Days Without Names - 2026
Hit Me Like a Memory
Daddy was a billboard attorney
Til mama drove drunk and never woke up on the gurney
By the time the boy left
There wasn’t much left to leave.
He got a scholarship to go fight overseas
Majored in liquor with a minor in amphetamines
When they brung him back, there wasn’t much left to bring.
CHORUS
Can you hear the crack of the wishbone, honey?
It’s hope, the kind that drags you out to sea.
So kiss me like a tombstone, honey
Hit me like a memory, like a memory
One morning there she was in his bed
He asked if she was real and she just grinned and said
“Honey if you have to ask
You won’t never know.”
Soon they were saving for a mortgage and colleges
But he’d shut his mouth and dive into the bottle again
He drove her away, until one day, she just drove away.
Now he got a studio apartment out by the interstate
With a television and a hot plate
But to tell you the truth, he don’t eat much these days
He spends his nights watchin cars drive by
Tryin to see the drivers in case ones got her eyes
Says I’m hoping to see her, looking for me too
But I never do. At least I haven’t yet.
Jessie Lee
Ain’t no sky between the rain
Ain’t no sugar on the cane
Ain’t no salt in the sea
Cuz you ain’t with me.
CHORUS
Jessie Lee, Jessie Lee come away with me
Jessie Lee, Jessie Lee come away with me
Get up outta your rocking chair
Shake the curlers outta your hair
And come away with me
I got a needle but I ain’t got no thread
I got a mind but I lost my head
I got a body and I got a bed
Yea, but you ain’t with me.
You got a job for to pay your bills
You got a man up on the company hill
You got dead flowers on your windowsill
Yea, cuz you ain’t with me
dropping helicopters
I remember when you remembered me.
Alone now with these memories: our sunbaked blacktop games,
screen doors slamming on days without names.
Dropping helicopters, spinning round and round
smoking stolen cigarettes, dreaming bout leaving this town
Come back with me. Come back with me
My old friend, I’ll miss you till the end.
Every dawn’s just yesterday fading away
That’s the price of every breath you take
I tried to get you help, you said to go to hell
So I just walked away
The world’s got a funny way
Of taking everything away, eventually
whether it’s free or kept under lock and key.
I chose the road
You chose the needle that doesn’t sew
And found out just how much goes in an overdose
Now you’re never comin back with me
I guess that this is the end
Step Lightly
Through the window clouds mirror on the silk of the lake
Like the silk of your dress pours like milk, pools like rain
Round your feet like a halo thrown down on my floor
Footsteps toward the bed, like a wave sliding into the shore
Step lightly you’re dancin in my heart
Step lightly you're dancin on my heart
Better to never love than to love and lose
If losin means losin you
So don't start, don’t start. But if you start,
Step lightly, you're dancing on my heart
I wake alone the rain running down the windowpane
The pines they twist In the wind, the pain of wonderin what might’ve been
Maybe it’s all I’m worth: just a night of love
But any time it rains, I'll see your eyes in the sky up above
So don’t start. Don't start. But if you start
Step lightly you're dancing on my heart
Country Blues
Baby said “c’mon lets move out to the country”
“Leave the city?!” I said “Hell no!”
Yes sir, I went and I put my foot down
So the very next day, well, away we go
Oh, I moved out to the country I hate it here, it’s plain to see
Til I see them bright lights of the city
Lord I know what’ll happen to me
CHORUS:
I’m gonna blow blow blow - ooooo my fuckin head off
If I gotta stay out here just one more day
So let’s go go goooooo - had just about enough
I’m goin back to the city today
Out Here we got a strip mall from the seventies
Everybody goes to bed at nine in the P
Gotta drive the bar, then try to drive home
Oh get me back to the city I know... Or
In the city every day is halloween
Party at the gay bar sniffin ketamine
Break into an old abandoned factory
Climb to the roof just to see all you can see
If I can’t get back to that city
Lord I know what’ll happen to me
I’m goin back to the city today
I’m goin back to the city okay
I’m goin back to the city by the bay
My hands they hunger
When our cries in the night have turned to sighs
Our tired eyes can’t stay sleep’s tide
Curl inside the crook of my neck
I’ll hold you tight until the sunrise.
