Lyrics
I step outside at 2am, see the city sleeping tight
Could be this job, but I don't know if I'll make it home tonight
It's not like there'll be somebody waiting there for me
'Cause I am not the hero everybody says I'll be
But I'm a long way from leaving this town
This city of angels
I'm a long, long way from caving in
But living and dying like brothers in arms
For swallowing sin at the sound of alarm
I wonder why
Can't somebody rescue me?
I tear myself between my job, my family, and my ghosts
But I've got bigger problems than who needs me the most
Can't they see I'm just a man, I can't turn the world around
Hell, I can barely keep my own two feet firmly on the ground
Anybody, anybody,
Won't somebody rescue me?
I'm a long way from leaving this town
This city of angels
I'm a long, long way from caving in
But living and dying like brothers in arms
For swallowing sin at the sound of alarm
I wonder why
Can't somebody rescue me?
Rescue Me
Every picture of a child can be heard
If you listen close enough, you hear that picture's thousand words
And it's almost like a train that's been derailed
When the picture says the innocence defending them has failed
It's all too real and the look upon their face,
It will make you wish you could be their saving grace
And reach into the photograph long enough to dry
The water rising in their troubled eyes
Standing in the remnants of a town
Where a camera and a child finally stare each other down
The camera stalls a moment of their youth
That's bludgeoned by confusion and harnessed by the truth
It's all too real and the look upon their face,
It will make you wish you could be their saving grace
And reach into the photograph long enough to dry
The water rising in their troubled eyes
It's all too real and the look upon their face,
It will make you wish you could be their saving grace
And reach into the photograph long enough to dry
The water rising in their troubled eyes
Troubled Eyes
If heaven only knew the way I feel tonight
Would it matter who was burning out my light
If heaven only knew why I need to cry
Would it pull me through or watch and wonder why?
If heaven only knew
If heaven only knew
Someone up there would feel the pain I'm feeling, too
If heaven only knew
If heaven only knew what many friends have said
Would it still be absurd for me to wonder why they're dead
If heaven only knew the anger in my voice
Could it be deterred, would I have a choice?
If heaven only heard
If heaven only heard
Someone up there would hear the pain in every word
If heaven only heard
If heaven only knew the way I feel tonight
What would heaven do, and would I be all right?
If heaven only knew
If heaven only knew
What if it was you?
If heaven only knew
If Heaven Only Knew
It's a rainy day, it's another rainy day in paradise
It's a road that leads to your house but it's covered in ice
It's a year that you can't even see 'cause you're caught in a vice
On a rainy day, and you've found another rainy day in paradise
The coffee is cold at that little lonely table at your favorite cafe
Where you sit, you sit with your tired old book and your dirty ashtray
As you wait, you wait for another lonely fool to walk your way
It's a rainy day, and you've found another rainy day in paradise
You sit all alone and think to yourself about life
And you wonder how you'll ever make ends meet in your lonely life
And while on a treadmill, you wonder if another man's life
Might be a blessing alone in paradise
It's a time, it's a time to realize where you are today
And you're right, you got tired of school, so you went your own way
But it's hard, it's hard to be a poet who's got nothing to say
On a rainy day, and you've found another rainy day in paradise
You're walking down streets where everyone used to be seen
Now they're dark, they're dark and eroded, but they used to be clean
And the girls, they won't even make you a deal for your green
On a rainy day, and you've found another rainy day in paradise
You sit all alone and think to yourself about life
And you wonder how you'll ever make ends meet in your lonely life
And while on a treadmill, you wonder if another man's life
Might be a blessing alone in paradise
Alone in Paradise
I wake up with lazy eyes almost every day
I never greet the sunrise with much to say
My coffee's black, my hands are cold, the morning gets in my way
If I can count on you to stay
This must be love
This must be love
I have more luck than I've got money, honey, and that's not saying much
But I get by all right, I've got my crutch
I call it faith and blind ambition, dreams that I'm seeing through
Some are fading to memory, but not you
This must be love
This must be love
I wake up with lazy eyes and you look my way
Your eyes tell me everything you don't need to say
This must be love
This must be love
This Must Be Love
I'll wear your favorite cologne and buy you a dozen roses
I'll call you up on the phone as the twilight fades and closes
I'm gonna be your Superman
I'm gonna be your Superman
I'm gonna be your Superman tonight
I'll bring my favorite guitar and play your song about the ocean
I'll take you just as you are then play the night back in slow motion
I'm gonna be your Superman
I'm gonna be your Superman
I'm gonna be your Superman tonight
I'll take you back to the night we walked in Memphis and drank wine
How we dimmed the lights then kissed and crossed that line
I'm gonna be your Superman
I'm gonna be your Superman
I'm gonna be your Superman tonight
I'll wear your favorite cologne and buy you a dozen roses
I'll call you up on the phone as the twilight fades and closes again
I'm gonna be your Superman
I'm gonna be your Superman
I'm gonna be your Superman tonight
Your Superman
A bottle of pills, a bottle of white
Oh lord, it must be Tuesday night
You take the stage and you make a stand
With a fat guitar and a faithful band
And you talk about life in a strange way
You talk about love without much to say
You live your life like a winning hand that you can't help but lose
But baby, you sure can sing the blues
At a topless bar and a motel tonight
Smoke 'em if you got 'em, baby, that's all right
'Cause you gotta make due, gotta make the rent
Gotta make those songs sound Heaven-sent
So you talk about life in a strange way
You talk about love without much to say
You live your life like a winning hand that you can't help but lose
But baby, you sure can sing the blues
Hey, that two-dollar bill might buy you a bar maid's kiss
In a greasy diner, it's hit or miss
Your momma never liked this life you choose
Then again, she never had your handle on the blues
Talk about life in a strange way
Talk about love without much to say
You live your life like a winning hand that you can't help but lose
But baby, you sure can sing the blues
You Sure Can Sing the Blues
I tell you it's hard playing empty bars on a Wednesday night
I've got a crowd of maybe ten, and I'll be lucky if one of them hears me right
I'll take what I can get, but there's gotta be more
I never knew paying dues could be this hard
I'd like to travel the country and be able to say,
"Hey babe, I'll send you a postcard."
