1. |
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All I Got To Give
I got a nickel in my pocket with a Buffalo on the back
Some paper and a pencil and a poncho in a beat-up sack
A well-worn pair of shoes and an old ball cap
I got a couple of these and a few of those and a little bit of this and that
I got a picture of Waylon & Willie smokin’ weed
And an old tattered copy of Black Elk Speaks to read
I got no one to follow and I sure as hell can’t lead
I find myself beside myself with just about what I need
I got just about what I need, just about what I want
A thousand miles behind me and a thousand more in front
A couple million memories and a few more left to live
A song about this and a song about that and that is just about all I got to give
I got a song about love and one about Vietnam
Another about the same different town that we all come from
I got two about leaving, three about coming home
One about being together and one about being alone
I got a nickel in my pocket with a Buffalo on the back
A well-worn pair of shoes and an old ball cap
I got a picture of Waylon & Willie smokin’ weed
And an old tattered copy of just about what I need
I got just about what I need, just about what I want
A thousand miles behind me and a thousand more in front
A couple million memories and a few more left to live
A song about this and a song about that
One about a dog and one about a cat
One about the fact that I never knew jack
Yeah, these and those and this old this and that…
Is just about all I got to give
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2. |
One More Time Today
04:34
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One More Time Today
I fell in love with the girl I married many years ago
And I can’t count the times along the way
I flat out fell for her again and brother don’t you know
It happened to me one more time today
The days and weeks and months and years roll by routinely but somehow
Certain moments are riddled with surprise
And I can’t tell you how it happened, but I caught myself just now
Falling in love with her again, for the first time
It never ceases to amaze me
When I bear witness to her searching soulful way
I thank my lucky stars, that she’s my baby
I fell in love with her one more time today
I wish that I could coin a phrase to try to capture
How this old falling feels so brand new every time
And how there’s still a certain youthful yearning rapture
When I’m falling for the girl that’s already mine
It never ceases to amaze me
When I bear witness to her searching soulful way
I thank my lucky stars, that she’s my baby
I fell in love with her one more time today
I thank my lucky stars, that she’s my baby
I fell in love with her one more time today
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3. |
Red Hot Lovin'
03:56
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Red Hot Lovin
He was ranch hand from Modesto
she was a diva from L.A.
The way they got together, the good lord only knows
But together is the way they’re gonna stay
He stood six foot five in his bare feet
She was five foot four with high heels on
They were just about the same height horizontal in their sleep
Which they got to when they got done getting’ on
He said babe I don’t need much of nothin’
Famously she had to have it all
Their differences forgotten in the heat of red hot lovin
Naturally they had a natural ball …
Her parents came from New York City
Moved out west so she could be a star
They were not on hand the night she opened
Up her legs in the backseat of his car
He said babe I don’t need much of nothin’
Famously she had to have it all
Their differences forgotten in the hat of red hot lovin
Naturally they had a natural ball
They had one baby then another
They could not decide if they should wed
Cause the truth is that they only ever really got along
When they got around to getting it on in bed
Modestly Modesto don’t need nothin’
Lavishly L.A. must have it all
Their differences forgotten in the hat of red hot lovin
Naturally they had a natural ball
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4. |
Too Much Of You
02:54
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We got too much bacon and the beer's too cold
My truck's too new, my bourbon too old
Too many fish in this creek and the sky's too blue
Think maybe I been makin' too much time with you
You smile too bright, your lip’s too sweet
You turn too many heads when we walk down the street
You're too nice to me and your heart might be too true
I think maybe I been makin' too much time with you
Everything in moderation don't make too much sense to me
Too much of what I want is just enough I might o.d.
On too much lovin, huggin’ and kissin’ how bout you
It ain't too hard to see I can't get too much of you.
Too many roses, too much wine
Two hearts that beat as one in perfect time
It might be too easy and I hope you think so too
Cause I'd like to keep on makin too much time with you
Everything in moderation don't make too much sense to me
Too much of what I want is just enough and I might o.d.
