Lyle Lovett Album

Some folks say there ain't no bears in Arkansas
Some folks never seen a bear at all
Some folks say that bears go around eating babies raw
Some folks got a bear across the hall

Some folks say that bears go around smelling bad
Others say that a bear is honey sweet
Some folks say this bear's the best I ever had
Some folks got a bear beneath their feet

Some folks drive the bears out of the wilderness
Some to see a bear would pay a fee
Me I just bear up my bewildered best
And some folks even see the bear in me

Some folks drive the bears out of the wilderness
Some to see a bear would pay a fee
Me I just bear up my bewildered best
And some folks even see the bear in me

So meet a bear and take him out to lunch with you
And even though your friends may stop and stare
Just remember that's a bear there in the bunch with you
And they just don't come no better than a bear

So meet a bear and take him out to lunch with you
And even though your friends may stop and stare
Just remember that's a bear there in the bunch with you
And they just don't come no better than a bear

No they just don't come no better than a bear

No they just don't come no better than
No they just don't come no better than
No they just don't come no better than a bear

(Townes Van Zandt)

Well won't you lend your lungs to me
Mine are collapsing
Plant my feet and bitterly breathe
Up the time that's passing
And breath I'll take and breath I'll give
And pray the day's not poison
Stand among the ones that live
In lonely indecision

Fingers walk the darkness down
Mind is on the midnight
Gather up the gold you've found
You fool it's only moonlight
And if you try to take it home
Your hands will turn to butter
You better leave this dream alone
Try to find another

Salvation sat and crossed herself
Called the devil partner
Wisdom burned upon a shelf
Who'll kill the raging cancer
Seal the river at its mouth
Take the water prisoner
Fill the sky with screams and cries
Bathe in fiery answers

Jesus was an only son
And love his only concept
Strangers cry in foreign tongues
And dirty up the doorstep
And I for one and you for two
Ain't got the time for outside
Just keep your injured looks to you
We'll tell the world that we tried

That picture hangin' on the wall
Was painted by a friend
He gave it to me all down and out
When he owed me ten
Now it doesn't look like much I guess
But it's all that's left of him
And it sure is nice from right over here
When the light's a little dim

Step inside this house babe
I'll sing for you a song
I'll tell you 'bout where I've been
It shouldn't take too long
I'll show you all the things I own
My treasures you might say
Couldn't be more'n ten dollars worth
But they brighten up my day

Here's a book of poems I got
From a girl I used to know
I guess I read it front to back
Fifty times or so
It's all about the good life
And stayin' at ease with teh world
It's funny how I love that book
But I never loved that girl

Hold this piece of glass
Up to the light comin' through the door
It's a prism glass I found on the road
Can you see that little rainbow
Well it's not really a prism I guess
It just broke a funny way
I found it on my way from Texas
headed for L.A.

The sun went down like a curtain
Memphis looks bigger at night
All the tattooed boys in uniform
Step in and out of the light

She bought me good whiskey in Memphis
She bought supper and she paid for the room
and as best as I can remember
She paid dearly for loving me too

She said hey don't i know you
Ain't you the one
The one with the guitar boys
and all them sad songs
About men in the rain
Did you ever miss a plane
to Memphis

We laughed at the strangers we were in the bed
Two cigarettes lit up the room
Like two backseat lovers, can't wait to get started
Knowing everything's over too soon

Now Memphis ain't bad in the morning
Good coffee well it's just hard to find
But let me suggest that you never leave Memphis
With anything on your mind

(Vince Bell and Craig Calvert)

I've had enough
Of words and games
I don't think I know you
I can't forget your name
Your eyes are clear
The way is strange
The light's in the hallway
If you forget your way

You were here to be only
What you wanted anyway
You were sad to be sorry
You were sorry everyday
You were here to be loved
But love's trickled away
From your eyes

I tell myself
I'm least of all to blame
For these words of my choosing
For my rules that make the game
But my eyes are clear
I can see the way is strange
Through the dark of the hallway
That echoes back your name

I was here to be only
What I wanted anyway
I was sad to be sorry
I was sorry everyday
I was here to be loved
But love's trickled away
From my eyes

(Walter Hyatt)

Darlin' don't walk out on me
Tryin' to teach me a lesson
Thinkin' you'll come back to a better man
If you don't like the way things go
Just stay here and tell me so
'Cause there's one thing about me
You've got to understand

I've had enough lonesome
In my education
I don't want to study anymore
About a woman and a slammin' door
If I want to be blue
I've got enough information
I know about lonesome
Teach me about love

