If you're nobody's business or you're front page news Folk Rock, Country or Delta Blues, Tell your truth however you choose And do it all for the sake of the song Yeah, hitchhike, and bus ride and rental car, Living rooms, coffee houses and rundown bars Ten thousand people or alone under the stars Its all for the sake of the song And there's a man who wrote "Your Cheatin' Heart", now he's through his tooth And he plays it on a stolen harp, That's soaked in hundred proof And there's one who might be happy With a foreign badger's purse She's lost the crowd's attention at the forty second verse And it's the travelling salesman, the girl next door On the empty room to the bird on the corner Less is less until more is More And it's all for the sake of the song And there's the young man on the marquee, Yeah he's the son of some well known His father bought the tour bus, so he could strike out on his own And there's the brooding contradiction, he's holding Van Gogh's ear That he's taped it to his guitar, in the hope someone will hear It's back stage and Nudie Suits, and the next big thing will get 'em back to your roots High tops, flannel and duct tape boots And it's all for the sake of the song And there's the mystic, there's the legend, and there's the best that's ever been And there's the voice of a generation who wants to pass this way again And there's record deals and trained seals, and puppets on a string And they're all just trying to figure out what makes the caged bird sing It's lights, camera, on with the show, lifetime to get ready, now go cat go Where it all ends, nobody knows But it's all for the sake of the song So if you're nobody's business or you're front page news Folk Rock, Country or Delta Blues, Tell your truth however you choose And do it all for the sake of the song

We have been stuck in here a day, seeking Answers for all eternity, or something Hear the meaning, speaking in me Have faith in me, have faith in me I cannot say that I am fine And take all you say at face value I've talked to you more than I have Have faith in me, have faith in me I've talked too much today You don't trust me So I keep on talking in every way Across the sea I hear you calling me For the sake of revenge you command me This ain't over, no it's never over 'Till the fat lady sings, you love me I am tired, yet I am swimming You will not let go of me, you are drowning As you're quietly pulling me under We will never make it unless you let go There's no crime, yet I stand accused And I see the solution naked before me You reduced me to a weapon, unlike you Have faith in me, have faith in me I cannot hear, though I incline my ear Why do I even try I've told you all 'bout what I am Have faith in me, have faith in me I'm feeling weak today Please, don't crush me I keep on walking, far away I keep on crawling, all in vain I'm feeling slow today So don't rush me We live this wretched serenade You keep me playing, anyway Across the sea I hear you calling me For the sake of revenge you will command me This ain't over, it's never over 'Till the fat lady sings, you love me I'm so tired, yet keep on swimming You will not let go of me, you're drowning Now you're quietly pulling me under Oh so quietly pulling me under

Oh, why does she sing Her sad songs for me, I'm not the one To tenderly bring her soft sympathy, I've just begun To see my way clear And it's plain if I stop I will fall I can lay down a tear for her pain Just a tear and that's all Oh, what does she want me to do? She says that she knows That moments are rare I suppose that it's true Then on she goes to say I don't care Oh, she knows that I do Maybe she just has to sing For the sake of the song And who do I think that I am To decide that she's wrong She'd like to think I was cruel But she knows that's a lie for I would be No more than a tool If I allowed her to cry all over me Oh, my sorrow is real Even though I can't change my plans If she could see how I feel Then I know that she'd understand Oh, does she actually think I'm to blame? Does she really believe that some word of mine Could relieve all her pain? Can't she see that she grieves Just because she's been blindly deceived by her shame? Oh, maybe she just has to sing For the sake of the song And who do I think that I am To decide that she's wrong Oh, but nothin's what it seems Maybe she'll start someday to realize If she abandons her dreams Then all the words she can say are only lies Oh, why can't she see that to gain is only to lose? All that she offers me are her chains and I got to refuse Oh, but it's only to herself that she's lied She likes to pretend There's something that she should defend with her pride And I don't intend To stand here and be the friend From whom she must hide Oh, maybe she just has to sing For the sake of the song And who do I think that I am To decide that she's wrong

He was raised on a tractor in overalls and boots Been to college and then law school since leaving his roots Came home in a Lexus, he left in a Ford Country ain't country no more. He told his daddy catch up with the times He said now a days people trade heifers online Dad ain't sealing deals with a handshake like before Country ain't country no more. No, country ain't country no more. The back forty was sold to make up for hard times Then sold by the half acre lot overnight The houses went up and the trees were cut down And there went the finest deer hunting around Lord, everyone's locking their doors 'Cause country ain't country no more. Now his dad sits in traffic looking 'round at the change Watching crews turn the county road into four lanes The old Sunday drive has turned into a chore Country ain't country no more. Lord, country ain't country no more. The back forty was sold to make up for hard times Then sold by the half acre lot overnight The houses went up and the trees were cut down And there went the finest deer hunting around Lord, everyone's locking their doors 'Cause country ain't country no more. There's no turning back And you just can't ignore That country ain't country no more. No, country ain't country no more... Country certainly isn't country anymore... Thanks to Kerry. VOTE Bush!

Have you ever picked guitar on your front porch In the morning as the sun was risin'? Or followed your dog down to the river And ran into an ole' baptizin'? Do you think to pull off on the side of the road When that big black hearse is passing? Have you ever helped someone in need Without them even asking? We do that in the country, Let me tell you 'bout country. Country can be in the middle of a city Country can be on a farm, Country ain't even a place on map, It's a place in your heart. Have you ever hitched a ride to Music City Just to see an Opry show? Would you drive across the country To listen to some country? Country can be in the middle of a city Country can be on a farm, Country ain't even a place on the map, It's a place in your heart. Have you ever been there at the courthouse square For the parade on the 'Fourth of July'? With a tear on your face and a lump in your throat As you watch ole' glory go by, Or sat thru a service where they played tabs For a soldier who never came home? Or looked in the sad brown eyes of his momma As she touched his name on that stone? He fought for his country And died for his country I love my country. Let me tell you 'bout. country.