On too much lovin, huggin and kissin how bout you
It ain't too hard to see I can't get too much of you
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5. |
Still Today
05:13
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Well there’s a way of living, most people never try
Because they are not willing to let old bygones die
And be reborn every minute they don’t realize they’re hanging on a cross
What they think they found in the past in the future will be lost
Well now the only constant in the world is change
But folks get all dogmatic and to me it’s kinda strange
They go longing for the good old days that never even really were that good
But they believe that they were and go on about how everybody should
Chorus: Well a saint might be sinner and a sinner man a saint
And Jean-Paul Sartre said you are what you ain’t
And you ain’t what you are, and the thing is you can never really say
Lord it’s a’flyin’ and a’fleetin’ but every time I check it’s still today
Well Zuzu’s petals remind where I been
I’ve done a lot of foolish things, committing more than just one sin
But I think I might have done a little good, maybe inadvertently
Or it might have been on purpose either way it’s ancient history
Well Tom Joad wondered if he only was a part
Of a Universal Soul, one big old beatin’ heart
He said goodbye to Ma, see ya later, further on up the road
Just as sure as I been born, I’m considering the wisdom of Tom Joad
Chorus
Well the wheels keep spinnin’ and the Yin and Yang and Tao
Are all just one thing in the end and the end is here and now
And the past and the future in the present make a holy trinity
Where you can shed your skin and realize that you’re condemned to be free
William Blake saw the world in a single grain of sand
Forever in an hour in the palm of one hand
And he tried like hell to share it and to make it so that everyone could see
That every when and where is sacred and here is where you’ll find eternity
Chorus … every time I check, every time I check, every time I check it’s still today …
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6. |
Just Can't Reconcile
03:41
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When you were christened, you got your daddy’s name
Bestowed with pride and joy
Momma knew she’d always love her first-born baby boy
When you were starting kindergarten, they said you’d be the king
Now the only kingdom that you rule is the solitary wing
Of the stone and steel bar prison you’ve called home since ‘81
For all the self-indulgent and abusive things, you’ve done
In almost every instance at some poor soul’s expense
With no remorse you set a course bereft of moral sense
Don’t try to blame the cocaine, don’t try to blame the booze
I know you had some wires crossed and nothing but loose screws
But you broke my daddy’s spirit, and you bruised my momma’s heart
You didn’t care but you couldn’t tear our family apart
To the least of all my brothers whatsoever I might do
I’ve heard the word and I understand that I do that unto you
But I cannot find forgiveness as I’m growing old and gray
I know I should, and I wish I could, but I just can’t find a way
Now momma’s gone to heaven, daddies been there for a while
I’ve been to confession, but I just can’t reconcile
The way I feel about you with the way I oughta be
God might grant forgiveness, but you won’t get that from me
You cannot blame the cocaine, and you cannot blame the booze
You crossed all your own wires and loosened your own screws
You broke my daddy’s spirit, and you bruised my momma’s heart
You didn’t care but you couldn’t tear our family apart
Now momma’s gone to heaven, daddy’s been there for a while
I’ve been to confession, but I just can’t reconcile
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7. |
A Place In Heaven
03:56
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She didn’t breathe too good, couldn’t see too great
Looked like a question mark when she tried to stand up straight
Her memory got twisted in a late life dizzy spell
Her bones creaked like the crank on a dried up wishin’ well
She was a country mouse who became a city girl
Got dragged out to the suburbs where she watched her life unfurl
It didn’t quite turn out the way she thought it would
really wasn’t bad, just nuthin much too good
It’s almost like nobody can remember
When that old woman was a little girl
Made of sugar and of spice gussied up all sweet and nice
Dressed in the dream of a technicolor world
Her kids were hard to raise because she loved them so
No sweet in bittersweet the day she let them go
Her husband worked too hard to get ahead in life
He gave the best he had to everyone except his wife
