The Leaving Kind

I haven’t been drunk in a week
If you were here, you’d be so proud of me
But you’re not
So I guess you’ll never know

You’ve seemed so unhappy for some time
And though I knew that leaving had crossed your mind
I never thought
That you would just up and go

Chorus:
All the booze in all the bars
Can’t kill my pain or hide my scars
I know that I can’t drink you off my mind
Maybe if I’d sobered long before now
I could have changed things somehow
Before I made you
I made the leaving kind

Your leaving hit me pretty hard
And I’m sorry you had to play your trump card
Just to make me
Give up all my rum and my gin

But my new found sobriety
Has made a remorseful man out of me
Maybe someday
We’ll be together again

Chorus:
All the booze in all the bars
Can’t kill my pain or hide my scars
I know that I can’t drink you off my mind
Maybe if I’d sobered long before now
I could have changed things somehow
Before I made you
I made the leaving kind

Bridge:
So gather up the car keys
And give them all to me
I’m a designated driver
Headed straight for insanity

Chorus:
All the booze in all the bars
Can’t kill my pain or hide my scars
I know I can’t drink you off my mind
Maybe if I’d sobered up before now
I could have changed things somehow
Before I made you the leaving kind

Copyright Kent Newsome and Frank Calvagna
All Rights Reserved

The Last One That Did Me Wrong

Now I’ve never been one
To drink and stay out late
But lately I’ve been drinking every night
You see the girl I love
Walked out on me last week
That’s why I’m such a sorry sight

She wasn’t the first one
To leave me high and dry
And I know I’ll surely get hurt again
But it will be a while
Before another girl
Takes my old heart out for a spin

Chorus:
I have every intention
Of getting over her
And I’m gonna start before too long
Just pour me one more drink
So I don’t have to think
About the last one that did me wrong

I’m sure after a while
I’ll forget about her
But for the life of me I don’t know how
If what doesn’t kill you
Only makes you stronger
I ought to be Superman by now

Bridge:
Who’s that girl by the jukebox
Playing that sad country song
She looks like she could use some company
She looks like the next one to do me wrong

Chorus:
I have every intention
Of getting over her
And I’m gonna start before too long
Just pour me one more drink
So I don’t have to think
About the last one that did me wrong

Copyright Kent Newsome and Ronnie Jeffrey
All Rights Reserved

The Blink of Julia’s Eye

I drove by her house today
Her father was in the front yard
I don’t think he recognized me
I don’t think he knows my car

He used to make her come home early
Not one second after midnight
She tried to be my Cinderella
But glass slipper was a bit too tight

I wonder how she’s doing
Haven’t seen her in a while
Heard she got herself a husband
And I heard she had a child

Chorus:
Clock strikes midnight
I better go inside
Will you call me tomorrow
Morning
Didn’t the years fly by
17 turned into 35
In the blink of Julia’s eye
The blink of Julia’s eye

I wonder if she ever got that degree
Maybe she settled for an M.R.S.
I don’t remember why we lost touch
Some things feel too good to last

I remember the last time I saw her
Christmas party at that same house
She sat on the couch and looked at me
Wish I’d known then what I know now

Chorus:
Clock strikes midnight
I better go inside
Will you call me tomorrow
Morning
Didn’t the years fly by
17 turned into 35
In the blink of Julia’s eye
The blink of Julia’s eye

I drove by her house today
Her father was in the front yard
I don’t think he recognized me
I don’t think he knows my car

Copyright Kent Newsome and Ronnie Jeffrey
All Rights Reserved

The Better Half of Me

I didn’t tell her I loved her
Nearly as often as I should
When she used to hold me so tight
Every single chance she could
I treated her love like a chore
There were other things on my mind
And sure enough
Those hugs became less frequent
With the passage of time

For a while she stood beside me
She swore there was no one else
But life can be a right hard road
When you’re walking by yourself
My inattention wore her down
And she finally found someone new
Who treated her
Like the angel that she was
And soon that angel flew

Chorus:
Be careful what you ask for
Cause you might get your wish
I ran her out of my life
And straight into his
How could I have been so blind
How could I not have seen
That the very thing I gave to him
Was the better half of me

Now they have a life together
She found the love she needs at last
They are toasting to their future
I am drowning in my past
So tonight I’ll just swim around
In a glass of sad memories
This sorry sight
Is all that is left of
The man I used to be

Chorus:
Be careful what you ask for
Cause you might get your wish
I ran her out of my life
And straight into his
How could I have been so blind
How could I not have seen
That the very thing I gave to him
Was the better half of me

Copyright Kent Newsome and Ronnie Jeffrey
All Rights Reserved

The Best I Can

My dad was a war hero
He chased Zeros in a Hellcat
When he died I threw his shoes away
I knew I could never top that
I saw his aircraft carrier
One time up in New York
I called my mother from the deck
And we both cried pretty hard

Chorus:
I am just his son
And that’s all I’ll ever be
If you’re looking for a hero
Don’t you look at me
I’ve never been a hero
No I am just a man
I wish I was more like him
But I do the best I can

