You started to spiral out The ground's just a circle in a decaying orbit You tried just to idle awhile, thought if you sat still You'll blend with the forest, well, you don't Noted another loss, well, don't feel bad, I mean, if you can help it You learn how to document, like bad weather patterns And I guess you can call it "Progress of a kind" Not everybody takes this long I can't unsee it, but man, can you believe that we're here There's always a try again Well, don't be upset when repeating a formative year Doing the same thing for years Repeating the formative years I try to settle down I fake my death, had no one believe it I fight with the neighbor's kid I ran over his bike, well, don't park it behind my van I became a frail black bird, my chest started burning I could die if you squeeze me too long I almost got away with it Starting to deal with the problem, so I guess you can call it "Progress of a kind" Not everybody takes this long I can't unsee it, but man, can you believe that we're here There's always a try again Well, don't be upset when repeating a formative year Doing the same thing for years Repeating the formative years Watch you in the morning come to life again Watch you in the evening fall apart the same Anemic numbers ruling over you and me It's the reason you refer to them as holding value They don't, they don't... It's unkind how often you're required to replay Your light, snuffed out, on fire, doused again Somehow you reignite and I'm impressed Not everybody takes this long I can't unsee it, but man, can you believe that we're here There's always a try again Well, don't be upset when repeating a formative year Not everybody takes this long I can't unsee it, but man, can you believe that we're here There's always a try again Well, don't be upset when repeating a formative year Watch you in the morning come to life Watch you in the evening fall apart again Anemic numbers ruling over you It's the reason you refer to them as holding value

An old Paiute woman Who survived the seizer's devastation Of Yellow Thunder Sees a prairie With tall verdant grass Flowing like in ancient days She lies in the grass Clutching handfuls of the green stuff With a hungry passion She has felt since childhood A Creek boy Missing his scalp Closes his eyes And dreams of his entire nation Welcoming him home Calling his name In sweet, familiar tones "Chijajin. Chijajin. Come home." A Cheyenne warrior Sees in his vision A black river Flowing over the verdant earth As it rolls towards him He sees it is the buffalo Risen again Growing like wild flowers Over the land Each sees part Of the ancient And future paradise Now awaiting them The Chief, Wavoka Having called Now listens for the response That will awake his slumbering people And redeem

Well, the covey took wing, shotguns a-singin' A pointing dog down in the old logging road Danny got three and looked back a-grinning I fumbled and I tried to reload The country was cold with the sun westward sinking It's good to be back in this place With my hands around a Belgian made Browning My mind on the lines of her face Well now, Danny's my buddy, we grew up like family Hunted this timber before we could drive And the old English Pointer, he once belonged to me But I give him up when I moved in '05 Off with a girl, off to the city Off on a wing and a chance Hell, I thought it'd play out just like some story We fell in love at a rodeo dance She said, "Go back to Cherokee County Won't you crawl back with nothing but a razor and a comb?" Says, "Babe, if you need me, I'll be where you found me Go on to hell, honey, I'm headed home" Dan says, "Look at ol' Jim A dozen Decembers behind him no worse for the wear And your time spent in Tulsa did not help your shooting And look at the gray in your hair How good does it feel? You belong in these hills It's best that you let it all end If you'd have married that girl, you'd have married her family You dodged a bullet, my friend" She said, "Go back to Cherokee County Won't you crawl back with nothing but a razor and a comb?" Says, "Babe, if you need me, I'll be where you found me Go on to hell, honey, I'm headed home" Ah, and I was beginning to deal with it ending The old dog had pointed while part of me died And a flutter of feathers Then a shotgun to shoulder I thought of the Fourth of July She'll be home on the Fourth of July I bet we'll dance on the Fourth of July Dan says, "Hell of a shot, looks like you've still got it That's what we came here to do Well, it's light enough still, at the foot of the hill We could kick up a single or two" She said, "Go back to Cherokee County Won't you crawl back with nothing but a razor and a comb?" Says, "Babe, if you need me, I'll be where you found me Go on to hell, honey, I'm headed home" Go on to hell, honey, I'm headed home