Now the kids were long gone, that husband died too soon
He had a heart attack one October afternoon
She packed a carry-on, flew down to Mexico
Hung out on a white sand beach for a couple weeks or so
And it was almost like she started to remember
What it felt like when she was a little girl
Made of sugar and of spice gussied up all sweet and nice
Dressed in the dream of a technicolor world
Now she owns a place in heaven bought and paid for
Makin dreams come true while she deferred her own
In a room all squeaky clean with a slow drip of morphine
She closed her eyes and dreamed her way back home
To her technicolor world deep in the loam
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8. |
Like A Fool
03:19
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Like a busted chalice, a rusted nail
A beat-up sofa, or political mail
Like a bowl of oatmeal, left out yesterday
Sometimes you gotta, throw it all away
Like an old receipt, a bunch of keys
A dusty box of yesterday’s CDs
Just a bunch of stuff that ain’t too tough to toss away
But then I stumbled on one old thing today
A crumpled old love letter, a wrinkled history
Some time we spent together, a faded memory
That doesn’t come ‘round often but dropped by here today
To remind me of the fool, who threw it all away
Like a random sock, a half a pair
A lonely top to long-gone Tupperware
Like a broken cup made out clay
Some pieces to a game we used to play
A crumpled old love letter, one you’ve never seen
I wrote it but I never shared that part of me
That old forgotten feeling that dropped by here today
To remind me of the fool, who threw it all away
Like a fallen dove with a feeble voice, unspoken love, a broken choice
Like a white-tail deer that keeps the wolves at bay
You know I never really tried to make love stay
Like it really matters what I’m doing here today
Like what I am thinking or what I have to say
Will change tomorrow, bring back yesterday
Or the one thing … I shoulda never thrown away
Like a fool, I threw it all away
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9. |
Sweet Potato Pie
02:34
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Just a slice of sweet potato pie
Puts a little twinkle in my eye
Sit down in my kitchen, maybe we’ll get high
And share a slice of sweet potato pie
Have you tasted sweet potato pie
I think that you should give one slice a try
Lay down in my yard and we’ll stare up at the sky
And dream about that sweet potato pie
One more slice of sweet potato pie
Maybe two or three before I die
Lay down in my bed and we’ll give it one good try
Makin love like sweet potato pie
Makin love like sweet potato pie
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10. |
Ride That Wind
04:10
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The rustle of the wind, the rustle of the wind
The poetry of gravity, the shadow deep within
The shadow deep within, the shadow deep within
The beat of a wild turkey wing, the wood of a mandolin
The wisdom of the spirit, whispering to me
Hearkening I hear it, the holy harmony
The rhythm of the rain, The rhythm of the rain
Reminding and inviting me to ride that wind again
The sacrament and sin, the sacrament and sin
The melody of mystery weeping in the wind
It’s weeping in the wind, weeping in the wind
The history of harmony, the rise and fall and blend
The wisdom of the spirit, whispering to me
Hearkening I hear it, the holy harmony
The rhythm of the rain, The rhythm of the rain
Reminding and inviting me to ride that wind again
The wisdom of the spirit, whispering to me
Hearkening I hear it, the holy harmony
The rhythm of the rain, The rhythm of the rain
Reminding and inviting me to ride that wind again
I’m gonna ride that wind again, ride that wind again
Catch the breath of life and death coming ‘round the bend
In the sacrament and sin, the wood of a mandolin
The poetry of gravity, mystery of melody, harmony of history
In the rustle in the rustle of the wind
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11. |
Little Things
04:42
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I was playing around with some chord changes, trying to create a steady musical rhythm with a “jam” section, while watching the news out of the corner of my eye and fretting about the big things. When mad men do mad things, I get mad. That’s what I started writing about, but for some reason, I decided to shift gears and write about the other things, the things for which I’m grateful, the little things. “If you’re thinking that the only luck you ever had is bad, take a breath pause and look around … give thanks for the sunshine, thanks for the rain, mindfully you will see a lesson in the pain.”
