Lyrics

By Jackson Emmer & Terry Klein
90s Tacoma, I never owned ya
but I’ve seen you in my dreams and on the road.
Knobby tires, pickup topper,
there’s no place that Tacoma would not go.
It never breaks, it never stalls,
Not too big, not too small.
A little rusty, but so am I
90s Tacoma, wish you were mine.
High in the rockies, or southern swamp,
Mexicali, Indiana, to Vermont.
Construction workers and debutants,
90s Tacoma’s what we all want.
CHORUS
No backup camera, no fancy screen.
Tape stuck in the deck, no mp3.
No navigation, no leather seats.
What it don’t have, you don’t need.
By Jackson Emmer
Dear Tellulah,
wish I could,
earn a dollar
not soaked in blood.
Feel the woofer
kick and thump.
I’m suckling baby
from an old gas pump-
Ain’t that living the dream?
Take me to America.
I want in, I want in.
Land of sex and fentanyl,
stolen graveyards,
and Acetaminophen.
Darling Johnny
Went to school.
His best friend shot him,
dead by noon.
All the others
hiding under a desk.
Land of the free,
not bad I guess.
Ain’t that living the dream?
Take me to America
I want in, I want in.
land of debt and opium,
stolen governors,
and Acetaminophen.
If you don’t like it,
you can leave.
At least that’s what
the proud tell me.
I ain’t coward,
think I’ll stay.
If I ain’t here
I know these things’ll never change-
Ain’t that living the dream?
Take me to America
I want in, I want in.
Land of milk and broken skin,
stolen orchards,
and Acetaminophen.
By Jackson Emmer
Sunblock, pair of goggles and some short trunks.
Sipping coolers in the hot sun, by the childhood lake.
Junk food, sugar rushing til my head hurt
kissing betty by the sandpit, learning how to flirt.
Memories, circling the drain now.
Way gone, another time, another town.
Heartache, mistakes, just another summer break,
I miss you and I think about it every day.
Aging, withered and decrepit bracing, for the wild beyond.
How old, would you be if only you didn’t know?
If you didn’t know?
CHORUS
By Jackson Emmer
Fine white powder, rolled up bill.
Day drags on, and I’m looking for a thrill.
High as an eagle, sitting on a cloud,
blood and bone when I hit the ground. x2
I’ll try anything once for a good time,
anything once or twice.
I’ll try anything once for a good time,
anything once or twice.
Travis Tripp is a friend of mine
He’s hooked on adrenaline and doing fine.
Jumping outta airplanes, pulling that chute.
One day, man, I’m gonna chance it too,
One day, man, I’m gonna fly like you.
CHORUS
Sleeping with strangers, wrestling bulls.
Fly a rainbow flag at muscle shoals.
I could rollerskate on a pond of ice,
Or I could take a real chance, pay the bills on time. x2
CHORUS
Life is short and life is sweet.
Short and sweet’s alright with me,
I could try to live forever, I could lose my mind.
or I could run the clock, and have a good time,
howl at the moon, and’a have a good time.
By Jackson Emmer & Mark Kilianski
stop me if you’ve heard this one, i’m at the bottle again.
wound up, low down
laying in a gutter, with my only friend.
i’ve got fifteen sours to my name and i ain’t gonna pay no rent.
stop me if you’ve heard this one, i’m at the bottle again.
walked into the double crown on a rainy monday night.
some folks call it living in sin,
i call it living right.
don’t answer to no one
or tell ‘em where i’ve been,
stop me if you’ve heard this one i’m at the bottle again
——
drinking and a’ gamblin’ and a’ running around i do just what i want
i may not spend it pretty
but the money’s all my own.
gonna stop and sit down at the bar have me one or ten
stop me if you’ve heard this one i’m at the bottle again
———
it may sound familiar
it may break your heart.
i don’t need to make a home, i’m living bar to bar.
i don’t give a good god damn
if you don’t comprehend.
stop me if you’ve heard this one, i’m at the bottle again.
