Irrevocable Album

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Woman in Flannel

Give me a woman in flannel,

and the world can do what it will.

With a little bit of lovin',

I'll face down any hill.

Capo III

C* G7 / Fm C :|| (D# A# / G# D# )

'Cause when you're out walking

hand in hand

even an uphill battle

can feel like a stroll through the sand.

Dm C / Am G7 / Dm C / Fm C (F D# / C A# / F D# / G# D# )

Me and my woman in flannel,

we will get along.

Though it might get dark and cold,

we'll keep singing our song.

Oh, I'm not talking about forever,

forever's too far to see.

Me and my woman in flannel,

we'll just let things be what they'll be.

We'll ride out each wave

from the crest down to the trough,

though the seas might get rough,

and we might get tossed.

And if my woman in flannel

should be tossed away,

I only hope she lands some place

that is warm and safe.

So take my woman in flannel,

just not all the way,

that I might still see from a distance

her sweet smiling face.

There'll be plenty of other women in flannel,

and our paths, they might cross.

I might get a chance to remember

everything I forgot.

So give me another woman in flannel,

and the world can do what it will,

that I might find what I thought I'd lost

I am holding still.

Sacred Hunter

He went out searching for something,

just what he couldn't say.

Thought he'd know it once he'd seen it

somewhere along the way.

F G - / Am - G - / / F - G -

And he let her go

straight from the heart of his land.

F Am / F - G - Am -

His hunger, it was screaming.

His cupboards, they were bare.

An old man soon to be leaving,

living alone without a care.

And he let her go

straight from the heart of his land.

Once he had a lover,

and his heart felt oh so good!

But when she left him for another,

he hid away in these woods.

And he let her go

straight from the heart of his land.

So he'd been out here hunting

growing thinner every year

until he came across something

that reduced him to tears.

And it touched something sacred

deep in the heart of this man.

She stood there in the open

like some holy Madonna.

Her love had her frozen

between him and her fawn.

And he let her go

straight from the heart of his land.

And though he never knew

he was always looking to let go.

It's That Time of Year

It's that time of year when mice come in to die,

when the cold begins to bite them to the bone.

They risk it all for the warmth of people's homes,

where fat cats sit licking their lips with glee,

with bellies full they kill just 'cause they please.

The bodies lie on the floor for everyone to see.

In horror the mice gawk at the hunting trophies,

and tell themselves in hellfire the cat will fry;

but the cat lives out its comfy blissful life

waiting for next year when more mice come in to die.

It's that time of year when mice come in to die.

DC DC F - :|| (11x)

Illustrious Haunts

You live in a world all polished and clean

with cushy plush carpets and cool satin sheets,

trying to keep all things dirty at bay,

you can smear it around, but it won't wash away.

F - A - / F - G - :||

Your illustrious haunts will never be mine,
     so I'm just gawking at

your extra exotic, fancy flowerbeds as I go running by.

E A F E / E A F G A - :||

You shipped this flower across the sea

to live out its life as your centerpiece.

Trying to find satisfaction in indulgence

is an exercise in total nonsense.

You've cleverly leveraged a heartless machine

to live out your life inside of a dream.

With eyes shut tight, you never bother to see

the suffering on which your pleasure feeds.

There's beauty out there that your money can't touch,

though you might not put stock in it much.

You're holding on tight day after day,

but the essence of beauty is in passing away.

Your illustrious haunts will never be mine,
     but I'm perfectly fine

with the beauty I happen to find as I go running by.

Trust Worthy

I'm trying for a draw when there's room enough to dare.

I'm cutting it close when there's space enough to spare.

Holding my breath out in the fresh air.

I pretend to be aloof when I truly, deeply care.

D C G C / D C F C / / D C G -

Why can't I be just what I am?

Why can't I seem to follow my own heart's plan?

Why do I lie looking straight into your eyes?

Why can't I trust myself anymore?

D C D C / D C G - :||

In the beginning it all seemed so crystal clear,

like I'd finally found what was missing all those years,

but before I even knew it the walls had closed on in.

I had let my heave turn into a prison.

Why couldn't I have been just what I was?

Why couldn't I seem to follow my own heart's tug?

Why did I lie looking straight into your eyes?

Why can't I trust myself anymore?

Just let me think what I think and feel what I feel.

Let me keep on, keep on keeping it real.

Just let me be authentic and sincere,

to be guided from within instead of by fear.

I'm trying to be just what I am.

I'm trying to follow my own heart's plan.

I'm trying not to hide from anybody else's eyes,

just trying to trust myself a little more.

At a Loss

Faded love fits you

like a well-worn shirt,

soft and familiar,

it hides away the dirt.

Shiny love fits you

just like a glove,

sleek and sexy,

it lights your world up.

So now you're at a crossroads.

