Don Henley Album

Remember when the days were long
And rolled beneath a deep blue sky
Didn't have a care in the world
With mommy and daddy standing by
When "happily ever after" fails
And we've been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyers dwell on small details
Since daddy had to fly
But I know a place where we can go
That's still untouched by man
We'll sit and watch the clouds roll by
And the tall grass wave in the wind
You can lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair fall all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence
O' beautiful, for spacious skies
But now those skies are threatening
They're beating plowshares into swords
For this tired old man that we elected king
Armchair warriors often fail
And we've been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyers clean up all details
Since daddy had to lie
But I know a place where we can go
And was away this sin
We'll sit and watch the clouds roll by
And the tall grass wave in the wind
Just lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair spill all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence
Who knows how long this will last
Now we've come so far, so fast
But, somewhere back there in the dust
That same small town in each of us
I need to remember this
So baby give me just one kiss
And let me take a long last look
Before we say good bye
Just lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair fall all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence

You're leavin' tongue marks on the carpet
And I know what you're lookin' at
You would walk on your lips through busted glass
If you could get next to that
You think this is love
Your education starts today
So you think this is love?
So tell me
How bad do you want it?
How bad do you want it?
How bad do you want it?
Not bad enough
So you put a hold on happiness
....a day, a week, a year
You got to bring somethin' to this party, boy
If you party here
And if you're lookin' for love
You better look some other way
If you're lookin' for love
I have to ask you
How bad do you want it?
How bad do you want it?
How bad do you want it?
Not bad enough
She gave you love and affection
Enough to weather any season
You found an excuse to walk away
But you didn't find no reason
And you talk about love
But you don't know what it means
Yeah, you talk about love
So tell me
How bad do you want it?
How bad do you want it?
How bad do you want it?
Not bad enough

Woke up with a heavy head
And I thought about leavin' town
I could have died if I wanted to-
Slipped over the edge and drowned
But, oh no baby, I won't give up so easy
Too many tire tracks in the sands of time
Too many love affairs that stop on a dime
I think it's time to make some changes 'round here
Yeah, I'm gonna tear it up
gonna trash it up
I'm gonna round it up
gonna shake it up
Oh, no, baby, I will not lie down
I'm brave enough to be crazy
I'm strong enough to be weak
I see all these heroes with feet of clay
Whose mighty ships have sprung a leak
And I want you to tell me darlin'
Just what do you believe in now?
Well, c'mon over here baby
You 'bout to gimme a heart attack
I wanna wrap my lovin' arms
Around the small of your back
Yeah, and I'm gonna pull you, pull you, pull you
Pull you right up close to me
Yeah we're gonna tear it up
we gonna trash it up
gonna round it up
gonna shake it up
Oh, no no no, I will not lie down
Turn this thing around
I will not go quietly
I will not lie down
I will not go quietly
I will not lie down
I will not go quietly
I will not lie down
I will not lie down
Well, don't you ever get lonely?
Don't you ever get down?
Don't you ever get tired
Of all the wicked tongues in this town?
Of, baby, I just wanna take you away from here
I ain't no tiger
I ain't no little lamb
Suppose you tell me mama
Who do you think I think I am?
And ooh baby, don't you give a damn?
Yeah, I'm gonna tear it up
gonna trash it up
gonna round it up
gonna rip it up
I will not lie down
Yeah I'm gonna tear it up
gonna trash it up
gonna round it up
gonna shake it up
Oh baby I will not lie down
Turn this thing around
I will not go quietly
I will not lie down
I will no go quietly
I will not lie down
I will not lie down

I know you broke up with him
And your heart's still on the shelf
It's been over two years for me
And I'm still not quite myself
You can't be with someone new
And you can't go back to him
You're beginning to realize
That it's sink or swim
I see you around sometimes
And my heart just melts
You're lookin' like if you had your wish
You'd be somewhere else
And it just breaks my heart
To see you here this way
Someday I'll get the nerve
To walk up to you and say
This is the last worthless evening
That you'll have to spend
Just gimme a chance
To show you how to love again
This is the last worthless evening
That you'll have to spend
'Cause I'll be there
When your broken heart is on the mend
Every night it's the same old crowd
in smoky rooms
You catch a faint glimpse of love sometimes
But it never blooms
I've been around this block a time or two
And I've made some big mistakes
But girl I promise you, I promise you
That this is the worthless evening
That you'll have to spend
Just gimme a chance
To show you how to love again
This is the last worthless evening
That you'll have to spend
'Cause it won't be long
'Till your little heart is on the mend
People inside their houses
with the shades pulled down
God knows, we could use some romance
In this sleepy bedroom town
I know you're still afraid to rush into anything
But there're just so many summers
And just so many springs
And this is the last worthless evening
That you'll have to spend
Just gimme a chance to show you how
to love again
This is the last worthless evening
That you'll have to spend, baby
'Cause I'll be there when your broken heart
is on the mend
This is the last worthless evening
That you'll have to spend
Just gimme a chance, gimme a chance
To show you how to love again
This is the last worthless evening
That you'll have to spend 'cause it won't be long
'Til your little heart is on the mend

