The Prairie Scholars

Trouble

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An old Clandestine Amigo standby makes it's rebirth on the upcoming Prairie Scholars album due out in March.

Trouble :

You don’t want to know

me any more than I want to know you

You can’t face me

any more than I can face the truth

I used to think I loved you

I thought that you would always be the one

That I would turn my heart to

Whenever there was trouble

But you are the trouble

You can’t tell me

Any more than I want to admit

you don’t want me

any more than I want you

baby I tried to make myself worth it for you to love

baby I cried to make myself forget that I was not enough

I wasn’t worth your trouble

The Kelly Boys

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A sheriff has given the Kelly Boys their last warning and now it's time for him to deal with the gang.

The Kelly Boys:

Well they rolled back into town again,

I warned them not to come

Wanted men all drinking hard and thinking I’m some bum

So I loaded up the twelve gage

Packed a brace of .38s

The sun was gone and those Kelly Boys were the worst ones in the state

But I am the sheriff, what was I supposed to do?

For you I do

With these rusty guns

and these worn out hands

For you I do

But I didn’t want to

I didn’t want to

Four of them and one of me

I knew I couldn’t miss

If they had all just moved along, it wouldn’t have to come to this

First shot hit young Jim Kelly right between the eyes

I turned the twelve on Bobby, he had no time for goodbyes

Colin and his Brother Phil jumped back behind the bar

They pulled out all their guns but they knew they’d never get too far

I am the sheriff, what was I supposed to do?

Phil’s first shot was a wild one and it went into the wall

But one blast from my .38 blew away is jaw

Colin made a run for it but he was never quite that fast

Desperate times are desperate things and those steps would be his last

But I am the Sheriff, what was I supposed to do?

The Gamble

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The Gamble:

I really think I’m worth more than this

 I’ve always been ambitious, always working on a list

 I think that I deserve more than this life

I have always had a goal, I have always checked the time

But I’m running out of time

What if I never reach my fitting place?

And if I never ever see the day

Right now I’m stuck at a job that I hate

They don’t pay me enough to get treated this way

What if I live day in day out like this?

I know soon I’m going to have to take the risk

Of gaining it all or having nothing

I’ve always seen myself as a special case

I thought I broke the mold

Thought no one could be the same

But now I see that I’m no different from

 all the other dreamers that couldn’t find a reason

to push their way through

I’m the only one that matters

When it comes to my sink or swim

No one’s going to dive in

If I start drowning

No one else is gonna to pave the

Way for me, I gotta find my own way

I gotta paint my own face

You and Me Now

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This song was born when Jessica and I let go of religion. I was so glad to have her to myself after all these years. 

You and Me Now:

When I laid down my cross I lost the burdens of two thousand years

And when I looked back at my hist’ry the pages were all bathed in tears

Now the path I see before me is still so very straight and narrow

But I had felt that pain go down so deep deep into my marrow

But the pain is gone and the sun is shining down

I’m so glad it’s just you and me now

I’m so glad it’s just you and me now

I’m so glad it came to be that you would be with me

Cause you’re all I’ve got now

Now that I put away my midnight prayer I put those morning birds to shame

Now that I’m free of all my tyranny I know my life will never be the same

Cause all I want to do is be with you and touch you every moment of the day

This life and love are ours and ours no matter what they say

Cause the shame is gone and the sun is shining through

Can I Hide in You?

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I (Andy) wrote this on piano in our old house in Texas. It's a poem about dependance and the need to hide away from the world.  

Can I Hide in You:

My mind is a slow and heavy machine

So simply serene, so simply serene

I know it’s too late to explain

The role you play

Can I hide in you

Will you keep me safe

Cause my love’s dried up

and blown away, again

My heart is a poor and broken display

It surrendered its colors and faded to grey

I know it’s too late to explain

The price I pay

The Open Road (ballad of Ronnie and Darla)

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Story about a man who's lady (Darla) get stolen away by another man (Ronnie) who takes her off to New Mexico. So, the man follows them intent on murdering them both.

