KINDA LIKE LOVE

Bobby Allison & Mac Elsensohn

 

She walked in to the bar room not a day over twenty two

Heads turned, eyes burned, temperatures were rising too

And the loser, and the drifter, and the man behind the bar

All agreed she had potential and that guidance was not far away

And the cowboy by the station where the waitress pays her dues

Was not looking for a lover, just someone else to use

It’s not a long way from the dance floor to the dark of the parking lot

It’s kinda like love, but it’s not

It’s kinda like love so young and tender

Kinda like the moves that you used to make but you don’t remember

Kinda like being sixteen and hot when you gave it everything that you got

It’s kinda like love, but it’s not

Well the cowboy he walked over to say “how do you do”

He said something about Texas, but she knew what he was gettin’ to

And they ordered more Tequila, while the man behind the bar

Was talking about a job that he had last year in a town that was not far away

And I walked out of that bar room, Lord I did not turn around

I guess I knew where they were goin’ to and I knew what was goin’ down

It’s not a long way from the dance floor to the dark of the parking lot

It’s kinda like love, but it’s not

It’s kinda like love so young and tender

Kinda like the moves that you used to make but you don’t remember 

Kinda like being sixteen and hot when you were givin’ everything that you got

It’s kinda like love, but it’s not

 

BITE THE BULLET

Gerry Spehar & Bobby Allison

 

There was a time when I was young

I used to light the stars and heat the sun

I’d run around all night long

Paint this town til the dawn

But, I can’t do that anymore 

Cause these old bone are getting sore

I gotta find myself a better plan

I gotta bite the bullet ‘fore I kick the can

Bite the bullet, kick the habit

If’n this dog gonna catch that rabbit

I got to take my medicine

I gotta bite the bullet ‘fore I kick the can

So, no more smokes, no honky tonk bars

No more wild wild women, hot rod cars

This crazy life, that passion play

It’s heaven sent but hell to pay

I wrote that book and I’ll turn that page

I’m gonna settle down and act my age

You’re gonna see a different man

I’m gonna bite the bullet ‘fore I kick the can

Bite the bullet, kick the habit

This ol dog’s gonna catch that rabbit

I’m gonna take my medicine

I’m gonna bite the bullet ‘fore I kick the can

After all those years of hard livin’

I gotta do a little house cleanin’

Straighten up before I meet The Man

I’m gonna bite the bullet ‘fore I kick the can

Bite the bullet, kick the habit

This ol dog’s gonna catch that rabbit

My rowdy friends don’t think I can

But I’m gonna bite the bullet ‘fore I kick the can

 

BABY’S GOT THE BLUES

Bobby Allison & Gerry Spehar

 

Baby's got the blues

Wearin’ down the corners of her smile

Ain't nothin' I can do

Seems all my tricks are goin' out of style

Well, I'm all night comin' home

But what's a workin' man to do

Try to bring home happy news

Baby's got the blues

She sees raindrops in a sunny sky

She turns her hellos into goodbyes

And every time I ask her

“Baby, what's wrong with you?”

She just tells me Baby's got the blues

Could it be another guy

Oh no, she would never make me cry

Could she feel just a little bit used

Baby's got the blues

Seems like lately when she looks at me

Somethin’ ain't the way it's supposed to be

I don't understand it and I don't know what to do

All I know is Baby's got the blues

 

JUST RELAX

Gerry Spehar & Bobby Allison

 

Buzz clock buzz, shake your weary head

One foot in my slipper and the other one in bed

It’s time to wake the monkey up, he’s got a steady job

Just swingin’ from my backbone, he’s a condescending snob

See Jack run his fingers through his hair

Once it was a forest now there ain’t a whole lot there

Must a been that monkey pulled them suckers out

Just taking care of business, same old in and out

If I could just relax, put my self at ease

If I could just relax, let nothing bother me

I wouldn’t have to worry ‘bout no stress or heart attack

I’d just kick back with my monkey, Lord, and just relax

Now, everybody’s got a monkey, you carry it around

Could be your job, could be your lover, whatever gets you down

But if that crazy monkey tries to make a monkey outa you

Just kick back in your easy chair, and this is what you do

Ya say, goin’ goin’ gone, is where I’m gonna be

Hound dog lazy in the shade of some ol’ tree

Fishin’ line a danglin’ just a tuggin’ at my toe

Don’t have to be nobody, just an ordinary Joe

And I can just relax, floatin’ on the breeze

I’m so relaxed, ain’t nothin’ bothering me

Cancel my appointments I ain’t never goin’ back

I’m gonna kick back with my monkey, Lord, and just relax

 

