: : : JIMMY WESTON (lyrics) : : :

(My Songs: Mostly express emotions and feelings illustrated by events and people in my life. / Use a simple idea or story to try to relay a deeper thought or feeling. / Teach me about myself, sometimes, as I write them. / Are sometimes a way to deal with and express feelings that are otherwise difficult. / Are often intensely personal. / Songs that seem obvious at first but have many other things to say when you look a little deeper. / A little like Guy Clark in trying to use real life Americana stories to get someone to think about and understand "Jimmy's theories on life as we know it.")

When Time Went Wrong (Horses Ran Wild)
© Jimmy Weston and Hal Hollingsworth 1993

Heard tales of a time horses ran wild
A child had time to play like a child
A woman and a man lived like companions
And the cool, clear waters ran through the canyons

I don't know where time has gone
I just know the time has gone wrong
We can live this way, but we can't live long
Let's go back before time went wrong

There was a time man respected the land
When he needed some help someone would lend a hand
And they raise their kids up right, played the fiddle late at night
Kissed their wives before they turned out the light

I don't know where time has gone
I just know the time has gone wrong
We can live this way, but we can't live long
Let's go back before time went wrong

Break

I'm not the smartest man that I will confess
But I don't believe technology is progress
Our children are dying, politicians lying
Ozone's getting thinner, sky is crying

I don't know where time has gone
I just know the time has gone wrong
We can live this way, but we can't live long
Let's go back before time went wrong
Let's go back before time went wrong

(Better, simpler time. Back to basics.)

Living Waters
© Jimmy Weston 1993

Take me down to the river
Where ancient faces smile down on me
Take me to the Mother Waters
Where they flow into the Rio Grande and to the sea

BREAK

Standing in an open shelter
Limestone castle surrounding me
Winter sun and summer breezes
And everything a family could possibly need

At the river
Ancient faces smiling down on you and me
Take me to the place where the Mother Waters
Flow into the Rio Grande and to the sea

BREAK

When the train comes over the canyon
It sings to my ancestors' souls
A High Bridge, past into present
And to a future nobody knows

BREAK

Clear green waters in the canyon
Peace springs eternally
Bringing life to the Ancient People
Just the same today, with you and me

At the river
Ancient faces smiling down on you and me
Take me to the place where the Mother Waters
Flow into the Rio Grande and to the sea

At the river
Ancient faces smiling down on you and me
Take me to the place where the Mother Waters
Flow into the Rio Grande and to the sea
Flow into the Rio Grande and to the sea

Chorus, repeat last line

(Camping at Pecos River High Bridge. Ancient Indian culture and life and ties to today and beyond.)

My Heart Remains a Child's
© Jimmy Weston 1998

Well, I can't relate to the things that I ought to
Dreams go through my head like when I was a child
Time passes on now I keep up with it somehow
The world keeps spinning round and round

I don't know why I say the things I say
Don't know why I feel the way I feel
Slowly, this old body turns to gray
But my heart remains a child's eternally

Break

Well, I can't pretend to run like I used to
Swim across the lake just to see the other side
Lying in the green grass watching while the clouds pass
Shootin' all the stars I just can't seem to find the time

I don't know why I say the things I say
Don't know why I feel the way I feel
Slowly, this old body turns to gray
But my heart remains a child's eternally
My heart remains a child's eternally
My heart remains a child's eternally

A wife and a family is what makes me happy
But a job and a life spells responsibility
Now the child deep inside no longer can hide
But with them by my side ain't nothing we can't be

(The age/attitude thing.)