CHORUS
My hands they hunger to hold you
To keep you warm all through the night
My hands they hunger to hold you
So you can sleep right by my side
On the nights that you aren’t home
Cold grips the sheets that you once warmed
I’ll dream your head’s resting on the empty pillowcase
I’ll breathe deep in case your perfume left a trace
Sleep my darling, Sleep so near
Sleep my darling, Dontcha have no fear
C’mon and sleep right by my side,
You can count your sheep right by my side
Free Whiskey
I told the boss that he could shove it today
And I celebrate the old fashioned way
I bought rounds til my money ran out
Spent my last dime when I heard the bartender shout
CHORUS
Free whiskey - Whiskey’s on the house
Free whiskey - By the bottle or the ounce
That’s Free whiskey rounds til the sun comes out
Ladies and gents I got the pleasure to announce: Free whiskey!
Whiskey’s on the house
Tomorrow wake up face down on the floor
Cars on the lawn, keys in the door
Don’t know how i’m gonna pay my bills
But I know a place where I can drink my fill of
Free Whiskey! Whiskey’s on the house
Free Whiskey! Oh, into your glass or straight up into your mouth
Free Whiskey! Lord, pour the whiskey for me
Free Whiskey! Whiskey getcha higher than your THC
Little Great Depression
Well, you’ve heard of the Great Depression
Back in nineteen twenty and nine?
Jobs were scarce, and men like me
We stood on the old bread line.
You’ve heard of the Great Depression
Ridin rails and drinkin jug wine?
Well I’ve got me a little version of it
Crashing around my mind.
CHORUS:
Oh there’s a little Great Depression
Crashing round my mind.
No reason that it’s come
But now it’s here all the time.
There’s a run on the banks behind my eyes
And all my checks are declined
Oh there’s a little Great Depression
Crashing round my mind.
Men in my head are jumping outta windows
Plantin seeds but the wheat won’t grow
Can’t get happy even on loan
The bankman said it’s time to foreclose
Maybe I’ll get me a new deal
Or get a shrink and just take some pills
Might be happy again someday
Drinkin whiskey from the still
But till that day when the pain goes away
Please treat me a little more kind
Cuz there’s a little Great Depression
Crashing round my mind
Yes a little Great Depression
Crashing round my mind.
Oh! My Only Enemy
They’re selling tattoos door to door
You remind me of the ocean floor
Calm and dark during a hurricane
Your quiet smile, a ghost in the rain
My heart is like a tideless sea
Patient as a memory
My heart is like a tideless sea
Oh my only enemy
They’re cutting my hair one hair at a time
Saying goodbye is the oldest crime
They’re kissin statues of the gods
One last cigarette before the firing squad
Oh my only enemy
I’m my only enemy
Lose a Fight
Hold your hand to my cheek
Run your comb through my hair
Help me dear, to tie my tie
It’s time to go and lose a fight
CHORUS
Comes a time, comes a time
Comes a time, comes a time
I’ve gone to go and lose a fight
Gone to go and lose a fight
I know you need me to hold you
So you can fall asleep, slide into the deep
But once in a life, you got to lose a fight
Maybe I’ll see you when it’s over
With everyone who lost before
Maybe I’ll hold you in the bright and dancing light
Maybe I’ll just sing the saddest songs tonight.
Wicked Heart
Cool water drunk from the hose
Chickens white and pecking in the road
The bath of heat from the sun upon my hands
Live simply with me on this land
CHORUS:
When my wicked heart finds peace
When the battle cries all cease
Asleep your cheek will lay on my chest
Rise and fall with my breath
When my wicked heart finds rest
A cup of broth when the night grows cool
Toads croakin in the creekbend pool
Moonlight glistens through your hair’s dark strands
Live simply with me on this land
I thirst for you
More than the fields thirst for rain
More than there’s stars in the heavens, and the fields got grains
More than the sea’s got sand, live with me simply on this land.
