_ _ __ __ _____ _ _____ _ | | | | \ \ / / / ____| | | __ \| | | |__| | ___ \ \ /\ / /_ _ ___ __ _ | (___ | | __ _ _ __ __ _ | |__) | |__ _ __ __ _ ___ ___ | __ |/ _ \ \ \/ \/ / _` / __| / _` | \___ \| |/ _` | '_ \ / _` | | ___/| '_ \| '__/ _` / __|/ _ \ | | | | __/ \ /\ / (_| \__ \ | (_| | ____) | | (_| | | | | (_| | | | | | | | | | (_| \__ \ __/ |_| |_|\___| \/ \/ \__,_|___/ \__,_| |_____/|_|\__,_|_| |_|\__, | |_| |_| |_|_| \__,_|___/\___| __/ | |___/ --------------------------------------- -- Things I Learned Today --------------------------------------- G Am C Can't forget the day, can't forget the rain Old river highway, flooded again Passing them cars, changing them lanes Driving to fast, driving insane Em G Tears are raining down my face Em F C Feeling crushed by the weight of the G Things I learned today Screaming at someone, blaming someone else Screaming at no one, blaming myself Hold onto the good times, they tell me so How the hell else, do I even cope Because love is just an ugly wager And the house collects its pay, always Things I learned today Take him away darling, take him away Can't bear to see him, in this way Take me away darling, take me away Lead me to the promise, of better days Prepare all you can for the heartbreak You'll be blindside anyway, always Things I learned today --------------------------------------- -- Stephen Hawking --------------------------------------- D G If Stephen Hawking's right, then there's a parallel universe Where we started a band and took it all the way to the top Em Em6 Em6+ But in our current universe, in our sad current universe C G C G C G D You moved away, yeah, you moved away, you moved away and left me here If Stephen Hawking's right, then the universe is infinite And you've said an infinite number of things and I've heard them all But in our current universe, in our lonely current universe There's only so much time, yeah, there's only so much time, there's only so much time and so many words If Stephen Hawking's right, then gravity and time a relative And everything is related except for you and me Because in our current universe, in our disjointed current universe There'll never be, no no, there'll never me, there'll never be enough attraction and time There'll never be, no no, there'll never me, there'll never be enough attraction and time --------------------------------------- -- Walnut Trees --------------------------------------- G Am I had a dream of fields that stretched into eternity And a little house that sat beneath bleak sullen skyes You sat on the covered front porch in a rocking chair C I saw the tears welling in your eyes And the walnut trees grew but they were not plentifull And the money was in the wood and not the fruit You said something about making it through the winter As I tear the walnut trees up root by root All up root by root Harvest season came as it did every year With colored tents and joyous music fills the air I turn my back so I may toil in my fields I know the music will never reach me there And the walnut trees grew but they were not plentifull And the money was in the wood and not the fruit You said something about making it through the winter As I tear the walnut trees up root by root All up root by root All up root by root All up root by root All up root by root --------------------------------------- -- Dig Down --------------------------------------- E G There ain't no gold where you're headed, ain't no silver nor All that's down there is bedrock and gravel, to the earthen core E G A Feel the toxic dust welling in your lungs E G A The cavern canary is so long gone E G You dig down, dig down, dig down, dig down, dig down, no reason or purpose Underground, underground, underground, underground A G But there's plenty of good, up here on the surface Slam your shovel and pickaxe, and slowly chip away Dig a space just big enough to crawl into, and live another days Your rations are growing low, and your lantern is growing dim How much longer can you persist in this state that you're in You dig down, dig down, dig down, dig down, dig down, no reason or purpose Underground, underground, underground, underground But there's plenty of good, up here on the surface You dig down, dig down, dig down, dig down, dig down, no reason or purpose Underground, underground, underground, underground But there's plenty of good, up here on the surface And the worst part of it all, is you already know If you ever come back to the surface, you'll have nothing to show You've been digging in this hellhole of a cave Don't you know that you only need six feet to dig a gravel You dig down, dig down, dig down, dig down, dig down, no reason or purpose Underground, underground, underground, underground But there's plenty of good, up here on the surface You dig down, dig down, dig down, dig down, dig down, no reason or purpose Underground, underground, underground, underground But there's plenty of good, up here on the surface --------------------------------------- -- Beautiful People --------------------------------------- D G A So this is where the beautiful people go D G A Perfect houses in perfect little rows D G A Em D A They hear music on HD stereo And here am I, and this is where I make my home In a tiny house on a pock marked road We get bad reception on the radio Em D A Listen closely you can hear it through the static Quiet voices in basements and attics Don't you know it takes a special kind of spirit Playing songs even though no one else will hear it So this is where the beautiful people drink With their perfect hair and perfect shirts of pink But don't you dare ask them