1. |
Crazy America
04:23
|
|||
|
Crazy America
Flag pole sitting on the 4th of July
Grab yourself a slice of American Pie
You get one life to live and it ain’t no lie
There ain’t no pie in the sky when you die
You might be a godless Democrat
You might be a Grand Old Party fat cat
A hard working farmer in a John Deere hat
You might be this or you might be that
It doesn’t really matter where you come from
Someone’s gonna hate you in America
You might be a genius or you might be a bum
Or a call center worker down in India
There’s a man in an office cooking up a scheme
There’s a girl on a cell phone with low self-esteem
A kid on the front porch eating ice cream
I must be living the American dream
The newspaper boy hasn’t been around
He’s looking for the truth in the lost and found
We all get our news on Facebook now
What will we do when the internet goes down
There’s plenty of jobs in the dream selling business
Where a dream comes true every five minutes
If you don’t play now you’re never gonna win it
So step right up and get your lottery tickets
There’s a guy on Facebook his brand’s himself
He’s a marketing genius from click bait hell
He doesn’t really care if your buy or sell
Just click on the link and everything is swell
You got a low-paying job you hope it will last
A bi-weekly paycheck that’s gone in a flash
The dreams you grew up with are fading fast
But the hedge fund manager is raking in the cash
Get a Wall St. job and its just like stealing
There’s never been a better time for double-dealing
The market is up you got debt to the ceiling
And a heroin habit so how are you feeling
We got a war on terror we’re all scared to death
There’s a man in a shed cooking up the meth
Everybody else is holding their breath
The Yankees are trailing in the bottom of the tenth
The president’s men are down on their knees
The telephone men are shooting the breeze
Erik Prince is stealing everything he sees
In a few more years we’ll be speaking Chinese
We used to be known as the melting pot
But at Ellis Island all the boats have been stopped
They’re rounding up Mexicans they’re calling the cops
And the President is downtown blowing his top
Yeah its Crazy in America all day long
We’re close to the edge so you better hang on
They’re selling life insurance made in Hong Kong
It’s quite a bit cheaper but it won’t last as long
They’re gonna build a wall and put it on the border
And man it with marines, sailors and soldiers
They’ll make it so tall you can’t climb over
It’s gonna be taller than the White cliffs of Dover
Yeah it’s crazy in America living the dream
Where around every corner there’s someone with a scheme
Where nothing in the world is quite what it seems
If you ever been to Vegas you know what I mean
credits
|
||||
2. |
Coal Miner's Son
02:42
|
|||
|
Coal Miner's Son
Billy grew up a Coal Miner’s Son
Drove a tank in the First Gulf War
Came back from Iraq and took a job in the mine
Like his Daddy and brothers before
The work was real hard but the money was good
Digging coal underground in the dust
He never worried about what tomorrow might bring
Today was trouble enough
He married his sweetheart Hazel Marie
They had a daughter and named her Jolene
He worked in the mine for twenty-five years
On a coal extraction machine
But the halo of dust he wore like a crown
Left the taste of coal on his tongue
And the silica worked like a drill day and night
Digging way down deep in his lungs
He used to walk up his driveway to the mailbox each day
Just to see what the mailman had left
But these days it takes all of his strength
For Billy to draw his next breath
No OSHA inspections offered protection
And the mine owners cared even less
When they're selling black gold from the ground by the ton
Lives don’t matter I guess
Billy don’t work in the mine anymore
He just sits at home out of breath
Doctors call it Black Lung Disease
Billy calls it a living death
He used to walk up his driveway to the mailbox each day
Just to see what the mailman had left
But these days it takes all of his strength
For Billy to draw his next breath
Billy grew up a Coal Miner’s Son
He drove a tank in the First Gulf War
credits
©Dan Sullivan 2018 (BMI)
|
||||
3. |
Anniversary Waltz
02:57
|
|||
|
Anniversary Waltz
Bad luck and dumbstruck, pawnshops and careless romances
I’ve been the victim of some circumstances
As for regrets, well I’ve had a few
But the one thing I’ve done that I never regretted
Was spending a lifetime with you
First time I saw you this old heart did cartwheels
I remember you smiling and me falling head over heels
But I was much younger and you were much younger too
And the one thing I’ve done that I never regretted
Was spending a lifetime with you
Love can be here and then disappear
Like a wild, raging storm it can pass
But I’m of a mind that a much better kind
Is the kind of love that will last
Time seems to fly by where have the years all gone
What were the words of our Wedding Day song?