Wheels
© Jimmy Weston 1996

Wheels nailed to an old pine board
Steered by an old extension cord
It was point 8 miles down twists and turns
Real world thrills in a little boys' world

They took it from the top, took it nice and slow
And we leaned into the corners so a little faster we'd go
If we made it to the bottom without running off the side
We'd have to stop and do it one more time

His first wheels came from an old car lot
It was way out the back, been almost forgot
It took three hundred dollars and a twenty dollar tow
Just a couple days later, nowhere he couldn't go

And he took it from the top, took it nice and slow
And he leaned into the corners so a little faster he'd go
When he made it to the bottom without running off the side
He'd have to stop and do it one more time

When I think of the wheels of his life
Homemade skateboards to German engineering, fine
Heavy metal, art deco Detroit iron
It makes me want to smile
'Cause you know all the while he loved wheels

There were wheels always running through his head
Helped him get through his old life he led
If there's wheels up in Heaven when we die
I know he'll spend eternity with a great big smile

He'll take it from the top, take it nice and slow
Just a little like life, where you're gonna stop, you never know
It's not like he didn't love it, he just had a better place to go
Everybody knows, he loved wheels
He just loved wheels
He just loved wheels

(My attempt to make an upbeat song about the loss of my brother expressed through our common love of things with wheels.)

Life As it Should Be (the Kerrville Song)
© Jimmy Weston 1997

Day is slowly dawning, light gets in my eyes
Hills gently turn to red as the sun begins to rise
Campfires slowly dying, stars fade away
Time to greet the new day

Coffee's on the campfire, bacon's on the grill
The kids are all a-sleeping, guitars playing still
Memories we are making, lessons we will learn
Time goes on, pages turn

Sun is overhead now, the dishes put away
We'll go down to the river to that sweet sabino shade
Home brewed beer and dominos, lay around all day
Soak in the river, wash your cares away

Ooh, sweet Medina, take my breath away
Ooh, my sweet Medina child
In your cool, clear waters underneath the Cypress shade
Takes my breath and wash my cares away

Well, the sun is going down, the stars come out to play
Which one's shining bright tonight, it don't matter anyway
Cause they all come together in campfire harmony
Just a little taste of life as it should be

Ooh, the music I hear takes my breath away
Ooh, don't it make you want to smile
In those cool, clear rhythms, Quiet Valley break of day
Takes my breath and wash my cares away
Takes my breath and wash my cares away

Day is slowly dawning, light gets in my eyes

(Trying to convey the feeling of love and kinship felt as the sun rises over Kerrville Folk Fest. All the rowdies have passed out in their tents and the true believers are holding their breath to hear every last word and note of the last song of the night so they can make that feeling of peace last as long as possible.)

Prairie Rose (One More Look)
© Jimmy Weston 1999

Well the old man walks up and down our road
Eyes to the ground his head hung low
It's bout this time every year or so
With a faded Valentine from his Prairie Rose

Well, my neighbor says or so the story goes
He used to work this land many long years ago
And he plowed these fields and he watched them grow
And he built a home in these hills with his Prairie Rose

When the nights start getting long and the days start getting slow
Orion's in the heavens and the north winds start to blow
When the crops have all been gathered and the firewood stored below
Another New Year's passes as he walks the Creek Road past us
With his faded Valentine from his Prairie Rose

Break

On the old town square an almost closed store
I bought an old cast iron like I'd never seen before
And there inside was an old news story
About the rains that changed these lands forevermore

When the nights start getting long the days start getting slow
Orion's in the heavens and the north winds start to blow
When the crops have all been gathered the firewood stored below
Another New Year's passes he walks the Creek Road past us
With his faded Valentine from his Prairie Rose

A young girl walked down the Black's Creek side
In her pale young hand had a brand new Valentine
It'd be three more years 'Fore they'd ever find
On an old rock shelf down by the river side
A faded red heart but you could still read the lines
She'll love him all her life, but not only 'til she dies
She'll be there for him'til the end of time

So the old man walks up and down our road
You can tell the way he walks bears a heavy load
Just one more look before he has to go
With his faded Valentine, until the end of time
His faded Valentine from his Prairie Rose

(One of my few made up songs. Old times, true love, lost love. Valentine Day Flood 1957. Found the valentine but not the body. 40 years later—one more look before he goes to join her.)