Now the words from your sweet lips
And the looks from your sweet eyes
Are lessons that I study day by day
Each day I pick up something new
Each night I learn a thing or two
But how can I learn anything
When teacher's gone away

I've had enough lonesome
In my education
I don't want to study anymore
How to make it through a barroom door
I've been down and out
I'm ready for inspiration
I know about lonesome
Teach me about love

(Willis Alan Ramsey)

Last night you know I couldn't sleep
I was tossing, turning, and counting sheep
To tell the truth
The next thing I knew
I woke up on the outside
In the middle of the avenue

A policeman spied me traffic there
In my t-shirt and my underwear
He said, Son, Son
It sure don't look good
The way you've been calling for your baby
All over the neighborhood

It seems I was sleepwalking
Again last night
The way I was sweet talking
It must have caused a terrible fright
Last night when I was sleepwalking

Someone saw me at a doughnut shop
I was sitting, crying on a tabletop
It was not a pretty sight
I was out of control
The way that I was carrying on
About my sweet jelly roll

I said officer please
My baby's got me down on my knees
Lying in bed
Late at night
Sometimes I just go out of my head
At night
And I go out sleepwalking

Later on down at the jail cell
I was hoping things would turn out well
Because I don't recall
That masquerade ball
And I don't remember nothing y'all
About that blown up rubber doll

So lately I've stopped going anywhere
And I've taken to sleeping with a teddy bear
It's a very full and rich
Imaginary life
And it's sure enough better than dreaming y'all
About any imaginary wife

(David Rodriguez)

Comfort me said she
With your conversation
With the cocktails
And the candlelight
In your eyes
It's funny how we hunger
For some inspiration
And everything else
That money just won't buy

Men have lied
Many good girls have gone astray
Just to hear the gypsy play
One more lilting cowboy tune
And as the rivers run dry
And the mountains blow away
They sing of lovers and how they lay
Beneath this crazy frontier moon

I ain't no golden boy
I ain't no Grecian dancer
And I ain't no loudmouthed cowboy
From the West
I'm not the kind of man
With all the answers
But I surely know the songs
That suit me best

But lately I've had something on my mind
It's growing stronger all the time
Calling out when I'm alone
But I'm a poet
And I'm bound to walk the line
Between the real and the sublime
And give the muses back their own

It's a penny for your thoughts
It's a dollar for you kisses
Keep a running tab on the time
'Cause what I've got the most of
Is what she misses
The clock is hers
The hourglass is mine

But I'm her lover
Not a man bent on revenge
Hanging out here on the fringe
Of my native borderlands
Counting the days
The sun shone golden across her head
Lying on the banks of the bayou's edge
Kicking up some Southeast Texas sand

Mama talked to me last night
She gave to me some good advice
She said Son you ought to quit
This old ramblin' all around
And marry you a sweet loving wife

But there's more pretty girls than one
More pretty girls than one
Any old town that I ramble all around in
There's more pretty girls than one

So Honey look down that old lonesome road
Hang down your pretty head and cry
'Cause I'm thinking all about
Them pretty little gals
And hoping that I never die

(Michael Martin Murphey and Boomer Castleman)

Now I was driving down
A West Texas highway
I saw a hitchhiker
And his thumb was pointing my way
He didn't look suspicious
And he didn't look any too clean

I put on my brakes
And I opened my door
I could tell he was a bum
By the muddy boot he wore
He said I'm going down to Haskell
Got a woman down in Abilene

He said East Texas
Is where I come from
I was working a rodeo out there
And it sure got humdrum
So I'm just traveling around
A whole lot of Texas I've seen

I'm mighty glad
You were going my way
In your brand new clothes there
And your great big Chevrolet
I'm going down to Haskell
Got a woman down in Abilene

Well he was grinning like a possum
And a mighty happy rascal
And he waved good-bye
When I let him out in Haskell
And that's about the last
Of that old road tramp
I ever did see

But I'm still wishing
To this very day
That he had my clothes
And my big Chevrolet
And it was me going to Haskell
With a woman down in Abilene

(Robert Earl Keen)

It's a busted old town
On the plains of West Texas
The drugstore's closed down
The river's run dry
The semis roll through
Just like stainless steel stallions
Goin' hard
Goin' fast
Goin' wild
Rollin' hard
Rollin' fast
Rollin' by

The mission still stands
At the edge of the plateau
And a stone marks the graves
Where the old cowboys lie
Asleep in a time
In a town just a young man
Goin' hard
Goin' fast
Goin' wild
Rollin' hard
Rollin' fast
Rollin' by

