The new release for 2015 from Chris Heers and the Dirt Rich Band!
F A N N Y E K A T R I N A
Lost my boat in Katrina and I fell into the sea
Hundred miles of water all around me
And I saw the mast go down down down
Only thing left floating was a bag of potato chips
And I held onto that big yellow bag for forever it seemed
Somewhere on the third day I started seeing things
She said her name was Fannye and she looked a lot like the woman on the pancake
syrup bottle
She swam right up next to me
The gulf sun reflected on her deep brown face
We talked for hours and then she said
It’s gonna be better than it ever was
Yeah it’s gonna be better than it ever was
I talked about all the things I had that were so important to me
She said they’re all just sea foam on the gulf breeze
Yeah I lost my boat, nothing left in this world but this bag of potato chips
She said child you’re gonna eat those too
She said when everything has gone away you’ll see
Nothing can touch who you really are child when you’re free
Oh it’s gonna be better than it ever was
Yeah it’s gonna be better than it ever was
She said I could go on in detail but it would be like
trying to explain outer space to a fish
Child just know that you don’t know and have faith
Then she looked up and I looked up in the sky
And there was a giant Coast Guard Twin Huey floating there
And as those Coast Guard Angels floated down for me
I looked at Fannye to thank her but she was gone in the sea
Somewhere over New Orleans I ate the last potato chip
and as the wind tore that bag from my hands I knew this
It’s gonna be better than it ever was
Yeah it’s gonna be better than it ever was
It’s gonna be better than it ever was
Yeah it’s gonna be better than it ever was
L E A N I N G I N T O B A R S T O W
I got the windows rolled down got the radio up and I’m headin’ out of Vegas tonight
And it’s half past one on a four day run and the desert is a welcome sight
I can see you there in that dress you wear and it’s keeping my foot on the gas
I’ll drink a gallon of joe just to make it back home and hold you in my arms at last
There’s a full moon shining lighting up the highway like a beacon to you
If I can make it on time past the moonlit state line I’ll roll a diesel right on through
Well my eyelids are heavy there’s a blue and white Chevy and it seems he’s right on my heels
And I’m a leanin’ into Barstow I can’t drive this slow yeah you know how it feels
But the road is made for the big and brave and may the fella with the best rig win
I’ll brave a long hard road and the highway patrol to hold you in my arms again
And there’s a full moon shining lighting up the highway like a beacon to you
If I can make it on time past the moonlit state line I’ll roll a diesel right on through
Well it’s just me and the road and another ten miles and I think I got my second wind
On Angel wings, strong caffeine, and good old radio friends
When you miss someone so much you can’t stand it well you can do anything
Now I’m a leaning into Barstow I finally run out of road I’m home again
And there’s a full moon shining lighting up the highway like a beacon to you
If I can make it on time past the moonlit state line I’ll roll a diesel right on through
Yeah there’s a full moon shining lighting up the highway like a beacon to you
If I can make it on time past the moonlit state line I’ll roll a diesel right on through
Right on through, right on through, right on through, right on through
T R A I L E R 19
Long day and her feet are sore
She’s twenty-nine years old
Today’s one more
She’s watching Idol
Yeah there’s another one gone
Well at least they tried
They might’ve lost but they won
She says hey that’s me here in Trailer 19
I’m just a face in the crowd
Just a name on someone's time sheet
Somebody blow out these candles
Somebody wish me a dream
Yeah who knows what tomorrow might bring
Here in Trailer 19
They tell her no
No no no no no
No we don't like you at all
Hey girl it's time to go home
But she just keeps smiling
Hell what do they know
It's a brand new day
And that's the way she rolls
She says hey that’s me here in trailer 19
I’m just a face in the crowd
Just a name on someone’s time sheet
Somebody blow out these candles
Somebody wish me a dream
Yeah who knows what tomorrow might bring
Here in Trailer 19
She just keeps rolling
She keeps rolling
She says is this really me here in trailer 19
I'm still the same old girl
But now I'm lighting up that silver screen
So help me blow out these candles
Here's to chasing our dreams
Yeah who knows what tomorrow might bring
Here in Trailer 19
Here in Trailer 19
H A L F W A Y
She’s climbing in Sedona in the middle of a warm September night
Halfway up a sheet of rock it takes a pro a good two days to climb
