See, I was already gone and buried

By the time you knocked on my door

Death and sorrow filled me up

And I just couldn’t take any more

 

I’d shed my very last tear

Holding the remains of my soul

Clinging to the bleak ’round me

Making sure it swallowed me whole

With the light you have inside you

A light burning bright and strong

You pushed back my darkness

Then dragged me right along

 

So throw back the gates of Hell

Pull me down the path I’d walked

Find me in the darkness

No matter if I balk

Sing me a song of redemption

Sing me a ballad of love and bliss

Remind me of the Heaven

I found in our first kiss

 

I can’t give you anything

Other than the love that you’ve taught

There’s nothing bright inside of me

Except for what you’ve wrought

Love me for an eternity

Love me for forever and beyond

I can promise you a Heaven

With the love for you I’ve found

 

So throw back the gates of Hell

Pull me down the path I’d walked

Find me in the darkness

No matter if I balk

Sing me a song of redemption

Sing me a ballad of love and bliss

Remind me of the Heaven

I found in our first kiss

—A Song for Kane

 

 

The poison inside of me kills what I touch,

So why should I love, when I know it’ll die?

—Arsenic Kiss

 

 

Brick covered in blood

Face painted with spit

Skin the wrong colour

Want cock, called unfit

 

So many ways to kill us

So many ways to make us less

When’s it all going to stop

That’s just anyone’s guess

 

Don’t pick up that stone

Just unclench your fist

Turn the other cheek

We’re all better than this

—Bathing in Hate

 

I’ve come a long way

Cried in the dark

There’s been times when I’ve screamed

Times when my soul’s barely a spark

You touched me then

Kissed my bleeding heart

Showed me the sunshine

Promised never to part

Wake up in the morning

You are still near

The world’s only beautiful

When you’re right here

—Beautiful Day

 

 

You cracked me open

Sucked out my filthy core

Held my heart in your hands

And gave in when I begged for more

—Begging Again

 

 

Hands on my skin, their filth working in.

I can’t feel anything but pain.

Why won’t this ever end?

Too hard to breathe.

Too worn to care.

Pushing sharp knives in my soul.

Bleeding inside, still too tired to cry.

—Bleeding Inside

 

 

Took a blind man to tell me I was something to see.

Took a man crossing his heart

to tell me where to begin.

And the kiss in the rain you last gave to me,

Was the holy water I needed to erase all my sin.

—Blind Man Crossing

 

 

Drowning in tears,

Soaked too long in my salt.

This is what I am.

This is I should be.

Something that never ends.

But I want to be more than me

—Blue Notebook 3/8

 

 

Devil by my side, a devil I know

Riding the Crossroads, heading to the next show

Hearing my name on the crowd, never thought I’d be back

House lights going down, time to dance in the black

—Breathing Again

 

 

I hate you for teaching me how to fly

And then you burnt my wings

There’s nothing left of me

But wax, feathers and grief

I can’t put myself together

And I can’t see the fucking sky

—Burning Sky

 

 

World’s gone too dark, too dark for me to see

I turn and reach out but there’s no one there for me

Every time I hear a heart break, I die a bit inside

I cry for every child, I cry for every bride

Atlas carries the world on his shoulders,

Jesus hangs for our sins on a tree

White doves for peace are in the air

But something whispers we’ll never be free

Light a candle for the darkness

Light a candle for our sin

Hug your nearest neighbour

Don’t forget to let love in

—Candles Burning

 

 

Cherry pop lipstick

Black leather jacket dreams

Seeing my baby next Sunday

Good times, know what I mean?

She better stop her cheating

Better put that man to the side

Shotgun loaded, double barrels

Bastard better run and hide

—Cheating Woman, Cold Heart

 

 

Juniper wine and long shots of gin

That’s where this damned hell all begins

Blood on a mirror, taint of a sin

He’ll break my heart

And get under my skin

Can’t help myself.

Butterfly on a pin.

Lord help stop this damned madness

’Cause he’s done pulled me in.

—Crazed and Moonshined

 

 

I am only home in the dark.

The shadows are my only friend.

When a spark of light comes on,

I know my peace is about to end.

—Cursing the Candle

 

 

I was bleeding when I met you,

Blood running red over my skin.

You want me to love you,

I’m telling you I don’t know where to begin.

You’ve got your hooks in deep,

Pulling at parts of me I can’t see.

How can I believe I hate you,

When I don’t want to be free?

—Cut Open to Heal

 

 

Fingers on my skin

Sin in my bones

Blood in my veins

Telling me there’s no home

Finding solace above

From iron in the sky

Love’s what you make it

Never let it walk by

—Dead of Night

 

 

Butterflies and whiskey, catching fire to the moon.

