Tears of Anger and Shame
Tears from a walled-off place, from another side,
from a boy who couldn’t cry.
I never thought it would come out
But here it is!  But here they are!
Tears of anger and shame.  A banner of pain!
On my way to kill a man, rusty pistol in my hand.
A gun my mother gave me, just in case.
But Mama’s gun couldn’t keep me safe…
in a walled-off place, in another time,
a boy who couldn’t cry is crying now,
and someone must die!
Interstate twenty… I’ve roamed this lonely road a thousand times.
But never so fast, as with murder on my mind!
A voice on the phone,
“What’s going on, boy?  What’s going on?”
like nothing has happened, like everything was fine.
Shame held down too long.  But betrayal doesn’t die!
Scratching to get up, churning, boiling to get out.
Now here it is!  Now here they are!
Tears of rage and revenge,
and someone must die! 
Bullets, blood, and death!
Prepare to die, motherfucker!  Prepare to die!
And maybe the part of me I despise
will die with you!

Don’t be in Such a Rush
Don’t be in such a rush to grow.
When you ready to make that jump, you’ll know. 
You’ll go to school, I promise you.
You’ll study hard and earn your degree.
You won’t have to break your back in the fields
or stand on your feet all day
cutting chickens all day like me.
But one day, you’ll see, I’m gonna be a secretary. 
And after work, I’ll go to school to study to be a teacher.
Maybe one day I’ll teach you.
And your daddy will be the one working in the hot sun,
all day on his feet, in construction.
Man does what he gotta do
to keep the lights on and the children fed,
what kind of building man can’t build his own front steps?
Spinner rises with the sun
and it’s late when he comes home,
way after the sun go down.
That man out on the town! 
Make his wife go ‘round back
while he ‘round back with some gal.
Hush, now, old drunks! 
Spreading rumors day and night.
It ain’t right!


Leave It in the Road
Sometimes you gotta just leave it,
You gotta leave it alone.
Sometimes you gotta leave it all behind,
Lay your burden down.
No more softness, no more places
For a man to hide.
You gotta use all this pain to make you stronger!
You cain’t play nobody’s fool no damn longer!
You gotta leave everything you don’t need. 
You gotta lay it down and leave it in the road.
What about me?
What if I’m one a the things you no longer need?
Didn’t I give you everything?
Even what I don’t have yet, even my dreams?
I’m gonna leave it, I’m gonna lay it down
And forget, turn my back and move on!
Leave my past to step forward!
I’m gonna leave it all behind!
I’m gonna lay it down and leave it in the road!

Golden Button
Golden button, where you come from?
From a jacket of a king?
Or the pocket of a father in a world I never seen?
Pulled from his coat when he pick up his son,
and put in a pocket, for his wife to sew on?
Or given to his son to hold.
“One day you’ll have a coat like daddy’s of your own,
with buttons of gold.”
“Hold on to this one, until then,
and think of me when you’re alone.  I’ll be with you.”
A golden button, things thrown away, lost and forgotten.
Your loss, my gain.
A treasure to be stashed away for a rainy day;
to fill the emptiness inside of me.
Golden button, where you come from?
Take me there!
Is there a land across the sea,
where someone might have time for me?
Golden button, where you come from?
From a jacket of a king?
Or the pocket of a father in a world I never seen?
Pulled from his coat when he pick up his son,
and put in a pocket, for his wife to sew on?
Or given to his son to hold.
“One day you’ll have a coat like daddy’s of your own,
with buttons of gold.”
“Hold on to this one, until then,
and think of me when you’re alone.  I’ll be with you.”
A golden button, things thrown away, lost and forgotten.
Your loss, my gain.
A treasure to be stashed away for a rainy day;
to fill the emptiness inside of me.
Golden button, where you come from?
Take me there!
Is there a land across the sea,
where someone might have time for me?
Hold on to this one, until then, and think of me when you’re alone.
Your loneliness will be with you!

