Listen to the Music

"Welcome To The Family" Lyrics (1- Blood Disease)


9 months we've been married, I still ain't had the baby, heard that's why you said I got that ring, or was that from the affair that you made up the week before the wedding?  I'm a conversation starter but you're not one for gossip, at least that's what you'll tell anyone who'll listen, and to that I can say you wrote the book on manipulation

 

(Chorus) It starts when you're pissed off, he gets a phone call, there goes the trauma-bonded, enmeshed, guilt of it all, girl you're messy but you won't ruin shit for me, thanks for the welcome, welcome to the family

 

Come to find the only time I'll turn the other cheek is to let you kiss my ass as you watch me leave, no I don't deserve an incestual mistress trying to compete

 

(Chorus)

 

I'm sorry that men have failed you but this one is mind, I'd think it was me but I ain't the first or the last of my kind

 

 

"Talkin' Shit" Lyrics (2- Blood Disease)

Well he wasn't your father, but he took you as his own, he went and died and you staked your claim, you took your quarter and half of what he's worth, it can't buy the obligation you justify to yourself, don't you think the devil's number was a hell of a handout?

 

(Chorus)
All is fair in love and war, I kept the peace but it's only yours, went back to find what it's worth and it don't do much for me, you never liked me anyway, for the sake of family, I can't keep patching up a bridge already burned

 

God forbid you're honest or care to follow through, won't trade nothing for the exception that talkin' shit gets you, I can't find a way to fix it, told you I've had enough of this, tell your kids that I'm sorry we ain't coming for Christmas

 

(Chorus)

 

Things could've been different, you could've been my friend, you should've walked out from that lawyer, and gone to a therapist

 

"Wild West Show" Lyrics (3- Blood Disease) 

There's a gun by our bed near your memory of an empty bottle, you're imprisoned by the past and choices you had no part in, you held that gun to your daddy through the door the last time he went for your brothers, you get along now, mama says it's just a part of growing up, I hope you learn to protect yourself, I hope you learn to respect yourself, cause baby bullets and fist fights harden the heart they don't make you strong

 

(Chorus)

 

All I see is a snake hiding in a hole, begging a hawk to come and level the playing field, leave your lies in the soil, from dust we came and to dust we shall return, it don't have to be a gun fight, quit trying to make a wild west show

 

You can stand your ground just remember who owns it, I'm trying to love a heart so guarded it leaves my broken, but there's a new sheriff in the 1880 landscape, who knocked that cardboard backdrop to the ground with a turquoise .380

 

 

"Queen of the Pill Container" Lyrics (4- Blood Disease)

Well she went and sealed her fate, started picking out a date, 9 months from last week, little pack up on a shelf, pull em down and flush em out, how would he ever know

 

(Chorus)

She's the queen of the pill container, caught him in a trap, knocked her up, act surprised, don't know how it happened, they were broke up when she decided what she wanted, a means to her end, a little bundle of joy wrapped up in attention, for her

 

Well he went and sealed his fate, started picking out a ring, got down on one knee, gonna bet her half his shit, she won't get tired of playing, small town story ending

 

(Chorus)

 

Biological clocks can be ticking time bombs, he never knew her plan, give her two or three years, it might happen again, by accident

 

 

"Blood Disease" Lyrics (5- Blood Disease)

You played a dead man's hand when you counted cards, wagered what tore you apart, lost your mind to what you never gave too much thought, you had a losing streak but you stood to gain, daddy's in the ground and your check's in the bank, it's anybody's guess what half those statements say

 

(Chorus) There ain't no devil like fear and greed, ain't no sickness like a blood disease, it's a civil war watching you starve your brother, poison in your veins, you're hiding from your mother, it's the trust you only know to betray, the leverage on her daughter's face, what a stupid prize for the games you play

 

Don't say what's wrongs, it's just how it's done, conversation's like a hit and run, can't pick a string without pulling that tower down

 

(Chorus)

 

You cover your tracks and you're keeping score, who you're fighting with is what you're fighting for, he'll pay for what he's owed 3x over

 

 

"666" Lyrics (6- Blood Disease)

I've got better things to do than sit around and save face, I've got songs to write, I've got whiskey to drink, I call it like I see it so you should've behaved, I won't cover up the scars you made

When I think about a muse I've got you to thank, I've got 40 proof running through my veins, I don't know which one's making me see red, it's like a blood disease muttered under my breath, like a blood disease running under my breath

 

(Chorus) La da da da da da, La da da La da da da

 

You've got a million little things that I could do with my time and none of them have got me in mind, you've got everybody in this county fooled, so there's no confusion this song's for you, so I'll sing my song and I'll drink to you