I can’t recall but I still remember the tune
And the one thing I’ve done that I never regretted
Was spending a lifetime with you
And the one thing I’ve done that I never regretted
Is falling in love with you
©Dan Sullivan 2018 (BMI)
|
||||
4. |
||||
|
If You Don't Love Me Anymore
I’ve noticed your inattention
You always seem so far away
And when I’m talking to you
You look the other way
It doesn’t take a genius
To figure out the score
Why don’t you just come out and say it
If you don’t love me anymore
You’re keeping your thoughts hidden
But I can see it in your eyes
And that look of indifference
That you don’t bother to disguise
It doesn’t take a genius
To figure out the score
Why don’t you just come out and say it
If you don’t love me anymore
Don’t pretend to be a martyr
Or betray me with a kiss
I’ve survived heartaches before
And stronger storms than this
I don’t need an explanation
I don’t need a reason why
Don’t waste your breath denying
What I see with my own eyes
It doesn’t take a genius
To figure out the score
Why don’t you just come out and say it
If you don’t love me anymore
©Dan Sullivan 2013 (BMI)
|
||||
5. |
The American Dream
04:44
|
|||
|
The American Dream
Two old pals sippin’ coffee at a corner cafe
Readin’ newspaper want ads that have nothing to say
Small talk is one way of passing the time
But once they made cars on an assembly line
Eddie and Leon used to put on the hoods
They lived in the suburbs and thought life was good
Now they’ve had to downsize all the plans that they made
Cause 6 months ago their jobs moved away
So roll up the sidewalk as tight as a drum
They’ve shut down the last Dairy Queen
You can turn out the lights on Main Street tonight
And wave goodbye to the American Dream
Morning in Milltown the first rays of sun
Fall on a steel mill whose work is all done
Boarded up windows, gates chained and locked
Where steel used to sing by the ring of the clock
Ray learned his lessons real well back in school
Took a job in the steel mill and followed all the rules
But now he flips burgers for the minimum wage
Just an old baby boomer showing his age
So roll up the sidewalk as tight as a drum
They’ve shut down the last Dairy Queen
You can turn out the lights on Main Street tonight
And wave goodbye to the American Dream
When the Captains of Commerce look overseas
A cheap labor market is all that they see
Maximum profits and minimum pay
The American Dream being auctioned away
So roll up the sidewalk as tight as a drum
They’ve shut down the last Dairy Queen
You can turn out the lights on Main Street tonight
And wave goodbye to the American Dream
Turn out the lights at the ballpark tonight
And wave goodbye to the American Dream
Load what you can in a Mayflower Van
And wave goodbye to the American Dream
|
||||
6. |
Not There Again
02:50
|
|||
|
Not There Again
She stands on the platform
Where the trains come and go
She’s waiting for someone
From so long ago
She’s there every evening
When the Southbound comes in
At 5:45 but he’s not there again
And her heart sags a little as she turns to go home
And her heart sags a little as she turns to go home
They’d meet at the station
After work and walk home
Now it’s too many years
That she walks home alone
She’ll be there tomorrow
At the station for him
And the train will arrive
Without him again
And her heart sags a little as she turns to go home
And her heart sags a little as she turns to go home
|
||||
7. |
Pearls Before Swine
02:30
|
|||
|
Pearls Before Swine
She’s singing for dollars and dimes
She’s putting her heart on the line
Singing her songs for the crowd passing by
Casting her Pearls Before Swine
She once dreamt of being a star
Now she just hopes to fill her tip jar
But once in awhile it still crosses her mind
Casting her Pearls Before Swine
You might see her in a cafe or bar
With a beat-up old Martin guitar
She’s mostly ignored, but she doesn’t mind
Casting her Pearls Before Swine
If you can you might slip her a buck
But if not at least wish her Good Luck
Please try to be kind, she’s committed no crime
Casting her Pearls Before Swine
© Dan Sullivan 2019 (BMI)
|
||||
8. |
Facebook Jail
07:01
|
|||
|
Facebook Jail
The police station is crowded
The suspects have been booked
Their crimes have been recorded
None are overlooked
The cells are filled with strangers
All night long they wail
They all swear they don’t belong
Inside of FACEBOOK JAIL
Inside of FACEBOOK JAIL you oughta hear ‘em wail
Everyone is innocent inside of FACEBOOK JAIL
Algorithms calculate
They’re working overtime
In a never ending battle
To protect us from thought crime
And the data from your News Feed
All of it’s for sale
But not to you or anyone
Who’s been to FACEBOOK JAIL
Inside of FACEBOOK JAIL you oughta hear ‘em wail
Everyone is innocent inside of FACEBOOK JAIL
Roscoe’s in a corner cell
He’s been here twice before
For posting memes of Eloise
Dancing with a dwarf
He keeps his fellow cell mates
Amused with his tall tales
But none can be repeated
Outside of FACEBOOK JAIL
