||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| _Trace_ (1995). All songs by Jay Farrar unless noted ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| ::Windfall:: Now and then it keeps you running It never seems to die The trail's spent with fear Not enough living on the outside Never seem to get far enough Staying in between the lines Hold on to what you can Waiting for the end Not knowing when May the wind take your troubles away May the wind take your troubles away Both feet on the floor, two hands on the wheel, May the wind take your troubles away Trying to make it far enough, to the next time zone Few and far between past the midnight hour Never feel alone, you're really not alone... Switching it over to AM Searching for a truer sound Can't recall the call letters Steel guitar and settle down Catching an all-night station somewhere in Louisiana It sounds like 1963, but for now it sounds like heaven May the wind take your troubles away May the wind take your troubles away Both feet on the floor, two hands on the wheel, May the wind take your troubles away. ::Live Free:: Looking for the right kind of live free or die... I want to see your smile through a pay phone The season has changed I want to see you in it The lights that shine are caustic without you. When we're all passed over The rhythm of the river will remain And it will remain Nicotine and waiting Just wanted to keep it alive You turn and before you know it We're just threading this needle for life A brighter way is what you prove Anesthetize is what you do. When we're all passed over The rhythm of the river will remain And it will remain Someday we'll be together Farther south than the train line The Delta mud will be there We're just living this way Because we know no other When we're all passed over The rhythm of the river will remain And it will remain Looking for the right kind of live free or die... ::Tear Stained Eye:: Walking down Main Street Getting to know the concrete Looking for a purpose from a neon sign I would meet you anywhere the western sun meets the air We'll hit the road, never looking behind Can you deny, there's nothing greater Nothing more than the traveling hands of time? Sainte Genevieve can hold back the water But saints don't bother with a tear stained eye Seeing traces of the scars that came before Hitting the pavement still asking for more When the hours don't move along, Worn-out wood and familiar songs To hear your voice is not enough It's more than a shame Can you deny, there's nothing greater Nothing more than the traveling hands of time? Sainte Genevieve can hold back the water But saints don't bother with a tear stained eye Like the man said, rode hard and put away wet Throw away the bad news, and put it to rest If learning is living, and the truth is a state of mind You'll find it's better at the end of the line. Can you deny, there's nothing greater Nothing more than the traveling hands of time? Sainte Genevieve can hold back the water But saints don't bother with a tear stained eye. ::Route:: Reality, it burns The way we're living is worse The pillars of inspiration are all falling down The clean-up won't work while the fallout goes on. And it's now or never, too close to the latter We're all living proof that nothing lasts. Standing in the neutral zone Living on sleep deprivation The rural route sleeps while the city bleeds all over itself Over the falls in a barrel is where the answers have gone And it's now or never, too close to the latter We're all living proof that nothing lasts And it's here for now, transient tomorrow We're all living proof that nothing lasts. Another road remains, but it provides no more It can only take us away Southbound, you can taste the weather It feels like home And it's now or never Too close to the latter We're all living proof that nothing lasts And it's here for now, transient tomorrow We're all living proof that nothing lasts. ::Ten Second News:: When you find what matters is what you feel It arrives, and it disappears Driving down sunny 44 highway There's a beach there known for cancer waiting to happen When you're out across the county line The news travels slower than a ten-second buzz And only you'll ever know 'Cause day by day it disappears Only you'll ever know And it's hard enough soaking up billboard signs You scorch and drown alive Never knowing why The levee gates are open wide There's a cough in the water, and it's running into town. Bright eyes, don't change, stay the same There must be an answer for what keeps it going on But only you'll ever know 'Cause day by day it disappears Only you'll ever know ::Drown:: Sky cracks open, walls falling to the floor Just as well to keep it, a guessing game in store You're with me now, will be again All other points in between And the cruel, cruel mornings Have turned to days of swim or sink If living right is easy, what goes wrong You're causing it to drown Didn't want to turn that way You're causing it to drown Doesn't make a difference now You're causing it to drown Silence knows, can't drown