to think, no So who are you, are you beautiful or are you like me Are you crystal clear or a little bit fuzzy Are you with them or are you with me Listen closely you can hear it through the static Quiet voices in basements and attics Don't you know it takes a special kind of spirit Playing songs even though no one else will hear it So who are you, are you beautiful or are you like me Are you crystal clear or a little bit fuzzy Are you with them or are you with me Listen closely you can hear it through the static Quiet voices in basements and attics Don't you know it takes a special kind of spirit Playing songs even though no one else will hear it --------------------------------------- -- Eat Me Alive --------------------------------------- C Am Back when I was in middle school I always took things very seriously Back when I was in middle school F C G They told me that high school would eat me alive So I went off to high school And I still took things very seriously Back when I was in high school They told me that college would eat me alive F C F C So I tried my best, always scared to death F C G That all my work would land me in the local bar F C F C F C G Now I'm here, drinking beer, and I'm wondering where all of the monsters are So I went off to college And I still took things very seriously back when I was in college They told me the real world would eat me alive So I tried my best, always scared to death That all my work would land me in the local bar Now I'm here, drinking beer, and I'm wondering where all of the monsters are Am C Am C And the hardest thing that I have to say Is to convince myself it will be OK And I have to reapeat it every single day G After years of believing the other way So I tried my best, always scared to death That all my work would land me in the local bar Now I'm here, drinking beer, and I'm wondering where all of the monsters are Now I'm in this so called real world I'm having a hard time taking things seriously Wasn't I always just in some kind of real world Just waiting for something to eat me alive Just waiting for something to eat me alive --------------------------------------- -- Slow Times (By Clint Goffena) --------------------------------------- D I've been sitting here inside today doing nothing much at all C G D Sitting with my back against the wall I'm afraid to go outside so I'll just stay here and hide C G D How much longer can this last Staring outside my window Streets are moving fast But the times are incredibly slow Leaves outside are changing colors, so why can't I Outside I'd be living in danger In here I'm living to die How much longer can this last Staring outside my window Streets are moving fast But the times are incredibly slow C G D Oh, I, oh I, I'm going to stay here and die I just read to pass the time, I've never felt so confide What good can this knowledge do If I can't share it with you How much longer can this last Staring outside my window Streets are moving fast But the times are incredibly slow Oh, I, oh I, I'm going to stay here and die Oh, I, oh I, I'm going to stay here and die --------------------------------------- -- The Way Things Go --------------------------------------- G Em Am C I'm not old, but I'm not as young as I used to be, no Twenty five years old, and I feel the creepin seepin in my knees oh D G D G Em Am C G Everybody tells me it's ok, everybody tells me it's the way these things go I'm not weak, but I'm not as strong as I used to be, no Things get to me, and it hits so hard and the rebound's so slow Everybody tells me it's ok, everybody tells me it's the way these things go I'm not mad, I'm just a little more bitter than I used to be, oh Thing's ain't that bad, but I can't enjoy anything till five years pass oh Everybody tells me it's ok, everybody tells me it's the way these things go They try and tell you bout this cliff that I find myself tumbling down They try and tell you that your job will suck and your friends will all leave town And I thought I was special I'd resist, I'm starting to realize that this is just the way things go I'm not tired, just a little more weary than I used to be oh Weight piles high, and I feel the pace in my steps begin to slow Everybody tells me it's ok, everybody tells me it's the way these things go --------------------------------------- -- The Ballad of Bobby Hightower --------------------------------------- ** Part 1, The Slap ** C Dm G C Dm G A slap right in his face, people in black trying to pull me away He just lay there a stupid grin on his face Am C G No he wouldn't no he couldn't retaliate And me I'm just a shitty old man, with a kink in my back and a cane in my hand And all of these people no they don't understand All the hell that I went through because of this man F Fm C Am Petty jealousy, petty jealousy, is coursing through my veins Couldn't look him in the eyes, and I shutter at the name Bobby Hightower is finally dead and gone F G C G But I'm still here and I don't feel like I've won It was his live that I focused my mind, to distract myself from the misery of mine And I never stopped comparing us side by side While he none the wiser lived a happy life No he, oh no he never knew all the pain that his happy life put me through I could never let go and I don't plan to And a pitiful slap was all I could do Petty jealousy, petty jealousy, is coursing through my veins Couldn't look him in the eyes, and I shutter at the name Bobby Hightower is finally dead and gone But I'm still here and I don't feel like I've won ** Part 2, A Well Spent Life ** E A B Long time ago, seventeen years old, bought a beat up van and he