Michael Dane Hager

now you sit alone, my old friend like a stranger I never knew I watch you almost every single night at the coffee shop downtown the place we planned all our dreams laughing at our crazy, crazy lives but now I see the shadows of a fading love, falling into passing time I guess it was all just smoke and mirrors the rise and fall of two hearts slowly breaking down of two hearts slowly breaking down I'm driving down this desert highway where the is sun is pouring out my thoughts are raging like a firestorm trying to chase you out of my mind. like the thunder busting through the sky nothing but the echoes of our lives I can feel the tears their crashing in memories of better times what is it about love? that we can't tame what about a heartache? that never fades away I guess it was all just smoke and mirrors the rise and fall of two hearts slowly breaking down of two hearts slowly breaking down the cool of the night closing in on me as I chase these highway signs in the distance I can see the reflections of our dreams I hear the whisper of a lonely wind, singing out those same old blues of a sweet love that could have been and all the things we left behind I guess it was all just smoke and mirrors the rise and fall of two hearts slowly breaking down of two hearts slowly breaking down of two hearts slowly breaking down

The times they are a changing sang the jester with his crooked smile his mocking words are fading fast as we slowly burn these highway miles we're listening to a different drummer Mr. Greed is pounding out the beat to trade in our laid-back lives for fancy cars and a rich man's dream there is fire on the water we're stranded on the shore our hearts heavy with confusion as we watch the burning boats there is fire on the water but we've lost our nerve to go can you feel a rumbling underground? it's warning that we're losing faith deceit is raging all around us tempting us to another fate we are paralyzed with fear of a future that's blowing in the wind in the distance echoes sweet redemption but instead, we choose the road of sin there is fire on the water we're stranded on the shore our hearts heavy with confusion as we watch the burning boats there is fire on the water but we've lost our nerve to go the wiseman's voice trapped in silence muted by the lies in our heads blocking out the truth of his words forgetting everything that he said we think we know the punch line but we're blinded by our foolish pride we'll never solve this puzzle when all the answers are hidden behind our lies there is fire on the water we're stranded on the shore our hearts heavy with confusion as we watch the burning boats there is fire on the water but we've lost our nerve to go but we've lost our nerve to go

there are angels on the stairway there are voices in the hall there are strangers in the shadows that I cannot recognize there are lovers with no wings like diamonds in the dark there's a child in my past that I cannot reconcile there are friends I have forsaken without knowing what I've have lost there are pieces to my future that I am sure I've sacrificed now I am looking through the mirror at the stages of my life and somewhere along the line I lost track of paradise now I am dazed and confused and I need to have a rest could you lay down beside me so I can feel safe again would you lay down beside me so I can be whole again there are fears that are hiding in the corners of my mind there are prisoners of my age that I cannot rectify there are roads that I have taken that I wish I could forget there are bridges I have broken and I cannot reconnect There are times that I have forgot to hear the echoes of my heart there are tears that I have wasted that I cannot justify now I am looking through the mirror at the stages of my life and somewhere along the line I lost track of paradise now I am dazed and confused and I need to have a rest could you lay down beside me so I can feel safe again would you lay down beside me so I can be whole again could you lay down beside me so I can feel safe again

I wanted you to know on this special day To leave no question in your mind That your everything to me You're a woman one of a kind my hero, my lover, all that matters in my life They say love is hard That love can fade with time But loving you babe is so easy But loving you girl is so easy When I wake to see your face I know I'm a lucky man To have you in my life I know sometimes I drive you crazy you just open up your heart And take it all in stride They say love is hard That love can fade with time But loving you babe is so easy But loving you girl is so easy When I found you it was like a dream I can't believe you chose To spend your life with me You're always there when I need you There's no way to thank you For all that you've given me They say love is hard That love can fade with time But loving you babe is so easy But loving you girl is so easy But loving you babe is so easy But loving you girl is so easy

