1) house on hayden street

there's a house on Hayden St. in Amarillo, Texas where I grew up

"Grandma left us several years ago, Grandpa and brother Rory met her later on, Mama moved away a few years ago, Sister, she up and went to Dallas, Now the house on Hayden Street belongs to someone else, Are the Sandies and the Rebels still the crosstown rivals, Can you still smell the stockyards when the wind is from the south, Do they still drag Polk on Fridays and go to church on Sunday, Is the class of '73 getting older, And the house on Hayden Street belongs to someone else, I heard Stanley Marsh had to move the cadillacs, And the Gold Sox are now the Armadillos, Can you still find a horn toad on a hike down the alley, And is it still safe for the kids to walk to school, And the house on Hayden Street belongs to someone else,The road from Amarillo disappears behind me, The memory ever lingers but slowly fades away, I can't recall the sunset on the rim of the Palo Duro, but I'll always remember the road I traveled on, As each new day passes, another memory fades, into the forgotten, mile and miles away, There's almost no more reasons to go back home to Amarillo, And all I've got is faded memories of life in younger days, Still the house on Hayden Street belongs to someone else."

2) fish out of water

when a man works most of his life in job he doesnt belong in and never figures out what he wants to be when he grows up until he hits 40

"I've been a fish out of water for so long now, I've been workin' at workin' but it never worked out, Been hittin' the timeclock from midnight til eight, Yeah it's true that the nightshift put food on our plates, workin' to live and livin' to work, sure ain't a life that a man should deserve, I wanna play and I wanna sing but my fingers are rusty and my voice is dyin, Hand me my guitar and I'll sing you a song 'bout a boy who's been workin' where he never belonged, Toss me a dollar to my hat on the floor, And I'll sing you another til I can't sing no more, (Chorus) There's no dust on his guitar but there's a spark in his eye, Guess he's not going back to the nightshift tonight, Singin' and playin' for a dollar a song, Well it don't pay the bills but it's where he belongs" (Chorus)

3) joni's song

a love song to my wife

"I guess that I must love you, you've been with me so long, We met when you were 14 and now you're 41, I guess that you must love me, You've hung around this long, I'd like to say I'm sorry that I never sang this song, This song is a love song, meant for you and for me, Took 25 years of loving to write its words for me, I know I never talked about it, I know that I've let you down, I'd like to say I've always loved you, and I'll always be around, It was written in your laughter, It was written in you eyes, It was written by your faithfulness, as you stood by my side, It was written by our children, as they grew up one by one, So you see I'm just here singin', and it's you that wrote this song."

4) saddle for a pillow

discovering God in the night sky

"When I was young I climbed to the rim of the Palo Duro Canyon, And watched the summer sunrise light up the Spanish Skirts, It's no wonder Colonel Goodnight stopped and stayed a lifetime, On the Llano Estacado til his dyin' day, Chorus: Tonight I'm sleepin in the canyon, Near water crossin' #5, With a new moon risin' in the sky, it'll be a starry, starry night, And sometimes summer thunder will sing you fast asleep, As the west wind on the llano, rocks you all night long, So lay your head upon your saddle and gaze up in the night sky, but don't let your eyes linger, don't linger there too long, For they say that you'll go crazy, sleepin' under the stars of Texas, as you ponder on God's creation, and why He put you here. (Chorus) Well maybe I've gone crazy, sleepin' under the stars of Texas, I've pondered all night long as the universe proclaimed, I can't help it but I'm thinkin' that with all the stars up in the heavens, Who am I? Who am I? Does He know my name?" (Chorus)

5) wake up mr. jones

when we give our kids everything in the world except for our time and our love

"You've got it all figured out, You're at the top there's no doubt, You need more time to work, less time to play, You need more hours in everyday, And you need more money in the bank, You'll work day and night, if that's what it takes, And you'll see the kids probably on Saturday, after 18 holes of golf to play, (Chorus): Wake up Mr. Jones, get your head out, Your son needs you but you're not around, Your daughter needs love, she's not getting it from you, But she's got the coolest car at her high school. You're making a name, You're climbing up the ladder, Mrs. Jones is at home just getting sadder, As your assets grow bigger, you just didn't figure, just how you would spend all this money alone. (Chorus): Wake up Mr. Jones, Get your head out, your wife and your kids are no longer around, Your daughter needs love, She's not getting it from you, But she's got the coolest car at her high school."