hit the open road A E Teacher said get ready, real world knocking at your door A E We hid in our basements, he put the pedal to the floor B A E And he hit the world in a headlong collision course No he never starved, never slept in the rain, playing that guitar and he earned himself a name It was always a struggle but push did never come to shove We were watching TV, and he would watch the stars above And he found the things in life he truly loved B A He knew the world was bigger than the old west side He always had perspective on the shortness of time And he lived in constant terror that he never may find Those very special things that lead to a well spent life Well he met some good and he met some mean, met a whole bunch of people who were somewhere inbetween He was always charismatic, always down to have some fun We knew the same old people, he knew everyone under the sun And he learned something from each and every one, like The world was so much bigger than the old west side He always had perspective on the shortness of time And he lived in constant terror that he never may find Those very special things that lead to a well spent life Well he met a man, had a business plan, needed some money so he lent the man a hand The business paid off nicely, he had more than he could spend We invest in stock markets, he invested in his friends And he settled down and bought himself some land He knew the world was bigger than the old west side He always had perspective on the shortness of time And he lived in constant terror that he never may find Those very special things that lead to a well spent life ** Part 3: Another Try ** D F#m I was doing well by all accounts C Em Had a job and family but I couldn't shake the demons in me That I was weak, that I was a bore So I became selfish in my pursuits of so many things I needn't do D G F#m A I would give anything for another try I would give anything for a happy life Burnt out young, got a dog Met a nice girl from town, bought a house and then we settled down She loved me as much as she could But my insecurities drew her away from me I wonder why, some love persists but others die I would give anything for a happy life Rented space, got a loan Put my anger and my pain into a company in my own name Was doing well, in business at least But then Hightower Industries, they bought it all away from me I wonder why, some dreams come true, but others die I would give anything for a happy life F#m G Now that I have someone I can blame A I never have to face myself I never have to feel the shame I would give anything for another try I would give anything for a happy life For a happy life ** Part 4: Places Most Mundane ** D G Many things I have seen a man can overcome But there are a few things you can't recover from Saddness passes with time and anger will disolve But regret stands alone a devourer of souls And it resides in the most trivial of times And it remains in the places most mundane Keeps you up at night the most trivial of times Erodes your day the places most mundane And it resides in the most trivial of times A D And it remians in the places most, the places most mundane ** Part 5: Wheeling West Virginia ** Dmaj7 Am(D) There's a city on the riverside, I've never been there but I've driven by So many times, so many times And everytime that I drive by, I wonder why, I'm not there by your side Dm7 C G Dmaj7 And there's a lonely man and he's heading to Wheeling West Virginia Every single time I go, I hear the same song on the radio Soft and slow, soft and slow A song that I know you know, that we danced to so long ago, so long ago And there's a depressed man and he's heading to Wheeling West Virginia I can see it crystal clear within my mind despite all the time that's passed by See you waving goodbye And my eyes, they fill with tears, I start to cry And there's an angry man and he's heading to Wheeling West Virginia Pull into the driveway, hear it play through the bay window Soft and slow, I hear it play And everything I wanted to say, I rehearsed for days, it fades away I turn away And there's a hopeless man and he's leaving Wheeling West Virginia Yes there's a hopeless man and he's leaving Wheeling West Virginia ** Part 6: Let Things Go ** And that is the story of why I hate the man in the coffin inside He had succeeded where many had tried and I was just a big old waste of time Now that he ceases to be I thought that I'd feel alive and free And I don't feel anything but a little empty, he will be the only one that rests in peace Bobby Hightower, Bobby Hightower, is lowered in the ground He lived a life of worth and was loved by all around And I'm still here, and I have fought and clawed But nobody even gives a damn at all By now I should know that bad things happen to everyone so You got to take things as they come you got to take things slow and more than anything you got to let things go But me, no no that ain't me, never learned a damn thing since I was seventeen Bobby bought a van and followed his dreams and I learned about regret and jealousy Bobby Hightower, Bobby Hightower, is lowered in the ground He lived a life of worth and was loved by all around And I'm still here, and I have fought and clawed Em G But nobody even gives a damn at all Yes nobody even gives a damn at all D A C D G ---------------------------------- -- NOTES ---------------------------------- "Then, as if the heads were moved by one muscle, all the faces were turned toward him with wide, derisive grins. He seemed to hear some one make a humorous remark in a low tone. At it the others all crowed and cackled. He was a slang phrase."