How do you choose?

Take a chance to feel more alive,

or hold onto what's close to you?

Am E / DmG Am :|| Am - (3x)

Here we are, here we are, right where we've always been.

You're tangled up by your heart. I'm lost somewhere 
     inside of my head.

F G E Am / F Am E Am

I wish I could tell you

the right thing to do,

but my life still eludes me

with or without you.

In all of my confusion

I can offer little advice,

but I'm nothing but thankful

for your part in my life.

You could never be my savior,

and no one can ever be yours.

We've got to sort out for ourselves

what all this madness is for.

Well Suited

Some people live their lives always racing for the top,

spinning in circles and striving nonstop,

chasing down something always just out of reach.

I sit back in the shade, and I have me a peach.

Capo II

C - F C / C - G C :||

I've never been one for fine wine.

Cheap wine always suits me just fine.

I'll never be rich, and maybe that's why

I've never been one for fine wine.

C - F C / F - G C / C - F C / C - G C

You can live your life like there's always something missing,

always wishing it was someone else's lips you were kissing,

but take the time to savor what you've got here today.

If it left you tomorrow, you'd be wishing it had stayed.

If you gave me a glass of fine wine,

I'm sure that I'd like it just fine.

I'm not one to push good things away.

I just take life as it comes from day to day.

I take love where I find it. I take it as it comes.

I always seem to find more than enough,

and when I get to feeling I could use a little more,

I find it overflowing where I'd overlooked before.

Just a simple song with simpleminded words

carried along by three simple chords.

I'm not above singing simple melodies.

I rest in the beauty of simplicity.

Ensnared

Well, I don't frequent those fine print proprietors,

picking people's pockets under the pretense of law.

D - F E - / D F Fm E C7 -

They say the devil is in the details.

You know the deck has been stacked.

You're busy looking out for the missile,

and you're taken down by the flak.

F C / E C7 :||

Yonder comes a politician with a twinkle in his eye.

Saying he's for the people, but he's taking kickbacks on the sly.

Well, don't you buy what they're selling.

They say the water is perfectly fine.

Trying to save some money from your taxes

while they guzzle down fine wine.

If you complain, they'll say you're just a bitch.

They're pushing shoddy clothing, but their suits are double stitched.

You're like a black dog on a chain

running down a train

filled with righteous rage,

but the snare is bound to engage.

F G / E Am :||

Restless

Hey there Pope Francis, what are the chances

this silly old human race will ever make it through?

I like the things I've heard you say. You point out a better way,

but what if it's just a little too late for people
     to hear the truth?

Capo II

F C G C / E - F C - :||

It's another worrisome day. It's another restless night.

Will we ever find a way to bring peace to our everyday lives?

F Am E Am / Dm C F - E -

Interlude: F Am E Am / F Am G Am -

Hey there Dalai Lama, I'm tangled up in so much drama!

Help me unravel the trauma from being stuck in my own head!

You're living out this life of peace, but for the life of me

I just can't seem to overcome my narrow selfish ways.

It's another worrisome day. It's another restless night.

Will I ever find a way to bring peace to my everyday life?

Hey there Bill Mckibben, I have seen some of your figures.

Do you think we'll turn the tide before we're washed away?

You keep fighting the good fight, up against something
     out of sight.

I'd sure like to do my part with you, but I feel so overwhelmed.

It's another worrisome day. It's another restless night.

Will I ever get the nerve to stand up and fight?

Hey there Ta-Nehisi Coates, your world's a world away from mine.

You've cracked open a window that's been sealed tight
     far too long.

Let's air some of this violence out, get a better idea
     what it's all about.

It's plain to see good intention alone hasn't gotten us too far.

It's another worrisome day. It's another restless night.

Will we ever find a way to claim our minds and bodies as our own?

Hey there friend and neighbor, this life is our's to savor!

I'll reach out my hand for yours if you reach back for mine.

Let's invest in trust instead of fear. We might yet make it 
     out of here,

out of this callous habit of just turning a blind eye.

And we could have brand new brighter days,
     and quiet restful nights,

living a little closer to peace every day of our lives.

Irrevocable

I thought that I was privy to some profound knowledge,

thought I had some great wisdom that I ought to share;

so I gathered people around and convinced them to listen,

but all that came out was a burst of hot air.

Capo V

G C G D / G C D G :||

I'm losing it. I've lost it, never even had it.

I guess I couldn't lose what I never even had.

I'm losing it. I've lost it, never even had it.

I guess I couldn't lose what I never really had.

Too bad.

D C G C / D C G - :|| C - - - G -

I thought I saw love reflecting in her eyes,

like a pillar of fire burning in the sky.

When I told her how I felt, just to try it on for size,

she laughed in my face; that's when I got wise.