I remember smelling smoke, I woke up I was choking Lorrie grabbed the baby and we made it safe outside She never missed a note, took a breath and cleared her throat And wrapped him in a Carhart coat she found out in my ride Next thing I remember, I was barefoot in December When I hit the door again it really came alive That was all she wrote, in a 30 second note I got out with a photograph and my old auto 5 Lord knows that I've been blessed I can stand up to the test I can live on so much less, this much I been learning Feeling a pounding in my chest I'm fearful I'll confess How am I to get my rest? The house I built is burning Well Lorrie called the volunteers, siren music to my ears First I been glad to hear the flashing red and blue Can't repay the time they gave, there was nothing left to save Shake all of their hands and wave they did all they could do Lord knows that I've been blessed I can stand up to the test I can live on so much less, this much I been learning Forgive my cowardice I'm fearful I'll confess How am I to get my rest? The house I built is burning We snuck away two nights ago, rode around the logging roads We been stuck in a motor home about to fall apart We finally made a go, got dealt a heavy blow She said I'll bet you make it, its a long way from your heart Well I know that I've been blessed I can make more out of less I can get my rest in any bed that I lay down in Got nothing holding me Got a couple memories A picture of the three of us, and my grandfather's Browning

Hey there, buddy, why the old long face? Get to lookin' like you lost the race Get to lookin' like you didn't place at all Well, I heard you've been running with a wilder cast Playin' hard and livin fast And for a while you had a blast You were feeling ten feet tall You're gonna be alright, you'll be fine You can have a nickel outta my last dime The moon is bright and you're alright down here Your intention's good and well Pave a little on the road to hell Flew a little high and fell You were smiling all the while Well, you tried so bad just to be good Hold your cards and you knock on wood A little harder than anyone should But hey, that's just your style You're gonna be alright, you'll be fine You can have a nickel outta my last dime The moon is bright and you're alright down here Aw, you shot the moon and you wound up set Ain't I taught you how to hedge a bet? Hate to say it, but it's what you get A right hook to the jaw We all still think you're great I'm gonna have to shoot you straight You go to fishin' or you cut some bait Take a hammer to the wall You'll be alright, you'll be fine You can have a nickel outta my last dime The moon is bright and you're alright down here You're gonna be alright, you'll be fine You can have a nickel outta my last dime Don't go wasting too much time down here

Lorrie lit a cigarette and smiled and waved the smoke out of her face With her black hair brown from the summer sun Green eyes looked around the place And she told me that she loved me And I grinned and grabbed her hand and said, "I know" Let's get from here, now darling if we're going, let's go on and go Well, Lorrie said her family used to have a little money And they still act like they do Well, your daddy don't think I'm fit to sit in the same room with you And if I ever set foot in Sevier county, well your brother said he'd break my jaw And here I sit with the dark haired daughter of Southwest Arkansas And I've been learning that believing and that barely breaking even It's just a part of life for you and me And I've been living with the loneliness, it's got down in my bones I guess It's just another phase of being free And I've been learning how to lose a thing I never laid a hand on all along Well good lord Lorrie, I love you, could it go more wrong Well good lord Lorrie, I love you, could it go more wrong Well D-Queens dry so I bought us both a bottle in downtown Broken Bow Lorries got a buddy with a double wide trailer they were shaking dominoes And I had good intentions 'til I had too many, I was stupid I suppose You better put a little money where your mouth is boy and try to keep it closed And I've been learning that believing and that barely breaking even It's just a part of life for you and me And I've been living with the loneliness, it's got down in my bones I guess It's just another phase of being free And I've been learning how to lose a thing I never laid a hand on all along Well good lord Lorrie, I love you, could it go more wrong Well good lord Lorrie, I love you, could it go more wrong Well Lorrie said I wonder what we ever went through all this trouble for You ain't half of who I thought you was and this ain't fun no more And her words cut clean through drunk and dark and dimmin' doorway light Well I've had all I can handle, hope you're happy now, goodnight Guess her folks were right, guess her folks were right Mhmmm And I've been learning that believing and that barely breaking even It's just a part of life for you and me And I've been living with the loneliness, it's got down in my bones I guess It's just another phase of being free And I've been learning how to lose a thing I never laid a hand on all along Well good lord Lorrie, I love you, could it go more wrong Well good lord Lorrie, I love you, could it go more wrong