By John Lilly and Jackson Emmer
little rough around the edges
so i been told
learned to crack my knuckles,
when i was eight years old.
(mmmmm, mmmmm)
mama tried to bring me up,
did the best she could.
tried to teach me right and wrong,
but didn’t do no good.
(mmmmmm, mmmm)
my bad habits are like my middle name
without my bad habits, i wouldn’t be the same.
ramble all night and i sleep all day,
down at the casino
is where i spent my pay
can’t keep a secret, can’t tell a joke
i can’t be trusted
when I’m blowing smoke
chorus
heaven knows I ain’t no saint,
but don’t try to change me
cause you can’t.
drink a little whiskey
shoot a little pool
drive around in circles
try and get back home to you
hmmmm mmmmm
We’ve been through the battle
we can see the scars.
take me as i am,
i’ll take you as you are.
hmmmm mmmmm
chorus
By Jackson Emmer and Tom Paxton
Somebody dug for twenty years
and made a strike.
He was rich beyond his dreams, overnight.
He longed for even more,
when they heard him hit the floor
and he left it all behind when he took flight.
Oh he tried, oh he tried,
he tried to take it with him
on his trip up to the sky-
but you can’t take it with you when you die.
He had hundred dollar bills in both his boots.
And diamonds in the pockets of his suit.
packed gold in every tooth,
Just running from the truth,
when they laid his tired body in the roots.
CHORUS
he’d always meant to take that trip abroad
or change his life and live by word of god,
he always had tomorrow,
now there’s no time left to borrow,
sleeping with his luck down in the sod.
By Jackson Emmer
Caffeine and Gasoline
Dino bones and little beans.
take my mind and wash it clean,
been leaning on you since I turned sixteen.
Caffeine and Gasoline
In my blood and in my dreams
Have i got you or you got me?
caffeine and gasoline.
Run myself ragged every day
just trying to make this work.
Flying towards the sun
is both a blessing and a curse.
Morning shines and the dream is on my lips.
‘Course I know better, but that doesn’t make it easy to quit.
CHORUS
By Jackson Emmer and Mary Bragg.
From Temecula to Tulsa,
Tokyo to Toronto,
rode sheet metal dragons,
chasing silver, chasing gold-
Chasing Gold.
he stands twelve feet tall,
nothing that he can’t get done
with his chest puffed out.
never known a tired tongue
he’s an okay joke-teller,
working on it every day.
he’s a high tone haymaker,
rolling down the lost highway.
From Temecula to Tulsa,
Tokyo to Toronto,
rode sheet metal dragons,
chasing silver, chasing gold-
Chasing Gold.
Instrumental
when the pine box calls
and aged bones are feeding bugs.
will the dollars earned
be worth your time away from love?
he’s a sharp dressed, rule breaker,
ain’t afraid to flip the bird
in the line for god’s acre
he’s gotta have the final word
CHORUS
By Jackson Emmer
There’s 28 bullet holes, in the Utah border sign
when you fly over that Colorado line.
Is you coming, is you going?
The rattlesnakes don’t care.
Way on down that Colorado line.
Go head north, to Laramie
wind so sharp your tears’ll freeze,
and you’ll see why those cowboys like to drink.
Now my money’s gone, but I’m feeling fine
feeding off the sweet sunshine,
back over the Colorado line.
My mind got lazy rhyming,
on the lonesome road to Limon.
Figured a little prarie’d do me good.
sure, I dreamt of Tennessee,
but came back home with my tail between-
back over the Colorado line.
Fell for girl I didn’t know
with auburn eyes and alpenglow.
Mountain men would kill to dance with her.
It could have worked, but for my wife
for my job and for my life,
back over the Colorado line.
Now there’s 28 bullet holes, in the Utah border sign
when you fly over that Colorado line.
Is you coming, is you going?
The rattlesnakes don’t care.
