For The Best
VERSE 1:
There’s an old dirt road where the cops won’t go
As a crow flies, a mile from here
She was something to see; short skirt, bare knees
We’d drink and talk about the day we settle down
We’ll have a two-car garage in this one horse town
CHORUS:
Am I gonna be the last one out?
Even when I’m first in line?
When the cars roll by every night
I cross my heart and hope to die
But mercy never crossed your mind
And if this is for the best, shouldn’t I feel better by now?
VERSE#2:
Every long night drive; every long-distance flight
Yeah, this bleeding heart bled me dry
If I could speak your name, if I could say it now
Would my lips start to melt spitting it out?
This is a eulogy for you and me
I’m sending flowers in your name and your best regards
1. For The Best
Luke Cunningham
January Air
VERSE 1:
These amphetamines have got the best of me
Maybe I jumped the gun
A sore neck from my soul’s car wreck and two hands I can’t seem to control
But I thought that you should know sometimes hearts are stepping stones
There’s intentions bought and sold on every corner you’re ever gonna turn around
CHORUS:
I bend, break, I rip apart at the seams
That’s how it seems anyway
You don’t need nobody else
Honey, nobody loves you like you love yourself
VERSE 2:
I’m reading magazines one after the other
I’m always inside and never on the cover
And I know it’s not the first time
And I’m sure it’s not the last time
But in this January air I reach for things that just aren’t there
Trying foolishly to pull out the man in me I knew I was all along
BRIDGE:
Yeah, I’m selling myself The first chance that I get I wanna keep it but you, you wanna give it away
2. January Air
Luke Cunningham
Faith In Me
Verse #1:
I can tell by the way you’re standing there that my voice is just a noise in your phone
Tucked between all the fragile words we speak are a thousand more for a pain we can’t show
Pre-Chorus:
Don’t try to change the subject when you know this mind’s been racing
Don’t’ talk about the weather for the sake of conversation
Chorus:
I aint leavin’ til I’m done; I gave it all, I gave it up
Put your faith in me
If I fall right out of this, the cold wind will be the last words on my lips
Put your faith in me
Verse #2:
I can see the doubt that lies beneath; I curse the turning Earth for every breaking dawn
Flowing through every vein is a bleeding truth; You will never know how far that I’ve come
Bridge:
Tell me what I need to get through
Picking sides only pulled us in two
And the black cloud following me around is gonna rain the pain down on you
Tell me what I need to get through
Picking sides only pulled us in two
And the black cloud following me around is gonna rain the pain down on you
3. Faith In Me
Luke Cunningham
Songs About California (feat Cary Ann Hearst)
Verse #1:
They’re calling for rain, the weatherman says
It’s heading my way—a little West Coast depression
I’d give anything to be anywhere but here
You called yesterday in the middle of the night
It was a piss-poor reception for what I put on the line
Give me anything, whatever you can spare
Pre-Chorus:
I’ll grant your reprieve
I know you let me down easy but it sure as hell felt hard to me
And bring on the grief
And if I can’t ‘right’ the ‘wrong’ maybe if I write you a song you’ll believe
Chorus:
But there’s too many songs about California
And everyone dies drunk in Spain
I’m gonna save up some money and buy a radio in London
‘Cause the ones here all sound the same
When every song might as well be your name
Verse #2:
Do you think this is easy? Do you think I didn’t try?
I wish you could feel how it kills me that I can’t let you die
I’d give anything for the last song you sing to be in my ear
Your last words felt like daggers ‘cause I know that you mean them
You called me ‘short-sighted,’ and a ‘creature of convenience’
You called me everything, then you never called again
Pre-Chorus #2:
Would you grant me reprieve?
You said I “let you down easy” but it sure as hell felt hard to me
And bring on the grief
I can’t ‘right’ the ‘wrong’ so don’t go writing sad songs about me
Verse #3:
And if the heartache slips in, I call for three shots of whiskey
One for the brothers I love and a girl who don’t miss me
And for the wedding ring that I’ll never see you wear
4. Songs About California (feat Cary Ann Hearst)
Luke Cunningham
Say Something
VERSE 1:
Nothing good could come of this
When the one that I miss is buried in skin
I should have left yesterday
Cause I stay wide-awake when I’m sleeping with strangers
PRE-CHORUS:
I can’t make this all right
When verbs and adjectives feel more like trip wires
CHORUS:
Don’t stand there, say something
I’ve come this far, I’m wanting one heart-felt emotion from you
These sidewalks stay haunted by ghosts of what we were then
Can’t you hear them speaking to you?