My dad was a ladies man
They say he always got the girl
They must be right because he married
The prettiest girl in the world
His squadron flew right down Main Street
At noon on their wedding day
Some folks thought it was the Japanese
Until they saluted and flew away

Chorus:
I am just his son
And that’s all I’ll ever be
If you’re looking for a hero
Don’t you look at me
I’ve never been a hero
No I am just a man
I wish I was more like him
But I do the best I can

My dad was a businessman
He sold Fords and Mercurys
Over the years he made lots of friends
And one or two enemies
One night some guy had a bad idea
Tried to break into Mama’s house
I found that guy in a honky tonk
And I knocked that bastard out

Chorus:
I am just his son
And that’s all I’ll ever be
If you’re looking for a hero
Don’t you look at me
I’ve never been a hero
No I am just a man
I wish I was more like him
But I do the best I can

My dad died in sixty-eight
With RFK and Dr. King
I tried to make sense of it all
But it doesn’t mean a Goddamn thing
It’s like some jigsaw puzzle
Where all the pieces look the same
I wonder if he knew me
Would he be ashamed

Chorus:
I am just his son
And that’s all I’ll ever be
If you’re looking for a hero
Don’t you look at me
I’ve never been a hero
No I am just a man
I wish I was more like him
But I do the best I can

Copyright Kent Newsome and Ronnie Jeffrey
All Rights Reserved

The Balloon and the Wind

We used to reach for the sky
Bound by ribbons of blue and red
Now we’ve lost all our lift
And begun to sink instead

She says I am a dreamer
And she keeps both feet on the ground
She’s grown afraid of heights
While I’m afraid to come down

Chorus:
Is this is the beginning
Of another bad end
As I hover above her
I feel like a balloon
And she feels like the wind

I hear her cross the kitchen
And blow so softly down the hall
She thinks if she’s quiet
It’s like she’s not here at all

I still plot her every move
Like the weatherman on TV
I can feel her presence
But she is so hard to see

Chorus:
Is this is the beginning
Of another bad end
As I hover above her
I feel like a balloon
And she feels like the wind

I’m just a dot in the sky
As I drift slowly off to space
Released by her soft hands
Feeling lost and out of place

Chorus:
Is this is the beginning
Of another bad end
As I hover above her
I feel like a balloon
And she feels like the wind

Copyright Kent Newsome and Ronnie Jeffrey
All Rights Reserved

That’s Just the Way She Goes

When we first met
She had lots of boyfriends
I worked so hard
To get rid of them
When she promised her love to me
I thought we’d be living on easy street

Chorus:
Now I’m watching as she’s leaving
My eyes see it, but I don’t believe it
I can’t believe she just said adios
I guess that’s just the way she goes

She said you know
You’re nothing but a bum
And all my friends
Think you’re kinda dumb
You’re always working on your truck
We never go out and we never talk

Chorus:
Now I’m watching as she’s leaving
My eyes see it, but I don’t believe it
I can’t believe she just said adios
I guess that’s just the way she goes

I said baby
How bout another chance
I’ll do better
At making romance
Give me a chance to change your mind
She tapped her watch and said it’s leaving time

Chorus:
Now I’m watching as she’s leaving
My eyes see it, but I don’t believe it
I can’t believe she just said adios
I guess that’s just the way she goes

I can’t believe she’d just say adios
I guess that’s just the way she goes

Copyright Kent Newsome and Ronnie Jeffrey
All Rights Reserved

Music Video

Audio Only

Lyrics

Baby I know you don’t love me
But love ain’t all it’s cracked up to be
And you know whenever you get lonely
You’ve always run straight to me

So I thought we could make it real
Cause you know I’ve got something you need
But you make me work too hard for something
That I ought to get for free

Chorus:
I didn’t want to see your traveling shoes
I didn’t mean to give you the traveling blues
I just wanted to make you smile
I just wanted to make you high
Now I’m crashing down, down, down
Straight into goodbye

Things don’t feel good like they used to
I guess this is the end of the line
But I never asked you for anything
That wasn’t already mine

You can leave me if you want to
Baby I won’t try to make you stay
I’m too old to cry and too proud to beg
Go, I won’t stand in your way

Chorus:
I didn’t want to see your traveling shoes
I didn’t mean to give you the traveling blues
I just wanted to make you smile
I just wanted to make you high
Now I’m crashing down, down, down
Straight into goodbye

Once you’re gone all bets will be off
I might fall apart and cry for years
But I’m not going to let you see me
Swimming around in my tears

Bridge:
I’m acting strong for the moment
But that’s a lie and we both know it
I’m gonna fall to pieces when you say it
Here’s my heart, go on and break it

Chorus:
I didn’t want to see your traveling shoes
I didn’t mean to give you the traveling blues
I just wanted to make you smile
I just wanted to make you high
Now I’m crashing down, down, down
Straight into goodbye

Copyright Kent Newsome and Ronnie Jeffrey
All Rights Reserved