Farther ShoresSongs that look past the moment.
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#1: Changes Video: Changes A wizard walks the earth. And throws the I Ching. Bimini Road performs. |
Old Forrest threw the I Ching, Said it would be the last time He was tired of following a line that had expired The sticks fell down like lightning And they came up like an axe What it said was frightening And it didn't even ask If he wanted to go that a-way Changes don't give him any say He hoped that there were wizards Hiding in the earth And a giant lizard Ourobouros, no rebirth But all he found were rivers One foot in at a time And he didn't think a river Could ever make his life shine But he wanted to go that a-way Changes don't give him any say He had a staff of oak And a pack upon his back But he took it for a joke For there was one thing that he lacked That was the ancient secret Someone forgot to write it down Now, there are no secrets The truth in life he's found And he wanted to go that a-way Changes don't give him any say * 2011 Chuck Puckett |
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#2: Old MacNeal Video: Old McNeal Michael MacNeal is absolutely one of a kind. He's just like this song describes him. Performed by Bimini Road. And one other thing: this song is a LOT of fun to play! |
Ol' MacNeal, steaming and a-rolling
Ol' MacNeal, with his bottle in his hand
Ol' MacNeal, thinking that he's something
Takes his trip to the promised land
Friday night rolls along,
Mike MacNeal he sings his song
Takes that whiskey from the shelf,
Drinks it down, boys, all hisself
Later on, that same night
He'll be going strong, strong allright
Morning comes, find a bed,
Later on, he’s singing "my poor head"
Takes it slow 'till he knows his pace
The hell breaks out all over the place
One good shot is all he needs
Take your cut, boys, see it bleed
He’s a crazy man they all say
Gets crazier each and every day
Look out on the ragged mountain edge
It's Mike MacNeal on the mountain ledge
Last whistle, final call
One more round and boys that's all
Take your pleasure, take your grief
Come and see if you can find relief
Ah, but when that final call goes 'round
Mike NacNeil will be sneaking round
Do what you want, do what you feel
But don't you close this place on Mike MacNeal
If a man must go, he oughta go in style
You stop living when you rest awhile
Look out, baby, what do you see
When a man is lost in eternity?
But when that final call goes 'round
Mike NacNeil will be sneaking round
Do what you want, do what you feel
But don't you close this place on Mike MacNeal
© 2011 Chuck Puckett |
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#3: Fresh New Start Video: Fresh New Start Everyone wants a fresh start in life. Too bad, and anyway you can never go home again... |
I woke up this morning with my head hanging low
© 2015 Chuck Puckett |
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Video: Let Everybody Know Just a good time song. Rock out! Bimini Road performs. |
I wanna dance to the same old tunes
That I heard, baby, way back when
I wanna shake my body, though it's kinda shoddy Dance again like I did back then
I wanna let everybody know
That I'm ready to let it go
I wanna take everybody home Whoa, never leave 'em, no, never
leave 'em alone
I wanna shout those same old songs
That I sang when I was a child
I wanna lose my resistance, really go the distance Turn it loose and drive you wild
Yeah, shout about it, Don't pout about it No doubt about it
Just, can't live without it, No, no, no!
I'm gonna sweat and swing around
And forget my middle name
Gonna touch that button, never say we couldn't Never ever let it sound the same © 1992 Chuck Puckett |
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#5: Old Khayyam Video: Old Khayyam The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Khayyam wrote the words. I wrote the music. Fair enough. Bimini Road performs. |
O,
come with old Khayyam And leave the wise to talk For one thing is certain And the rest are lies, and you talk And one thing is certain Time flies! The rose that has bloomed once Now forever dies The moving finger writes And having writ, moves on You’ll not bring it back With clever wit, it’s gone You’ll try but you cannot Forget. And all your tears won’t Erase a word of it Ah, make the most of what We yet may spend before We turn into Dust There at the end it is just Dust unto Dust What then? No wine, no song, No singer, without end © 2004 Chuck Puckett |
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Video: Last Picture Song A song about mythical and mystical things. There is a reference to Faulker in there, if you can hear it. |
Along the path the runner stops
and sniffs the evening breeze There's something different he can tell, it puts him ill at ease. I smell the strangest scented smells, I feel the chilling gale The burning wood will not allow a wounded pride prevail. Holy, holy ground, a low a quiet sound Singing all around, singing all around. Beside the lake the hunters walk and Lion smells their fear They drink their whiskey then they sing songs you never hear I hear the strangest sounding songs, I feel the chilling wind No one alive can hear them now, I'll sing them all again. Inside the sun the eagles swim, determined not to rise Their wings are strong and filled with hope, but sorrow clouds their eyes. I see the strangest hollow hills, I feel the chilling air A band of light sits on my brow where none can ever stare Beyond the stars the trumpets play a tune for Gabriel He learned the changes years ago when he was lost in hell. I think the tune is sure to find a listener in this place I thought the same many years ago when I had lost my face. Gabriel picks the tempo up, he only needs the band A chorus sung for old times sake when someone gave a damn Holy, holy ground, a loud and rushing sound Singing all around, pieces breaking down, singing all around. © 1990 Chuck Puckett |
