Copyright © 2002 Jack Hardy Music
the moon is full, it's just not hungry anymore
it's trying to pull this heart right out that door
you're planning to leave and say so long
you could not be more gone
the moon is full, it's just not hungry anymore
tried to appease that roving appetite
to some its a tease, to some a slice of life
i'm begging please just to change your mind
and please, just come back home
the moon is full, it's just not hungry anymore
started to crave a taste of something new
when all you could take, you took from this old fool
and though i could wait until the cows come home
the dish ran away with spoon
the moon is full, it's just not hungry anymore
soon it will rise
that moon it denies
that it ever once had needs
that it ever once said please
beggin' down on its knees...
when the moon is that bold, it smiles with big green eyes
like you swallowed it whole believin' all those lies
you'd offer your soul just to taste anew
the kiss that's now grown cold
the moon is full, it's just not hungry anymore
ponderosa, and pinyon pine, the high chaparral 'neath the borderline tryin' hard to lose, tryin' hard to find horse and a mule way past summertime this was my world, this was all i knew barbed wire and blankets and a steel horseshoe no luck in leavin' ten thousand clues no one will find or follow you ponderosa, ponderosa, and pinyon pine boarded windows, stone fireplace horse tack on shelving in a cluttered space not at all a place for calico and lace not where i thought i'd ever see your face my father told me this was no life with the wind so bold and the frost a knife but no book learning can tell it right 'bout the solitude, 'bout the snowy white ponderosa, ponderosa and pinyon pine white the shoulders, black velvet night unlaced and cold in the flickering light warm hands fumble with the button eyes coarse and humble fingers untie how did you find me, how did you know with the blizzard blinding, piling up the snow shack on the edge of this borderline a crackling fire of resinous pine ponderosa, ponderosa, and pinyon pine
what is love but a faded old rose
lost in the leaves of a book
and what it has known, nobody knows
if they don't even care to look
but you are the rose of springtime
guarded by all those thorns
and what do you know of a faded old rose
that will never again see the morn
what is love but a faded old crow
lost in the leaves of the fall
and what it has known nobody knows
if they don't even dare heed the call
but you are the bird of fortune
flying south till the spring
and what do you know of the faded old crow
who's lost all his will to sing
what is love but the faded old snow
lost in the leaves of the spring,
and what it has known nobody knows
lost in the green melting
but you are the mighty river
flowing down to the sea
and what do you know of the faded old snow
that has melted to be close to thee
and the moon was full that night
in the big old texas sky
swayin' in the breeze
with the live oak trees
dancin' heel and toe
music loud and clear
that you'll never hear
on the radio
...fallin' in love with you
and the leather braid flip-flops
and the tie-dyed halter tops
i was mesmerized
by your silent eyes
wished it never stop
all the curving lines
all the swirling wine
turned my heart in knots
...fallin' in love with you
but there were secrets in your hands
i could not understand
tucked away tattoo
and the scent of you
faded yellow rose
but i'm in love with you
i will play the fool
that's the way it goes
the morning light was hard
the embers black and charred.
