster child for Girls Gone Wild
No man can deny
Ch) Some people live for true love; Some don’t, and that’s a shame
They know love is temporary; They’re just here to play the game
V3) He assumed the pose, looked down his nose, checking out the scene
A chick buffet, just another day in the food chain for the King
Then she made her entrance, all hail the Deep Freeze Queen
She won’t spare a glance for half a chance; she’s locked like a laser beam
Then the Red Sea parted as she glided to her spot
Nobody’s fool, he played it cool, but that’s when things got hot
Their eyes met over Bourbon, not a single word was said
But the Fashion King and the Runway Queen are about to go Code Red
Ch) If they wake alone tomorrow, there’s no one else to blame
At least they looked good trying; they still love to play the game
TAG) It’s never been about forever; it’s all about the game
© 2005 Daniel House Music, BMI
© 2005 Mountain Heart Music, BMI
Back when it was Easy
(Steve Gulley, Tim Stafford)
Chorus
Back when it was easy, hard times passed by like the breeze
And livin' was something to do
Back when it was easy
Verse
Supper at seven, News at eleven
Three channels, one story to tell
Never paid much attention at all
The world wasn't big, I was just small
Verse
Now it's Dead ends and dead lines
Never enough time
Running a race I can't win
Life's not that hard at all
When it all brings me down I still recall
Chorus
Back when it was easy, hard times passed by like the breeze
And livin' was something to do
Back when it was easy
Chorus
Back when it was easy, hard times passed by like the breeze
Think it's time to go back there again
Back when it was easy
Publisher : Daniel House Music, Gulley's Curve Music (BMI)
Copyright © 2021, Tim Stafford | Steve Gulley
Wild West
(Tim Stafford, Daniel House Music)
1) I'm just an old Jayhawker, a scout and a spy,
rode the Pony Express before the war,
On the Red Butte Station line
I killed 4000 buffalo to feed the railroad men
I took the scalp of Yellow Hair and I would do it still again
2) I met Buntline in Nebraska and he wrote a pack of lies
But the eastern dandies loved it, much to my surprise
I became a daring hero on every stage across the land
Spent summers scouting with the Army for Lakota and Cheyenne
PRE-CH) Some say I am an artifact of disappearing times
But tonight beneath this circus tent I will bring it all alive
CH) Lay down your silver dollar
For I'll bet you've never seen
The world's greatest show, the envy of the Kaisers and the Kings
Where the Cossacks and Vaqueros, famed in deed and pen
all come alive before your eyes, And the West is Wild again
3) So I began to tell the story in 1883
Of how the west was lost and won by saddle tramps like me
I met the queen of England And For her Golden Jubilee
A grand command performance None Like it ever seen
4) Annie was a beauty until she was provoked, shot the ashes off a cigar at 40 paces while you smoked
The Lakota they called Sitting Bull became my dearest friend
And He died for sins of white men, of that I still contend
PRE-CH) Some say I am an artifact of disappearing times
But tonight beneath this circus tent I will bring it all alive
CH) Lay down your silver dollar
For I'll bet you've never seen
The world's greatest show, the envy of the Kaisers and the Kings
Where the Cossacks and Vaqueros, famed in deed and pen
all come alive before your eyes, And the West is Wild again
© 2020, Tim Stafford, Daniel House Music
The Last Clinchfield Run
(Stafford/Gulley, 12/16/15)
Verse
It's my last run from Erwin on the Clinchfield tonight
They'll close down the railyard at first morning light
Never had time for crying, not that kind of guy
But I'm dreading the moment the sun starts to rise
Verse
Got the crew call this morning, to Bostic this time
A short run, but a good one for old number 9
Just me and Ed Williams, like so many before
But this time we both knew it meant so much more
Verse
Automatic is handy, but it don't have the feel
So I switched down to manual, cause manual is real
And I wanted to feel it around every curve
I just felt it was something we both deserved
Verse
I was talking to Williams, he's older than me
about the people we'd known and the places we'd seen
Then his eyes kinda sparkled and I said with a smile
Why don't you take her a couple of miles
Bridge
Metal on metal, joints cracking the rail
Then it fades in the distance till the red light grows pale
Verse
So I'm standing in Erwin, and the yard's empty now
Don't know where I'm headed, but I'll go on somehow
I feel God on my shoulder and a tear in my eye
For we are the Clinchfield, my brothers and I
Publisher : Daniel House Music, Gulleys Curve Music (BMI)
Copyright © 2020, Tim Stafford | Steve Gulley
THE MARKS
(Tim Stafford, Joe Newberry)
I sat there a while, Didn’t want to go in, finally opened the door of my car
Inside the church, there on a stand, my grandfather’s old guitar
The smell of the wood filled up the room, like so many times before
It was like he was saying I’m not really gone, but boy I can’t play
this box anymore
And inside it smelled like whiskey and tears, dust from dances and
cigarette ashes
old spice and gin and herringbone trim but mostly it smelled like him
So I took it home, held it up to the light, saw things I never noticed before
When I turned it over, I saw the mark of every belt that he ever wore.
