Mark Erelli Album

(Mark Erelli)

Everyday moves from a blessing to a curse
Pull out of the driveway slip it in reverse
Take a turn for the better, a turn for the worse
And you're stuck out on the interstate again

Sit at a desk and watch the clock
Time slows down and grinds to a stop
You wish it was a dream but you know it's not
And it's getting too hard to pretend

CHORUS
But you do it everyday and you don't know why
Paint by numbers, pass away the time
There ain't no reason, ain't no rhyme
You do it everyday and you don't know why

She wakes up to an empty bed
Lies there alone with the thoughts in her head
All the words unspoken, words unsaid
She throws back the covers and walks downstairs

The coffee on the counter is black and cold
Silence breaks, the day unfolds
She looks in the mirror and feels so old
And says "the things you do to survive..."

But you do it everyday and you don't know why
Steppin' on the tightrope, walkin' on the wire
(CHORUS)

Everyday moves from a blessing to a curse
Life goes on for better or worse
Years slip by, the months are a blur
Leaving only enough to remember

So you wonder how it ever came down to this
There must've been something that you just missed
Or maybe this is all that there ever is
Outside a new day is beginning

But you do it everyday and you don't know why
The skeletons rattle and the old ghosts lie
There ain't no reason, ain't no rhyme
You do it everyday and you don't know why
You do it everyday
You do it everyday

(Mark Erelli)

Too many nights thinking 'bout you
Too many lights in my rearview
Too many miles by the light of the moon
Guess we all pay the price for the life we choose

CHORUS
It's one too many midnights
One too many midnights
One too many midnights all alone

Too many places I can't say where I been
Too many faces I can't find a friend
Too many steps to retrace to start all over again
Now I'm stuck in this game I know I can't win

(CHORUS)

So many dreams I just left behind
Fell apart at the seams no matter how hard I tried
And it's all I can do not to lose my mind
Try to keep it between the broken white lines

(Mark Erelli)

I thought I heard you knocking
As I sprung up from my chair
Flung the door wide open
There was no one standing there
It's getting harder every moment
To tell what's really real
Sometimes it ain't the things you know
It's more the way you feel

I thought I heard you knocking
Tapping soft and light
Like the sounds an old house offers
When it settles for the night
You used to be just as familiar
Like whiskey on my breath
Now whenever you come calling
You scare me half to death

Haven't you already had your fun
Or maybe this has only just begun
You got me wondering should I stay or should run
Won't you tell me what you think it is I done

I thought I heard you knocking
Like a hard rain tumbling down
When I strain my ears to listen
I can scarcely hear the sound
Some questions they have answers
And you never ask again
Some questions only lead
To places you've already been

It's such a dark and bitter seed you've sown
I've got a worried feeling deep down in my bones
If I look at you will I just turn to stone
I don't know why you won't leave me alone

I thought I heard you knocking
Sharp and shallow on my door

(Mark Erelli)

Every year about this time I think of leaving
But every year about this time I never go
I'm the only one I am deceiving
This town sinks its teeth in deep and it don't let go

Folks 'round here they've given up on salvation
They'll settle for whatever's second best
High hopes turn into lowered expectations
Me, I'm no different I guess

CHORUS
Sometimes I walk the river road
And wonder just where the river flows
I don't guess I'll find the strength to go
'Cause I'm rooted down in this one-horse town
It's the closest thing to home I've ever known

Like a ghost town never quite abandoned
Haunted by a host of broken dreams
The first November snow will leave you stranded
'Till the days turn into months, then into years

Sometimes I walk the river road
And wonder what's beneath the undertow
(CHORUS)

Every year about this time I get that feeling
I don't recognize my own face in the mirror
The only thing my reflection is revealing
Is the boy who dreamed so high has disappeared

So tomorrow I'll go fishing on the river
On the ice that won't be melted until June
Couple cans of Bud and a TV dinner
Settle down for another year or two

(CHORUS)
Sometimes I walk the river road
And wonder just where the river rolls
I don't guess I'll find the strength to go
'Cause I'm rooted down in this one-horse town

(Mark Erelli)

It's no secret, no mystery
How you once loved me so
Now you're part of my history
That was a long time ago
You'd think I'd have learned
But it's hopeless you see
I always return to your memory

You leaned on my shoulder
You whispered my name
Now the fire only smolders
Only ashes remain
But I still feel it burn
I can still feel the heat
I always return to your memory

I just can't explain
How the sound of you name
Rings in my ears all the time
And try as I may to run farther away
The closer you follow behind

I wish I'd never met you
But I dream of you still
Though I pray I'll forget you
I don't believe I ever will
You're the page I can't turn
But I can't bear to read
I always return to your memory

Guess I'll always return

(Mark Erelli)

They picked another one off the vine
Scooped out the seeds in the back of his mind
Filled up his head with half-truths and lies
And put the finishing touch on the perfect disguise