a heart Happenstance is falling through the cracks each day Too close now to change it Fool's gold is lighter anyway When in doubt, move on, no need to sort it out You're with me now, will be again All other points in between And I want to find the right side of you If living right is easy, what goes wrong You're causing it to drown Didn't want to turn that way You're causing it to drown Doesn't make a difference now You're causing it to drown Silence knows, can't drown a heart When in doubt, move on, no need to sort it out You're with me now, will be again All other points in between And I want to find the right side of you If living right is easy, what goes wrong You're causing it to drown Didn't want to turn that way You're causing it to drown Doesn't make a difference now You're causing it to drown Silence knows, can't drown a heart. ::Loose String:: One-way streets and square one The answers don't come from any one direction Not a care in the world, no better way to go It's fine here, watching it go down Half the trouble's in the asking And I know you're not the kind to wait around Taking chances with no intent to make a killing Too much living is no way to die Loose string Find the pieces don't fit in Loose string Coming up for air again and again Loose string Too much living is no way to die See the ground sinking 'round Tomorrow's a card to play Same old words heard in storms Repeated doom Too many rules, it will bleed you dry Half the trouble's in the asking And I know you're not the kind to wait around Taking chances with no intent to make a killing Too much living is no way to die Loose string Find the pieces don't fit in Loose string Coming up for air again and again Loose string Too much living is no way to die Said you haven't seen it all Just keep on searching for just one single reason Half the trouble's in the asking And I know you're not the kind to wait around Taking chances with no intent to make a killing Too much living is no way to die Loose string Find the pieces don't fit in Loose string Coming up for air again and again Loose string Loose string ::Out of the Picture:: You may be quite sure you know where you're going But sooner or later you're out of the picture Too many lost names, too many rules to the game Better find a focus or you're out of the picture Somewhere along the way the clock runs out Somewhere along the way it all stands still Firemen save a millionaire's mansion But when it's done, they sleep on the side of the road You may be lost, you'll find Just another paradigm Just a stop frame in time And then you're out of the picture Somewhere along the way the clock runs out Somewhere along the way it all stands still Take away this Columbus Day No more bones on display Blackhawk never had a say Just taken out of the picture Somewhere along the way the clock runs out Somewhere along the way it all stands still ::Catching On:: Can't find a reason Can't find a way Guess it's not you and me Only dogs have their day Another case of words that melt It's not a question of right Nightmares in broad daylight Season crash, season burn You survive another turn And now I'm reaching out, it's true When you don't see me, I'm catching on to you You don't see me I'm catching on to you Took a break to get that far Like the sound from a hundred-dollar guitar Bought from an old catalogue Yesterday's dust and heartache As the pieces fall like candy when you're young Medicine when you're old There's no reason or rhyme Sidestepping around On an elevator climb When you don't see me, I'm catching on to you You don't see me, I'm catching on to you Another jail, another burned-out inside Skeleton love left to die Take whatever lies ahead The good with the bad, and leave the rest When you don't see me, I'm catching on to you You don't see me I'm catching on to you ::Too Early:: Mileage has taken its toll Paid it with lines to show You've had your fill of asphalt Cough tremors, and smoke-filled doors Look like the habit controls you You look like you need a rest You've made it to the timber-line Don't know what to expect God knows, you don't need it Too early, you might be the one **YOU To find yourself somewhere else Too early in the sun Song strains, distant, over A barroom drink-filled roar The old folksinger lays it down Not for long, no longer ignored Spinning tales of temptation Gambling days lost and won No crimes committed here Too much habit could be the one God knows, you don't need it Too early, you might be the one To find yourself somewhere else Too early in the sun Never seen half of what you've seen Real life never quite adds up The road goes on when the faces don't Word of mouth never tells the truth Like to hear your story told With a two-step beat and rhyme Could be Tennessee or Texas On and on, that road winds God knows, you don't need it Too early, you might be the one To find yourself somewhere else Too early in the sun ................................................................. Transcribed by Amy Haugesag, with help from Michael Pemberton and Barry Kelley