If these walls could tell a story (2005 Release)

Saw a Pennsylvania Steel Mill on a summer afternoon
Ghosts of smoke down in the valley
Inspired me to write this tune
I hear an echo of times gone by
I hear the voices soft and low
I bet this town could tell a story of what it was once long ago

If this town could tell a story
Bet I know what it would say
It would talk of grit and guts and glory
some heady times along the way
There would be men and sweat abounding
hammers blazing on the steel
If this town could tell a story, like the turning of a wheel

I passed a bar down in the valley
by the old steel mill today
and I could swear I heard it talkin
Heard it say some things I can repeat
So I just kept on walkin past the grafitti on the walls
Bet this bar could tell a story of good times and barroom brawls

And if this bar could tell a story
Think I know what it would say
it would tell of pay drunk up in anger
it would tell of fights and jealous rage
it would tell of friendships borne from sorrow
it would talk of freedom from the pain
if this bar could tell a story
It would be like thunder in the rain

there's a house down in the valley with the shingles dirty gray
and the sidewalk has been cracking
all the glamour's stripped away
With broken windows a FOR SALE sign
but there ain't no one buyin
If this house could tell a story
I bet that you would hear it cryin

If this house could tell a story
bet I know what it would say
it would tell of two unhappy people
who lived to fight another day
It would show the sadness in their children
It would tell of anguish in their eyes
If this house could tell a story
The world would hear their muffled cries

I spend my life out on the road
And I pass going from town to town
I see people in their struggle
and their burdens weigh them down
and the smiles upon their faces
conceal a pain they cannot share
But if these hearts could tell their story
Bet they want someone to care

someday the walls will tell a story
someday the dark will be made plain
someday the last o faded glory
will usher in a better reign
someday the sorrows will be broken
someday the wrong be made right
but until then I'll tell their story
with those who listen here tonight

Shelter from the storm

As a young man on the back stage
Picking soft on my guitar
Drivin fast past all those young girls
To impress them with my car
But they didn't see the heartache
Of my not so happy home
And I found myself
Seeking shelter from the storm

And I'll never forget that summer
When she took me for a ride
When my heart was burned to ashes
And I thought that I would die
But I smiled upon the sunshine
And it kept me safe and warm
And that's where I found myself seeking shelter form the storm

Well I've climbed the corporate ladder
And I'm an educated man
Seen the rise and fall of many
Seen the real thing and the sham
So I find my joy in simple things
Like my children, wife and home
Runnin' down the road with my dog
I find shelter from the storm

I been walking down that highway now
For fifty years and more
I got nothing to prove to no one
I ain't gonna settle no score
And someday when I laid beneath the sod
And I walk those streets of gold
In the arms of the Savior
I'll find shelter from the storm

Take me down

I feel the heart of summer sunrise
I feel the heat upon the grain
Feel the eyes of worldly wonder
Feel the freshness of the rain
Feel the sadness in the sunset
Feel the calm of summer morn
When the lives of all creation
I thank God that I've been born.

I find peace when I am walking
And I hold my children close
When the quiet of the nighttime surrounds me
And I know I am restored
When the moon smile down upon me
And the answers are so clear
Then I stand in happy sadness
And I weep those happy tears.

(CHORUS)

Take me down
To the river where I was born
To the river where I was born
Take me down
To the shimmering shining water
To my sons and to my daughters

I have questioned my existence
I have wondered o'er my pain
I have strained to understand the
Many sufferings
And the tragedy of man
But when I think of all that moves me
when true reality is gain
When a smile from a stranger on the corner
And I'm on my way again.

I miss my dog

Well I'm sitting in this airport all alone tonight
Not much to do but read old magazines
I have to spend the night
Cause my plane is in the fog
I should miss my family
But I miss my dog

Well he never complains about that boring food I give him
He don't say much when things are going wrong
I know it don't seem right
As I'm sittin' here tonight
I should miss my family
But I miss my dog

He is homely as a tree stump and his ears are long and gray
And his hair is on my furniture to stay
With paws like frying pans
His breath can kill a man
But he's the reason I am here today
So I know it don't seem right
As I'm sittin' here tonight
I should miss my family
But I miss my dog

An Old man came up to me
As my tears were flowing down
Said "Son, do you miss your one and only?'
Sir you don't understand
I don't miss woman, child or man
The fact is I miss my old hound
So I know it don't seem right
As I'm sittin' here tonight
I should miss my family
But I miss my dog

That's how this song must end
As an ode to man's best friend
I should miss my family
But I miss my dog

Proud to be the Son (of a blue collar man) 2005 Release

My daddy never was short of words
And you knew you better move when you heard him curse
He could warm my heart with his favorite song and he was already workin' at the crack of dawn
He'd look straight in the eyes of men twice his size

and he would never ever back down
He felt well dressed with his coveralls pressed
And he knew every soul in town
Now he was never mean, but if you got in his way
You better know how to take your stand
He was tougher than steal but he knew how to heal
He was a genuine blue collar man