They rolled out a carpet and threw a parade
Convinced everyone he had something to say
They smiled as they watched from the two-way mirror
As he told all the people what they wanted to hear

CHORUS
Hey, have you heard the story?
It's the same old song, same old dance
Hey, he's bound for glory
He ain't nothing but a hollow man

He basked in the glow of the fortune and fame
Even threw the first pitch at the World Series game
He always maintained he had nothing to hide
No one ever suspected he was empty inside

CHORUS
Hey, he don't know what he's doing
They set him up so high, he never had a chance
Hey, you can see right through him
He ain't nothing but a hollow man

Then came the day his cover was blown
Their little Frankenstein monster got out of control
So he looked to the ones who had saved him before
Only to find that they'd changed all the locks on the doors

The press circled in with blood in their eyes
Each one wanting a piece of his shallow disguise
And they cast him aside when from glory he fell
Now he's just another bum with a story to tell

CHORUS
Hey, he's less than zero
The greater the height, the harder you land
Ain't it hard when you find your hero

(Mark Erelli)

Wish I could say that I didn't know
If we held on too tight or just let it all go
Thinking maybe we'd profit from time spent alone
We must have been crazy back then

I remember the words you said as you left
What you've done I could never forgive or forget
But inside I was hoping, despite all your regret
That maybe we'd finish as friends

CHORUS
I guess it's all true, you know what they say
You don't know what you've got 'till you've thrown it away
When nothing is ventured, nothing is gained
But some things cannot be so easily explained

Looking back now it's so easy to see
If I'd just stood by you and you'd just stood by me
That together we'd weather all life's stormy seas
With each other for a captain and crew

And for all of that time we've invested in love
You might have thought we could rise above all of this stuff
But what we got in return wasn't nearly enough
To keep us from singing the blues

I guess it's all true, you know what they say
You don't know what it's worth 'till you've thrown it away
(CHORUS)

They say all wounds are healed by the graces of time
And that lonely is only a state of mind
Still I wish you were walking right here by my side
To have and to hold 'till the day that I die

I guess it's all true, you know what they say
You don't know what you've got 'till you've thrown it away

(Mark Erelli)

I climbed out my bedroom window
Shimmied down the tree
Under cover of the darkness
I crept on down the street
She is waiting for my signal
Hope her daddy doesn't hear
When she scrambles down the trellis
And we just up and disappear

I'll be waiting 'neath a streetlight all alone
Like a dog waits for a bone
Baby please don't let me down
I'm only trying to make you understand
Come on, baby take my hand
Only love and love alone can save us now

CHORUS
Oh Angie, can't you hear that whistle blow
Pack your bags it's time to go
Don't you think it's time we made our getaway
We'll ride the rails 'till morning comes around
Wake up in some other town
Where nobody knows our names
Run away with me and ride the midnight train

We discovered long ago
This town ain't big enough for two
Who refuse to dream in black and white
Like all the others do
I want to see them colors shine
Just like the stories I've been told
I want to follow that old rainbow
'Till we find that pot of gold

Oh Angie, don't you listen
When they tell you I'm insane
They're only trying to keep your heart up on the fence
'Cause the truth is it's the other way around
That's the problem with this town
I'm the only one who's talking any sense

Oh Angie, can't you hear the engine whine
As it rumbles down the line
(CHORUS)

Oh Angie, can't you hear that lonesome sound
Nothing else can stop us now

(Mark Erelli)

The sun goes down, the sun comes up
Black coffee fills a paper cup
Every morning it gets harder to remember
The days all seem to pass this way
Nothing much to do or say
A thousand shades of gray just like November

Once upon a time the time stood still
The moments they were ours to fill
Or drain just like a drunkard will a toast
Now I turn around and hope to see
You standing where you're supposed to be
Instead I find I'm followed by your ghost

CHORUS
I got this space inside I just can't seem to fill
Don't you know sometimes it seems I never will
I ain't wishing you could still be by my side
I'm only wondering where you are tonight

It never seems to rain unless it pours
And catches us both out of doors
In the storm it all just comes undone somehow
Still I thought we'd last until the end
No matter where we'd gone or been
If I'd only known back then what I know now

(CHORUS)

Old lovers have to say goodbye
As nightfall darkens in the sky
The tears we cry can't keep the world from spinning
But morning always comes again
As it will for you and I my friend
This is not the end it's only a new beginning

(Mark Erelli)

Across the miles that lie between
The lives we live, and the lives we dream
Full moon shines so blue and bright
Smiling down on the both of us tonight

I see your face
I hear your voice
I heed the call, I have no choice

CHORUS
I'm the northern star
You're the southern cross
We are never alone
Look for me
If you get lost
I will shine you home
I will shine you home

There was a time not long ago
I would've run as fast and far as I could go
I won't be afraid this time around
There's too much at stake to let you down

(CHORUS)

I know it's hard just to believe
When all you hold are memories
We share the sky when we're apart
It makes no difference, how near or far