I was a cowboy on the northern range
Followed the code mister sun or rain
Spent my nights by the campfire light
Nothing with hair that I couldn't ride
I grew older sir tired and poor
Bought me a guitar and I learned me some chords
I grabbed my saddle and I headed south
There ain't no gold left in this hard town

Still something missing sir in my life
So I took an East Coast girl for my wife
She works hard does the best she can
Putting food on the table for her guitar man
Straight out of Sunday school she cries sometimes
Trying hard to love me through the smoke-filled lies but she's
Always there 'til the bars close down
There ain't no soul left in this hard town

Chorus:
Well I've stood in the doorway of this wanderlust
Settled down at the crossroads where its bank or bust
Searched the yellow pages and the one thing I've found
There ain't no hope left in this hard town
There ain't no soul left in this hard town

They told me this was like the Promised Land
But there ain't no spare change for blue-collar hands
How am I to measure mister what I'm worth
"I'm sorry son we just don't have the work."
Can't hold a job if you're holding a dream
That's what that homeless man he said to me
"Survival or betrayal is what it's all about
and there ain't a dime left in this hard town
(chorus)

Some nights I lie awake and hold her tight
See what I've done to her and apologize
Throw a prayer to the ceiling and I ask the Lord
How I ended up here with an East Coast girl
I'll tell her of a place I used to know
Long summer days and high mountain snow
I've got some good friends up there still around
And there ain't no pride left in this hard town
(chorus)

This Hard Town: Sat down and vented some frustration after just walking off my last part-time job. Funny how big things seem at first... then they turn out to be some small, little step on the crazy path of Life. - C.R.

The sun sets fire to an early morning sky
As I step out on the front porch pouring coffee off the side.
Already waiting, the old man shakes his head
Says "time is always wasted burnin' daylight in the bed."
I catch him grinning shortly when I turn and shut the gate.
Life goes on 'till sundown
Here on the southern plains.

I run his cattle for him 'round this time of year.
He's too old to handle calfin' and too young to quit out here.
We try to hang on as it all just subdivides
Our range is getting smaller and the price is way too high.
His blood flows through the longhorn and the dust runs in his veins
So it's been and always be
Here on the southern plains.

Chorus:
And it just goes on forever like the mesquite on the rise.
Nothing there to hold you but the hot and windy nights.
The coyote and the cowboy still praying for the rain.
Livin' and a dyin'
Here on the southern plains.

Way back in high school in this very pickup truck,
On that very spot she kissed me with a big red moon above.
Wide open land for lovers, we had it all to dream
Until the fated day she told me her plans were moving east.
On the side of that cendero lies a ring among the sage.
My first love and heartache
Was here on the southern plains.
(chorus)

So I 'm raisin' me a family in a time we've all forgot.
Now the history is in museums and under crowded parking lots.
We're holding on to freedom like two fadin' renegades.
Fightin' pride with hunger to our sad and early graves.
And waiting for the sunsets…here on the southern plains.
(chorus)

Southern Plains: Almost went on the first album...just a song about growing up and an area special to us...the first duet I ever wrote for Stephen and I and somehow a good "male-bonding" tune. -C.R.

You say, "I'd like to hear a love song
Been a while and nothing new."
Ask me why I haven't written
Is something wrong with me or you
Babe I'd trade these empty pages
And this frozen pen that blocks my way
Just to sit and hear you tell me
Tell me Lover stay

Chorus:
Won't you throw your arms around me
Let me be your hero now
Tell me all your hearts desires
Together we can find out how
To make it last forever…
The passionate must break the rules
You and me and the sky above
On a lazy afternoon

No I cannot count the moments
Every time I love you and adore
You moving like a mermaid
Through the waters of our ever changing world
Somewhere down that line of hope
We always seem to pull each other through
Maybe we can find more time
On a lazy afternoon

Yeah I could always bring you flowers
But daisies just don't do
You know I'll think of something grand
For a lazy afternoon
…You and me and an old blue dog
on a lazy afternoon

Lazy Afternoon: Marriage and the music biz...I don't recommend trying both at the same time. The first definitely holds more adventure though. Everybody needs more time with their lover. - C.R.

Another day, one less dollar
Forget the pain, welcome the sorrow
Livin' my life on these borrowed rhymes
I guess it'll all make sense in time

Chorus:
Seen the Rocky Mountains
Played for beggar's dimes
If we did it all again
We wouldn't change a thing, but slow down time

When you're feeling, too damn old
Happy as a clam, with no bank role
Your friends are headin' down that steady road
Fat paychecks of fool's gold
(Chorus)

Have they seen the sights I've seen
Or have they lived of life of passed down dreams
Will it all work out in time
Or are they just banking on the end of the line
(Chorus)

Beggar's Dimes: Wanderlust is a great thing…it keeps the young ever-growing and the old ever-young. It has also kept me from ever making a decent dime in my life. But, I wouldn't trade my experiences for a cubicle and a mortgage, that's for sure. To each his own…but, don't forget to live a little along the way. -S.H.