 

(Chorus)

 

Is it a life sentence or a coping skill?  Am I sick in the head with too much time to kill?  You say you wanna see me act my age.... but if I was you it took til 48 and you fucked a lot of others over on your way

 

 

"Little Blue Dog" Lyrics (7- Blood Disease) 

It all changed in a heart beat, a storm rolled in and he was fading, they said, "we don't know for sure but we're gonna try", hours in a car and a Childer's song kept playing on repeat, "In Your Love" still played the day he left me

 

(Chorus) I kept waiting on a sign, only to find a black butterfly, like we didn't even try, all I had was a dog in the fight, five short weeks will never seem fair, I look and feel like he's still there, some stories have a happy ending and some never get told, like a little blue dog who never got old, like a little blue dog who never got old

 

All his favorite things are now memories and he's a favorite of mine, a paw print pressed into cement on the sunset of his life, I never pictured our goodbye without the grey around his eyes, the change that says that your friend lived a good life

 

(Chorus)

I hope there's a special place where a cattle dog can sit and wait, he fought his fight and sent a new beginning our way, and when we go to take him home, I see his name up on that road, I guess the signs are always there when it's your turn

 

"Black Sheep" Lyrics (8- Blood Disease)

The difference between you and me, is I don't look back when I leave, you've got a list of the crimes I've commit, can you blame me for reacting?  I was in a white dress when a little birdie told him, "you don't have to do this" and another birdie said, "I heard she's a cheater" a week before the wedding and all of that projection shot me right out of the nest

 

(Chorus) I'm the black sheep sipping tea on my front porch, after I skipped town, I don't hang around no more, cause I found my peace by the old oak tree and I picked a hill to die on, and it's so sweet dancing with the curtains drawn, seeing what we made versus what you got, and I can never miss what you'd never be, so don't hold your breath for the black sheep

 

Down in the valley and I'm feeling awfully free, you can hate me, I am what you'll never be, but I don't believe in another chance just to prove to me what you already did, and it's so sweet seeing how it all played out, looking back to see who's laughing now, but I don't have time cause I'm tangled up in a big old house you know nothing about

 

(Chorus)

 

Now I'm your karma and I know the shit talk's deep, swept it under the rug til it hit ceiling, you still pulled it out from under our feet, you know it broke me with every bit of trust I gave, just a talking point in a fake cliche, hit the better end, I can't play pretend when my hands are clean

 

 

"Warning" Lyrics (9- Blood Disease)

Grandpa Eddie warned me there was bad blood, boiling beneath the surface, even if you never met 'em girl, you can change it, you can fight it, try to heal but can't deny it's coming for you

 

(Chorus) Down the line and up form the roots, take a shot and you're feeling bulletproof, you got a little Gifford in you

 

Dress up to the nines just to watch their heads turn, let em run their mouths just to hit em where it hurts, made a mark and used in vain, said like it's a warning

 

(Chorus)

 

Hard headed, strong-willed, long gone, in me still, there's a fire burning that can't be tamed, no curse quite like your last name

 

"Last of My Line" Lyrics (10- Blood Disease)

Are you just a name that I can't erase?  Back of my mind I picture your face, baby blue eyes unlike anything seen before I met him, Lifetimes of love before him and I, it'd stand to reason it's a matter of time, the irony in family is that's the thing keeping me from building mine

 

(Chorus) I can't heal you and protect me, what came here to hurt me, I'd die before it got to you, you'd fight like me and keep a hold of this dream, but you shouldn't have to, so I just might lose you, before I know you, if I'm the last of my line

 

I carry you with me, my mother did too, she sees her friends and then pretends that granddogs will do, time's running out and it's not slowing down and that ain't lost on me

 

"Row 24"

Wheels up in Moline, headed for DC over 100 men seated on board

The pilot was the son of a hero Who sat in row 24 He had a cane in his lap,

a flag in his hand He’d waited a long time for this

They decided the cancer had got pretty bad And moved his name up the list

          (Chorus) they didn’t know how it’d feel To see it in stone

          hear a thanks they never had, when those soldiers came home

          shed a tear for their brothers At the Tomb of the Unknown

          So long after… the war

It feels like yesterday or a lifetime ago There’s nights it still keeps him awake

And the things you can’t unsee Are the things you don’t say

They make you feel alone But the young man beside him was a veteran too Assigned to row 24, they told stories about Normandy and Desert Storm

           (Chorus)

Touchdown in Moline, greeted by family And strangers lined out through the door A cardboard sign said “welcome home” To a changed man… from row 24

 