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Video: Seven Blue Horses It's kind of political, kind of angry. The title? "I See Seven Blue Horses". The cool chord is a C7. Get it? Bimini Road performs. |
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count my money, I count my pocket change Ain't got none on me still it don’t seem so strange Ain’t never had much, but Lord I just got to say I see seven blue horses coming home today Ain’t it peculiar, those people standing by the road They try to fool you to pickin up their part of the load Now I’m not lazy, but there’s got to be a better way I see seven blue horses coming home to day I’m so disgusted by all those stupid clowns They can’t be trusted, they’ll kick you when you’re on the ground Some folks are laughing but deep down I hear ‘em say They see seven blue horses coming home to day One horse is screaming and making no kind of sense One horse is dreaming of running for president One horse is thinking of going the other way I see seven blue horses coming home to day One horse is lying, one horse will steal you blind One horse is trying to make you think he’s not that kind Death & destruction and sorrow ‘til your dying day I see seven blue horses coming home to day © 2011 Chuck Puckett |
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#8: Sink Or Swim Video: Sink Or Swim Remember when Jacob wrestled the angel? I kinda remember. It gets fuzzy. Bimini Road performs. |
There’s a man by the western gate
Trying hard to stir up trouble
Saying all of this has been foretold But
it’s been hidden in the rubble
When I hear, “It’s been foretold” I
always get suspicious Of
those who want their prophecies Served up easy and delicious I
lay down upon some rocks As
I pondered about the matter I
don’t sleep too well when I’m stoned And
I dreamed about a ladder I
climbed way up but then fell down And
I sank without a ripple I
wrestled with this thought a while ‘Til it turned me into a cripple Out
here past the guard You
know that life is hard I
do what I can but things look grim
He’s got a sword in his hand No
one gets in the Promised Land Out
here the chance is slim Out here the only choice is sink or
swim I
went walking in the country
When I heard some churchyard choir I
tried going back the way I came But
they got me in a cross fire
They were praising God and Jesus All
the rest got pure damnation I
couldn’t remember which side I’m on It was an embarrassing situation
These are hard tales to tell
What’s the moral of the story? If
I thought I understood
Then I wouldn’t have to worry But
the scenes keep changing fast And
the curtain starts descending I
never figured out the plot Or got a chance to see the ending
There’s a map somewhere I know
That will tell me where I’m going
Been looking for it all my life You
see the hard part is the knowing
Knowing that this mystery Has
a logical solution
Knowing, but never finding clues That’s the source of my confusion I
finally woke up from my dream
Just in time to see an angel
Walking away all dressed in rags
They were sparkly and star-spangled I
called out, hoping she’d turn back
With a rational explanation She
turned around, but her eyes were blank And she had lost my fascination
Might as well just cash my chips
These are lousy cards I’m holding I
always stay with sinking ships If
I were smart, I’d be folding Out
here, where life is hard All
you do is take your chances
He’s a fool who tries to swim the tide And
believe in cheap romances
© 2010 Chuck Puckett |
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#9: Six Good Men Video: Six Good Men Seven horses. Six men. Yeah, but the men are carrying a casket. Bimini Road performs. |
Years spent dying for one day of
burying With six good men to carry me home Years spent dying for one day of burying With six good men to carry me home I was born in a one room shack Just about two feet from a railroad track Railroad whistle screaming in my brain Tin roof roared every time it rained Never seen nothing right in all my life Never had a single day that made me want to stay Years spent dying for one day of burying With six good men to carry me home Years spent dying for one day of burying With six good men to carry me home Mama died when I was a child Daddy was the one that made me wild Made me cuss and he made me hate Gonna kill that man before it's too late So I grew up mean, but I learned to love And I trusted a woman who gave me some Beat me down when she left my life Hurt so bad that I could not cry Ain't no love worth what I gave So I spend my years heading for my grave © 2011 Chuck Puckett |
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#10: Going Out To Ely Video: Going Out To Ely Ely is in Nevada. And I mean nowhere Nevada. Got stuck there for a hot minute while hitching one summer, back in the day. |
Tarnished leather holds this old
pack in place Stormy weather blowing them storm
winds in my face Road keeps going, don't know when it
might end Going out to Ely, going out to Ely
again Met a man in Abilene and he sold me
his soul Only needed two dollars: Lord, Lord
he sold it whole Don't take much anymore, no, not
anything at all Think about it sometimes, most times
I'm against the wall And I feel that old feeling Crawling higher in my bones And I need, I need forgiveness For all the nothings I have done My face is in creases, them western
winds they blow so hard Keep me going, soon enough I'll make
a start Heading out where ain't nobody ain't
no pain Going out to Ely, going out to Ely
again Tarnished leather holds this old
pack in place Stormy weather blowing them storm
winds in my face Road keeps going, don't know if I
want it to end Going out to Ely, going out to Ely
again © 2020 Chuck Puckett |