Ryan Balthrop Debut Album
Song Lyrics

This old car keeps breaking down.
So we fix ‘er back up and she gets us around.
But, these old parts, they be wearin’ thin,
and now we’re stranded on the road with our heads in
the wind, and wonderin’ when we’ll have to trade ‘er in.

Love is a car – an old one –
and it has taken us to some fine places.
But, baby, we ain’t gonna make it very far,
with worn out souls and tired faces.
Let’s take this old car back to the fine places we been.
My sweet love and my best friend, let’s fix ‘er up again.
This old car we call love.

Get tired of livin’ in this same damn town.
Seems everyone gets off from talkin’ us down.
One of these days there’s gonna blow a new wind.
When friends are enemies and enemies friends.
It’d be a God dang shame, we let it happen again.
Don’t ya wanna go back to the places we been.
Come on, baby, let’s fix ‘er up again.
This old car that we call love.

Love is a car – an old one –
and it can take us to some dark places.
But, woman, we’ve come so far. It’s been a long road,
don’t you need a warm embrace?
Let’s take this old car back to the fine places we’ve been.
My sweet love and my best friend. C’mon, babe,
let’s fix ‘er up again.  This old car that we call love.
Get me where I’m goin’, babe.  Lord, won’t you help me rise above?

If I could sweep my feet, my achin’ feet, back on to this shaky ground, the only sound you would hear, pretty mama, would be one foot in front of the other. I don’t know where I’m goin’… but I’m walkin’ away.  Ain’t nothing left to say. Ain’t heard a sweet word from you in a couple a days.  I guess this ol’ boy gonna find a new place to stay.  I got two good eyes, but I just can’t see.

What the hell ever happened, what happened to our love?
I know now I gotta dig deep down inside before I rise above.  She was the only woman, only one could ever wake me up.  I’d be sleepin’ in my lonely coma, or drinkin’ from half a cup.  I look down to my feet, my feet just sweepin’ the ground.  I open up my sleepy eyes, but I can’t hear my woman’s sweet sound.

So I walk down the road alone, I wish that we was walkin’ hand in hand.  I realize I need a good girl to make me a good man.  I take a step on back, and I take a step to the side, gonna spit out all my love and swallow all my pride. I’m comin’ home, baby.  Yes, I’m comin’ home to stay. These days alone been nothin’ but gray.  I need you so bad - you the best thing I could ever dream to have.

You climbed so high up on my broken ladder.
Everything in my little world faded away, ain’t nothin’ else matters.  And now the further I fall down, it’s the higher I feel.  If you wanna get to the fruit, well, just gotta peel the peel.  You can’t walk away if there’s one more sweet word you can say.  Just throw your foolish pride away. That’s what I done - I’m comin’ home to stay.  In the sweet lovin’ woman’s soul is where I’m gonna lay.

I need some lovin’, more than the heavens need the stars above.  You’ve opened my eyes, and now I see. You the best thing ever happened to a fool like me.  I learned my lesson well, a little birdie told me so. A lonely man can’t go everywhere the cold wind blows. Gotta be by my woman’s side with the lights down low.  A lonely wind blows - it blows too damn cold. You’ve opened my eyes, and now I see.
You the best thing ever happened to a fool like me.

Yesterday I hit rock bottom. Broke down on the floor.
Sometimes you take your lessons, ‘times you need a little more.  Spittin’ and sufferin’, and swearin’ at the sky,
Tryin’ to figure out all the answers, but I can’t figure out just why.

[chorus] Sometimes you gotta go, way down low.
Sometimes it’s the only way to go.  Way down low, way down to the bottom of your soul.

So you say you’ve hit rock bottom. We’ve all been there before.  One man’s ceiling is another man’s floor.  And it takes a little time, but you’ll get a lot of healing.  One man’s floor is another man’s ceiling.

[chorus]

When you get there, you’ll know.
There is only one yesterday, there’s only one tomorrow.
It’s best to take it day by day when you’re sifting through your sorrow.  Sometimes it takes a dirty floor to help you find that open door. Our fragile minds cannot endure when our hearts are so impure.  Are you tired of being so unsure? Go find what you’re looking for – way down low.

[chorus]

I believe our souls will live forever.
Someday my body go’n’ give up on me.
My soul gonna move to the other side of town.
Maybe gonna go to another country.
I believe it’s gonna pass to a whole other world.
But it’s gonna cross a line that we just can’t see.
We may not know, but ya gotta believe.
It’s gonna cross a line that we just can’t see.
My name’s not Moe, but I gotta believe!

