The door opens heavy and the pen drags dry And deep breaths have only helped the bubble grow to this size Is it better to burst or continue the hurt from inside? Cuz there’s no telling what’s next and no way to check over the rise The past starts to fade As I close out the chapter The present’s a haze And I don’t know what’s after I step out in the sun skeptical of the shine I know I’m never alone still I want this path to be mine But I don’t know which way and already feel behind What can I do in the light while I still have the time? The past starts to fade As I close out the chapter The present’s a haze And I don’t know what’s after It’s the same what after as it was before And I did ok back then The worst voices say “you think you got struggles now Just wait to see what’s coming round the bend” I smile and say “let me tell you what’s after” I can take this chance and make my loved ones proud Show every possibility And there’s no failure fear that can hold me down Since the worst has already shaken me So watch and let me show you what’s after I step out in the sun, excited by the shine I know I’m never alone but still the path is mine

I come in off the trail with Wyatt, Bat, James and Virgil We were thirsty for some whiskey but had not a penny to our names My boots were too dusty and my muscles too tired To sit with some inbreds and lie through my teeth for a few card games The other four boys got a table and I mosied on up to the bar They often joked there was more silver on my tongue than in all of Tombstone I said, “barkeep!... we came in only with our guns and good looks I ain’t good with a broom, ain’t good with the books but a drink would liven up our weary bones” He said, “empty your wheel gun out on the bar And we’ll see how many rounds there are It’s one shot for one shot And I only deal in 45s So with one shot for the whole lot That leaves with one shot for your life I looked at the bullets but I looked longer at the bottle And as much as I hated to part with those five rounds, life’s for taking chances So I told the boys we had a deal and they all came up for their drinks Then my eyes stopped at the stairs and Big Nose Kate and I were exchanging glances I last saw her when the Rangers took me from her bed But she helped me escape before they could get the rope around my neck She walked over to where the mouth breathers were playing And one spouted a curse at her cuz they didn’t have a whole deck I said “you have one shot to apologize Or I’ll put my one shot between your eyes It’s one shot for one shot And I only deal in 45s One shot is all you got That leaves you with one shot for your life Then he said something dumb like he don’t apologize to whores So I figured he was asking for all the things that would come next I still had my whiskey in hand when he reached for his gun But he was all wrist and it’s all hips so I kept my word, à la tête Now I was empty and didn’t spill a drop Then his friend made a move but I was quick to my knife He knew he’d been beat at the shine of the blade I finally drank and said “give me your bullets and I’ll let you leave with your life” Before he ran he let them fall on the ground And I bought the boys and Kate another round It’s one shot for one shot And I only deal in 45s So with one shot for the whole lot You got one shot for your life

The blood of the land is in the body of the west And you can tell around harvest time The fruits of labor make it a grand one to savor Along with the struggle in the vine You can make it on down to the Cochise County line With the arid air in your nose Taste the toils and triumphs and feel the trails of the migrants Without leaving to see where it grows (pre chorus) I raise my glass up high Come on and raise your glass to the sky And toast to the whole desert wide (chorus) The west is still wild when you look on it for miles But there’s a new kind of goldrush this time Bringing the riches straight to your lips Its the wine from these dusty vines This has been the land of fighters since we learned what it offered And its always rewarded the tough These vines would make those old gunfighters proud Surviving no matter how rough For in this old desert you gotta take what you can get And get while the getting’s good on the land When the hard winds bring in the rain from the south You can get clusters that fit in both hands (pre-chorus) (chorus) I’m going up on the mesa with my dusty vino And watching the sun go down I revel in the land’s beauty and the wine in the glass And the fact that it came from its ground (pre-chorus) (chorus)