You find her there inside a rhyme
Waiting for you between the lines
One more glass for chance…
But only by circumstance you fold
Just let it go…

Chorus:
Winter's here
And she always disappears
Somewhere inside your favorite song
When will you find
The tracks she left behind
Only God in heaven knows…
And that cold Wyoming snow

The funny ways you pay the price
Your past is frozen in the ice
This world does not forgive
Still you try to live and hope…
It never shows

Chorus2:
Winter's here
And you always disappear
Somewhere inside your favorite song
When will you hide
The tracks you left behind
Ain't it hard being alone…
In that cold Wyoming snow

Don't be denied
Footprints of you and I
Leaning forward and moving slow
Learning to cope with growing old
In that cold…
And that cold…
And that cold Wyoming…snow

Cold Wyoming Snow: Hmmm...this one has several levels to it. An affair, (not mine) confronting the past and facing the future... and the idea that there are someone else's "footprints" beside my own.... - C.R.

I live a good life I'm told
I ride with peace in my soul
Seen the sun rise through high western pines
And watched their manes turn into gold.

I've heard the call of the wild
Seen mountains for hundreds of miles
Felt the snow fall and smelled the spring thaw
Spent time on my own for awhile.

Now just before me I see
A place that I never have been
My mountains just seem to grow small
Compared to the love in your hand
But all of God's beauty my hopes and my dreams
I found in the eyes of a friend.

I left with my heart on the run
Came back the prodigal son
Only to find that the woman in mind
Was sent to me straight from above.

How could you know for so long
Why did you come back to me
What did I do to deserve
A story book story it seems
But all of the questions were answered just when
I looked in the eyes of a friend

So today I choose a new life
And I promise to you my bride
My love and my faith till the end of our time
Devoted to stand by your side.

You'll never have reasons to fear
We only have life to begin
Things that we hold so dear
Will give us a means to an end
When we're old and we're tired and time is all spent
We'll rest in the eyes of a friend.

Eyes Of a Friend: Written in the last weeks of a time spent around the timberline when everything was so much easier. I actually wrote it sitting in an old covered wagon in a thunderstorm... trying to imagine what my wedding day would be like. (I still didn't have enough money for a ring so this was a back-up plan)...Forgot the 2nd verse singing it at our wedding due to extreme shock. - C.R.

Movin' slow and easy, gonna take our time
We shared our secrets with the stars up high
Moment of truth by the river and pine
Strange new love tonight

Chorus:
The World's on fire as we dance and play
For a strange desire what the other might say
Such a heavy kiss, hear the mountain sigh
Strange new love tonight

Where it all started, where we're gonna' begin
Found something more 'neath the shadow of the Grand
High on a peak put our past behind
Strange new love tonight
(Chorus)

Chorus 2:
The World's on fire as we dance and play
We don't care what the other's might say
Such a heavy kiss hear the mountain sigh
Strange new love tonight
It's a strange new love tonight

Strange New Love: Originally a fiddle melody written for Justin. Stephen and I sat down and put some words to it over a couple of beers in the backyard... that was a great day. We unanimously agreed for whom the song should be written....It was about time too! - C.R.

He bid farewell to Canaan Valley
Placed a flower on his daddy's grave
For him and 27 others
Trapped below the black soot and clay
His name his Charlie Roberts
And he come from the miner's stone
He ain't much for you to look at
Ain't long since he left home
Rolled his pan in Nevada City
Missed the fever of '49

Chorus:
But there in Mogollon
The silver sings a tune
There in Mogollon
The mountain makes the rules
There in Mogollon
They're sifting through the greed
There in Mogollon
A chance is all he needs

Charlie's life found him a chasin'
In far west New Mexico
Just two panyards and a jackass
And a whore from San Angelo
Charlie learned the packtrails
Knew the tunnels all by heart
You see it all amounts to choices
When your mines are too damn dark
Just a poor boy from Kentucky
Who got lost along the way
(chorus)

Charlie he left searching
And was never seen again
Did he find it in the hills…
Did he find it in the sin
When a man is set to mining
He sees all in shades of grey
And if the shaft it were collapsing
Would you leave or would you stay
Is it here or Purgatory
Or are they both the same?
(chorus)

So tonight I grab a lantern
Take my place among these souls
Who somehow turned the wrong direction
And pay the price for what they chose
As I wander ever deeper
In the blackness that surrounds
I see Charlie right beside me
By the sparks of his pickaxe down…
(chorus unique)

Mogollon: This is my personal favorite. ( I like the long stories...) Stephen originally had the idea about this old mining town over a year ago. After several efforts it became more than a just a "physical place"...I had a chorus, first, second, and fourth verse (but nothing to tie it together...) The result is the beauty of co- writing with Harris.
- C.R.

Has anybody seen my Annie Belle?
With her red hair hanging down
She was standing by the river,
In her faded cotton gown…
In her faded cotton gown…
I left her on the Captain's orders,
An Irish boy in foreign lands.
Fought the campaigns on the border.
God forgive these bloody hands.
God forgive these bloody hands.

