Dear Dead Days, by Kassi Valazza (2024)

1.

Like a broncy cayuse that never had no use I’m desperately fighting to ride all the time These hard working fingers they take some time to lingerOn that foolhardy man of mine I was hoping he’d be there at home But instead I just watched the lawn growBut I’m glad he can be where the winds blowing free So I followed him walking his pace In a wild and windy place Through rough rivers churning he left with no warning Cause they’re hard running critters and wild eyed quitters Kicking up all they can find That fool hardy man of mine That fool hardy man of mine My mind's too gentle a place for his rowdy and wounded face And I’m bleeding and stumbling and constantly fumbling at the end of the race So I guess I’ll just let the fool winCause this chasing gets ugly as sin And I’ll pull back the reins on the plans I had made Cause they’re hard running critters and wild eyed quitters Kicking up all they can findThat fool hardy man of mine That fool hardy man of mine

2.

Such a woman you have standing thereI’m a fool to compare Hands are shaky but I’m not surprisedBlood stains on my eyes Through my window what a glare I seeBroken windows never bothered me When bruises show they take their time But the pain it’s on your mind I feel It’s too late the grass has turned a lighter shadeOh pa won't you please bring me back bright colored leaves Springtime brings about the green amongst the trees A color like her eyes is shining Sunshine swallows every step she leaves behind And you got colors on your mind Juniper has come and gone this yearSoft whispers in my ear Broken promises she swore to keep That don't mean a damn to me Like picking daisies off your tongue Life's a gamble for you sonBut she never stopped to look you in the eyeYour a boring kind of lie I feel it’s too late the grass has turned a lighter shade Oh pa won't you please bring me back bright colored leaves

3.

How I pray the day will come when you can't make those fingers dance That guitar pickin’s made your thinkin’ weary of romance You play your little songs singing bout the love you gotBut picking aint the same as loving what you never lost You’re crying to yourself Its sad but it’s trueYou’re just a man who’s playin’ sad songs that he never knewWhen the day gets long and you’re all alone humming like you doLets try to hum a song that’s got less fiction and more truth Your desperation and displacement has me keeping scoreAnd listening to your singing has become a tired boreThat handsome face has lost all faithBut I can still see throughYou’re just a man who’s playin’ sad songs that he never knewYou’re not from Texas or New Orleans or from TennesseeAnd yet you sing about them and how they’re supposed to beStill it’s kind of funny how I fell for you at all With your guitar pickin’ fingers and your ego ten feet tallI guess that’s what it takes to make a woman see it throughYou’re just a man who’s playin’ sad songs that he never knewI guess that’s what it takes to make me feel the way I doYou’re just a man playin’ sad songs that you never knew

4.

Some bright piece of sunshine came tumbling throughcame rollin through my blinds todayWay out here in Chino where the river flows and the cattle growIt’s home but I can’t stay Farewell father I’ll be coming through once in a while Won’t you keep my room the same And I guess that I’ve been doing fine and I reckon I could ease my mind If my bills were paid My mother she left chino left ten years ago She went to Mexico And she hasn’t had much to say Some lousy desperado left her standing there She was unaware he weren’t coming back round her way Cheer up mother I’ll be coming through once in a whileWon’t you wear your hair the same And I reckon it’s been on your mind if i’m doing good If i’m doing fine I’m okay I left my mind in chino but I had to goThe clouds told me so So I left in search for rain But I miss the sunlight shining through my window paneAnd the way it made the rough soften on my face Cheer up Kassi I’ll be coming through once in whileWon’t you watch your window pane And I reckon it’s been on your mind if I’m doing goodIf I still shine Im okay

5.

Tommy was a wealthy man but Mary thought that she could standto wear his ring upon her hand somedayBut Tommy fell for Eloise and Mary fell upon her kneesMary never looked at love the same Oh how the time moves slower than twine In my fingers one two threeMary didn't know that the farther you goIt’s not quite as it seems Old John Carver aimed to please, his daughter was young EloiseA dowry of fine cattle did he bringBut famine came and starved the beasts and as for Tom and EloiseThey gambled their life savings away Oh how the time moves slower than twine In my fingers one two threeMary didn't know that the farther you goIt's not quite as it seems Old John Carver moved away, his cattle gone and turned astraySo mary bought that plot of land one dayWith tired hands she built a home as Tommy’s debt began to growUntil his life was all he had to payOh how the time moves slower than twineIn my fingers one two threeMary didn't know that the farther you goIt's not quite as it seems

6.

I’m running on empty again Your hand she takes like a friendShe pulls you away, and then I think I’m running on empty againHer eyes shine like the dewYour hand through her hair gently moves I try to not stare and try to not care but i'm running on empty again Running on empty again Though I try I just can't pretend I’ve spent all my nights sitting upright I'm running on empty again Her smile could make a man weepAs tears of joy fall down your cheekMy tongue I did bite and swallow that nightI’m running on empty again Don’t tell me I’m losing my headIt's you who don't come back to bedAre you worried you’ll speak her name in your sleep I’m running on empty again Running on empty again Though I try I just can't pretend I’ve spent all my nights sitting upright I'm running on empty again

7.

Johnny my dear you have come back home It’s taken it’s toll being left all aloneDon’t mind my face it has aged a bit, while your face looks the same I must admit Johnny my sweet won't you take a seat I haven’t seen your face in many years Is your hair still brownIs your heart weighed down Will you come home in the morningWhat tales have you for a woman such as meHave you seen the Rio Grande or the hills of Tennessee Did you think of me at all on your lonesome dreary drawlYou call my name in the morning Johnny my sweet won't you take a seat I haven’t seen your face in many years Is your hair still brownIs your heart weighed down Will you come home in the morningAs for me I’ve been craving company With the snow falling down there's nothing much to see Did you miss the snow falling did you hear me softly calling You call my name in the morning Johnny my sweet won't you take a seat I haven’t seen your face in many years Is your hair still brownIs your heart weighed down Will you come home in the morning

8.

I still don’t have a single clue by the way I feel tonightAnd I’m more than sure the flowers won't be bloomin’I pick up dust and I know I must be running far behind By the banks of the yellow verde river By the banks of the yellow verde riverI filled my pockets full of it’s gold And every stone upon the shore was glisteningAnd a single word could not be heard Years go by while I pass the time but I just can't seem to leaveIt’s hard enough just to keep myself from trying I think of all the people that have gone and past me byBy the banks of the yellow verde river By the banks of the yellow verde riverI filled my pockets full of it’s gold And every stone upon the shore was glisteningAnd a single word could not be heard I see my fair and freckled face in the water by my sideI’m smiling but the pain it still resides I laugh and cry and grin so wide you’d think I’d lost my mindBy the banks of the yellow verde river By the banks of the yellow verde riverI filled my pockets full of it’s gold And every stone upon the shore was glisteningAnd a single word could not be heard

9.