THE GIRL FROM ALBANY Looking down on tiny towns, do you ever wish you'd stuck around? Oh, how I've prayed it was just a phase In Los Angeles do they allow you to sparkle when you take your bow? Just like you did in high school plays... Oh, and nothing much has changed and they all think I'm strange And I'm swearing on my grave that you'll be flying home And it's hard to get by without you hanging 'round Yes, and when I go to a picture show, people ask me Do I know that pretty girl from Albany? The girl up on the movie screen... The girl from Albany My girl from Albany You walk in new designer shoes with Hollywood strapped to your boots New York City's at your knees in one minute And we'll have plenty stories to tell all about the way you taste and smell But no one's gonna believe me Well, put the past away, and I hear your mamma say Let the past relax, our Sarah's long gone And it's hard to get by without you hanging 'round Yes, and when I go to a picture show, people ask me Do I know that pretty girl from Albany? The girl up on the movie screen... My girl from Albany My girl from Albany Oh, Sarah put that purple, sliver makeup on your face and put that bow in your hair Make me laugh and say you'll dance with me down at the Kendall County Fair Dance the way that momma said those southern girls should sway The moon is out, we'll cuddle out into our hideaway The ghosts in Baptist Park cried weeks on end for you to stay Will you come back someday? Will you come back someday? Will you come back someday? Will you come back someday? Well, I'm walking barefoot on the road, on my way back from your home Thinking maybe I should've said something that I didn't Maybe I should've held your hand and not begged to fulfill all of your commands Maybe I just talk to damn much Oh maybe they don't mean a bit (I think) – these walks we'd take alone Sarah, in a couple years (anyway) … You're gonna be a big star It's hard to get by without you hanging 'round Yes, and when I go to a picture show, people ask me Do I know that pretty girl from Albany? The girl up on the movie screen... My girl from Albany

TELL ME ABOUT THE MOON Yesterday, oh how it rained The fog has stained Lake Pontchartrain We tire of Decatur, we can search for alligators Out inn Slidell or Mandeville We wanna stay but we never will So, New York City can wait for one more day Oh Lizzy, tell me about the moon And how the planets have smashed us in two Oh we've many miles before this journey is through So Lizzy, tell me about the moon Kick your legs up on our love today The time is ours to waste our way The sunrise here is Holy, so slide your dress on slowly On the balcony of the hotel room The fireworks have stained their cheap perfume I'm breathing in any words you have to say So Lizzy, tell me about the moon And how the planets have smashed us in two Oh we've many miles before this journey is through So Lizzy, tell me about the moon I've been wasting my time There's so much that I don't know Take your time, I don't mind As we drive through the snowstorm in the Cherokee Forest Watching cardinals fly through the snow Tell me everything I don't know Tell me everything I don't know Tell me everything I don't know 'Cause I miss taking it slow Punch the clock out on our drive today Let's take a mile to feel alive today And look on up at the heavens before we drive down to Eighty-Seven In the scheme of things, we're just specks of dust But there's something so real for the next of us And that silver string that's connecting us must come from outer space So Lizzy, tell me about the moon Oh, how the planets have smashed us in two Oh we've many miles before this journey is through So Lizzy, tell me about the moon

WITHOUT THE RAIN The moon pushed heat, the engine sleeping pushed the silence As your mother's curfew clock pounded in my ears Syncing perfectly in time with evening's pounding tears I know she doesn't want you driving out in the rain The night was ours, soaked in fabric of the last time You said the words I only heard in my dreams I heard your engine sputter through the bedroom walls The drizzle stopped its stutter on the window pane Without the rain, you've got nothing to protect me from Without the rain, we'll run dry of things to say Without the rain, the sun will blind us and the clouds all disappear Nothing feels like you without the rain I'm going back to the memories of the schoolyard And how we'd show up late to classes soaking wet And how you'd hum the tune that Billie Holiday sang I'd be so glad to be unhappy out in the rain Without the rain, you've got nothing to protect me from Without the rain, we'll run dry of things to say Without the rain, the sun will blind us and the clouds all disappear Nothing feels like you without the rain The stage is cold and I think I see an angel Flying high in the perfect shape of you Fog hands under heaven and that's an awful shame 'Cause I'll be alone out in the rain And you've got nothing to protect me from Without the rain, we run dry of things to say Without the rain, the sun will blind us and the clouds will disappear Nothing feels like you without the rain Oh, without the rain Oh, without the rain Nothing feels like you without the rain