Peculiar Grace
There was once a boy, of peculiar grace,
a dangerous existence for a man of his race.
A black boy from a lawless town,
where everyone carries a gun;
He carried shame in a holster ‘round his waist.
A boy of peculiar grace.
Manhood lost and not found ‘til now.
Dreams that kept him awake.
Isolated by strange desires, half formed, not embraced.
A graceful boy, in a dangerous place.
Alone, a subject of curiosity for the old folks to speculate,
“What wrong with dat boy?”
A stranger in my home town, an oddity, the butt of a joke.
A hurt that can’t be erased.
The South is no place for a boy with peculiar grace.
You’ll go North.  You’ll make your way.
Nothing can stop you!  No reason to stay!
The South is no place for a boy with peculiar grace. 

There Was a Storm
Lord, take this wanting from me.
Drown out the noises in my head!
The shouting righteous; religious theater.
The spectacle of the saved.
Speak to me here, in nature where I can breathe your air.
Let me know you by creations.
Come to me here!
There was a storm, when I was young,
A storm that woke me from a dream.
A roar of thunder shook my bed, 
Lightning jolted through me;
Rain drowned me in my shame.
The next day nothing was the same.
I couldn’t stop the howling wind, even when it was calm again, 
Dry and warm, the chill remained.
No one seemed to see the evidence of catastrophe. 
But in the woods, the ground beneath my feet, 
Was thick with debris. 
Branches stripped of leaves
But overhead, tall stood the trees.
Strong and straight and bare.
How do you weather such a storm,
Battered by wind and rain, and still stand tall,
Day after day, beaten but still the same?
There once was a storm, when I was young, 
A storm that woke me from a dream.
A roar of thunder shook my bed,
Lightning jolted through me;
My innocence lost in the rain.
But still I grow; shall I remain,
Day after day, changed but the same.
I sway. I sway!
My roots are deep, I draw my strength from underneath;
I bend, I don’t break!  I sway!

A Piece for Billie
A place where I can be myself
And laugh and cry or dream or hide
Was all I wanted
In my prime now I’m alone
What will I do with so much space that’s mine
I miss them, Lord
Is that a crime?
I did it all alone
I worked and cooked and cleaned
And kept us fed, a roof over my head
Five hungry boys raised and grown and out the door.
Taking with them pieces of Billie
As long as my boys are fine
I’ll survive with what I have
The piece of me that’s mine.
So long as I have a piece of Billie, I’ll be just fine. 

In the Car
Instrumental

Peculiar Grace Reprise
I was once a boy, of peculiar grace,
a dangerous existence for a man of my race.
A black boy from a lawless town,
where everyone carries a gun;
I carried shame in a holster ‘round my waist.
A boy of peculiar grace.
Manhood lost and not found ‘til now.
Dreams that kept me awake.
Isolated by strange desires, half formed, not embraced.
A graceful boy, in a dangerous place.
Alone, a subject of curiosity for the old folks to speculate,
“What wrong with that boy?”
A stranger in my home town, an oddity,
the butt of a joke.
A hurt that can’t be erased.
The South is no place
for a boy with peculiar grace.
I’ll go North.  I’ll make my way.
Nothing can stop me!  No reason to stay!
The South is no place
for a boy with peculiar grace.
You’ll go North.  You’ll make your way.
Nothing can stop you!  No reason to stay!
The South is no place
for a boy with peculiar grace!
Goodbye Gibsland!  Goodbye shame!
Goodbye nightmares, goodbye pain!
Goodbye pistols in my mama’s purse! 
Goodbye pastors in the Baptist church!
Goodbye daddy and your good-time women!
Goodbye honky-tonks and sinners in ‘em!
Goodbye Gibsland!  Goodbye shame!
Goodbye nightmares, goodbye pain!
Goodbye pistols in my mama’s purse! 
Goodbye pastors in the Baptist church!
Goodbye daddy and your good-time women!
Goodbye honky-tonks and sinners in ‘em!
Say goodbye to Charles-Baby! 
I’m finally free!  I’m free!