Montgomery Gentry Album

(J. Steele/C. Wallin)

There's a story that my daddy tells religiously
Like clockwork every time he sees an opening
In a conversation about the way things used to be
Well I'd just roll my eyes and make a bee-line for the door
But I'd always wind up starry-eyed, cross-legged on the floor
Hanging on to every word
Man, the things I heard

It was harder times and longer days
Five miles to school, uphill both ways
We were cane switch raised, and dirt floor poor
'Course that was back before the war
Yeah, your uncle and I made quite a pair
Flying F-15's through hostile air
He went down but they missed me by a hair
He'd always stop right there and say...

That's something to be proud of
That's a life you can hang your hat on
That's a chin held high as the tears fall down
A gut sucked in, a chest stuck out
Like a small town flag a-flyin'
Or a newborn baby cryin'
In the arms of the woman that you love
That's something to be proud of

So I'm graduatin' college, that was mama's dream
But I was on my way to anywhere else when I turned 18
Cuz when you gotta fast car you think you've got everything
I learned quick those GTO's don't run on faith
I ended up broken down in some town north of L.A.
Working maximum hours for minimum wage
Well, I fell in love, next thing I know
The babies came, the car got slow
I sure do miss that old hot rod
But you sure save gas in them foreign jobs
Dad, I wonder if I ever let you down
If you're ashamed how I turned out
Well, he lowered his voice, then he raised his brow
Said, lemme tell ya right now

That's something to be proud of
That's a life you can hang your hat on
You don't need to make a million
Just be thankful to be workin'
If you're doing what you're able
And putting food there on the table
And providing for the family that you love
That's something to be proud of

And if all you ever really do is the best you can
Well, you did it man

That's something to be proud of
That's a life you can hang your hat on
That's a chin held high as the tears fall down
A gut sucked in, a chest stuck out
Like a small town flag a-flyin'
Or a newborn baby cryin'
In the arms of the woman that you love
That's something to be proud of
That's something to be proud of
Yeah, that's something to be proud of
That's something to be proud of

(Steve Fox/Robin Branda)

His cows get loose and run right thru the fast food parking lots
And Daddy gets calls from the mini-malls 
when they're downwind from his hogs. 
When his tractor backs up traffic, the reception ain't too warm. 
The city's growing around him, but Daddy won't sell the farm. 

You can't roll a rock, up a hill that steep.
You can't pull roots when they run that deep.
He's gonna live and die, in the eye of an urban storm.
Daddy won't sell the farm. 

He worked and slaved in '68, he bought these fields and trees.
He raised his corn and a big red barn and a healthy family.
He learned to love the woodlands, he can't stand to do them harm. 
There's concrete all around him, but Daddy won't sell the farm. 

You can't roll a rock, up a hill that steep.
You can't pull roots when they run that deep.
He's gonna live and die, in the eye of an urban storm.
Daddy won't sell the farm. 

One day he's gonna leave it all to me and I'll start my own branch of the
family tree. They'll get the message written on the roof of the barn,
Daddy 
won't sell the farm. 

You can't roll a rock, up a hill that steep.
You can't pull roots when they run that deep.
He's gonna live and die, in the eye of an urban storm.
Daddy won't sell the farm. 

We're gonna live and die, in the eye of an urban storm. 
Daddy won't sell the farm.

from "We Were Soldiers" Soundtrack

Didn't I make you proud
Go and lay my life down
When you called my name
I thought I stood for something
Was doing the right thing when I went away
Now being back should be so simple
But I keep getting mixed signals from everyone
Why do people sit and judge me
Who I ain't seen what I seen or did what I've done

Didn't I burn,didn't I bleed enough for you
I faced your fears
Felt pain so you won't have to
Ya didn't I do my best
And wasn't home here when I left

I've seen boys fall to pieces
Grown men cry out for Jesus
Til there black and blue
I thought God was on your side
Weren't we suppose to be the good guys
That would never lose
Cause I don't see no ticker tape or five mile parades
Sayin "Thank You son"
Just folks that sit and judge me
Who ain't seen or did what I've done

Didn't I burn,didn't I bleed enough for you
I faced your fears
Felt the pain so you won't have to
Ya didn't I do my best

[No lyrics]

I just got paid today
Got me a pocket full of change
I said, "I just got paid today
Got me a pocket full of change"
If you believe like
Workin' hard all day
Just step in my shoes
And take my pay

I was born my papa's son
When I hit the ground I was on the run
But had one glad hand and the other behind
You can have yours, just give me mine

When the hound dog
Barkin' in the black of the night
Stick my hand in my pocket
Everything's all right

Well I'm just got paid today
Got me a pocket full of change
I said "Black sheep, black
Do you got some wool?"
Yes I do Ma'm, my bag is full
It's the root of evil and you know the rest
But it's way ahead of what's second best

Ah
Ah
Ah
Ah
Ah
Ah

His old man was a rebel yeller:
Bad boy to the bone.
He'd say: "Can't trust that other fella,"
He'd judge 'em by the tone of their skin.
He was raised to think like his Dad:
Narrow mind full of hate.
On the road to no-where fast,
Till the Grace of God got in the way.
Then he saw the Light an' hit his knees an' cried an' said a prayer:
Rose up a brand new man; left the old one right there.

Here's to the strong; thanks to the brave.
Don't give up hope: some people change.
Against all odds, against the grain,
Love finds a way: some people change.

She was born with her mother's habit:
You could say: "It's in her blood."
She hates that she's gotta have it:
As she fills her glass up.
An she'd love to kill that bottle,
But all she can think about,
Is a, a better life, a second chance,
An' everyone she's letting down.
She throws that bottle down.

Here's to the strong; thanks to the brave.
Don't give up hope: some people change.
Against all odds, against the grain,
Love finds a way: some people change.

