Artist : JOSH RITTER
Album : The Animal Years

These chords are old but we shake hands
'Cause I believe that they're the good guys
We can use all the help we can
So many minor chords outside
I fell in love with the sound
Oh I love to sing along with you
We got tunes we kicked around some
We got a bucket that the tunes go through

Babe we both had dry spells,
hard times in bad lands
I'm a good man
for ya, I'm a good man

Last night there was a horse in the road
I was twisting in the hairpin
My hands held on my mind let go
And back to you my heart went skipping
I found the inside of the road
Thought about the first time that I met you
All those glances that we stole
Sometimes, if you want them then you've got to

Babe we both had dry spells,
hard times in bad lands
I'm a good man
for ya, I'm a good man

They shot a Western south of here
They had him cornered in a canyon
And even his horse had disappeared
They said it got run down by a bad, bad man
You're not a good shot but I'm worse
And there's so much where we ain't been yet
So swing up on this little horse
The only thing we'll hit is sunset

Babe we both had dry spells,
hard times in bad lands
I'm a good man
for ya, I'm a good man

Babe we both had
Babe we both had
Baby we both had
Babe we both had
You and I both had
Babe we both had
Babe we both had

Babe we both had dry spells,
hard times in bad lands
I'm a good man
for ya, I'm a good man

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Artist : JOSH RITTER
Album : The Animal Years

Once I knew a girl in the hard hard times
She made me a shirt out of fives and dimes
Now she's gone but when I wear it she crosses my mind
And if the best is for the best then the best is unkind

I realized that Illinois was more than I could stand
They say working's best cause poverty is hell on a man
Now I ride a lazy river through the Mississippi fan
And if the best is for the best then the best can be damned

I spent a few years on the Queen of Spain
She was a leaky little boat that went up in flames
When the boiler blew some people started naming names
But if the best is for the best I guess the best is to blame

I spent a few more as the Cairo Crown
A heavyweight wrestler in the Midwest towns
But I was lonesome for a girl who could pin me down
They say the best is for the best but that's not what I've found

Now I listen to my sweetheart and I listen to my thirst
I don't spend time listening to other people's words
Sometimes they're right most times the reverse
They say the best is for the best when the best's for the worse

Once I knew a girl in the hard hard times
She made me a shirt out of fives and dimes
Now she's gone but when I wear it she crosses my mind
And if the best is for the best then the best is unkind

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Artist : JOSH RITTER
Album : The Animal Years

I became a thin blue flame
Polished on a mountain range
And over hills and fields I flew
Wrapped up in a royal blue
I flew over Royal City last night
Bullfighter on the horns of a new moon's light
Caesar's ghost I saw the war-time tides
The prince of Denmark's father still and quiet
The whole world was looking to get drowned
Trees were a fist shaking themselves at the clouds
I looked over curtains - it was then that I knew
Only a full house gonna make it through

I became a thin blue wire
That held the world above the fire
And so it was I saw behind
Heaven's just a thin blue line
If God's up there he's in a cold dark room
The heavenly host are just the cold dark moons
He bent down and made the world in seven days
And ever since he's been a-walking away
Mixing with nitrogen in lonely holes
Where neither seraphim or raindrops go
I see an old man wandering the halls alone
But only a full house gonna make a home

And I became a thin blue stream
The smoke between asleep and dreams
And in that clear blue undertow
Saw Royal City far below
Borders soft with refugees
Streets a-swimming with amputees
It's a Bible or a bullet they put over your heart
It's getting harder and harder to tell them apart
The days are nights and the nights are long
Beating hearts blossom into walking bombs
And those still looking in the clear blue sky for a sign
Get missiles from so high they might as well be divine
And now the dogs are howling at your door
Singing 'bout vengeance like it's the joy of the Lord
Bringing justice to the enemies not the other way round
They're guilty where killed and they're killed where they're found
If what's loosed on earth will be loosed up on high
It's a Hell of a Heaven we must go to when we die
Where even Laurel begs Hardy for vengeance please
The fat man's crying on his hands and his knees
Back in the peacetime he caught roses on the stage
Now he twists indecision, takes bourbon for rage
Lead pellets peppering aluminium
Halcyon, laudanum and opium
Sings kiss thee Hardy this poisoned cup
His winding sheet is busy winding up
In darkness he looks for the lights that've died
You need faith for the same reasons that it's so hard to find
And this whole thing is headed for a terrible wreck
And like good tragedy that's what we expect

At night I make plans for a city laid down
The hips of a girl on the spring covered ground
Spirals and capitals in the twists of a script
Streets named for heroes that could almost exist
Fruit trees of Eden and the gardens that seem
To float like the smoke from a lithium dream
Cedar trees growing in the cool of the squares
Young women walking in the portals of prayer
The future glass buildings and the past an address
The weddings in pollen and the wine bottomless
And all wrongs forgotten and all vengeance made right
The suffering verbs put to sleep in the night
The future descending like a bright chandelier
The world just beginning and the guests in good cheer
In Royal City I fell into a trance
'Cause it's hell to believe there ain't a hell of a chance