I was truckin' down the road I'd just emptied my freight I've been drinking hundred-mile coffee since I left my home then I saw the neon lights that said The Truck Stop Hotel and Cowboy Bar and Grill well I pulled myself off the road and put my rig to bed then I headed for the bar to drink my late-night blues away I walked inside and no ones there, just a lady at the bar I took a seat next her and had a drink or two then she leaned over on me and this is what she said "Hey mister won't you buy me a drink, I've had hard life I know you can see" Well I said to myself "What the hell I guess it can't hurt" she's a pavement princess, a truck-stop woman and I know that she would love me if I'd give her the time she's a pavement princess, a truck-stop woman and I know that she would love me if I'd give her the time now the next thing I knew I was in room number seven she smiled at me and said "This ones on the house" then she took me in her arms and chased the night away made all of my sad times not seem so bad and we told each other's troubles until we got bored then she got up and got dressed and walked out the door she's a pavement princess, a truck-stop woman and I know that she would love me if I'd give her the time I got myself together when the morning came and I was warming up my truck when she walked in front of me she had her arms around another lonely man and I knew she'd love him the best that she can well I went up to say goodbye, but I know she didn't care cause she just kept on walkin' like no one was there she's a pavement princess, a truck-stop woman and I know that she would love me if I'd give her the time she's a pavement princess, a truck-stop woman and I know that she would love me if I'd give her the time

oh when the pain stops rolling like thunder and the rain stops pouring down and the voices start calling out that everything will be all right then I'll know it all settle down yes, I'll know my life will straighten out when my dreams stop fighting the night and the fire is burning down and the tears in my broken heart can wash away all the doubt then I'll know it all settle down yes I'll know my life will straighten out I guess I knew right from the start You would take me down You would tear it all apart when my days stop screaming with rage and the blame has faded away and sun starts to breaking the cold so I can find my way back home then I'll know it all settle down yes, I'll know my life will straighten out its took a long time of reaching for hope to get my life back again now the moon's stopped crying the blues so I can close the case on you now I know it all settle down yes I know my life will straighten out yes I know it will all settle down

I've traveled around this world I've had my share of thrills I've tasted the joys of life I've treasured all the good times But there's nothing as good as a friend No, there's nothing as true as my friends I've spent life living free Chasing down my dreams I've drank my share of booze Laughed at a joke or two But there's nothing as good as a friend No there's nothing as true as my friends I've been lucky with my woman Had some good times along the way I've been blessed by her grace And the smiles on her face No there's nothing as good as a friend No, there's nothing as true as my friends I've walked with a lot of good men Lost a few along the way I know one damn thing That'll stand by me till the end No, there's nothing as good as a friend No there's nothing as true as my friends No, there's nothing as good as a friend

sprongtime was on its way when we first met I can see you walking there along the beach you never saw me there you never knew how much I cared late at night I'd find you there down at the wharf dancing round and round you'd go in your secret place I'm so glad you smiled at me when you caught me looking right through you Oh how I miss you my lady you know you left me half crazy I never knew the cost of love before losing you, before you we'd go to a place out on the coast summer dreams I've always had of someone like you I guess I couldn't see how much I'd lose myself in you you taught me how to love when I'd lost faith I thought time would stop just for me and you I wish I could have known That your life was burning down inside Oh how I miss you my lady you know you left me half crazy I never knew the cost of love before losing you, before you we spent our last days in the early fall watching the winter storms as they rolled in wonder if they ever knew the sadness they left me and you when the sun is pouring down I dream of you holding your tender heart like a precious stone memories of a lost love hidden in the shadows of my pain Oh how I miss you my lady you know you left me half crazy I never knew the cost of love before losing you, before you Oh how I miss you my lady you know you left me half crazy I never knew the cost of love before losing you, before you

There is this thing called music that keeps playing in my head it grooves, it moves and it damn well soothes it's a melody posed in a line a well written rhyme it crashes and shatters the walls of space and time the notes can take me past, way past the borderline as "Sweet Lucille" brings tears to my smiling eyes one voice alone, two that harmonize, a whole crazy choir raising up the sky singing out in joy, raging with the blues, dancing to the tango, prancing through the night I have heard a country devil play a fiddle in a flaming firestorm I have felt the thunder of rock 'n' roll drumming through my bones I have raced down the highway with the radio blasting loud "The King" tearing at my soul, pouring his holy song into my heart I rejoice, I rejoice, spirits calling from a neon sky cascading words of wisdom deep into the canyons of my mind There is this thing called music, that keeps playing in my head.

