She’s Hell on Wheels

She’s never looked so pretty
As she does since she’s been free
Ever since she turned me loose
I don’t think she’s missed a beat
She’s on a roll
Yeah she’s a sight to see
She’s hell on wheels
And she rolled right over me

I see her everywhere
She’s always on the town
Since we’ve been through she’s turned into
The hottest thing around

She’s never looked so pretty
As she does since she’s been free
Ever since she turned me loose
I don’t think she’s missed a beat
She’s on a roll
Yeah she’s a sight to see
She’s hell on wheels
And she rolled right over me

She’s painting the town red
While I am feeling blue
I’m a memory she’s forgetting
There’s nothing I can do

She’s never looked so pretty
As she does since she’s been free
Ever since she turned me loose
I don’t think she’s missed a beat
She’s on a roll
Yeah she’s a sight to see
She’s hell on wheels
And she rolled right over me

Copyright Kent Newsome and Tom Cross
All Rights Reserved

She’s Going to Chase Her Dreams

It was raining mighty hard
The day she told him goodbye
As he helped her pack the car
The rain hid the tears she cried

Chorus:
She knows somewhere down that road
Is the place she’s meant to be
Leaving’s always hard for her
But she’s going to chase her dreams

He asked if she had any doubts
About leaving him behind
She said she could have loved him
In some other place and time

Chorus:
She knows that lonesome feeling
That’s the price of being free
Leaving’s always hard for her
But she’s going to chase her dreams

She pulled onto the highway
As she blew him one last kiss
She’d made hard choices before
Never one as hard as this

Chorus:
She knows there’s a world out there
Full of places she’s never seen
Leaving’s always hard for her
But she’s going to chase her dreams

Bridge:
She’s got this vision in her head
Of the life she wants to lead
But you can’t get where you’re going
If you’re afraid to leave

It wasn’t her first goodbye
It probably won’t be her last
Dreams move at the speed of light
To catch them she must move fast

Chorus:
She knows somewhere down that road
Is the place she’s meant to be
Leaving’s always hard for her
But she’s going to chase her dreams

Copyright Kent Newsome and Ronnie Jeffrey
All Rights Reserved

Sandhill Pines

We were best friends from the first grade
We grew up together in the same woods
And though we shared a few hardships
All things considered we did pretty good

We caught crawfish down in Nock’s Creek
Stole your dad’s beer for our very first drunk
Lost loved ones we cannot replace
Carved our girlfriends’ names in the same tree trunk

Chorus:
Here’s to you first and last friend of mine
I still raise my glass to you
Across the endless miles and all our past times
I don’t move as fast as I used to
And I’ve traded stolen beer for red wine
But our friendship will always stand tall
Just like those tall sandhill pines

Remember when you were wounded
You got your wings clipped for flying too high
I climbed that fence each afternoon
Cause but for the grace of God there go I

We crossed the line so many times
Sometimes it was tough to find our way back
We spent our youth deep in the gray
But we kept each other out of the black

Chorus:
Here’s to you first and last friend of mine
I still raise my glass to you
Across the endless miles and all our past times
I don’t move as fast as I used to
And I’ve traded stolen beer for red wine
But our friendship will always stand tall
Just like those tall sandhill pines

Bridge:
Maybe it’s not what we wanted
But it’s better than nothing at all
My friend we’ll always be brothers
Like the sandhill pines will always be tall

As boys change to men with families
Old friendships sometimes pay a heavy price
But you know if you needed me
I’d be there for you without thinking twice

So in a way we’ve been lucky
To keep the demons of our youth at bay
But when something’s in your pocket
That doesn’t mean you have thrown it away

Chorus:
Here’s to you first and last friend of mine
I still raise my glass to you
Across the endless miles and all our past times
I don’t move as fast as I used to
And I’ve traded stolen beer for red wine
But our friendship will always stand tall
Just like those tall sandhill pines

Copyright Kent Newsome and Ronnie Jeffrey
All Rights Reserved

Rosemary Avenue

I should stay out of the attic
There are dragons up here
Some of them I slayed years ago
Some of them I still fear

In a weak moment I resolved
To sit and reminisce
And in a box of old pictures
I charged into the mist

Chorus:
A faded picture of a damsel in distress
On the porch of a house painted blue
In a long calico dress
A picture of me and you
On Rosemary Avenue

On a thousand hot, starry nights
I bested all comers
Endless jousts for your affection
Marked the passing summers

We swore we’d grow old together
Come hell or high water
But what seems so clear at eighteen
Gets cloudy at forty

Chorus:
A faded picture of a damsel in distress
On the porch of a house painted blue
In a long calico dress
A picture of me and you
On Rosemary Avenue

We had no dramatic ending
I can’t even recall
The moment I knew I’d lost you
If I ever knew at all

Bridge:
Some things just slip away
Like a feather in the wind
You can dwell on yesterday
But you can’t go back again

