Shawnee Kilgore

 

The Very Best of Me

 

there's a freedom I remember

only when you're not around

I've got the picture in my pocket

that I took when I was down

just to show you that your shadow

was the only shade around

I've got a way of saying nothing

from the ground

 

and I'm the ghost of something bigger

than the world has never seen

I swear that I was only hiding

from what I knew I could be

and there are days when all I am

is what I think you think of me

it's no wonder that the good ones

are the hardest to believe

 

there are bones that never break

there are skies that never fall

I've got my face against the moon

I've got my back against the wall

I'm catching up to what I figure

is the very best of me

when I find it won't you come and see

 

I think I understand you better

when there's not a thing to say

and there's a way to tell the story

not to give the end away

and there are times you tell the ending

'cause you'd like to go that way

and when the road is long and narrow

you've got little room to stray

 

there are bones that never break

there are skies that never fall

I've got my face against the moon

I've got my back against the wall

I'm catching up to what I figure

is the very best of me

when I find it won't you come and see

 

I've got a way of being careful

when there's nothing left to break

I've got a way of reinventing

when there's nothing left to make

I've got a way of getting greedy

when there's nothing left to take

learn to harvest from the branches

you can shake

 

you see the one thing I was thinking

was the one thing that I found

too afraid to be a liar

to ever make a sound

we've got a way of praying louder

when we think we're gonna drown

I've got a way of praying louder

when I think god ain't around

 

there are bones that never break

there are skies that never fall

I've got my face against the moon

I've got my back against the wall

I'm catching up to what I figure

is the very best of me

when I find it won't you come and see

 

when I find it won't you come and see

 

 

Let That Songbird Go

 

pretty ain’t as pretty

when you put it in a jar

somethin’ ‘bout the glass

changes who we are

there’s somethin’ ‘bout a wolf

that makes a bird afraid to sing

until it learns to fly and

well that changes everything

honey I’ve been thinkin’

 

if I could learn to settle

like the dust after a storm

if I could just go back

to what I knew when I was born

if I could hold the candle

far enough away from me

that I didn’t blow it out

every time I went to sing

honey I’m still thinkin’

 

honey I can tell you stories

and I can tell you lies

I can tell you what I see

when I see you in my eyes

there’s a truth we can’t escape 

and many more we’ll never know

honey let that songbird go

 

if I could just believe

it doesn’t matter what I do

as long as I am happy

and that love is gettin’ through

if I could just get over

feeling angry at myself

‘cause it’s just a part of me

it’s just a story that I tell

and honey I sure meant well

 

if I wasn’t scared of livin’

I’d be out there on a limb

if I wasn’t scared of losin’

I’d be gettin’ over him

if I wasn’t scared of dyin’

oh just think what I could do

‘cause heaven needs a songbird too

 

honey I can tell you stories

and I can tell you lies

I can tell you what I see

when I see you in my eyes

there’s a truth we can’t escape 

and many more we’ll never know

honey let that songbird go

 

honey I can make my wishes

and I can make my bed

I can tell you what I see

when I see you in my head

there’s a truth we can’t escape

and many more we’ll never know

honey let that songbird go

 

Burning 44

Words and music by Stephen Ray Leslie

 

oh my

my lord

oh my lord don’t you try and take me yet

‘cause I’ve tried 

tried hard

I’ve tried hard but you know I can’t forget

‘cause he walks 

walks free

he walks free through the streets of this old town

and if you know 

know all

if you know all you know he took my baby down

 

I’m goin’ down to the cemetery

gonna dig myself a hole

deep enough to bury a man without a soul

I’m gonna fill that hole by midnight

and I’m guessing that you know

in an alley without streetlights with this burning 44

 

I’m gonna look him in the eye

I’m gonna take away his sunrise

I’m gonna strip him of his pride

just like he did mine

 

oh my

my lord

well oh my lord don’t you try and take me yet

‘cause I’ve tried

tried hard

well I’ve tried hard but you know I can’t forget

 

I’m gonna look him in the eye

I’m gonna take away his sunrise

I’m gonna strip him of his pride

just like he did mine

 

he walks

walks free

he walks free through the streets of this old town

 