Inside of FACEBOOK JAIL you oughta hear ‘em wail
Everyone is innocent inside of FACEBOOK JAIL
In cellblock 2 is Nancy
She’s waiting for release
Her crime was sharing cartoons
Of Zuckerberg’s police
She pretends to be a comic
But all her jokes are stale
To pass the time she writes them on
The walls of FACEBOOK JAIL
Inside of FACEBOOK JAIL you oughta hear ‘em wail
Everyone is innocent inside of FACEBOOK JAIL
Rex is in for Hate Speech
Harassment and abuse
And posting memes showing how
To tie a hangman’s noose
He says it was just a joke
But it’s all to no avail
The only thing the Judge said was
“Off to FACEBOOK JAIL”
Inside of FACEBOOK JAIL you oughta hear ‘em wail
Everyone is innocent inside of FACEBOOK JAIL
“I’m getting out tomorrow”
Beth says with a sigh
“They picked me up yesterday
And haven’t told me why”
But that’s the way it goes sometimes
When communication fails
You look around and find yourself
Locked up in FACEBOOK JAIL
Inside of FACEBOOK JAIL you oughta hear ‘em wail
Everyone is innocent inside of FACEBOOK JAIL
There’s a cellblock in the basement
Where the hard cases are kept
Where only a few have gone before
And none have ever left
For no amount of money
Will get them out on bail
And their crimes are never mentioned
Inside of FACEBOOK JAIL
Inside of FACEBOOK JAIL you oughta hear ‘em wail
Everyone is innocent inside of FACEBOOK JAIL
A man is being photographed
He claims he’s George Orwell
They get his kind all the time
And it’s always hard to tell
But the Warden hardly notices
He’s checking his email
It’s his only contact with the world
Outside of FACEBOOK JAIL
Inside of FACEBOOK JAIL you oughta hear ‘em wail
Everyone is innocent inside of FACEBOOK JAIL
So take heed of this warning
From someone who’s been there
Be careful of the memes you like
And the postings that you share
Or you’ll wind up in trouble
Wondering where you failed
And end up right beside me
Inside of FACEBOOK JAIL
Inside of FACEBOOK JAIL you oughta hear ‘em wail
Everyone is innocent inside of FACEBOOK JAIL
©Dan Sullivan 2019 (BMI)
|
||||
9. |
Rain
02:39
|
|||
|
Rain
It was raining the day she left me
But I’d weathered storms before
I swear to God I saw her crying
As I watched her walk out the door
And the rain just kept on falling
Like it might never end
And I couldn’t help but wonder
If I’d ever see the sunshine again
I was feeling like a shipwrecked sailor
Just hanging on for dear life
I was drowning in a Sea of sorrow
Each wave cutting like a knife
And the rain just kept on falling
Like it might never end
And I couldn’t help but wonder
If I’d ever see the sunshine again
It was raining the day she left me
Like it never rained before
I swear to God I saw her crying
As I watched her walk out the door
|
||||
10. |
Old Violin
03:43
|
|||
|
Old Violin
He was sweeping the pawn shop floor
It was almost closing time
When the bell above the door rang
And she came in
She was worn and tired looking
Like she’d seen much better days
“What would you take,” she asked
“For that Old Violin”
He could see she’d been a beauty
Back in her younger days
But time and trouble
Take their toll on all
And this is where the dreams end up
When the good times fade away
In pawn shop windows
Or hanging on the wall
But dreams are hard to kill
They don’t die easily
They can almost be forgotten
And still come back in your sleep
The shopkeeper looked at the Old Violin
Hanging on the wall
Took it down
And then he scratched his chin
Maybe he saw a dream was hiding
Behind her sad, blue eyes
For he tore the ticket
Off that Old Violin
“Why don’t you just take it
And we’ll call it a loan
Pay me back
Whenever you can”
She thanked him for his kindness
And when she walked out the door
She left with more
Than that Old Violin
'Cause dreams are hard to kill
They don’t die easily
They can almost be forgotten
And still come back in your sleep
|
||||
Dan Sullivan Kalamazoo, Michigan
Some people like gardening, working on cars or woodworking. Others enjoy knitting, collecting stamps or coins. That kind of thing. I like writing songs.
If you like Dan Sullivan, you may also like:
New Album Out Now: Spirals
by Kate Ellis
Kate Ellis uses melancholy Americana to conduct fearless soul searching.
go to album
When Carolina Comes Home Again
by Jim Lauderdale
The latest from Jim Lauderdale is exclusive to Bandcamp, its songs drawing on bluegrass, country, and classic American music.
go to album
The latest from Jim Lauderdale is a showcase for his heavily-detailed songwriting and soaring country melodies.
go to album
Margo Price's latest album tackles loss, failure, and freedom over lush pop, psychedelic country, and rock arrangements.
go to album
New on Third Man, “Other Girls” is haunted country music of the highest order, all elements suffused in reverb.
go to album
Big, gutsy country music from Matney Cook, with exuberant vocals and tasteful, stately arrangements.
go to album
Flower Country
by Cassie Josephine and Gabriel Minnikin
Pristine harmonies and gentle twang aplenty on this happy alt-country collaboration.
go to album
