01. Song to Sing
02. Rolling Stone
03. Abilene
04. Rose of Tokyo
05. Genevieve
06. Goodbye Seoul
07. AM Radio
08. Below
09. Leaving Laredo (or The Night Gilberto Hit the Floor)
10. Red Leather Dress
11. Rollin’ On
Give me a song to sing
Harder than it is to bring
Back all the years I’ve wasted for so long
Give me an open road
I’m better when I’m on my own
Living so far from home for so long
Don’t misunderstand me, I’m fine as I can tell
Heaven don’t you brand me on my way to hell
I’ll think up an excuse now before it gets too late
And I’m on my knees to pray
Give me a song to sing
Shining like a wedding ring
A reminder of the man I used to be
Give me a second chance
A double-shot of true romance
One day I’ll learn to dance so I can be free
Here we go again, no you misunderstood
I never said I’d stay like you think I should
I hear the call of the road, I hear the roar of the crowd
When you carry a load like mine you better figure me out
Well, my daddy left when I was 10
He didn’t care about the world we was livin’ in
And momma tried to raise four kids alone
So I left home at age 15
With an old guitar and a good backbeat
To find the only life I’d never known
I’m a rolling stone
A rolling stone
Why don’t we pick it up right where we left off
You didn’t get enough? I could have sworn you stopped
You got a lot to say and I could give a damn
I ain’t got time to play this games now
See you late, thank you ma’am
I’m gonna drive on to the next sunrise
I ain’t worried bout the weather on that old horizon
I’ll be facing every storm on my own
I close my eyes and grit my teeth
With an old guitar and a good backbeat
To find the only life I’d never known
I’m a rolling stone
A rolling stone
A rolling stone
A rolling stone
Oh baby don’t you be the jealous kind
I’ll be back time and time again
Every time I go, I get further down the road
But I’ll slow down when I’m dead
I can’t promise you that I’ll be true
To the life lead or the things I do
Underneath these lights is where I call home
But I sing these songs that mean more to me
Than an old guitar and a good backbeat
To see you in this life I’ve never known
I’m a rolling stone
A rolling stone
A rolling stone
A rolling stone
Abilene, I believe
The only thing I don’t understand
Why she wanna rock with a country band?
I believe in Abilene
I met a girl in a karaoke bar
She got no bike, she got no car
But the people say she still seems to get around
She loves to dance, likes to cook
She’s got big brown eyes and a great right hook
And when she sings she knocks me to the ground
Abilene, I believe
The only thing I don’t understand
Why she wanna rock with a country band?
I believe in Abilene
She’s coming at me like a bat out of hell
Her hips a’swaying but I can’t tell her
All the things she’s been doing to me
She gets ready to go and gives me a wink
When she walks away, man, I won’t blink
Now ain’t nobody never tasted sugar this sweet
Abilene, I believe
The only thing I don’t understand
Why she wanna rock with a country band?
I believe in Abilene
We touched down in Tokyo
Gray skies on a late April morn
Across the bay onto those neon city streets
And I never felt more alone
I got a picture of a gal I left back home
Tucked inside this helmet on my head
Tommy’s telling me to keep a watchful eye
Still I never felt more alone
Here comes the Rose of Tokyo
Like a beacon across the sky
While the people stop and stare, saying freedom’s on the air
Here comes the Rose of Tokyo
I hear bombs in the distance toward the coast
As I read the letters from back home
Jessie writes my brother Danny’s looking out for her
Still I never felt more alone
Eight weeks in, we pushed the Chinese back
Tommy’s going home with just one leg
Jessie says she’s sorry, she’s carrying Danny’s child
Now I never felt more alone
Here comes the Rose of Tokyo
Like a beacon across the sky
While the people stop and stare, saying freedom’s on the air
Here comes the Rose of Tokyo
In the dead of night, my heart begins to break
Three days later I’ll be gone
What have I to live for I cannot recall
Standing in the ashes of Tokyo…
Here comes the Rose of Tokyo
Like a beacon across the sky
While the people stop and stare, saying freedom’s on the air
Here comes the Rose of Tokyo
Genevieve, my lady Genevieve
Take a mile from me, take a mile from me
Now Genevieve, why can’t you see?