SLOWLY OVER STONES The way that I remember you is September of Two-Thousand Two Eating waffles in the shadows of the lockers in the east wing hall You didn't wanna suffer through our eclipse and as you wiped the syrup from your lips You scurried off with your yellow sneakers and your rolled up overalls Anyone with half a brain knows that real love is real pain You just don't wanna be the one who says, “My God, it's happening again” I'm doing my best, but the feeling's only grown And I don't wanna sleep tonight alone, no She said, “Give it a rest and drive slowly over stones Sleep in one piece when you get home” On the school bus you dropped the bomb it was the morning of your senior prom You said you wanna go out with the boy with the jester's intentions You just wanna have one night of fun, don't wanna end up calling nine-one-one On account of getting all caught up in my affections infection Anyone with half a grin has worn a frown above their chin And you just don't wanna be the one who says, “My God, it's happening again” I'm doing my best, but the feeling's only grown I don't wanna sleep tonight alone, no She said, “Give it a rest and drive slowly over stones Sleep in one piece when you get home” The way that I remember you, you were bending down to tie my shoe Swearing you'd come out on Friday night to see my band It's only hesitation's fault, that I take you with a grain of salt Oh, it's just like you kiss my face but not wanna hold my hand Anyone with half the nerve knows that real love is dead man's curve And the cowards who take the backstreets, they get what they deserve I'm doing my best, but the feeling's “overgrown” I don't wanna sleep tonight alone, no She said, “Give it a rest and drive slowly over stones Sleep in one piece when you get home” When you get home... When you get home... When you get home

STILL HERE Three E trains have zoomed on through, will there ever be another C? You come and go so often, will there ever be another me? If I dove to the depths of the sea, let the waves on rumble through Later on, on the shore, my friend, they'd find pieces of you You're in my blood, you're in my mind Just like lady nostalgia, you always get left behind And your scent lingers on when you disappear Even though you've gone, you're still here And once we've reconciled and we've re-honeymooned You mosey on through the last exit wound Are you afraid to love me and wear your heart on your sleeve? And is the one thing that draws you in, the same thing that makes you leave? Your lipstick is stained on my coffee cup You're halfway down the block before I even wake up Yes, and after you've left, I look in the mirror Yes and even though you've gone, you're still here It's a shame when you leave I don't know anymore When you walk out (of) the room You don't bother closing the door You're in my blood, you're in my mind Just like lady nostalgia, you always get left behind And the barkeep just shrugs when I ask for another beer He says, “She'll never come” I say, “No, she's always been here” When the world gets too tough and underneath your skin Nothing feels as good as some place you've been When the mornings are so empty and the afternoons grow so slow Nothing feels as good as something you don't know

AUSTIN Mary Jane unmarried music, she and Austin got the kids It was a clinical divorce, and the doctor said, “Hey, it's for the best” And the thumbs of capital city try to hold my Mary's hands While the other eight fingers try and undo her dress I'm a child and I'm a sinner, in God's eyes I'm a beginner I say I'm doing fine but I'm not fine I know that she ain't in it, but when I pass those city limits She's always walking Austin in my mind, always in my mind Every now and then I see her, but I know she isn't here... In the summer with her boyfriend somewhere on the south side of the drag And the specters of the heartbreak, they haunt the hotels and the landscape And I get trashed in Zilker Park and pass out in the backseat of a cab I'm an artist and I'm a poet, when I'm with her I always blow it I say I'm doing fine but I'm not fine I know that she ain't in it, but when I pass those city limits She's always walking Austin in my mind, she's always in my mind Just about the time you call, all the memories start sinking in You're making it so hard, you're making it so hard to start over again Oh, you're making it so hard to start over again Oh, you're making it so hard to start over again Oh, you're making it so hard to start over again Oh, you make it so damn hard to start over again The apartment where we live lies in ashes and it gives A place for the hippie kids to play with their toys (and) Mary Jane unmarried music on May Twenty-Third And moved far away, far away from the poison I'm a child and I'm a sinner, in God's eyes I'm a beginner (I) When, I say I'm doing fine, I'm just a liar I know that she ain't in it, but when I pass those city limits She's always walking Austin in my mind, oh, she's in my mind

RESTLESS ONE Pin a map of Long Island on the wall Throw a dart and see where it falls Get dressed and hop in the car 'Cause anywhere but here is far This broken block cannot compare To the lions and the tigers and bears So get dressed for the pavement and chrome Anywhere but here is home Oh, the evening's gone And I'm feeling so undone Won't you play a different song? Oh, my restless one The paperback you've been reading for miles Says that money is poison to smiles The racetrack is open today Let's gamble my wallet away Oh, the cash is gone I've got room for the fun So, let's keep on driving on Oh, my restless one At some point, we cannot return The memories and the bridges will burn Oh, and if your rambling's insincere Then turn around the car right here You're always breaking free When your heart weighs a ton Will you grow restless of me? Oh, my restless one Oh, the evening's gone And I'm feeling so undone Won't you play a different song? Oh, my restless one Restless one, oh Restless one Restless one, oh Restless one