I want to stun the world with my acoustic guitar
I want it to pay all my bills
And I've heard it more than once, boy, if that is your dream,
Then why the Hell aren't you in Nashville?
I've never been there, but I hear it's a place to remember
My heart's saying, "Leave," and my body's just about to surrender
'Cause I just don't know how much is left in this town
And I've had about all I can take
While it's a town of best friends and all the history I have,
It's also a town of mistakes
I'm just tired of a life that keeps dragging me down
When I learn how to change it I will
I'd like to find the smile I haven't had in a while
Maybe it's hiding in Nashville
I'm finished again after playing for ten
At an empty bar Wednesday night
And I'd like to have died when they left me inside
Not a single one heard me right
Sometimes a pack of cigarettes is all I get for company
But then I'll turn and I'll wink at an occasional drink to accompany me
I'm ready to fly like a bat out of Hell
Just put me on a train and I'll ride
I'll leave all my bags with my maps at the station
And let the train be my guide
I've had no prescription to make it all easy
I'm here today clean of one still
But the pills of white mercury just might be good for me
If I don't make it to Nashville
Nashville
I don't know your name
I don't remember you
Or this chill that stings my spine,
But looking in your starry eyes,
I remember sunshine
I don't know your face
But it looks familiar
Like I've seen it in a magazine
It could be that I just fantasize
About beauty I've never seen
I know I'm not in love with you
But I'm afraid that I could be
'Cause I can't help but look at you
You look like sunshine to me
But I don't know your name
I don't remember you
Or this chill that stings my spine,
But looking in your starry eyes,
I remember sunshine
I remember sunshine
Sunshine
When you wake up in the morning and step into the sun
Or lay down in the evening long after your day's done
When you settle into slumber and your dreams have all begun
Think of me, and somehow I'll be there
When you wade into a river and the water feels too cold
Or your sitting on the bank to smoke that cigarette you rolled
When you stare at your reflection, looking young but feeling old
Think of me, and somehow I'll be there
If you listen close, you can hear me
You'll hear me like a lone cathedral bell,
And I may stick around another lifetime,
But only if your memory serves you well
When you take a midday walk through a shady side of town
Or you sit outside a coffee shop like a somber, caffeine clown
When your thoughts are running wild, but your body's slowing down,
Think of me, and somehow I'll be there
When you wonder why your arms can't reach up and touch the sky
Or why you have to walk when birds can walk and fly
And when no one standing by you can ever tell you why
Think of me, and somehow I'll be there
If you listen close, you can hear me
You'll hear me like a lone cathedral bell,
And I may stick around another lifetime,
But only if your memory serves you well
If you listen close, you can hear me
You'll hear me like a lone cathedral bell,
And I may stick around another lifetime,
But only if your memory serves you well
If Your Memory Serves You Well
A storm was near, the ocean roared,
And as I feared, I went overboard
The rain was hard, the water rolled,
My heart was numb, my body cold
And then I saw a distant sight
There she stood, a sailor's light
That lighthouse lamp was shining bright
And I swam to her through the rhythm of the wild, wild ocean
I swam for hours to reach her shore
Through lightning showers and weather wars
I beat the night and it's typhoon,
And I reached the light by the morning moon
And as I crawled upon her land,
A grounded angel met me on the sand
And all she said was, "Take my hand,"
And my heart beat for her like the rhythm of the wild, wild ocean
She took my hand with compassion's glove
She took me in, a wounded dove
I feel asleep and I fell in love
And my heart beat for her like the rhythm of the wild, wild ocean
Another night, another storm,
This time the light kept me warm
I laid beside her precious flame
While the storm outside called my name
I held her close, she held me tight
Our silhouettes embraced the night
And there below that sailor's light
I made love to her like the rhythm of the wild, wild ocean
Wild Ocean
I never thought I'd find you here
Didn't think I'd find much this year
But here you are, my shooting star,
My every wish and every dream come true
I'd say you were the rainbow's end
For all I know, you make them bend
Across the sky, and that is why
You make me smile doing what you do
Rainbow girl, you're as good as gold
Always a survivor, always beautiful and bold
Rainbow girl, need I say more than,
"You just say the word, and I'm yours."