They always say they always tell you don’t you ever climb alone
But something about a sheet of rock halfway up to Heaven feels like home
She lays back in her sling and lets the white Sedona moon light up her face
Ah and every yellow star starts whispering her name
Then a giant silhouetted bird floats by so close she feels his wing
And all her problems fall away
She drifts on off to sleep
Leave your broken heart your shattered heart down there on the ground
The pain it goes away up here in the clouds
Morning finds her rested ten hours more to climb
Up here in the red Sedona wind and the Indian sunshine
Some people when they lose their dreams
They put a bottle in their hand
Some people find a giant sheet of rock in the middle of the sand
She makes the top, drops her rope, and sticks a climbing shoe over the edge
And she sees red pebbles fall away into the silent wind
And that giant silhouetted bird he was nowhere to be found
She arches her back, pirouettes, dives into the clouds
Leave your broken heart your shattered heart down there on the ground
The pain it goes away up here in the clouds
Leave your broken heart your shattered heart down there on the ground
The pain it goes away up here in the clouds
Halfway down she pulls her chute
She floats down to the ground
She says forget him and his girlfriend too I don’t need him anyhow
Yeah there are still so many rocks to climb and I’ve only come halfway
Then a big ol’ Arizona smile breaks across her face
D R U N K E N B A K E R
When he was five years old in his Indiana home
He saw his daddy in the kitchen with an apron on
Saw him fire up an oven with a pie on board
You could smell banana lemon and meringue good Lord
It was five years later on the other side of town
He got an after school job at the Hotel Brown
While the other kids were out playing football games
He was running with the oven and the baked Soufflé
Hey drunken baker buddy keep it going
Everything tastes better when the Bourbon is flowing
You‘re the enemy of everything Atkins
Don’t you love it when the crumbs hits the napkin
Yeah you drunken baker you give it all you got
And for the sake of the cheesecake have another shot
And if you’re ever on the wagon I’ll sell this place
So drunken baker bake away
He made a Crème Brŭlée and you know the thing was
It didn’t wanna get right till he got real buzzed
When he tried to re-create it in a sober state
Got the lemon interrupting with the sugar and the egg
And so he drinks by the hour if the truth be known
If for no good reason but quality control
Someday he’ll quit the habit and retire I think
Buddy not just yet here have another drink
Yeah drunken baker buddy keep it going
Everything tastes better when the Bourbon is flowing
You‘re the enemy of everything Atkins
Don’t you love it when the crumb hits the napkin
Yeah you drunken baker you give it all you got
And for the sake of the cheesecake have another shot
And if you’re ever on the wagon I’ll sell this place
So drunken baker bake away
Bake it
Yeah the Beam’s in the kitchen ‘cause the Jack just drowned
And the money’s in the oven at the Hotel Brown
Yeah drunken baker buddy keep it going
Everything tastes better when the Bourbon is flowing
You‘re the enemy of everything Atkins
Don’t you love it when the crumbs hit the napkin
Yeah you drunken baker you give it all you got
And for the sake of the cheesecake have another shot
And if you’re ever on the wagon I’ll sell this place
Drunken baker bake away
Bake away
Bake away
T W E N T Y N I N E P A L M S
Your brother tied a bunch of cans to the back of my Volkswagen van
Then we drove away just me and you
Across the shimmering desert plains
With nothing but our future and that highway and our honeymoon
Down in Twentynine Palms
By the pool and the wavy sands
With the rice still up in your hair our love was all we had
And we had it all
But we let it go
Now ain’t that a country song wrapped in an old mirage
Down in Twentynine Palms
It’s funny how time slips away
Man that line it‘s so cliché
But it is what it is ‘cause it’s true
When that sun is floating high
Sometimes the road ahead shines and I see you
Down in Twentynine Palms
By the pool and the wavy sands
With the rice still up in your hair our love was all we had
And we had it all
But we let it go
Ain’t that a country song wrapped in an old mirage
Down in Twentynine Palms
Down in Twentynine Palms
Down in Twentynine Palms
R O A D T R I P
I bought a car on a whim last week
Top down won’t go up so I got it real cheap
I need gasoline a new sunrise and I’m free
It’s early morning in this Washington town
And I’m supposed to be at work by now
The time clock rings I don’t hear a thing
I don’t know where I’m going but the sun is shining
Yeah It’s a beautiful day I just feel like driving