The neck with its divots, like valleys and hills, old frets worn from play
the finish was cracked, and grain saw daylight, as close as the judgement day
And outside it looked like cradle to grave, dust from dances and cigarette ashes
A top paper thin, with spidery skin, so mostly it looked like him
BR) All the marks, proud battle scars, of endless nights in nameless bars
He left his mark on country boys and old guitars
And when I play it I hear whiskey and tears, dust from dances and
cigarette ashes
A long time to spend with a song that won’t end, and mostly I sound like him
TAG) I try my best to sound like him
Publisher : Daniel House Music, Newberry Songs (BMI)
Copyright © 2020, Tim Stafford | Joe Newberry
Sail Away to See the World
[Craig Market, Tim Stafford]
Verse
Greenland born and ocean bound
Two years until the others drowned
I bid farewell to solid ground
And sailed away to see the world
Verse
One hundred feet across her beam
As grand as any man had seen
Steel and wood, grace and steam
sailed away to see the world
Verse
From Londonderry, Cork and Claire
Far and wide they gathered there
In answer to a young man's prayer
And sailed away to see the world
Verse
Standing on the bridge alone
A Strong and steady hand upon
the wheel that guides her safely home
To sail no more and see the world
Bridge
The moon bright as day as she slid 'neath the waves
On That cold April night long ago
Verse
So when you bow your head to pray
Remember souls that slipped away
And young men dreaming still today
To sail away and see the world
Publisher : Daniel House Music (BMI), Drop D Publishing (BMI)
Copyright © 2020, Tim Stafford | Craig Market
LONDON TOWN
(Tim Stafford, Daniel House Music)
CH) Death came down to London Town, London Town, London Town
Death came down to London Town before the break of day
1) Dear old Boss, keep the letter back, letter back from Saucy Jack
Dear Old Boss, keep the letter back until the break of day
2) If you only wait a little while, a little while, it will be worthwhile
If you only wait a little while, I will send the bloody knife
CH) Death came down to London Town, London Town, London Town
Death came down to London Town before the break of day
3) Mister catch me when you can, when you can, if you can
Mister catch me when you can, sincerely sent from hell
4) Dear old Boss, you was right, you was right, the other night
I’ll send you more cause you was right, soon I’m on the job again
CH) Death came down to London Town, London Town, London Town
Death came down to London Town before the break of day
5) Send regards to Scotland Yard, Scotland Yard, is still on guard
Send regards to Scotland Yard, they never had a clue
CH) Death came down to London Town, London Town, London Town
Death came down to London Town before the break of day
© 2020, Daniel House Music, BMI
Shenandoah Valley Blues
(Tim Stafford, Jon Weisberger, Daniel House Music BMI, Asheville Music Publishing)
1) It’s Fall and I’m thinking of Virginia
and I know the time is drawing near
Cause in dreams once again I try to win ya
but I left you standing by the cabin door
now I wonder if I’ll see it anymore
CH) If I wake before the devil comes to find me
Still I’ll have nothing to lose
But this feeling that I left too much behind me
And the Shenandoah Valley Blues
2) When the Apple blossoms bloom I’ll be going
back to the one I love so dear
where once again that Shenandoah wind is blowing
and forever in your arms I’m gonna stay
Oh I wonder why I ever went away
Publisher : Daniel House Music, Asheville Music Publishing (BMI)
Copyright © 2020, Tim Stafford | Jon Weisberger
ARIZONA TEARS
Tim Stafford, Daniel House Music (2004)
These tears flow up, they don’t fall down
They come to sea and float to ground
Floating to an unheard song
And it won’t stop until the last one’s gone
Trailing gently in the flow
Cried by sailors far below
Since December ’41, they’re sleeping there forever young
In a rusty iron bed
Their only thought was life ahead
Never thought they’d spend their years crying Arizona tears
Three brothers came to Newport yard
Leaving home was awful hard
They came together all the way
Singapore to Mandalay
But their trial was just begun come December ‘41
Two were fore, the other aft
Only one survived the blast
Held apart for 80 years
While history shed her oily tears
You see the names there on the wall
1177 in all
I wonder what would I have done?