Harry got up
Dressed all in black
Went down to the station
And he never came back
They found his clothing
Scattered somewhere down the track
And he won't be down on Wall Street
in the morning
He had a home
The love of a girl
But men get lost sometimes
As years unfurl
One day he crossed some line
And he was too much in this world
But I guess it doesn't matter anymore
In a New York Minute
Everything can change
In a New York Minute
Things can get pretty strange
In a New York Minute
Everything can change
In a New York Minute
Lying here in the darkness
I hear the sirens wail
Somebody going to emergency
Somebody's going to jail
If you find somebody to love in this world
You better hand on tooth and nail
The wolf is always at the door
In a New York Minute
Everything can change
In a New York Minute
Things can get a little strange
In a New York Minute
Everything can change
In a New York Minute
And in these days
When darkness falls early
And people rush home
To the ones they love
You better take a fool's advice
And take care of your own
One day they're here;
Next day they're gone
I pulled my coat around my shoulders
And took a walk down through the park
The leaves were falling around me
The groaning city in the gathering dark
On some solitary rock
A desperate lover left his mark,
"Baby, I've changed. Please come back."
What the head makes cloudy
The heart makes very clear
The days were so much brighter
In the time when she was here
But I know there's somebody somewhere
Make these dark clouds disappear
Until that day, I have to believe
I believe, I believe
In a New York Minute
Everything can change
In a New York Minute
You can get out of the rain
In a New York Minute
Everything can change
In a New York Minute

Every day's a new day
That's what I've been told
Try to hold your head high
The world runs hot and cold
It's hard to follow footprints
In the shifting sand
Another thirsty rider
Behind the caravan
You had no idea
just what was waiting out there
You never thought you'd carry the weight
of the world
On your pretty blond hair
This ain't no Shangri-La
To you, no Shangri-La
This ain't no Shangri-La
Nobody knows no Shangri-La
Hey! There's a whole lotta people
wonderin' who you are
They think you walk without a care in the world
But they've been wrong so far
This ain't no Shangri-La
To you, no Shangri-La
This ain't no Shangri-La
Nobody knows no Shangri-La

"A new age is dawning
On fewer than expected
Business is usual"
That's how the headline read
Some shaky modern saviors
Have now been resurrected
In all this excitement
You may have been misled
People want a miracle
They say "Oh Lord, can't you see us?
We're tryin' to make a livin' down here
And keep the children fed"
But, from little dark motel rooms
to "Six Flags Over Jesus"
"How are the mighty fallen"
So the Bible said
You don't have to pray to a little tin god
Step out of the way for a little tin god
You might fear the reaper, you might fear the rod
But you never have to get down on your knees
You don't have to holler, "please, please"
No, you never have to get down on your knees
For a little tin god
The cowboy's name was "Jingo"
And he knew that there was trouble
So in a blaze of glory
He rode out of the west
No one was ever certain
What it was that he was sayin'
But they loved it when he told them
They were better than the rest
But you don't have to pray for a little tin god
Step out of the way for a little tin god
You might hate to system, hate the job
But you never have to get down on your knees
You don't have to holler, "please, please"
No, you never have to get down on your knees
For a little tin god
Throw down a rope from heaven
And lead the flock to water
The man in the middle would have you think
That you have no other choice
But to wander in the wilderness
Of all the upturned faces
If you stop and listen long enough
You will hear your own small voice
But you don't have to pray to a little tin god
Step out of the way for a little tin god
You might fear the reaper, fear the rod
But you never have to get down on your knees
You don't have to holler, "please, please"
No, you never have to get down on your knees
You don't have to holler, "please, please"
You never have to get down on your knees
For a little tin god

