Slaid Cleaves "Broke down" Visit Slaid on the web at www.slaid.com 1 BROKE DOWN by Slaid Cleaves and Rod Picott Sherry had a pawn shop band of gold A sink full of dishes and a love grown cold Long came a boy, pretty as the devil She took his hand the whole thing unravelled There's no turnin' round It's broke down Billy took the ring, jammed if in his pocket Drove downtown and tried to hawk if Down at the bottom of Lake Ponchartrain There's a love note carved inside a wedding ring Broke down, cracked and shattered Left in pieces like it never even mattered Broke down, torn and frayed Ain't nothin' left you could give away There's no furnin' round It's broke down Ain't no tellin' where love goes Maybe down where the black river flows Won't be comm' back 'round It's broke down Baby in the backseat and another on the way Sherri thinks of Billy at the end of every day Spends her nights waiting for real life to start Listening to the sound of her double-crossed heart Broke down, cracked and shattered Left in pieces tike it never even mattered There's no turnin' round It's broke down On the other side of town two lovers lie still Cigarette smoking on a window sill There's a picture locked up in an old suitcase Billy closes his eyes but he still sees her face Broke down. cracked and shattered Left in pieces fike if never even mattered Broke down, torn and frayed Ain't nothin left you could give away There's no turnin' round It's broke down Broke down IVAN BROWN upright bass SLAID CLEAVES vocal, acoustic guitar MARK COUSINS drums DARCIE DEAVILLE background vocal IAN MCLAGAN Hammond organ GURF MORLIX electric guitar 2 ONE GOOD YEAR by Steve Brooks and Slaid Cleaves It's New Years Day Just like the day before Same old skies of grey Same empty bottles on the floor Another year gone by And I'm thinking once again How can I take this losing hand And somehow win Just give me one good year To get my feet back on the ground I've been chasing grace But grace ain't so easily found One bad hand can devil a man Chase him and carry him down I gotta get out of here Just give me one good year I'm burning oil Engine's running rough I drive from job to job But if's never enough I can't find the will To just up and get away Some kind of chains holding me down To make me stay Just give me one good year... It's a bitter wind In your face every day It's the little sins That wear your soul away When you start giving in Where do the promises all go Will your darkest hour Write a blank check on your soul? Just give me one good year To get my feet back on the ground I've been chasing grace But grace ain't so easily found One bad hand can devil a man A good one can turn him around I gotta get out of here Just give me one good year SLAID CLEAVES vocal, acoustic guitar GURF MORLIX bass, acoustic lap steel guitar,high strung guitar. mandolin, Magnus organ CHRIS SEARLES drums, tamborine 3 HORSESHOE LOUNGE by Slaid Cleaves and Karen Poston Ricky got the quarters for the table and broke While I pulled hard on the sorrow and smoke Raising up my bottle I looked for a chance As you set your glass down on the bar with a glance at me Down at the Horseshoe Lounge Shuffleboard and neon light Down at the Horseshoe Lounge Cigarettes and whiskey tonight Ricky said. "She's out of your league, let her go" As I watched you pick your partner on that old dance floor I know it didn't work out the first time we tried But I'd do anything to have you by my side again Down at the Horseshoe Lounge Peel the label off a Miller Life Down at the Horseshoe Lounge I sit here thinkin' 'bout you every night Were you the one who faltered? Was I the one who strayed? Maybe God left us out of the plans He made So here's to missed beginnings and things that never start For these are the ghosts that run around in my heart When I see that where I'm going isn't where I want to be I get the urge to look you up. see if you would come and meet me Down at the Horseshoe Lounge Hey buddy, have you got a fight? Down at the Horseshoe Lounge One more and I'll be all right Down at the Horseshoe Lounge Peel the label off a Miller Life Down at the Horseshoe Lounge I sit here thinkin' 'bout you every night Ricky got the quarters for the table and broke While I pulled hard on the sorrow and smoke IVAN BROWN upright bass, background vocal SLAID CLEAVES vocal, acoustic guitar MARK COUSINS drums GURF MORLIX electric guitar, lap steel guitar, tamborine, background vocal 4 COLD AND LONELY by Slaid Cleaves Cold and lonely I'm still on the farm Cold and lonely I never meant anybody harm We lost children If was too much for my wife Cold and lonely Living out a hopeless life Cold and lonely The winter hills were bare Kathy's crying She's got blood in her hair Called the doctor But the doctor says she'll die Cold and lonely One more kiss goodbye The Bible says you'll reap what you sow I gave everything