1. I Didn't Even Think Twice
1.) Well I was drinkin’ with the boys out south of the damAnd I was dyin’ to show ‘em what a big man I amWell they swore it can’t be done, so I tried it just for funNow my car is out in the lake, my ass is in the can(CHORUS)I didn’t even think twice, I just rolled the diceMy head was spinnin’ and my mind was out to lunchI didn’t even think twice, just felt so rightI did not think twice, I didn’t even think once2.) Well she came up to me with a smile and long blonde hairShe had big blue eyes and a dress cut up to thereShe’s got a big boyfriend named Juan, but all this week he’s goneShe’s got a big old empty house and she’s so scaredCHORUSWell there was a time when I tried to use more senseAnd it saved me lots of time and big expenseAw but then I thought of all the fun I’d missAnd I said ‘man I can’t go on like thisWell I went downtown just to see what was goin’ onI was mindin’ my business, wasn’t doin’ nothin’ wrongA man named Juan came through the door, now what was he here for?Is what was running through my mind as I hit the floorCHORUS
2. Don't Lie To Me (I Can LIe To Myself)
1) Last night I heard a rumor about youBut I swore up and down it wasn’t trueAw but deep down insideI know there’s something you’re trying to hideAnd I guess that I’m tryin’ to hide it too2) You come home late, and you’re tired once againBut I don’t even ask you where you’ve beenBecause I already know, your eyes told me so And your lips, when we kiss say it’s the end(CHORUS)So don’t lie to me to make me feel betterAnd don’t lie if you think it might helpSave those rose-colored glasses for somebody elseDon’t lie to me, I can lie to myselfBRIDGE) And the lies that I’ve told are all I’ll have to holdWhen the truth of your cheatin’ hits home 3) I’ll tell myself the girls stopped off for a beerAs I try one more time to hold you nearI’ll be easy to deceive, ‘cause I don’t want to see you leave, I just couldn’t handle life without you here(CHORUS)(Last Half of Chorus) ( Last line of chorus)
3. The Rounder
1;) So you want to hear a story ‘bout a rounderWell I guess you’re old enough to understandThe reason he ain’t got a wife and familyAnd he roams from town to town a branded manBridge 1) They say he jumped off a freight train With a suitcase in his hand,And found himself a low-rent basement roomHe was lookin’ for a job, but more than likely he’ll find troubleAnd he’s back out on the streets and leavin’ soon2) Don’t ever let nobody see you with a rounderDon’t let ‘em see you take him by the handYou don’t need your reputation ruinedBy hangin’ out with some old travelin’ manBridge 2) So when you see him on the cornerWith his thumb out in the windAnd he’s waitin’ for a ride to the next town.Hey just keep right on drivin’ girlDon’t even look too long but I know You’ll be back when traffic settles down3) What the hell you think you’re doin’ with that rounder?Why you slippin’off that wedding band?If the man you’re married to can’t make you happyWhat makes you think that some old rounder can?Bridge 3) Just don’t take him home to mamaDon’t show him to your friends,Take him to a faraway motel.And when you wake up in the morning Buy him ham and eggs and coffee,Kiss him on the cheek and wish him well
4. Evelyn
1, When I first met you Evelyn, your man was out of town I set my mind to win you, no matter what came down‘Cause in all my years of travelin’, thought I’d come to understandPretty girls are never single, you gotta’ steal ‘em when you canBRIDGE But the first mistake I made was I fell in loveNot knowing what you’d do when push came to shoveWell I ain’t afraid to fight him, with you as the prizeBut I’m just the other man, too blind to realize That you never even thought of leavin’ himCHORUSAnd you’re playin’ both ends against the middle EvelynYou’ve got the rumors flyin’, you been seen with another manWell I know he musta heard ‘em, but somehow he don’t believe ‘emAnd you tell me you don’t love him, but somehow you don’t leave himAnd someone’s gonna play the fool again2, It was too late when I realized the words that you were sayin’Were just to keep me hangin’ on in this game that you been playin’‘Cause when a woman’s been neglected, there ain’t much that she won’t doHe forgot what he had, you showed him what he had to loseAnd I guess I should have known how this would endYou’d go back home to him, and I’d be alone againSo now I’m leavin’ town in shame and disgustBut I left behind a girl no man could ever trustSo I wonder did I lose or did I win REPEAT CHORUS
5. I Owe It All To Uncle Sam