I’m feeling cooler than old Steve McQueen
I never saw Colorado this green
My iPhone rings boss says get your ass back here
I said I’ve been meaning to tell you for quite sometime
I got the USA in front of me and the time feels right
So tear up my card I’m clocking out from here
I don’t know where I’m going but the sun is shining
Yeah it’s a beautiful day I just feel like driving
I got Slim Jim pork rind everything I need Slim Jim
I just saw Nebraska at a high rate of speed Big Red
Red Bull wheatfield midwest town Red Bull
I turn the high beams on ‘cause I can’t slow down
I don’t know where I’m going but the moon it’s shining
Yeah It’s a beautiful night I still feel like
I still feel like driving
Driving
J O E S E C U R I T Y
The wind was low on the breaking waves
As we made our way to the beach that day
And we found ourselves in a living Hell
But we took the task and we rang that bell
I was nineteen then in ‘45 when we saved the world that day
And here I am now just eighty years young at the Disneyland front gate
I’m just Joe Security now
I’ve got a badge and smile and I walk around
If the boys could only see me now
Ah they bought this ride when they wouldn’t back down
We took a riverboat around the Saigon bend
You could hear that trouble was coming in
And we found ourselves in a firefight
Three were wounded and one man died
I was forty-three in ‘69 on that day in Vietnam
And here I am now at the teacup ride making sure no one falls off
I’m just Joe Security now
I’ve got a badge and smile and I walk around
If the boys could only see this now
They bought this ride when they wouldn’t back down
We went to Hell and back and somehow I’m home alive
I’d do it all again if freedom called but I’m too damn old to fight
When I look into this crowd
I see freedom all around
I’m just Joe Security now
Yeah I’m a little proud when I walk around
I wish the boys could only be here now
Ah they bought this ride when they wouldn’t back down
When we wouldn’t back down
The wind was low on the breaking waves
P O N Y E X P R E S S
Rode in from my Daddy’s mine fifteen miles from the town hall sign
Dry Creek, Nevada 1861
I didn’t need no help off my horse but a little blonde girl she held the door
She said hey Bobby’s boy what ya doin’ here
I said hey Shirley girl how ya doin‘ kid
I got couple of letters for my brothers God I miss ‘em
I hear they’re all pinned down South Texas somewhere
She said the mail ain‘t going nowhere for a while
Go in and see my daddy and he’ll tell you
So I made my way into the station room
Shirley’s daddy was there with a fellow all bruised
And two long bloody arrows layin’ by his side
And I caught his few short dying words
He said this letter right here it’s gotta go for sure
It’s for Lincoln and it’ll save a thousand lives
Well I saw Shirley’s eyes well up with tears
when her daddy said I’ll ride it by myself from here
You did a good job son and then that rider passed on
And I said sir let me ride it in you know I can
I can’t feel my legs but on a horse I’m as fast as any man
He said there’s a little bay pony by the garden fence
I got a bad feeling boy I’m sending you to your death
Then I made my way out back and pulled myself up on him and I said
Run run pony run tonight
We can make it to the end in time
You got my legs and I got the stars that guide us
If you can run pony run
Well tumbleweeds the size of wagon wheels rolled in front of us as we
blew downhill past the high blue cactus that marked the county line
And we blew by hard and we blew by fast I’m gonna serve my country I’m
gonna serve at last I’m gonna get this letter through no matter what it takes
Nighttime fell and somewhere on the road
I heard the Paiutes calling down that ridge below
And I’d be lying like hell if I didn’t say I was scared
But we skirted that ridge slowly in the soft moonlight
Without a sound in sight
Well somewhere east of Middlegate the Big Dipper showed
I knew we had it made and then I saw a dozen Paiutes block the trail
And they took up shoutin‘ I took up my fear
And then the Pony shot right and down away from there
And I just held on tight to my rifle and the US Mail and I said
Run run pony run tonight
We can make it to the end in time
You got my legs and I got the stars that guide us
If you can run pony run
A few months later I got word that Lincoln got a letter
And it saved a thousand lives
S H O R E L I N E (feat. Vanessa Andrea)
On the shoreline
A thousand miles away from you
All the men left in October
To do what sailing ships and cannon do
The sand is warm around my feet
And the salt air is good to breathe
I wish there was a way that I could hold you
I wish there was a way that I could hear you
I wish there was a way that I could see you see you
From the shoreline
