Yonderings | Joe's Truck Stop

Wishin’ On a Star
Is wishing on a star so silly

How often are they falling anyway

Saw one the other night in Montana

And I’m still thinking about it today

I was sitting on the banks of the Yellowstone River

Where I’d lay my head for the night

And I built myself a fire

Despite the wind’s ire

And listened for a lesson in the moonlight

I was sitting by my lonesome as far as I knew

Playing this guitar, the one that I always do

And then a star fell and my gratitude it swelled

And for a moment I felt like I’d been held

So I made a little wish, a little wish for you

I’d tell you but it wouldn’t come true

For if you see a star falling it’s just someone calling

Someone who could use a wish too

Maybe you were somewhere off dreaming too

Wishing there was someone alongside of you

And then a star fell and your gratitude it swelled

And for a moment you felt like you’d been held

So you make a little wish for someone you once knew

Someone who could use a dream come true

For if you see a star falling it’s just someone calling

Someone who could use a wish too

Winter Waltz
The cold tide of winter crept and buried the dead

And withered the gardens I’d sewn in my head

It all starts anew, but a bitter reminder

A darling of the wolf moon and a love left behind her

Now the blanket’s fallen

The ease is yet to sink in

There’s no crackling fire

No woman to admire

And that cold, frail howlin’

It just keeps haunting me

And taunts like the haints and memories

That won’t leave me be

So I long for the spring in its merciful reign

To thaw your reflection from the stillness of day

And to lend me the truth I’ve long sought to learn

How to live while dying, how to die and return

Midnight on the Ohio

My buddy and I while walking one night

With a jug of wine in the snow

We missed our train

Oh what a shame

But sometimes that’s just how it goes

With the snow falling light on a February night

In the shimmering riverboats glow

Tonight I will rest a riverside guest

It’s a sure old place that I know

Midnight on the Ohio

Along with the barges we roam

With the spotlights shining on the shore

To look for a place for the night to call home

Midnight on the Ohio

Along with the barges we roam

With the spotlights shining on the shore

To look for a place for the night to call home
And we’ll pass the jug as the tugboats tug

And we’re here for the night once moreMidnight on the Ohio

Gas Station Sushi
I’ve been out east and I’ve been out west

Living on the road puts your will to the test

Should I stay or should I say no

Sometimes it’s yes when I know I should go

They say too much of anything won’t do you no good

So while I take a drag won’t you knock on some wood

I’d hope to say no as often as yes

And know how to leave when I ain’t at my best

And for all that I’ve done and all that you see

You know I’ve done a good job of avoiding

Gas station sushi

I’m a trying soul and I’ll try what I can

I draw myself lines and then I draw them again

There are some things in life that I never will do

But I’ve crossed a few off now and I don’t blame you

‘Cuz I’ve messed up before and I’ll mess up again
I’m trying my best, never meant to hurt anybody else

I’ve wasted time and I’ve wasted love

And it’s so damn hard to fix broken trust

It’s so damn hard to fix broken trust

So for all that I’ve done and all that I won’t

And despite all the times that I’ve ended up hurt
I gotta believe in myself to be here for me

You know I’ve done a good job of avoiding

Gas station sushi

Grease Fire
I'm a blunt getting smoked and I can't wake up

I'm dreaming about being a blunt

I'm running around and I (just) can't wake up

-Lawrence Parker-

Still and Silence
Me and you and one-eyed Lu

Hauled up the mountains for a night or two

I’ve been living on the road, this vehicle’s my home

So put out your smoke and kick off your shoes

I could tell that you’d been going through some shit

And weren’t fond to talking ‘bout it

That’s okay, maybe it’s just another way to say

That you just need to get away before losing it

Seems the days are flowing like the river ‘cross this canyon

Still and silent ‘til the next rush in

Sudden drops and rocky falls and you think it won’t end

‘Til your heart opens up to still and silence again

We searched for hours running out the light

A place to park and rest for the night

Nobody, no nothing, just us and the stars

A million miles away from all the honky tonks and bars

And all the places you or I would usually be

If freedom’s the right word for it well fuck it, I feel free

Hell we knew it when we found it, there was a message in the sand

Left there for you and me and it said hail Satan

The river split its seams of blue

And the rushing white seeped through the hues

We laid and watched the colors

Of the canyon change and breathe

Red and orange, yellow, green

Trails of light split the ravine
Like a painting slowly changing

But no artist to be seen

Waltz for Lucille

So long, goodbye, and farewell

To a love of which luck would tell

There your body laid as we gathered and prayed

Safe journey to rest ‘neath that heavenly shade

Lucille, I’ll miss you dear friend

And long to reunite once again

And the sun blessed the mass through the old colored glass

As a train whistled past down the railroad tracks

I played an old fiddle waltz

To carry the prayer past the walls

And the melody I played would linger and fade

With you down the tracks such a living has laid

Smilin’ at Nothin’ (for Paul)
Why don’t you find a stream and lose your shoes

Walk on in, what you gotta lose

You could take a nap on the carpet in the hall

If anybody asks you, you’re just waiting on a call

Or you could toss a ball against the wall

Or draw portrait of yourself, but you’re ten foot tall

You could tramp around from town to town

Hop a freight right out the gate and ride your heart up off the ground

You could go for a wander, you could take a hike

If you don’t like to walk, you could ride a bike

Ride off into the sunset or ride it on home

Ride it to Montana where the buffalo roam

Or you could ride ‘til you can’t ride anymore

You’ve got grit in your teeth and your ass is all sore

There’s dark clouds arising and wouldn’t you know

Sometimes you gotta get rained on if you wanna grow, so

Go outside and get to doing something

Look up at a tree or smile at nothing

Think about your mama and what your pops taught ya

Or don’t, you don’t have to think if you don’t want to

You’ve just gotta keep moving, keep on moving along

If it does you any good well you could sing this song

Just whatever you do, make sure that it’s something

Even if you’re smiling at nothing

So you say you lost your way, it happened yesterday

You were talking to yourself and kept forgetting what to say

So you wrote yourself a letter, said give me a day

And wrote yourself back, said hey that’s okay

Well there’s an ocean of heartache at every turn

If you don’t know how to swim you might want to learn

If you don’t know how to learn don’t think that you can’t

That water’s steady rising and I’m reaching out my hand

Thank You
Thank you

Thank you for everything

Thank you

For everything you had to do

Thank you

For taking my life in your hands

Thank you

Thank you for the love that you've given

Thank you for all the days that went missing

Working your fingers to the bone

Trying to find a home for your two boys and you

From behind that curtain no one could just walk on through

But you
Thank you

Thank you for showing me a way

Thank you for not pushing me away

When I was in a time of need

Looking for someone to help me realize my dreams

You showed me will when I felt like I could hardly breathe

Thank you

And I know that so much of it was hell

But look at us now, I’d say we’re doing well

Because of you

Thank you