lyrics from One More Time Around 

Pass It Along 

This guitar came from a timber, from the body of a tree 
Through the workshop of a luthier, now it's on loan to me 
And it's good company after dinner, and it fits my hands just fine 
But some day another singer with a pair of hands like mine 
Will coax out songs much prettier still hiding in its strings 
And sing stronger, braver words than I could ever sing 
And folks are gonna love it, of this I'm almost sure 
So I'll take good care of it, cause I'm borrowing it from her 

Pass it along, pass it along 
May it land in careful hands when we're gone 
You carry it for a moment 
But time won't loan it to you for long 
You don't own it, pass it along 

This here is my country, sometimes it's hard to recognize it 
But I count myself lucky, to have been born inside it 
And I'm grateful for the rights others struggled hard to win 
And you can be sure I'm gonna fight when they try to take 'em back again 
Oh, and everywhere are teachers, though some fell along the way 
The words they said still reach us, just like you're teaching me here today 
And you may not speak it loud, but it's clear in what you do 
And I hope to make you proud, because I borrowed it from you 

Seems these days we're in a hurry, to grab up all that's left to use 
Putting patents on discovery, making seeds that don't reproduce 
If our vision is so narrow, seeing only bought and sold 
We'll end up like the pharaohs, buried with their gold 
We've all pushed this thing along, we've all been guided by our fear 
But the river sings a song we've gotta be quieter to hear 
It's in every child's face, new and hopeful as a stem 
Best be gentle with this place, cause we're borrowing it from them 

Among the Trees 

Remember when we played among the trees? 
Threw pinecones and skinned our knees 
Built forts out of sticks and boats out of paper and wood 
And the days lasted so long 
Lots of games had their own song 
And up until dinnertime, we had the run of the neighbourhood 

There was a rainbow in a piece of glass 
Dewdrops in the tall grass 
Dark smells and shade, and a puddle of water in an old rubber tire 
And a hiding place inside it 
And anywhere your bones fit 
And inside every story with something to fight against, and someone to admire 

And the TV signed off at night 
But you could read with a flashlight 
And games just took cards, or chalk, or jacks and a ball 
We played grown-up with candy smokes 
And hockey cards in our bike spokes 
Climbing a maple tree, the seeds would helicopter as they fall 

We'd always known it, but if we knew what it was worth 
Would we have traded it for trinkets from the company store? 
I ain't saying it was heaven, but at least it was earth 
We don't taste much of that anymore 

What weight pulled our kites down? 
What fear drove us from the playground? 
Convinced us there's only one game and the point is to win it? 
What modesty clipped our wings? 
Traded our dreams for things? 
Led from leaf-covered trails to a road with no poetry in it? 

And can we find our way back somehow? 
Or has our imagination failed us now? 
With the world at our fingertips, doors locked and shades drawn 
Can we catch a wild breeze again? 
Are there still far-aways on the wind? 
Stories worth believing, dreams worth betting everything on? 

Mama Always Said 

A dark-eyed girl with a load of hurt 
Mama always said be careful 
Took most of it with her, didn't leave a word 
Mama always said, be careful with your love 

Sometimes the truth's too hard to learn 
Mama always said be careful 
Can't face it straight, you find a way to turn 
Mama always said, be careful with your love 

All jacked up on Saturday night 
Mama always said be careful 
She'll be a stranger in Sunday's light 
Mama always said, be careful with your love 

Too late for the cops, you're hopin' 
Mama always said be careful 
Foot on the gas and one eye open 
Mama always said, be careful with your love 

Oh, Mama always told you, boy 
It's you I'm thinking of 
You're my pride and joy 
Be careful with your love 

It'd break her hear to see her boy this way 
Mama always said be careful 
A whole two-six to get through the day 
Mama always said, be careful with your love 

And the girly bars that you walk past 
Mama always said be careful 
Got a hollow face in the window glass 
Mama always said, be careful with your love 

You got two eyes and you got two lungs 
Mama always said be careful 
You only got one heart, just that one 
Mama always said, be careful with your love 

When We're Back Around 

Thought of you up in the timberline 
Where the cool wide open starts 
You're there whenever I clear my mind 
There whenever I ask my heart 
And there beside the snow-fed creek sliding clear along 
Laughing with the clapping leaves and the kingfisher's song 
And again along the weary way down 
Thinking of someday, baby, when we're back around 

