1.Buffalo
The summer months
left me alone
But the fall rolled in
on the back of a storm
In the night you and I drove
Have you ever seen
lightning and snow？
All these weeks
without a note
It's like a ticking clock
Every time that you phone
I've run aground
truth be told
And when it comes to me
I'll let you know
Don't be like that
Don't be like that
Just my luck an Irish rose
In a drinking hole
I'd played
a thousand one shows
What you need is
to just go home
And when it comes to you
Don't leave it alone
Don't be like that
Don't be like that
Up ahead the roads
were closed
And the Gennys ran
most of Buffalo
The customs man
at border control
Said yes you can go
But you won't make it home
Don't be like that
Don't be like that
Don't be like that
Don't be like that
2.The Cheapest Key
A is for all the times
I bit my tongue
B is for bullshit
and you fed me some
C is for charity
and now you're mine
D is for dollars
but you're counting dimes
E is the exit sign
backstage at shows
F is my favourite letter,
as you know
G is for God loves
a patient man
Who spends his days
living in ego-land
You always write it
in the cheapest key
You always blame it
on the cheapest key
You always play me
in the cheapest key
They say the start's always
the hardest part
But like you know, baby,
I'm all warmed up
Sometimes I want to
shout your name out loud
And let them in on
what you're all about
You always write it
in the cheapest key
You always blame it
on the cheapest key
You always play me
in the cheapest key
Don't write me off
Here comes my softer side
And there it goes
'Cause I've been on the road
too long to sympathize
With what you think
you're owed
You always write it
in the cheapest key
You always blame it
on the cheapest key
You always play me
in the cheapest key
3.Asking for Flowers
It's complicated
Technically I'm certified
A walking declaration
Of everything
I couldn't get right
Time is just an anchor
But 7 years
I think I'm right
Now you've changed
your number
It's like a noose
around my life
Every pill I took in vain
Every meal for you I made
Every penny I put away
Asking for flowers
Is like asking you
to be nice
Don't tell me
you're too tired
10 years I've been
working nights
My life is like
a picture left
Out too long in the sun
Now I'm trying
to remember all
The faces of the names
i've loved
And all that's left
of me now is
A cigarette burning bright
And a fading memory
of all the things
I tried to get right
Every pill I took in vain
Every meal for you I made
Every penny I put away
Asking for flowers
Is like asking you
to be nice
Don't tell me
you're too tired
10 years I've been
working nights
Every pill I took in vain
Every meal for you I made
Every bill I went and paid
Every card I signed my name
Every time I poured
my heart out
Every threat you made
to move out
Every cruel word you
let just slip out
Every cruel word you
let just slip out
Asking for flowers
Is like asking you
to be nice
Don't tell me
you're too tired
10 years I've been
working nights
Don't tell me
you're too tired
10 years I've been
working nights
4.Alicia Ross
I am a girl with
a forgettable face
No matter my colour,
no matter my name
At work there is a boy
and he treats me well
My old friends
from high school,
I see them around
August is here
I can't believe how fast
Soon there will be winter
and snow on the ground
Maybe by then I could
get my own place
Closer to the city
if that's ok
But Mamma, can you feel me
As I dragged on
my day's last cigarette
He pulled me so hard off my
Very own back door steps
And he laid me in his garden
All the years
i've watched him tend
And then he took me, Mamma
So I could never
tell you about it
Inside of this moment
there are
Things I wish I could know
Like my ring size,
your ring size,
And the hour I was born
My dad's middle name,
your favourite song
Was your darkest day
as dark as this one？
Mamma, can you feel me？
As I dragged on
my day's last cigarette
He pulled me so hard off my
Very own back door steps
And he laid me in his garden
All the years
i've watched him tend
He took me, Mamma
So I could never
tell you about it
Now I'm a girl who's face
they'll never forget
5.I Make the Dough,You Get the Glory
Blazing a trail
to the southern cities
From the streets
of our hometown
Basement bars we played
from the heart
In the company
of our friends
If I write down
these memories
That I have saved away
Photographs of the years
that passed
Inside my little brain
You're cool and
cred like Fogerty
I'm Elvis Presley
in the 70's
You're Chateauneuf,
I'm Yellow Label
You're the buffet
I'm just the table
I'm a Ford Tempo
you're a Maserati
You're the Great One,
I'm Marty mcsorley
You're the Concorde,
I'm economy
I make the dough
but you get the glory
Big fish small pond
and some cover songs
We sang along the way
We used to midnight run
to the Vesta Lunch
Cheeseburgers and
chocolate shakes
Once I got drunk with Jeff
I told him I was
in love with you
But I love you
like a brother
So at least
half of it was true
You're cool and
cred like Fogerty
I'm Elvis Presley
in the seventies
You're Chateauneuf,
I'm Yellow Label
You're the buffet
I'm just the table
I'm a Dodge Sparkle,
you're a Lamborghini
You're the Great One,
I'm Marty mcsorley
You're the Concorde,
I'm economy
I make the dough,
but you get the glory
If I write down
these memories
That I have saved away
Photographs of the years
that passed
Inside my little brain
I'm sure it's been said
in the finer print
You make me look legitimate
Heavy rotation on the CBC
Whatever in hell
that really means
You're cool and
cred like Fogerty
I'm Elvis Presley
in the 70's
You're the Concorde
I'm economy
I make the dough,
but you get the glory
you get the glory
you get the glory
6.Oil Man's War
Bobby wished he was
from the past
He said those cars
they used to drive
were the best
I know that I'm a simple man
Even my dreams
I deserve to have
Annabel had plans of her own
She said there's no way
in hell I'm going home
Mamma says she
always knows best
God love her,
but her life is a mess
I won't change my mind
So keep your hand
on my thigh tonight
When we get up north
We'll buy us a store
I won't fight
in an oil man's war