I woke beneath a clear blue sky
The sun a shout, the breeze a sigh
The old home town and the streets I knew
Were wrapped up in a royal blue
I heard my friends laughing out across the fields
The girls in the gloaming and the birds on the wheel
The raw smell of horses and the warm smell of hay
Cicadas electric in the heat of the day
A run of Three Sisters and the flush of the land
And the lake was a diamond in the valley's hand
The straight of the highway and the scattered out hearts
They were coming together, they were pulling apart
And angels everywhere were in that midst
In the ones that I loved, in the ones that I kissed
I wondered what it was I'd been looking for above
Heaven's so big there ain't no need to look up
So I stopped looking for royal cities in the air
Only a full house gonna have a prayer

Only a full house
Only a full house

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Artist : JOSH RITTER
Album : The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter

Deep in the belly of a whale I found her
Down with the deep blue jail around her
Running her hands through the ribs of the dark
Florence and Calamity and Joan of Arc

I love the way she looks in her underwear
I lose my page then the book then the plot then I swear
She makes the most of her time by loving me plenty
She knows there'll come a day when we won't be getting any

The stain of the sepia the butcher Crimea
Through the wreck of a brass band I though I could see her
In a cakewalk she came through the dead and the lame
Just another bird floating on a hurricane

I was flat on my back with my feet in the thorns
I was in between the apples and the chloroform
She came to me often, I was sure I was dying
It was always hard to tell if she was laughing or crying

I thought I heard somebody calling
In the dark I thought I heard somebody call

Joan never cared about the in-betweens
Combed her hair with a blade did the Maid of Orleans
Said Christ walked on water we can wade through the war
You don't need to tell me who the fire is for

Oh bring me the love that can sweeten a sword
A boat that can love the rocks or the shore
The love of the iceberg reaching out for a wreck
Can you love me like the crosses love the nape of the neck?

Was it Casey Jones or Casey at the Bat
Who died out of pride and got famous for that
Killed by a swerve laid low by the curve
Do you ever think they ever thought they got what they deserved

Don't pity the bullet, but pity the man
Who both find their place in the same sad plan
Who both are like the barrel going over the falls
Crying all the way down I never asked to be involved

I thought I heard somebody calling
In the dark I thought I heard somebody call

General George began the day by taking pink little pills
Sent his men to the top of some hell of a hill
Through the whisper of trees came artillery breeze
He said I love the way the wind comes a'tickling my knees

Jane shot the apple right between the eyes
I was thinking of her when you came outside
Lemonade on your breath sun in your hair
Did I mention how I love you in your underwear?

Deep in the belly of a whale I found her
Down with the deep blue jail around her
Running her hands through the ribs of the dark
Florence and Calamity and Joan of Arc

I thought I heard somebody calling
In the dark I thought I heard somebody call

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Artist : JOSH RITTER
Album : The Animal Years

Under wide blue skies
There's a place to lie
For me and Evelyn to hide tonight
I'll try my best to make a go
But I'm not sure what I don't know
Oh chariots, if you're out there
Please swing low

Tell me I got here at the right time
If I did it's probably the first time
No second guesses or secret signs
Tell me I got here at the right time

You're so red in the eyes
Either too low or too high
When I met you you
Were sick but you did not know why
I was a pretty poor cure
But my love for you was always sure
The bucket was broken
But the water was pure

Tell me I got here at the right time
If I did it's probably the first time
No second guesses or secret signs
Tell me I got here at the right time

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Artist : JOSH RITTER
Album : The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter

What's it take to make the dime drop?
All of these kids who think they're quick on the draw
Always shooting at outlaws
I'm busy keeping my Colt cocked
I'm gonna know you when you finally come
'Cause I got you in my mind's eye
I got you in my mind's eye

I'm gonna take up the Steinway
Waiting for the bullet that I'll never see come
I'm gonna start me a new wave
I'm putting up with you lightweights
Calling me out to the middle of the street
Ooh, I've got you in my mind's eye
I got you in my mind's eye

Oh, I got you in my mind's eye
My day might be coming yours is coming first
I'll knock you outta your daylights
And when you come for me some night
You better bring a shovel and be expecting the worst
'Cause I got you in my mind's eye
I got you in my mind's eye
Oh, I got you in my mind's eye
I got you in my mind's eye

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Artist : JOSH RITTER
Album : The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter

All of a sudden now you're back again
I thought you were happy with whoever
Or did you dream about me now and then
Did you look up at the stars and feel something for the constellations

All those lovers circling round their loves
Slings and arrows, dogs and lions
Rivers separating touch from touch
The comedy of distance, the tragedy of separation

Am I making all the right moves
Am I singing you the right blues
Is there a chance that I could call you
Just to see how you are doing?