The drive-in don't play
No Friday night picture
With no big silver screen
To light up the sky
And gone are the days
Of post-wartime lovers
Goin' hard
Goin' fast
Goin' wild
Rollin' hard
Rollin' fast
Rollin' by

And me I stand here
At the last filling station
While the wind moans a dirge
To a coyote's cry
And I'm back in my car
And I'm out on the highway
Goin' hard
Goin' fast
Goin' wild

(Steve Fromholz)

Six o'clock silence
Of a new day beginning
Is heard in the small Texas town
Like a signal from nowhere
The people who live there
Are up and moving around
'Cause there's bacon to fry
And there's biscuits to bake
On the stove that the Salvation Army won't take
And you open the windows
And you turn on the fan
'Cause it's hotter than hell
When the sun hits the land

Walter and Fanny
Well they own the grocery
That sell most all that you need
They've been up and working
Since early this morning
They've got the whole village to feed
Well they put out fresh eggs
And throw bad ones away
That rotted because
Of the heat yesterday
The store is all dark
So you can't see the flies
That settle on round steak
And last Monday's pies

Sleepy Hill's drugstore
And the cafe are open
The coffee is bubbling hot
'Cause the folks that ain't working
Gonna sit there 'til sundown
And talk about what they ain't got
Someone just threw a clutch
In the old pickup truck
It seems like they're riding
On a streak of bad luck
The doctor bills came
And the well has gone dry
Seems their grown kids don't care
Whether they live or die

(Steve Fromholz)

Well, the last time I remember
That train stopping at the depot
Was when me and my Aunt Veta
Came riding back from Waco
I remember I was wearing
My long pants and we was sharing
Conversation with a man
Who sold ball-point pens and paper

And the train stopped once in Clifton
Where my Aunt bought me some ice cream
And my Mom was there to meet us
When the train pulled into Kopperl

But now kids at night break window lights
And the sound of trains only remains
In the memory of the ones like me
Who have turned their backs on the splintered cracks
In the walls that stand on the railroad land
Where we used to play and then run away
From the depot man

I remember me and brother
Used to run down to the depot
Just to listen to the whistle
When the train pulled into Kopperl
And the engine big and shiny
Black as coal that fed the fire
And the engineer would smile and say,
"Howdy, how ya fellows?"

And the people by the windows
Playing cards and reading papers
Looked as far away to us
As next summer's school vacation

(Steve Fromholz)

Mary Martin was a schoolgirl
Just seventeen or so
When she married Billy Archer
About fourteen years ago
Not even out of high school
Folks said it wouldn't last
But when you grow up in the country
You grow up mighty fast

They married in a hurry
In March before school was out
Folks said that she was pregnant,
"Just wait and you'll find out."
It came about that winter
One gray November morn
The first of many more to come
A baby boy was born

And cattle is their game
And Archer is the name
They give to the acres that they own
If the Brazos don't run dry
And the newborn calves don't die
Another year from Mary will have flown
Another year from Mary will have flown

Now Billy kept what cattle
His father could afford
Bouncing across the cactus
In a 1950 Ford
The cows were sick and skinny
And the weed was all that grew
But Billy kept the place alive
The only thing he knew

And Mary cooked the supper
And Mary scrubbed the clothes
And Mary busted horses
And blew the baby's nose
And Mary and a shotgun
Kept the rattlesnakes away
How she kept on smiling
No one could ever say

Now the drought of '57
Was a curse upon the land
No one in Bosque county
Could give Bill a helping hand
The ground was cracked and broken
And the truck was out of gas
And cows can't feed on prickly pear
Instead of growing grass

Well the weather got the water
And a snake bite took a child
And a fire in the old barn
Took the hay that Bill had piled
The mortgage got the money
And the screw worm got the cows
The years have come for Mary
She's waiting for them now

(Townes Van Zandt)

Day's full of rain
Sky's coming down again
I get so tired
Of these same old blues
Same old song
Baby it won't be long
'Fore I'll be tying on
My flyin' shoes
Flyin' shoes
'Til I'll be tying on
My flyin' shoes

Spring only sighed
Summer had to be satisfied
Fall is a feeling
That I just can't lose
I'd like to stay
Maybe watch a winter day
Turn the green water
To white and blue

Flyin' shoes
Flyin' shoes
'Til I'll be tying on
My flyin' shoes

The mountain moon
Forever sets too soon
Being alone
Is all the hills can do
Alone and then
Her silver sails again
And they will follow in
Their flyin' shoes
Flyin' shoes
And they will follow in
Their flyin' shoes