MONEY

Bobby Allison & Gerry Spehar

  

I was next in line when the bubble went bust

And that’s when I learned you really can’t trust Bankers Trust

All those hopes, all those dreams

Up in smoke. makes you wanna scream

Money, maybe it works for you

All it ever did for me is make me do things I don’t wanna do 

Took all I had left, bought her that ring

She said Baby you got nothin’ but think I’m gonna keep this thing

All that love, all those dreams

Up in smoke, makes you wonder what it means

Money, maybe it works for you

All it ever did for me is make me do things I don’t wanna do

Now DB Cooper hijacked an airplane and disappeared

In a parachute over the Cascades

If the weather ever clears, gonna get me some

Money, money makes the world go round

And the thing about money, we all love the jingling sound

Now, I’m sittin’ here watchin’ the TV give me the news

‘Bout billionaires gettin’ theirs, and all I get is the blues

Go to work every day

And the Big Boss Man sucks up all the pay

Maybe that works for you

But all it ever did for me is make me do things I don’t wanna do

I love that jingling sound

But oh what I lost for every little bit that I found

 

THE GOOD LIFE

Gerry Spehar & Bobby Allison

 

There’s a welcome home look in her eyes

Been too long away from her side

Chasin' a rainbow or two

Searchin' for gold, comin' up blue

Now I'm holding her watchin' T.V.

They're sellin’ the good life to Baby and me

I said, Honey, there go my dreams

I want the good life, and she said to me

The good life, it ain't what you see on T.V.

The good life ain't money, a house by the sea

The good life ain't somewhere off in the blue

The good life, Baby, it's you

Honey, where do I start

To show you the good life is here in our hearts

And I don't need diamonds or pearls

I have the good life just being your girl

The good life, it ain't what you see on T.V.

The good life ain't money, a house by the sea

The good life ain't somewhere off in the blue

The good life, Baby, it's you

 

DELTA MAN

Gerry Spehar & Bobby Allison

 

Ain’t nothin’ wrong with a little rain

Ain’t nothin’ right ‘bout a hurricane

Ain’t nothin’ good ‘bout a sea of pain

Drop a pill in the water and do it again

He dealt a bad hand to the Delta Man

Playin’ his cards now best he can

Got an ol’ guitar in his trembling hands

Dealt a bad hand to the Delta Man

Say a little prayer for the Delta Man

Don’t need a prison to lock up the night

Don’t need a vision to see the light

Don’t need a preacher to know what’s right

Don’t need a lawyer to stand up and fight

He dealt a bad hand to the Delta Man

He’s playin’ his cards best he can

Singin’ his song with a trembling voice

Delta Man ain’t got no choice

Say a little prayer for the Delta Man

Says, this here’s the party now, like it or not

So dance with the Devil give it all you got

Sometimes Heaven and sometimes Hell

One or the other and you never can tell

Say a little prayer

Say a little prayer

Here comes the color of the sky at dawn

Here comes the Sun just gettin’ it on

Here comes quiet at the end of day

Here comes God get ready to pray

Say a little prayer

Say a little prayer

Callin’ His name with a trembling voice

Delta Man ain’t got no choice

Dealt a bad hand to the Delta Man

Say a little prayer for the Delta Man

 

ROCKIN’ ON A COUNTRY DANCE FLOOR

Bobby Allison & Gerry Spehar

 

I am a country boy from way down on the far 

Spend all day pitchin' hay in the barn

When the weekend rolls around, tell you what I'm gonna do

Slap some polish on my boots, run a rake through my doo

Slip my tight jeans on, I'm revved and ready to roar

Yeah, tonight I'm gonna rock on a country dance floor

I am a real cowhand, grew up with

Willy and Hank

But I love to hear the Allman Brothers doin' their thing

I got a mean two-step and I can boogie woogie, too

Slow it to a waltz or some rhythm and blues

Now don't get me wrong, I'm country to the core

But tonight I’m gonna rock on a country dance floor

Well I grew up with the music from the Mississippi scene

Just a stone's throw away from New Orleans

Mama loved Elvis and Daddy loved the Blues

And it all came together in these rockabilly boots

Don’t mean to ruffle any feathers,

I don't wanna start a fuss

I know you must be thinkin' I've fallen off the bus

How can I be country and love to rock and roll

I told you Mama loved Elvis, that's all you need to know

I'm country, don't you doubt it, from my Stetson to my toes

But tonight I'm gonna rock on a country dance floor

I'm country, don't doubt it, from my Stetson to my toes

And tonight you'll find me rockin' on a country dance floor

 

