Lyrics by Tom Adamson

100-WATT SILENCE

Come over here, baby,
We can share my car.
The way your eyes keep changing color
Reminds me of a blinking star.
The 100-watt silence is burning bright.
We can have it all as we move through the night.
Come over here, baby,
We can share a star.


Slide on up to me, baby,
Take a sip from my cup.
I know your life is crowded with regret
But tonight’s no time for that stuff.
The 100-watt silence is calling your name.
Get next to me and let’s bite the flame.
Slide on up to me, baby,
Take a sip from my cup.


I can split the atom,
I can sweet talk Eve,
Make the little girls dance and the boys believe.
I can take you anywhere,
Have you back by dawn.
When I’m through, you won’t know you were gone.


Stretch out your legs, honey,
Try to keep pace with the moon.
There's a million songs out there tonight.
Let me hear your own tune.
In the 100-watt silence and the razor-strap wind,
You start singing; I’ll know when to jump in.
Stretch out your legs, honey,
Try to keep pace with the moon.

SWEARING YOU OFF
The cold curl smoke of your heart
Burned me so often I don’t need to remark
I am swearing you off.

Close my eyes to turn away.
Your shallow green eyes have buried many a man away.
But I am swearing you off.

Yeah, watch if you want,
Listen if you need.
You can call it a day-
I call it time to leave.

Well on my way to goodbye.
Only you’d appreciate I won’t cry.
And I am swearing you off.

Gonna kick the habit of you clean through.
Go ahead and watch what I do.
I am swearing you off.

Yeah watch if you want,
Listen if you need.
You can call it a day
I call it time to leave.

Show you the meaning of gone.
There won’t be enough left of me to finish this song.
I am swearing you off.

You can call it a day
I call it getting away.
Just in time is just enough
I am swearing you off.

I DON’T TRUST THE WINTER SUN
Every highway yearns to be a song.
Every train whistle feels it doesn’t belong.
And every man knows well the roots of his wrong.
And I don’t trust the winter sun.
It’ll snow-blind you, make the cold blood run.
Like a frozen river unable to go on.
No, I don’t trust the winter sun.

I can see the mood of the skies.
I know that south wind is bringing warm lies.
With winter’s betrayal, in her well-worn disguise.
And I don’t trust the winter sun.
She appears friendly with the promise of someone.
But she’ll leave you paralyzed, unable to go on.
And I don’t trust the winter sun.

She’s far less a friend than the summer dark.
The winter sun will steal your thoughts,
And break your heart.
The snows are blowing, the wind is time.
She’s left me here with a song and one less rhyme.

Every highway drops you off alone.
Every train whistle takes you further from home.
Every man knows not to stare at the winter sun too long-
And I don’t trust the winter sun.

A SHOT AT THE SKY
When I was dying in the desert,
You were my cool morning rain.
You took me in your heart,
Kept me on the right side of sane.
You never cared about my sins
And you never asked why.
You took me to the mountain top.
You gave me a shot at the sky.

You shined the light in my eyes
Until I finally found the way.
You’ve given me so much more
Then one soul can ever repay.
But you know by now
I’ll move heaven and earth to try.
You gave me the end of the rainbow.
You gave me a shot at the sky.
Just to caress the light,
To touch the sweet rising blue.
I’ve got a shot at the sky,
All because of you.

You never held back a thing.
Gave me all of you, all the time.
Taught me to make a joyful noise.
Taught me how to make it rhyme.
And every night on higher ground,
We watch the stars roll by.
You brought me down from the tight rope
And gave me a shot at the sky.

PITTER-PATTER
Pitter-patter,
Gray-matter chatter.
Can’t get you out of my head.
Pitter-patter,
Gray-matter chatter,
Everything you did or said.

Pitter-patter,
Gray- matter chatter.
You fill my hungry mind.
Pitter-patter,
Picking from a platter,
Anything from you I find.