One for my romeo y juliettas I’m familiar with your kind my friend and it’s unlikely you’ll have a respectable end Me, I’m a businessman And I know life like this cigar in my hand Too many people don’t know if you cut it too high It will unravel and leave you dry I keep one for my romeo y julietas The other for your fingers You say you want more money for a trip to vegas I have no confidence that you’ll come back to see us Man, I thought you were smarter than this My only interests are cigars and interest You’re good for it is all you say But you ain’t won nothing since that horse Lucky Day So you see my dilemma now and the need for collateral before you leave town I keep one for my romeo y juliettas The other for your fingers You say you want more money for a trip to vegas I have no confidence that you’ll come back to see us I’m beginning to get impatient here As you compromise my wealth Since you don’t use those fingers for counting cash I guess I will just help myself Part of my living comes from gambling on the gamblers And I like to keep those who keep a good handle But you become a bad hand, so I’ll give you a bad hand Instead of folding you and making you a dead man If you’re still looking to leave here with green You better be willing to part with your pinkies Yeah while I wait for you to make some digits You’ll have to leave some digits here with me I keep one for my romeo y julietas The other for your fingers You say you want more money for a trip to vegas I will make sure that you come back to see us

Heard the rusty gate swinging Through the cracked window, that you climb right in Homeroom thoughts in the morning Carried through, now it starts with the first button Lay down, Lay down With no company between us We don’t have much time Heels on the stairs and there’s creeks in the truss Oh grab your clothes and wait in here Til I return Only in first throws A cheshire shows I’ll make her turn So we can be alone Tell me where we were I don’t remember how to draw it out It starts with our love And we are free now to build it up Lay down, lay down With no company between us Shining through the first time Steps on the stairs and there’s creeks in the truss Oh grab your clothes and wait in here Til I return Only in first throws A cheshire shows I’ll make him turn So we can be alone This love, this love , this invincible love We crash together no mold for our throws Take for the dawning of our love Now you must turn like a chehsire shows.

It looks like it’s just practice As they’re crawling ‘cross the floor Slipped in through the skylights Just to pocket Marlboros They move so graceful in the night But leave thousands in the drawer It’s done for the deed and not the dollar Watch them protect their silhouettes Staying quiet and staying low Just watch how they move You can tell they’ve watched you before As you watch them on the tape And wonder what they came in for Looks like it’s rehearsal for the night crawlers (chorus) The night crawler rehearsal is on you The corner stores are not the cursed on fools Their plans are universal gone through And stealing power The night crawler rehearsal is on you No need to lock up the purse and jewels Aiming higher with a thirst for truth Are the night crawlers They only hit a town once And they’re all a different stage Up here in New England There are plenty of places to play You can’t even hear the tool bag clink As they make their escape Looking like they hardly caused a bother Someone said it takes 10,000 hours To be an expert at your trade But you have to work smart And you have to work late It’s tough not to wonder what they take When they finally get paid But it’s still rehearsal for the night crawlers

Bust Out: Early, John When I got sick of running they damned my soul to Diamond Point Stamped ulcered and unclean That world-old fear cries testaments to the free To keep its shiny sheen What can a poor, sick man without friends or money do? They call me bust out early John And you can bet your health I won’t be here for long She heard me in the capital playing mandolin through the wall And she’d sing along But in the dissonance of Feds, press and neighbor folks She couldn’t find the song I’m so tired of it all. If only they’d let me go home They call me bust out early John I’ll show my feared face again on the capitol lawn I’ve got the world behind me I’ve got feelings and tastes You’ll only find me when I want And I want to show you ain’t chaste You catch the news and I’ll catch the Route 1 bus We’ll see who catches it worse All the true stories are sleeping beneath their trucks Laying blind to the purse I won’t be the last and I’m certainly not the first You can call me bust out early John I frighten Capitol crowds who sing Capitol songs They gave me cold shackles when I needed a warm hand Calling my acts tragedies I was poked and prodded, locked up and shipped out too Then taxed for my maladies No matter the results I’m cuffed as a carrier But the call me bust out early John And when you come back with the meds, you’ll find me gone Men shrink from me But only when informed You’ll only find me when I want And I want to say you been warned ---- I waved Tommy Marshall as I checked into the Grand And smiled when he strolled by Then tasted the cheddar with crackers at the reception And spread the news on high It’s worth the world to never let them forget You can call me bust out early John While I’m headed back to lock up they say my blood’s gone wrong I was poked and prodded, locked up and shipped out too Then forced to pay salaries They kept my money clean and my words in a gas chamber And taxed for my maladies No matter the results, I was ‘cuffed as a carrier But they call me bust out early John When you come back with the meds, you’ll find me gone On the way up the hill some bellies belted bourgeois blues And it echoed all day I found a cane in the mud in it the word “fear” carved deep I used to climb the rest of the way When I got to the top, I waved it at the words of Taft They call me bust out early John And I’m headed back to lock up, they say my blood’s gone wrong Most call me a terrorist, few call me a refugee But I’m just regular folk I pay for no crime, just a bill of inconvenience It’s enough to keep me broke No matter the results, I’m ‘cuffed as a carrier But they call me bust out early John When you come back with the meds, you’ll find me gone