Like so many father’s sons
When the world came crashing down
Say a prayer before you drown
Every year, another urn
Is lowered where no fires burn
Since December 7, ‘41
Every sailor has returned
They lowered him to sea today
To sleep inside that rusty grave
All three together finally home
The last tear floated in the foam
These tears float up, they don’t fall down
© 2020, Daniel House Music, BMI
I Am America
(Bobby Starnes, Tim Stafford)
Verse
I am a bridge in Dallas County that someone had to cross
I am a mine in West Virginia where thirteen lives were lost
I'm a grave in Pennsylvania in the middle of a field
I Am a lady in a harbor with a torch shining still
I am America, I am America
Verse
I am a light in a church house on the North End of town
a Courthouse in Appamattox, on dark and bloody ground
I'm a broken bell in Philly, on Independence Day
I am a diamond in a corn field where the whole world learned to play
I am America, I am America
Verse
I'm a date that lives in infamy, a post war baby boom
I'm a grassy knoll in Dallas, And I've walked on the moon
I am every creed and color, every point of view
I am black and brown and yellow, red, white and blue
I am America, I am America
Verse
We are ground zero, Where some gave all
We are a flag flying free on a tower standing tall
We are the tired, the poor and homeless from your teeming shore
We are every man and woman who yearns for something more
We are America, We are America
Publisher : Daniel House Music, It Says What It Says Music (BMI)
Copyright © 2017, Tim Stafford | Bobby Starnes
Just to Hear the Whistle Blow
(Tim Stafford, Steve Gulley)
Verse
When I was just a school kid, we used to hear it going by
If you were gonna leave this holler, it was the only way to fly
So many hopped a freight train, addicted to the sound
But me I took the safe track and never left this town
Chorus
No, I never jumped a boxcar,
Never felt those big wheels roll
But I still come here every day
Just to Hear the Whistle Blow
Verse
Well I heard the singing brakeman, and it made me want to go
And life here in Kentucky was moving way too slow
Sometimes the high way ain't the right way, guess I'd do it all again
Still I can't help but wonder bout the way things might have been
Verse
So each day I drive to Corbin, just to satisfy my mind
Park beside the station, out past the limit sign
I know they look at me and wonder why I even hang around
What makes an old man sit here and listen to the sound
Publisher : Daniel House Music, Gulley's Curve Music (BMI)
Copyright © 2014, Tim Stafford | Steve Gulley
Worry's Like a Rockin' Chair
(Tim Stafford, Barry Bales)
CH) Worry's Like a Rockin' Chair
It won't get you anywhere
Back and forth, but you're still there
Worry's Like a Rockin' Chair
V1) Grandpa was a wise old man
cigarettes in calloused hands
Never had a lot to say
An education every day
V2) He'd take down his old guitar
apple pie in an old fruit jar
On his porch the whole day long
a Worried man sings a worried song
CH)
V3) Years of trouble, years of strife
Years of racing through this life
chased a dollar all the way
my reward is turning gray
V4) same old porch, brand new day
Where grandpa used to sit and play
I still hear him in my head
words of wisdom never said
Publisher : Daniel House Music, Quackhead Music (BMI)
Copyright © 2014, Tim Stafford, Barry Bales
On the Ledge
(Tim Stafford, Bobby Starnes, Alan Stockard)
1) All it took was the first time
She swore she'd never do it again
She's only looking for a good time
Till the Devil came walking in
She found herself a shadow
of the girl she use to be