Thought of you in the dusky air 
With the day's journey just begun 
Thought of the autumn in your hair 
And the way you wear that setting sun 
Thought of all the miles I'm going, all the time we tried 
And how long we held on, knowing that I had to leave and why 
Wondered if different reasons might be found 
Someday, baby, when we're back around 

Thought of you when I heard last call 
When the hour's hungry for a kiss 
I'm tired of barrooms and alcohol 
You used to take me home 'fore it came to this 
There's a couple young girls making out right in front of their fellas 
And the guys think it's all about trying to make 'em jealous 
But when she dips her down close to the ground 
She whispers, "someday, baby, when we're back around" 

Thought of you rollin' through Michigan 
With her turquoise lakes and her peeping toads 
Getting around to wishin' again 
For someone like you to share these roads 
I guess we did right parting, but right's still hard to feel 
Now I can't hold you darling, so I just hold this wheel 
And dream through the time zones and towns 
To someday, baby, when we're back around 
I just dream through the time zones and towns 
To someday, baby, when we're back around 

You Don't Find Out in the End 

We don't know how we got here 
Tell stories because we forget 
Probably never know what's out there 
If we haven't found out yet 
Life's clues fly by thick and fast 
And you can't watch the movie again 
You don't know the plot, if you're a good guy or not 
And you don't find out in the end 

It don't always turn out like it should 
Despite what some folks say 
Here's hoping things tip for the good 
But it could really go either way 
Each word you let loose from your lips 
And every dollar that you spend 
You don't know where it lands, or what'll come of your plans 
And you don't find out in the end 

What if I'd given more? 
What if you hadn't missed your flight? 
What if the Axis had won the war? 
What if I would've called that night? 

There's madness in the land 
The dogs are at the door 
This could well be our last stand 
Though they've probably said that before 
May be nothing we can do to turn it back now 
But who knows, so how can you give in? 
You just pick a side, and let your bet ride 
You don't find out in the end 
You just pick a side, and let your bet ride 
You don't find out in the end 

Use Your Imagination 

I was tired of talking to myself 
Tired of young girls talkin' crazy 
Said, what I need now is a full-grown woman 
Why you wanna be my baby? 
And I was staring at my shoes when she took me by surprise 
Saying "Use your imagination, babe, improvise" 

Unbroken buckskin mare 
Wildest thing I've seen 
Tear down an engine all by herself 
Sometimes she starts a fire with gasoline 
I'm falling fast, and it's hard to disguise 
She says, "Use your imagination, babe, improvise" 

You can put down your best-laid plans 
Plot your whole life through 
But love's not something you can go out and find 
If you're lucky, love finds you 
Out here past the edge of my maps, there's nothing I recognize 
She says, "Use your imagination, babe, improvise" 

When the world's changed the locks 
Windows are boarded shut 
When your castle becomes your cage 
When your highway becomes a rut 
When you can't see new horizons with your old eyes 
Use your imagination, babe, improvise 

I've heard there's two kinds of women'll get you 
And I suspect it's true 
One kind makes you feel like home 
One scares the hell out of you 
I say show me how to love you, and she replies 
"Use your imagination, babe" 

Broke, and So Far from Home 

Rain on concrete, worn out and beat 
Tired of hearing people talk 
We're all rushing by in our hurry to die 
When music spills out down the block 
And I dream I am somewhere people know what I mean 
Where the rain falls grey but the wind blows green 
And I know it ain't true, but what's a poor boy to do? 
Broke, and so far from home 

The winners and losers, the hustlers and users, 
Jostle and make deals and shout 
And the all-night cafes, and the storefront displays 
Promise what this town can put out 
She's had her way with so many men 
Leaves 'em on the sidewalk when their money's all spent 
With nothing but time, and an old cardboard sign 
That says, "Broke, and so far from home" 

It's in the blue TV light that shines every night 
For people with no time to cook 
It's in the billy clubs and gas 
The way we walk past each other and don't even look 
The way we eat when we're not hungry, drink when we're not dry 
Need religion when we're hard up, and dollars when we die 
And the whole sad mess is just like me, I guess 
Broke, and so far from home 