You were the only thing that ever meant to me
Genevieve, little miss Genevieve
Run away with me, run away with me
Now Genevieve, we’ll hit the seven seas
Stop the waves from drowning what our love could
Down in the hollow go this little lady, oh
The things she’s showing me are blowing my mind
Deep in the darkest night, we get to feeling right
And I know that it’s time
Genevieve, my lady Genevieve
Take a mile from me, take a mile from me
Now Genevieve, why can’t you see?
You were the only thing that ever meant to me
Genevieve I’ll your Arthur be
Write the story old and we’ll make history
Genevieve , are you too blind to see?
If you up and change your ways you know I’d make you my queen
Genevieve, sweet Genevieve
C’mon girl, make me believe
Genevieve, only yourself deceive
You better get up and get out and let my kingdom be
Genevieve, my lady Genevieve
Take a mile from me, take a mile from me
Now Genevieve, why can’t you see?
You were the only thing that ever meant to me
Call it providence, or the hand of fate
That took me from my home across the sea
Just a wide-eyed boy, so innocent
You got so much life to live at age eighteen
Well, they shipped me off to Yongsong base
Where I found my way to the DMZ
That’s about the time loneliness settled in
Never noticing the change taking place in me
Goodbye Seoul
Goodbye heartache
Goodbye all the reasons why you done me wrong
Here’s to second chances or letting go
Goodbye me, goodbye you
Goodbye Seoul
Well, I found her in some smoky bar
That crooked smile just stole my heart away
I gave her all my cash and all my time
And I’ll be damned the consequences come what may
Well, I learned to cheat, and I learned to lie
Anything to keep my woman satisfied
Oh, well, that juicy girl with those piercing eyes
Forever I will see her in my mind
Goodbye Seoul
Goodbye heartache
Goodbye all the reasons why you done me wrong
Here’s to second chances or letting go
Goodbye me, goodbye you
Goodbye Seoul
Now I’m sitting in an 8x9
Charged with misuse of property
I traded freedom for some fleeting love
And now I’m bound to hear these words I sing
Goodbye Seoul
Goodbye heartache
Goodbye all the reasons why you done me wrong
Here’s to second chances or letting go
Goodbye me, goodbye you
Goodbye Seoul
I hear the mockingbirds keep calling me
They can’t hear the fall or a song that ain’t been sung at all
They beat their wings to me to fan the flames
Suffer this lost man as he tries to take a stand
I feel the cold rain wash me in the ground
Where my soul can heal, I just need something real
For once and all my endeavors, things I’ve tried and tried
Now I can’t deny
Think it simple, you’ve got to take it slow
Grab the wheel, hold on don’t lose control
Driving all night with an AM Radio
No matter where you are you’ve got too far to go
Sweet Jesus, are you listening to this sinner’s prayer?
Tell me do I even care?
I spend a lifetime out beyond the plains
From sea to shining sea, will it stop and end with me
Think it simple, you’ve got to take it slow
Grab the wheel, hold on don’t lose control
Driving all night with an AM Radio
No matter where you are you’ve got too far to go
God grant me peace from a life filled with so much pain
I need a way out, I need a drought again and again and again…
Think it simple, you’ve got to take it slow
Grab the wheel, go on don’t lose control
Driving all night with an AM Radio
No matter where you are you’ve got too far to go
Leaving Laredo (or The Night Gilbert Hit The Floor)
You remember the summer wind blowing in from the south
The night Gilbert hit the floor
Another roadhouse bar leaves a bad taste in your mouth
And after 27 years you know you’re meant for more
You wanna get out of such a desolate place
In the land of broken dreams and hollow eyes
You read the sign on every sunburned, worn-out face
And you’ll be miles down the road before they realize
You’re leaving Laredo, you gotta get out of town
You’re not gonna let the bad ones drag you down
You’re leaving Laredo, you better pack your things
The time is now to get out and let the whole world sing
You got a lot of life to live so you can show
You’re leaving Laredo
It’s been a while since you’ve been home
Night after night you pour your heart out on a stage
You wanna avoid a thousand told-you-so’s
It’s what motivates and keeps you in this game
You’re leaving Laredo, you gotta get out of town
You’re not gonna let the bad ones drag you down
You’re leaving Laredo, you better pack your things
The time is now to get out and let the whole world sing
You got a lot of life to live so you can show
You’re leaving Laredo
Every stretch of highway is another lonesome tune
And you lose a little faith going town to town
They tell you Jesus walks on water and you know it to be true
But so do those demons you’re trying to drown
You’re leaving Laredo, you gotta get out of town
You’re not gonna let the bad ones drag you down
You’re leaving Laredo, you better pack your things
The time is now to get out and let the whole world sing
You got a lot of life to live so you can show
You’re leaving Laredo
(I’m leaving, I’m running, no looking back now, honey)
She asked me to meet her on the Fourth of July
On the west edge of Texas where the land meets the sky
After three days of riding I never asked why
In my mind she wore a red leather dress
I heard from my cousin she headed down south
Past the lights of Odessa to the Rio Grande Mouth
So I entered a valley I’d never come out
Looking for a girl in red leather dress
Perdoname, senorita, may I sit a spell?