Death’s calling to me but I tell him it’s too soon.

Songs to sing, places to see.

I don’t want to go but Death sure wants me.

—Death Calling

 

 

Reaper came for all of us

Jerked us up from the brine

Slipped out from his bony fingers

Landed on our feet just fine

Took four steps to Freedom

Took four souls to the line

Spat at the Devil at the Crossroads

Drank our sins with sweet wine

—Death, Devil and Sin

 

 

I walked onto the Delta, hoping to make myself a man,

Cocky as shit, with my guitar in my hand.

Walked past the Crossroads, paid the Devil no mind.

He didn’t reach for me, saying I was already his kind.

—Delta Spawn Blues

 

 

Tearing down the road, Devil on my tail

Told you not to love me, Told you I’d bail

Kittens and daisies, Picnics and wine

Loving me, baby, is all very good

Till the day I walk, and you’re no longer mine

—Devil on My Tail

 

 

There’s a door in the back

At the back of this bar

Death waits there

Even leaves it ajar

Don’t wander there, boy

Don’t dance too close, son

Else the Devil’ll come take you

’Fore the night’s even done

 

The Devil’s waiting for me behind that door.

She’s got my heart, lay waste to my soul.

Nothing I do can make her let me go.

Hard to touch a heart as black as coal.

—Devil’s Waiting

 

 

Her tears are long gone, stained with ice and despair,

And no one knows why. ’Cause they sure don’t care.

A rose on her stone gave me grace from above.

The dirt on my hands is as cold as her love.

—Dirt and Stone

 

 

Sucking on a razor’s edge

The blood in my mouth isn’t mine

Why does my heartache taste of you?

When you walked away just fine.

—Dislocated

 

 

Make mine a double,

And keep them coming, baby girl

Leave out the ice,

And drop off the bottle too

I’m drinking to forget

I’ll drink ’till I bleed

Tonight’s going to be long

That bottle’s all I need

—Double Shot Dance

 

 

My blood has whispers of you

Stars caught in the red

I’ve held on to every memory of us

Held onto everything you’ve ever said

I can’t live without you

I breathe, I eat but it is all grey

Baby, can’t you see that without you

I’m dying a little every day

—Dying Without You

 

 

You act like I’m the only sinner you know.

And say I’m someone who sets your skin on fire.

But I know different, little girl.

I know other men who’d call you a liar.

—Empty Promises

 

 

Every day

I am one step closer to the box

Every moment

I am one step further away from you

Every breath

Is one we will never share again

Every night

There’s a darkness of one instead of two

—Every Darkness Follows

 

 

We held on to each other

In the rain and at the dawn

People told us we wouldn’t make it

Said we’d die off and be gone

I’m here for every step

Every inch of every mile

Down to our very last breath

Till it hurts too much to smile

—Every Mile

 

 

Wings under my skin,

Fighting to break free.

I need a razor to cut them out,

So I can live to as I’m meant to be.

A drop of music, A sip of wine.

Watch the sky when I fall

I’m sure I’ll be fine.

—Falling

 

 

Splash of wine, sip of gin

Twisted metal ’round my heart

And nobody wins

Fire coming down hard

Coming hard from above

Skin torched clean off my bones

And my soul’s done scarred.

—Fire and Bones

 

 

You say you’re done with me

But every time I turn around

I see your shadow

Keeping us forever bound

I can feel you near

Haunting a few steps behind

A ghost I cannot shake

A nightmare I cannot find

—Forever Bound

 

 

They say I’m nobody to fear

And no one to love,

Soul blacker than ink.

Sin fits like a glove.

And the soft damning whispers,

Follow me where ever I go.

They can’t hear me crying.

Even as they kill me real slow.

—Forgotten Son

 

 

Four damned sinners went into the rain

Strings bleeding red, soaking up their pain.

Sky fell apart, piercing their souls,

Night closed down, shadows filling the holes.

One woke up, And then there were two

Sun came back out, the sky black and blue

Too bright to be warm, too sharp to be kind,

Missing twin shadows, by the two left behind.

—Four Sinners Gone Walking

 

 

Don’t talk to me about your God

I don’t need your broken bread

Not for my soul

Not for my heart

Not for my countless sins

You want to give me something?

Something to save my wicked soul?

Give me the same as you’ve got

Loving who I want, and leaving me alone.

—Freedom Torn

 

 

He found me on a staircase of steel.

Nowhere near Heaven, a Devil making a deal.

Come on down, son, my Satan said with a grin.

Come with me and we’ll make Sinner’s Gin.