When it all comes crashing, only compassion 
Might save you, but it's a tenuous thing 
To empty yourself to see anyone else 
Like a bell must be empty to ring 
Whatever you've done and wherever you've been 
You're never so free as when you go all in 
And you hear yourself singing, empty and ringing 
Broke, and so far from home 

New Grist 

Tune up the strings, rosin the bow 
It'll sing if you touch it just right 
And you can almost feel 
In the kerosene glow 
Our ancestors dancing with us tonight 
Dust off the old tunes, there's life in 'em still 
Sun-kissed, new grist for the old mill 

Plant in the spring, gather in fall 
Cellars full of jars and brown-bagged seeds 
This land's got food and work for us all 
If you like flowers, gotta pull some weeds 
Dust off the old ways, there's life in 'em still 
Sun-kissed, new grist for the old mill 

Bluebird days, wood for the stove 
Your company and all that time makes 
Summer dancing all the sweeter 
Hearing creek music and drinking sunshine 
Dust off your old boots, there's life in 'em still 
Sun-kissed, new grist for the old mill 

The old struggle, again begun 
Learning to sing our healing songs 
Learning that we are the very ones 
We've been waiting for all along 
Dust off your old dreams, there's life in 'em still 
Sun-kissed, new grist for the old mill 

The Poet Game by Greg Brown 

Down by the river, junior year, walking with my girl 
We came upon a place 
There in the tall grass where a couple had been making love 
And they left the mark of their embrace 
I said to her, "Looks like they had some fun" 
She said to me, "Let's do the same" 
And still I taste her kisses and her freckles in the sun 
When I play the poet game 

A young man in the hill country, the year of '22 
Went to see his future bride 
She lived in a rough old shack that poverty blew through 
And she invited him inside 
She'd been cooking, ashamed and feeling sad 
She could only offer him bread and her name 
Grandpa said that it was the best gift a fella ever had 
And he taught me the poet game 

I had a friend who drank too much and played too much guitar 
And we sure got along 
Reel-to-reels rolled across the country near and far 
Filled with letters, poems, and songs 
But these days he won't talk to me, and he won't tell me why 
I miss him every time I hear his name 
I don't know what he's doing, don't know how our friendship died 
While we played the poet game 

The fall rain was pounding down on an old New Hampshire mill 
And the river wild and high 
I was talking to her while leaves blew down with a sudden chill 
There was wildness in her eyes 
We made love like we'd been waiting all of our lives for this 
Strangers know no shame 
But she had to leave at dawn, and with a sticky farewell kiss 
She left me to play the poet game 

I watched my country turn into a coast-to-coast strip mall 
and I cried out in a song: 
If we could do all that in thirty years, please tell me you all 
Why does good change take so long? 
Why does the color of your skin or who you choose to love 
Still lead to such anger and pain? 
And why do I think it's any help for me to still dream of 
Playing the poet game? 

Sirens wail above the fields, another soul gone down 
Another Sun about to rise 
I've lost track of my mistakes, like birds they fly around 
And darken half my skies 
To all of those I've hurt, I beg you to forgive me 
I to you will freely do the same 
There were just so many things I didn't see, with my eyes turned inside 
Playing the poet game 

I walk out at night to take a leak underneath the stars 
Yeah, that's the life for me 
There's Orion and the Pleiades and I guess that must be Mars 
All as clear as we long to be 
I've sung what I was given, some was bad and some was good 
And I never will know from where it came 
And if I had it all to do again I am not sure I would 
Play the poet game 

One More Time Around 

Magnolia in the mild breeze, roadway stretching south 
My thoughts scatter like wild geese, and the words fall from my mouth 
I'm missing where I've been, and yearning for where I'm bound 
Spin the wheel again, one more time around 

I thought of the islands, a canoe in the morning mist 
Thought of waking up smiling, thought of leaving all of this 
Burning through the scenery wore my brakes right down 
Gotta listen to the machinery, to make it one more time around 
One more time around 

There's joy in the daylight, courage in every start 
Landscapes to fill my sight and music to fill my heart 
And when the band kicks harder, troubles come unwound 
Swing your partner, one more time around 
One more time around 

Lucky to have the friends I've known, these songs to sing and this earth to ride 
Got this sweet life on loan, couldn't keep it if I tried 
Just a day's worth of air, feet worth of ground 
Somebody's lettin' it ride somewhere, one more time around 
One more time around, One more time around