Lyrics for Down in There

Copyright © 1990 Brown/Feldman Publishing Company
  1. "If I Had Known"
  2. "Hillbilly Girl"
  3. "A Little Place in the Country"
  4. "Worrisome Years"
  5. "Hacklebarney Tune"
  6. "Poor Backslider"
  7. "Fooled Me Once"
  8. "Band of Gold"
  9. "All Day Rain"
  10. "You Are a Flower"

"If I Had Known"

A little creek you could spit across Jimmy and me each took one more toss our spinners bright in the evening air People always said, There ain't no fish in there Well grownups they ain't always right Jimmy and me walked home slow that night right down Main Street in our P.F. Fliers with two 5 lb. bass making grown men liars Jimmy if I had known-- I might have stopped fishing right then It's just as well we don't know when things will never be that good again A hayride on an Autumn night Well we was 15 if I remember right We were far apart at the start of the ride but somehow we ended up side by side We hit a bump and she grabbed my arm The night was as cold as her lips were warm I shivered as her hand held mine And then I kissed her one more time And Jane if I had known-- I might have stopped kissing right then It's just as well we don't know when things will never be that good again She was older than me I guess Summer was invented for her to wear that dress I knew about risk and she knew about proof and that night she took me up on the roof We could see the lights of the little towns We could watch the August stars come down Shooting stars, meteorites-- we went on a ride through the sky that night And, oh, if I had known-- I'd do it all over again Some things just get better and better and better than they've already been

"Hillbilly Girl"

There's a girl standing on a red mud road looking up at Legel's Hill She has never been much farther than that but she knows someday she will Hillbilly girl -- a big big world She is strumming on a catalog guitar singing songs she's always known She has her father's will and her mother's clear eyes and a wild heart all her own She is wondering where that red road goes as the stars come out above Will she make it to the lights of the city bright Will she find someone to love Now a woman stands on that same old road with her father's hand in her own and though mother is gone still those clear eyes shine bright as they've ever shown Yes the girl is the woman and the woman was the girl Many an old song she still can strum and yes she made it to the lights of the city bright but she never forgot where she's from Hillbilly girl -- a big big world

"A Little Place in the Country"

I'm sorry I hit you. I'm sorry I wrecked your car I'm sorry I met you that night at the Why Not Bar but now I've got you and you've got me for life I will hand you this bottle honey, if you'll set down that knife I'll never leave you. I'll never go away and even if I do--I reckon I won't stay No, I'll never leave you. I'll never set you free and even if I do--you better come back to me I've had lots of women--some even fatter than you but not a one of them could do all the things that you do I want to marry you. I want to see you in that gown I want to carry you to a room and take it all the way down I'll buy you a trailer from my uncle--any color you choose double-wide, furnished--one that's never been used a little place in the country--just a ways out of town and when I get home to you I don't want nobody around I'll never leave you. I'll never go away and even if I do--I reckon I won't stay No, I'll never leave you. I'll never set you free and even if I do--you better come back to me

"Worrisome Years"

And the worrisome years--over the hill I thoght it's supposed to get easier to pay your bills I got nothing to show but a worrisome heart Can ya please tell me--when does the good part start? I done like they told me, I done like I should Ever since I started, I's trying to make good trying to make a good life for my family but I can't buy any stuff the kids want from TV I think about leaving--but where would I go? How would I get there? I don't know I took my stand here--I don't want to roam This old town ain't much but it's all I know of home I look at Cheryl--she looks at me We don't talk no more about our dreams We don't have no fun the way we used to do Don't be disappointed in me baby I ain't disappointed in you And the worrisome years--over the hill I thoght it's supposed to get easier to pay your bills I got nothing to show but a worrisome heart Can ya please tell me--when does the good part start?