I said how is it that you come back to me?
You don't need the stories of my scars
Or in the stars to tell you nothing's free
I traded all the innocence I ever had for hesitation

I said won't you tell me where you been?
You put a finger to my lips
And then you kissed me once and once again
The crickets all leapt up and met the moon with a standing ovation

Am I making all the right moves
Am I singing you the right blues
Is there a chance that I could call you
Just to see how you are doing?

I heard the night birds picking up the song
You threw your hair back and sang along
And I realized that I might lose you, you might lose me
Drift apart in the night and never know why and not know how

I said what if we are like the Northern sky?
What if there are things that come between us
That we can't take back and we can't make right?
You said, "I don't know darlin' but I'm here with you.
And we're coming to the chorus now!"

Am I making all the right moves
Am I singing you the right blues
Is there a chance that I could call you
Just to see how you are doing?

Am I making all the right moves
Am I singing you the right blues
Is there a chance that I could call you
Just to see how you are doing?

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Artist : JOSH RITTER
Album : The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter

"If this was the Cold War we could keep each other warm."
I said on the first occasion that I met Marie
We were crawling through the hatch that was the missile silo door
And I don't think that she really thought that much of me

I never had to learn to love her like I learned to love the Bomb
She just came along and started to ignore me
But as we waited for the Big One I started singing her my songs
And I think she started feeling something for me

We passed the time with crosswords that she thought to bring inside
What five letters spell "apocalypse" she asked me
I won her over singing "W.W.I.I.I."
Oh, we smiled and we both knew that she'd misjudged me

Oh Marie, it was so easy to fall in love with you
It felt almost like a home of sorts or something
And you would keep the warhead missile silo good as new
And I'd watch you with my thumb above the button

Then one night you found me in my army issue cot
And you told me of your flash of inspiration
You said fusion was the broken heart that's lonely's only thought
And all night long you drove me wild with your equations

Oh Marie, do you remember all the time we used to take
Makin' love and then ransack the rations
I think about you leaving now and the avalanche cascades
And my eyes get washed away in chain reactions

Oh Marie if you would stay then we could stick pins in the map
Of all the places where you thought that love would be found
But I would only need one pin to show where my love's at
In a top-secret location three hundred feet under the ground

Oh, we could hold each other close and stay up every night
Looking up into the dark like it's the night sky
Pretend this giant missile is an old oak tree instead
And carve our name in hearts into the warhead

Oh, Marie there's something tells me things just won't work out above
That our love would live a half-life on the surface
So at night while you are sleeping I hold you closer just because
As our time grows short I get a little nervous

Oh, I think about the Big One, W.W.I.I.I.
Would we ever really care the world had ended
You could hold me here forever like you're holding me tonight
I think about that great big button and I'm tempted

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Artist : JOSH RITTER
Album : The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter

I thought I heard you pulling up outside
It's just the wind whisperin' through the pines
I haven't seen who I'm looking for
Just empty shadows in my open door

The empty closet where you hung your clothes
The empty hooks where you hung your coat
The cellar steps or the kitchen floor
They don't catch shadows like an open door

Do open windows keep the rain away?
Do open eyes keep the ghosts at bay?
I thought an open door would bring you in
Now I guess I'm gonna have to guess again

I find myself hoping for a storm
Each silver lining is a crown of thorns
I find myself hoping for the rain
You don't see shadows on a cloudy day

Go to the corner where the ghosts hang out
They'll all agree with what I'm talking about
They'd haunt your halls and walk through walls before
They'd ever set foot in an open door

Do open windows keep the rain away?
Do open eyes keep the ghosts at bay?
I thought an open door would bring you in
Now I guess I'm gonna have to guess again

I'm saving nickels and I'm saving dimes
I'm gonna kiss you where the sun don't shine
And all those shadows gonna kiss them too
Just so long as they come in with you

Do open windows keep the rain away?
Do open eyes keep the ghosts at bay?
I thought an open door would bring you in
Now I guess I'm gonna have to guess again

I guess I'm gonna have to guess again
I guess I'm gonna have to guess again
I guess I'm gonna have to guess again

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Artist : JOSH RITTER
Album : The Historical Conquests Of Josh Ritter

Serenade me with rocks, love
No lullabies through the locks, love
I locked myself in with the band
But the music's never loud enough

Decibels in the belfry
Hey what the hell if it helps me
I put a whip to the kick drum
But the music's never loud enough

So you're gonna have to show me
How that dance is done
The one where somebody leaves someone
Woah

My orchestra is gigantic
This thing could sink the Titanic
And the string section's screaming
Like horses in a barn burning up

He plays pianos with fistfuls
Of broken Belvedere crystal
But he can't seem to forget you
And the music's never loud enough

So you're gonna have to show me
How that dance is done
The one where somebody leaves someone
Woah

He's impaling the front row
Fighting fires with arrows
And he'll act like he forgot you
But the music's never loud enough

So you're gonna have to show me
How that dance is done
The one where somebody leaves someone
Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah

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