She tries her best to hide it
But the whole world can see
CH) that's she's on the ledge,on a rusty razor's edge
2) friends and family welcomed him home
with medals on his chest
Now he walks the streets alone
But he just can't get no rest
He did his time on the front line
for God, Country and Corps
but the battle still rages in his mind
in a different kind of war
CH) he's on the ledge, on a rusty razor's edge
Forty hours a week for eighty years
They worked out on the line
Then the company up and disappears
without a warning sign
the brand they wore moved offshore
'cause greed has no pride
Now the wolf is knocking down the door
and there's no place to hide
BR) God looks down on creation With teardrops in his eyes
The lust of every nation Creates its own demise
CH) We're on the ledge, On a rusty razor's edge
Publisher : Daniel House Music, It Says What It Says Music (BMI)
Copyright © 2014, Tim Stafford, Bobby Starnes, Alan Stockard
DIMES
(Tim Stafford)
1) Daddy loved a story
He collected dimes
He built his memories
Ten cents at a time
He’d find ‘em on the corner of a crowded city street
Seems like they fell right at his feet
He’d take ‘em from the closet
Then he’d take me on his knee
Hard to say what a dime is worth to me
2) Now I take them from the closet
And I remember Dad
There’s a flower from his funeral
I think it makes him glad
Cause I find ‘em on the corner of a crowded city street
Seems like they fall right at my feet
Every day I think of him
At least a hundred times
‘Cause everywhere I go, I find dimes
© Daniel House Music, BMI, 2014
Hideaway Hotel
(Steve Gulley, Tim Stafford)
Verse
I live out on the highway, not the greatest side of town
Since they built the new road, not as many come around
A lot of folks down on their luck, just working for a dime
Peeling paint and neon signs that work most of the time
I've seen pushers, pimps and preachers, by the hour or the day
They come to rent some peace of mind, or give it all away
some come here to hide, some to just be gone
Chances are if you come here, you're doing something wrong
Chorus
I don't have turndown service, but I got an empty pool
I deal in matters of the heart, just a halfway house for fools
I know how to be discrete with all my clientele
I live for you to use me, I'm the Hideaway Hotel
Verse
I've got little bars of soap and slots for razor blades
Sanitized for your protection, you've really got it made
I've got cable television, with a modern day decor
There's a bible in the nightstand, but that's not what you're looking for
You won't find me in AAA, or on the intenet
I just provide a service, what you see is what you get
Sometimes I give you things that you can't get at home
I'm the temple of addiction, a haven for lost souls
Outro
I'm right here when you need me, I'm the Hideaway Hotel
Publisher : Daniel House Music, Gulley's Curve Music (BMI)
Copyright © 2014, Tim Stafford | Steve Gulley
It Ain't the Mountain
Tim Stafford, Jon Weisberger
Chorus
It Ain't the Mountain that you're climbing
It's just a place you're passing through, where you go is up to you
cause the mountain you've been climbing
is no bigger than the pebble in your shoe
Verse
Another Sunday, at the liquor store by two
He works the second shift cause the rent is overdue
Sometimes he wonders how working hard went wrong
How the best that he can do is barely hanging on
Verse
Come Monday morning, she's standing in the line
The cotton mill pulled out and she got left behind
So she worries about her children back at home
Will they find another way before their dreams have flown?