Between Heaven & a Watering Hole (Track 1- Legions & Legends)

 

There is a bar in Alzada, Montana, dollar bills line the ceiling

and saw dust fills the floor, a bathroom of Playboys, a corner pay phone

it's somewhere between heaven and a watering hole

 

Southeast of Rapid, where we got tattoos, there's a little dive bar

called the Horseshoe, and there's a buffalo skull holding bras on the wall

it's somewhere between heaven and a watering hole

       

          (Chorus) When you look around, you won't know what year it is

          and after an hour you'll wonder what number drink is this, you'll learn life

          from the barkeep, who's seen better days, she'll ask where you came from 

          you'll say its kinda like this place, it's somewhere

          between heaven and a watering hole

 

You open the door to the regulars, having lunch like the last 30 years

& God willing they will for at least 20 more... as they're waiting on

heaven in a watering hole

           (Chorus)

 

Ex-Lover (Track 2- Legions & Legends)

 

You already ruined it, broke his heart and were through with it

You fooled him once and shame on you, you fool him now and shame on me

But I can't keep quiet...

 

Listen here ex-lover, in a town this small, we can't act like we don't know

You're where it all went wrong, and somehow you still carry

His last name like a prize, shit's gonna get awkward when we look like

sister wives... but you're the

 

          (Chours) Ex, Ex, Ex, Ex-lover (3x)

 

Listen here ex-lover, co-parent, not co-owner, check your own damn oil

And leave my man alone... you think you're clever raising pawns in a game

What you like stays the same, take control, throw the blame, not your world

it's not the same... you're the 

 

         (Chorus)

 

Listen here ex-lover, there's life after divorce, I kinda liked it for you

but you seem miserable... being the

 

         (Chorus)

 

Work Can Wait (Track 3- Legions & Legends)

Midwest morning on the Riverboat Twilight, best bloody Mary's

between the banks of the Mississippi River, out floatin', not worried

about anything but killin' time.  They ask if we want another,

who cares we ain't drivin', whiskey on the water, cheers to LeClaire

and Port Byron, if we tip the pilot, think he'll drop us off in New Orleans?

 

         (Chorus) When trying to make a dollar takes everything you got

         Love's a little harder, but the best part, work can wait

 

There's a fire in your smile that for so long looked like embers

Roll up to the dock, steppin' off, like a new adventure's

Waiting there for us, rushin' home like it's a hideaway

 

         (Chorus)

 

You're a wanted man, but I know what you need

Hang a poster on a bedpost and see where it leads

 

          (Chorus)

 

Drinking Again (Track 4- Legions & Legends)

There's a monster in my bed, his pretty blue eyes have faded to red

and we can't take back any words that we said, so we'll wait til the morning

I could break through, you could leave, I'll cuss where you came from

you'll fall back asleep, and I should know better, but temper's a thief

 

         (Chorus) I feel empty, I feel weak, breaking a cycle that's generations

         deep, we're fighting our bloodlines, and scraping our knees

         I beg you to forgive what I know we'll repeat, when we're tired of fighting

         and drinking again

 

It's a pattern, it's a curse, written in bone, only quenched by the thirst

What's never enough will take all that is yours, when we're tired of fighting

and drinking again

 

         (Chorus) When we're tired of fighting... and drinking again

 

Dixon Legion (Track 5- Legions & Legends)

We stopped in at a quarter to ten for the infamous just one

And by the looks of it, half the town had been there since lunch

Two sober blondes walk into a bar, you'd think one of us would've saw 

it coming... mmmm...

 

There's a kid we went to high school with and a couple old farmers

A lady truck driver who chases truth with tequila

We all became fast friends and closer her down at 1am

With a $10 bar tab at the Dixon Legion

 

          (Chorus) This ain't our town, but these sure are our people

          We're on the wrong side of the county, but they made us feel at home

          Just me and my best friend stumblin' out at 1am with a $10 bar tab

          at the Dixon Legion

 

Not sure what we were running from but it caught us by morning

A headache and some memories flood back into focus

She made out with the bartender, not sure if I feel proud of ashamed

But there's $10 to blame

 

          (Chorus)

 

We may never go back again and keep our reputations

I guess they don't see too many of our kind, on a Tuesday night

 

        Just me and my best friend stumblin' out at 1am with a $10 bar tab... 