Bobby bought a
brand new suit
From his neighbour bought
round toe shoes
Stuffed the money down
in his socks
On his way he bought
a wrist corsage
Annie was scared to death
She'd never once in her life
laid with a man
But she knew it was
his only chance
She bought a white dress
second hand
I won't change my mind
Keep your hand
on my thigh tonight
When we get up north
We'll buy us a store
I won't fight
in an oil man's war
You can't say it's
just a matter of pride
I've been living here
since I was a child
And now I'm just
a simple man
But even my dreams
I deserve to have
I won't change my mind
Keep your hand
on my thigh tonight
When we get up north
We'll buy us a store
Live upstairs after
the kids are born
And I'm not gonna die
So keep your hand
on my thigh tonight
'Cause when we get up north
we'll buy us a store
I won't fight
in an oil man's war
I won't fight
in an oil man's war
7.Sure as Shit
Choosing my words carefully
Has never been my strength
I've been known to be vague
And often pointless
But you sure as shit know me
Better than anybody else
And for that in my heart
I am hopeful
So I helped you
pack your bags
And I folded up
your snap shirts
When you come back
It will already
be the winter
If you look at other girls
Working out in the nighttime
I don't mind but
I don't want to know it
And these years that
I have known you
It's gone and
blurred my sense of time
Now I can hardly even recall
What came before this
Letters left on pillows
Messages left on phones
Postcards in the mail
When we sent them
Cobwebs all collected
Paintings on the walls
Lounging around all day
In a hot pink
chenille housecoat
And the secrets
that I whispered
In your ear while
you were sleeping
You can call to mind
when you're
Out in the world without me
Oh the denim king
Oh the denim king
I sure as shit do love you
And I cuss because
I mean it
And for that in my heart
I am hopeful
And these words
that I chose
I was so careful
8.Run
Oh, my child 30 years today
You came into my life
And everything changed
If there's one thing
I tried to teach you
Girl, don't you
waste your time
Come this September
You'll be somebody's wife
I won't paint a picture
Of what you want to see
Love is the harder times
Take it from me
I would run down the lane
And into the night
Run so fast I swear
my feet would fly
Run from my babies asleep
in their beds
Run from my lover
and my best friend
And back again
I've tried so hard
to hold on to
Ever since that day
You and your brother
left for school
They say just over that hill
The fog rolled in
Come quick doctor
We think somebody's
been killed
I have been a healer
Of other people's pain
I know sometimes
you don't like
The ways i've changed
But the smell of the world
came into my lungs
The sound of the gravel
when my legs went numb
And my heart nearly burst
right out of my chest
And it felt so good to know
I wasn't dead
I would run down the lane
And into the night
Run so fast I swear
my feet would fly
Run from my babies asleep
in their beds
Run from my lover
and my best friend
And back again
And back again
All of this courage
9.Oh Canada
Oh Canada
I stand on guard for a lot
But just last week
a white girl was shot
Outside a shopping mall
Yeah, it's written
in the press
That your sweet little town
Has lost its innocence
It's not the year of the gun
We don't say it out loud
There are no headlines
When a black girl dies
It's not the lack of a sense
It's called ambivalence
All still in their lanes
Under rush hour lights
There's one head to a car
But you act so surprised
When the snow don't come
You can't swim in the lakes
Now it's hotter than hell
In a bed you won't make
It's not the lack of a sense
It's called ambivalence
Up on the hill
Is the best real estate
Just to get in
You have to sell off
your faith
'Cause in the valley below
There is crack
and young girls
But you don't
have to believe
What stays out of your world
It's not the year of the gun
We don't say it out loud
There are no headlines
When a black girl dies
It's not the lack of a sense
It's called ambivalence
10.Scared at Night
As a child I would
wake up at night
I was scared,
but I kept real quiet
Shadows on the walls
moving in on me
Underneath my sheets
I could barely breathe
Your room was only
just across the hall
All it would have taken
was a single call
Maybe sometimes you've
got to trust yourself
Not to scream out loud
and run like hell
Believe me
All the days you're unsure
Believe in me
I don't want to anymore
In the dark
Picture me in your mind
And i'll lay with you
You don't have to
be scared at night
As a young man
you were shooting rats
By accident you hit
the farmyard cat
He ran for the fields and
Came back the next day
You had blown out his eye
And you could see his brain
Your dad said 'Boy,
there are some things in life.
You don't want to do
but you know is right.
So take him out back
and finish him off.'
You got your gun
off the shelf
It only took one shot
Believe me
All the days you're unsure
Believe in me
I don't want to anymore
In the dark
Picture me in your mind
And i'll lay with you
So you don't have to
be scared at night
I flew to Winnipeg
on your final day
They said that you waited
until I came
We sang your favourite hymns
And we held your hand
You took your final breath
and that was that
But I'd never seen
a person die before
I tried so hard not to cry,
you know
Maybe sometimes we've got
to trust ourselves
That when you die you
go someplace else
Believe me
All the days you're unsure
Believe in me
I don't want to anymore
In the dark
Picture me in your mind
And i'll lay with you
So you don't have to
be scared at night
You don't have to
be scared at night
You don't have to
be scared at night
11.Goodnight,California
You know what I wish？
It was just you and me
Sitting in this corner bar
You can tell me how you are
I'm not going to lie
Or anything
You don't even have to speak
If you keep looking at me
I could go all night
But they're
turning up the lights
It would be so easy
To do or say anything
But I'm not going to lie
Or anything
I won't let you in my heart
But you are always
on my mind
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