"Hacklebarney Tune"

Hop in my Valiant, hit Hwy 1 Head on down to Hacklebarney, have me some fun Up over that hill, here's what I'll do set there and play this old music with you You are my grandpa, I'm your grandson 50 years between us, feels more like one We're old as the hills and yound as the dew when I set there and play this old music with you Goin' down yonder. Here rattler here when you and I were young Maggie preacher and the bear and that one we can't remember that we always do when I set there and play this old music with you And when we've departed this music will ring It's part of the red dust, part of everything something of us I know will be here WHere music is ringing, heaven is near Jeeminy Criminy, where does life go? Somewhere down in the holler I know where you threw your old boot where the whip-poor-will flew where I set there and play this old music with you--hoo--hoo

"Poor Backslider"

I'm a poor backslider in the pit of sin I try to crawl out. I slip back in Come Savior save me--get ahold of my hand Please don't let me slide back in the dark again Well the preacher told me hope was never gone I combed my hair with water and put my white shirt on One Sunday morning I put the family in the car dropped them down at church and went on down to the bar Audrey left me and she tooks my kids I miss them children--I'm sorry for what I did When I get drinking I lose control When you lose your family it's like you lost your soul Now the mill is failing, I'm on shifting sand I sit in my trailer and I wring my hands No children's voice, no woman's touch Just a whiskey bottle, some shotgun shells and such Should not have let that woman get me so annoyed Should not of hit my girl; should not of struck my boy Should not of took off running like a turkey through the corn Should not of bought this gun; should not of ever been born The preacher told me Jesus laid down his life for my sin Well I'd lay mine down too if I could do it like him Three days in the grave--that sounds good to me I just have some problems with eternity I'm a poor backslider in the pit of sin I try to crawl out. I slip back in Come Savior save me--get ahold of my hand Please don't let me slide back in the dark again

"Fooled Me Once"

My Mama died when I was sixteen She was shitfaced behind the wheel They made me go to the graveyard I would not pray or kneel I don't pray to no god who takes your Mama and leaves you in a house full of junk with a stepdad who gets all lovey dovey every time that he gets a little drunk They fooled me once--I took it on the chin But I'll be damned if they fool me again Took off out of high school and joined the army People said that ain't no place for a girl People 'round here don't know what's going on I wanted to see the world All I saw was a hot flat field and a sergeant the size of a sow The only thing they taught me was how to run Well let's see 'em try to catch me now I met a guy and he talked real nice and he looked good down on his knees but now I'm the one who had the kid and the one that lost the car keys Now every time I fall in love I only fall so far Well they can have a piece of me but they shouldn't try to take my car So now I come dancing up to you shaking 'em in your face If you got a dollar, fish it out and stick it in the right place I need some things the same as you and my expenses run high Soon as I pay off this guy I owe me and my kid are gonna fly They fooled me once--I took it on the chin But I'll be damned if they fool me again

"Band of Gold"

This band of gold never meant much to me a link in the chain that the world wants to see a part of the show that the world asks you for You can do what you want behind any closed door This band of gold slips off easily but there's a mark underneath it anybody can see The sun and the wind, the years and the days made that mark a part of me and it won't go away And just like that mark there's a part of my heart your love protects from the storm and there I can be a child who's free though my body is weary and worn And that band of gold is as big as the sky No ocean is wider--no mountain as high It's as soft as your kiss is and as warm as our bed and with that band of gold every day I thee wed

"All Day Rain"

The gate is rusty The porch is sad The storm is coming The news is bad All day rain-- plenty of nothing to explain a lifetime love Open the window Let the rain fall in Let's stay home Let's call in We need the rain The garden's dry Kiss me again 'cause so am I I love this weather gonna drink my fill I'll love you better I swear I will Sometimes it's wet Sometimes it's dry You laugh--you forget what made you cry All day rain-- plenty of nothing to explain a lifetime love

"You Are a Flower"

Your smile makes me smile I can always see your face You help me make it through every day You're with me every place You left so much here with us Your love is all around Your children's children wil smile that same smile and say "oh look what I have found" You are a flower shining for a while You are a flower What a life, what a woman, what a smile And I will laugh and I will sing and I will go on through To let this love just come on out that's what I learned from you Your heart went out to everything a field of stones, a field of flowers and when we form that magic ring we feel your hand in ours You are a flower shining for a while You are a flower What a life, what a woman, what a smile Transcribed by Mike Ferney.