—Gin and Demonic

 

 

Picked up a piece of silver from the ground,

Used it to end a bit of my strife.

If I’d known I’d need it to get into Heaven,

I’d have carried it with me all of my life.

—Going Over The River

 

 

She walks through dreams

Childhood wishes on stars

A faint echo of a woman

Look for her in dives and bars

Familiar stranger

To fill a hole in my heart

Never been together

Never been apart

—Hole in My Heart

 

 

Shaking your ass down Broadway

Walking tight down the ole street line

Got a wink for the boys

Nasty smile that’s just fine

Boy you’ve got some balls

Teasing cock as you go by

Better get some man to love you

Before you lose that sexy shine

—Hustle and Wink

 

 

The stars are crying

It’s like the world knows you’re gone.

Slipping away and sliding on,

The shadows hold your voice

I keep hearing you on the wind

Either come back to my side

Or leave me the hell alone

—In Blue Notebook Margins, Page 82

 

 

Sliding around in my dreams

Your inky black kiss

Staining my life

With something I’ll never miss

You pushed yourself into me

Down deep into my soul

Wish I could dig you out

Burn you till I’m whole

—Ink Black Kiss

 

 

I slide into the crack of midnight

Forgotten, broken, Bitten and torn

Just need to survive what you do to me

Just need to see the morn

I lit all the candles

Given to me by a man

Who told me to pray

God has me in his hand

You came anyway

Walking through the flame and smoke

I’ll never get back my innocence

I’ll never get back what you took

—Innocence Lost

 

 

When you said you loved me, I believed you.

Then when you needed to be free, I deceived you.

—Junie’s Lies

 

 

Hey baby girl, smiling at me so wide.

Much too young for what you have in mind.

Come see me in a few years, and then we can talk.

I’ll show you how to scream, scream yourself blind.

—Keep Walking

 

 

I found a letter you left me

Words written when we were in love

Every pen stroke a forgotten dream

All of your promises were broken

Shattered as clean as my heart

I don’t know why hurt me

I don’t know why the thought of you still does

If I could have one thing in the world

It would be to forget what you looked like

It would be to forget how we loved

—Letter from Nowhere

 

 

When Death took you, I didn’t notice.

You left me behind you.

In the rain.

Tossed aside without looking back.

Now you’re back in my dreams, telling me you’re sorry.

I need Death to come and take you back again.

—Letter to My Mother

 

 

I promised to take you, take you to the stars.

Way past Pluto, once we clear Mars.

We’ll dance in the black,

and I will right all my wrongs,

And before our fall from Heaven,

we’ll sing our old songs.

So long that we’ve danced, we’ll forget how they go,

Mumble a few words, then bask in our glow.

I’ll teach you to fly, And you’ll teach me to win.

Made me survive, and taught me to sin.

—Letters D and S

 

 

Locking down my heart

After I’m done with you

I’ve run the course of our love

There’s nothing left to do

Can’t listen to your lies

Won’t let you into my life

Gave you everything I had

Your love’s like a knife

—Lock and Stab

 

 

The road holds no life

Nothing to keep me warm

Hotel rooms bleached and fallow

Strings leaving my tips all torn

Just one more day without you

Another day gone in time

I’m another step away from you, baby

Please don’t forget that you’re mine

—Love Letter to the Lost

 

 

Metal on my fingers

Whiskey on my mind

Singing a tune to my baby

Wasting none of my time

Flip the record on that turntable

Pull the rug from the middle of the floor

Gonna spend the night with my baby

Send my blues out through that door

—Keeping Back The Blues

 

 

A marble bowl was my coffin

Woke up to find my life dead

Thought I’d stopped my breathing

But it was our love that died instead

God I wish every other waking hour

I could spare a minute or two

Sometimes I think it should be me

Sleeping that final death, not you

—Marble Coffins

 

 

Moonshine and ice

Bathtub swill and broken dreams

Climbing up on a stairway

Made of nightmares and pain

A slip of my hand

Wet blood on a rung

Hitting the stone down beneath me

Made me think ’bout what I’ve done

Thought about how I’ve hurt you

How deep and how long

Can’t ask to forgive me

Since I’ve done you so wrong

—Moonshine and Ice

 

 

Stealing our money

Diluting our minds

Taking from the forgotten

Beaten for no crime

You tell me to watch my mouth

Spit on me and tell me to drown

I’m telling you Jack

To watch your own ass

Always getting back up

Just so I can take you down

—My Life, Not Yours

 

 

Shove me into a corner

Strip me of my pride

Lay me down on a bed of nails

Pry me open up wide

Show me the way to Hell

Keep me from Heaven’s Gate

Break my heart so I can’t love

Leave me alone in your black hate

—Nail Me In

 