Skeletone Machine - 2022
Kingdom Come With Me
Shake down Chicago // Break down Tennessee
I got the fire, sweet baby // C’mon and play with me
Come on down to kingdom come with me
Daddy momma don’t know // What they can’t see
Slide down to the street sweet baby // C’mon and dance with me
You stole the soul // Right outta my eyes
Storms comin baby // Let’s ride it out all night
Rain Catch Flame
You gotta kiss that tastes like a pistol // Let my fingers braid round your shoulder blades
Strap your leather coat close to your throat // Gonna smoke so hot, you just might choke
You make the rain catch flame
You’re the pearl under my tongue
Gonna dance til the storm is done
You make the rain catch flame
I’m wearing dimes on my eyes // The city’s on stage but has forgotten its lines
The buildings are all holding their breath // Storm’s coming in wearing a leather dress
You got the moon in the palm of your hand // Your the leader of the skeleton band
Pearl handled, an iron rose // You’re the queen of forever road
Riding On Into the Light
I drag my body up off your floor // That’s where I poured it the night before
Morning comes, like it always does // Ain’t nothing been the same since the war
Oh, but this old train keeps riding Riding on into the night
Riding on up into the light
Now the train don’t come to the station // The windows ain’t got no glass
The boys are all hiding from the fire in the sky // Well, they’re hiding under the grass
There’s men who talk about freedom // To the boys tied to the chairs
Ain’t no freedom in this here Garden of Eden // Just the jackboots coming up the back stairs
Skeletone Machine
I’m seein my picture flicker on a telephone pole // Sky’s crackin it’s eyes the color of coal
Seein everywhere with an electric stare // Weaving wires up into your hair
Every day is like a fist fight with a lightning strike
Bleedin gasoline, skeletone machine
Cross my heart, oh don’t tell me no lies // Stick a needle up into the digital sky
Is the devil in my pocket or in my mind? // Is the devil in my wallet or in my eyes?
Where does the machine end and where do I begin again?
Shakedown in the street
Ain’t no peace in the valley
Ain’t no bone ain’t no meat
Til we get up and take what’s coming
With a shakedown in the street
CHORUS:
We gonna shake til the levee done break
We gonna shake til the levee done break
We gonna shake til the levee done break
Shakedown in the street
Shining bullets in their smiles
Looking to the shields and running back for miles
Keep on running, we’re gonna get what’s coming
With a shakedown in the street
Your telephone don’t stop no lead
Lookin to the devil turnin your eyes straight red
They gonna get what’s coming to em Lord
With a shakedown in the street
Soft Soft Sea
Oh lay me down in the soft, soft sea
Carry me away to the lonesome deep
I need rest, my way’s been weary
So lay me down in the soft, soft sea
Oh tuck me in to this hole in the earth
Give my warmth back to the dirt
Scatter seeds in the land above me
So I can give shade when you visit my grave
Since you've been gone the moon don't rise
the sun don't shine
I learned the price of anger and strife
That price is my life
Ride out the night
Climbed into a bottle
Tossed into the sea
Washed up on your shore
with a message right inside of me
Don’t close your eyes
Stay awake
Ride out the night with me
Now all you mother’s sons
and alla daddy’s dears
Lend me alla your ears
I gotta message for my baby for all you to hear
I wrote a love song on my body
I cut a love song into my body
I grew a love song in my body
I wanna give you alla my body
Baby you’re the rain
and I’m a seed
And with your kiss
I'm gonna spread my leaves
Together with you baby
I’m gonna rise, rise, rise, and rise
Love You more
I’m an empty bottle
just a box of broken parts
And all these songs
are just echoes of your heart
I lift my cup to your eyes
drink the light that pours out
You flutter down to my shoulders
Your whispers sing from my mouth, and they sing
Chorus:
I’ll hold you like the sky holds the moon
Like the sea holds the shore I will love you more
I’ll hold you like the sky holds the moon
Like the sea holds the shore I will love you more
Weave my fingers, tie them to your hair
Wrap me like a gift, carry me anywhere
I’ll burn my body on the fire of your eyes
So my soul can smoke and rise out into the night, singing....