Way on down that Colorado line.
By Jackson Emmer
I thought we had a good thing trust was all around.
Now you’ve gone and burned our sweet love to the ground.
I knew this day was coming But hoped it wasn’t true.
Don’t leave me lonesome. Don’t leave me blue.
Don’tcha turn me loose, don’t break my heart.
Don’t leave me scrambling for a brand new start.
Don’t leave me searching for a love so true.
Don’t leave me lonesome, don’t leave me blue.
We used to hit the town about eight nights a week.
Now you’re out with another and I can hardly sleep.
You told me that it’s over, I can’t believe it’s true.
Don’t leave me lonesome. Don’t leave me blue.
CHORUS
Bridge
Don’t leave me lonesome over here.
I’ma howlin’ at the moon, with the lovesick blues
I’ma cryin’ in my beer.
CHORUS
By John Lilly and Jackson Emmer
She plays the guitar, writes her own songs. Her kids and her girlfriends they all sing along. She’ll be on the Opry before very long, thank God for Dreamers and Fools.
Thank God for Dreamers and Fools like you and me ,
hopeless romantics, wild-eyed wannabes.
Taking their chances and breaking the rules,
Thank God for Dreamers and Fools.
For thirty-five years he had managed the store
Then he got fired, then got a divorce.
Now he’s moving to Fiji and buying a horse,
thank God for Dreamers and Fools.
CHORUS
He was a dachshund, and she a great dane. How they will manage is hard to explain.
But where there’s a will there is always a way, thank God for Dreamers and Fools.
CHORUS
By Jackson Emmer and Olivia Siegel
You don’t get home quick and hold me tight.
What kind of man works late on a Saturday night?
I got all gussied up, but what for?
‘Cause you don’t bring me flowers anymore.
You don’t bring me flowers anymore.
You don’t steal a kiss on the ol’ dance floor.
We only go on dates to the hardware store,
cause you don’t bring me flowers anymore.
Better days surely came and went.
Now we’re just a’fussin’ ‘bout the rent.
I used to have the blues, and you my cure.
But you don’t bring me flowers anymore.
CHORUS
Late last night I peered into your dreams,
no not a single one included me.
So finally, I’m walking out your door
‘Cause you don’t bring me flowers anymore.
CHORUS
By Jackson Emmer and Mary Bragg
Blonde haired Julie, from Missouli
raised on rubies, and caviar.
Left the mountains for the concrete,
where your bloodline, ain’t who you are.
My friend Sandro from down south,
crossed el rio, made it out.
Blood and sweat, for a second chance.
Reynosa fable, his romance.
When there’s a fork in the road, take it.
If you like dreaming big, make it come true.
Life is a dance, get out and shake it.
When there’s a fork in the road, take it.
I was 15, thinking bout death.
Breathing was a boulder, crushing my chest.
I found the highway, where a man can think.
Now my life is three chords, paper, and ink.
Chorus
Bridge
Skipping clouds or kicking rocks,
How will you know, if you don’t walk?
Chorus
By Jackson Emmer
Playing back a tape on VHS
let down my guard and my bulletproof vest
cut out my heart and hoped it might impress you.
Rockin’ and a’ reelin’
from the seventh grade dance
and the day we met in chemistry class
I always knew a friend from a foe by the ol’ chuck taylors.
Hi Tops, Lo Tops
Hanging with my baby at the pizza shop.
Crank calls, lollipops,
I’ll be young forever and the fun won’t stop.
Met a wrestling champ
in a two-tone van, said give away your money
or as much as you can, if you want to be happy
it’s easier than you think.
I said you can’t fill nothing from an empty cup
or a low wage job when the rent shoots up
innocence lost, one paycheck at a time.
Hi Tops, Lo Tops
Hanging with my baby round the record shop.
Thrift store, croc pots
I’ll be young forever and the fun won’t stop.
