Beautiful and Tall

a girl is tucked inside her pretty bed
the memory of childhood lies not far beneath her head
perfume pillows and pictures on the wall
and all else in the room stands beautiful and tall

there's a split up with the family and the girl stays home—with mom
she tells the girl that daddy's done and gone
the girl forgets what self-worth is and tries to please them all
but with each attempt she loses faith in being beautiful and tall

chorus :
(and she says) "let's get out of town tonight
let's wear formal gowns and spend a bit too much tonight
let's throw back and have a laugh
let's talk debutante and gossip 'bout the loves that did not last"

she's got lots of lonely lovers hangin around her lovely necklace
and they're all such pretty boys
"can I take you for a ride in my backseat
well, I'm sorry darlin, but if you can't play that game
then you best get back off the street"
and she says...

she's a pretty darlin and she's never gonna be the same
she doesn't even recall his name anymore

so the girl is but a figment of her mind
the pillow still remains another memory of her time
the photos faded despite their wooden frames
a tiredness surrounds her brittle bones
but the beauty still remains

Hurricane

Old Habits, 1999
Music & Lyrics by Travis Allison

battered up my brain again last night
came home and hit the floor
turned the tv off I'd left the night before
close my eyes still wanting more
but we will always look for something
time marches on as I wait to find my hurricane

now it's been dry for days
isn't any life around that I can see
I need a little bit of someone who can wash me away clean
but it's as dry as I have seen
but we will always look for something
time marches on as I wait to find my hurricane

I need a little bit of thunder
need a little bit of rain
don't want to step on toes
don't want to play no games
need something to satisfy
I just need to quench my thirst
and if you open up your arms I will be there first

everybody's got a palette they can pick your colors from
today a staff of notes comes chasing me
I need a little bit of melody to wash me away clean
let the storm come make me free

River

Old Habits, 1999
Music by Travis Allison
Lyrics by Wes & Travis Allison

the river nymph she dances
ripples laughing, beckoning to me
I tear my clothes off on her bank,
her current sets me

free naked in her body I lie
feet downstream, head up high
she makes me oh so very light
lovely river, make me yours tonight

let the river soothe and groove me
let her rehydrate my soul
dance across my body
feel the river’s rhythm roll

there are mountains up above
the higher I climb, the more I feel of her love
is it never-ending
lady river she’s soul-mending

hippie chic do your dancing in the sun
making love in the flowers at your feet
hippie chic do your dancing just for fun
you make me warm and happy.

Same Things

Old Habits, 1999
Music & Lyrics by Travis Allison

he's gonna need some luck, but he doesn't think he does
he thinks it's all just a matter of time
he doesn't know despair, he hasn't met his share
but he sure will, I would bet my dime

i always like to see a good dream
in the eyes of another human being
that seems to cut through all the bullshit
and all the material things of our time help redefine
what a mess we can be when we are full of it

Chorus:
we all want the same things
but, if we can't agree will we get there at all?
we all sometimes fit in the same shoes
no matter how strong sometimes we fall

he never needed much, now he needs someone to touch
some things we have are easy to abuse
i try to take a little more time
these days can peel your rind
just when you bet high you draw a deuce

so he steers his ship to sea and just when you think he's free
pirate lightening rods pin him to the bone
i guess nature's shrewd as man
sometimes when it hits the fan
it's the only true thing that you've ever known

Chorus

and the hardest part of this is the silence
that keeps screaming aloud
fire on the horizon
do we have to blow up to speak out?

Chorus:
and we all want the same things
but, if we can't agree will we get there at all?
we all sometimes fit in the same shoes
no matter how strong sometimes we fall