I remember the way the west used to be blue skies just as far as you can see but now your cities have drowned my prairies but this old cowboy says that ain't the way it used to be I remember feeling young and strong I'd brake those broncos all day long they say they don't need my kind anymore sometimes I wonder what I am working for I'm just a lost lonely cowboy looking for a place to ride I'm just a lost lonely cowboy looking for a place to hide I'm just a lost lonely cowboy looking for a place to ride Stetson hats, chaps and old rusty spurs we'd ride those horses driving that herd come the evening time sitting around the fire drinking rot got whiskey, feeling awful tired we'd tell our stories and laugh at our lies then old Frank he'd sing and song or two pluckin' that guitar singing the cowboy blues I'm just a lost lonely cowboy looking for a place to ride I'm just a lost lonely cowboy looking for a place to hide I'm just a lost lonely cowboy looking for a place to ride dusty roads and broken hearts and too many fights closing down all those bars hoping I don't dream tonight thinking back it's kind of sad the way my life's ending too many long nights, too many hard times but don't think I crying over the wrongs that I did I think I'm lucky to have lived the life I lived I'm just a lost lonely cowboy looking for a place to ride I'm just a lost lonely cowboy looking for a place to hide I'm just a lost lonely cowboy looking for a place to ride I'm just a lost lonely cowboy looking for a place to hide

Self-made smile, shining pair of boots, my father's guitar that's all I claim looking for my fortune, a sentimental dream not really knowing where I've really been I've had my chance, my share of fame but I lost it all, along the way night dreams you driven me way to far I am tired of holding on, to this fading star half living, half dying most of my life half saving, half wasting most of my time some say I got the style, others say I am just a fool a gambling man playing out my hand I've cheated and lied so many times enemies and strangers aren't hard to find I've had some love, I've caused some pain I guess it's all part of the game day dreams you given me everything I need to steal away from reality half living, half dying most of my life half saving, half wasting most of my time walking down these crowded streets, counting hollow smiles makes me feel like giving down deep inside I've lost my chance nothing left to lose life's getting old, ain't nothing new night dreams you driven me way to far I am tired of holding on, to this fading star half living, half dying most of my life half saving, half wasting most of my time half saving, half wasting most of my life half saving, half wasting most of my time half saving, half wasting most of my life

I was thinking about the day we left each other standing in the rain and I was wondering how you are and how much you've really changed and I remember the things we said and thought we both understood and I tried to love you all the way, you know I did the best that I could now I've been swept away by the memories of you and I'm crying for help, is there anything you can do I've been swept away by the memories of you and I'm asking for love, is there anything you can do well I look in the mirror and sometimes there ain't nobody there and I'm waiting for the day all this confusion will clear and I can't forget the look you had on your face when you went away it haunts me everywhere I go and I try and try and try to forget now I've been swept away by the memories of you and I'm crying for help, is there anything you can do I've been swept away by the memories of you and I'm asking for love, is there anything you can do well the pictures on my wall they tell me it was not a dream and I know I'm not the fool, but sometimes that's just the way it seems well I was thinking about the day we left each other standing in the rain and I was wondering how you are and how much you've really changed now I've been swept away by the memories of you and I'm crying for help, is there anything you can do I've been swept away by the memories of you and I'm asking for love, is there anything you can do

there's a cold wind blowing through my heart as I watch the games go down and all across the room the scene unfolds of empty smiles and faithless love now a soldier and his young bride have given up the fight they're looking for salvation from endless days and long goodbyes now they have lost the battle, they're prisoners of their past having never heard the voices that could give them sweet romance Oh tender love, another broken heart Oh tender love another sleepless night it's hard to trace the steps of love as you chase them through your life when you're living in the shadows of foolish fears and lonely nights now the answers don't come easy when you hiding behind your lies and you're running away from the mistakes you made counting dreams and losing time Oh tender love, another broken heart Oh tender love another sleepless night there is a constant danger to the heart that can catch you by surprise and the secrets of the love you had can be a distant and fading star they'll disappear into the dark without a trace of light leaving nothing of your perfect lives but the pictures on the wall Oh tender love, another broken heart Oh tender love another sleepless night the winners are living out their dreams in the comfort of their disguise while the losers on the other hand are struggling to survive as the victims of this lover's game hide their faces in their shame the angels of the god of love sing a long and silent prayer Oh tender love, another broken heart Oh tender love another sleepless night

