Catch Me If You Can
Rob Boyle
Don’t know what I was thinking
When I tried to give up drinking
If I did I wouldn’t be an honest man
But the truth ain’t always fair
So I run drag and cut my hair
Got my cover, come on catch me if you can
The old man tried to kill me
And some women tried to fill me up
With bourbon, smoke, and promises
That weren’t part of my plan
So I packed up my old six-string
Jumped a Greyhound toward the next thing
I keep running, baby catch me if you can
No matter what the papers said
I’ll stay one cool step ahead
And I’ll be free
Life is long and love is fast
But they’re never gonna last
Don’t you agree
Come on catch me
I make my trail colder
With the stories that I’ve told
And if there’s a crack I’ll turn around
To play a different hand
And I ain’t never slowing down
For nothing, come on catch me if you can
Feels Like Home To Me
Rob Boyle
I broke down just west of Denver
Trying to climb some hills
I’d been on the road for two weeks
Running from the gin and pills
So I thumbed a ride to Aspen
I think some mountain air will do me good
Now I’m waiting on some park bench
Not far from South Mill Street
I’ve got sunshine on my shoulders
And blisters on my feet
Right now, I’d find myself a local
And drink away some memories if I could
Memories of a dark-haired girl who saved me
But had to set me free
My constant haze and small town ways
Were more than she could see
Beyond the shadow of a doubt
I’ll love her eternally
She’s gone, but still feels like home to me
Looks like the day has finally faded
And the thousand lights that shine
Stay quiet when I ask them
If I ever cross her mind
Guess the Aspen sky, it don't lie
At least it’s never lied to me before
I walk around a while to clear my head
While the night keeps getting colder
And I try to remember
All the crazy things I told her
About the good and bad and shameful
A past I won’t be sharing anymore
With a dark-haired girl who saved me
But had to set me free
My constant haze and small town ways
Were more than she could see
Beyond the shadow of a doubt
I’ll love her eternally
She’s gone, but still feels like home to me
Go on, go on
I can hear a gypsy voice still saying
Run away, run away
From a dark-haired girl who saved me
But had to set me free
My constant haze and small town ways
Were more than she could see
Beyond the shadow of a doubt
I’ll love her eternally
She’s gone, but still feels like home to me
Just Another Highway
Rob Boyle
It was just another highway that brought me
To some place I’d never been
It was just another crowded room of strangers
That I found myself in
Time went on till something slowly stirred
Out in the midnight air
I looked toward an empty doorway
And I knew that you were there
For years I have wandered and wondered
If we would meet again
I found all the words and sounds and meanings
That you’d leave now and then
Who am I to say that you’re not real
I always knew you were
Somewhere in between the cool of night
And the warm daylight burning
The wind moved the curtains, the moonlight
Shuffled in and you were gone
I walked outside to look for you, but only
Found the road that you’d been on
It was just another highway
But one that I think I’d been on before
Traveling beside you to places
That aren’t there anymore
Traveling beside you to places
That aren’t there anymore
Faded Blue Jean Night
Rob Boyle
I’ve been catching hell down here in Austin
I came to find some work and find my way
She told me that she’d wait back home in Boston
And maybe we could make a life someday
But I know how that story goes
It’s easy come and I suppose
It’s easy going back to what I knew
But she’s too far gone,
And I’m too drunk to sleep
It’s too bad ‘cause it’s too late
To ever make it right
The moon and stars and love that has no scars
Were promises I couldn’t keep
Guess it’s just another faded blue jean night
Somewhere out here on the street at midnight
I found the nerve to read it all again
The letter said she found a man that’s just right
He’s nine to five and loves her now and then
But I know how that story goes
It’s easy come and I suppose
It’s easy going back to what she knew
I am gonna sit here till the sun comes up
And I quit hearing slamming doors and footsteps
And voices in my head
I could find a sobering direction
Maybe walk that trendy section of this town
And put it all to bed
Maryanne
Rob Boyle
This sidewalk stretches on under a harvest moon
His late night shadow dances to a different tune
Second shift is over and he walks inside
A single room apartment he can’t fill
He pores through vinyl records and Alberta rye
Then puts the needle down
Ballad of a Teenage Queen on the stereo
