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    Scott Cook

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    • tunes
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    lyrics from This One's on the House 

    Carving Stone 

    Car lights on the highway, like pearls at night 
    A string of red going my way alongside a string of white 
    And I'm trying to remember just how free and lucky I am 
    But I'm racing back and forth to nowhere, and I'm too tired to give a damn 
    Sometimes I feel I've been suckered by a dream of living on the roam 
    Turns out it's a lot like bein' a trucker, it's a lot of drivin' alone 

    Pull into the next town, feeling weary and strange 
    Seems I'm coming to resemble the very things I wanna change 
    A room full of strangers, and I'm trying to connect 
    But they only wanna hear what they've already heard, what did I expect? 
    One says you're some kinda tripper, just following the muse along 
    And I say it's a lot like being a stripper, a lot of trying to turn drunks on 

    Those of us who'll do it, we'll do it anyway 
    And that suits those who'll use it, cause they don't have to pay, and they say, 
    It's about the music, not the fifty dollars, and aren't you having fun? 
    And I say it's a lot like working blue-collar, a lot of just gettin 'er done 

    I'm thinkin' bout a young girl who caught me off guard with her smile 
    She was following roads and songs, and she rode along awhile 
    Like the boiling ocean she crashed in and rolled out again 
    She was in love with a vague notion, not this particular man, and she says 
    Don't sweat when things don't go well, there'll be plenty more along your way 
    And I say it's a lot like livin' in hotels, it's nice, but you can't stay 

    You start out with something sacred that you wanna tell someone 
    But this mean old world might break you, or you might just take the money and run 
    And it might be good for your karma, and yeah, ramblin' has its thrills 
    But it's more like being a farmer, strugglin to pay the bills 

    Met a kid in a campground with a guitar and a head full of dreams 
    Starting on a road I've been partway down with no idea what it means 
    I wanted to warn him about some stuff up ahead 
    But it occured to me that his road ain't mine, I should be telling myself instead 
    And he says he might starve alone, but he's hopin' for some bright day 
    And I say it's a lot like carving stone, you just keep chippin' away 

    This One's on the House (the Hobo Song) 

    I live in my van, and it's a fine place to live 
    I sleep where I please, and wake smilin' 
    There's no rent to pay, and I change the yard most every day 
    From Halifax out to the Queen Charlotte Islands 

    There's no shame in being a hobo 
    And it's a great luxury to have a car 
    And it seems to me that I'm one lucky mofo 
    Sleeping out alone beneath the stars 

    I loaned my friend Brin an orange tarp to curl up in 
    Out drinkin' one rainy night in Vancouver 
    And he thanked me two times, he was just so happy to be dry 
    Though the police tried to make him feel like a loser 

    There's no shame in being a hobo 
    Shame's only for those who got pride 
    And you gotta keep an eye out for the po-po 
    But sometimes even the po-po will let you ride 

    This one's on the house, sweet child, this one's on the house 
    Save your money for another mile, this one's on the house 

    Sleeping in parks, and living in cars, sneaking drinks into bars 
    And washing up in lakes and truck-stops might be frowned on 
    But you'll do what you must, get love from those you trust 
    And get yourself to the road that you'll be found on 

    There's no shame in being a hobo 
    And we always get taken care of somehow 
    And you sure can't take it with you when you go 
    Might as well get used to livin' without now 
    You sure can't take it with you when you go 
    Might as well get used to livin' without now 

    Lucky Star 

    These thoughts they would be nothin' if they weren't your thoughts too 
    And if this bridge of words will bear our weight, I'll meet halfway with you 
    Who knows what we're after, so who knows what we'll find 
    Distraction and laughter are escape routes for the mind 
    But this body only works so long, these lungs have just so many breaths 
    Can't see the outside from within and you can't take both the right path and the left 
    I chose this road I'm travelin' and I'd choose it again today 
    Can't regret the time my heart spent beating by yours nor can I regret walking away 

    Cause you're a lucky star 
    You're burning out bright and true 
    And it shines a light into my heart to be thought of by you 

