I started drinkin', took things that messed up my thinkin', I was sure sinkin' when you came along.
I was alone in the hot lights, not too much left inside, but you changed all that one night, when you sang me this song...... Hank Jr. - The Blues Man

After three failed marriages, dealing with violence on a daily basis and a slow decline into solitary, closet-alcoholism, Anastasia got me back on track. Then came the tribe and I was reborn to face the new challenges that a real family brings......

I left my heart to the sappers 'round KheSan
And i sold my soul with my cigarette,to the black market man.
I've had to Vietnam cold turkey,from the ocean to the silver city.
And its only other Vets could understand
Bout the long forgotten dockside guarantees
How there were no V day heroes in 1973
How we sailed into Sydney harbour, I saw an old freind but i couldnt kiss her
And she was lined,and i was home to the lucky land
She was like so many more from that time on
Their lives were all so empty,until they found their chosen one
And their legs were often open but their minds were always closed
And their hearts were held in fast suburban chains
And the legal pads were yellow,hours long paypackets lean
and the telex writers clattered where the gunships once had been
The carparks made me jumpy and i never stopped the dreams
Or the growing need for speed and novacaine
So i worked across the country from end to end
I tried to find a place to settle down,where my mixed up life would mend
Held a job on an oil rig a'flyin choppers when i could
But the night life nearly drove me around the bend
And i've travelled around the world from year to year
Each one found me aimless,one more year the worse for ware
And ive been back to South East Asia, you know the answer sure aint there
So im drifting north to check things out again
Well the last plane outta Sydney's almost gone
And only 7 flying hours and i'll be landing in hong kong
And there aint nothing like the kisses from a jaded Chinese princess
I'm gonna hit some hong kong matress all night long
Well the last plane outta Sydney's almost gone.

Cold Chisels way of showing how Vietnam Vets in Australia tried to come to grips with things. i know alot of Vets and this is like our unofficial national anthem...always gives me a chil down my spine and makes me proud to be a bloody Aussie

There's an inner thing in every man,
Do you know this thing my friend?
> It has withstood the blows of a million years,
And will do so to the end.

It was born when time did not exist,
And it grew up out of life,
It cut down evil's strangling vines,
Like a slashing searing knife.

It lit fires when fires were not,
And burnt the mind of man,
Tempering leandened hearts to steel,
From the time that time began.

It wept by the waters of Babylon,
And when all men were a loss,
It screeched in writhing agony,
And it hung bleeding from the Cross.

It died in Rome by lion and sword,
And in defiant cruel array,
When the deathly word was 'Spartacus'
Along the Appian Way.

It marched with Wat the Tyler's poor,
And frightened lord and king,
And it was emblazoned in their deathly stare,
As e'er a living thing.

It smiled in holy innocence,
Before conquistadors of old,
So meek and tame and unaware,
Of the deathly power of gold.

It burst forth through pitiful Paris streets,
And stormed the old Bastille,
And marched upon the serpent's head,
And crushed it 'neath its heel.

It died in blood on Buffalo Plains,
And starved by moons of rain,
Its heart was buried at Wounded Knee,
But it will come to rise again.

It screamed aloud by Kerry lakes,
As it was knelt upon the ground,
And it died in great defiance,
As they coldly shot it down.

It is found in every light of hope,
It knows no bounds nor space
It has risen in red and black and white,
It is there in every race.

It lies in the hearts of heroes dead,
It screams in tyrants' eyes,
It has reached the peak of mountains high,
It comes searing 'cross the skies.

It lights the dark of this prison cell,
It thunders forth its might,
It is 'the undauntable thought', my friend,
The thought that says 'I'm right!'

The most powerful words I have ever read, written by an Irishman man dying in a british prison, I think it speaks for those who will stand up and fight for their rights,and the rights of others. A wee bit like the song "we shall overcome", ....the little guy has a say too.

I never heard this before.

It gave me a chill also.

Not at all unlike the journey of the American VN vet.

Thanks for the post, mate, and my regards to all my Aussie brothers in arms...

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.


Poem by William Ernest Henley (1849–1903).

I’ve long since retired, my son's moved away
I called him up just the other day........
I said "I'd like to see you if you don’t mind"
He said "I'd love to Dad, if I could find the time.
You see my new jobs a hassle, and the kids have the flu.
But It's sure nice talking to you, Dad,
It's been sure nice talking to you........"
And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me
He'd grown up just like me,
My boy was just like me..............