i should have seen right from the start
you'd go and break my heart
as we rode all the way down through texas
eddie, buddy, billy and i
four brothers, five saddles, and one black guitar
six shooters, and tin cans a-flyin'
'cause there's more than one way
to cover the pain
take a shot from the bottle
or shoot up the plains
there were more than seven reasons for going
we counted them over and over again
one dark-skinned woman, four roses, and one black guitar
only KOMA and only one car
and the cook fires were dyin'
at the t-lazy seven
and the tempers were flyin'
for a chance for her heaven
chorus: what the gringo ain't got
he ain't got no more
said the girl from mexico
as she walked out the door
you can follow me home
you can follow me to hell
you can follow 'till hell burns cold
but i'll never tell
she went all the way
he went all the way
we went all the way to mexico
just to bring him home
that night that he lost his three fingers
showin' off on the fourth of july
slight of hand with a blasting cap and a black guitar
cursing that woman who would not say why
why she was with me
just tempting the fates
all the way in the back seat
of his olds '88
crossin' borders is never easy
even when you know who to pay
one fine-tooled saddle, four roses, and one black guitar
then they look the other way
count the fingers that dangle
where that saddle had been
but i gave up on counting
that night she gave up on men
autumn was a fatal time
autumn was a friend of mine
autumn was my last hope
to hold out 'till christmas time
autumn with her bright red hair
autumn with her icy stare
turned her back on the evening news
in a way that said she didn't care
chorus: take the greyhound
take it out of town
take it down the highway
where you might have turned around
dig your fingernails into the naugahyde
let the countryside
slide into another time
another town, another season
(another place, another reason to love autumn)
autumn lit a cigarette
said it's not the time to quit
ashes on the bed sheets
the remote control and the tv set
autumn licked the envelope
said it was our only hope
the dim light slowly fading
down to the glow of the marlboro
autumn was a clean white sheet
covering all but the feet
static on the radio
the ice bucket in the road
here's to what i thought was best
here's to your last request
here's to how creation
evolved into a holy mess
wondering how you'll spend the night
on a threadbare couch again
thinkin' 'bout this travlin' life
on a road that never ends
in a small north texas town
far from home and all alone
cattle yards and coal trains drown
the only sounds you call your own
chorus: you will leave no trace at all
if you go or if you stay
ghostly caballeros call
andale-o-andale
wondering if you'll stay the night
will she take you home at last
late night barroom, bedroom eyes
inviting you to break your fast
all those times you've said before
i can't go there anymore
as the loneliness gnaws inside
past the moment to decide
wondering if you'll last the night
rolling coal trains never end
grasp the red-draw communion wine
as if it was your long lost friend
on the railroad right-of-way
kicking cinders down the track
dawn is just a step away
now you know you can't go back
don't much care if the neighbors they stare
in the middle of the deep boondocks
the doors ain't plumb, and the windows ain't square
and the clock never quite tick-tocks
and the foxy's in the henhouse
and the bunny's in the garden
and the mousie's built a nest in the socks
but how can you take life seriously
when the kitty's in the shoeshine box
daddy had the same pair of boots last year
shine'em up and tie those knots
though they might be a little bit worse for wear
dancin' jigs until the music stops
so put the music in the fiddle
and the whistle and the bones
'til this old house just rocks
but how can you take life seriously
when the kitty's in the shoeshine box
chorus: oh my, i almost died
jumped off a cliff ( bridge) (ledge)
but i learned to fly
lordy, lordy, lordy, life's frown is wide
but gonna land in a big soft smile
that man who fell asleep with his old boots on
doesn't look a bit like me
'cept the smile of the child looks vaguely familiar
enough to jar your memory--
like the smile of a child
running dog wild
the only black sheep in the flock
but how can you take life seriously
when the kitty's in the shoeshine box
bandolier you are clear to the border but I fear you are not coming back when you ride 'long the ridge, 'long that box canyon ditch as far as the old railroad track they're moving the troops by that railroad and the gatling guns have been oiled and the dust has been mixed with the blood, soil, and ticks but his bandage is pure white and boiled and you know where that train stops for water for those are the rules of the game and the lanterns that stand made of old tin cans show the glint of his teeth in a frame you have thirty shells left for your rifle and the one in the chamber has a name there's no clean way to die that the women won't cry when it spreads in a dark ruby stain and the years have created this border forced to finish what they started down here so you're going off half-cocked with your safety unlocked and the froth of a full bandolier…bandolier and the years've not been kind to you either though kind's not a word that you pack 'long with words like revenge, anger, and stench you can shoot but you know they'll shoot back and you put down your spare horse this morning and one's not enough for the chase when they head for the smoke when those boxcars unload and you know that they well know your face then it's kill and be killed in your turn for the devil's dismal stock of returns you've been down to the crossroads to sell your soul but he weren't buyin' what you had to burn where are those that you rode with your young days spanish johnny and diamond jim, that gringo, they've grown bitter and drunk and given up their guns and they never once called you amigo you used to have to take four shots of mescal and say prayers to saint clare out of fear so how can you be so happy in a dirty serape with a grimy old bandolier…bandolier