I had Got nothing left to show Cold and lonely Time just drifting by Wind is spinning Taking souls up to the sky Springtime's coming But I won't be there Just cover my bones And sing me a little prayer CHARLES ARTHUR lap steel guitar IVAN BROWN upright bass, background vocal SLAID CLEAVES vocal GURF MORLIX octafone, electric guitar, Magnus organ, claves, bongos, background vocal 5 BREAKFAST IN HELL by Slaid Cleaves In the melting snows of Ontario where the wind'lf make you shiver 'Twas the month of May up in Georgian Bay near the mouth of the Musquash River Where the bears prowl and the coyotes howl and you can hear the osprey scream Back in '99 we were cutting pine and sending it down the stream Young Sandy Gray came to Go Home Bay aft the way from P.E.I. Where the weather's rough and if makes you tough, no man's afraid to die Sandy came a smilin', 30,000 Islands was the place to claim his glory Now Sandy's gone but his name lives on and this is Sandy's story Young Sandy Gray lives on today in the echoes of a mighty yell Listen close and you'll hear a ghost in this story that I tell, boys This story that I fell Now Sandy Gray was boss of the men who'd toss the trees onto the shore They'd come and go til they'd built a floe 100.000 logs or more And he'd ride 'em down toward Severn Sound to cut 'em up in the mills for timber And ships would haul spring summer and fall til the ice came in December One Sabbath Day big Sandy Gray came into camp with a peavey on his shoulder With a thundercrack he dropped his axe and the room got a little bit colder Said. "Come on all you. We got work to do. We gotta give 'er all we can give 'er" "There's a jam of logs at the little jog near the mouth of the Musquash River" With no time to pray on the Lord's day, they were hoping for God's forgiveness But the jam was high in a troubled sky and they set out about their business They poked with their poles and ran with the rolls and tried to stay on their feet Every trick they tried and one man cried. "This log jam's got us beat!" But Sandy Gray was not afraid and he let out a mighty yell' "I'll be damned, we'll break this jam, or it's breakfast in Hell, boys." "Breakfast in Hell!" Now every one of the men did the work of ten and Sandy scrambled up to the top He's working like a dog heaving 30 foot logs and it looked like he'd never stop They struggled on these men so strong til the jam began to sway Then they dove for cover to the banks of the river all except for Sandy Gray Now with thoughts of death they held their breath as they saw their friend go down They all knew in a second or two he'd be crushed or frozen or drowned They saw him fall and they heard him call, just once and then it was over Young Sandy Gray gave his life that day near the mouth of the Musquash River But Sandy Gray was not afraid and he let out a mighty yell "I'll be damned, we'll break this jam, or it's breakfast in Hell, boys." "Breakfast in Hell!" East of Giant's Tomb there's plenty of room, there's no fences and no walls And if you listen close you'll hear a ghost down by Sandy Gray Falls Through the tops of the trees you'll hear in the breeze the echos of a mighty yell: "I'll be damned, we'll break this jam, or it's breakfast in Hell!" And Sandy Gray fives on today in the echoes of a mighty yell: "I'll be damned, we'll break this jam, or it's breakfast in Hell, boys." "Breakfast in Hell"" CHARLES ARTHUR electric guitar IVAN BROWN upright bass, background vocal SLAID CLEAVES vocal; acoustic guitar MARK COUSINS drums GURF MORLIX six string bass, background vocals, long bolt 6 BRING IT ON by Staid Cleaves and Rod Picoft I know we don't deserve to be going down this way Pushed around and bound to troubled days And every time we stand up, dust each other off I know we may be losin' but we ain't lost Bring it on, bring it on I've seen the rain tumblin' down I've felt the cold wind blow. I've seen trouble hanging 'round Bring it on, bring it on Once I dreamed of riches, of happiness untold Now hopes tie scattered. trash along a lonesome road But I don't ask for mercy, it just don't work that way Today I'm down but hope will rise another day Bring it on, bring it on I've seen the rain tumblin' down I've felt the cold wind blow. I've seen trouble hanging 'round, bring it on Bring it on, bring it on I've seen it all by now My pride is gone but I'm still here somehow, bring it on, bring it on All those little dreams that never came to be Well I keep your every teardrop down inside of me And as I watch you steeping I hope that you still dream 'Cause lately when I wake up I don't feel anything Bring it on.. CHARLES ARTHUR electric guitar SLAID CLEAVES vocal, acoustic guitar MARK COUSINS drums GURF MORLIX bass, electric guitar, Magnus organ 7 LYDIA by Karen Poston Lydie lit a cigarette today Ancient fumbling fingers in her way From a forty-year-old coffee