Your colors run like northern lights
But wider spread and twice as bright
Oh look at you against the blue
Of a jealous sky that stays two steps behind
I'll be here when you arrive,
My heart will sail, my courage dive
Like wind and rain, like hope and pain
You're everything that makes me feel alive
Rainbow girl, you're as good as gold
Always a survivor, always beautiful and bold
Rainbow girl, need I say more than,
"You just say the word, and I'm yours."
Rainbow Girl
I fell in love for the first time at the tender-hearted age of seventeen
And I felt like the king of California when I found my queen
She had legs like you only see in movies, and her eyes were a sweet Pacific-blue
And as I never second guess a first impression, I saw her and I knew
That I'd want to be somebody she'd remember
Someone she'd never forget
But that place in her heart had been sold
To her daddy's corvette
I couldn't feel like a man until I told her, and I couldn't tell her 'til I felt like a man
It's funny though, at seventeen you don't make sense of life, you just do the best you can
I kept my best in a beat up El Dorado, it had a back seat I could almost call divine
'Til I pulled up to pick her up and she said, "Nice wheels. Park it, let's take mine."
That made me want to be somebody she'd remember
Someone she'd never forget
But that place in her heart had been sold
To her daddy's corvette
Now I've been in love more times than I remember, and I'm a far cry from seventeen
But I still feel like the king of California when I think about my queen
My friends from way back when still get together and drink to everything we left in yesterday
Especially all the girls who broke us in, revved us up, then drove away
I may never be somebody she remembers,
Someone she'll never forget,
But I'm still the only one that got to ride
In her daddy's corvette
Yeah, I'm still the only one that got to ride
In her daddy's corvette
Daddy's Corvette
I have heard of angels since I was a little boy
I remember how those stories made me smile
How they flew from Heaven to bring a little joy
To a life that hadn't seen it in a while
And how they understood the human race so good
How they were not just spirits up on high
How they'd walk through crowds then swim back to the clouds
To me they were the mermaids of the sky
Oh, I have never seen an angel, but I hope I do
'Cause I think from what I've heard, they look like you
I've been around the world a couple times or more
And I always wonder where they are
Are they sitting by that window, are they walking through that door?
Do they hang out in coffee shops and bars?
Have I ever walked or have I ever talked
To an angel who was in a great disguise?
If I have, then who? I keep thinking that it's you
'Cause I get that feeling looking in your eyes
Oh, I have never seen an angel, but I hope I do
'Cause I think from what I've heard, they look like you
Oh, I have never seen an angel, but I hope I do
'Cause I think from what I've heard, they look like you
They Look Like You
What a day it's gonna be when those mothers tell their children why
Why daddy's never coming home to them, 'cause he had to die
What a day it's gonna be when the nation sees those children cry
For the spirts of their fathers who were heroes in America's sky
What a day it's gonna be when they're old enough to understand
That day back in September and what happened to their old man
What a day it's gonna be when those kids hold their heads up high
And say, "My daddy is a hero, and his spirit's in America's sky
Oh, what a day it's gonna be
Oh, what a day it's gonna be
What a day it was when that devil was denied
By the hands of the men who pulled him from America's sky
Oh, what a day it's gonna be
Oh, what a day it's gonna be
What a day it's gonna be when those kids teach the golden rule
They'll have a better explanation than the one that's always taught in school
What a day it's gonna be when they say, "My daddy had to die,
But he did unto others as they did to him in America's sky."
Oh, what a day it's gonna be
Oh, what a day it's gonna be
What a day it was when that devil was denied
By the hands of the men who pulled him from America's sky
Oh, what a day it's gonna be
Oh, what a day it's gonna be
America's Sky
If ever a day was called the one to remember,
This one's on top of that hill
'Cause I'll look back upon today
And remember what it's like when time stands still
I swear that I see Father Time
Smiling at what he sees
And as he looks our way, he says,
"Keep smiling, today's on me."
And so it goes, we set the stage
For tomorrow and how it will arrive
It may not wait on you or I
But it will remember, and with envy, watch our lives
I swear that I see Father Time
Smiling at what he sees
And as he looks our way, he says,
"Keep smiling, today's on me."
I swear that I see Father Time
Smiling at what he sees
And as he looks our way, he says,
"Keep smiling, today's on me."