EYE OF THE NEEDLE

Gerry Spehar & Bobby Allison

 

Well, I’m lookin’ for a number and I just got off of the road

I don’t know where I’m goin’ and I’m carrying a heavy load

Someone said it was around here somewhere

Small little shack alone and threadbare

In the eye of the needle, you’re lookin’ down on the ground

In the eye of the needle, you cannot hear a sound

In the eye of the needle

There’s a beggar on the corner telling everybody what He said

And the Salvation Army Corps is fightin’ for its daily bread

Red light full pail window washer

Don’t be in a hurry, it’s only gonna cost your more

Through the eye of the needle, you can’t get there from here

In the eye of the needle, don’t believe what you hear

In the eye of the needle

Man on the sign has a pack of Camel cigarettes

Got a looker on his arm, it’s about as good as it gets

Billboard Satan revelation

It’s all about my situation

In the eye of the needle, rich man goes to war

In the eye of the needle, nothing gets you more

In the eye of the needle

 

RIVER

Gerry Spehar

​

They call the county round here Rive 

And my homeland Tennessee

I come here to watch the flowers

And to think of you and me

As I lie here in the sunshine

I remember every word

That ever crossed the air between us

They just hang there like a bird

How the ring upon your finger

Used to break apart the light

Into all its many colors

When you and I would start to fight

And I could never understand it

How all those colors came from one

How all those feelings came from our love

And broke apart just like the sun

I just can't believe this river

I just can't believe the sea

Would take your love away forever

Not remember you and me

So I'm waiting for the water

To turn around and flow back home

I'm still waiting for the sunlight

To remember that it's one

 

BUBBA BILLY BOOM BOOM & ME

Gerry Spehar, Bobby Allison & Mac Elsensohn

  

When you're a little lonely and you're feelin' blue

Here's a little somethin', Baby, you can do

They got a rockin' little club on down the street

Jump back Jack, got a Rockabilly beat

Four piece combination and the cats are cool

They call 'em Bubba, Billy, Boom Boom and you know who

They go Rockabilly bebop boom boom bang-a-lang all night long

Rockabilly bebop boom boom bang-a-lang all night long, all night long

Bubba he's a rocker, that's a natural fact

He can blow that sax like a candle burnin' wax

They call the drummer Billy, the back-beat king

'Cause he love that boogie woogie kinda melody

Boom Boom on the bottom, he's hold in' it down

I got my 'lectric guitar, I'm crankin' loud and proud

We go Rockabilly bebop boom boom bang-a-lang all night long

Rockabilly bebop boom boom bang-a-lang all night long, all night long

We opened up a show just the other night

We never sounded better, we was dynamite

This fella came up to us in between the sets

Said, "Call me at this number, don't forget"

Turned out he was a big-shot from Tennessee

So we loaded up the truck and we drove to Music City singin'

Rockabilly bebop boom boom bang-a-lang

Bye bye, Baby, bye bye, Baby

They took us down to the studio

Turned the lights way down low

Bubba starts bop bop bop bop boppin'

Billy starts pop pop pop pop poppin'

Boom Boom walkin' it way down low

I said "Come on Cats, let's go"

We went all night long, all night long

So when you're a little lonely, when you're feelin' blue

Here's a little somethin', Baby, you can do

You don't got to haul it on down to the hop

Just open up the doors to the record shop

And this is what you tell ‘em when you lay down the loot

I want Bubba, Billy, Boom Boom and you know who

They go Rockabilly bebop boom boom bang-a-lang all night long

Rockabilly bebop boom boom bang-a-lang all night long, all night long

 

25 MILES TO BRADY

Gerry & Susan Spehar

 