I thought God was speaking to me through the written word.

I took as a sign that time that a bird

landed on my shoulder, but then it took a shit.

I began to reconsider what on the bathroom stall was writ.

I woke up with this feeling that I just couldn't shake,

so I went out on the street asking everyone I'd meet,

“Have you seem my marbles?” Well, they hauled me away

and filled me with pills to relieve me of my dreams.

They said. “I was losing it. I'd lost it.”

     I said, “I'd never had it.

How could I lose what I never even had?”

They said. “I was losing it. I'd lost it.” 

     I said, “I'd never had it.

Just give me back my marbles, I'll be glad.”

Too bad.

So sad.

They're irrevocable.

Adequate Series of Steers Album

Click here for alternate download option

Ephemeral Iridescences

It's a bright and sunny day, but I don't feel that way.

I feel like such a fool for staying stuck inside of this gloom,

but what else can I do? I'm still hung up on her,

so I go out for a run. I just keep running from

opening up to embrace all the changes in my life;

but the rhythm of my footsteps sets my heart at ease,

and you never know what you might come across on a friendly neighborhood street.

Spontaneous joy might arise. You might be caught by surprise...

C* G F C :|| (8x)

...by big bubbles bursting with the

laughter of little children in the park,

bright rays of light

shimmering through the dark.

C* G / F Am G - / C* G / F G C -

This old world can bring me down. There's a lot of heavy shit going round,

so I try to appreciate life's little gifts along the way:

tomatoes ripening on the vine, an occasional glass of wine,

a warm smile passing by, clear and starry nights,

my morning cup of coffee, a bear that's crisp and hoppy,

dark chocolate rich and creamy, a hot shower soothing and steamy,

soft rain against my skin, shelters from the wind,

a lover's tender embrace, so many things like these.

They're like big bubbles bursting

with the laughter of little children in the park,

bright rays of light shimmering away the dark.

We might be tempted to put the things we love up on a shelf,

to keep them away from everybody else,

but the life they contain would quickly fade away.

The change would be drastic. Our love would turn to plastic.

Don't give me plastic bubbles.

I get no return from them.

They don't have the right float or iridescent spin.

They'll never quench my thirst without that effervescent burst.

Give me big bubbles bursting

with the laughter of little children in the park,

bright spheres of light

flashing and passing like a spark.

Come Hear It on the Mountain

It's quite a life up in these hills, up here on the mountain.

There's nothing like an old dirt road to keep the mind from counting.

Take care not to lose your way, or you might not make it back,

and here's to those who find their way and never go back.

Capo IV

Am - E E7 :|| (4x)

There's nothing like a life up on the mountain!

You can take it or leave it, but if you leave, then I'll be doubting

that you've seen all there is to see.

Oh, you might want to take another look before you leave.

F C E7 Am :|| (3x)

F C G - E - Am -

Up here in these heights, it's a world away from time,

and for the most part the law can't pay it any mind.

In the quiet of these hills a mind can roam free.

Out here there's nothing between this old world and me.

Every day's another step closer to the grave.

You can bow your head and fold your hands, just sit around and pray,

but you might be missing a lot of life as you wait for Judgment Day.

Oh, I'm not trying to look down on you or tell you what to do.

I just hope you make the most of this life before it's through.

Capo up to VI for final verse and chorus

Vintage Beauties

Your body just won't move anymore

like your spirit wants it to.

What I wouldn't give to see you out on that floor

dancing like you used to do!

If only I could do the dancing for you,

I would oblige happily,

but dancing has always been something

that has eluded me.

Although you might not ever see it,

I've got a secret for you:

the joy you retain gets something like a dance

moving through my soul.

Capo II

Bm - Am - / Bm - C - / Bm - Am - / C - G - :|| (3x)

You make me wish I could've known you

when you were more

of the beautiful

you that you still are.

Bm - C - / Bm - Am - / / C - G -

Your brain has lost some of that razor sharpness

that once glistened through your mind,

but I can still see it glimmering

and sparkling in your eyes.

When you crashed to the ground that morning,

you lost much more than your legs.

In a moment you went from standing tall

to being blindsided by the fall,

but you're surely still a teacher

through and through.

I wish I could articulate

all the things I learn from you.

You had to be one tough cookie

in your day.

You lost two sons to war

and an infant daughter along the way.

Your husband turned to alcohol

and was consumed by that disease.

He left you alone in this old world

when he crashed into that tree.

You raised up my grandfather,

and though my memories of you are few,

as with those blankets you knitted,

in him your warmth passes through.

Final Verse:

Maybe some day I'll find myself in a

similar situation.

If I do I only hope I can

be such an inspiration

to all the people I might

happen to meet

as you have been

for me.

Bm - Am - :|| (6x)

C - G - / Am - G -