Mike P. Ryan

FAIS DO DO (A Cajun Lullaby) 

An old shotgun cabin sits on concrete blocks 

Where the cypress trees are thick with Spanish Moss 

And the black bayou water shines in the bright Cajun moon 

She sweeps broken bottles up off of the floor 

And she picks up the pieces of an old screen door 

That he kicked off the hinges earlier that afternoon 

She sits on the porch in an old rocking chair 

And she holds that baby tight 

She sings soft and low as she strokes his fine hair 

And her Cajun lullaby fades into the night 

CHORUS

She sings Fais do-do mon cherie; darling don’t you cry 

Fais do-do mon sha bebe; you’re the apple of my eye 

****** 

She’s young and pretty just like her mother 

And just like her Daddy her man found another 

Woman to drink and to lie with night after night 

Now she sits in the dark and she don’t understand 

Why instead of his lips she gets the back of his hand 

And why every conversation turns into a fight 

And she’d pack up and leave if she had a choice, 

But the truth is there’s nowhere to go 

So she sings to that baby in her gentle voice 

And she rocks back and forth as the tears start to flow  (Chorus) 

BRIDGE 

When he gets sober he swears “never again” 

But she knows by now his promises are just cigarette smoke blown into the wind 

******** 

When she walks by he mirror now she turns away 

Cause the lines around her eyes they get deeper each day 

And she’s starting to see the face her mother took to her grave 

Sometimes when she just can’t take any more 

She curses alone in the dark the dark 

Goddamn this life and goddamn this man 

Who leaves me with this baby and this broken heart  (Chorus)

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 LEFT BEHIND 

This old town ain’t what it used to be and neither am I 

Oil used to flow like water but the wells have run bone dry 

The rigs and pipes are rusted; my old friends are gone 

I’m broke down and busted but I keep hanging on  

CHORUS

Waiting for a the light of day 

Hoping for some cosmic karma sign 

The turning of the wheel; the whole redemption deal 

A prayer to ease the pain of being left behind 

Left behind; left behind 

****** 

2 years ago you packed your car and said goodbye to me 

I tried but couldn’t be the man you wanted me to be 

Some nights the bourbon talks me into dialing up your phone 

I let you say hello then I let well enough alone    (Chorus) 

BRIDGE

Nightfall spreads across the flatland 

A lonesome quarter moon hangs in the sky 

In the dark the prairie looks just like the ocean 

I wish that I could drift away on the rising tide 

****** 

The south wind pins the tumbleweeds against the barbed wire fence 

We’re stranded here together, no love; no recompense 

Somewhere out there the lucky ones they chase their dreams each day 

The rest of us just bide our time and try to find our way   (Chorus)

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 THIS IS SALLY ANN 

Second hand coat and old worn out shoes 

Factory whistle plays you those working man’s blues 

You pound out the hours that make a working day 

Thinking about her smile it helps take your mind away 

And everything’s been better since you heard somebody say:  this is Sally Ann 

CHORUS 

This is Sally Ann, she’s gliding through the door like a lonely soldier’s dream 

This is Sally Ann, she’s glimmering like gold from a cold Alaska stream 

And when she takes your hand, and she whispers in your ear 

It’s like a gentle summer breeze 

You look in her eyes and realize 

 There’s nothing that you would not do to please 

To please Sally Ann 

******

Silent and strong, that’s how you used to roll 

Then she came along, and she opened up a window to your soul 

Your heart got a running start, now it’s flying like a bird 

Her voice is the sweetest sound that you’ve ever heard 

And everything is better since somebody said the words: this is Sally Ann  (Chorus) 

BRIDGE 

You lay awake and wonder 

What you did to deserve this 

Must be something in a past life 

That made you worthy of a kiss 

A kiss from Sally Ann… (Chorus)