If you think you know where your soul’s gonna be movin’,
I’d like to take a look and watch ya prove it.
But if you can show me, then it’s your time to go.
So maybe you don’t wanna show me, and maybe I don’t wanna know.
[chorus]
Someday my body go’n’ give up on me and it’s all right.  Someday my mind will be completely free, and it’s all right.  Sometimes my soul jumps right out of me in the middle of the night.  But right now ain’t no better place, there ain’t no better place.  I said, right now there ain’t no better place my soul would rather be.

Yo’ soul can leave without usin’ the door or window.
No use in packin’ up, just get ready for another beautiful tomorrow.  When this world’s done with me you can spread my ashes around.  Your body ain’t no good to you if there ain’t a soul around.

[chorus] [bridge]

One day we’ll take that train, All aboard! It’s headin’ to the higher plain.  There’s a world where there ain’t no pain. When we go home, back to the place from where we came.

Someday we will all be invited to that great big party in the sky.  Someday we will all have wings and we will all know the reasons why.  We are all children, each and every one.  We’re livin’ our nights under the moon and our days under the sun.  We are all children, members of the choir, and we’re learning the words to the song of life.  And one day we’ll have wings and fly to that great big party in the sky.

Sometimes - I sing myself to sleep at night, so I won’t sit up and wonder why.  Why do we die?  And why? - Why are we alive?  God rest my soul, night after night after night.
Mother Nature and Father Time, they will guide, and they decide how long we go along for the ride. So, sing out and sing along.  Sing to the sky. You’ll never when, but you’ll find out why.

Keep singin’ to the sky, each and every line.
Sing to the sky, you’ll find the notes in time.
Sing to the sky and someday you’ll fly.
You and I, let’s keep singin’ to the sky.

Someday we will all be invited to that great big party in the sky.  Someday we will all have wings and we will all know the reasons why.  We are all children, we are a choir and we’re learning the words to the song of life.
Each day adds a new verse, each year a new refrain.
It’s a song with many changes, and oh how it gets rearranged.  You are a member of the choir.   Learn the words and sing the song of life and one day you’ll have wings and fly to that great big party in the sky.

My baby gives me inspiration - I like the way she pushes me.  A man on the street said, “Give me a dollar”.  She say, “Hey, baby, why don’t you give him three?”  She give me my revelations daily, but they don’t come for free. She’s got a faith like no other, like no other you’ve ever seen.  Sees the heart in all good people. She does it all in spite of me. 

I come home drunk, ‘bout half past four; bare feet  poundin’ across the kitchen floor.  And when I wake her from her sleep, she says, “Baby, keep it down would ya? Good Lord”.  She give me words of wisdom. She keeps me comin’ back for more.

[Chorus] It’s been a long, hard ride, but it’s just begun.  Daytime, sunshine, havin’ too much fun.  Don’t need no Bible for my St. John Revelation.  I turn and I look in her eyes – Chapter One, Verse One, from the Book of St. John – Revelation.

She’s a strong-minded woman, she’s a laid-back little girl.  The youngest daughter of the ocean, she’s my mother of pearl. Her waves rise to my occasions like the sunrise on this world.

I flip-flop in my emotions. She takes it all in stride.
I hide behind my silly notions.  She sees through my disguise - every time.

I come home drunk, half past four.  Bare feet poundin’ across the bedroom floor.  And when I wake her from her sleep, she says, “Hey, Baby, keep it down - Good Lord”.  She give me words of wisdom.  She give me so much more - more, more, more.
[chorus]

I want to lay all day, I’m gonna take myself on down to Cinnamon Bay.  I want to play all night, we’re keepin’ it loose, and it feels all right.  I got a good life this day, got no complaints. I work a couple of hours and I smoke a joint.  I point the gun at the thrushy, the mongoose, too. I drink a cup of fruit juice ‘cause it keeps me loose. 
I been ‘round long enough to take a few steps. Don’t get me wrong, I like to keep it fresh, but I like it right here in this small island town, where its green, blue, yellow and brown.

[Chorus] I’m gonna live by the ocean. It keeps us in motion.  Slips she the potion.  So we can live off the land and live by the water, live off the land and live by the water.   Live off the land and live by the water…

Right here, right here, nowhere else, right here.

I want to lay all day St. John, Virgin Islands, Hatch Band back in the day. That’s where I learned to throw down right. We’d trash The Front Yard every Saturday night!
I wake up in the morning, scratch and yawn. I stretch in meditation ‘cause it make me feel strong.  Look out me shanty, hear the birds sing a song for the world. They live in unity - they have no boundary.  Live off the land livin’ free, eat the berry from the tree. Anything they do - they do it naturally. Livin’ by the ocean, river or the sea. Jump into the water and spread your wings.

