When I grow up I’m going to be demure
I’m gonna Tee Hee instead of guffaw
I’ll quite screaming at the TV during a game
And I’ll sit quietly like a proper dame

When I grow up I’ll not tell jokes
Or do my imitations of a frog croaking
I’ll reframe from yelling at a stupid driver
And when someone pisses me off, I’ll just smile

When I grow up I’ll be so proper
A transformation from funny to boring
I’ll read Cosmo instead of Road and Driver
And I’ll eat my fried chicken with a fork

Well, maybe not that

When I grow up I’ll wear shoes in the house
I’ll listen to the Metropolitan instead of the opera
Gonna replace Charlie Daniels picture with Pavarotti’s
I’ll drink wine in a stemmed glass instead of beer in a bottle

After writing this song
I think I’ll be like Peter Pan
And never grow old

I left you a note
Cleaned out my closet
Put your ring on the kitchen counter
And I left you a note

Have for forgotten who helped you with your addiction
Have you forgotten the crying, the pleading, and the begging
Stay, stay, stay, please stay
I promise I’ll get clean

I love you so
I need you so
I want you so
Please, please, please, stay

I put my life on hold
To save your soul
But to no avail, to no avail
You are back in rehab and I am leaving today

Find some else to hold your hand
Someone else to pull you up and to help you stand
I’ve done all that I can and I’m walking out the door
It’s time to save myself

I left you a note
I left you a note
I’ve done all that I can and all that I will
I left you a note.

When you have nothing but time to ponder and think

Your soul should hold no pain from your past
And sweet time now with you should abide

Every wrong or bad decision you will remember
Every hurtful thing you said will haunt you
So while you’re young think twice about that

Memories can be beautiful or they can cause pain
If you think now that you won’t cave, think again
Too late to make amends; you will be sorry

A face from the past or a hateful or mean thing done
Lack of respect or just being way to crass
My friend, trust me when I say, you’ll forget none

So while you are young think twice
Think twice about your words or your actions
You will relive your past that’s the price

With age, your life in the past, comes alive

Some poets say, “Tis better to have loved and lost”
But I say, “Oh no, no, no, it certainly is not”
Pain and misery are what you are left with
Fear and sadness and then certain bitterness

Had I never loved you, would I be hurting so
Everywhere I look, there are reminders of you
The book that you never finished reading
And left undone that wonderful painting

I close my eyes at night and I see you
Awaken with a start dreaming it’s not true
Our bed is so cold since you’ve been gone
My tears fall like from a sad, sad song

Friends say it will get better in time, in time
But they must not have had a love like yours and mine
Like a bell left un-rung like a song unsung
All time stands still when true love in gone

Some poets say, “Tis better to have loved and lost”
But I say, “Oh, no, no, no, it certainly is not”

Thought I had gotten over you, silly, silly me
Thought I put you on that shelf for all past lovers
But there you were on that park bench lookin’ so fine
The place where you said, “Good-bye” and broke that heart of mine

You didn’t see me, so I slipped behind a tree
My heart doing flip flops that no one could see
Must have just been foolin’ myself, that’s so true
Silly, silly fool to think I’d gotten over you

What do I do now-Just walk up and say, “Hello”
Or go back the way I came, pretend you never showed
I already know that I’m not good at pretending
I know I still love you but do I want you back again

My head is saying, “No, no you fool, not again”
But my heart is screaming, “Oh, yes, yes, yes you do
Go to him; listen to what he has to say to you
Or you’ll forever wonder what might have been”

Silly, silly fool
To think you had gotten over him

The wind whispers your name to me
The river lulls me with its mystery
Trees bending, swaying in a wild harmony
This is the land that I have loved

Soft gentle rain tap tapping on the panes
Geese honking saying winder time is coming
Gone are the stifling days of summer
Gone are the splashings in the lake for fun

The smell of snow is in the air
No more frogs croaking no more fireflies
Falling leaves rustling leaving branches bare
Shorter days in which to wander

Gone too soon was the summer
Gone to the wild flowers in the meadow
Gone lazy days of hammock laying
Or having time to just let your mind wander

Gone too too soon was the summer

As you walked out the door
You turned to me and said
“You’ll never make it all alone
You’ll never make it without me”

Now on my worse days and when they are so bad
When I am down in spirit and so very sad
I remember your worlds and I am so glad
The best motivational speech ever given

Twelve words of intense retaliation
Meant to hurt and cause humiliation
But like from the ashes the phoenix rose
A path unknown to me I simply chose

It is said, “We reap what we sow”
Truer words were never written
Cause you are back in Rehab
Sure wish you’d left me sooner

But “Better later than never
Better later than never”

Every night I say the same prayer of thanksgiving
“Thank you for those twelve little words”
Just twelve little words
That set me free
“You’ll never make it all alone
You’ll never make it without me”

Boy, you were so wrong

We moved down here from way up north
The boy next door to us was luscious
He asked me to go on a date
He asked me to go a gigging
I was so thrilled I couldn’t wait

Spent two hours on my hair
Make-up put with care
Nails done with little stars on
Wore my Ralph Lauren jeans
New shirt, shoes with special laces

He picked me up in a 4-wheeler at eight
I did think that was a bit strange
We drove through the muddy fields
Coming at last to a couple of ponds
He hands me a stick with prongs
And says, “come on come on
This is gonna be fun
We are going to get dirty”

The moral of my story: He said, “We were gonna get dirty”
I did not know he meant literally

Southern boys sure know how to make a good impression on their first date
And they really know how to treat a Yankee.

Have you ever seen the Red River Valley
Or swam in the turbulent Missouri
Pitched a tent in the Tetons or Grand Canyon
Rafted down the majestic Colorado

Have you hunted bears, elk, moose, or buffalo
Slept under the stars in the great state of Texas
Or rode a buckin’ bronco in Amarillo
Ventured across the border into “Me-hi-co”

Have you ridden a horse across Montana
Hiked a trial from Idaho to Canada
Or seen the bad, Bad Lands of the La Kowtos
Viewed carvings of Crazy Horse or Rushmore

How long has it been since you’ve heard a loon tune
Or made love in the glow of a Harvest Moon
Or seen the beauty of Mother Nature’s plains
Hitched a ride in a Wild West Wagon train

You say dangerous—I say doldrums
Be safe from all harm and die of boredom
It’s a small world but oh so wonderful
Go make memories for a lifetime

Com on people have some fun
Life should be an adventure
Go out shouting, “What a ride!”
Go out shouting, “What a ride, what a ride

I was born in a Smokey Mountain holler
Grew up alongside all kinds of wildlife
Bears, mountain men, cats wearing dresses, earrings, knives

My pappy taught me how to run like hell
When he came a-lookin’ to give me a whoopin’
My brothers taught me how to fight and stay out of jail
My sisters taught me how to flirt, how to get a girl

Now, I’m better at flirtin’ than at fightin’
That’s why I stay in so much trouble
Then there gals I can’t figure out
One minute they’re a kissin’; next they’re a shootin’

I like the danger of making moonshine
Playin’ Hide and Seek with the sheriff and
Driving crazy at night though the mountain side
Turn off your lights and they’ll never find you

I like making shine
Kissin’ purdy gals so fine
Both can get you into trouble
Both can get you killed

I like livin’ in our mountain holler
With the wild, wild animals of the human king