    I keep imagining a day and hoping it'll come soon 
    Where I'd stumble off my way and I'll run into you 
    And we'll agree that with circumstance and fate being what they are 
    And with the hour being so late, we should just get out of this bar 

    It was fiery while it lasted and it went out the way it came 
    I'd like to say I'm past it, but I'm still moved by the mention of your name 
    Whatever shores you reach, whatever good folks you come to know 
    May they continue to teach, may you continue to burn, and shine, and grow 

    The Dirt on Your Heart 

    There's dirt on your heart from all the low-down, dirty places you been 
    You dragged your poor heart through more than enough 
    And more piled up from every time you lied 
    And then kicked some dirt around to cover it up 
    And from every one that gave you her love 
    And you carelessly gave her back hurt 
    There's dirt on your heart, 
    You might think that it's art, it's just dirt 
    You might think that it's art 

    There's dirt on your heart that's hardened into a jacket 
    To hold you through the cold and friendless months 
    And you just never could bring yourself to crack it 
    Remembering how well it served it you once 
    But hearts that beat freely must surely be beaten 
    Only bloodied and scuffed ones arrive 
    And you believe that you need that dirt on your heart to survive 
    Do you think you need to survive this world? 

    There's dirt on your poor heart that's not your own 
    Your friends and your family tracked it around 
    And try as you might, you just can't always know 
    And remember to pick up all that you put down 
    And since you can't forget a mark on your heart 
    Even when the one who left it's long gone 
    There's some dirt on your heart that you'll have to scrub off on your own 
    It hurts, but you scrub it off 

    The Ramblin' Kind 

    Don't you go fallin' for the ramblin' kind 
    Soon as you quit following you'll get left behind 
    You can love 'em, believe in them, 
    But don't you get to needin' em 
    Nobody owns the ramblin' kind 

    She was strong-backed and wild, and had the open highway in her heart 
    And I loved the way she'd kick-start her bike, and roar off in the dark 
    And I loved the far-away in her eye, as she'd stare off down the line 
    I couldn't hold her heart but now that same highway cuts through mine 

    Don't you go fallin' for a ramblin' girl 
    Keep your eyes open when she takes you for a whirl 
    You can hold her at night, but don't you hold her too tight 
    Nobody owns a ramblin' girl 

    I was tired and weary and had the feeling I'd been running way too long 
    And her arms held sweet comfort, and her eyes held a song 
    When we parted ways I tried to make a joke, but she just couldn't laugh 
    We split like a wishbone, somehow I got the big half 
    Don't you go fallin' for a ramblin' man 
    He's just like water, he'll slip through your hands 
    You can love him, you can touch him, 
    but don't you try to clutch him 
    Nobody owns a ramblin' man 

    They just go speedin' by 
    And you can ride with them for a stretch 
    But the thing that caught your eye 
    Is the one that you can't catch 

    Don't you go fallin' for the ramblin' kind 
    Soon as you quit following you'll get left behind 
    You can love 'em, believe in them, 
    But don't you get to needin' em 
    Nobody owns the ramblin' kind 

    Shady Grove (traditional, re-arranged) 

    Shady grove, my little love, shady grove, I know 
    Shady grove, my sweet love, bound for the shady grove 

    Once I had an old banjo, strings were made of twine 
    The only tune that it would play was trouble on my mind 

    Once I had a gold banjo, and every string did shine 
    The only tune that it would play was I wish that girl was mine 

    Once I had a fine banjo, precious but frail 
    And every weary tune on it said while you can, set sail 

    Wish I was in shady grove, sittin' on a rocking chair 
    And if the blues won't leave me alone, I'll rock away from there 

    People, Please 

    People, please take my advice 
    Be sure and treat your people extra nice 
    Cause if it's real, they got your back 'til the end 
    And there ain't nothing so good to find, or bad to lose as a friend, as a friend 

    People, please take my advice 
    There's no good sense in telling lies 
    Cause while you may deceive those who believe it's true 
    The real lie is forgetting that you are them and they are you, they are you 