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 THESE TWO HANDS 

Darkness fades; the rooster crows 

Sunlight peeks through a broken windowpane 

Last night’s mistakes drift on the wind 

And I recall I burned it all -- down once again 

I ran wild I stumbled and I fell 

Can’t turn back time; can’t un-ring the bell 

I ain’t got nothing smart to say 

Lord knows I can’t wish your pain away 

CHORUS 

But with these two hands I’ll rebuild this house and I’ll -- make it strong again 

And with these two arms I will shelter you -- from the rain and the wind 

With this one heart I will -- start each day -- hoping that I can 

Find a way to fix all of the things I have broken – with these two hands 

******

I don’t know why I do the things I do 

What I’m running from or what I’m running to 

One day we’re young and free and strong 

In a flash our tender years are gone (they’re all gone) 

I know I acted like a fool and let you down 

Chasing the ghosts of yesterday around 

There’s a time laugh and dance and drink and sing 

And there’s a time put away childish things   (Chorus)

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 SOMEONE LIKE ME 

My radio dial is stuck on the Jesus station 

Through the late night static I hear all the talk about salvation 

But I ain’t worried about my eternal destiny 

Cause someone like Jesus ain’t got time for someone like me  

CHORUS

Someone like me who’s at home in the darkness 

On an old blacktop highway 

Someone like me who’s made peace with sleeping alone 

Someone like me who’s worn out and weary 

From wondering every day 

Why so many hearts are as hard as polished stone 

******

I write you letters in my scratchy old long hand 

But they come back unopened bound in a brown rubber band 

I know you’ve got places to go and people to see 

And someone like you ain’t got time for someone like me   (Chorus)

BRIDGE

Summer’s gone and the nights are getting cold 

These days I swear I feel a million years old 

I try to follow the signs along the road 

But they’re rusted out -- and full of buckshot holes 

******

Through a dirty windshield from the corner of my eye 

I see the milestones and fence posts go flashing by 

I pretend not notice but it ain’t no mystery 

This world is turning too fast for someone like me   (Chorus)

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 HARD TIMES (KATY'S SONG) 

Come and sit down by the window with me Katy 

Close your eyes and smell the summer rain 

Let it fall and wash away the bitter tears of yesterday 

Put your head down on my shoulder and softly say my name 

It’s been hard – It’s been a hard, hard time 

I know you’re tired of me and my demons Katy 

I’ll understand if you if you decided to go 

Cause for every step I take each day I take two back the other way 

And your Mama’s she’ll be right there saying “girl I told you so” 

And I know – Its been a hard, hard time 

CHORUS 

Katy give me just a little longer 

I’ll stay clean and make things right again 

Every day that I stay sober I feel a little stronger 

With you by my side I know my heart can finally mend 

And we can end – these hard, hard times 

****** 

BRIDGE 

I burned my bridges like a prairie fire 

And left you in the ashes asking why 

I’ve been a fool and I’ve been a liar 

Now all I want is to be -- is forgiven in your eyes 

******

There’s more to me than what the world sees Katy 

And I can fix what I have torn apart 

If you’ll help this man steady his two shaking hands 

I’ll love you with all the fire left in my weary heart 

And we’ll start – to get through these hard, hard times (Chorus) 

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FIRST IN LINE

You’re the girl that everybody wants to know 

You’re the one they want to be close to 

You’ve got brains, you’ve got beauty, you’ve got attitude 

And you’ve got it all working for you 

And I know there’s lots of boys hanging’ round 

Right outside your door 

But you can send them all home now 

Cause I’m the one you’ve been waiting for 

CHORUS 

I’m going to be first in line 

I’m going to make you notice me 

I’m going to be right on time 

I’ll make you mine -- you just wait and see 

I’m going to be first in line 

I ain’t going to get stuck at the back of the pack 

I’m going to be right on time 

Standing up tall and not holding back 

I’m going to be first; I’m going to be first in line 

****** 

I ain’t no smooth talker; I ain’t no millionaire 

I drive a truck not a fancy car 

I can’t dance I don’t know much about romance 

But I can play this old guitar 

And I ain’t afraid to stand up 

Sing out loud, and tell you how I feel 

And my words ring true 

When I tell you that my love for you is real (Chorus)