deadwood, south dakota has one claim to fame
an overturned table and a deadly cardgame
you better believe it when your chips are down
take it or leave it or get out of town
drew a nine of diamonds and an eight of spades
let yourself be fooled by a pair of black aces
your hand on the bottle so you did not hear her
your eye on the table instead of the mirror
chorus: dead man's hand, prayin' all be'jesus
hat in your hand, this whole life is fleetin'
but your old grin's as wide as the whole rio grande
kept all your winnins in an old coffee can
one step ahead of the revenue man
one card short of a dead man's hand
got an ex-wife livin' in deadwood now
wish I could tell her I am sorry about
bein' too young, bein'on the run
bein' in a game where I ain't never won
so never sit with your back to the door
or put your hand on a bible, don't ever keep score
don't owe any money to the company store
or take up with women from baltimore
wild bill hickok and calamity jane
are buried together, now ain't that quaint
two twenty dollar gold pieces where their eyes used to be
not much of a target if you're askin' me
whom do you love
whom do you love
why is it so hard to say
one day you're mine
the next day so blind
as if love could be just blown away
a full flowered field and an apple tree yield
were fine as the summer was long
but a chill on the wind, and the clouds gathering
say perhaps I have stayed here too long
as a matter of course
i saddled my horse
rode into the town one fine night
scrubbed off the dirt
bought a new shirt
headed down where the lights were so bright
a fine western tune, after a turn or two
she turned and she kissed me so hard
and the cards were all stacked when we wandered out back
where the night was so clear and so starred
a full flowered dress
is no more or less
the same colors as the leaves of fall
one day they're here
the next disappear
'til there's nothing here left at all
black against gray as the bare branches sway
time to move on the old timers say
i untied my horse took the road to the north
did not turn to look back or delay
(repeat first verse)
somewhere down the road
'tween the treadmarks and the load
is the sound of the tires, it's a sound I know
hangin'on to the rodeo
tumbleweed and wanderlust
wandering is what you must
an endless dance of touch and go
hangin' on to the rodeo
shiny leather and pointed toe
I remember my first go
fallin'off did not take long
gonna die with the same boots on
deep ravines crack the land
forcing us to trust a bridge
'til the motion and dust come welling up
drowns the sounds of the rodeo
parched throat and empty tin
glassy water on the horizon
a mirage that fades just like the show
hangin' on to the rodeo
rode into utah, out of grand junction
rode through where the painted rock bleeds
rode into the bold, red dying sun
so long, i won't miss your heat
i was tracking this roan through the cold-hearted desert
the half-moon face down in the fire
i opened a can to the memory of that red mane
flames licking what was aching and tired
she won't take the bit, she won't take the bridle
too scared, and too skittish for the ring
she bolts when the rope closes on the cattle
won't be soothed when this old cowboy sings
chorus: they try to break this wild, unruly mare
but i would take you far from away from there
last time i saw her, she had broken her halter
broke free from the geldings and the wire,
thrown off the scent, thrown off the trail
thrown off all constraints to desire
you say you loved the desert, you loved how it glistened
in the half-light of the new dawning day
how it chased all the dark sharp-pointed edges
that were haunted by your past escapades
hope springs eternal in the mind of the cowboy
who won't let a sleeping dog lie
for a good horse'll do that--know when it's cornered
then break for the wide open skies
rode into utah, out of grand junction
knowing she'd thrown better men than i
through salt flats, salt lakes, and salty wet stubble
it's a good thing that cowboys don't cry
forktail sittin' in a live oak tree
i come all the way to texas, he won't sing for me
just sits there scolding, has it in for me
too much corona you get lime disease
Chorus: everything's bigger in texas
it's known the whole world over
everything's bigger in texas
including this dang hangover
the biggest damn storm swept me off my feet
or was it the senoritas
the biggest blue moon, the biggest bazooms
did i mention the blue margaritas
what's the star to the left of the moon i see
did i mention i was pleased to meetcha
it's god's own cocktail barb-ba-kee
did you try those blue margaritas
there used to be a bridge to this song
it got washed away in the deluge
two by two just me and you
just seeking for some refuge
but texas songs go on too long
till the tears well up in a flood
and drink that strong, and up till dawn
and dust turns into mud
it never fails that things get stale
and the soft gets hard and the hard get soft
heads or tails, it's the end of the trail
and the true stay blue and the lost stay lost
so long, so long gonna say good-bye bird winging along in the woad-blue sky in the crack of the dawn i will slip on by don't need to wake no one no one will cry all the leaves have gone since i last was here don't sing the same songs that we did last year got a big new car and a tv screen no need to shorten the dark with the likes of me but i might shorten the road with a story or two what the frost might show if you dig right through something buried inside it's you own sweet song in the blink of an eye so long, so long