Drivin'

Color, 2001
Music & Lyrics by Travis Allison

He don't know how far he'll go
a little bit of something burning in his bones
drivin' off to find out what he's lost
a song comes on the radio and takes his thoughts away

from things you just can't change
like climbing up a mountain when the sky decides to rain
and if you take a little time
you will find the sun's returning bringing warmer light
it's so peculiar when all that's wrong can suddenly be all right

Feel your way and everything's okay
Steal the day, let it go

Chewing off a bit too much at work
the sun outside is calling me for fun now, sir and I think
it may help in the long run
if I take off a while I'll be back when I'm done

we need a little bit more time sometimes
to sail out in some open water and cast out every line
and when, nothing comes to brush the dust away
it rests on you to get your ass out there and find a way

feel your way and everything’s ok
steal the day, let it go

Not a Question for authority
just a feeling that's been tugging at my sleeve and I think
surely everybody feels the same
if we give in to them we lose our tongues to say

Choices to go one way or the other
we can take each other down or be a better brother
and if we take a little bit of time
brighter days will come around as dawn will bring the light
brighter days for everybody searchin' in the night

Grey Skies

Color, 2001
Music & Lyrics by Travis Allison

I'm flying through grey skies afraid to fall down
I'd best beware lest my demise lies there
a burden to prey on me heavy I pay
taking it on as I hide in my face

Turning around just to take in the view
holes that surround us to fall through
holding my breath again faking it out
tackled again by what it's about

Turning around just to take in the view
holes that surround us to fall through
holding my breath again faking it out
tackled again by what it's about

Everywhere I turn I can see it again
he has those eyes she wears too thin
a vulnerable time how much weight can it hold ?
we're taking it on until our cards grow cold

I'm flying through grey skies afraid to fall down
I don't know how I lose the ground
a burden to prey on me heavy I pay
taking it on as I hide in my face

Turning around just to take in the view
holes that surround us to fall through
holding my breath again faking it out
tackled again by what it's about

and you want it all 'til the bitter end
you've gotta look hard to find your friends
there's always something more than you can see
but the cover's gone let it go with me

Blue

Color, 2001
Music & Lyrics by Travis Allison

if I ever feel blue
can I come over to your house and paint your beautiful face blue too
I want something new
I can’t take anymore of watching broken hinges fall on the floor

and I don’t know what to say
it’s gonna happen again someday
it doesn’t matter what I do
can I come over and talk it through?

if you ever feel blue
come on over and let’s forget all that we have to do
do you want something new?
are you staring at walls and watching all the hinges fall down too?

and you don’t know what to say
you see it happening anyway
it doesn’t matter what you do
let's get together and talk this through

and all they want is something that you do
and all they see is what they want to
change is inevitable, rearrange
at the same time focus in
what you want and have are different things…
what you want to be?

if I ever feel blue
can I come over to your house and paint your beautiful face blue too
I want something new
I can’t take anymore of watching broken hinges fall on the floor

and I don’t care what they say
it’s gonna happen to them someday
it doesn’t matter what we do
can I come over and talk this through?

Long Time Gone

Color, 2001
Music & Lyrics by Travis Allison

I hadn’t seen her in years when she walked in the bar
but her eyes were still as blue as I felt when we fell apart
I was beating my guitar, singing all the horrid pop songs
squinting my eyes through the smoke I watched her singing along

but she didn’t know it was me and I didn’t know what to do or how to be
I thought she lived on the other side of Time, maybe she’s come back for me

I watched her buy a drink, a gin and tonic just as usual
was that the blouse that I’d bought her?
she'd always turn up the collar

I didn’t know what to do when she left me for far away
I thought we were in this together I thought she was going my way

she was going to be a doctor, I was going to be a star
I shouldn’t have to live without her, how can this be so hard
it's so hard to think of how quickly life can change
we’re not together and me playing bars wasn’t what I’d arranged

when I finished my set I wandered my way back home
voice hoarse, fingers throbbing, and as usual alone
I fix a scotch in the kitchen, a splash to smooth out the night
strange how we were together her not knowing she was with me this time

then I pull out my old scrapbook, leather tarnished and worn
I turn to the page with the death notice on it
I’d put it there five years before
and I have to smile when I think of those days
I can’t believe that they’re through
and I never thought that I’d see her again, but I always do

Maybe Later

Color, 2001
Music & Lyrics by Travis Allison

seeing you before it happened I hoped that it would
you were bold to take the role
you didn’t care, you’d been everywhere

how’s the view from up there now
how’s the soup you’ve got before you now
I' d remembered hearing your name and catching the style

string us along till you find something new
I can feel that raspberry life for you, I feel it for you

does your bucket hold the water
do the blinds blow open
do your windows disappear
are your dreams in color
are the whispers loud and clear

crippled days of misdirection
but she makes up with her perfection
only hands tell the stories true
while we look at you life becomes a movie screen
can she see what we mean
are we all what we believe in
do we like to witness sin

seeing you before it happened I hoped that it would
you were bold to take the role
you didn ’t care, you’d been everywhere

how’s the view from up there now
how’s the soup you’ve got before you now
does your bucket hold the water
do the blinds blow open
do your windows disappear?