Chorus:
Annie why…do I walk alone tonight
Annie I…cannot sleep
Nary a moon, nor stars for which to guide
Annie for you do I bleed.
Annie for you do I breathe.

We marched upon the mighty desert.
Trampled women and their child.
The sky was filled with iron thunder.
Killing red man and the brown.
We killed the red man and the brown.
I camped above a lonely canyon,
High along the mountainsides.
Back to back we rode the night guard,
And the air was cool and dry…
Back to back with spirits high.
(chorus)

The hour came in silent fury,
Like painted ghosts upon us all.
Lead and leather for his own man,
And the Captain he did fall.
And our Captain he did fall.
We fought together sword and pistol.
Both the Foolish and the Brave
Warrior's heart and soldier's honor
Carried with us to the grave.
Carried with us to the grave.
(chorus)

Now I am worn and I am weary.
For cooler waters do I thirst.
I cannot find not one companion.
So thus shall I fear the worst.
And so it is I fear the worst.
Do not weep for me my Annie
I will find you by and by.
I shall ride tomorrow morning,
But I must rest me heavy eyes…
I must rest me heavy eyes…
(chorus)

Annie Belle: An older tune...inspired by the immigrants who fought to protect their new and strange land. I awoke one night with this image of a lonely Irish man drifting along in the high desert and slowly dying without food, water or a horse. The scene was so strange.... I guess making it a fast jig lessens the morbidity or does it? -C.R.

Joey was a lover
A loser at his best He held a lot of ladies
And he left 'em for the rest
'Cause mama was a cheater
and daddy never lied.
"Joey hold her like you need her,
but only use her once or twice."
"and if you find your world
is turning upside down,
before the poison hits your blood…"

Chorus:
You gotta run, run, run
Before the heartache comes.
Joey better run, run, run
With your face to the sun.
Pull your hat down tight
And keep your heels down son
You better run, you better run.

She was walking in a rhythm
At the scene of the crime.
Where were you that evening
Mister you were right on time.
Oh you never saw it coming
And she's got it all.
Turning hours into days
Joey can you take this fall.
Hearts under pressure
As you turn and walk away
Before it all just come undone.
(chorus)

Like a moonlit bandit
You're lying in the dark.
Wide awake and wondering
Joey gonna play it smart.
She's everywhere around you
And just the smell of her hair
Could lift you right out of the blues
Can you see her there.
Why don't you turn back
And settle in her arms.
She cries tonight in the wind.
(chorus 2x)

Run: I have no idea where this song came from...thought it would be fun for the band...and a maybe a slight ode to Mark Knopfler...rock on. -C.R.

She left me bleeding with idle running low
Staring in the green light of the dash.
The vinyl cold and lonely with an a.m. radio
I watched her through the rain and dirty glass.
Long ago and far away I didn't measure up
Or maybe I'm still unaware.
It doesn't really matter now she always called my bluff
Me I never really cared.
How you always did distract me
Blue eyes to green when you cried
And if I saw you on just any other day,
How you never said goodbye.
Why you never said goodbye.

She lives now on Circle Street a mansion on a hill
Owns a dynasty of cliches.
A palace for her prison and a maid to meet her will.
Perhaps a ghost she'll never shake
Do I haunt her bedroom door when she is left alone,
Howling through the window at the stairs.
It doesn't really matter now her pain is all her own
Me I never really cared.
When you suffered good intentions
Of flesh in heat on linen white
And if I feel you on just any other day
How you never said goodbye.
Why you never said goodbye.

I'll find Salvation and she will be my Queen
And to her none can compare.
It doesn't really matter now if she comes or not
Me I'll never really care
Me I'll never really care.

Careless: Another bad dream...sarcastic or tragic reply to my wife leaving me. (only a dream) -C.R.

Some folks play with fire
Others play with fear
Some deal with religion in the dark.
Me I'm just a pilgrim
Searching for what's real
Testing out the borders of my heart.
He left her for Susan
She left him for Bill
There's always something greener they all say
Johnny's dying lonely
With a million dollar will
On half a pint of whiskey and cocaine.

Chorus:
Will you stand beside me
Or will you fall behind?
Lost within a world you'll never change.
Brother let me help you
It ain't them shiny cars
Pick up your cross and quit the game.

Sometimes it's a woman
And the comfort of her bed
Spellbound to heed her beckon call.
Mostly it's the Joneses
Or perhaps the latest style
Maybe it's the teacher down the hall.
Lust will lie in waiting
Fame will die in hell
We all try to hide somewhere between
The hypocrites and righteous
Beware of what's for sale
When you're dealing with the politics of needs.
(chorus)

We all fall off the wagon
Be it habit or a vice
The devil's got your model, year and make.
Tonight when I meet him
Selling shiny cars
I wonder if we could settle on a trade.
(chorus)

Shiny Cars: I do believe very strongly in the difference of being "spiritual" and "religious". They are completely different. That's all I will say on the matter unless you would like to talk about it over coffee. Do you know where you're headed? Do you even care? - C.R.