Songs for an Imaginary Western / September 2025

Picture yourself beneath the western sky, brilliant, endless, stark, riding into town as a stranger, hoping to find a place where you belong. Not knowing that things will work out, but at the same time feeling that somehow, they will. You meet a drifter who's only passing through, but you bond and form a connection. Then all too soon it's time to be on your way.

That’s the premise for this EP, a set of five songs written while I was living in Denver. It’s without a definite narrative but meant to suggest one for the listener to imagine. Like a classic Western, it opens with a song for riding into town. Then "I'll Be There Someday" finds the stranger contemplating a path forward. "Only Passing Through" introduces the archetype of the drifter, as the narrator offers to join them in their wondering. "One of Us" is a song about reaching out to find a connection through love. "Beneath the Western Sky" is the bookend for Stranger — the song for riding out of town.

Thanks to Ricky Nye for adding keyboards to "I'll Be There Someday," and to Ruthie Lincoln from Farm Report for vocals on "Only Passing Through."

Lyrics:

  • I don’t want to be a stranger in this town

    I’d hate to be a stranger in this town

    Like some child that’s wandering, just waiting to be found

    I don’t want to be a stranger in this town

    Will my words be lost if noone’s there to hear them?

    I’m looking for some way to get them found

    I’m loping I can find the ones who know me

    I’m looking for the one who hears my sound

    I don’t want to be a stranger in this town

    I’d hate to be a stranger in this town

    The streets are filled with shadows, but there’s nobody around

    I don’t want to be a stranger in this town

    I’ll sing my words till they make sense to someone

    Somebody’s gonna hear me sing their life

    Somebody’s gonna hear me tell their story

    Somebody’s gonna hear me tell it right

    I don’t want to be a stranger in this town

    I’d hate to be a stranger in this town

    I’ll keep on singing my song, till I sing it to my crowd

    I’m not gonna stay a stranger in this town

    I’m not gonna be a stranger in this town

  • I think some angel might have called my name

    Not cause it’s time, but just to up my game

    Said “Don’t you worry that it’s all in vain”

    And I’ll be there someday

     

    It’s hard to know where you’re supposed to get

    When the road keeps rising, and you’re not there yet

    And no idea where the journey ends

    But I’ll be there someday

     

    So many steps that just might be mistakes

    So many roads there won’t be time to take

    But something inside is going to light the way

    And we’ll get there someday

     

    I know there’ll be trouble and some hell to pay

    And times when nothing seems to go our way

    Stay with me baby and we’ll find a way

    And we’ll be there someday

  • I met her in some crowded room, she had an angel’s smile

    I knew I’d like to know her, I thought it might take a while

    She looked at me and read me the way some women do

    She said don’t go making plans for us, I’m only passing through

    I’m only passing through cause this place ain’t my town

    I’m not my time to settle down I’m only passing through

    I’m only passing through cause this place ain’t my home

    I’ve got a soul that likes to roam I’m only passing through

    She said I’ve been through many towns beneath this western sky

    My past travels along with me, I never say goodbye

    The people and the places, they all record their tunes

    They stay as my companions when I go passing through

    I’m only passing through cause this place ain’t my town

    I’m not my time to settle down I’m only passing through

    I’m only passing through cause this place ain’t my home

    I’ve got a soul that likes to roam I’m only passing through

    I said I’ll travel with you if you would take me in

    We’ll travel through this dusty world like we’re some kind of twins

    I understand your story and I know it to be true

    When night falls on this desert town we’re only passing through

    I’m only passing through cause this place ain’t my town

    I’m not my time to settle down I’m only passing through

    I’m only passing through cause this place ain’t my home

    I’ve got a soul that likes to roam I’m only passing through

    I’ve got a soul that likes to roam I’m only passing through

  • Lay down beside me and give me your time

    Give me a kiss and I’ll give you mine

    Nothing that I’ve got to do except to be here with you

    Take me in and make me one of us

    Tell me a story and make it from you

    I’ll tell you a secret believe that it’s true

    I don’t have much to say, I’m gonna say it anyway

    Take me in and make me one of us

    Even if you doubt it you’re gonna find out it’s true

    Even if you look away the mirror shows it’s you

    I don’t think I have to tell you that we know it’s time

    I want you to make me yours and let me make you mine

    Lying beside you, feeling the glow

    Love is a river and we’re in the flow

    Nothing that we’ve gotta do, I wanna drift along with you

    Take me in and make me one of us

    Take me in and make me one with you

  • I said a prayer that blew away
    It floated the in wind
    If it was lost or just released
    I guess that all depends
    I lost a chance, might not be back
    I know that I should mind
    But things return, they’re circular
    Beneath the Western sky

    I said goodbye then realized
    It wasn’t time to leave
    She stopped me from stepping out
    Before my scene’s complete
    When every day is written down
    What will we leave behind?
    Our stories written in the dust
    Beneath the Western Sky

    The sky so wide, so big, so high
    We felt our place below
    You held me by your side gave me a place
    I’d never known
    What matters if we travel from this place
    We had our time
    Our memory’s a shadow cast
    Beneath the Western Sky

My World Too / January 2024

This is another song from the 1980s, inspired by late cold war geopolitics with world leaders reimagined as a bickering couple. But fighting couple or warring countries, we remain interconnected, and what one does affects the others. Because of the theme of the song, it has remained one of my favorites of the songs that I wrote a long time ago.

  • You just get angry, you call me names

    You slam my door then you walk out again

    But what does it matter to you what you do?