        At the Dixon Legion

 

Fill His Boots (Track 6- Legions & Legends)

Staring at a piece of paper, wondering what to say to you

We ain't talking, we ain't listening, tired of fighting nail and tooth

Maybe it ain't just isn't in you, after everything you've seen

my God, I can hardly blame you, living life dragging your feet

 

         (Chorus) Sitting here dreaming about a ring and a baby

         And a table to fill up a dining room, and you're gone again

         feeling guilty, feeling angry, stepping up one more time

         to fill his boots

 

We could spend our 50 years, prove our worth by doing favors

Worried about what they think and what they say

But I hope you learn to fight for the life that you've been given

Know you're more than what needs done and who needs saved

 

          (Chorus)

 

And I wonder if I'll ever get to see you break the cycle

But it's hard to walk away when you've got footsteps to follow

 

       Sitting here dreaming about a ring and a baby and a table 

       to fill up a dining room, maybe its selfish but I remember a time when

       that's what you wanted too... wanted too

 

Men & Women (Track 8- Men & Women)

He's upstairs with a magazine, and we ain't talking Field & Stream

Hunting for a little piece of mind, they've been married 17 years

She avoids him like she does the mirror, and pours another bandaid over ice

 

         (Chorus) If anybody asks it's as good as it gets, he makes dollars

         she makes sense of it all with her mama, talking on the phone

         Sees where everyone else went wrong, then he'll offer to pick up

         Shifts, and she'll swear its the last of the shit she'll put up with

         And that's the difference... between men & women

 

They still chase how they used to feel, holding on that time will heal

The cards were dealt and they're easy to fight over

He'll say he just needs some space, she'll break down then save some face

God forbid they know you're only human

 

       (Chorus)

 

And that's the difference... between waking up alone or a kiss goodnight

What you should've said... didn't come out right

To give it all up or give it another try

 

        (Chorus)

 

 

Legacy (Track 8- Legions & Legends)

A Cadillac and cigarettes headed out to visit, the old man they belonged to

He sets one on his headstone, pours a beer over the grass

That hasn't had the chance to grow back

 

          (Chorus) We all make scars just to watch them bleed

         Branded on our hearts like the ground beneath our feet

         We hate this place, but we will never leave, they built us a legacy

 

You drove home past the high school where your last name always saved you

Turned from trouble to a good man, and on the day we laid him down

We had to feed the whole damn town, everybody felt like his best friend

 

          (Chorus)

 

Muddy Water (Track 9- Legions & Legends)

 

You said, "I'm drowning", I said, "Then stand", you said "I'm outta here"

and I said "when?", like your buckle on a bed post, you're just hanging around

ain't a goddamn prize left to be won in this town

 

and it feels deep, when the roots get tangled

and you can't sleep, trying to keep a dream alive, look around,

what's pulling you under, will bury you alive

 

         (Chorus) they muddy the water, to make it feel deep

         They muddy the water, so you don't leave

 

I hope you know what's good for you, and go it alone, we can laugh at

The reflection when the dust settles, the best you'll be ain't just what's been

When you get home it'll all make sense, you're bigger than a small town reputation

 

         (Chorus)

 

When you feel resistance, start to dig, it's just a season and you're planting seeds

Soon you'll learn how the lotus grew to float, effortlessly

 

       (Chorus)

 

You said, "I'm drowning", I said, "then stand", you said "I'm outta here"

And I said, "When?"

 

Brother (Track 10- Legions & Legends)

 

There's a ghost in this house, he looks a lot like a little kid, a lot like me

We used to run, used to scream, used to hide, used to seek

For a way out, I guess we just got older

 

         (Chorus) It didn't have to be this way, it didn't have to be this way

          Brother

 

I saw the pain on your face, there wasn't a damn thing more we could do

You lost your way, you lost your fight, found your wings, saw the light

Right before our mother got to you

 

        (Chorus) 2x

 

CONSEQUENCE (1- Consequence) 

There’s ash marks on the front porch step | between the whiskey & cigarettes, I may burn the place down yet | he borrowed my truck and stole my horse, the son of a bitch must want a divorce | when I showed up they’d last seen him with her

So I got back on the highway, headed one road south | sure enough my mare’s tied at the trailer, with his boots outside her house

(Chorus) Annie Oakley always said, “don’t be afraid to love a man, but don’t be afraid to shoot one either” | it feels like a waste of a ten cent bullet, but I’m more of a waste of a damn good woman | with his gun it’ll look like an accident, actions come with consequence

This sleepy town sure gets around, and even if she leaves him now, there’s a dozen more to take her place | I’ve caught him slipping off that ring, inside the pocket of his jeans, lies our not so happy ending | (Chorus)

Should I tell him to go to hell or just go home? | But my finger on the trigger gives me say on where he goes | (Chorus)



 

 

DIRTY HABITS (3- Consequence) 