I was talking to the bums on 42nd Street I was listening to their sad lives it was down at the depot they would meet it was there they spoke of their strife and some would drink their old red wine just to help them pass the time some would sing those lonesome blues cause that's all they really knew it's a sad, sad story I've told about the men that stand in the cold it's a mad, mad world they've known these men with the heavy load well their ragged coats are made of tweed stuffed with papers no one needs they're called the sidewalk walkers and they're foul mouth talkers they wander through the night as stalkers of the light well they're poets and dreamers hiding from the past disguising all their lonely fears behind their laughter and their rags they ramble through the streets like shadows in the night it's a sad, sad story I've told about the men that stand in the cold it's a mad, mad world they've known these men with the heavy load some get sick in the early dawn as their world screams like thunder they know their life's not long so why save each other well, I left them in the early day down at the city park I didn't know what to say to the lonely men of the dark it's a sad, sad story I've told about the men that stand in the cold it's a mad, mad world they've known these men with the heavy load I was talking to the bums on 42nd Street I was listening to their sad lives it was down at the depot that they would meet it was there they spoke of their strife

There is a beginning to every ending in all the stages of your life and your light will keep on burning somewhere in the stars at night there is a beginning to every ending even when you lost someone you love so open up your heart and let it shine so open up your heart and let it shine there are loved ones that you have cherished that have helped you through the dark there are tender words that they have shared that are treasures in your heart there are days you might have questions when you're lost and running blind but there are friends that won't forget you even in the face of time There is a beginning to every ending in all the stages of your life and your light will keep on burning somewhere in the stars at night there is a beginning to every ending even when you lost someone you love so open up your heart and let it shine so open up your heart and let it shine there are friends that you have touched with all the grace of your life they hold all your hopes and dreams that keeps shinning in their eyes there are times we might have wonder what is the purpose of this test well there are no easy answers just know that you did your best

there's a great forest burning to the south of our homeland they say it's all in the name to promote the lives of man but the night skies reflect their lies as we turn to close our eyes too afraid to ask the cost too scared to face what we have lost to a world of a selfish sin in the townships they are crying to the sound of a distant drum they say they've lost the answers to the voices of their sons but the children lie in cold despair, no chance to save their lives too weak to try and make a stand too broken to hold onto a hand from the arms of deliverance we are on the brink, times when dreams are lost and the frontiers are closing down, with every passing glance it makes no sense, there is no defense to the age of indifference there's a dark storm that's coming to the heart of our hometowns and the gangs are fighting for control to try to take the rich men down and in the wake of all these drug wars there's only one way to survive too late to save their poor souls too blind to stop what we have bought from the hands of the innocent we are on the brink, times when dreams are lost and the frontiers are closing down, with every passing glance it makes no sense, there is no defense to the age of indifference there are heroes that are captured behind the walls of distant shores and they're calling out for freedom to try to open all the doors but the politicians try and hide behind the laws of their disgrace too tempted by their own greed too trapped to let their prisoners free from the chains of their bitterness we are on the brink, times when dreams are lost and the frontiers are closing down, with every passing glance it makes no sense, there is no defense to the age of indifference

I can see you walking down the dark avenues past my lonely room you're like the moonlight shining bright drowning all the stars and every time I see you it's like you were never gone and your know I'm lying here inside but you're too afraid to dance and I try to forget who you are and I try to escape from these scars but don't you know you're burning a hole in my life tearing my world apart oh girl, you're just a shadow in my heart oh girl, you're just a shadow in my heart I remember when we first met every night was like a dream flying free like two angels high above a distant storm making love like two crazy fools watching the world go by but the memories of that love are quickly fading fast and I try to forget who you are and I try to escape from these scars but don't you know you're burning a hole in my life tearing my world apart oh girl, you're just a shadow in my heart oh girl, you're just a shadow in my heart two castaways drifting far away from angry lives searching for a harbor to soothe our ravaged hearts and the voices they are fading from a time of quiet hope but the silence of these empty nights just won't let me go