 

You’ve danced around us for far too long

Hooked your fingers into my soul

You flirt and wink, pulling me along

What you want us to be

Just ain’t going to last

I’ll take a sip of your mouth

Then I’ll be walking out fast

—No Good Johnny

 

 

Fortunes left on paper

Iron grate at my back

Handful of songs in my pockets

You pulled me up from the black

Dragons on the streets

Fireworks in the sky

We’ve gone and come full circle

A curl of time gone by

Sinners at the Crossroads

An X in the road

Sipping gin, counting time

Getting ready to explode

—’Nother Sip of Gin

 

 

One moon, a thousand stars

Crack open the sky for me

Point me towards Mars

Leaving you a bit of my soul

Hold on to it tight

’Cause nothing’s forever, baby,

Not even tonight.

—One Thousand Stars

 

 

I came into this world, not knowing where I’ve been

You came into my life, working down into my skin

I fell in love once, with a man who loves me still

You’ve been loving him since birth,

And probably always will

We dance around each other

A mongoose and a snake

You grab and hold and cherish

So tight that I might break

Can’t you see your love, is as poisonous as your bite?

You tell me to let you love me,

And I’m afraid I one day might.

—Orange notebook #3, Page #5

 

 

Rain on the glass, reminds me of you

A sip of hot chocolate, a song played in blue

Lyrics written on a postcard

Melody slick, deep and charred

Anyone not loving you

Ain’t trying that hard

Shout at the moon, dance in the rain

Give me your heart, I’ll keep back the pain

—Rain and the Blues

 

 

Red light, torn jeans

Filthy sheets by the hour

Aching feet, dirty greens

All of the work, none of the power

A skip along a white line

A snip of ice in my vein

Opens up the sky for a bit

Helps me forget all of my pain

—Reality Mirrored

 

 

People talk about tears

About the agony they’ve cried

They made you salted ground,

Left to fallow, dead inside

Made you wear their pain

Right on your broken skin

Covering in ink and blood

Doesn’t hide them from within

—Reclaiming of D

 

 

Got shadows on my ass

Time’s not on my side

Life came to give me a kiss

Then Death took me for a ride

—Riding A Pale Horse

 

 

Sour mash and cheap wine

Smokestack lightning, bathtub gin

Took me for a slow ride

Damn woman ’most done me in

Popping corks in long black limos

Champagne giggles and lots of skin

Breaking hearts more than a million times

Just like my own has been

—Riding Low

 

 

Standing in a river of stones

Drowning in sorrow

Water knee deep but cold

Even though my mouth is clear

I just can’t breathe anymore

—River of Stones

 

 

Mouthful of whiskey

Sweat running down my back

Strings under my fingers

Amp cord hanging down slack

We gather here together

On stage for one more day

Stomp your feet and sing along

Rock and Blues are here to stay

—Roadshow Blues

 

 

Rock a bye, baby, don’t say a word

Your cradle is broken, childhoods all blurred

In the house you once lived, all the windows are black

Not who they wanted, can never go back

Come play in the sunshine, We’ve all gathered here

Laugh at the rainbows, learn to grin ear to ear

So come find this family,

Painting their roses bright bright red

Come to us, Alice, And be loved instead

—Roses for Alice

 

 

Death kissed me low

Left me on the road so black

Took my brothers up with him

They ain’t never coming back

Heaven saw me cryin’

Tearing up my soul inside

Reached down into its golden grace

To bring a Sinner to my side

—Saving a Sinner

 

 

Restless itch

Need to scratch my sin

Fingers in deep

Don’t let it end

Confused and alone

Someone’s puppet again

—Scratch My Sin

 

 

I can feel you breaking my skin.

My bones shatter when you walk by.

The blood I taste is from my tongue.

You say you love me but I know it’s a lie.

—Shattered Lies

 

 

Gypsy roses, and a white daisy crown

Waltzing in circles, We all fall down

Spin a thread, make it of gold

Weave us a family, brash, loud and bold

Let me sing to them in the darkness

Let me sing to them in the light

Let us sing together under the moon

Let us sing to keep back the night

When the road comes a’calling

Let me remember where I’ve been

’Cause once our song is over

We’ll want to come back again

Don’t sell your soul to the Devil

Take a nickel for every sin

Lift your voices so we can hear you

And dance with Crossroads Gin

—Shouting Down the Moon

 

 

Bled onto my hand,

Shoved his fist into mine

Stood tall against anyone

Who’d break through our line

 

No matter what they do

No matter what they say

Death’s already tried to part us

And we’ve already made him pay

 

So lift a glass to the Sinners

Lift a glass of cheap ass gin

Put your lips on the Gates of Heaven

’Cause we’re taking you to sin.

