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Big Texas Sky

by Darryl Gregory

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1.
I run my hands across the keys Black and white and yellowed with age The pedals groan - dust makes me sneeze Old music notes fall from the page As I play As I play As I play Aunt Jean's piano I was not privileged to hear her sing She died before my parents wed They say she pulled angels from this thing Then angels carried her from her bed And I play I play I play Aunt Jean's piano Jean - Won't you play that number About Jesus near the cross Her Pa loved the old Methodist Hymns Jean - Please play something so's We can have a dance Her sisters and brother gathered round And they all wanted a chance To play To play To play on Jean's piano I feel her ghost inside the chords As they drift around this room I see her dancing on the porch Singing an old Texas tune God called her home too young She was only twenty-four So many songs left un-sung A piece of furniture left by the door Now I get to play I play I play Aunt Jean's piano
2.
[verse1] No good-byes from her Mama As she ran outside Stood on that dirt road Under a big Texas sky And the tears came down For all the damage done She's gonna run far From this broke down life Step Daddy's greasy hands And his visits in the night He ain't gonna hold her down this time She ain't lookin' back this time [chorus] Cause she knows love is Anywhere but here She knows hope is Anywhere but here She waits for a ride In the dust and desolation Not thinking about her destination As long as it's Anywhere but here [verse 2] She climbs up in the cab Of a beat up old Ford The boy who was drivin Leans over and shuts her door She can smell the beer and the sweat But she smiles anyway He lights a cigarette And rolls his window down Say something about gettin married And stayin here in town But that's just the same old story Different book but same old story [chorus] Cause she knows love is Anywhere but here She knows hope is Anywhere but here She looks in his eyes for an affirmation Sees no sign of her salvation She knows that it's Anywhere but here [bridge] She says Oh God please Help me up off my knees She cries Oh God why Was I born under this big Texas sky [verse3] She's gonna run far From this broke down life From every little thing That ain't treatin her right They ain't gonna hold her down this time She ain't gonna be forgivin this time Make some changes for good this time [chorus] Cause she knows love is Anywhere but here She knows hope is Anywhere but here She got a ticket for a bus Headed to Austin Or is it Detroit? Maybe it's Boston? As long as it's Anywhere but here
3.
Workin' Man 03:04
I'm a working man I'm chained to the wheel I'm a working man They don't care how I feel I'm a working man Got my hammer driving steel I'm a working man And it's a down-dirt devil's deal I work Cause baby needs a new dress I work Cause baby needs a diamond ring I work Cause baby needs some red shoes I work Baby thinks that I'm a fool Cause I'm a working man I'm nailed to the cross I'm a working man They treat me like a dog I'm a working man Don't get no time off I'm a working man Punch in late get hell from the boss Yeah work Cause baby needs a penthouse view I work Cause baby needs caviar I work Cause baby needs a mink coat I work Baby don't know why I'm broke I'm a working man I know the words to the union song I'm a working man Hear the whistle man then I'm gone I'm a working man This job will kill me before too long 'cause I'm a working man A working man A working man You can bury me with a shovel in my hand I'm a working man
4.
She hears me pull into the driveway Same time for twenty years or more She’ll be helping the kids with their homework As I come through that old kitchen door I pull her in tight and hold a little too long But she’s holding a stranger and knows something’s wrong It took one little push in this economy For the dominoes to fall right down on me Then the corner office boys Well they sent me their letter Now I feel like a thief in the night Like a ghost in my soul I’m going out of my mind I’m afraid to deliver disappointment Collecting her tears in kind How do I tell her the sun’s going down? How do I tell her the sun’s going down? How do I tell her the sun’s going down on me? She’s searching my face for answers She studies my hands for signs Got no Hallmark card to console her You can’t fix this world with a rhyme Why can’t I trust her love for me? Til death do us part and all that’s supposed to mean I’m too angry and too old to start it up again When the bank’s run dry there no room to pretend She says Baby We’re gonna work it on out Still I feel like a thief in the night Like a ghost in my soul I’m going out of my mind I’m afraid to deliver disappointment Collecting her tears in kind How do I tell her the sun’s going down? How do I tell her the sun’s going down? How do I tell her the sun’s going down on me? I’ve lost that free and easy Got the world on my mind But when she kisses my face so softly I just leave my worries behind She tells me You're no thief in the night You got reasons to hold your head up high She says baby I got faith that you’ll deliver And look your fears in the eye So why should I care if the sun’s going down When she pulls me close and turns my head around She whispers baby our love is the key Her simple words Allow the sun – to shine down on me
5.
What about you What about me Was I your guiding light Your rock of Gibraltar Did I part the sea What about the moon What about the sun Was I everything you wished for Was I the one So what about you So what about me And what about love Place your hand upon my face Each touch is a memory A different place I'll stop the newspaper I'll call the kids Put our stuff in a plastic box And close the lid So this is all we have So this is all we've earned A simple good-bye A tear in the eye And then we breathe Every morning we breathe What about you What about me Was I your guiding light Your rock of Gibraltar Did I part the sea What about the moon What about the sun Was I everything you wished for Was I the one So what about you So what about me And what about love
6.
I am an old man I have an old man's body I have an old man's memories I see with old man's eyes There ain't nothing left for me No more Christmas mornings I'm tired to the marrow And I'm ready to die Long time ago I was a sailor Long time ago I fell in love She made me give up the sea Built her a house in the low country And we watched time pass through our hands like so much water What I'd give to see her face again Have a whiskey with my old friends But here I sit like a poor lamb led to slaughter I am an old man I have an old man's body I have an old man's memories I see with old man's eyes I've played all my pieces I've won some I've lost some But it doesn't really matter When you're preparing to die I was a man of broad shoulders Never thought my strength would disappear Death snuck up behind Cause I paid him no mind Now we sit here in familiar conversation My children whisper their good-byes They stare into my eyes In me they see their future compensation I am an old man You can beat the drum slowly You can dress me in white linen Like a lonely cowboy I did my share of living I loved and lost Like all men do And here at the end I've got nothing left to prove I am an old man I have an old man's body I have an old man's memories I see with old man's eyes There ain't nothing left for me No more Christmas mornings I see the angels a comin' And I'm ready to fly
7.
Give me peace In my soul Give me love Let me rock-n-roll I'm gonna reach up into heaven And touch the light of an angel's wing Bring it all back to my heart So the world can hear me sing Hallelujah May compassion light my way Through these dark uncertain times An irresistible call Illuminates my heart and mind All that I have taken in I will spill out to those in need The more I give from my treasure The more wealth I will receive Singing Hallelujah May we all feel the light May we all feel the light May we all feel the brilliant light of love Give me peace In my soul Give me love Let me rock-n-roll I'm gonna reach up into heaven And touch the light of an angel's wing Bring it all back to my heart So the world can hear me sing Hallelujah