he left his home just a boy of eighteen-year-old couldn't take the family life he was forced to live struggling to find his dreams like a lost fool in the night fighting for the love he couldn't find hiding from the lies behind their eyes he's a high-flying man and he really doesn't give a damn couldn't see the devils in the dark sheltered from the echoes of his heart he joined the faces in the crowd where you're just a name couldn't find a good friend and his hopes they passed him by started to feed the beast, cause it soothed his aching mind didn't know how hard life could be couldn't pay the price of being free he's a high-flying man and he really doesn't give a damn couldn't see the devils in the dark sheltered from the echoes of his heart the city finally drowned him on a cold December day he lie there crying with the tears of a saint he trusted fate to take him back home couldn't fight off all of the shame lost all his hopes to the game he's a high-flying man and he really doesn't give a damn couldn't see the devils in the dark sheltered from the echoes of his heart

Just a simple man with a simple dream Hoping the world can see, what it takes to be free What it takes to have some peace. free from all the differences, that is tearing us apart it's reaching out across the land, it's like a shadow in the dark we've got to join our hearts together, and build a better way, stop all the lies and hatred, that brings us back to the ancient days. Just a simple man with a simple dream Hoping the world can see, what it takes to be free What it takes to have some peace. free from all the children, that are naked in the night hoping somebody will save them, from the evils of their plight we've got to take them back into our arms, and show them that we care, and give them the love and shelter, that takes away all their empty fear. Just a simple man with a simple dream Hoping the world can see, what it takes to be free What it takes to have some peace. and the winds of tomorrow hold the answers to our fate and all we have to do is stop and open up the gate. Just a simple man with a simple dream Hoping the world can see, what it takes to be free What it takes to have some peace. free from all the voices, that are calling out in rage, they are clinging onto the ravaged lies by all the words that cause the pain, we've got to stand up follow my brothers, and extend a loving hand, bring an end to all this fighting, that steals away all our precious time. I'm just a simple man with a simple dream Hoping the world can see, what it takes to be free, What it takes to have some peace.

oh the cantos on my bookshelf with the words of a crazy man don't you know he lived by truth but died alone and sometimes his words were lost in obscurity but to some they made sense out of life but he was just a stranger in a foreign land the voice of freedom for the common man but they broke him like a child and left him alone with his dreams and on gray days when I'm feeling like the clouds pouring down I reach out and take the words of a poet man from one world to another I ride on his verses soft colors and some passion he left behind but he was just a stranger in a foreign land the voice of freedom for the common man but they broke him like a child and left him alone with his dreams and his friends they passed him by without seeing that look in his eyes like mirrors they reflected all their lies oh the cantos on my bookshelf with the words of a crazy man don't you know he lived by truth but died alone

we're headed into darker waters into places we don't know but as long as we have each other we'll never be alone we all have to be a little stronger help the ones that need a hand we know it won't be easy giving but we've got to make this stand take a look in your heart let it open wide take a hold of your love and let it be your guide let your heart open wide some days feel like forever like the walls are closing in we have to reach out for one another to stay in touch with our lives. we're all in this fight together even if we're far apart mother, father, sisters and brothers holding on to who we are take a look in your heart let it open wide take a hold of your love and let it be your guide let your heart open wide

born in the year of ninety seventy-eight a product of a war he never would appreciate raised on heroes he never knew in a fantasy land built on empty plans poor child never knew the success he was supposed to be his mother had all the social graces the father he never knew worked too hard to pay his dues forgotten people in forsaken places holding onto lies with their empty faces hidden from all the truth blinded by the masquerade but you don't care what you left astray and you wonder why I cry for yesterday sweet innocence won't you take, take me back again sweet innocence won't you take, take me back again generations of time they come and pass but ours was supposed to be the golden age expected to answer all your ancient questions when all of your promises faded into false dreams skeletons of your age still remain to haunt my soul some say we lost our chance that life is just a joke, a passing glance but I'll keep on struggling to change the ways and try and make you understand the pain of what it feels like to lose what you sought to gain but you don't care what you left astray and you wonder why I cry for yesterday sweet innocence won't you take, take me back again sweet innocence won't you take, take me back again