1. |
Head West
02:52
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I’m so tired of dirty snow
And a sun that’s settin’ at three
I can’t take this ten below
This endless gray is gonna suffocate me
So come on baby let’s
Head west Maria
Head west with me
Head west Marie
We’ll dive right into the sea
We’ll take a bus to Omaha
We can hitch a ride from there
I won’t last here ’til the thaw
I need the sun in my face and ocean breeze in my hair
So come on baby let’s
Head west Maria
Head west with me
Head west Marie
Pick oranges straight from the tree
I wanna see the Hollywood sign
The palm-lined boulevards
Wind through Laurel Canyon with the windows down
See all the movie stars
So come on baby let’s
Head west…
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2. |
The Road Led Here
03:53
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Is it all a dream?
Did it really pay off
Our crackpot scheme
Yeah we went all in
Rolled the dice and gave the wheel a spin
And the road was winding
The path unclear
So many wrong turns
And we still got here
Now the skies are blue
And you’re here with me
And there’s nowhere
I’d rather be
Nowhere I’d rather be
We took the leap before we looked
To say the very least our plan was undercooked
We just kept movin’
Plowed ahead
Even when the warning lights were flashing red
And the road was winding
The path unclear
All those wrong turns
Still led us here
Now the skies are blue
And you’re here with me
And there’s nowhere
I’d rather be
Nowhere I’d rather be
Things were shaky
Touch-and go
It wasn’t easy for you
That much I know
It was a roller coaster
Wild ride
But you held on tight
Stayed right by my side
I knew a dreamer
He’d always say
If you have the will
Son you’ll find a way
He’d shoot me a smile
Say give it shot
It’s the only way to know if it will work or not
And the road may be winding
The path unclear
Just follow your heart
And your dreams my dear
Stay true to yourself and one day you’ll be
Right where you wanna be
Yeah right where
You wanna be
I wanna leave this world with today in my eyes
The sun in my face and clear blue skies
And all the people I love right here with me
Right where I wanna be
Yeah right where
I wanna be
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3. |
Better off Apart
03:26
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I feel lost, flying blind
Like I’m stumbling around in the dark
In a field that’s been mined
Walking on eggshells
We both know something’s wrong
And we both know we’ve tiptoed around this
For far too long
I feel like maybe I never knew you
Could it be I simply outgrew you
It hurts to say, but I know
Deep down in my heart
We’d be better off apart
You say that you’ve changed
Some people do
But I don’t think it’s fair you’d expect
I was gonna change too
I’m still the same man
That I’ve always been
Now I feel like we’re playing a game
There’s no way I can win
I just don’t understand
It all seems so strange
You loved me as is
Now you want me to change
I guess it’s best we move on
Make a brand new start
We’d be better off apart
It’s hard to surrender
Just walk away
We’ve laid out our cards
There’s no more left to say
It’s time we admit what we know
Deep down in our hearts
We’d be better off apart
You know I still love you
But it’s just not the same
I guess we’ve just drifted apart
An no one’s to blame
I think we’ve both known for quite a long while
We have different dreams
We can’t reconcile
It’s time to admit what we’ve known
Deep down in our hearts
We’d be better off apart
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4. |
We Ran Wild
04:26
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I felt a tap on my shoulder
Heard brother how have you been
Maybe you don’t remember me
But we used to hang out back when
He said I ran into Danny
And he was saying
That you moved away
But you’re still out there playin’
Good for you
Wish I was still playing too
We ran wild back in the day
I wish I had back
A small piece of what I pissed away
The cigarettes, drugs
All of the drinking
Every rock and roll cliche
Without ever thinkin’ that we
Might one day grow old
He said things ain’t been that great
But I’m okay, I guess
Things fell apart for a while there
I was a mess
He said I burned all my bridges
Pawned all my gear
I’ve been told that I’m lucky
To still be here
Not sure that’s true
Still I’m happy for you
- CHORUS -
Talked about old friends
Dead and gone
We both grew quiet
As we realized
That the list
Was heartbreakingly long
He said brother
you sure are lucky
You wrote that song
Who would have thought
That cow would give milk this long
Then he stared off into space
Before turning to go
He said someday brother
I’ll check out a show
We both knew
That that wasn’t true
We ran wild…
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5. |
Boats Slowly Sinking
04:13
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I woke up to the news this morning
Sat alone with it a while
Wish I could have been there with you
Held your hand
Seen your smile
We all know it’s coming
We all know the ending to the tale
We’re boats slowly sinking, my friend
Sinking from the moment we set sail
I hope the end was filled with color
A peaceful path from life to death
I hope you knew how much I loved you
Felt my love with your last breath
We all know it’s coming
We all know the ending to the tale
We’re boats slowly sinking, my friend
Sinking from the moment we set sail
I think you likely did more livin’
Than most do given twice the time
I wish you Godspeed on your journey
Ain’t none of us too far behind
- CHORUS -
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6. |
Texas Just Won't End
02:43
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I headed south on 35
Cut west on I-10
Trying to make my way to California
But Texas just won’t end
Blown out tires, roadside shrines
Desiccated deer
Are You Prepared to Meet Your Maker
Repent, The End Is Near
Thirteen hundred miles behind me
Twelve hundred more to go
Passing through the lands of Comanche
Caddo, Kiowa
Wonderin’ out loud
What the hell is a gulch
What’s a gully what’s a draw?