(Walter Hyatt)

Babes in the woods
Oh which way to go
Babes in the woods
No one to say no
Pretty people come to me
Cry your heart all out
Tell me what it's all about

Who remembers Kerouac
What was that all about
Right on Jack
So long Jack
Who remembers anything
And who cares anyhow
But here's to those still on the road
And those on the road back

Babes in the woods
Oh which way to go
Babes in the woods
No one to say no
Pretty people come to me
Cry your heart all out
Tell me what it's all about

Pretty people hear me cry
Cry my heart all out
Tell me what it's all about

(Townes Van Zandt)

My days they are the highway kind
They only come to leave
But the leaving I don't mind
It's the coming that I crave
Pour the sun upon the ground
Stand to throw a shadow
Watch it grow into the night
And fill the spinning sky

Time among the pine trees
It felt like breath of air
Usually I just walk these streets
And tell myself to care
Sometimes I believe me
Sometimes I don't hear
Sometimes the shape I'm in
Won't let me go

I don't know too much for truth
But my heart knows how to pound
My legs know how to love someone
My voice knows how to sound
It's a shame that it's not enough
It's a shame that it is a shame
Follow the circle down
Where would you be

You're the only one I want
I've never heard your name
Let's hope we meet someday
If we don't it's all the same
And I'll meet the ones between us
And be thinking about you
And all the places I have seen
And why you were not there

(Walter Hyatt)

I'm looking at a star
Wondering where you are
Lonely in love
Looking at the sky
Start to wonder my love
How long I'm going to burn
With this same old flame
I miss you all the time
Ain't unhappy
But I'm lonely in love

I know I didn't treat you right
Scared you into flight
Lonely in love
Never acted wise
Couldn't organize love
But these longings return
When I hear your name
I let you go and now
I can't forget somehow
I'm lonely in love

I'm young in the daylight
With a pocket full of money
Ladies to the left
And to the right
But when night time comes
I'm a star watcher Honey
I can't get along
On light bulb light

So I'm looking at a star
Wondering where you are
Lonely in love
Looking at the sky
Start to wonder my love
How long I'm going to play
In this rained out game
It don't make any sense
But Honey be convinced
I'm lonely in love

(Townes Van Zandt)

If I needed you
Would you come to me
Would you come to me
And ease my pain
If you needed me
I would come to you
I'd swim the seas
For to ease your pain

In the night forlorn
Ah, the morning's born
And the morning shines
With the lights of love
You will miss sunrise
If you close your eyes
That would break
My heart in two

Lady's with me now
Since I showed her how
To lay her lilly hand in mine
Loop and Lil agree
She's a sight to see
And a treasure for
The poor to find

(Walter Hyatt)

When you want me
I'll come knockin'
At your door
At your door
One of these days now
You'll be rockin'
You'll be rockin'
In my arms once more

Buddy I'm late again
I'm late again
I'm late again
Show me a wonder
That you can't be sure of
Now it's wait again
It's wait again
It's wait again
Show me a picture
Of the one you love

When you want me
I'll come knockin'
At your door
At your door
One of these days now
You'll be rockin'
You'll be rockin'
In my arms once more

But it was Christmas time
It was Easter time
It was Summer time
Sail away, sail away
To your daddy's garden
Now it's Winter time
It's Winter time
It's Winter time
And it's much too late
To ask your pardon

When you want me
I'll come knockin'
At your door
At your door
One of these days now
You'll be rockin'
You'll be rockin'
In my arms once more

We crossed the wild Pecos
We forded the Nueces
We swum the Guadalupe
And we followed the Brazos
Red River runs rusty
The Wichita clear
But down by the Brazos
I courted my dear

Singing li, li, li, le, le, le
Lend me your hand
Li, li, li, le, le, le
Lend me your hand
Li, li, li, le, le, le
Lend me your hand
There's many a river
That waters the land

Now the fair Angelina
Runs glossy and gliding
the crooked Colorado
Runs weaving and winding
The slow San Antonio
Courses and plains
But I never will walk
By the Brazos again

She kissed me and she hugged me
And she called me her dandy
The Trinity's muddy
But the Brazos quick sandy
She kissed me and she hugged me
And she called me her own
But down by the Brazos
She left me alone

Now the girls of Little River
They're plump and they're pretty
The Sabine and the Sulphur
Hold beauties a'many
The banks of the Neches
There are girls by the score
But down by the Brazos
I'll wander no more