    Travelers, it may be a long way round 
    Before you find yourself homeward bound 
    But in your heart you can carry your family along 
    Just as long as you remember where you got your song, where you got your song 

    Though the air is wintry and the creek's all froze 
    You can be sure that underneath the water flows 
    And the birds are returning with southern songs 
    New tunes that we'll be learning before too long, before too long 

    If it Won't Break Your Heart 

    By and by, the weeds run high 
    And a dusty wind blows over the old place 
    Bit by bit, the memory of it 
    Returns to haunt me in familiar voices along those old pathways 
    Side by side, we laughed so hard we cried 
    And stayed up all night, getting rowdy, and making a scene everywhere 
    But day by day, some drift further away 
    And some pass through the curtain, and we can't follow there 
    What could ever stop this parade of days 
    From takin' everything you love away? 
    And what am I so afraid of? 
    If it won't break your heart, it ain't love 

    Line by line, this cruel world undermines 
    All that you fought for, they suck the soul of it and give you back the grief 
    Turn by turn, everyone learns 
    To guard their speech, and knot up their heart in disbelief 
    What could ever stop this parade of days 
    From takin' everything you love away? 
    And what am I so afraid of? 
    If it won't break your heart, it ain't love 
    If it won't break your heart 
    If it won't break your heart, it ain't love 

    The Day After Tomorrow (Tom Waits, Kathleen Brennan) 

    I got your letter today, and I miss you all so much here 
    And I can't wait to see you all, and I'm counting the days, dear 
    I still believe that there's gold at the end of the world 
    And I'll come home to Illinois on the day after tomorrow 

    It is so hard, and it's cold here, and I'm tired of taking orders 
    And I miss old Rockford town up by the Wisconsin border 
    What I miss you won't believe, shoveling snow and raking leaves 
    And my plane, it will touch down, on the day after tomorrow 

    I close my eyes every night and I dream that I can hold you 
    They fill us full of lies, everyone buys, about what it means to be a soldier 
    I still don't know how I'm supposed to feel about all the blood that's been spilled 
    Will God on his throne get me back home on the day after tomorrow? 

    You can't deny, the other side, they don't wanna die any more than we do 
    What I'm trying to say is don't they pray to the same God that we do? 
    And tell me how does God choose? Whose prayers does He refuse? 
    Who spins the wheel, who rolls the dice, on the day after tomorrow? 

    I am not fighting for justice, I am not fighting for freedom 
    I am fighting for my life and another day in the world here 
    I just do what I've been told, we're just the gravel on the road 
    And only the lucky ones come home on the day after tomorrow 

    And the summer, it too will fade, and with it comes the winter's frost, dear 
    And I know we too are made of all the things that we have lost here 
    I'll be twenty-one today, I've been saving all my pay 
    And my plane, it will touch down, on the day after tomorrow 

    This Old World's Got its Secrets to Keep 

    This old world's got its secrets to keep 
    This old world's got its secrets to keep 
    If it's certainy that you want, you can wish away all the doubts that haunt 
    But this world's got its secrets to keep 

    Back and forth under blue heaven 
    Back and forth under blue heaven 
    Oh, the places we have been, all this troubled time wandering 
    Back and forth under blue heaven 

    Don't ask yourself if you want to die on the road 
    Just ask yourself if this is the road you want to die on 

    This old world's got its secrets to keep 
    This old world's got its secrets to keep 
    If it's certainty that you crave, you'll be following it to your grave 
    Cause the world's got its secrets to keep 

    Back and forth under blue heaven 
    Back and forth under blue heaven 
    Oh, the loves that we have passed, we were winding our ways fast 
    Back and forth under blue heaven 

    Don't ask yourself if you want to die on the road 
    Just ask yourself if this is the road you want to die on 

    Out of the blue, and into the black 
    Out of the blue, and into the black 
    What it's like I wish they'd say, but they never come back this way 
    It's just out of the blue, and into the black 

    This old world's got its secrets to keep 
    This old world's got its secrets to keep 
    If it's certainy that you seek, you can wish away all the doubts that creep 
    But this world's got its secrets to keep

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