Yeah, everytime I call my oldest and he has to say, got to run, call you later, or this weekends not good, maybe in a couple of weeks.  Just makes me think back to those things that I thought were more important than spending time with him.  Now I realize they weren't.

No worries mate look it up ....Cold Chisel Khe San.......its a great tune mate... Cheers

Guaranteed to send me reaching for a Kleenex:

The strains of Taps by a lone bugler...

Amazing Grace by a lone piper...

and these lyrics sung by the West Point Glee Club, from the film, "We Were Soldiers."
 

To fallen soldiers let us sing,

Where no rockets fly nor bullets wing,

Our broken brothers let us bring

To the Mansions of the Lord.

No more bleeding, no more fight,

No prayers pleading through the night,

Just divine embrace, eternal light

In the Mansions of the Lord.

Where no mothers cry and no children weep,

We will stand and guard though the angels sleep,

Oh through the ages safely keep,

The Mansions of the Lord.

Lyrics by Randall Wallace/Music by Nick Glennie Smith

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKJQqil23_o />  

Mama told me when I was young
Come sit beside me, my only son
And listen closely to what I say.
And if you do this
It will help you some sunny day.
Take your time... Don't live too fast,
Troubles will come and they will pass.
Go find a woman and you'll find love,
And don't forget son,
There is someone up above.

[Chorus]
And be a simple kind of man.
Be something you love and understand.
Be a simple kind of man.
Won't you do this for me son,
If you can?

Forget your lust for the rich man's gold
All that you need is in your soul,
And you can do this if you try.
All that I want for you my son,
Is to be satisfied.

My Mama and I used to go to Trackside Tavern in Decatur, GA before Amy and Emily made it "big."  We'd sit and drink beer with them and just have a good time.  We saw them rarely after "Closer to Fine" came out on VH1 because they were always so busy, but the song below has special meaning to us.  It mentions the town of Helen, GA, which was the last ride my Mama, step-dad, and I went on before she died.  We drank cider and got boiled peanuts (in a bag of course), which I detest, but I ate some with Mama anyway because she offered them to me.  Mama was a Yankee, born in NY, but was a southerner at heart, so the line "When God made me born a Yankee, he was teasing," fit her perfectly.  It was like Amy wrote the song just for her.

Anytime I listen to the song, it brings back such wonderful memories for me.  I miss her, but she remains with me in so many ways.  She gave me up for adoption at birth and we met just before I turned 21 in December of 1988.  She was killed July 31, 1993, not even five years after we met.  We had a lot of songs that we listened to, but the one below, is my absolute favorite because it was so, "her."  I go back to Atlanta occasionally, but haven't returned to Trackside since her death.  We used to go to the Freight Room as well (right across the street), which was the old train depot turned into a bar and resturant (sp?) but it's since closed and in bad shape.  Lot of good memories there, but the music lingers in my brain and in my heart and when I miss her the most, it's this song that I sing.

Performed by: Indigo Girls
Written by: Emily Ann Saliers

Maybe we'll make Texas by the morning
Light the bayou with our tailights in the night
800 miles to El Paso from the stateline
And we never had the money for the flight
In the backseat sleepy from our travels
Played our hearts out all night long in New Orleans
Dirty from the diesel fumes drinking coffee black
When the first breath of Texas comes in clean

And there's something bout the Southland in the springtime
Where the waters flow with confidence and reason
Though I miss her when I'm gone, it won't ever be too long
Till I'm home again to spend my favorite season
When God made me born a yankee he was teasin'
There's no place like home and none more pleasin'
Than the Southland in the springtime

In Georgia nights are softer than a whisper
Beneath the quilt somebody's mother made by hand
And the farmland like a tapestry passed down through generations
And the peachtrees stitched across the land
There'll be cider up near Helen off the roadside
Boiled peanuts in a bag to warm your fingers
And the smoke from the chimneys meets its maker in the sky
A song that winter wrote this melody lingers

And there's something bout the Southland in the springtime
Where the waters flow with confidence and reason
Though I miss her when I'm gone, it won't ever be too long
Till I'm home again to spend my favorite season
When God made me born a yankee he was teasin'
There's no place like home and none more pleasin'
Than the Southland in the springtime

This is my favorite ever

A lifestyle long gone

that version of sweet home is probably different than you have ever seen before only done 1 time that way

This song was written by my brother JD Nash (the one who did Bring Me Your Tired) and Shawn Ames, his bandmate and very good friend of ours.  I'l be recording it on my upcoming CD.  No matter where I'm at or what I'm doing, I can think  of this song and it kind of brings my priorities back into perspective.  And thanks Rex, for this thread!!!