[chorus]  Right now, right now, not next year, right now. [bridge]

Some people say that the grass is greener, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.  But I don’t think so. I took my chance so long ago. I scratched, climbed, I scaled and I crawled, and, yes, I finally made my way to the other side of the wall keeping me from that freedom.  I look around at things and now I see there’s no fences around. Feel the grass between your toes, Island girl, we make island sounds.

[chorus]  Righteously

My shoes are full of diamonds from livin’ on this island,
With everything and nothing to do.  The boys are goin’ fishin’. The captain gave permission.  The only thing that’s missin’ is you.

[chorus] I got no moral to the story I tell, but you’re my heaven on earth, and you’re my living hell. You know damn well that you’re one of a kind.
When you’re out of sight, I’m out of my mind.
I got my key lime pie, a fish on the line.
I got a little bitty piece of heaven.
It’s just a cold water flat with a bed in the back,
But it’s a little bitty piece of heaven.

Livin’ here is easy, though you’re not here to please me.
The water is as blue as the sky.  Up there it’s dark and stormy; why don’t you come and join me?  And help me lose track of the time.
[chorus]
I got my washin’ machine full of cut off jeans,
I got a little bitty piece of heaven.
I got a short-term plan, and a long-term tan.
I got a little bitty piece of heaven.
[chorus]
I got my washin’ machine full of cut off jeans,
I got a little bitty piece of heaven.
I got a Fu Manchu, you got a blue tattoo,
We’ll have a little bitty piece of heaven.
I got the wind in my sails, the check in the mail.
I got a little bitty piece of heaven.
Up there it’s dark and stormy; why don’t you come and join me? - in my little bitty piece of heaven.
I got a key lime pie, a fish on the line,
I got a little bitty piece of heaven.
It’s just a cold water flat with a bed in the back,
But it’s a little bitty piece of heaven.

Go to sleep now, brother, rest your head a while longer.
Go to sleep, our brother, and awake feeling strong.
No more wondering why as the fireflies dance in the night.  They are waiting for you, and lighting your way through the sky.  Now that you have found your way to the light - rest your eyes, and…

Go in peace now, brother, your reward is coming soon.
Go in peace, our brother, and awake with a brand new tune.  Whispers in the darkness carrying you into the light.  We must close our eyes now - the heavens are far too bright.  Now that you have found your way to that light - rest your eyes.

As we lay down and drift off to sleep, wide awake with all of our dreams and realities. We cannot live in fantasy.
Fantasies, they are but dreams that we can never reach - until we are face to face with our time of peace, in our hour of Grace, when we are released.
Rest your eyes, and go in peace.

Go in peace, go in peace now, brother, your work here is done.  Go in peace, our brother, the good Lord is callin’.
We will hold you close, as we gaze up towards the sun.
As you rest on the clouds, smiling down on everyone.

Now that you have found your way to the light, and brother, now that you have left your mark on this life -
Rest your eyes. Now that you have found your way to the light - rest your eyes.

As we sit in awkward silence, the tension in the air -
the thoughts of hate and violence, the victims unaware.
There’s a million miles between them - what is thought and what is said.  It’s the obstacles we build when we live in our own heads.

History holds lessons, but some we never learn.
We build the walls around us, as slowly bridges burn. But there lies a clear solution to the mental ties that bind.  Control the mind pollution - don’t let it control your mind.

There are many things that make us different; and different things that make us sick.  All our conflicts of interest - and our interest in conflict.  Are we ten billion strangers? Are we one family?   If we could look inside each other’s minds we could help each other see.

[chorus] It’s just an obstacle illusion - that we alone create.  But we always end up losin’ when we choose to separate.  It’s just an obstacle illusion. We build them in our minds.  There are no foregone conclusions not to worry, there’s still time.
 [bridge]

With the evening sun we mellow, and with the morning sun we rise.  We face the darkest hour with a light that burns inside.  Yes, there lies a clear solution to the mental ties that bind.  Control the mind pollution before it controls your mind.

There are many things that make us suffer - these are things that make us great.  We could reach out for each other, or we could sit back and wait.  Are we ten billion strangers? Are we one family?  If we could look inside each other’s minds we could help each other see.
[chorus]

I got a dog - I keep him on a runnin’ line.
Yeah, I got me a dog - I keep him on a runnin’ line.
He goes back and forth from time to time,
goin’ to and fro between the pines.
I got a dog - I keep him on a runnin’ line.

Well you can pet him, if you want, but you don’t.
You see he’s not the kind of dog that likes other folks.
He spends his days at the end of his rope.
It’s kind of a shame, but there ain’t no hope.
I got a dog, I keep him on a runnin’ line. 