cup she sipped a bit of gin Closed her eyes and let the memories in She fives in the old place all alone Keeps in touch with neighbors by the phone Grows herbs upon the graves of her first born and his father And the coal trucks never bothered her Oh, Lydie let him go, the boy is gone Her mother struggled as she tore him from her arms Oh, Lydia, your tears are heaven's rain But she never was the same A cotton dress and satin shoes Indian summer sun, dressed in amber hues Spending time with a coal miner's son To an old-time fiddle tune The months blew by just like a breeze that year They wed in June and by the fall the boy was here Word come down from big stone, there's a fire in the mine And eleven men they couldn't find Oh, Lydie. let him go... She watched them pull him from the hole The overalls he wore were blackened by the smoke Lydie twice had had this dream and twice it had come true And when she saw his father's boots she knew Oh, Lydie. let him go... Lydie lit a cigarette today Ancient fumbling fingers in her way From a forty-year-old coffee cup she sipped a bit of gin Closed her eyes and let the memories in CHARLES ARTHUR lap steel guitar IVAN BROWN upright bass SLAID CLEAVES vocal, acoustic guitar MARK COUSINS drums GURF MORLIX acoustic lead guitar 8 THIS MORNING I AM BORN AGAIN lyrics by Woody Gutbrie, music by Slaid Cleaves This morning I was born again and a light shines on my land I no longer took for heaven in your deathly distant land I do not want your pearly gates don't want your streets of gold This morning I was born again and a light shines in my soul This morning I was born again, I was born again complete I stood up above my troubles and I stand on my two feet My hand it feels unlimited, my body feels like the sky I feel at home in the universe where yonder planets fly This morning I was born again, my past is dead and gone This great eternal moment is my great eternal dawn Each drop of blood within me, each breath of life I breathe Is united with these mountains and the mountains with the seas I feel the sun upon me, its rays crawl through my skin I breathe the life of Jesus and old John Henry in I give myself, my heart, my soul to give some friend a hand This morning I was born again, I am in the promised land This morning I was born again and a fight shines on my land I no longer took for heaven in your deathly distant land I do not want your pearly gates don't want your streets of gold And I do not want your mansion for my heart is never cold IVAN RROWN acoustic bass, background vocal SLAID CLEAVES vocal, acoustic guitar MARK COUSINS drums GURF MORLIX electric guitar 9 KEY CHAIN by Staid Cleaves I had plenty of keys On my key ring A beautiful home I had everything With a lovin' wife And a car to drive I came home from work Every day at five And one by one I started losin' them keys My darling wife I just couldn't please My boss got on My nerves one day I knew that I Was on my way I lost my wife, I lost my home Quit my job, and set out alone With just one key on my key chain I'm gonna start all over again She finally decided We just couldn't be She wanted things I just couldn't see She said. "I'm tired Of waiting around" She took the fast Train out of town I lost my wife, I lost my home... Well the bankers came And took the key to my home Just one key left From all I ever owned I'm turning that key Lettin' out the clutch I never did like This town that much I lost my wife, I lost my home... IVAN BROWN acoustic bass, background vocal SLAID CLEAVES vocal, acoustic guitar GURF MORLIX electric guitar, background vocal 10. I FEEL THE BLUES MOVING IN by Del McCoury The last letter that you wrote Was on a blue piece of paper That old feeling's back The clouds are moving in Though the miles are between us I thought our love would strengthen As it had so many times before But something has happened I can see it in your writing I can felt my world is crumbling And the blues are at my door The last letter that you wrote Was on a blue piece of paper That old feeling's back The clouds are moving in The beginning of the end is near I fear your love is fading In the darkness It seems to have no friend I feel the blues movin' in Oh it's not the words you wrote That made me sad and broken hearted And put me in this sad shape I'm in Between the lines are mixed emotions There's teardrops on the paper And you said. "That's all I'll write today" "I'll close for now as friends" The last letter that you wrote... Oh this state of mind is desperate And the hole that I'm sinking in Gets deeper white I'm diggin to get out Oh please give the right answer To the questions I'm asking If you told me that you loved me It would turn my world about The last letter that you wrote... Produced by Cool Beans! SLAID CLEAVES vocal, acoustic guitar LAURA NADEAU vocal JANEK SIEGELE vocal, lead acoustic guitar F]