And btw, I love my big bro...





How You Gonna Be?

Written and composed by
Shawn Ames and J.D. Nash
Copyright 2006


How you gonna be somebody? How you gonna teach someone?
How you gonna raise smart and good and healthy kids
That raise smart and good kids of their own?
How you gonna be? How you gonna be?

How you gonna live your life? How you gonna overcome the stereotypes?
Are you gonna sweat? Are you gonna dance?
Are you gonna give the elders ways a chance?
Oh wont you tell me
How you gonna be? How you gonna be?

How you gonna spend your days?
How you gonna try and earn your neighbors praise?
Are you gonna sing? Are you gonna pray?
Are you gonna take the time to paint your face?
Oh wont you tell me
How you gonna be? How you gonna be?

How you gonna be somebody? How you gonna teach someone?
How you gonna raise smart and good and healthy kids
That raise smart and good kids of their own?
Wont you let me see
How you gonna be? How you gonna be?

Are you gonna waste your nights?
Are you gonna drink and drive and start some fights
Or are you gonna gather children to your side?
Tell them stories - teach them pride?
How you gonna be? How you gonna be?

Will you climb a hill to leave tobacco ties?
Will you get up early to watch the sun rise?
Will you put down the bottle? Will you pick up the pipe?
Will you bathe in the river to make it all right?
Will you pierce yourself to the Sacred Tree?
How you gonna be? How you gonna be?

How you gonna be somebody? How you gonna teach someone?
How you gonna raise smart and good and healthy kids
That raise smart and good kids of their own?
Wont you let me see
How you gonna be? How you gonna be?

Tie them eagle feathers in your hair - How you gonna be?
Raise your medicine high in the air - How you gonna be?
Live each day as who you are - How you gonna be?
Return to the days of your elders far - How you gonna be?

How you gonna be?
How you gonna be?
How you gonna be?
How you gonna be?

Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off....................... However, for some reason, I've just left the bar when that happens.

“Is it a crime, to fight, for what is mine?” - - -Tupac Shakur

"Don't want to close my eyes
I don't want to fall asleep
'Cause I'd miss you, baby, and I don't want to miss a thing.
'Cause even when I dream of you,
The sweetest dream would never do
I'd still miss you baby, and I don't want to miss a thing."
- - - Aerosmith

Johnny's daddy was taking him fishing
when he was eight years old.
a little girl came through the front gate
holding a fishing pole
his dad looked down and smiled
said we can't leave her behind
son I know you don't want her to go
but someday you'll change your mind
and Johnny said
take Jimmy Johnson
take Tommy Thompson
take my best friend Bo-
take anybody that you want as
long as she don't go
take any boy in the world
daddy please- don't take the girl

Same old boy
same sweet girl
ten years down the road
he held her tight and kissed her lips
in front of the picture show
Stranger came and pulled a gun
grabbed her by the arm
said if you do what I tell you to do
there won't be any harm
and Johnny said
take my money
take my wallet
take my credit cards
here's the watch that my grandpa gave me
here's the keys to my car
mister give it a whirl
but please-don't take the girl

Same old boy
same sweet girl
five years down the road
there's gonna be a little one
and she says it's time to go
docter says the baby's fine
but you'll have to leave
cause his momma's fading fast
and Johnny hit his knees
and there he prayed
take the very breath you gave me
take the heart from my chest
I'll gladly take her place
if you'll let me
make this my last request
take me out of this world
God please-don't take the girl

Johnny's daddy was taking him fishing
when he was eight years old.
- - - Tim McGraw


That is my few. Could not whitle it down to one.

I'm not a fan of Eminem, but my son is and he turned me on to this song a couple of weeks ago and considering the people who adopted me, it really hit home.  Same with his movie, 8 Mile, it hit home hard.

I hope I edited all the "F" words...