1.) I knew a man who had it all for free or so he saidHe relied upon the government to provide his daily breadAnd meat and cheese and peas if you pleaseAnd pills for a troubled headAnd he owed it all to Uncle Sam2.) He said anyone can do it, it’s not too hard you seeAll you need is a wife and a bunch of kids and a disabilityI got aches and pains and these migranes and a dislocated kneeAnd I owe it all to Uncle Sam(CHORUS)I owe it all to Uncle Sam, He’s the man who made me what I amI can’t help lovin’ this countryWhen a man like me can live like meAnd I owe it all to uncle SamBridge) The welfare to work folks came callin’ here one dayThey were sendin’ me to school to earn a livin’, learn a tradeBut when I got to the work force I had to take a cut in payAnd there weren’t no health insurance, now that’s just inhumaneAnd I’ll never leave my Uncle Sam3.) Why folks like you pay taxes I’ll never understandWhile you’re feedin’ his belly, I’m eatin’ from his handAnd so’s Bobby and Billy and Mary and Susie and Jake and Sara LeeAnd if Mama can have me just one more they’ll build a house for meAnd I’ll owe it all to Uncle Sam4.) Last week I saw the man who had it all and now his face is redCause now he works for minimum wage just to keep his family fedHe says nothin’ lasts forever, Aw boy don’t be a foolThe man who gave it all to you can take it away tooAnd I owe it all to Uncle Sam
6. A Can That Just Says Beer
1.) Hey Buddy here’s ten dollars, can I get a case to goEnough left over for a bag of chips and I’m brokeI strap it to my fender and I ride down by the lakeBuild a fire and forget my life and forget this rotten day2.) Still can’t believe she left me, still don’t know whyIt’s probably best I don’t, would just make me cryThe only things that are clear to me I hold here in my handA tear stained goodbye letter and a warm black and white can(CHORUS) And it seems that the plainest things in life are the bitterest to tasteI never saw it comin’ ‘til I saw it face to faceThe only thing she left me is the reason that I’m hereI got a note that says it’s over and a can that just says beer3.) Generic beer is the roughest thing Milwaukee puts in cansAnd a goodbye note stuck on the door can do strange things to a manDirty, mean and nasty, Aw I’d be hard pressed to pickWhich one’s colder, which one’s older, and which one has made me sick4.) The mornin’ sun wakes me and says it’s time to goThe last three cans drown the fire and a charred up goodbye noteAs I point my front wheel back to town don’t know where I’ll go from hereBut it ain’t back down to her place and it aint for more cheap beer(CHORUS)
7. Can't Rev' Em Cold
1.) Well I jump in my old truck most days aruond six a.m.Some days she’s so cold she says ‘I’m tired let me sleep in’But I give her a little coaxin’ some ether or maybe a jumpAnd after five or ten minutes at idle she comes out of her mornin’ slump2.) Once I bought a new one ‘cause I didn’t want to wait no moreI’d fire it up every mornin’ and leave so fast I ‘bout hit my electric doorTen thousand miles later I’m stranded alongside the roadAnd my daddy done told me as we towed her home‘Son you just can’t rev ‘em cold(CHORUS) Can’t rev ‘em cold you gotta start off slowGotta give ‘em time to let their juices flowThen you can take the wheel and let it rollBut you just can’t push ‘em, you just can’t rev ‘em cold3.) Well then I found a woman that I wanted for the rest of my lifeI took her by the arm and said ‘Honey baby, you gonna be my wife’Now I’m standin’ at the altar, she’s a thousand miles down the roadAnd the preacher done told me as he closed his bible‘Son, you just can’t rev ‘em cold’(CHORUS)
8. Take Me Home For Christmas1) It was the third week of December, I was playing in some diveI was feeling kind of homesick, when I saw this girl arriveShe said "I have been out shopping, but there’s one more thing I needYou know I got everybody a present, but I can’t find one for me2) She said " Each year I buy something, and I give it to myselfAnd most years it’s the only thing that don’t sit in a shelfBut this year I’ve been everywhere, to all the stores and even Rental KingAnd nothing seems to make me happy"I said "May I suggest one more thing " (And I said )(CHORUS) Take me home for Christmas, Lay me under your treeNo batteries are needed, I got a lifetime guaranteeAnd when we wake up Christmas morning, everything’s gonna be all rightEven though Santa never showed up ‘cause I kept you awake all night3.) Well it’s been a few years now, since you first gave me a tryAnd the way you fill your stockings, can still make a grown man cryAnd we still haunt that honky-tonk, every Christmas EveAnd every year I whisper in your ear, just before we leave(CHORUS)
9. She's Crazy1) She makes her rounds at some of the bars downtownWhere him and the boys have been known to hang aroundShe might get too drunk or get in a fight, Or leave with a man at the end of the nightAnd spend all night just talking, ‘cause she’s crazy2) She spent all day drivin’ with a suitcase in her handShe don’t know where she’s goin‘, she just had all she can standOf a three room house that’s fallin’ down, That reminds her of a man that ain’t been aroundBut he haunts these halls with his memories, And she’s crazyChorus) She’s crazy, to ever let him leave And she’s crazy to let herself believeThat when he sees the shape that she’s in, He’ll dry all her tears and take her back againLike he done before, but this time he knows she’s crazy3) So she finds herself a new man, but none can take his placeShe tries so hard to hide it, but you can see it on her faceAnd she dresses him up in the same kind of clothes, And takes him to the places that they used to goAnd lets the kids call him daddy, ‘Cause she’s crazy(CHORUS)