—Sinners’ Calling

 

 

An ounce of rotgut whiskey

A shot of bathtub gin

Teach one boy how to dance

Teach another boy how to sin

Laugh under a cold, pale moon

Cry in the pouring cold rain

Sing a song of sixpence

Fill your pockets full of pain

—Sixpence

 

 

Wrap me in leather

Buckle me down in hard lace

Drape me in white

Slap a mask on my face

Tie me down to your cross

Thorn ribbons in my hair

Blood down on my face

Kill me if you dare

—Skywood

 

 

Stars on the black

Stretching out into the abyss

How could you leave me, baby?

Didn’t you think you’d be missed?

A slash of metal on your arm

Stole my baby from my world

Spilled life on white tile

Death’s cloak ’came unfurled

Sing a song for the Devil

Sing a song for a God

Take my baby’s soul to Heaven

I’m sorry for its flaws

—Soul for the Taking

 

 

Pretty pretty baby, legs so damned long

Stop for a little bit, hear some of my song.

You’ve got a twitch in your hips

Something sparkly in your hair

A twinkle in your eye

And not a damned care

Watch who you tease

Watch who you break

’Cause maybe one day

Gonna be your heart that aches

—Sweet Little Tease

 

 

Hey there pretty boy

Whatcha doing over there

Come on over now

Don’t just sit and stare

Show you a right good time

Show you everything I got

Blowing town in an hour

But I’ve got time to hit the spot

—Talk is Cheap

 

 

A word from you opened a window

A window in my soul

It showed me a way out

Of the prison I had made

I couldn’t let go of my past

Forged the bars myself

Carrying every blow

Coloring in every bruise

Gripping my wounds tight

Until I bled out inside

Then you found a window

A window in my soul

Painted over, hammered shut

This window in my soul

A word from you opened it

A hug from you gave me the sky

And your love gave me wings

—Talking to Dad

 

 

The prophets and the wicked both wear black.

How do I tell one from the other?

When both want to kiss me,

And ask for my soul.

—The Consuming of Me

 

 

Stronger than sour mash

Harder than liquid steel

Your hands on my skin,

Pouring fire into my veins

—The Devil’s Brew

 

 

I see you scraping the black,

The black on your soul

When are you going to leave him

When are you going to let go?

I see you hiding the blue

The blue on your skin

Holding in all your tears

Not letting anyone else in

What is it going to take

For you to finally see

I’m not asking you to go

I’m begging you to leave

—Tight on Time

 

 

Time’s come to take me away

Leave a coin on my eye for the toll

’Cause the river man needs his pay

Don’t cry ’bout the way I’ve gone

Or the mud I’ve got on my soul

I’ve lived the way I needed to live

No way was I making it out whole

—Toll for the River

 

 

Don’t care what you look like

Don’t care who you know

Don’t want to see you ’round

Don’t come down to my show

You’re always bringing Trouble

Trouble knocking at my door

Don’t fuck with the guys I play with

I don’t want you here no more.

—Trouble in Spades

 

 

The sweet smell of you stayed when the sun came up.

I needed you there, in the flesh not in dreams.

And on the nights when I cry, so deep from inside.

The sheets are cold and filled with my screams.

—Untitled song, Hidden Track 34

 

 

Little boy, smile oh so sweet

Swinging your ass on C-town’s dirty street

Pick up your heels, move that sweet ass along

Stay here much longer

Someone’s gonna do you wrong

—Virgin Kiss Blues

 

 

A bit of silver for a lady

Slice of gold for a guy

Giving out my soul in pieces

Got to give it all away ’fore I die

Need to leave this world better

Better than when I found it that first day

Dance my way on through to Heaven

Hoping Hell’s devils and demons

Don’t hunt me down to pay

—Working Off the Red

 

 

Miles of black

Whiskey and rye

Keeps the band warm

And our damned souls dry

 

A million miles to go

A million miles to get right here

We’ve drank from every bottle

And more than our share of beer

 

At every single show

On yet another stage

We find you in the dark

Ready to rock and rage

—Whiskey and Rye

 

 

Long roads, bad food, no sleep in sight

Screaming our lungs out for one or a hundred

Strutting on stage every night

Do it for love

Do it for money

Do it for fame

Just stay in the fight

One more show to go, Sin

And everything’ll be all right

—Whore’s Prayer

 

 

Working in deep

End of the line

Black river at my feet

Red fire down my spine

Getting harder every day

To hold onto what is mine

—Working In Deep