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LYRICS

WHY SHOULD I SETTLE FOR LESS?
Mike King © 2013 - Tremblestem Music (BMI)

All that light
The teardrops and potential
And the saltiness I tasted on her neck
She shines in the night like moonfire in my chest
Why should I - why should I settle for less

Results are what you hope for
Answers are what you pray for
But a consequence is what you usually get
Her eyes in the night were deep as Karmic debt
Why should I - why should I settle for less

Dreams have wings
To lift you in the night
But there ain’t nothin’ there to catch you if you fall
And I fear someday I might fall to my death
Why should I - why should I settle for less
Every time we fall in love

We light a sacred fire
And that crazy flame may wane
But it never dies

When it’s all said and done, love is just a whisper
That pushes all the stars from east to west
And even now, I feel it on my flesh
Why should I - why should I settle for less

 

I LOVE WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN
Mike King © 2013 - Tremblestem Music (BMI)

Woody lived near the mine
When he kissed me on the neck
I let him take what he could find
I don’t remember what he said but he changed my mind

Woody had that special way
When the heart does all the talking
There ain’t much else to say
We both left school, we left Southwest PA

Ain’t got no reason left to love him
Aint got no reason left to pine - cause it’s over
But I love what could have been

Woody liked to keep me home
I let him do my thinking
though I know he never done his own
But it sure got quiet when the love was all done growin’

Them images sure burn bright
They fill my eyes and make me cry
Drop by drop we watched that well run dry

Chorus

By 1955
Didn’t know if he was happy
Didn’t know if he was still alive
A part of me was smarter
And a part of me had died

 

WELCOME TO THE USA
King & Harmon © 2013 - Tremblestem Music (BMI)
Lyrics - Mike King


He had no work so he disappeared
He took a long-shot gamble and he overcame fear
And fear is freedom’s rival

He made his break in the midnight cold
He had to deal with the dogs and the border patrol
And the spark inside himself and its survival

Oooh - welcome to the USA
To the golden grain and the purple of the mountains

With his brother’s compass and a childhood dream
He ran all morning through desert ravines
And his only fuel was accumulated anger

It isn’t easy being kind in the world
He had to steal some money from a teenage girl
I guess the view from the cross
Is different than the view from the manger

Chorus

There’s a halo over San Diego
Shining like Bethlehem
Good news, glad tidings, freedom
Freedom’s writings are written in the sand

So here’s what I see and here’s what I know
The brighter the light
The darker the shadow

Chorus

Why must I work like a slave for my freedom
Why must I work like a slave to be free

I miss the warm nights
When I slept with my brothers and sisters
And the moonlight
That slid through the door to be with us

Am I just a pair of arms, am I just a pair of legs
Am I just another pair of hands
Working - working so hard in my new land


WHAT CRIME AM I PAYING FOR NOW?
Mike King © 2013 - Tremblestem Music (BMI)

You won’t change your mind
You only change your mood
All you ever gave me was a virus
And a lousy attitude

You ain’t got no shame
Ain’t it a shame you’re not ashamed
You haven’t got the wisdom to be different
Or the guts to change

I don’t know the what for
The why, the who or the how
But tell me what crime, Lord, am I paying for now

You, you ain’t no genius
Ain’t got no high IQ
You remember all the arguments and anger
But you forget about the truth

I gotta keep my head up, chin up, shoulders back
I’m haulin’ my heart around
'Cause even lousy fighters get respected
If they don’t fall down

Chorus

When I’m dead and I am gone
And my heart don’t beat any more
I’m gonna glide through your window on a dark night
Sorta even up the score

You won’t know the what for
The why, the who or the when
But it is this crime, baby - you’ll be paying for then



GOIN’ TO GUATEMALA
King & Harmon © 2013 - Tremblestem Music (BMI)
Lyrics - Mike King


New land everywhere
So we took it from the natives who were living there
And Love Thy Neighbor never had a prayer

Hey, ain’t it bold
To build a fence around the land we stole
Hey, I gotta go
Where life is kinda different and slow

I’m going to Chi- Chi- Chichicastenango
I’m gonna to Guatemala, la
I was an architect
But I said what the heck it’s time to go
To Guatemala, la, la, la

God is good and God is wise
And triangles think God has three sides
Politicians use him like a gun
Hey, more and more
When we don’t know what to do we go to war
Hey, shine a light
Would we rather be rich than right

Chorus

Those same lies sound like facts when repeated
and repeated, and repeated, outta whack
And those without a conscience
Tend to benefit from that

Hey, don’t it get old
When the truth cannot compete with what we’re told
Hey, I gotta go
Where life is kinda different and slow


CHOPPING BLOCK
King & Harmon © 2013 - Cardio Music (BMI)
Lyrics - Mike King

Moans sound the same
Whether you are making love
Or whether you are in pain
And I been moanin’ lately - but that’s alright
It keeps me nice and busy in the night
Nice and busy at night