Big Old Song

 

she’s got a big old blister on her big old heart

she’s got a big old bruise on the softest part

she’s got a big old wolf at her big old door

she’s got a big old fear of her life before

 

she’s got a big old question and a big old need

for that big old story that makes her bleed

she’s got a big old crush and a big old sin

she’s got a big old mouth when it comes to him

 

with a big old blanket on her big old bed

she’s got a big old brain in her big old head

she’s got a big old light and a big old song

she’s got a big old chance to prove me wrong

 

she’s got a big old canvas and a big old brush

she’s in a big old dream and a bigger rush

she’s got a big old ball and a big old hill

if she doesn’t roll it no one will

 

she’s got a big old thorn on a big old rose

she’s got a big old secret no one knows

she’s got a big old bucket and a big old well

which she walked in circles and finally fell

 

with a big old blanket on her big old bed

she’s got a big old brain in her big old head

she’s got a big old light and a big old song

she’s got a big old chance to prove me wrong

 

she’s got a big old blister on her big old heart

she’s got a big old bruise on the softest part

she’s got a big old hole and a big old mess

she’s got a good idea or so I guess

 

it was a good idea

 

Clean This House

 

I’m gonna wash up all the dishes

gonna sweep up all the floors

I’m gonna sing along with Danny

while I finish all the chores

I’m gonna check in all the corners

I’m gonna look in all the cracks

I’m gonna sweep up all the dirt 

from all the times I left my tracks

 

I’m gonna clean this house

gonna clean this house

gonna make this house my own

‘cause it’s a real good life 

wanna treat it right

wanna make this house a home

 

I’m gonna fold up all the laundry

put new linens on the bed

I’m gonna throw out all the clutter

that’s been messing up my head

I’m gonna wipe down all the windows

‘til they sparkle in the sun

I’m gonna scrub behind the toilet

‘cause i feel good when it’s done

 

I’m gonna clean this house

gonna clean this house

gonna make this house my own

‘cause it’s a real good life 

wanna treat it right

wanna make this house a home

 

I’m gonna straighten up the cupboards

gonna dust off all the shelves

we tend to keep things messy 

If it’s only for ourselves

but i’m gonna look inside the oven

the refrigerator too

once you look around

there’s always something more to do

 

I’m gonna clean this house

gonna clean this house

gonna make this house my own

‘cause it’s a real good life 

wanna treat it right

wanna make this house a home

 

I'm gonna make this house my home

 

86 Degrees

 

it's eighty six degrees

inside this house

there's a warm wind blowing

steady from the south

I'm stuffed but I am starving

and I finally figured out

that I’ve got nothing but excuses

in my mouth

 

and I don't know a thing

about your heart

I just know I can't tell us apart

and I just can't deny

I've got a thing for you and I

and that's the one place

I ever know to start

 

'cause we've got time

to set things straight

we've got time 

 

you'd never know

I meant it to be kind

when I wouldn't let you go

when it was time

and now everywhere I go

it seems the only thing I find

is that I miss you

and don't mind

 

'cause we've got time

to set things straight

We've got time 

 

if I had half a mind

to leave your life to you

I'd be as free as any

bird that ever flew

but right now I'm pretending

and the only thing that's true

is that you'll know me

when I know you

 

and we've got time

to set things straight

we’ve got time

 

Maria Brown

 

the same old dress in a sunlit mess

it’s the happiest she’s been

the coffee’s strong and the days are long

and she loves me now and then

 

maria brown oh maria brown

you had my heart it seems

and it all comes back to a boy named jack

and a walk down by the stream

 

she takes her chance in fancy pants

and she writes to me again

to say she’s old and she’s feeling bold

and she loves me now and then

 

maria brown oh maria brown

you had my heart it seems

and it all comes back to a boy named jack

and a walk down by the stream

 

funny how she can know me now

just a pirate in the end

times have changed and the world is strange

and she loves me now and then

 

maria brown oh maria brown

you had my heart it seems

and it all comes back to a boy named jack

and a walk down by the stream

 

the same old dress and a sunlit mess

it’s the happiest she’s been