about

”Big Texas Sky” is a country album at heart and pulls a lot of the usual emotional strings, but it’s also a love letter to my Texas roots and the down to earth, real life feeling I got whenever I visited my kin in the Lone Star State.

The title of the CD comes from a line in the second track ‘Anywhere But Here’ when the protagonist asks why she was born under a Big Texas Sky. The image of a big sky overhead makes me think of God: the omnipresence, the spirit that is always there, the unseen/unfelt watcher. It's overhead as we live our lives. We either acknowledge it or not, but the fact remains that it is there. Each of these songs are stories of the everyday life we all lead with the final song wrapping it all up with a prayer and a hallelujah.

credits

released March 1, 2012

The Talent:

Jim Allyn - mandolin, fiddle (track 1); piano (track 6 & 7)

Francine Wheeler - vocals (track 5)

Michel Rae Driscoll - vocals (track 1)

Wayne Johnson - vocals (track 7)

Oni Johnson-Hackle - vocals (track 7)

Darryl Gregory - vocals, guitars & bass, piano (track 1), drum inventions, odds & ends

Recorded and mixed at Blue Cave Studios (www.bluecavestudios.com)

Mastered by Brian Hazard, Resonance Mastering (www.resonancemastering.com)

Cover Art by David Cole Wheeler

Cover photo by Renato Ghio (www.rmedia.tv)

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Darryl Gregory Connecticut

Take a little Mellencamp, throw in some Cash, stir with a dash of Hiatt and flavor with Springsteen & Earle. Sounds Like Darryl Gregory. Heat-n-Eat! mmm good.

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