 

BRIDGE 

I dream about you at night girl and I think about you every day 

I see you walk by and there’s so many things I want to say 

I used to be scared, but I ain’t afraid anymore 

When the sun comes up I’m going to walk straight up to your front door (Chorus)

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DARKNESS FALLS (ANNA CATHERINE'S SONG)

Day surrenders to the shadows; night wraps me in its indigo embrace 

Spirits of your love and laughter haunt the crumbling walls of this old place 

I hear your gentle whisper in the plaster and the wood 

Dusty shelves and empty rooms remind me that you’re gone for good 

So I lay me down to sleep with ghosts and memories -- as darkness falls 

You reached into a crowded heart and gave me all the love you could find 

Your arms were always open even with a world of worry on your mind 

I was just a boy back then; nowhere near a man 

The burdens of a mother on her own I did not understand 

But the sadness in your smile makes sense to me now -- as darkness falls 

CHORUS 1

Thunder shakes a rusty roof of tin 

Weathered clapboard trembles in the wind 

Rivers rise and red dirt turns to mud 

More and more I fear I’ll be taken by the flood 

When darkness falls 

******

I try to find the rhythm in the days but nothing’s been the same 

Since we stood out in the prairie wind 

and prayed beside a stone that bears your name 

With Hail Mary Full of Grace we said our last goodbyes 

And we laid you down to rest beneath the Oklahoma sky 

Now the star that used to guide my way is gone -- as darkness falls  

CHORUS 2 

You said God’s eyes stay open every day 

But I swear he must have closed them tight when he took you away 

Rivers rise and red dirt turns to mud 

More and more I fear I’ll be taken by the flood 

When darkness falls

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 66 EAST TO WASHINGTON

FIRST CHORUS 

The sign says 66 East to Washington, all I’d have to do is make a right 

I could turn the wheel, I could turn the page, I could start a new life tonight 

But if I make made way into that exit lane, I’m not sure what to do 

Would I take 66 East to Washington, or turn around and come home to you 

****** 

Well we spend our days tryin’ to make ends meet in this small Virginia town 

You cut ladies’ hair, I fix peoples’ cars, one seems to always be broke down 

And its honest work and it pays the bills, but I still lay awake at night 

Thinking there’s more to life than a dead end job 

In a town with two stoplights (Chorus) 

BRIDGE 

And there’s highways, running both ways on both sides of our town 

I sit beneath the stars, and I watch the cars and I wonder where they’re bound 

And packin’ up and leavin’ home, it looks good on TV 

But in my real life, I got a job and a wife and both of them depend on me 

***** 

Sometimes at night I sleep and I dream I falling through the cold, black air of space 

I hit bottom and I wake up and I realize I’m still in this place 

Maybe one day I’ll find a way to leave this sad old town behind 

I’ll head for the bright lights of Washington and I’ll break these ties that bind 

 FINAL CHORUS 

I’ll take 66 East to Washington, all I”ll have to do is make a right 

I’ll turn the wheel, I can turn the page, I’ll start a brand new life that night 

And when I make my way into that exit lane, I know just what I’ll do 

I’ll take 66 East to Washington, and I’ll start my life anew.

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HOW IT FEELS

I don’t know how it feels to be someone’s one and only 

I don’t know how it feels to let love carry me away 

But I know how it feels to wake up lost and lonely 

And to lie alone in the silence with so much to say 

****** 

I don’t know how it feels to sleep on sheets of satin 

I don’t know how it feels to have a lover by my side 

But I know how it feels to be filled with pride and passion 

And to try in vain to explain why the fire burns inside 

CHORUS 

Narrow is the road that runs to the far horizon 

Heavy is the load the solitary dreamer bears 

Cool is the wind of the hushed October morning 

As the Southbound swallows take to the air 

****** 

I don’t know how it feels to court a rich man’s daughter 

I don’t know how it feels to be among the chosen few 

But I know how it feels to cast bread upon the water 

And to hope for small repayments for all the good I’ve tried to do   (Chorus)