10. You Taught Me To Cheat1.) The day you left I swore I’d find another girl like you I’d break her heart, and tell her lies, the way you used to doThen when her love was all but mine, and her faith was so completeI’d leave her in debt, with a months back rent, And roll on down the street2.) Experience has taught me things, I wish I never knewAnd experience was all I gained from the time I spent with youThe love that burned within my heart, consumed me with desireBut getting burned is a quick way to learn, how to play with fire.(CHORUS) You taught me to cheat, You taught me to stealYou taught me how to cover up all the traces of a dirty dealYou taught me to lie, You taught me to cryAnd I see you every time I say goodbye3:) A broken heart that seeks revenge, and a guilty mind competeTo win a soul that years of pain have left so cold and weakAnd I hate of all the years, I simply failed to see The many ways my poor heart pays, for the lessons you taught me.(CHORUS)
11. She Wants To Be Friends
(CHORUS) She wants to be friends, will the game ever endI could have other girls, but she means the world to meAnd she’s the only one that’s gonna make me happyShe wants to be friends1..) So I guess I’ll play the part, though it gets rough on my heart‘Cause being near her’s become a really bad habit with meDon’t know what else I can do, when my heart’s addicted toThe little ghost of a chance she might someday love me(CHORUS)2.) And when I see her on the town,She pretends I’m not aroundAnd if I weren’t such a fool I think I'd just get up and leaveBut then she gives that little wink, She’s got me buying all her drinksI didn’t think that a friend would ever do this to me(CHORUS) (BRIDGE) I’m always there to tell her troubles toTake her places when there’s nothing to doBut when it comes down to the loving partShe don’t want to start
The Covered Wagon is a Landmark along Highway 30 (the old Lincoln Highway) just west of Kearney, Nebraska. It was originally built in the '30's and had a lunch counter, gas pumps, souvenirs, and even a petting zoo at one time. Nick and Rose P------solous (something like that) bought the place in 1963 and did real well until the mid-1970's when Interstate 80 came through the area paralleling 'Old 30' about 3 mlies to the south. Nick and Rose held on to the place and kept it open into their 80's when health problems finally forced them into a nursing home. I got a few chances to meet these two wonderful people, but age and time had already taken many of the memories from them. I think instead of building a $50 million dollar archway across the interstate to comemmorate westward expansion they should have sent someone with a tape recorder and camera out to see Nick and Rose. They preserved a working monument to an earlier time that was itself a tribute to an even earlier time. I go past this empty structure quite often and I'm sure Nick and Rose would shudder to see the weeds growing up through the cement around the old pump bases. I know it won't be much longer before it is gone completely. Nick told me once that the Archway people wanted to buy him out and move his beloved Covered Wagon out to the Interstate. He said 'Why don't you pick up your Arch and move it out here? I've been here a lot longer than you've been out there!' He would never sell. "Not for 25 million dollars!!" I can still hear him yelling.
12. Covered Wagon
1.) We didn’t have an archway or spotlights in the skyJust two big plaster oxen with a diner tied behindWe never made much money , but it was worth it just to seeThe looks on them kids faces when daddy'd set 'em upAnd they’d say cheese(CHORUS) At our Covered Wagon, Covered Wagon Parked along the highway of our dreamsFacing westward, time moves onward here in the land of opportunity2) We made camp just west of Kearney back in 1963, Sold arrowheads and jewelry along highway 30I pumped gas and Rose scooped icecream and we both told tales of oldHow the pioneers before you went down this road 100 years ago(CHORUS 2) In Covered Wagons, Covered Wagons Rollin' down the highway to their dreamsHeading westward ever onward going to the land of opportunity3) Now they travel down I 80 doing 85 or more They gas up at the interchange they’ll never see my storeOr hear my stories of the cowboys Who have stood just where you standDrivin’ herds or rusty pickup trucks to a round up in Cheyenne(CHORUS 1)(All songs copyright 1999 & 2000 Mike Nicolen, All rights reserved.