Nineteen sixty-five up in Ontario
Tonight he thinks of a girl that he once knew
It’s been some years but feels like yesterday
Maybe it was love, but he couldn’t say
She left when their story began
Maryanne
He wrote a couple letters, but he never heard
Composing what they could have been in every word
Her silence made him wonder, was there something more;
Did some new heartbeat make her walk away
He pores through vinyl records and Alberta rye
Then puts the needle down
He remembers the sweet smell of her hair
Laid across his shoulder
And the things he told her
When the whole crazy world just stopped
Old Octobers
Rob Boyle
Falling leaves and clover
Bring me back to old Octobers
When you were barefoot on the front steps
Staring at the rain
It was a fool’s errand chasing love
In days when the good Lord above
Said that we should chase it anyway
They say the thought of growing old
Led you to San Antonio
I wonder what you found there
And why you didn’t stay
It’s a fool’s errand chasing love
I guess that when push comes to shove
Sometimes it’s easier to push away
There’s a thousand places we could roam
Maybe someday we can make a home
In old Octobers
I’m sitting here in idle
For a moment at this stoplight
Killing time watching the raindrops
Gathering and weaving
Through the windshield I see changing trees
The colors all look good to me
October’s still the one thing I believe
Better Alone
Rob Boyle
I was born on Sunday, how ‘bout that for twist of fate
Redemption was my lady, but she came a little late
I make my home in jagged boxes sleeping on the floor
Surrounded by a thousand lies and jackals at the door
Acetylene and razor wire
Bound to keep me where
I’ll never take what could be mine
After hours and hours, I am tired
Of thinking up new ways
To walk across a thin black line
You keep on looking out for me
But I’m better alone
I tried running narrow, man, and I tried running straight
I paid my share and did my time, but I still had to wait
You go on pretending that there’s light for me to see
Keep me hid behind the glass till I’m the one who’s free
Crazy Way Home
Rob Boyle
This back road leaves the sunlight behind me
Driving east keeps the glare out of my view
This beer between my knees is getting warm
Cause I’ve had just a drink or two
It’s been a while, but I think I remember
That it’s only ten more miles to the town line
I’ll know that I’m there when I see
That bent up, rusted welcome sign
Mama said I should have turned around
And took the highway
Daddy never really said
Because he is long gone
Me, I’m on the slow way back
So I can be alone and take my time
On this crazy way home
The engine moans when I turn left down Main Street
Nothing’s changed, and nothing looks the same
I’ll stop for a coffee at the diner
Where a few folks know my name
I wonder what this looks like if I’d found you
And we’d made a Jack and Diane memory
Would we think about the aching, and the what if,
And the move on differently
Home, where the air is still
I’ll say goodbye and pay my bill
Then step out in the cool and empty street
And walk away
Go to Omaha
Rob Boyle
Here I am alive again
A story of revival
Inspired by a script
That’s meant for salvaging these days
I hear your tone vary,
Saying that’s just temporary
Put some miles on that old pickup
Drop your bags and slip away, slip away
Go to Omaha, there's a river there
And the current weather's calling
For some cool Nebraska air
Maybe soil and grain
Can field the cross you bear
Go to Omaha, there's a river there
I can’t control my breathing,
When the chemicals are seething
So I drink to get some rest
And then I wake up on my knees
You whisper there you went again
Can’t you see a time and space when
There might be an unending
Soulful remedy; let it be
This town can hold on strong
But you can never hold her back
She ain’t the kind of love that you can earn
So go for just a day to turn the earth
And break the ground
Then bring back different roots when you return
Storyline
Rob Boyle
She knows what I am
But still, every morning
She hands me a coffee
And her believe in me smile
She knows I’m a man
Who can break without warning
And those times when I’m broken
The thought of her makes it worthwhile
She sits by the window
On days when the warm breeze can touch her
Waiting and listening
And easing the passing of time
And I wonder, will she ever know how I see her
She’s a moment of truth, a voice in the night
A slow unending storyline
She’s stronger than starlight
She’s softer than rain falling
We fight with a passion
And love like a storm
God knows it ain’t easy
To hold on to someone whose ghosts are calling
But she stays with me
And her faith, it ain’t rusted or worn