Baby picks off your plate-yours looks better
And she throws hers on the floor
Here, in the home of the brave
And the land of the free
The first word that baby learns is "more"
So you're out there floating like a big, puffy cloud
With the pool and the charcoal
and the kids and the wife
'Til the reruns of your dreams are interrupted
And you step out into life

And it's still gimme, gimme what you got
I said gimme, gimme what you got
(I want it, I want it)
Gimme, gimme what you got
Now it's take and take and takeover, takeover
It's all take and never give
All these trumped up towers
They're just golden showers
Where are people supposed to live?
You can arm yourself, alarm yourself
But there's nowhere you can run
'Cause a man with a briefcase
can still more money
Than any man with a gun
I said gimme, gimme what you got
Said gimme, gimme what you got
Gimme, gimme what you got
Gimme, gimme what you got
You got the price of admission
You don't have to ask permission
To take somethin' from another man
You cross a lawyer with the godfather, baby
Make you an offer that you can't understand
From Main Street to Wall Street to Washington
From men to women to men
It's a nation of noses pressed up against the glass
They've seen it on the TV
And they want it pretty fast
You spend your whole life
Just pilin' it up there
You got stack and stacks and stacks
Then, Gabriel comes and taps you on the shoulder
But you don't see no hearses with luggage racks
Gimme, gimme what you got
I said gimme, gimme what you got
I said gimme, gimme what you got
(I want it, I want it)
Gimme, gimme what you got

Walkin' like a millionaire
Smilin' like a king
He leaned his shopping cart against the wall
He said, "I been a lot of places
And I seen a lot of things
But, sonny, I seen one thing that beats 'em all
I was flyin' back from Lubbock
I saw Jesus on the plane
...or maybe it was Elvis
You know, they kinda look the same
Hey, look out, Junior, you're steppin' on my bed"
I said, "I don't see nothin"
He just glared at me and said,
If dirt were dollars
If dirt were dollars
If dirt were dollars
I wouldn't worry anymore
Lookin' like a beauty queen
Loyal as a wife
She raised her little voice and testified,
"I am a good girl
I've been one all my life"
But her virtue was as swollen as her pride
She should've had the Oscar
She must have been miscast
Her fifteen minutes went by so fast
I said, "Now, baby, have you got no shame?"
She just looked at me, uncomprehendingly
Like cows at a passing train
If dirt were dollars
If dirt were dollars
If dirt were dollars
I wouldn't worry anymore
We got the bully pulpit
And the poisoned pen
We got a press no better
Than the public men
This brave new world
Gone bad again
God's finest little creatures
Looking brave and strong
Whistling past the graveyard
Nothing can go wrong
Quoting from the scriptures
With patriotic tears
We got the same old men
With the same old fears
Standing at attention
Wrapped in stars and stripes
They hear the phantom drummers
And the nonexistent pipes
These days the buck stops nowhere
No one takes the blame
But evil is still evil
In anybody's name
If dirt were dollars
If dirt were dollars
If dirt were dollars
We'd all be in the black

I got the call today, I didn't wanna here
But I knew that it would come
An old, true friend of ours was talkin' on the phone
She said you found someone
And I thought of all the bad luck,
and the struggles we went through
And how I lost me and you lost you
What are these voices outside love's open door
Make us throw off our contentment
and beg for something more?
I'm learning to live without you now
But I miss you sometimes
The more I know, the less I understand
All the things I thought I knew, I'm learning again
I've been tryin' to get down
to the heart of the matter
But my will gets weak
and my thoughts seem to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore
These times are so uncertain
There's a yearning undefined
...people filled with rage
We all need a little tenderness
How can love survive in such a graceless age?
The trust and self-assurance that lead to happiness
They're the very things we kill, I guess
Pride and competition
cannot fill these empty arms
And the work I put between us
doesn't keep me warm
I'm learning to live without you now
But I miss you, baby
The more I know, the less I understand
All the things I thought I'd figured out
I have to learn again
I've been trying to get down
to the heart of the matter
But everything changes
and my friends seem to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore
There are people in your life who've come and gone
They let you down and hurt your pride
Better put it all behind you; life goes on
You keep carryin' that anger; it'll eat you up inside
I've been trying to get down
to the heart of the matter
But my will gets weak
and my thought seem to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me
I've been tryin' to get down
to the heart of the matter
Because the flesh will get weak
and the ashes will scatter
So I'm thinkin' about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me