For his morning caffeine he tapped a vending machine
for some Joe that could quicken the dead
If he knew what I pay for a Starbuck's latte
He would slap me upside my head
He wasn't much on glamour but when he swung a hammer
The world was comin' to an end
And instead of bench presses
He was pulling wrenches
This rock hard blue collar man

Chorus

O I hear his voice when I want to give up
"Keep your nose to the grindstone boy"
I wear corporate chains but I got oil in my veins
I am proud to be the son of a blue-collar man

Now for eighteen years I watched as he worked
It was an honor just to be at his side
I still remember his ways, he laughed all of his days
And he took everything in stride
He used a cutting torch like a scalpel, he was an artist with a burning flame
Ask any man around the best mechanic in town, and
I'll guarantee they bring up his name

Chorus

O I hear his voice when I want to give up
"Keep your nose to the grindstone boy"
but when the workin' was done he knew how to have fun
He had a motorcycle named " Leroy"
I met the CEO and the Board of Directors
With their million dollar stock option plans
But with each setting sun
We know who's getting it done.
It is the hard workin' blue collar man

Though He respected my education, his diploma was his hard earned pay
And his straight talkin' mode of persuasion
They made me what I am today
I got nothing but praise for the way I was raised
For the times he kicked me in the can
And all this corporate pain can't wash the oil from my veins
I am proud to be the son of a blue-collar man

And the legend lives on in my brown eyed son
Who is working just as hard as he can
These corporate chains can't wash the oil from my genes
I am proud to have a son who's a blue-collar man

O I hear his voice when I want to give up
"Keep your nose to the grindstone boy"
I wear corporate chains but I got oil in my veins
I am proud to be the son of a blue-collar man

Now I know Why (I Love The Blue Sky)

He was a soldier at age 17
A young adventurous man
Raised out in the heartland
Went to fight for God and man
A prisoner in Korea
He often wondered if he'd die
When I asked him how he made it
My father looked me in the eye
The clear blue sky
Welcomed me each morning
The clear blue sky
Welcomed me each day
He words filled me with wonder
I felt that I would cry
And now I know why
I love the blue sky

My grandfather had worked the land
Plowed fields and made them grow
Plant the seed for the cattle feed
And wheat fields row upon row
He taught me 'bout the simple things
Fresh air and apple pie
When I asked him for his rule of life
He smiled and told me why

The clear blue sky
Welcomed me each morning
The clear blue sky
Welcomed me each day
He words filled me with wonder
I felt that I would cry
And now I know why
I love the blue sky

Whenever I am lonely
And whenever I am blue
Whenever things have got me down
So I can't move my shoes
I think about my father's voice and my granddad's smiling eye
So much in life is O so free if you don't let it pass you by

Count on my amazing grace James Bohn

Well I know where you were
Last Sunday
And I watch you when you're all alone
And I know how you spend your money
And how you act when all your friends are gone
I have seen you filled with sadness for the wrong you've done
and I sat with you all those nights you cried
for those like you I have given this promise
for those like you I was crucified
And I will never leave you or forsake yo
and someday I will see you face to face
I want you to remember when you walk down
that old lonesome road
you can count on my amazing grace

I have watched you every effort and your errors
And I know how you've failed me time and again
but I came to call sinners, not the righteous to repentance
and I'm aware of the shape that you're in
but just remember
I'm on your side
And I want you to win and take your place
I want you to remember when you walk down
that old lonesome road
you can count on my amazing grace

Any man, any man that follows me takes the hard road
Its so much easier just to lay down and die
but the things, the things that matter most
in this old sinful world
will pass away
in the wink of an eye

So take a good look at the mountain in front of you
Its true, may be impossible for you to climb
and there are places you can fall from
and you face a mighty enemy who will push you down
and laugh while you cry oh you will cry and so have I
But there's one thing you must remember
I'm on your side

And I want you to win and take your place
I want you to remember when you walk down
that old lonesome road
you can count on my amazing grace
So when your heart is broke and you don't think you're gonna
make it till tomorrow you can count on my amazing grace
amazing grace

Plowman

Plowman, plowman
Dig your furrow true
plowman, plowman
dig your furrow true
The days' gonna come when the world be made new
and it won't be long now
so plowman
dig your furrow true
Plowman, plowman
dig your furrow wide

plowman, plowman
dig your furrow wide
keep your eyes on the distance where the waters run clear
what seemed far away has become very near now
so plowman
dig your furrow wide

Plowman, plowman
dig your furrow low
plowman, plowman
dig your furrow low
well I meant what I said when I spoke long ago,
the surest thing in life you gonna reap what you sow now.
so plowman dig your furrow low

Hey now, hey now nah hey now.

Sailor, Sailor Sail the ocean wide
Sailor, Sailor, Sail the ocean wide
Keep your eyes on the prize, don't you realize?
You must tell me the truth I never told you no lies.
So Sailor now, sail the ocean wide

Member of ASCAP.