Bridge
Don't lie down; Don't give up on your pride
Don't look up; The way ahead is down inside
Publisher : Daniel House Music, Use Your Words Music (BMI)
Copyright © 2014, Tim Stafford, Jon Weisberger
ISAAC MORTON’S REVENGE
(Tim Stafford and Steve Gulley, 2005)
V1) Isaac Morton took a wife, he’d been a soldier half his life
Saw Pickett’s Charge in ’63, marched with Sherman to the sea
V2) His bride was barely seventeen, the fairest rose he’d ever seen
He swore the day he took her hand, He’d never raise a gun again
V3) One day while Issac went to town, young Arley Walker came around
Said, “Why’d you marry that old man? I thought you promised me your hand.”
V4) When Isaac came back home that night, his eyes beheld the awful sight
Saw the bloodstains on the floor, a silver dagger by the door
V5) Time soon passed a year or more, one day a knock came at my door
“Could you spare a helping hand? Water for a weary man?”
V6) I showed him where the cistern drew and then within a day or two
Isaac Morton came and swore, “I’ve tracked a killer to your door.”
V7) He led us to the Devil’s Gate, still arrived a day’s ride late
Through the pass to old Cheyenne, there we found his trail again
V8) We chased him for a hundred days until we reach the Frisco Bay
This is where I took my leave; I left old Isaac there to grieve
V9) Some say he never found his man he chased to hell and back again
They say he never found a home; across the plains his spirit roams
V10) The postman brought a week ago a parcel postmarked Mexico
Inside a Spanish scabbard rare, a silver dagger and a lock of hair
In days to come the legend grew; I only know this part is true
Vengeance to the Lord belongs, but Isaac Morton carries on
© 2014 Daniel House Music, BMI
© 2014 Mountain Heart Music, BMI
BACK IN THE DAY
(Bobby Starnes, Tim Stafford)
Billy was a wild child, his wanderlust was real
now he sells insurance, and he's living for a deal
Melinda had a love child when she was just sixteen
Now her baby's teaching college, and he's living out her dream
In this small town American clean
Norman Rockwell's homecoming queen
living, dying, finding our way
Life was good
Back in the day
Chuck was raised a quarterback, he could throw it deep and straight
And Bobby and Connie are still living their first date
Butch dropped out our senior year, then he taught us life was short
and Vickie took her own life when she couldn't take no more
Of this small town American clean
Norman Rockwell's homecoming queen
living, dying, finding our way
Life was just life
Back in the day
BR) Scattered near and far like seeds cast to the wind
Once we were wildcats, but you can't go back again
Randall moved to Charlotte, George lives in L.A.
Tina married a millionaire; she's a million miles away
Mickey's still in prison but Kevin played it safe
All of Ruby's children are still carrying the faith
of this small town American clean
Norman Rockwell's homecoming queen
living, dying, finding our way
Life was good
Back in the day
We were raised with a Rebel yell
Give 'em hell, Bloomingdale
living, dying, finding our way
Life was good
Back in the day
Publisher : Daniel House Music, It Says What It Says Music (BMI)
Copyright © 2014, Tim Stafford, Bobby Starnes
Rider on an Endless Line
(Tim Stafford and Steve Gulley)
V1) Black coffee waitin’ for me, day number 123, now there’s nothing more to say
I turn the radio on, hopin’ all it takes is a song
To get me through another day
Br) But it’s not workin’ anymore
I wonder what I’m workin’ for
CH) I’m just a rider on an endless line
This way of living seemed to suit me fine till now
There’s nothing better than a clear blue sky
To feel like flyin’, but you don’t know why or how
V2) Hey Boy, get out of bed,
get the cobwebs out of your head
Burnin’ daylight ain’t the plan
All packed and ready to go, killing time at the fishing hole,
Learnin’ how to be a man
Br) But I’m not the man I planned to be
Forty years ago I couldn’t see
CH) I’d like to go back to a simpler day
If I believed that I could find a way, I would
But I’m not living this lie anymore
Someday soon I’m gonna close that door for good
I’m still a rider on an endless line
Running away and slowly out of time each day
And I’m still lookin’ for a clear blue sky
Where I can spread my wings and then I’ll fly away
© 2004, Daniel House Music, BMI