I don’t mean to be forward you can curse me to hell
Stop what you’re doing ‘cause I must confess
I’m in love with a red leather dress
I love a girl in a red leather dress
On a Tuesday I found her in some bordertown bar
With some handsome stranger hooked right on her arm
When I showed him my pistol I heard “please do no harm”
From the girl in a red leather dress
On a dusty town square out on high noon
I yelled “son, call your maker, ‘cause you’ll be meeting him soon”
Out in the valley that shot rang out true
“What a mess” said the red leather dress
Perdoname, senorita, may I sit a spell?
I don’t mean to be forward you can curse me to hell
Stop what you’re doing ‘cause I must confess
I’m in love with a red leather dress
I love a girl in a red leather dress
In warm sheets of satin black as the night
I lay in the silence with her by my side
Outside a posse gathers its might
In the chair is a red leather dress
Oh I wish I’d never seen a red leather dress
Perdoname, senorita, may I sit a spell?
I don’t mean to be forward you can curse me to hell
Stop what you’re doing ‘cause I must confess
I’m in love with a red leather dress
I’m in love with a red leather dress
I love a girl in a red leather dress
It’s a new day and a brand new light
I can’t recall a single word you said last night
My heart is bruised from al the pain
Why is all my tries at love end up the same?
Heartache can drive you up the wall
Make you wonder why you ever loved at all
I guess I got some news for you
I’m looking for my second chance
And this is what I’m gonna do
I’m gonna drive on down this highway
Till the pain in me is gone
Can’t look back, gotta keep moving on
If you think you’re going my way
Then I’ll be headed out at dawn
Done be late ‘cause these wheels they keep rollin’ on
By morning light I’ll be set free
Forgetting that you she ever needed me
Your smiling face is all I need
To find my way to a far off place
Where there is only you and me
I’m gonna drive on down this highway
Till the pain in me is gone
Can’t look back, gotta keep moving on
If you think you’re going my way
Then I’ll be headed out at dawn
Done be late ‘cause these wheels they keep rollin’ on
ALBUM CREDITS
Produced, mixed and engineered by John David Kent
Recorded at The Vault Studios in Celeste, TX
Mastered by Fred Remmert, Cedar Creek Studios, Austin, TX
Musicians:
James Dunning: Vocals, guitars
Sean Isbell: Guitars, vocals
Michael Scudiero: Bass, vocals
Robert Anderson: Drums, percussion
John David Kent: Organ, piano
Jason Andrew: Fiddle
David Perez: Accordion, vocals
All songs written by James Dunning (J. Mulligan Music, BMI) except:
- AM Radio: James Dunning (J. Mulligan Music, BMI) and Craig Hinkle (Maxman Music, BMI)
- Below: Slaid Cleaves (Happy Valley Music/Magic Rat Music, BMI)
- Leaving Laredo: James Dunning and Billy Jackson (admin. by J. Mulligan Music, BMI)
- Rollin' On: Sean Isbell (Big Slick Licks, BMI)
John David Kent appears courtesy of Blackland Records. Dave Perez appears courtesy of Smith Entertainment.