Thank God for those who make it:
Let them be the Light.

(Let them be the light)
(Some people change.)
Here's to the strong; thanks to the brave.
Don't give up hope: some people change.
Against all odds, against the grain,
Love finds a way: some people change.
Some people change.

(Some people change)

(J. Steele/C. Wiseman)

I met her down in Tampa Bay
Spring break '88
She came in to hear my band play
And man we were on that night
Twin guitars and 20-minute jams
"Tush", "Cocaine", and "Sweet Home Alabam"
I knew I had her in the palm of my hand
When I stepped in the spotlight
Hot-n-heavy in that little alley
On a fifteen minute break
We shared a cigarette, long kiss
Then she stood there by the stage
All night by the stage
What can I say?
She loved me

But after five long years of trying to be a star
I sold my acts and I quit them bars
Got a real job fixing trucks and cars
Had a couple new mouths to feed
And eventually that monthly wage
And the finer points of the suburban age
All became bars on a cage
And man it was killing me
I started cussin' and getting mad at nothin'
And blaming her for ruining my life
Started sinking, cheating, and a-drinking
But she stood there by my side
Right there by my side
With tears in her eyes

And she loved me
She loved me
Heaven knows the reasons why
I'll never know the reasons why
She loved me

She finally left three years ago
Married a man out in New Mexico
Calls to say the boys are really growing
God, I miss them kids
As for me I'm twelve steps down the line
I found a church that I like just fine
Even got a gig playing these songs of mine
They all just reminisce

Hot-n-heavy in that little alley
On a fifteen minute break
We shared a cigarette, long kiss
Then she stood there by the stage
All night by the stage
Man, those were the days
When she loved me

Yeah she loved me
Heaven knows the reasons why
I'll never know the reasons why
She loved me
Yeah she loved me
Heaven knows the reasons why
I'll never know the reasons why

[No lyrics]

[No lyrics]

(Tony Lane)

A young kid stepped in from the cold
And he ordered up a drink
He said don't look surprised old man I'm older than you think
If I was the talkin' kind I could tell you a thing or two
And since you didn't ask, let me show you my tattoos

He said I got this rose in Memphis in some back old alley dump
Picked this eagle up in Dallas, man I sure was good and drunk
And you know the way I see it, if it gets any worse out there
A guy like me hasn't got a prayer

The old man poured some coffee
He said this one's on me
Sat down his cigarette and rolled up his sleeve
Said take a good look here my friend
You see what these are
Just my ragged old and jagged ordinary scars
He said I got this one in Paris in a war 'fore you were born
And this one when I was half your age workin' on my daddy's farm
And you know the way I see it, son you ain't seen what I've seen
Cause tattoos and scars are different things

He said I've been here for all these years
And what I know is this
If you look and listen close
A man will show you what he is
You know the way I see it, you've been 'round but you're still green
Cause tattoos and scars are different things

A young kid stepped in from the cold
And he ordered up a drink
He said don't look surprised old man

(Jon Bon Jovi)

It's all the same only the names will change
And everyday it seems we're wasting away
Another place where the faces are so cold
I drive all night just to get back home

I'm a cowboy on a steel horse I ride
I'm wanted dead or alive
Wanted dead or alive

Sometimes I sleep sometimes is not for days
And people I meet always go their separate ways
Sometimes you tell the day by the bottle that you drink
And times when all you do is think

I'm a cowboy on a steel horse I ride
I'm wanted dead or alive
Wanted dead or alive

Oh and I'm a cowboy on a steel horse I ride
I'm wanted, wanted, dead or alive

And I walk these streets a loaded six string on my back
I play for keeps 'cause I might not make it back
I been every where still I'm standig tall
I've seen a million faces and I've rock them all

I'm a cowboy on a steel horse I ride
I'm wanted dead or alive

(Jeffrey Steele/Reed Nielsen)

There's a "For Sale" sign on a big old rusty tractor.
You can't miss it, it's the first thing that you see.
Just up the road, a pale-blue water tower,
With "I Love Jenny" painted in bright green.
Hey, that's my Uncle Bill, there by the courthouse.
He'll be lowerin' the flag when the sun goes down.
And this is my town.

(Na, na, na, na, na.)
Yeah, this is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)
Hey!
Where I was born, where I was raised.
Where I keep all my yesterdays.
Where I ran off 'cos I got mad,
An' it came to blows with my old man.
Where I came back to settle down,
It's where they'll put me in the ground:
This is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)
Yeah, this is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)
My town.

There ain't much goin' on here since they closed the mill.
But that whistle still blows ev'ry day at noon.
A bunch of us still go down to the diner.
I wonder if that interstate's still comin' through.
Come Sunday morning service, at the Church of Christ,
Well there ain't an empty seat to be found.
And this is my town.

(Na, na, na, na, na.)
Yeah, this is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)
Where I was born, where I was raised.
Where I keep all my yesterdays.
Where I ran off 'cos I got mad,
An' it came to blows with my old man.
Where I came back to settle down,
It's where they'll put me in the ground:
This is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)
Yeah, this is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)
My town.

Well, I bought and painted up that rusty tractor.
You can't miss it, it's sittin' right there in our yard.
The County came and took that water tower,
And that's Jenny, with a baby, in the car.
Ah, we're off to Sunday service at the Church of Christ,
And if we want a seat, we better leave right now.
And maybe later, me an old T-roy will show you around,
Our town.

(Na, na, na, na, na.)
Yeah, this is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)
Yeah, where I was born, where I was raised.
Where I keep all my yesterdays.
Where I ran off 'cos I got mad,
An' it came to blows with my old man.
Where I came back to settle down,
It's where they'll put me in the ground:
This is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)

Yeah, this is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)
This is my town.
(Na, na, na, na, na.)