My muse, my muse, I’m sick with loving you
You’re the song that sings, the bell that rings, the bird set wing
And when you’re gone I’ll sing into the dawn
Through the night so black, the deepest crack, I’ll bring you back
Stained Glass Eyes
Bring me my hat
my boots and a light
I’m goin out
for the last time tonight
Baby you know what’s outside that door
But I can’t but shine my light,
for the last time tonight
Look on yonder wall
Hand me down my daddy’s name
I worn it out over many long years
But after tonight it’ll shine like a flame
CHORUS
Bye bye baby
Oh bye and bye
Good bye sweet baby
Well I’ll miss you so
but I can’t but go
And when they ask you to tell em my story
Don’t let my name die with my body, oh no
You take my songs
my love and my gun
You ride on out to the morning sun
Wipe them tears from your stained glass eyes
Go on out the back girl
go on and fly fly fly fly
CHORUS
Money comes and money goes
Said love’s the same,
well so I been told
But on that last night
when I stood up right
I shined so bright and raged against the dying of the light
Still Lookin for you
I swum seas I don’t know the name of
Seen glaciers smoke away their ice
I seen trees burst into flame
I seen tough old men cry
Still I’m looking
I’m still looking
I’m still looking for you
I seen a woman jump from a roof
Seen death hungry and loose
I seen killin in my true love’s eyes
And yea, I’ve seen young fighting boys die
I played guitar to wheat in fawn
Shot me a pack full of ducks
I got arrested on the streets of Chicago
Didn't have more than a couple of bucks
Well I found brothers and sisters too
Yea and I was born with a few
Seen em run up a bruisey old track
Seen my brother break his back
Slept in the dirt of an old horse corral
Slept in the debutante’s suite
Slept on the beach of the Indian Ocean
Yea, but I dream of hearing your heart beat
I seen my own bones through tears in my skin
Drunk champagne in chateaux
I gone to bed with the queen of California
Told my true love to go on and go
I poured blood from my boots
I washed blood from my fists
I stared for hours at a white bedroom wall
And yea, I looked hungry at my wrists
And when I find you, maybe you’ll save me
Yea, but you probably won’t
You’ll probably wonder why I’m digging this hole
Might cry when I can’t get out
Singles Etc 2018-2024
One Way Ticket on a Pine Box Train (2024)
Jump up outta your coffin
You jump up outta your grave
Goin south to swim in the mouth
of the river where the devil gets paid
You drink a glass of rain
You drink a glass of rain
You ain’t gonna feel no pain
You get your one way ticket
Up on a pine box train
I got devils in my bones
I got fire on my stone
Bone moon sleeping ‘tween the rain
in the city at the end of the edge
of a blade
Who's hunting who now baby
C’mon and get free yea
And when the white queen plays the ace of lead, I said
Off with the mad king’s head
Off with the mad king’s head
Off with the mad king’s head
Listen to me now I said
Off with the mad king’s head
Fever Dance (2024)
Rusty doors on a mobile home
Dusty eyes staring down a mobile phone
Arms like a night sky
Of needle holes
She dance the fever dance
Singin about a fever dream
With a chestnut mane
And a tail of flame
The night knows your name
Dust blowin cross that churchhouse floor
Mama’s in the back but she don’t live here no more
She’s shining spoons
Just to sweep em underneath the door
White Devils behind their white house doors
White thousands jumpin cheering for more
White moon don’t pay no mind
She’s seen it all before
Desaparecidos (2018)
You done asked if they can fly
You done seen if they don’t burn
Wondered if they was bulletproof
Get your answers in your turn
CHORUS:
Desaparecidos
Knockin at your front door
Pick the money out your teeth
Pick the teeth from your comb
Pick the bandoleers out your chandeliers
Desaparecidos they comin home
Bone men, they done dancing
Round the old mans throne
Diamonds turning right back down into coal
Desaparecidos, they comin home
Desaparecidos
Knockin at your front door