Old Friend Charlie
©Jimmy Weston 1997

Highway 80, San Marcos River bridge
It takes me back to a place in my childhood where I lived
30 years since I stood here on these banks
It makes me wonder, is it really progress that we've made

Old rusty building with the trees grown up around
Quarter century from way back then since they closed that old place down
And the boss man's house still stood empty in the shade
Well that's 24 more years that old man slept in his old storeroom just the same

But my old friend Charlie shook his head as he watched us with a grin
8 years old stomping cotton, 50 more till they closed down that old gin
I guess watching us two boys was bout the closest to a childhood that he'd been

Used to sit and tell us stories, about the good times that he'd had
We knew if they were true, we'd never want to hear the bad
I'd seen more happiness in my ten short years
Than he'd seen in a lifetime full of hard days, stretched through a trail of tears

Now the day is done, time for two young boys to go on home
Hugs from Momma, "wash your hands and face, 'cause your dinner's almost done"
And your clean clothes are on your bed, would you boys please put them away for me
Later on I'd lay my head on Daddy's arm and go to sleep watching TV

But old Charlie sees the sun go down, stars come out, the fireflies start to play
Warms his hands on his old campfire, takes his bottle from its secret hiding place
Thinks about how good he's got it, he's thankful just to see another day

And my old friend Charlie shook his head as he watched us with a grin
None of us realizing we'd touched each others lives way back then
We showed Charlie how to laugh, he showed us life as we'll never know again
We showed Charlie how to laugh, he showed us life as we'll never know again

(First black person I got to know at 10 years old. Orphaned son of slaves. He lived at the old grain mill in Luling—working from age 10 to 50. Still there 24 years after it closed. We pitied his life and he ours.)

Thin Red Coat on Life
© Jimmy Weston 1998

Well, he wakes up every morning and his work boots hit the ground
Even six months since the candillia factory closed down
Still he walks to the river, looks north to the other side
The red dust in the morning dew, sure signs of a better life

And the dust rose up to the sky
Day and night, a thin red coat on life
The promises it brings of a better life
For Camilla waiting home on the other side

In the mountains of the Mariscal, desert all around
Persimmon Gap to the Rio Grande, a barren no-man's land
They came from near, they came from far, their riches to be found
They left their sweat there on the earth, their souls in the cold hard ground

And the dust rolls up to the sky
Day and night, a thin red coat on life
But the veins of cinnabar ran deep inside
Like the promise of a better life on the other side

Now he wakes up every morning and before he catch his breath
Wipes the dust out of his face and he lights a cigarette
Another man rode out last night, even fools knew what that meant
He closes his eyes and sees his family waiting back home for him

And the dust rolls up to the sky
Twenty years he gave them of his life
Now his kids can always hold their heads up high
For Camilla, all the best that love could buy

And the dust rolls up to the sky
And the curse of cinnabar ran through their lives
Now the kids are gone, Camilla turns and sighs
She holds him close, he's headed for the Other Side
Would her life and all she owns buy back the time?

(True story told to me in Boquillas, Mexico by the son of the man who crossed the river to work the cinnabar mines. Provided well for his family so they could live a better life unbounded by poverty. Came home and died from the poisons in the mine.)

The Big One
© Jimmy Weston 1997

When I was a child, I was mostly an angel
When not, what I did, I'll never tell
I know that I'll probably pay tens times over
For those and some other things as well

I was a teenager from hell
Lived up to my preacher kid reputation well
Good kids were good, bad ones bad, but the problem with me
Was you could never really tell

One day I'll sit and look back at my life
Will I laugh, will it make me want to cry
Long as I'm doing the best that I know I can
All of the rest should work out

Well I'll never have much to show for my hard work
In the end, those things never count
All that I need in this life I was born with
Just those and some things I care about
Like a family who loves me despite me, I'm lucky
To have one of the luxuries of life
And my friends who stand by me through all kinds of misery
Who knows, but I'll never ask them why

Well I guess that there'll never be a museum
Dedicated to the things I've done in life
But maybe someone somewhere smiles when they think about
Good friends and good times now gone by
If I'm halfway to heaven, means I'm halfway from hell
That's one thing I'll never worry about
Long as I'm doing the best that I know I can
All the rest should work out

One day I'll sit and look back at my life
Will I laugh, will it make me want to cry
Long as I'm doing the best that I know I can
All of the rest should work out

(Analyzing life as my 40th approaches.)

