Rush Street

My mother came to Hazard when I was just seven
Even then the folks in town said with prejudiced eyes
That boy's not right
Three years ago when I came to know Mary
First time that someone looked beyond the rumors and the lies
And saw the man inside
We used to walk down by the river
She loved to watch the sun go down
We used to walk along the river
And dream our way out of this town

No one understood what I felt for Mary
No one cared until the night she went out walking alone
And never came home
Man with a badge came knocking next morning
Here was I surrounded by a thousand fingers suddenly
Pointed right at me

I swear I left her by the river
I swear I left her safe and sound
I need to make it to the river
And leave this old Nebraska town

I think about my life gone by
How it's done me wrong
There's no escape for me this time
All of my rescues are gone, long gone

I swear I left her by the river
I swear I left her safe and sound
I need to make it to the river
And leave this old Nebraska town

Got a house full of fortune and they pay me in gold
for something I'd do for free.
But there's still something missing that a man can't hold,
it's like a weight over me, so scared the thrill will be gone.
But I'm the one who keeps the pressure on,
all I've got is all I need,
but I get no sleep and I'm tired to the bone...
...I know I'm not alone.
Well, I'm sick of walking 'round with blood in my eyes,
just keeping up with this town.
I'm a roadrunner racing, but I don't see the signs,
I've got to learn to slow down.
My life makes it hard to complain,
but there's time I'd take my school days back again...
...Four o'clock and I'm still counting sheep.
Love to change the system, but I'm in too deep.
I keep the pressure far away as I can,
but it still comes back again...

I had a dream that you stood right in front of me
And called to me in black and white
Though I could see you / I couldn't reach you
You faded into the light
And when the sun turns a dream to reality
I'm left with such an empty space
I feel your spirit / Know that I'm near it
I swear I can see your face
Hear me calling you / Calling you
But you just don't seem to answer anymore

Am I supposed to pretend I don't feel the pain
Like it happened only yesterday
No use in trying / To stop the crying
I can't make it go away
Hear me calling you / Calling you
But you just don't seem to answer anymore
I'm calling you / Calling you
And I'm afraid you won't answer anymore

Where is the healing you promised me
Maybe this feeling will burn in me forever
Hear me calling you / Calling you
But you just don't seem to answer anymore
I'm calling you / Calling you
And I'm afraid you won't answer anymore
Calling you and I'm afraid that you won't answer anymore

I've been searching / Not the first or the last
Trying to figure out the mystery of the half empty glass
Time is turning for the rest of the world
While a temporary leap of faith helps the story unfurl

They say that hearts don't stay broken
Even though the scars remain
And eyes don't stay swollen
Even if it feels that way
Chorus
But it's not that serious / I'm a big boy now
And I'm not delirious / So don't show me how
Cause I've gotten beyond the agony
And my perspective is saving me

Never doubted what the cards would reveal
And if the joker showed his ugly face
Not that big of a deal
It's just a moment in the scheme of it all
But it's difficult to visualize when the axe starts to fall

But then a heart won't stay broken
Even on its darkest day
The right door could open
Pick you up and drift away

(Repeat Chorus)
With all the confusion
How does anybody come through
But life is illusion
And no one can tell you what you've gotta do

You know a heart won't stay broken
Even on its darkest day
The right door could open
Pick you up and drift away

(Repeat Chorus)

Try to remember those ancient evenings
When all we had was just enough.
Now the pretender knows why the king is screaming.
The grief was finally just too much.

I'm going to ride with the idol
Like a creature on display,
Tied to the bottom of a cage.
Ride with the idol,
But it won't turn out the same.
I know they won't blow out the flame.

Over my shoulder, I know they're waiting.
Their dirty hands are everywhere.
And as they get closer all the pretense is fading.
The face beneath the skin is bare.

So now I ride with the idol
Like a creature on display,
Tied to the bottom of a cage, oh yeah.
Ride with the idol,
But it won't turn out the same.
I know they won't blow out the flame.

I can never learn to say no.
Won't they ever let me go?

[Guitar Interlude]

I'm going to ride with the idol
Like a creature on display,
Tied to the bottom of a cage. Oh yeah, yeah.
Ride with the idol,
But it won't turn out the same.
I know they won't blow out the flame.
Ride with the idol,
Like a creature on display,
Tied to the bottom of a cage. Oh yeah, yeah.
Ride with the idol,
But it won't turn out the same.
I know they won't blow out the flame (fade)

You know just how to hurt me
And how to take all the pain away
Girl, you must be the devil in disguise
There were times, I think you knew
When I was so afraid of you
There's some kind of madness in your eyes

You know a place buried deep in my heart
Nobody else can see
Something in you has taken some kind of hold on me

Chorus
I don't know why I keep coming back to you, baby
I don't know why I keep coming back to you
To you baby

You say we shouldn't be lovers
And I say we can't just be friends
And all this talking just makes me want you more
You've got a way of confusing a heart
That nobody else could do
Why should I try, I don't want to get over you

Repeat Chorus

I'm so in love, so in love with the games that you play
So in love, and nothing can keep me away

You've got a way of confusing a heart
That nobody else could do
Why should I try, I don't want to get over you

I don't know why I keep coming back to you
Just tell me why I keep coming back to you

She's still another party blonde who had it all her way,
now, just another hanger on with a faded resume.
He's gonna be a leading man in the Gary Cooper mold,
now, working at a pretzel stand but it's him that's getting sold.
Big dreamer gonna take the town but she's running out of time,
still singing at a sleazy lounge to a house of drooling swine.
Self satisfied narcissist with a body like a god,
he's thinking that's all there is but 'I don't want that job'.
Streets of pain, they don't hear the crying...
...never felt the tears...they just keep on lying.
Get it through your head 'cause some things never change.
Won't it finally be obvious that there's very little chance?
Can't they see it's a Greyhound bus and not their handsome prince?
Isn't anybody satisfied with the average girl next door?
Does she have to be glamorized so the world will love her more...?
...Sinking like a rock in a river...never felt so cold...
...Lower than a snake can slither,
not to mention all the stories never told.
Pretty girl becomes a socialite standing in somebody else's light.
Anything can happen late at night,
in the morning she'll be out of sight.
Made a million on a lucky streak, threw it all away as foolishly,
one of many comic tragedies, what else can there be?
So you better get on the road to the desolation station,
And you better bring all you own, it's a permanent vacation.
We're waiting here with open arms but it isn't what it seems.
Just looking for the boulevard on the trail of broken dreams...

Out of my sight / But the vision is still the same
Out of my mind / But the memory remains unchanged
Stones thrown in anger hold twice the hurt
Return to sender could only make things worse

Girl, you've got to break these chains around my heart
Cause I've been lonely too long
You've got to break these chains around my heart
So I can finally get on with my life

Don't ask me why / Why I've lived with this all alone
Locked up inside / And it's cutting me to the bone
Love is a stranger avoiding me
Beware of danger's the only sign I see

Girl, you've got to break these chains around my heart
Cause I've been lonely too long
You've got to break these chains around my heart
So I can finally get on with my life

Are you listening / Is there something that you'd like to say
Am I getting through / Are you just gonna leave me this way

Girl, you've got to break these chains around my heart
Before it tears me in two
You've got to break these chains around my heart
That's all I'm asking of you
You've got to break these chains around my heart
Cause I've been lonely too long
You've got to break these chains around my heart
So I can finally get on with my life