Our hearts and our lives aren’t in tune
VERSE 2:
For the most part, your mother’s postcards are all that I hear from you
July was never so cold but from the taxi window my feet felt frozen
BRIDGE:
I’m speaking to you
I’m speaking to you
5. Say Something
Luke Cunningham
Ones We Loved Before
VERSE 1:
I wont ask about your past if you don’t aske me about mine
I wont lie about the numbers if you don’t bother rounding down
PRE-CHORUS/PRE-CHORUS:
We’ll pretend that we were born the day we met and we’ll never tell a soul
Over time we’ll soon forget about The Ones We Loved Before
VERSE 2:
Well I’m never superstitious, my horrorscope’s been wrong
It never said one word about you before you came along
PRE-CHORUS/CHORUS#2:
But uncertainty’s a foreign land that we are welcome to explore
We’ll pack our things and leave behind The Ones We Loved Before
BRIDGE:
Yeah, the past is just a bastard who you’re begging for the last word
If you wanna make this last, let me know
So I don’t fade and just become someone you loved before
6. Ones We Loved Before
Luke Cunningham
Give This Up
Verse #1:
I’ve been sleeping alone to the sound of the TV
I’ve been pouring my heart out to your answering machine
I knew you were angry; I guess you got a right to be
But if I could give this up would you give it all back to me?
Verse #2:
I’ve been chasing the ghost of a life that I cant lead
Am I quickly becoming what we swore we wouldnt be?
I’m like a half-hearted saint who’s trying to believe
But if I could give this up would you give it all back to me?
Bridge:
These dark-lit rooms and flourescent lights
They’ve got me chasing shadows the rest of my life
My dizzy head don’t let me rest
And I think of you back home in bed
And the pain dont stop once those thoughts begin
I wanted you to notice
I just wanted you to know . . .
7. Give This Up
Luke Cunningham
Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
VERSE 1:
She’s been lookin at me
Across the room just like she, she might have knew me before
She’s been dancing up a scene
All night and every guy here cant take their eyes off the floor
I walk up to her, say “ I like the way you move” and then I
I whisper right in her ear
“You sexy devil, in that red dress well you look like heaven
Lets get the hell out of here
PRE-CHORUS:
Yeah, she says she turns it up when the lights go down
Got the feeling she’s for real but now I wanna find out
CHORUS:
So put your money where your mouth is
Yeah, show me what it is that you can do
You’ve been talkin’ trash all night, is it your place is it mine?
We aint got any time to lose
So put your money where your mouth is
VERSE 2:
Gettin’ busy in the street; the taxi cab back seat—and nearly all the way home
Yeah, this girl is obscene; my clothes are off of me—before I get in the door
8. Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
Luke Cunningham
Story of Our Lives
VERSE 1:
This is the story of my life
Sometimes the cover’s prettier than what’s inside
It’s been a thousand bloody battles where my heroes turn to assholes in the end
This is the story of my life
I hope the mess I made don’t make you change your mind
Cause I’ve been spending all the long nights trying to make these wrongs right again
CHORUS:
For you I would take the planets out of orbit
Just to prove I could give you anything you wanted
And what once haunted me just doesn’t follow me now
This is the story of our lives
VERSE 3:
This is the story of my life
Feels like the punch line’s hitting harder every night
And maybe all that I needed was a reason to leave it again
BRIDGE:
Where there’s a will, there is a way
But will we find our way out?
Where there’s a will, there is a way
Where there’s a way, there’s a way out
Is there a pill that I could take to shake all the words from the back of my mouth?
9. Story of Our Lives
Luke Cunningham
Amnesia
VERSE 1:
He brought you to tears so I brought you here to clear your mind
Cause I’m a scholar of sore subjects and calculated alibis
Didn’t he know? Did he see the papers or the news reports?
The factories all shut down and they don’t make girls like you no more
PRE-CHORUS:
We’ll spend winter time with the windows down and we’ll sing to loud to notice
I’ll settle for the verse and always give you the chorus
CHORUS:
Can we keep this between just you and me?
Cause I spilled my guts tonight, you know how awkward that can be
But what we really need is a little ‘Amnesia’
We could wipe the slates clean again and we’ll keep this between you and me
VERSE 2:
Where do I begin when every word you let out locks me in?
I never asked for this attraction or the actions I defend
10. Amnesia
Luke Cunningham