Instrumental
Bought a house and a car and a pile of guitars
and the sun and the moon, even bought a couple stars
and a geometric rug, to tie the room together.
Feels like selling out but they call it growing up-
I got a letter from the Governor, wishing me luck
Pinned it on the fridge with the rest of the bills this month.
Hi Tops, Lo Tops
Hanging with my baby at the kids toy shop.
Hot wheels, ring pops.
I’ll be young forever and the fun won’t stop.
By Jackson Emmer
timid as a high school dance shaking like a leaf on a tree
first kiss was the first thing on the list for you and me
now that it's gone tension has moved on
you've got an easy way of laying hands on me
hold me,
hold me,
when the sun goes down.
doesn’t matter how you count, was it days or years?
sometimes people feel like angels others, wild steers
desert stars and cowboy bars, highways ‘cross the plains.
you can take me anywhere, you're the rails and i'm the train
CHORUS
every night our little toes, tango ‘low the sheets.
sure, the blanket's working fine, but i prefer your heat.
now that you’re near, tell it in my ear.
true love’s hit me once before, but now the feeling's clear.
CHORUS
By Jackson Emmer
i’m talking’ thirty dollar cowboy boots
and two dollar smokes.
i got the heebie jeebies, honey
i’m running outta rope.
i’m a road map wrangler, misbehavior
always on the road, i am your neighbor and a stranger
REFRAIN:
got a couple bills
i try to keep low.
but home is where you park it, honey
home is on the road.
sitting in the living room, twiddling thumbs
rubbing the roof of my mouth with my tongue.
can’t sit still, i need a good long drive
high hopes, highways, make me feel alive.
refrain
CHORUS:
maybe one day i’ll come down
or i won’t.
i’ll end up in a ditch, or up in smoke
i’m doing 105, coast to coast-
there’s just one thing i know
home is on the road,
it’s on the road.
whistling dixie. missed a couple notes.
try to catch a signal, try to call my folks.
head around the bend and it’s all brand new.
white lines, four wheels, golly, what a view!
refrain
chorus
i ain’t getting any younger
but i won’t get old.
it’s a state of mind, and mine is on the road.
head around the bend and it’s all brand new.
while lines, four wheels, golly, what a view!
refrain
By Jackson Emmer
i want you, but you turned me down. said you’ve got another lover,
and he’s sticking around.
he don’t make you happy, but nothing does.
you’re a hot mess, honey and I’m so in love.
-
say you want to be friends and nothing more.
but you keep me on the phone ’til a quarter to four.
got me on my knees like a lowdown dog,
I love you honey, don’t string me along.
-
tell me all the ways he’s letting you down.
i’m here for you now, and i’m sticking around.
Tell me mama have you heard the news?
I’m datin’ round town just to get to you.
By Jackson Emmer and Mary Bragg
Along a western highway
chasing down a dream.
All day long the phone rang,
it’s you, dear, calling me.
Asking if I’m pining,
the answer isn’t good.
Turns out I don’t miss you
like I thought I would.
Neon lights and liquor,
fiddles ringing clear.
The love I strayed away from,
can’t touch what we’ve got here.
I’ve fallen for the heartbeat,
of cowboy boots on wood.
Turns out I don’t miss you
like I thought I would.
Turns out I don’t miss you
like I thought I would.
Turns out on my own
I’m doing pretty good.
Truly did I love you,
And even though I should,
Turns out I don’t miss you
like I thought I would.
You know I’m tenderhearted.
And that I’d get attached.
But I don’t need you counting
Every little thing I lack.
Figured I’d be crying
when you left me where I stood.
Turns out I don’t miss you
like I thought I would.
CHORUS
Coming soon.
Coming soon.
Coming soon.
Coming soon.
Coming soon.
Coming soon.
Coming soon.
Coming soon.
Coming soon.
Coming Soon.
Coming soon.
Coming soon.
Coming soon.
Coming soon.
Coming Soon.
Coming Soon.
Coming Soon.