I'm a liar.

I stumbled through the darkness, my footsteps were unsure
I lived within a world that had no sunshine
When you left me darlin', my world came to an end
And there was darkness on the face of the earth

The stars fell out of heaven
The moon could not be found
The sun was in a million pieces, scattered all around
Why did you ever leave me, you knew how it would hurt
And now there's darkness on the face of the earth
[Repeat]

And now there's darkness on the face of the earth.

There are men lost in jail
Crowded fifty to a room
There's too many rats in this cage of the world

And the women know their place
They sit home and write letters
And when they visit once a year
Well they both just sit there and stare

See how we are
Gotta keep bars in between us
See how we are
We only sing about it once in every twenty years
See how we are
Oh see how we are

Now there are seven kinds of Coke
500 kinds of cigarettes
This freedom of choice in the USA drives everybody crazy

But in Acapulco
Well they don't give a damn
About kids selling Chiclets with no shoes on their feet

See how we are
"Hey man, what's in it for me?"
See how we are
We only sing about it once in every twenty years
See how we are
Oh see how we are

Now that highway's coming through
So you all gotta move
This bottom rung ain't no fun at all

No fires and rockhouses and grape-flavored rat poison
They are the new trinity
For this so-called community

See how we are
Gotta keep bars on all of our windows
See how we are
We only sing about it once in every twenty years
See how we are
Oh see how we are

Well this morning the alarm rang at noon
And I'm trying to write this letter to you
About how much I care and why I just can't be there
To draw your bath and comb...and comb your hair

Last night in a nightspot
Where things aren't so hot
My friend said, "I met a boy and I'm in love"
I said, "Oh really... What's this one's name?"
She said, "His first name is Homeboy"
I said "Could his last name be Trouble?"

See how we are
Ah Homeboy... Isn't that a Mexican name?
See how we are
We only sing about it once in every twenty years
See how we are
Oh see how we are
Yeah see how we are

(She's blonde)
She's a blonde
And she comes along the sidewalk
She leaves a trail of blue and black
Up to you to fight it back

Steel chains
There's a noose of charms on our necks
I find nothing when we talk and sit
Blue heart passion and watch the set

Easy to fall
Part of your skull
Starts to break away

A cheaters walk
Down the block
Behind this evil street

She's a white girl
But I'm living with a white girl
She's a white girl
But I'm living with a white girl

(Nineteen)
She's Nineteen
Missing her man for an old girl
Drain every beer left over at home
Listen to ghosts in the other room

Why not
You're alone inside his keeping
I'll replace your drunk old man
Sit in the parking lot and hold your hand

Easy to fall
Part of your skull
Starts to break away

Drugged and in love
Out at a club
Pulling me outside

(Chorus)

I spent half my youth listening to country-western music, and I'll be damned if I can remember any lyrics to speak of.

The album I remember most is Willie Nelson's "Red Headed Stranger" which was a concept thing that my dad used to play on his 8-track.

And then there were all of the old favorites that fifth-rate bands would play at valley fairs where people of all ages would waltz and two-step on some old, worn-down basketball court in this or that county hall or fair ground.

Cans of Bud, bottles of Jack and Southern Comfort, country girls preening themselves in rear-view mirrors, the faint scent of chewing tobacco, an occasional fist-fight, and maybe getting lucky and caressing a pretty girl's breast in the moonlight, hidden somewhere safe from the crowd.

When I was 7, I decided it was time to start listening to the radio, but wasn't sure where to begin. I saw a bus drive by with an ad for 94.7 KHJ country radio (a decade before new age even existed) and tuned in. I remember listening to Eddie Rabbit's 'I Love A Rainy Night', the Oak Ridge Boy's 'Elvira' and Dolly Parton's 9 to 5. It was fun stuff. A couple years later, Michael Jackson and MTV lured me away from country and into pop and R&B.

At one point in high school I was on a country kick. I was listening to Waylon and Willie, Johnny Lee, and Charlie Daniels. I even went so far as to buy boots, a cowboy hat, and a shirt with flowers embroidered on the shoulders. That kick lasted about six months, and ended when I saw the Rolling Stones play at Candlestick park. I just wish I had taken some pictures, so I could laugh at the cheese.