Stop checking the time, watching the miles
The flashing engine light
Ain’t no way I’m gonna make it on time
Unless I drive straight through the night
1500 miles behind me
A thousand more to go
Finally seein’ signs for mountain time
El Paso straight ahead
In the rearview
Every Cormac McCarthy
Book I ever read
Hello Las Cruces, Tucson, and Phoenix
Goodbye red dirt wind
Adiós a Texas
Lord, I thought you’d never end
1800 miles behind me
700 more to go
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7. |
Goodbye Wild Bill
04:49
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This here’s the story of a tortured soul
His journey down a deep, dark hole
A hole he would one day make his grave
Suicide by alcohol
Bad check taped to a liquor store wall
A damaged soul too far gone to save
Goodbye Wild Bill
I can see your smile and hear you laughing still
We were a rag tag band of outstate boys
Drank too much, made a lot of noise
Each and every one of us a mess
One day Wild Bill stumbled in
No one remembers where or when
He just blended in with our excess
We drank a lot, but Bill drank more
We’d do three shots, he’d do four
His brain went black before his mouth would quit
We’d head to bed, he’d keep drinking
Further down, he just kept sinking
Half the shit he’d say he’d forget
Lost his job, lost his car
He was 86’d from every bar
So he commenced to slowly kill himself
From beer to scotch, scotch to vodka
Kessel One to Kamshaska
He drank his way down to the bottom shelf
He’d disappear after dark
Find rough trade down in Loring Park
Then show up bruised and bloody at my door
He’d fill my ashtrays, drink my liquor
Laugh and lie and cry and bicker
Until he’d finally pass out on my floor
I had to walk away from Bill
I had to but it haunts me still
I was fighting demons of my own
I was on my knees, but I was tryin’
Bill was just dead-set on dying
He had to walk that final mile alone
Then one day the news came in
Wild Bill’s ride had reached it’s end
Came as no surprise to anyone
I shed my tears for Wild Bill
His story haunts me, always will
Was there anything more I could have said or done
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8. |
Much More Than This
03:27
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We call out to our angels
When the pain’s too much to bear
Mother, mother, mother
Please hear my prayer
Don’t leave me here all alone
Come take my hand
Take me home
Won’t you sing to me that sweet sad song
That calmed my fears
Hold me in your arms
Wipe away my tears
Ease my pain with your kiss
Remind me that I’m so much
More than this
Come to me
Come to me and help me bear this weight
Lean to me
Whisper in my ear
It’s not too late
To fill my heart with love
Not hate
Cries for mercy went unanswered
So I closed my eyes to pray
Mother, mother, mother
Please carry me away
Don’t leave me here all alone
Come take my hand
Take me home
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9. |
Anyone but Me
02:57
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Hear the semis shiftin’ down heading west
Out on the interstate
The sad lowing of the cattle out at the stockyard
Waiting on their fate
Clear channel radio all the way from Chicago
Set my young soul free
Del Shannon, Johnny Cash
Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, the Clash
Whispered just to me
Laying in my twin sized bed
Soft-lit by the glow
Of the luminescent display
Of my flip clock radio
Dreaming of a wider world
Hoping one day I would be
Anywhere but there
Anyone but me
Anyone but me
I’d sleepwalk home from school
Lock my door
And put the headphones on
Lay the needle on the record
Close my eyes
In an instant I was gone
Music fed my soul
Gave life meaning
Made me whole
Became my everything
I hung on each and every word
Studied every song I heard
I’d close my eyes and sing
I swear, I felt the pain
Of Del Shannon crying’
As he was walkin’ in the rain
Laying in my twin sized bed
Soft-lit by the glow
Of the luminescent display
Of my flip clock radio
Dreaming of a wider world
Hoping one day I would be
Anywhere but there
Anyone but me
Anyone but me
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10. |
Big City Man
03:59
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Zigzagging down Lake Street
Clad in the armor of youth
Dumb and dirty
A long way from thirty
Feeling bulletproof
Ass pocket bottle of whiskey
Full pack of cigarettes
A little money in my pocket
Got nothin’ on the docket
Still far too young for regrets
I shed my outstate skin and now I’m free
Man, get a look at me
Here I am
A reborn, reinvented
Big-city man
Oh no, no, no, no
Ain’t no turnin’ back
No idea where I’m headin’
But feelin’ right on track
Cashed my check at the Cromwell
Walked all the way from St Paul
To the Uptown I go
Check out Good Joe
And I’ll be broke by last call
It’s only money anyway
It was a perfect day
Here I am…
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11. |
Forty Years Along
04:45
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When the sun is out I feel alright
But my whole world falls to pieces
When I’m alone at night
And all those old scenes scroll through my head
Highlight reels of all the ugly things
Ugly things I’ve done and said
The fight is real
The road is long
It never ends
It goes on and on
And I know
I just keep singing the same old song
Trying to work my way through the same old heartaches
Forty years along
I know sleep will bring reprieve
Until then the sky’s gonna fall
And everyone I love will leave
When I’m dead and gone
How will you remember me
Will you judge me by my kindness
Or my cruelty
Will you think about my soft heart
My smile, my kiss
Will you forgive me all those lost years
All my selfishness
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Martin Zellar Minneapolis, Minnesota
Martin Zellar first appeared on the MN music scene in the late 80s as the lead singer and songwriter for the alt-country
pioneers, Gear Daddies. The Gear Daddies released 2 albums on Polygram Records before amicably parting ways in 1992.
Zellar has gone on to record and perform as a solo artist and with his band The Hardways, releasing 8 more albums on the Rykodisc and Owen Lee Recordings labels.
... more
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