i broke the vase
you gave me
the vase that
had survived
i sat down
for a minute
i thought that
i would cry
i just thought
about you
didn’t hurt so much
as before
the vase was
not our love
i didn’t need it
any more
by Richard W. Bray
Archive for the ‘Lyrics’ Category
shift
January 31, 2012The Road
October 15, 2011
The Road
road runs uphill
every day
you go out there
every day
logging miles to earn your meals
road runs uphill
every day
if you don’t struggle
every day
you’re probably spinning wheels
road runs uphill
every day
a tilted treadmill
all the way
washing clothes and scraping grills
road runs uphill
every day
and if you stop
to look away
you might end up taking a spill
road runs uphill
every day
so dance your song
all the way
and get your fill before you pay the bill
by Richard W. Bray
Abandoned
September 17, 2011
Abandoned
For twenty-seven years
I worked the ‘ssembly line
Till traders bought the company
And robbed my pension blind
They crated up the factory
And shipped it overseas
Left fifteen thousand workers
Blowing in the breeze
Been outta work so long
I don’t know what to do
Been double-dealt and curb-kicked
Till my hide is black and blue
Filthy politicians
Say they love the working man
Seeking bribes and kickbacks
From stockbroker hand
Thievin’ doublecrossers
Drove this country off a cliff
Ain’t no golden parachute
For the working stiff
Been outta work so long
I don’t know what to do
Been double-dealt and curb-kicked
Till my hide is black and blue
The folks who run this country
Would sell they mamas’ soul
For a thousand votes
Or thirty bits of gold
The Dream that was America
Is swirling down the drain
This country used to build things
Now we manufacture pain
Been outta work so long
I don’t know what to do
Been double-dealt and curb-kicked
Till my hide is black and blue
by Richard W. Bray
Tyrant
September 1, 2011
Tyrant
I’m the boss, so listen you
Cuz I’m the one on top
If the sunshine makes me blue
Then you must make it stop
Get up, sit down
Do everything I say
Come here, go there
Now please just go away
Guys like you need guys like me
To keep y’all on track
You’re competent and diligent
It’s leadership you lack
Get up, sit down
Do everything I say
Come here, go there
Now please just go away
I am here to govern you
That’s how life turned out
You must cry when I am blue
And listen when I shout
Get up, sit down
Do everything I say
Come here, go there
Now please just go away
You don’t need to thank me
For long hours and paltry pay
Adversity builds character
You’ll understand some day
Get up, sit down
Do everything I say
Come here, go there
Now please just go away
by Richard W. Bray
My Favorite Work of Art
August 5, 2011
My Favorite Work of Art
You raise my spirit when I’m tired and down
And reprimand me when I act the clown
You bring me coffee when I need a lift
And motivate me through that second shift
You warm me when I’m naked to the bone
You’re the reason why I never feel alone
You clean my wounds and listen to me bleed
And give my soul the sustenance I need
You heal my mind and protect my heart
That’s why you’re my favorite work of art
by Richard W. Bray
talk
May 19, 2011
dont be
comin round
to bring me down
with tales you
pass around
dont need that strife
go live your life
somewhere else
you clown
it aint my job
to explain
the ways of me
to you
and I aint here
to live my life
like you want
me to
i dont care
what they say
i dont care
what you hear
so take
your talk
and your self
far away
from here
by Richard W. Bray
Downright Victimy
May 12, 2011
Downright Victimy
We all know it’s tragic
When a lover gets the boot
Sometimes it’s no biggie
Sometimes it’s acute
I’ve seen guys who got whupped
For bein’ Passion’s slave
And quite a few that drunk themselves
To an early grave
But I ain’t seen’ nuthin’
Like my buddy Billy Ray
He rewrote the Book of Crazy
When his woman run away
With his little brother
On his thirty-third birthday…
He hunts grizzlies with a penknife
He cleans his pistols with his tongue
He rassles crocodiles
He eats salads made of dung
He wears a barb wire choker
He pours gunpowder on eggs
He takes shooters of Tabasco
He drinks malt liquor by the keg
He don’t just look sick to me
The dude is downright victimy
Won’t live to see the next full moon
If he don’t get some help real soon
by Richard W. Bray
Time to Quit
April 30, 2011
Time to Quit
I woke up this morning, wishing I was dead
With forty-seven work crews poundin’ in my head
My belly was the site of a nasty civil war
That abruptly ended when I puked right on the floor
My body is revolting and my soul is on the brink
I’d sell everything I own just to buy another drink
I gotta’ plague of reasons
Why it’s time to quit
Livin’ in a snake pit
A feller will get bit
I lost a lovin’ family, three jobs
And half my mind
Been a long, long time
Since I could say that I was fine
Yesterday I got to work at seven forty-five
Three hot cups of coffee, feeling glad to be alive
My boss looked up and yelled, “Just where the hell you been?”
“I’m fifteen minutes early. Hell, that ain’t no sin”
“Actually,” he sneered “You been AWOL for a week
Foreman’s got your severance, you stupid, smelly freak”
I gotta’ plague of reasons
Why it’s time to quit
Livin’ in a snake pit
A feller will get bit
I lost a lovin’ family, three jobs
And half my mind
Been a long, long time
Since I could say that I was fine
My doctor says my liver’s fixin’ to explode
And all my other organs look ninety-three years old
I got so many toxins stuck inside my skin
Bloated up from battles that my body cannot win
If I ain’t hit bottom, I’m dangling by a thread.
I could get some help or I could get a drink instead
I gotta’ plague of reasons
Why it’s time to quit
Livin’ in a snake pit
A feller will get bit
I lost a lovin’ family, three jobs
And half my mind
Been a long, long time
Since I could say that I was fine
by Richard W. Bray
As Long as Babies Cry
April 16, 2011
As Long as Babies Cry
Now I was workin’ out
At my local gym
With my buddies: Paco,
Chester, Dave and Slim
That was when I noticed
And I ain’t tellin’ lies
The world’s greatest beauty
Right before my eyes
So I sauntered over
And mustered up my charm
I approached her sideways
Showin’ off my massive arm
I said, “Now hey there darlin’
Hows about you and me
Get together Friday evening
For some dinner and tv?”
As long as babies cry
You’ll never be my guy
As long as skies are blue
I’ll live life without you
And now our story ends
Please go back to your friends
Now I was never one
To give up that easy
I’m such an awesome guy
My friends call me “Cool Breezy”
And as luck would have it
Another fine young beauty
Was doin’ her thigh crunchers
So I walked up to that cutie
I said “I know your legs are tired
From runnin’ through my brain
But if I don’t get your number
I might just go insane”
As long as babies cry
You’ll never be my guy
As long as skies are blue
I’ll live life without you
And now our story ends
Please go back to your friends
by Richard W. Bray
Time to Catch a Train
April 2, 2011
Time to Catch a Train
Always blowin
Back and forth
I’m just a crazy weathervane
It ain’t no mystery
That I’m the one to blame
I’d love to hang around
And help to
Cool your pain
But I can’t take
Another day
It’s time to catch a train
You gave more
Than I deserve
I poured it down a drain
Good thing I always
Had the sense
To know that I’m insane
by Richard W. Bray
Laughter hope sock in the eye's Blog 