[chorus]  Lord, I tried. Lord knows I tried.
I found him busted and broken on the highway side.
He’d been beaten, and starved half to death.
So I took him home and I put him in bed. I didn’t know his name, so I call him “Red”. He keeps me company, and I keep him fed.

I’d build him a fence, but I ain’t got the cash.
It’s all been spent. Ha - don’t ask!
I’d let him run loose, but I done got sued.
He bit the neighbors kid, at the barbecue.
I did what I could, but what can you do?
When you’ve rescued a dog, from another man’s boot.
I got a dog, I keep him on a runnin’ line.
[bridge]
[chorus]

Once in a blue moon, I bring a woman home to my bed.
He turns tail, and hides out under the shed.
But that’s my good ol’ dog, named Red - he’s a friend of mine.  I got a dog - I keep him on a runnin’ line.

She flies over walls that I could never climb.  It blows my mind.  She lives in my soul and in my mind in my spare time, which I find is all the time.

Is it a sign? When there ain’t a thought in my mind, if she ain’t in it?  A daily reminder of these walls I hide behind, she’ll have me out in a minute. 

You don’t know what you could lose until you win it.  You don’t know what you had ‘til you lose what you got.  Let’s rewrite this book without changing the plot. 
Let’s cut these loose ends without tying no knots. 
Let’s bury the hatchet, and not mark the spot.

You can still change just like the weather. I’ll just read the forecast.  As clear skies, and clouds roll past.  Like a baby bird nesting with new feathers, nothing lasts forever.  Let’s fly over these walls until we crash.  Let’s fly over these walls until we crash.

You can still change just like the weather.  Just let me read the forecast, as clear skies and clouds roll past.
Like a baby bird nesting with new feathers, nothing lasts forever.  Let’s fly over these walls until we crash.
Let’s fly over these walls, ‘til we crash. Let’s fly over these walls, and call it forever.

We were up to the top of that roller coaster, scared down to our toes.  To the top of that Ferris wheel, nobody sees and almost nobody knows.  I took that girl to the fair. She left with some other dude when the place closed.  The night man tol’ me so.  And I got the Amusement Park Blues - only got one ticket, ‘cause I don’t’ need two.

She got some cotton candy stuck all to her face, wouldn’t take no candy from me.  Some guy walked up with a foot-long corn-dog and two glasses of sweet tea.
Took my tickets out my hand, she said, “Now I got another man, mister, won’t ya leave me be”.

[chorus]  I got Amusement Park Blues, Amusement Park Blues, I got nothin’ left to lose, I just wanna be amused.  What’s a boy to do with these Amusement Park Blues?

Lord, I got Amusement Park Blues, I got nothin’ to lose - now I just wanna be amused.

 [bridge]

Well, she really, really, really, really hurt me deep down inside.  I was just a little fella then, with a man-sized pride. I said, “What’s wrong, baby? Ain’t I tall enough to ride that ride?”  She just shook her pretty head from side to side and I walked down the midway - hope she didn’t see me cry.

I went and rode the Grav-a-tron; damn near tossed my cookies.  She was throwing softballs for teddy bears; and I thought I’d seen her lookin’.  Thought I smelled somethin’ cookin’, but it was like I wasn’t even there.
And that little girl, she was unaware.  She took my love and balled it up and just threw up in the air.

That’s why [chorus]

I was up to the top of that roller coaster, scared down to my toes. To the top of that Ferris wheel, where nobody sees and almost nobody knows.  I took that girl to the Greater Gulf State Fair. She left with some other fella when the place closed.

I got Amusement Park Blues, only got one ticket ‘cause I don’t need two.  I got Amusement Park Blues, I got nothin’ to lose - now I just wanna be amused. Lord, I got Amusement Park Blues, only got one ticket, ‘cause I don’t need two.

Some say the end is near. Cities and nations are gonna burn.  If you find yourself on that road, you better know which way to turn.  Would you know where to turn?

I heard about this road - it ain’t on no map.  The only road that’ll take you home, do you know where it’s at?
Hey, do you know where it’s at?

It’s the Righteous Road, the Righteous Road.
Clear your mind and you will see.  You gotta find that road.  You gotta take that road, and drive until you are set free.  Set free.

And if the world blows up, I hope that you survive.
If I find you on that road, child, I’m gonna take you - take you for a ride.  And we’ll know where we’re goin’ - won’t need no sign.  We’ll drive until we reach paradise.  On the Righteous Road, the Righteous Road.  We’ll leave this dusty world behind, you and I, on the Righteous Road.