Billy's Last Dance
© Jimmy Weston 1999

Warty was a friend of mine that I think about from time to time
But he walked the walk and lived the talk so he's here a very short time
But here's a little story that he told me 'bout the Cedar Hill Class Reunion back in '49.

He said "Long as I can remember this thing's been going on
Cement slab by the river, Pearl Beer Boys and we'd dance all night long
'Til the daylight dawns

Tailgates backed to the dance floor, coolers two by two
Pretty little girls on the benches waiting to dance with a boy just like you
If their mothers would approve
Boys back out in the shadows, liquor runs deep like the stories you know ain't true

City boy drinkin' whiskey, well he left his little girl alone
With his dance ticket stapled to his collar, Billy took the chance he'd waited for so long
He took her in his arms and he held her
Never heard the music stop or saw him cross the floor

Old Doc Prichart did the best that he could, but he finally had to step aside
Billy's life spread out 'cross the dance floor like the blood that covered that Barlow knife
When the Sheriff caught up with the city boy
No one even asked why he couldn't bring him back alive

Break

Well, that's the way it's told to me by a man who stood right there and seen
Now, he laid his card on the table and let you figure what they mean
Warty had his own kind of wisdom.
He didn't know it, he's just calling things the way he'd seen

Long as I can remember, this thing's been going on
Cement slab by the river, Pearl Beer Boys and we'd dance all night long
Billy's last dance was the first chance to take a little bit of my innocence away from me

Long as I can remember this thing's been going on (4 times)

Long as I can remember (3 times)

(True story as told by Warty Alley about his first River Dance at age 14. A picture of a time and place and way of life that most folks never saw and now doesn't exist. An ominous warning on the eve of my first River Dance at 14 from a man who never fully understood the impact of his knowledge and observations on a bunch of young carefree teens.)

1947
© Jimmy Weston 1997

In 1947, things were built to last
Cars made of Detroit steel, watch the miles roll past
Houses made of wood and stone, still stand there today
Wouldn't have built them any other way

Things were kind of different, a promise made was kept
A man would not give up till that's all that there was left
No one said it's easy, nothing good comes free
There's a lesson to be learned by you and me

He loved her then, like he loves her still
And the days go by like a spinning wheel
A few may have been rocky but most were smooth as silk
They built a love to last and you know it will

BREAK

Boy meets girl around the world, it happens every day
Some were made to last, the rest just fade away
How they came together, well, I guess I never asked
But I know they built a love made to last

She loved him then, like she loves him still
And the days go by like a spinning wheel
A few may have been rocky but most were smooth as silk
They built a love to last and you know it will

BREAK

I guess by all rights, it was really not the times
More the way they looked in each others' eyes
A lesson to be learned in the pages that they turned
Through faith and love the rest worked out right

They loved each other then, like you know they always will
The years go by like a spinning wheel
Many more to come, their hearts beat as one
The love they planted then is growing still

(My ode to my parents' 50th wedding anniversary.)

They came as if their hearts were called
Like whippoorwills or a pair of dove
To live and love with joy and grace
The flash occurs of love.

They lived as if tomorrow came
But looked both from and to
Visions of living that filled their hearts
As they dreamed of living true

Reflections on the water
As they danced across the way,
Shooting stars in a dance of love.
Reflections on the water
As they laughed and played
Pulling at the heart strings of their love.

Stars burn out, the flash lives on
In our hearts and minds
Of those we love and never lose,
And we all shall meet in time.

Reflections on the water
As they danced across the way,
Shooting stars in a dance of love.
Reflections on the water
As they laughed and played
Pulling at the heart strings of their love.