Out on the sea
Coming back to me
On the shoreline
A thousand miles away from you
And I’ll be here for a while now
The captain says there’s still more work to do
It’s cold here on the beach
I hope it’s warm there ma chérie
I wish there was a way that I could hold you
I wish there was a way that I could hear you
I wish there was a way that I could see you see you
On the shoreline
From the deep blue sea
Like a lighthouse for me
I wish there was a way that I could hold you
I wish there was a way that I could hear you
I wish there was a way that I could see you see you
On the shoreline / From the shoreline
Out on the sea
N A T U R A L L Y H I G H
I strap on my running shoes about 5am
My roommates had a rough night so they’re sleeping in
They went out and I stayed home and read Mark Twain
Then I slept like I haven’t slept in years
And it’s better than the best beer brighter than tequila
Smoother than whiskey it’s warmer than wine
It’s bigger than brandy it’s bolder than cocaine
No I don’t need a marijuana hit
‘Cause I’m naturally high on this
I run past the liquor store and the sleeping neon signs
Past the clubs and pubs and bars ‘til I hit the countryside
The Oklahoma sky is big and blue and bright
I forgot how beautiful life is
And it’s better than the best beer brighter than tequila
Smoother than whiskey it’s warmer than wine
It’s bigger than brandy it’s bolder than cocaine
No I don’t need a marijuana hit
‘Cause I’m naturally high on this
The summer sun is shining through the live oak trees
And I am flying on my own two feet
And it’s better than the best beer brighter than tequila
Smoother than whiskey it’s warmer than wine
It’s bigger than brandy it’s bolder than cocaine
No I don’t need a marijuana
I don’t need a marijuana
I don’t need a marijuana hit
‘Cause I got my running shoes
Yeah I got my running shoes
And I’m naturally high on this
T H E M A T A D O R
Enter in the matador he’s coming back he's sixty-four
Returning living legend from the old bullfighter way
Enter in the beast he’s full of piss eh hombre you wanna piece he says
You wave that cape of yours just stay out of my way
And round and round they go
El toro toro toro off you go
El toro toro toro off you go
El toro toro toro off you go
El toro toro toro off you go now
The bull he charges across the ring the matador stands listening
then effortlessly steps aside and lets the red cape go
No one is the wiser but the matador he’s blinder
than the darkest night of Neptune and nobody needs to know
And round and round they go
El toro toro toro off you go
El toro toro toro off you go
El toro toro toro off you go
El toro toro toro off you go now
The crowd is going crazy he’s never heard ‘em cheer this loud
So he folds that red cape two by two and he lays it on the ground
He looks up at the heavens but something interrupts his prayer
As two horns in the stomach lift him high into the air
And round and round they go
El toro toro toro off you go
El toro toro toro off you go
El toro toro toro off you go
El toro toro toro off you go now
The Matador with hands outstretched
He’s holding on to every breath
The fans they never love you more than when you says goodbye
Another living legend found a better way to leave this town
As Angels with sombreros on come float across the sky
And round and round they go
El toro toro toro off you go
El toro toro toro off you go
El toro toro toro off you go
El toro toro toro off you go now
Off you go now
T H E C A C T U S
The green cactus rises off the sand
Stretches out his arms to find the moon
He used to be somebody they called Joe
But that was a long time ago
He used to be somebody they called Joe
But that was a long time back
The old black crow descends upon his arm
He says hey cactus what’s happening
But the cactus don’t say nothing ‘cause he can’t
He just stands there on the sand
Well he almost made it in or so he thought
Those pearly gates were shining but they were shut
Then an Angel with a Rolex took his hand and said Joe you’re a busy man
Yeah an Angel with a Rolex took his hand and said Joe
you were such a busy man
And Joe the life of a cactus it’s mighty long
And night after night after night
He throws his three long shadows across the land
And he stands
Well something strange started to happen
After a period of time the cactus he got used to standing there
Used to the desert
The occasional rabbit, coyote, tortoise and the snake
Sounds of the night
And that night a rain cloud descended on that valley
And a thunderclap and a lightning strike left him in pieces on the ground
A million smoldering pieces of cactus
And there he was walking on a cloud
Yeah he was a man again
And he looked out and there was his family coming out to greet him
And those gates were open wide this time