I go skipping by the sycamore trees-
Ignoring the world around me.
The pitter-patter is my heartbeat.
And you, only you, surround me.

Pitter-patter,
Gray-matter chatter.
Can’t get you out of my brain.
Pitter-patter,
Life will scatter-
Only you will remain.

YOU BRING THE MUSIC (I’LL MAKE IT RHYME)
What say we write a song
About a guy down on his luck?
His wife up and left him.
The bank just repoed his truck.
Make it smooth and bluesy,
With a hint of the sublime.
You bring the music; I’ll make it rhyme.

I got another crazy idea-
There’s this gal named Dolly Bea.
All her life money was tight
Until she won the lottery.
A feel-good tune, for sure.
Hear those happy bells chime.
You bring the music; I’ll make it rhyme.

Here’s one more for the road-
Two guys are writing a song.
Each of them knows which side
Of the fence they belong.
Let’s say they get lucky
And make a solid dime.
You bring the music; I’ll make it rhyme.

THAT SUDDEN GRIN
His name was Jim; he was bald and slim.
Iraqi-vet cabbie with a big heart.
When she hopped in, he flashed that sudden grin.
She smiled back; she could feel it all start.
Love hangs in that balance of that sudden grin.

Her name was Nancy, she took a fancy
To turning men on to watch them burn.
She’d seen it all but to her surprise
His grin somehow made her world take a turn.
Love hangs in the balance of that sudden grin.

When the baby came, she gave it Jim’s name.
But one day her old fancy gave her a call.
And when Jim read her goodbye note,
He felt his heart take a long fall.

He turned around; his thoughts grew cold.
Headed slowly back home and stumbled in.
He opened the door and felt his spirit soar
When his son flashed that sudden grin.
Love hangs in the balance of that sudden grin.

STORY BEHIND THE SONG
The crowd knows all the songs,
They sing the words from the start.
And when we get to the heartbreak,
They always cry at the right part.
They hear what they want to hear,
Take what they need and move on-
But I know the story behind the song.
And I know what’s really true.
Every turn, every phrase
Every note that plays is you.

Just a 3-minute play,
A 3-chord story in verse.
The crowd thinks it for them
But you and I lived it first.

Sometimes they lose a line or two,
Sometimes they fall behind the beat.
But the guitar solo and the bridge
Keep them up on their feet.
They start chanting and swaying,
Heat rising from the giant throng.
But I know the story behind the song
And I guess I always knew.
Every rhyme, every pause
Every note that plays is you.

SON OF A FACTORY MAN
They say I was born on overtime.
Daddy was working the night shift.
And like my hardworking father
I’m proud I’m a working stiff.
And just like Daddy I proudly stand-
The son of a factory man.

Worked the mills since I was a kid.
Sweating the aches, my backbone bent.
I made a life and a family.
Paid the bills, the food, the rent.
And just like Daddy I proudly stand-
The son of a factory man.

The calluses come and go.
Some days are long and slow.
Still my life is full, and then some.
And there are times, I swear,
I hear his voice in the factory air,
As the machines roll and hum.

Daddy told me, “Son, never measure
Your life by just the dollar sign.”
He sipped his beer, then smiled and said,
“Just take a good look at mine.”
And just like Daddy I proudly stand-
The son of a factory man.

PUSH MEETS SHOVE
She wakes up in the morning
And the sun won’t shine.
Push meets shove,
The world’s up against her spine.
She’s been walking alone
Through miles and miles of sleep.
Some of her dreams
Seem to be a foot deep.
Sometimes life’s a gift from above.
Sometimes it’s just more push meets shove.

There’s a rusted-out bus
At the top of the hill.
Rattlesnake around the tire,
Waiting for a kill.
She’s in the back of the bus,
Kissing childhood goodbye.
There’s a tremble in her heart
She just can’t deny.
Sometimes life’s a gift from above.
Sometimes it’s just more push meets shove.