WINCHESTER ROAD Im tired of my stomach feelin' funny I'm tired of owing money I'm tired of owing things to you I need a friend to see me through I need a friend to see me through I'm scared of New York City I'm tired of begging “pity” For the boy with rain soaked through his shoe I'm awfully done with “sad but true” I need a friend to see me through And oh how... Alice smiles from her dad's van in the parking lot sun Counting Crows blows from Mr. Jones' radio and Winchester Road was as wide as Myrtle Avenue Oh, how could I have known how you'd grow? Find myself fantasizing Also apologizing To photographs from Ninety-Two Sorry for me, sorry for you Make us some friends to see us through And oh how... Alice smiles from her dad's van in the parking lot sun Counting Crows blows from Mr. Jones' radio and Winchester Road was as wide as Myrtle Avenue And how could I have known how you'd grow? It's drowning in a puddle versus dancing in the rain It's Autumn on caliche versus summer on a subway train Bursting with emotion versus bursting at the seams It's childhood memories versus childhood dreams And oh how... Alice smiles from her dad's van in the parking lot sun Counting Crows blows from Mr. Jones' radio and Winchester Road was as wide as Myrtle Avenue And how could I have known How could I have know How could I have known how you'd grow?

THREE BRIGHT STARS I had another dream about Tennessee My mom's house in Texas dropped down on Knox County Just like it was Oz The sunrise swayed from the black gum tree Framing our daughter on your knee And Harriet was playing on that yellow slide Where a kid from my high school, maybe, died I can't remember his name And coach was toasting with a half-dead beer The Tennessee River flowed from our tears How is it that I'm so afraid of planes when nighttime stories go unexplained? My midnight dream can reach a higher high than a Seven-Forty-Seven could ever fly You and me and Harriet are three bright stars You and me and Harriet are three bright stars Water pig, water pig -- swim on by I climbed up The Sunsphere into the night sky And look who's there! (How is it that I can see so clear...) It's Norman Rockwell dressed in drag (A make believe world between my ears) And he tattoos the sky with the Tennessee flag How is that I'm so afraid of heights when I fly to different universes every night? My midnight dream will leave me twice unhung as a silly piece of paper melting on my tongue Water pig, water pig – swim on by Water pig, water pig – swim on by I had another dream about Tennessee I had another dream about Tennessee

THIRTY-FIVE Here comes my Anny walking down the aisle She's in a clean white dress but seductive Oh, she don't want no wedding night surprise She got all that mess done so long ago Oh man, did we put on a show The springtime girls really let themselves go Me and Anny on the baseball fields See, it ain't as bad as they said it feels Sweat (rolls) off your cheeks into waterfalls Get off the phone in case your mamma calls Nobody beats this old scene And my baby runs like a brand new machine We were fast, we were young, we were on the go We were makin' love to her car stereo We were fast lane lovers in the three-digit heat She was makin' little eyes, she was makin' 'em at me And we'd drive Oh we'd drive drive down Thirty-Five Yeah we're gonna drive down Thirty-Five And we go so fast on our way home You got it bad from The Angels When they made that silly pact not to give it in The river's all lit up with bruises and blues See us tomorrow on the front page news Yeah, see all the love we're in While the early morning sun sinks in our skin Maybe tonight we'll hit the highest high Come on over, we'll kneel to the night Meet The Angels at The Smokestack Parlor I got my honey and a couple crumpled dollars Wearing matching t-shirts Rubbing up against each other 'til it hurts We were fast, we were young, we were on the go We were makin' love to her car stereo We were fast lane lovers in the three-digit heat She was makin' little eyes, she was makin' 'em at me Oh when we'd drive We drive drive down Thirty-Five Me and Anny, we'd drive on our way down Thirty-Five She'd goe so fast I'm holding on all the way home On our way home We sprung out of this town with wide eyes and ended up with scars on our knees Can memories heal this kingdom of real life, payment plans, and valid ID's? Anny says, “It's hard to remember what it's like to breath air Or the sweet smell of cigarette smoke in your hair Living minute to minute, or without out a care...” On Saturday night, we'll aim to have an affair with the ghosts of truth or dare Baby's hair once was fire Holy headlights just reflect off the specks of gray She yawns as the dash flashes “12:01” Oh, it's already yesterday Yes, it's already yesterday Here comes Anny with her brand new man See, he was first in line with a backup plan As for me, I'm still rolling around And every host town feels like a ghost town Every time I need to feel alive I hop memory lane and drive I-35 We were fast, we were young, we were on the go We were driving past Far West Rodeo We were fast lane lovers in the three-digit heat She was burning out the engines running in my feet We were completely on our own in a life, incomplete She was driving down the highway of a dead end street And we would drive We would drive drive Thirty-Five Oh we would drive Oh we would drive down Thirty-Five