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12. |
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No one knows how the story ends, but this is how it starts
He was standing in the doorway lookin’ like the Jack of Hearts
Right next to Kawliga, that poor old wooden head
Singing, tellin’ sweet lies and waitin’ on Panama Red
Dim lights, thick smoke, couldn’t hide the mournful scene
Of a kind good-hearted woman who was pleading with Jolene
While down at Gypsy Sally’s in the cold hard wintertime
The warmth of youth was slipping from the soul of Caroline
And now nobody wants to get high on the town …
On the streets of Laredo I met a boy named Sue
Who had whupped up on his old man, said it’s what he had to do
When that old friend of the devil loaned me $20 cash
I bought a round for me, the midnight rider & jumpin’ jack flash
Thinking ‘bout them ne’er-do-wells and heroes that I’ve known
I can’t help but notice how they’ve changed as I have grown
And how nobody wants to get high on the town, not even Bad, Bad Leroy Brown
Back out on the road I looked up, here’s what I saw
A lineman on a big tall pole who’d come from Wichita
He said he heard the voices in the cracklin’ and the whine
Of the crippled worn-out wires all stretched out and back in time
Maybe that’s the way the story ends, with a whimper, not a bang
Nothin much ‘cept memories of that unruly gang
When Mr. Bojangles, danced a poor man’s crime
While me and Bobby were singing to windshield wipers slappin’ time
Now nobody does it like Jerry Jeff and Townes
But them old souls they brought to life still make the rounds
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13. |
The River Is Rolling
03:09
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Oh the river is rollin and it ain’t gonna stop, dive to the bottom, jump to the top
Ramble and rumble, rise and drop, Oh the river is rollin and it ain’t gonna stop
The river is rollin and it ain’t gonna stop
Oh the river is rolling, ain’t gonna stay, weave and wind and wander away
Won’t be tomorrow where it was today, the river is rollin and it ain’t gonna stay
The river is rollin and it ain’t gonna stay
It might slip on over to the sandy beach
Slide on under the shade of the tree
Run right through and over rocks
The river is rollin and it ain’t gonna stop the river is rollin and it ain’t gonna stop
Oh the river, oh the river, oh the river, oh the river
The river is rollin and it ain’t gonna end, it’ll twist and turn, bob and bend
Done a lotta savin’, seen a lot of sin, the river is rollin and it ain’t gonna end
The river is rollin and it ain’t gonna end
Memphis to Jackson and Pontchatrain ooh, ooh, ooh, oo-oo
All the way down to New Orleans ooh, ooh, ooh, oo-oo
Forever and ever the river remains ooh, ooh, ooh, oo-oo
Step into it twice and it’s never the same
It might slip on over to the sandy beach
Slide on under the shade of the tree
Run right through and over rocks
The river is rollin and it ain’t gonna stop the river is rollin and it ain’t gonna stop
Oh the river, oh the river, oh the river, oh the river
Oh the river is rollin, the river is rollin The river is rollin the river is rollin
The river is rollin, the river is rollin Oh the river is rollin and it ain’t gonna stop
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14. |
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What do you hear when the trees say nothing
When the clouds quietly cross the big blue sky
When the birds dare to dance without singing
Does the depth and the stillness of the silence ever make you cry
And do those tears, so sweetly fallen
Hold the words that are written on the bottom of the river bed
Through the years you might cry an ocean
For that one calm quiet moment in your head
Chorus: Hallelu … Hallelujah, Om
Hello old friend, fare thee well, Shalom
On the mountain, in the desert, on the prairie in the honeycomb
What do you hear when the silence sings you Home
And when you pause in peaceful patience
In the cool of the night or the warmth of the morning sun
Can you feel that sweet and soft unspoken stillness
Once hidden and then revealed in mercy and love
Chorus
Washed in a wave of wordless wisdom
When the din of dull distraction fades away
If you lean into the lullaby of the ancient lovin’
You might hear the One in the Ten Thousand Things
In the timeless way
Chorus +
On the mountain in the desert on the prairie in the fertile loam
What do you hear, when the silence, sings you home
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Kevin DeForrest Denver, Colorado
Kevin DeForrest has recorded more than 50 songs. 20 more have been recorded by other
artists.
His latest release, All I Got To Give needed something beyond his acoustic roots.
“It’s a snapshot of a moment in time, but I hope that the songs are more timeless than that.” A “songwriter’s song writer” – the collection weaves seamlessly between country, philosophical folk and honky-tonk-roots-rock.
... more
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