Chorus:
A faded picture of a damsel in distress
On the porch of a house painted blue
In a long calico dress
A picture of me and you
On Rosemary Avenue

Copyright Kent Newsome and Ronnie Jeffrey
All Rights Reserved

Rifle Road

A man sits alone on his porch
Beside a road that leads nowhere
Counting the shots as they ring out
Smelling gunpowder in the air

A truck rolls by like a comet
Choking him with its dusty tail
Just another piece of garbage
Headed right for the garbage pail

Chorus:
And the white trash blows
Down the middle of Rifle Road
Past rusty old trailer parks
Where men in white robes
Shoot bottles off of fences
With the guns they love so
There’s heartbreak in the reports
From down on Rifle Road

It was quiet in the country
Until the militia moved in
Now everywhere there is hatred
Rebel flags and NRA pins

Bridge:
He was a strong man once
But that was a long time ago
Now he’s just another scrap of paper
Blowing down Rifle Road

Chorus:
And the white trash blows
Down the middle of Rifle Road
Past rusty old trailer parks
Where men in white robes
Shoot bottles off of fences
With the guns they love so
There’s heartbreak in the reports
From down on Rifle Road

Copyright Kent Newsome and Ronnie Jeffrey
All Rights Reserved

Raccoons and Foxes

I live in my mother’s house
Up the hill from Thompson’s Creek
When daddy died and sister left
It was hard for momma and me

Well momma died last April
Her whole life is in boxes
Now I just sit on the back porch
Waiting for raccoons and foxes

Chorus:
Mom and Dad are up on Chatham Hill
Sister is somewhere in Tennessee
If you see movement in the darkness
It’s just the raccoons, the foxes and me

I put the feed out at dusk
Just like momma used to do
Then I sit glued to this old chair
Everything changes if you move

There’s still wildlife in the yard
Foxes, possums and raccoons
The raccoons come far too early
The foxes leave too soon

Chorus:
Mom and Dad are up on Chatham Hill
Sister is somewhere in Tennessee
If you see movement in the darkness
It’s just the raccoons, the foxes and me

Bridge:
Bandits rob you blind
Pretty women break your heart
Loved ones leave you crying
In a chair on a porch in the dark

Chorus:
Mom and Dad are up on Chatham Hill
Sister is somewhere in Tennessee
If you see movement in the darkness
It’s just the raccoons, the foxes and me

Copyright Kent Newsome and Ronnie Jeffrey
All Rights Reserved

Rabbit Hole

There’s a rabbit hunt
Up on Nock’s Hill tonight
Every bunny is in danger
Beneath the pale moonlight
Run rabbit run
You’re running for your life

I heard a dog howl
From up near Thompson’s Creek
It was such a wistful sound
Full of regret and grief
Run doggie run
You sound a lot like me

Chorus:
I’ve got a rabbit hole in my heart
The rain keeps falling
It only takes a drop to drown
When I’m dead and gone
Put me six feet in the ground
I’ve got a rabbit hole in my heart

Rabbits will circle
Right back to where they’ve been
So if you’ll just be patient
They’ll head your way again
Run rabbit run
Run as fast as the wind

Chorus:
I’ve got a rabbit hole in my heart
The rain keeps falling
It only takes a drop to drown
When I’m dead and gone
Put me six feet in the ground
I’ve got a rabbit hole in my heart

Copyright Kent Newsome and Bob Clay
All Rights Reserved

Queen of the Blue Ridge (1979)

It was over twenty years ago
We met in that bar in Blowing Rock
We played quarters in a corner booth
And put a few in the jukebox

Later we drove around in my car
Drinking whiskey out of paper cups
By the time we got back to her dorm
The sun was about to come up

She wrote down her telephone number
I kissed her twice and promised to call
As I drove back to Winston-Salem
The temperature began to fall

Chorus:
I can still see the snow that fell
I can almost count every flake
Each one a memory we should have had
Each one a chance I didn’t take
But for a short time she was mine
Queen of the Blue Ridge 1979

I called her a few times after that
And learned to love the sound of her voice
But she was the Queen of the Blue Ridge
So she had to make a tough choice

Cause pretty girls have lots of suitors
And I was just a voice on the phone
We almost had something that mattered
But it gets cold when you’re alone

Chorus:
I can still see the snow that fell
I can almost count every flake
Each one a memory we should have had
Each one a chance I didn’t take
But for a short time she was mine
Queen of the Blue Ridge 1979

Bridge:
How those Mountaineer girls can love
She’s never far from my thoughts
In my mind we’re still playing quarters
In a bar called P.B. Scott’s

Chorus:
I can still see the snow that fell
I can almost count every flake
Each one a memory we should have had
Each one a chance I didn’t take
But for a short time she was mine
Queen of the Blue Ridge 1979

Copyright Kent Newsome and Ronnie Jeffrey
All Rights Reserved