© 2004, Mountain Heart Music, BMI
THE KID
(Tim Stafford)
I am known as Billy Antrim, but McCarty is my name
You may have heard of William Bonney, I suppose it’s all the same
I soon came to shoot a pistol as sure as I could point my hand
But how I came to be an outlaw, guess I’ll never understand
If you live in Lincoln County, no matter what your trade has been
You’re controlled by J.J. Dolan and his ruthless band of men
Now they name me as a killer, but the trouble that I’ve seen
Was all within the service of men named Chisum and McSween
See I hired for John D. Tunstall and he treated me so well
For him I gladly would have ridden through the very fires of hell
But he was killed by Jesse Evans, though Dolan fired a shot as well
And not an hour was spent in prison, at least by those who lived to tell
I rode with the Regulators when McCloskey met his end
Next was Morton, then came Baker, not one cartridge did I spend
But I was trapped inside a rock house by Sheriff Garrett and his crew
They shot poor Charlie Boudre, the closest friend I ever knew
I was brought in chains to Lincoln, barely clothed and poorly fed
Before I left that stinking prison, two deputies were dead
Now I’m here in Old Fort Sumner, and Paulita’s by my side
And my life is down to wondering how long an outlaw has to hide
If you’re looking for a hero or a villain in this tale
You’ll find both, most likely neither; just a human urge to fail
For I am just a young vaquero, never courted crime nor fame
Now I wish those Eastern papers had never heard my name
© 2004, Daniel House Music, BMI
DANVILLE GIRL
(Trad., arr. Tim Stafford)
1) I went down to Danville Got stuck on a Danville girl
Oh, you bet your life she’s out of sight
She wears those Danville curls
2) She wears her hair on the back of her head
like all high-toned people do
The very first train that leaves this town
Going to bid that girl adieu
3) I don’t see why I love that girl, She never cared for me
But still my mind is on her wherever she may be
4) It’s forty miles through the rock
It’s sixty through the sand
Oh I relate to you the life
Of many a poor married man
5) Oh standing by the railroad track a-resting my poor tired feet
Nine-hundred miles away from home and not a bite to eat
6) A-walking about on the old platform
A-smoking a cheap cigar
A-waiting for a local freight, to catch an empty car
7) Look up, look down that lonesome road
Hand down your head and cry
The best of friends have to part sometimes
And why can’t you and I?
IF ONLY FOR A DAY
(Tim Stafford and Robert G. Starnes)
V1) Storm out on the water, lightning to the East
It’s hard to make a living from the bottom of the sea
Shadows on the canyon I may never see
But a fisherman is what I’ll always be
V1) Sunset on the prairie, wind across the plain
Evening star is shining, Sure could use some rain
The coast of Carolina I may never see
A cattleman is what I’ll always be
Bridge) Sometimes I wish that I could fly away
If only for a day
Lord help me find the way
V3) Every life has a reason, but still we believe
That every changing season will somehow set us free
Fate can just deliver what was meant for me
A simple man is what I’ll always be
© 2004, Daniel House Music, BMI
IF I HAD THE MONEY I WOULD RIDE THAT TRAIN
(Jack Tottle)
Ch) If I had the money, I would ride that train, ride that train, ride that train
If I had the money, I would ride that train way out to the Western shore
Lay a twenty on me if you don’t care, you don’t care, you don’t care
Pay you right back soon as I get there, way out to the Western shore
Ch) If I had the money, I would ride that train, ride that train, ride that train
If I had the money, I would ride that train way out to the Western shore
Don’t worry ‘bout me when I am gone, I am gone, I am gone
Just let everybody know I’m movin’ on, way out to the Western shore
Ch) If I had the money, I would ride that train, ride that train, ride that train
If I had the money, I would ride that train way out to the Western shore
Red tailed hawk’s on a Tennessee breeze, Tennessee breeze, Tennessee breeze
They fly away whenever they please, way out to the Western shore
Ch) If I had the money, I would ride that train, ride that train, ride that train
If I had the money, I would ride that train way out to the Western shore
© 2004, Daniel House Music, BMI