American Stars & Bars

Hello, my old friend.
It's good to see you smiling.
You've been around so long, you must be strong.
And single life really has its fine points,
Like friends to help you out when things go wrong.

Hold back the tears
That you've been cryin'.
Push off the fears
When they come around.

Hold back the tears,
And keep on trying.
Just around the next corner
May be waiting your true love.

Two lying fools,
And then four cryin' eyes,
Counting on one another to survive.
Crazy love must surely have this pain,
If getting up means going down again.

Hold back the tears
That you've been cryin'.
Push off the fears
When they come around.

Hold back the tears,
And keep on trying.
Just around the next corner
May be waiting your true love.

It has often been my dream
To live with one who wasn't there
Like an ocean fish who swam upstream
Through nets, by hooks, and hungry bears.

When the water grew less deep
My fins were aching from the strain
I'm swimming in my sleep
I know i can't go back again.

Got the will to love, the will to love.
I'll never lose it, never lose the will to love,
Never lose the will.
It's like something from up above.

I can be like a fire in the night
Always warm and giving off light
But there comes a time when i shine too bright
Oh, i'm just a fire in the night.

And now my fins are in the air
And my belly's scraping on the rocks
I still think someone really cares
And i'll keep swimming till i stop.

Got the will to love, the will to love.
I'll never lose it, never lose the will to love,
Never lose the will.
It's like something from up above.

I'm like a singer on the stage
With the golden lights and liquid rage
Down from the mountains to the sea
Cool running love keeps cleansing me.

It keeps my gills from getting dry
But it distorts things in my eyes
Sometimes i see what really isn't there
Like my true lover, and i care.

Got the will to love, the will to love.
I'll never lose it, never lose the will to love,
Never lose the will.
It's like something from up above.

Sometimes i ramble on and on
And i repeat myself till all my friends are gone
And get lost in snow and drown in rain
And never feel the same again.

I remember the ocean from where i came
Just one of millions all the same
But somewhere someone calls my name
I'm a harpoon dodger, and i can't, won't be tamed.

Got the will to love, the will to love.
I'll never lose it, never lose the will to love,
Never lose the will.
It's like something from up above.

Baby, if i see boredom in your eyes
I'll know my river has run dry
But i won't turn back with that lonely tide
I bought that ticket and i'll take that ride.

If we meet along the way
Please sway beside me, let us sway together
Our tails together and our fins and mind
We'll leave this water and let our scales shine
In the sun above and the sky below
So all the water and earth will know

It has often been my dream
To live with one who wasn't there.

Oh, oh, carmelina,
The daughter of the wealthy banker.
Since she came to town all my friends are gone,
And i'm stuck out here with melody.

Saddle up the palomino, the sun is going down.
The way i feel, this must be real.

If you can't cut it, don't pick up the knife.
There's no reward in your conscience stored
When you're sleepin' with another man's wife.

Saddle up the palomino, the sun is going down.
The way i feel, this must be real.

I wanna lick the platter, the gravy doesn't matter.
It's a cold bowl of chili when love lets you down,
But it's the neighbor's wife i'm after.

Saddle up the palomino, the sun is going down.
The way i feel, this must be real.

They were playing that old country waltz
In this empty bar echoin' off the wall.
When i first got the bad news that you set me free,
The band played the old country waltz to me.

Well, i loved, and i lost, and i cried
The day that the two of us died.
Ain't got no excuses, i just want to ride
While the band plays the old country waltz.

Out the window the moon shines
On the roofs of the cars
While i knock down tequila and salt
And the band plays the old country waltz.

And we're playin' it, that old country waltz
In this empty bar echoin' off the wall.
Ain't got no excuses, we just want to play
That good old country waltz.

I ain't got no excuses, i just want to play
That good old country waltz.
That good old country waltz.