She sees a neon river
Where all the slaves dance.
She could break free,
But she’s afraid to take the chance.
Now the blankets are soaked.
She can feel the bloody steam-
Another baby slave born
Into the restless neon dream.
Sometimes life’s a gift from above.
Sometimes it’s just more push meets shove.

THE PAINT’S ALREADY DRY
You say my love’s been good for you,
But you can’t love me back.
Telling me time will heal all aches,
Soon my future won’t be so black.
To all your words of consolation
I haven’t bothered to reply.
Don’t try to paint a pretty picture-
The paint’s already dry.

You say someday I’ll find another
Who will love me in return.
She’ll bring me blue skies every day,
And all the happiness I deserve.
You wrapped it up in a pretty bow
But I’m not going to buy.
Don’t try to paint a pretty picture-
The paint’s already dry.

Thanks for that encouraging speech,
How it hurts you more than me.
I went out on a limb for you
And you chopped down the tree.
This isn’t how I pictured it-
My heart’s quicker than my eye.
Don’t try to paint a pretty picture-
The paint’s already dry.

I CARRY HER WITH ME

She had the moon in her pocket
And money in her hand.
She smiled at me as if
I’d someday understand.
Only God knows, only God cares
That I carry her with me in my prayers.

She was a child of the ocean
With her whole life ahead.
I cried out to God
To take me instead.
Only God knows, only God cares
That I carry her with me in my prayers.

Every night in my dreams,
She returns
And looks deep in my eyes.
Every night in my dreams
I take her in my arms
And together we rise.

The sky was full of spirits.
My eyes were soaking wet.
The last I saw of her
Was her broken silhouette.
Only God knows, only God cares
That I carry her with me in my prayers.

I HURT

I hurt in the front.
I hurt in the back.
Got so much pain,
It's hard to keep track.

My feet hurt so bad.
I can't touch a shoe.
And on my bad days,
My toes turn blue.

The pain spins me around
And smiles like a fake friend.
I try to break free-
But he just spins me around again.

I hurt in my side.
I hurt in my jaw.
Sometimes I even
Hurt in my paw.

The pain spins me around
And smiles like a fake friend.
I try to break free-
But he just spins me around again.

CHILD OF MARIA

Child of Maria, goodbye, goodbye,
I believe you’ll be back.
Child of Maria, don’t cry, I won’t lie.
The sky’s never been so black.
The day you came along
All the sun could do was shine.
But now the red river is rising,
I know it’s your time.
Child of Maria, goodbye, goodbye,
I believe you’ll be back.


Child of Maria, high noon, so soon
You’ll be flying away.
Child of Maria, so long, for so long
I’ve been thinking about this day.
When I first met you
I found myself smiling.
It was the happiest day of my life,
And I wasn’t even trying.
Child of Maria, high noon, so soon
You’ll be flying away.


Child of Maria, Godspeed, I need
To see you smile once more.
Angel’s daughter, speak my name.
Picture me standing at the door.
Make friends with the world.
It will always bring you a new day.
Someday you will return
With a new song to play.
Child of Maria, Godspeed, I need
To see you smile once more.

TWILIGHT ON MY HANDS

I love you with a fever
That’s never known a pause.
I love you past forever,
Captured by your golden claws.
You tossed my heart in the air-
Who knows where it lands?
And I can hold back the night forever
‘Cos I’ve still got your twilight on my hands.

I reach into the darkness,
Pull out the last shred of light.
I cup it to my heart
To bring you back in sight.
Fate is shoving my soul;
Time will tell if it stands.
And I can hold back the night forever
‘Cos I’ve still got your twilight on my hands.

I love you with my last breath,
As I drown in the pools of time.
If you used me for the passion,
I used you for the rhyme.
I’ll keep reaching for you,
Through the falling sands.
And I can hold back the night forever
‘Cos I’ve still got your twilight on my hands.