    In your world, it’s my world too

     

    You say that it’s nothing, just throw it away

    But baby I know you’ll want it all back again

    So what does it matter to you what you do?

    In your world, it’s my world too

     

    Give back your ring try to tell me it’s over

    You say there is nothing we can do to recover

    The love that is lost, you tell me it’s gone forever

    But we can’t stop that easily, sit down and talk to me

     

    It looks like our time’s almost come to an end

    I wish that I knew how to reach you again

    I try to talk with you, it’s our only chance

    For your world and my world too

     

    What does it matter to you what you do?

    In your world, it’s my world too

You’re Gonna Miss Me / June 2023

I wrote this song in the 1980’s and played it live with my band at the time, the Moon Pies. We never recorded it, and though it is a song that I would probably never write today, it’s one that I’ve always wanted to record. So, I am excited to share it now. It’s a breakup song, but an energetic one, and maybe a bit tongue-in-cheek? For any Dylan fans, the bridge ends with a brief allusion to Bob.

  • You’re gonna wake up late at night

    You’re gonna wonder where I’ve gone

    You’ll try to call me on the phone

    But I won’t be there you know

    I’m gonna leave you on your own

    You don’t believe me when I say

    You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone

     

    You don’t look down that road too far

    Because you don’t like what you see

    And if you see me in your plans

    Then you better look again

    ‘Cause that ain’t where I’m gonna be

    You don’t believe me when I say

    You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone

     

    Now you’ve got to cry, cry, cry

    ‘Cause don’t you know that I

    Only tried to love you day and night

    Only tried to do this thing up right

    So don’t you tell your sad, sad tale to me

    I can’t even hear you, can’t you see

    I have moved beyond your place and time

    Baby you go your way, I’ve gone mine

     

    You’re gonna wake up late at night

    You’re gonna think it’s just a dream

    But you’ll soon find out it’s true

    I’ve closed the book on me and you

    ‘Cause we’ve been all we’ll ever be

    You don’t believe me when I say

    You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone

     

    ♪

     

    You’re gonna wake up late at night

    You’re gonna wonder where I’ve gone

    You’ll try to call me on the phone

    But I won’t be there you know

    I’m gonna leave you on your own

    You don’t believe me when I say

    You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone

The Song Remains / May 2023

I think of this song as a “sister song” to “Playing Your Guitar” because the two songs were written within a few weeks of each other and have similar structures. I also had a lot of the same things on my mind when I wrote them. But while Playing Your Guitar is a tribute to David Brown, and a short bio of our relationship, The Song Remains is about how a song might have a life of its own independent of the person who wrote it or sang it. So, I think of it as a song about songs and people who pull them from the ether to share.

  • The singer’s gone but the song remains

    It travels on in so many ways

    It floats through the air like a wave of sound

    It lingers in the hearts of the ones it’s found

    The singer’s gone but the song remains

     

    I met a man with a broken string

    But when he played guitar, he could make it sing

    He played all night till the lyrics came

    He wrote them down on a crumpled page

    The singer’s gone but the song remains

     

    I don’t know if it’s true or not

    But I’ll believe it all the same

    That everyone’s got a song for them

    That could raise them from the grave

     

    The singer’s gone but they left a clue

    They travelled on but the song’s still true

    And I won’t need no epitaph, I’ve already had my say

    The singer’s gone but the song remains

     

    I don’t know if it’s true or not

    But I’ll believe it all the same

    That everyone’s got a song for them

    That could raise them from the grave

     

    The singer’s gone but they left a clue

    They travelled on but the song’s still true

    And I won’t need no epitaph, I’ve already had my say

    The singer’s gone but the song remains

    The singer’s gone but the song remains

Playing Your Guitar / April 2023

I wrote this song after buying a guitar from David Rhodes Brown (Warsaw Falcons, 500 Miles to Memphis) in the summer of 2022. David was selling off most of his instruments as his cancer was progressing. I wrote the song for him, about our early days together in the Falcons when the band was just starting up, when “playing in some dive” was, literally, our dream come true.

Fortunately, I got to share an acoustic demo of the song with him before he passed, and he got a kick out of it. So, I’d like to think he would have enjoyed this full band version if he’d gotten to hear it.

Bless me brother I’ve got a long, long way to go…

  • (for DRB)

     I gotta sing this song for you cause I’m playing your guitar

    I hope a bit of you comes through when I’m playing your guitar

    I’m thinking back to when we played with Mr. Blue

    Playing in some dive it was a dream come true

    The place was overflowing with a sweaty crew

    And you were playing your guitar

     

    I still got some work to do while I’m playing your guitar

    Songs I need to make come true when I’m playing your guitar

    I’m thinking of your playing as I’m singing now

    I see your fingers grinding out some bluesy sounds

    See the people dancing cause they can’t sit down

    When you’re playing your guitar

     

    Bless me brother got a long, long way to go

    Feels like it’s 500 miles, traveling down a dusty road

     

    And when I’m travelling through my days I’ll be carryin’ your guitar

    Like a sign to show my way and where we might have gone

    I’m thinking of the roads we took and ones we passed

    Even though we traveled down some different paths

    Know what I’ll be hearing when I’m there at last

    Playing your guitar

     

    Bless me brother got a long, long way to go

    Feels like it’s 500 miles, traveling down a dusty road

     

    And when I’m travelling through my days I’ll be carryin’ your guitar

    Like a sign to show my way and where we might have gone

    I’m thinking of the roads we took and ones we passed

    Even though we traveled down some different paths

    Know what I’ll be hearing when I’m there at last

    Playing your guitar