Twist of Spirits Maybe it took too long to get here But we always knew along the way The end was never hard to see A turn through the years sees us overcoming fears On summer nights and rainy days Tying it up from the west down to the east We continue our own revolutions And make the change we want to be With each spin we tie it in so we can go to world’s end tethered to each other’s souls We build the thread to support and defend All our hopes and dreams With each spin we tie it in since the first sip of gin our love only grows We are a twist of spirits And tonight we take another spin around Wound down in a time of our own We are a twist of spirits And there is no telling where we can be bound Found as we look back to see how we’ve already grown Yes we grow in a time of our own Finding holes in the standards we’ve learned And thread each needle eye we find As we tie the knot and drift in thought To the point where our spirits stir Rising em up with your hand in mine We can walk out to find our flaws are gone We are just better as one We got strings to build all things to see what tomorrow brings and let the adventure flow You’ve seen us tread and it’s not in our heads Wind at our backs and faces toward the sun We got strings to build all things tip our heads back and sing as our love continues to grow We are a twist of spirits And tonight we take another spin around Wound down in a time of our own We are a twist of spirits And there is no telling where we can be bound Now that we are finally home

I barely made it home Everyone has lost control Thanks to the earthquake and the mysterious plague I believe it was a sign When I found what the looters left behind Relax my love we shall soon be safe So let's use all the air in our chests And simply float away from this mess Yes let's just go out on the lake in our new inflatable sofa And watch the world end I got some beer and trail mix To go hold us over Til it's safe to start again Darlin don't shed a year The apocalypse is here But we can still grow older We can see it turn And watch it all burn From the lake on our inflatable sofa Fjudklfjd As we push off from the shore We can see the world's at war Just by how beautiful the sky is tonight The ash and clouds above our heads Reflects a yellow and a blood red From the cities on fire and out of sight If it's going to go this way, let's try to win And find a good spot to throw the anchor in So let's just go out on the lake with our inflatable sofa And watch the world end I brought my fishing pole and propane stove The bass don't know what's in store for them Darlin don't shed a tear The apocalypse is here But we can still grow older We can see it turn And watch it all burn from the lake on our inflatable sofa

A crooked shield on a crooked cop Kneeling down to evil stealing freedoms ensured The forgery is his motto of protection Since the suffocating evil was allowed to serve The crooked shield goes crooked to the top There were four on Floyd but POTUS makes five Condoning shots fired at his citizens Already in fear for their lives Broken and breathless To finally see change The suffocating evil Stays knee deep in hate Keeping people down In constant pain If there’s no justice Then the evil remains The power seethes this evil Don’t be deceived by this evil A disease to the people Can’t breathe with this evil It’s the suffocating evil Reinforcements arrived to back the stranglehold Uniforms of peace turned to uniforms of war Dozens out for change put in chains before the killer So we start suffocating evil to be no more Start suffocating evil out of every crooked place From every suffocating street where evil’s shed a tear And most of all to take away the evil’s air And elect not to have evil in office next year