All songs copyright ©2015 Jim Skewes

Blue to Black

It's just one of those days, that kind of thing.
I'll think about you and my mood will swing,
Like the time you hit me with your big, blue Pontiac-
The little things you do swing my mood from blue to black.

There's gotta be a doll somewhere, stuck with a pin.
Baby, I knew you'd try to do me in.
When you do your voodoo, I get a broken back.
And the little things you do swing my mood from blue to black.

Chorus:
Blue to black, blue to black, (blue to black, blue to black,)
Little things you do swing my mood from blue to black.


My boss he kicked me out. He threw my hat.
He shook his fist and said, "Don't ever come back!"
I should have stayed in bed when I read the zodiac
It said, "Today your mood is going to swing from blue to black."

I ought to know by now, but I haven't a clue.
I can't think straight when I'm looking at you.
My brains are scrambled; I'm a stir-fried maniac.
And the little things you do swing my mood from blue to black.

Chorus


Candle

Spring has come to wake this town;
The river's flowing free.
A candle in my window prays
That you will come to me,
That you will come to me.

A love whose flame is burning true
Can warm the coldest night.
A love left with uncertainty
Could never burn as bright,
Could never burn as bright.

When all the leaves lay scattered
Will my love return to me?
Or when the wind blows cold,
A widow will I be?


Don't wait too long to come to me;
The candle's burning low.
Our dance flickers on these walls
And I can't let you go,
And I can't let you go.

~break~

When all the leaves lay scattered
Will my love return to me?
Or when the wind blows cold,
A widow will I be?

The candle lights my weary way
To meet the evening train.
The whistle calling out to me
taunts me once again,
It taunts me once again.


Cold Coffee

Cold coffee, cigarettes burned out in the tray.
Too gone to pay attention when I'm feeling this way.
Got somewhere I should be. It's no matter anymore.
I can't seem to leave, and I forget what it was for.

Cold coffee, lonesome afternoon.
Don't know what I'll do if it don't warm up soon.


Can't sleep, I can't work, I've got no appetite.
Can't think of much of anything but you, the other night.
This day goes on forever, just like the one before,
Standing at the window, staring the door.

Cold coffee, lonesome afternoon.
Don't know what I'll do if it don't warm up soon.


Don't forget, don't send regrets, I'll be waiting here for you.
Though, I know I'll never get over feeling this kind of blue.
Maybe you should hurry, I't's getting kind of rough,
I've been talking to the wall. He says I've had enough...

Cold coffee, lonesome afternoon.
Don't know what I'll do if it don't warm up soon.
Don't know what I'll do...


Eva's Room

The sky was steel and loaded like a gun.
My heart was telling me I'd better run.
It flashed and shot me down with a boom,
And I woke up on the floor in Eva's room.

I looked up at her laughing down at me.
The storm behind her howled my destiny.
I couldn't get away from her perfume;
It was using up the air in Eva's room

I used to wonder how my fate was drawn,
Now everything is broken, dead, or gone.

Here I am alive inside a tomb,
Eaten by her lies in Eva's room.

She stabbed me and the words began to flow
In a pool of hate I drowned in long ago.
I hoped to be delivered from my doom,
And I prayed the storm would come to Eva's room.

She screamed as the ceiling tore away,
And lightning burned her down to the clay.
In the morning, my heart hung in the gloom;
I took a piece and left from Eva's room.

Even as the memories of her fade,
I shudder when the sky's a darker shade.
I'm never going back to Eva's room.
I'm never going back to Eva's room...


The Last Time

Though I never told you in how much love I hold you,
You know I didn't mean to be unkind.
Leaving has a curse about it,
And I still don't know what's worse about it:
What you took away or what you left behind.
At least we didn't know it was the last time.

The last time I heard you,
The last time I felt you near,
The last time I saw you,
No one was there.
~

Don't say don't forget me, I know you'll never let me,
Even when the memories unwind.
And I love the way your song still haunts me.
I'll try to sing it if you want me.
But I'll never get the reason, or the rhyme.
At least we didn't know it was the last time.


Pretty Words

Sometimes I talk way too fast; blurt everything out at once,
Without taking any time to think about the meaning.
Maybe you can tell me how pretty words seem to follow you,
In slow motion like a dream, when you walk by.

Sometimes I run way too fast; life explodes in front of me,
Without leaving me time at all to understand it.
Maybe you can sort it out. Little things never bother you,
And the rhythm of your life moves like a sigh.

Pretty words, pretty words I've told you
Still your mind is so many miles away.
Pretty words, pretty words can't hold you .
If they could, pretty words I'd say...

Sometimes love moves too fast; runnin’ through me till I’m overcome,
Without letting me know what’s real or an illusion.
Maybe you’ve come just in time. Maybe you would let me follow you
All the way to the other side. The other side.

Pretty words, pretty words I've told you
Still your mind is so many miles away.
Pretty words, pretty words can't hold you .
If they could, pretty words I'd say...

Maybe you’ve come just in time. Maybe you would let me follow you
All the way to the other side. The other side.


Silhouette

The night is nearly over. I'm rolling past your town.
The light's on in your window. The shade is pulled way down.
I know you're still awake. I can see your silhouette.
I wish that I could stop, but I don't think I will yet.

A river comes between us. I pull away from here.
See your troubles getting smaller, until they disappear.
Look across the rooftops. I hope you won't forget.
I wish that I could stop, but I don't think I will yet

My heartbeat is held captive by the rhythm of these rails.
Until it's free to beat again, when morning light unveils
Your silhouette.

~break~

I stare out at the mountains, as the sun begins to touch.
One more day reminds me I've come and gone too much.
I knew that I would love you forever when we met.
I wish that I could stop, but I don't think I will yet.


Skid

If you’re going to the game, you'd better go for broke.
Your date is at the table, hanging in the smoke.
Somebody's got a story; a face can tell the tale.
Nothing to collect on if you don't make the sale.
Before you shoot the moon, make sure you haven't slid
In the direction, in the direction of the skid, direction of the skid.

Your recollection's hazy, and the future's not too clear.
It holds your soul for ransom; been doin' that for years.
This time you die, and next time you'll be born,
Smelling like a rose, and missing all the thorns.
No matter who you are, no matter what you did.
It's the direction, it's the direction of the skid, direction of the skid.

~break~

Drive on to midnight; your lesson's never learned.
Don't look behind you; that bridge already burned.
Just let 'em roll. Make another deal.
Read the bones; they’ve never lied; they never will.
Wake up to this: it's not about you, kid.
It's the direction, it's the direction of the skid, direction of the skid.


Susanna

I saw you smiling; you were smiling in the rain.
I made a promise not to bring this up again.
But it’s raining, I’m going to tell you anyway.
We don’t have to dance this mad ballet.

Susanna, don't break my heart,
Susanna,
you're all I want,
Su
sanna, my love, my love,
My love will come and carry you away.


If I could reach you, in the middle of this dream.
I could hold you, when you wake up with a scream.
In the dark, we're not so very far away.
We don't need to cross the Milky Way.

Susanna, don't break my heart,
Susanna,
you're all I want,
Su
sanna, my love, my love,
My love will come and carry you away.


We'll find the spark. Just look at where we’ve been,
We’ll build a fire, and throw the midnight in.
For now it's raining, what I’m still trying to say is
We can’t live inside a shadow play.

Susanna, don't break my heart,
Susanna,
you're all I want,
Su
sanna, my love, my love,
My love will come and carry you away.

 

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