The Open Road (ballad of Ronnie and Darla):

Buy me a coat and teach me to whistle, buy me steak and leave on the gristle

And I’ll walk from here to where my heart does roam

My telephone is always ringing, like the bluebirds always singing

They’re telling me that I should go back home

The open road, the open road

The open road, is calling me so I must go

I once knew a boy named Ronnie, he was tall handsome and scrawny

And he took from me everything I loved

Her name was Darla, I loved her so, she went with Ronnie to New Mexico

And I’m following on foot and some by train

I’ll catch up in a week or two, as they’re kissing in his VW

And I’ll keep an eye and see where they call home

I’ll wait in the bushes and hold it steady, I’ll keep my knife sharp and ready

And I’ll wait for dawn when Ronnie goes to work

Just what has become of me as I look in upon this lovely scene

Of a man loving a woman  I too love

I think I’ll go into the forest and die by my own hand and my own knife

Cause she said I could go to hell

I Would

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Jessica wrote this one and I think it is a powerful song about heartache and powerlessness. 

I Would:

If I could I would forget you

I don’t regret you, but I’m living with an open wound

If I could I’d love you forever

But there’s not a place for us in this world

In this world for a boy and a girl, in this world

If I could I would steal you away

We would live out or days with no memory of what we left behind

If I could I would take up all your time, I would give you all of mine

We would never look at the clock, or check a watch

Or feel like we were running out, like we were running out

The risks that I can’t take, the choices I can’t make, the heart that aches, continually

You tell me you care and that you’ll always be there

So why do I still feel so alone?

You know that I still feel so alone

Darling I still feel so alone, so far away

As far as the night is from the day

Hard Love

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I (Andy) wrote this a few years ago and was going to let it fade away into that good night because I couldn't record a solid version. Something about the content made it difficult (or indeed hard) to produce. Jessica came to me with her version and it was right. So, we worked it out and this is the product. I'm satisfied. It's nice to see the song live up to the idea.

The song is about chasing a dream (a strong theme for us on the record). It talks about the pain and struggle of making honest art in a world full of evil and bliss.

Hard Love:

Love is the girl that everybody else takes home

Love is the mother who swears you’ll never be alone

Hope is a blanket but it’s worn straight through to the thread

Fear is the villain but I’m sure it’s already been said

It’s a hard love

That’s coming over me, grinding my bones to ashes

It’s a hard hard love

That’s chasing me down, exposing my sins to the masses

It’s a hard hard hard hard love

The world is like a lion and it bites straight through to the bone

It’s like a lawyer who can take everything as it’s own

It’s like a baby but it’s sharpened all of its teeth

It’s like a boulder and it feels like we’re all underneath 

Flying Down the Highway

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A simple song about finding a place of belonging. 

Flying Down the Highway:

Flying down the highway, hot black top goes out to the horizon

The scenery will pass away holding all my sanity for ransom

When I finally find my home will I know it?

People who are passing by on their way home to a place they are belonging

They all leave me asking why do I feel such emptiness and longing

When I finally find my home will I know it?

Coming home she’s asking me how long ‘til we can kick this town for Boulder

And sometimes I don’t believe that we will go and that we will just die here

When we finally find our home will we know it?

When we finally find our home will we know it?

If You Don't Feel Like Lovin' (Mature Content)

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This one is a tongue-in-cheek love story.  It contains mature content and should be avoided by immature people.

If You Don’t Feel Like Lovin’

Well it may be time to pack our things and look at hitting the road

Well I think they smell that shit we smoked all the way back here in room 18

And then never had I realized how you had the most beautiful eyes, that I had never seen them this way

Well if you don’t feel like fuckin’ don’t get me high

That’s the thing I’m always trying to explain to you

That if you don’t feel like fuckin’ don’t get me high

That’s the thing I’m always trying to explain to you

Well we woke up in Taos, New Mexico and looked around the room for the wine

And after a glass or two we tried to find something to do by walking all around downtown