Where's my snare?
I have no snare in my headphones
There you go
Yeah, yo, yo

Have you ever been hated or discriminated against?
I have, I've been protested and demonstrated against
Picket signs for my wicked rhymes, look at the times
Sick as the mind of the motherf*ckin' kid that's behind

All this commotion, emotions run deep as ocean's explodin'
Tempers flarin' from parents, just blow 'em off and keep goin'
Not takin' nothin' from no one, give 'em hell long as I'm breathin'
Keep kickin' ass in the mornin' and takin' names in the evenin'

Leave 'em with a taste as sour as vinegar in their mouth
See, they can trigger me but they'll never figure me out
Look at me now, I bet ya probably sick of me now, ain't you momma?
I'ma make you look so ridiculous now

I'm sorry momma
I never meant to hurt you
I never meant to make you cry but tonight
I'm cleanin' out my closet, one more time

I said, I'm sorry momma
I never meant to hurt you
I never meant to make you cry but tonight
I'm cleanin' out my closet

Ha, I got some skeletons in my closet
And I don't know if no one knows it
So before they thrown me inside my coffin and close it
I'ma expose it, I'll take you back to '73

Before I ever had a multi-platinum sellin' C.D.
I was a baby, maybe I was just a couple of months
My faggot father must have had his panties up in a bunch
'Coz he split, I wonder if he even kissed me goodbye

No, I don't on second thought, I just f*ckin' wished he would die
I look at Hailie and I couldn't picture leavin' her side
Even if I hated Kim, I grit my teeth and I'd try
To make it work with her at least for Hailie's sake
I maybe made some mistakes but I'm only human
But I'm man enough to face them today

What I did was stupid, no doubt it was dumb
But the smartest shit I did was take the bullets outta that gun
'Cuz I'da killed him, shit I woulda shot Kim and them both

It's my life, I'd like to welcome y'all to 'The Eminem Show'

I'm sorry momma
I never meant to hurt you
I never meant to make you cry but tonight
I'm cleanin' out my closet, one more time

I said, I'm sorry momma
I never meant to hurt you
I never meant to make you cry but tonight
I'm cleanin' out my closet

Now I would never diss my own momma just to get recognition
Take a second to listen for who you think this record is dissin'
But put yourself in my position, just try to envision
Witnessin' your momma poppin' prescription pills in the kitchen

Bitchin' that someone's always goin' through her purse and shit's missin'
Goin' through public housin' systems, victim of Munchausen's syndrome
My whole life I was made to believe I was sick when I wasn't
'Til I grew up, now I blew up, it makes you sick to your stomach

Doesn't it? Wasn't it the reason you made that C.D. for me Ma?
So you could try to justify the way you treated me ma?
But guess what? You're gettin older now and it's cold when you're lonely
And Nathan's growin' up so quick, he's gonna know that you're phony

And Hailie's gettin' so big now, you should see her, she's beautiful
But you'll never see her, she won't even be at your funeral
See, what hurts me the most is you won't admit you was wrong
Bitch, do your song, keep tellin' yourself that you was a mom

But how dare you try to take what you didn't help me to get
You selfish bitch, I hope you f*ckin' burn in hell for this shit
Remember when Ronnie died and you said you wished it was me?
Well, guess what, I am dead, dead to you as can be

I'm sorry momma
I never meant to hurt you
I never meant to make you cry but tonight
I'm cleanin' out my closet, one more time

I said, I'm sorry momma
I never meant to hurt you
I never meant to make you cry but tonight
I'm cleanin' out my closet

words don't do much for me, heard my share of lies in my life. now the music, the harmony, harmonious discord, the play of one instrument to another. lenny, wishes were horses, life without you. that moves the soul

I hear ya badinfluence, for me I guess I'm just the opposite.

Music itself is beautiful, and I love all kinds, but words have been my escape since I was a kid. I play several instruments, but they just don't "do it" for me the way writing does. Does that make sense?

Ok rex another that touched my heart
Tears In Heaven
by Eric Clapton and Will Jennings
Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same
If I saw you in heaven?


I must be strong
And carry on,
'Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven.


Would you hold my hand
If I saw you in heaven?
Would you help me stand
If I saw you in heaven?


I'll find my way
Through night and day,
'Cause I know I just can't stay
Here in heaven.


Time can bring you down,
Time can bend your knees.
Time can break your heart,
Have you begging please, begging please.


Beyond the door,
There's peace I'm sure,
And I know there'll be no more
Tears in heaven.


Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven?
Would it be the same
If I saw you in heaven?


I must be strong
And carry on,
'Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven.

I love Toby Keith....LOVE ME IF YOU CAN.