25 miles to Brady and I’m just startin’ out

25 miles to Brady, that’s what it’s all about

He’s the best there ever was and I’m gonna get there too

25 miles to Brady, I’m comin’ after you

Just a Hail Mary from Brady Texas where the Bulldogs rule the roost

In the cotton fields and the mesquite hills I was born to barbeque

Hung a tire on a rope from an ol’ oak tree out in my back yard

And a big ol’ number 12 from the corner of my heart

25 miles to Brady, ain’t nothin’ else to do

25 miles to Brady, I’m comin’ after you

Every day a thousand pigs went flying through that tire

‘Til my right arm ‘bout fell off and I threw ‘em on a wire

Now I’m a bout to graduate and all four years we took state

They say I’ll be the next big thing but there’s a ways to go to catch the King

25 miles to Brady and I’m just startin’ out

25 miles to Brady, that’s what it’s all about

Drivin’ into town ‘cross the Concho County line

That 18-mile marker always chapped my hide

‘Cause we ain’t got no Peyton Texas out here on the plains

And we ain’t got no Elway, round here there’s just one name

25 miles to Brady, best there ever was

25 miles to Brady, you can hear those rockets buzz

You know 25 miles is 44,000 yards

And that’s about what Brady had when I was just a Bulldog pup

Now he’s at 51, 798 and countin’ and Elway’s in his rear view

And that’s 29 miles 29 miles to Brady and I’m just startin’ out

29 miles to Brady, that’s what it’s all about 

He’s the best there ever was and I’m a gonna get there too

29 miles to Brady, I’’m comin’ after you

 

 

TRAIN TRAIN TRAIN

Gerry Spehar & Bobby Allison

 

Train, Train, Train, where you goin' tonight

Are you goin' down to Houston, will you get there all right

If that is your destination, or somewhere thereabouts

Won't you take me to my Baby, won't you please help me out

'Cause all that I can feel in my brain, brain, brain Is I wish I was a train, train, train

Pain, pain, pain, don't you know how I hurt

When I'm not with my Baby I am down in the dirt

A little locomotion will carry me through

Won't you take me down to see her, Man, I'm countin' on you

'Cause all that I can feel in my brain, brain, brain

Is I wish I was a train, train, trai

I know my Baby needs me and she always will

See, I am the family doctor, got a 'scription to fill

A little transportation would sure do me fine

So blow your big whistle take me on down the line

Choo Choo, do you have a little more steam

Do you ever miss your Baby, do you know what I mean

Can you blow a signal on down the track

Can you get it to my Baby, tell her I'm comin' back

'Cause all that I can feel in my poor boy brain

Is I wish I was a train, train, train

​

BALMORHEA 

Bobby Allison & Gerry Spehar

 

There’s been times in my life I’ve felt comfort and kindness

Thinking things would always stay the same

But time has a way of turning light into darkness

The more things change the more they stay the same

Like me I guess, just riding down life’s highway

A weathered thumb in a beat up Chevrolet

But when comes the time I can go no further

And I can’t find a reason or a way

I go back to Balmorhea

Looking for those happy days

Me and my mom and an old cane pole

Heading out for the fishing hole

When nights are cold, when I’m feeling old, when the sky is grey

I go back to Balmorhea

I been broke, bent, beat and brokenhearted

I spent every dollar of my youth

I stole the blues from sadness, sold the truth for badness

And all I got was longer in the tooth

So many miles and yesterdays behind me

Ships that I sent sailing out to sea

Those that returned serve to remind me

Somewhere there’s a forest for the trees

I go back to Balmorhea

Looking for those happy days

Me and my mom and an old cane pole

Heading out for the fishing hole

When nights are cold, when I’m feeling old, when I need a better day

I go back to Balmorhea

I go back to Balmorhea

Looking for those happy days

Me and my mom and an old cane pole

Heading out for the fishing hole

When nights are cold, when I’m feeling old, when the sky is grey

I go back to Balmorhea

 

HERE IN THE PASS

Gerry Spehar, Bobby & Ernie Allison

​

I hope the wind is blowing wes 

Cause that’s when fishing’s at its best

The boats are out upon the sea

Scraping oysters off the reef

They bring ‘em back into the harbor

In ten pound gunny sacks and larger

They sell 'em right here on the street

For twenty bucks all you can eat

Here in the Pass that’s what we do

Here on the Gulf and the Blue Bayou

We watch the seabirds fill the sky

We sit and wait for sunset time

When iridescence paints still water

Blue and orchid, pink and silver

Down on the beach at Half Moon Bay

We sit and listen to Bobby play

This ain’t New York, it ain’t LA

But once you’re here you’re gonna stay

So keep the few things that you need

And throw the rest into the sea

Here in the Pass that’s what we do

Here on the Gulf and the Blue Bayou

We sit and watch pelicans flock

We stop and listen to the sea gulls talk

We watch a full moon light the sky

We count the boats floating by

We sit and listen to Bobby play

We watch the notes sail across the bay