From a cute little hottie - to a lot of hot air
You forgot how to try, you forgot how to care
But that’s all right sugar, we all make mistakes
We all leave behind some damage
Some kind of damage in our wake

It’s time to pack, walk, another true love
To the chopping block

Like a hefty ballerina movin’ much too fast
Our love had all the moves but none of the class
And it’s a sorry lookin’ dance
When the music fades away
Like the slow, slow unravel
Of a lonely strand of DNA

Chorus

A flesh wound feels the same
Whether from a battle
Or whether from a game
And we’ve all been wounded lately, but that’s okay
The lamentation keeps my heart in shape


RIDIN' THROUGH THE PINES
Mike King © 2013 - Tremblestem Music (BMI)

The sun made love to a wave
While the sky warmed her fingers in the blaze
Did that water boil away
Or did it get wetter in the yellow haze
Oooh - rock'n roll rhythms intertwine
Oooh - ridin’ through the pines with my baby
On my mind

The curve of earth and sky lies hiding in the night
Until the lightning makes the two of them collide
The reconnection of the fire
The heart and the voltage of the broken wires
Oooh - headlights slide between the pines
Oooh - ridin’ through the night with my baby
On my mind

Ain’t nothin’ else I need
Ain’t nothin’ else I need

Kamikaze raindrops hit the windshield and expand
Feeling somewhat more than they had planned
Hearts tumble in the wind
Prayin’ that they tumblin’ to their twin
Oooh - lightning flickers from behind
Oooh - ridin’ through the pines with my baby
On my mind

Lucky, lucky me

 

JAZZ HEART, PURPLE HEART
Mike King © 2013 - Tremblestem Music (BMI)

I was fresh outta basic, out on patrol
Marchin’ with the others, tryin’ to do what I was told
And we was kickin’ down doors
Kickin’, kickin thru the sand
Fightin’ in a war I didn’t really understand
And I say yeah, yeah yeah

Say don't our star-spangled wrangles tear us apart

We was dead on our feet, we was dirty and tired
When rounds start clippin’ thru the concertina wire
The last thing I remember we was tryin’ to regroup
Shootin’ at the silhouettes of enemy troops
Sayin’ yeah, yeah yeah

I miss my old life, my beautiful wife
And sunny days that just kept getting better
Hey, I don’t wanna gripe, I don’t wanna complain
But I miss my world when it was still together

Say don't our star-spangled wrangles tear us apart
But we gotta do what we gotta do

The moon up above and the stars in their courses
Were shinin’ down upon all the Coalition Forces
Me, I was flyin’ in a C-17
Strapped to a litter on the way to Walter Reed
Sayin’ yeah, yeah yeah

I miss my old life, my beautiful wife
And sunny days that kept on getting better
Hey, I don’t wanna gripe, I don’t wanna complain
But there’s a couple little things I can’t remember
I can’t remember
And I cannot forget

Say don't our star-spangled wrangles tear us apart
And I’m blue from the bottom
Blue from the bottom
Blue from the bottom of my purple heart

But we gotta do what we gotta do

 

I LOVE THAT BOY
Mike King © 2013 - Tremblestem Music (BMI)

I was riding in the car
My parents were in the front
I wanna cry - when I think of all the good they’ve done
But sometimes I hear them moan
When they fall in bed together
Why should I be alone
I love that boy

I heard some voices in the front seat
Say to look at this or that
My imagination cleaned up its act
And jumped back like an acrobat
We were alone again
I was thinking ’bout the muscles
And the veins in his hand

Oooh - I love that boy, it’s right

I guess I’m never ever gonna stop thinking
About me and him that way
Sometimes I wanna laugh out loud
Sometimes I want to get down on my knees and pray
Sometimes I don’t know why
I follow what I’m feeling
And it tears me up inside

Chorus

Every now and then I get angry
And I don’t know why
And every now and then, I cry

Autumn all around me, the end of another year
The oak trees stand straight up, puncture the sky
And feel no shame or fear
Look at them go to seed, they bring new life
And make the mountains bleed

 

BEVERLY TREMBLESTEMS - THE SWINGIN’ VEGETARIAN
Based on a character from Blues & Grace, another book by Mikey.
Mike King © 2013 - Tremblestem Music (BMI)

Hey! Beverly Tremblestems
A swingin’ vegetarian
The toast of western Gettysburg, it’s true

Hey! Beverly Tremblestems
Dancing with them extra limbs
Is easy for mosquitoes in the groove

Hey! Beverly Tremblestems
Swingin’ with her spider friend
And a centipede who played some wicked blues

Hey! Beverly Tremblestems
Irascible contrarian
Watchin’ all them soldiers pay their dues

Hey! Beverly Tremblestems
Hey Beverly, I understand you’re in a book...