You drive too fast on gravel roads, to see rock fly out your back window | going nowhere with no time constraint, you’ll blow the speakers before you tap those brakes

You’ve got a dirty mouth & a filthy mind, but God knows your heart is gold | you’ll leave me here looking out, for that gypsy heart of yours

You smoke, you drink, you love, you leave | move faster than the sun, if you go, I’ll go | If you promise me, someday our time will come

(Pre-chorus) (Chorus)

Love’s the last thing on your mind, but I hope to change that with time | you’re hard to learn, hard to lose, got a lot of dirty habits | I think mine could be you

(Chorus)

 

 

 

WISH IT WAS YOU (4- Consequence)

You weren't the kind to quit or walk away, now all they can say is, "what a damn shame" | but I know there's more to you than what you left here,  its still so clear

(Chorus) Like your boot steps on the hardwood, ole Boot Strap's still around | little echoes in the silence, I know you’re up there looking down, and I hear your name when the crowds cry out | the boys open the chute, and I wish it was you, I wish it was you

Its a long way to Vegas from Nicola Valley, you know you made your mama and daddy so proud | but there are demons tougher than any bull, you know you put on quite the show | in & outside of that arena

(Chorus) Here we are gathered in your name those you loved, the lives you've changed that gold buckle on your best friend's jeans your diamond promise to your pretty little thing pieces of you, but pieces just the same

(Chorus)

 

 

 

AMONG THE WILLOWS (5- Consequence)

Martin left Missouri for the rush in Cheyenne, Andy knew the fortune of a whiskey drinking man | They bought themselves a dancehall with some money that they stole, but tempers tend to flare when the liquor starts to flow | Andy pulls a pistol, backed Martin outside, said if I see you again, it won't be alive, but as one gun was lowered, another one was drawn, and Martin got revenge in five shots

(Chorus) Among the willows with blood on his hands, the vigilantes made their plan, he'll pay the price, trade his sentence for a life | 'til he's laid low, among the willows

Six men on the jury & each found him guilty, to be jailed the next morning, he drank til the dawn | he was told there was a friend outside, he was pistol whipped and taken alive

(Chorus)

Twice up a tree just to drag him once more, what would be his last dance on earth | he fell victim to the vigilantes, first to hang in Wyoming | the lawn came but ended their search, with a man who's feet barely touched the dirt

(Chorus)

 

 

 


TEXAS & TENNESSEE (7- Consequence)

They've both got dreams too big for this town, just starting out, trying to make a name for themselves | being pulled different ways, swore that things would never change, but they're changing now | They've been running side by side, parallel like headlights, but they hit a crossroads tonight

(Chorus) At the red light in that one-stop town, they could never look back or turn around | his blue eyes see a memory he swore he'd never leave, now he's headed southbound- she's headed eastbound, to Texas & Tennessee

Over his shoulder in the back he's got a suitcase she swore to help unpack, but those city lights called her name | the only dream she couldn't shake, and he wouldn't dare take that | in one last attempt she said, "come with me", but that big sky was calling and he was going

(Chorus)

He said, "Baby, there's no Texas without Tennessee, and home is wherever you will be."

 

 

 

 

HOUSEWIFE (8- Consequence)

It ain't my job to make you feel more than what we both know you are, it ain't my fault that you feel comfortable where you shouldn't have been to start | I won't choose words carefully to not step on toes that trespassed my boundaries, you were out of line, now its my turn to speak my mind

(Chorus) ain't even dust on the paper with your new last name, poor boy must not listen cause they say, no matter what you try | you can't make a whore into a housewife

It ain't my business to judge your intention, but I'll call a spade a spade | you know I'd never say two words if you hadn't went & shown your face | I'm a firm believer that trash belongs out by the driveway

(Chorus)

Now, skank is a stain that you can't wipe off, just cause you're what everybody's had doesn't mean you're what anybody wants | I'm all about supporting other women, I just believe that the homewreckers should stay home

 

 

 

HOME (10- Consequence)

I got a tongue like a rattlesnake, but at least he'd warn ya | words sharp as barbed wire, leave venom in your veins, I've seen you run and I can't blame ya, you were drawn to the rose, but pushed by the thorns

(Chorus) I don't know what souls are made of, but I swore I thought I recognized, the hard-worn trail living in your eyes | like a call across the prairie, your love's a lantern in the front window, always feels like home, home, home

We shine, its like a constellation, it could be coincidence, but its better if we don't make sense of it | seasons change like a soundtrack, we shed the skin the the past, cause you and I are built like that, we're built like that

(Chorus)

Like an old photograph, you capture me and take me back, hanging pretty in the frame, better days ain't far away

(Chorus)