(Lyrics of my brother's found later in personal effects and put to music by me. Statement of his love and devotion to his mate and desire to be open and true. )

The colors of the morning, early dawn's first rays
That's the only way that I, even try to describe the colors of her face
Lying there beside her, warm in her embrace
All I ever want to do is wake up right next to her and hear her say

Good morning, hope you have a lovely day
I hope everything goes your way
I'll be there when our work day is through
Sit and watch the sun go down with you

After 20 years of rambling, just to find my place
20 more have come and gone, since she came along and let me share her space
Two hearts beat together as lovers and as friends
Funny, as the days go by they seem to get more like the way they were back then

Good morning, hope you have a lovely day
I hope everything goes your way
I'll be there when our work day is through
Sit and watch the sun go down with you

Break

Well, the morning birds sing our song, song of love forever strong
With a little room for both of us, a love built on faith and trust

Good morning, my we've come a long, long way
Most everything in life has gone our way
I'll be there when our work days are through
Spend until the end of time with you
Spend until the end of time with you

(All nighter sunrise at Kerrville. Counting the blessings of a spouse who allows me to be me.)

I'm smarter than all the people I know
and most of 'em that I haven't met
If there's one thing 'bout which I don't know
It's just 'cause I haven't been there yet

I'm ten feet tall, built like a wall bullet proof you know
No one can tell me anything 'Cause I'm 16 years old

My buddies and me, we're the talk of the town
We drive by the heads go spinning 'round
Wherever we stop seems to draw a big crowd
Future leaders of the world is all that's allowed

We're ten feet tall built like a wall bullet proof you know
No one can tell us anything 'cause we're 16 years old

Break

One day my folks will grow up and they'll see
They never really had a chance with me
They'll see how much better there whole lives could be
If they leave the big decisions up to me

Ten feet tall built like a wall bullet proof you know
No one can tell me anything 'cause I'm 16 years old

But for now, I'll just let them think what they will
I'll sit back 'cause I know my time is near
My license to drive says my age will soon be
Where my mind has always been intellectually

Ten feet tall built like a wall bullet proof you know
No one can tell me anything 'cause I'm 16 years old
No one can tell me anything 'cause I'm 16 years old

(I'm 16 years old and the world is at my feet, afraid of nothing because I don't know death.)

A long time ago
A family trip we would go
Tramway ride far above the snow
To the mountains up above
We'd touch the clouds with gloves
A million miles of desert far below

Well, the trail led like a maze
Up the switchbacks through the trees
To the top at the stone cabin where we stood and gazed
At the beauty far below, the mountains and the snow
It's easy to see why he liked to go

About halfway down to his own spot
Well, it had to be a couple thousand feet straight down
We laid out on that rock, closed our eyes and freed our minds
Somehow the sound the wind made stopped all time

Break

We watched these guys put on wings and fly
Nylon and faith held their lives
And they dove down through the clouds to the open sky
That's a freedom few people ever find

Break

We watched these guys put on wings and fly
Nylon and faith held their lives
And they dove down through the clouds to the open sky
Saw him join the sound the wind made and we smiled

About halfway down to his own spot
Well, we had to take him back one more time
And we laid on that rock, closed our eyes and in our minds
Saw him join the sound the wind made and we smiled
And that's a freedom few people ever find

(My brother's favorite spot on Sandia Peak over Albuquerque where we'd solve life… the symbolic release of his spirit to the wind.)

Once I knew a man, he took life quite seriously
Working every day that he could
Passing up the roses on the way to being free
Never stopped to feel the things he should

Late at night he lay awake, dreams run through his head
Working ways to keep his family fed
Worrying about tomorrow, but forgetting 'bout today
Ground gained while time slips away

Well he met a lovely lady, she took life less seriously
Time goes on but love is day to day
He tried to give her everything, but focuses can change
And time that's gone is gone eternally

Late at night she lay awake her hand rests on his head
Sometimes she just wonders where it is.
A million miles there beside her plannin' ways to get ahead
Never sayin' things he shoulda said

Can't you see
Lessons learned in life never seem to come for free
But if we'll take the time to hear
Things each other have to say
We'll live our love together day by day

Late at night we lay awake with her breath touchin' mine
Thankful to have come this long, long way
Funny, somebody else's trouble brings the light of day
We're doing what we can to make love stay

Yeah, yeah, yeah

(Thoughts on my friends' marital relationship and the value of learning hard lessons through observing life as opposed to working to survive. Negative events leading to some positive impact.)