6) life goes on

big events happen around us everyday and we go on as if nothing happened without letting these things affect our lives for the better..this event changed my life forever and beckons to change yours

"The plans have all been laid, The prayers have all been prayed, The silver has been paid, and the kiss has betrayed, The lies have all been told, The rooster has three times crowed, The hands were washed from sin, The crowd chooses to condemn, Chorus: Life goes on and the river rolls on and the world still spins around and the sun comes up in the morning; The hammer has been swung, The nails have all been done, The blood has fallen down, And spilt upon the ground, The sinless One lies dead, The thorns upon his head, Blackness fills the sky, turning day into night. (Chorus) The curtain has been torn, The mother kneels and mourns, Her son lies in the tomb, The soldiers guard His room, But the rolling stone has rolled, And death could not keep hold, The One who shed His blood, takes back His life again" (Chorus 2x)

7) which side are you on?

there will be a time when we can no longer ride the fence of our beliefs....the choices are simpler now but will become more difficult in time and we will be forced to take a side

"One hundred thousand died today swept up by the sea, This is just the beginning says the man on the TV, The birth pains of the earth announce the arrival of a King, So which side are you on, son, Which side are you on. (Chorus): Which side are you on, son, Which side are you on, Which side are you on, son, Which side are you on; There is a mark to buy or sell, There is a mark to eat, There is a man who gives the mark to those who bow down at his feet, And there is a Man who soon comes again, the long-awaited King, So which side are you on, son when you bow down before the King. (Chorus): Which side are you on, son, Which side are you on, Which side are you on, son, Which side are you on, Do you have faith to save yourself, son, Or will you trust the holy One; Three men condemned to death exchange their few last words One said "I've come to give you life even though today we must die." Another said, "then just save yourself and prove just who you are." But the third man could only bow his head and say " there's truth in your words." (Chorus)

8) ecclesiastes

an ancient king who had the riches of all the world, more than anyone else has ever possessed, could find no solace in his riches...this, his lamentation of his meaningless existence

"I searched for peace today,A needle in the hay,My life can't satisfy, I close my eyes to cry, The tears have all been cried, My feelings have all died, Who will ease my pain of a life lived in vain. (Chorus): I've tried to catch the wind but it slips through my hands, The world I see is just a mirage that does not satisfy I've lost my way today, a rat caught in the maze, My pathway has grown dim, the blindness seeps within, Darkness my only friend will deceive me in the end, Can't trust my eyes to see, Who will show the way to me (Chorus) My money cannot buy a gold that satisfies, The pleasures I have known have grown cold long ago, I try to quench my thirst with things that only hurt, I don't know where to turn to find what my soul yearns" (Chorus 2x)

9) wounds

the most remembered wounds of an innocent man, the proof of a God who loves

"I've been forsaken and I've been loved, I've had some hard times I cannot speak of, I have not forgotten what you did for me, What you did for me, I've been lost but now I am found, And I've walked through blind darkness on my way down, I reached out for someone, you reached out your hand, You reached out your hand, (Chorus): The wounds on your hands I always will see, They will remind me of what you did for me, What you did for me, What you did for me will always be branded on my heart's memory; I've have been right and I have gone wrong, and I've had no one for me to belong, What you did for me I can never repay, I can never repay, (Chorus) I've been forsaken and I've been loved, I've had some hard times I cannot speak of, I have not forgotten what you did for me, The wounds on your hands I always will see"

10) going home

a King on a white horse returns to gather his friends and take them home

"When you went away, You said you'd come back to stay, So I just want to know, When are you coming home(echo) I don't know your face but I still can hear your voice, Will you just say the words that you'll be coming home(echo) (Chorus): Come on back for me, Take me home to a land of many mansions and the universe to roam, Come on back for me, Take me home(echo); I know you can hear me, and I'll hear you if you speak, Please answer my question, When are you coming home,(echo) I long to embrace you at last, face to face, Will you just say the words, that you'll come back to stay (echo) (Chorus): Come on back for me, take me home to a land of many mansions and the universe to roam, Come on back for me, take me home to the light in my darkness who gave all of His own, Come on back for me, take me home (echo); I am waiting for you, Your words are always true, you'll be coming back for me, And we'll be going home" (echo)

11) the journey to find out

a man's search for life and fulfillment

"He set out upon his journey to find something he could believe in, He turned down every road, the back alleys he would linger, He ran all the muddy back roads and the dark rain-slick highways were his thrill and he got his fill. But every road he traveled just ended up the same, he never saw the danger up ahead, Now he's spent a lot of time gettin' back up again, He can't take much more misfortune, How costly the damage has been, (Chorus): If all roads lead to Heaven, Then why has my life gone to hell, If I don't see tomorrow, you'll find me in a place that I know well; Now he tells me that you found him, at the end of his last misfortune, He said you picked him up out of the ditch and dusted off his clothes, He said you fixed his broken spirit and now you lead him down a pathway, a new road that he'd been looking for, (Chorus):Only one road leads to Heaven, the rest end in hell. If I don't see tomorrow then don't tell me goodbye, just say farewell. 'Cause only one road leads to Heaven, the rest dead end in hell. If I don't see tomorrow then don't cry for me, It's just farewell."

**********downloads & song samples available through outboundmusic.com & efolkmusic.org