Let Me Down Easy

Color, 2001
Music & Lyrics by Travis Allison

In Memory of Jeremy McIntyre
Let me down easy, bring me down slow
changes like that one mine for the vein to my soul
it's blue in the morning, break in the weather would do me some good
but clouds are forming, Fate found you quicker than I thought she would

the years have been younger, the days have been longer
the season is marching a heavier beat to a once quiet song
we never got the chance to get back together and catch up on times
you've gone too fast, how could you leave without saying good-bye?

Here we go around again, hang on tight
it's storming out, life's turned about
how could you be leaving now?

I'm numb and alert, I've washed up for sure
no choice move on, guilty of loving you more when you're gone
every now and then, I can still hear your voice
saying "go for it, everyday brings a new choice"

Here we go around again, hang on tight
it's storming out, life's turned about
How could you be leaving now?

Take it easy, I'll see you sometime
you know we go crazy trying to figure out why you have left us behind
where would you be, Africa bound to join the Peace Corps
or where would you be singing, climbing the Alps or sailing the world?

Here we go around again, hang on tight
it's storming out, life's turned about
how could you be leaving now?

Incident on 29th St.

Color, 2001
Music & Lyrics by Travis Allison

every time she shakes it up it moves me
I think of things that could be, but that should not be
and she thinks she knows my way
understand before you say

and every now and then I find that something
a little more than concrete and bills to pay
every time I feel it, it feels better wait
and I'll be on my way

little birds outside my window call
I fetch a bit more bread before I hit the wall
a piecemeal of breaking belief
a good stranger's a friend to me

and every now and then I find that something
a little more than concrete and bills to pay
every time I feel it, it’s a better day
and we'll be on our way

and the memories get tired of playback in my mind
I just hope to feed that fire and ride the burn of time

every time they shake it up it moves me
I think of things that should not be but could be
and they think they know my way
understand before you say

and every now and then I find that something
a little more than concrete and bills to pay
inhaling what we see not what they say
and we'll be on our way

King Stanley Chester

Color, 2001
Music & Lyrics by Travis Allison

King Stanley Chester
let your people free
mighty man of majesty
we know how you feel

nothing in your pocket
nothing up your sleeve
throne was ripped off last week
now your daughter loves the thief

you're the man with the royal blood
the family line so clean
things ain't what they used to be
there's nothing in between

King Stanley Chester
where's your only son
last seen cruising on the coast
with your money and your gun

know it's got you wondering
how did this all unfold
tell us how it feels
now you've got the common man's cold

keep your sense of humor, boy
it helps you when you're down
just a little while longer
you'll dig up that old crown

King Stanley Chester
he's found a brand new gig
hangin' out at The Proletariat
lookin' optimistic.

Black Hole

Live Bootleg, 1999
Color, 2001
Music & Lyrics by Travis Allison

just came back from trying to drink you off my mind
it just made me think more of you despite my trying
a thousand times I've known you in my life
you come back disguised again a stranger in the night

you wrap a shuttle around my soul
you turn my switches on, ignite my spirit I'm set to go
and I'm falling, falling down
but falling with you I'm not scared to hit the ground

the smell of your skin, the salt of your soul
when I feel too much you're there for control
half my foot is in, I'm a body drifting lost
is that all I've got, can I pay the cost?

a light is setting on a stage
giving intermission from the race
and we're floating, floating down
floating with you we are both about to feel it now

I watch the bad girl sing with the blues on her eyelids
as she captivates all of our eyes
and she knows she's got the power to seduce
and I find myself smiling taking all the abuse

and I know who you are, you help stop the bleed
when I feel too much, you're there to touch me
I hold out my soul and you breathe in with me
I feel so alive with you with me

soaring through a newly lit space
has the mission taken off the rails
and I'm falling, falling down
falling with you I am not afraid to hit the ground

you wrap a shuttle around my soul
turn my switches on ignite my spirit set to go
and I'm falling, falling down
and falling with you I'm not scared to hit the ground

the smell of your skin, the salt of your soul
when I feel too much you're there for control
half my foot is in, I'm a body drifting lost
is that all we've got, can we pay the cost?
time plays charades, it's heavy to hold...

Ghosts of My Town

Color, 2001
Music & Lyrics by Travis Allison

people lifting off
where have they all gone?
send a search party to the sky
time’s up, say goodbye

jangling around like a toy for a baby
bounce me back down
floating on helium, call in a medium
bring back the ghosts of my town

the news reports, lights go out
forces of nature around us are heavy this time
with all of us running our separate ways it’s a circus
and the median turns mostly grey

people, where’s your head?
have you lost yours yet?
fight back don’t fly away
too much too late

capture some time with a dance or a rhyme
give back a bit of the take
join in the game if it finds you to play
hand in your ticket at the gate