SaltWater Country Lyrics
Cranberry Blossoms
Oh the cranberry blossoms
And my grandfather’s hands
He’d work all day then sleep real good
He was a solitary man
From the first thing in the morning
To the end of the day
You never knew what he’s thinking
I knew he loved me anyway
Summers when I was in high school
And I had to get a job
Got no love for fast food
So I was working on the bog
You get down in them ditches man
You’re bound to touch a snake
There’s me screaming like a little girl
He laughed so hard that he’d shake
In the cranberry blossoms
And my grandfather’s hands
He’d work all day then sleep real good
He was a solitary man
From the first thing in the morning
To the end of the day
You never knew what he’s thinking
I knew he loved me anyway
18 with my first broken heart
I searched all around for comfort
And I went to Jesus for a start
Grandpa caught me praying and he said
“There ain’t no time for hurt.
I got the cure for all of that
It’s just a hard day’s work
In the cranberry blossoms”
As I’ve gotten older
And the vines are still green
He’s out there on the tractor
The man never admits defeat
And we don’t call it helping
I’m just working while he rides
And listening to the stories
That he always kept inside
In the cranberry blossoms
Saltwater Country
Ain’t got a good reputation
Ain’t had one for a while
Don’t make sense to me
Everybody walks by with a smile
We are the salt of the earth
We are as real as the smile on your face
When you finally give up on the traffic
On the bridge to the Cape
Hey little sister are you coming out with me
Bank account full of nothing
And nowhere I gotta be
A Cooler and a blanket
And a ring on my toe
Let’s hide out at Little Harbor
Ain’t Nobody gotta know
You’re with me
In saltwater country
We like tradition
We like everything as it once was
Sometimes we go to Walmart
And walk around just because
The Cracks in the sidewalk
Have been there since my mama was young
It reminds her of summer
And her dreams and the songs that she sung
Hey little sister are you coming out with me
Bank account full of nothing
And nowhere I gotta be
A cooler and a blanket
And a ring on my toe
Let’s hide out at Little Harbor
Ain’t Nobody gotta know
You’re with me
In saltwater country
The long-forgotten brother
And the rich man’s son
The girl who needed nothing
But her face in the sun
At the center of town
Our grandfather’s names are etched in stone
We can’t leave the town that made us
Except for maybe Geena Davis
We used to make nails
Now we’re the scapegoat for the drugs in the night
we’re rich in coastline
A Victorian paradise
If they can’t see the beauty
Hell, that’s their burden to bear
More for you and me
Cause we ain’t going anywhere
Hey little sister are you coming out with me
Bank account full of nothing
And nowhere I gotta be
A cooler and a blanket
And a ring on my toe
Let’s hide out at Little Harbor
Ain’t nobody gotta know
You’re with me
In saltwater country
Just a Kid on Parkwood Drive
12 years old, with a guitar in my hand
Tiger Beat over every wall, that was my whole plan
“Gwen Stefani’s abs, how does she get em?”
As I practice Chopin,
dreaming ‘bout Hanson- and how I’m gonna get ‘em,
Holding out for a long haired man.
This is nothing like I thought it was,
Late nights, doing my make up in a parking lot
Street tough, giving me side-eye while he looks for love…
Right through me, but doesn’t everyone-
Until the lights come up…
I was Just a kid on Parkwood Drive,
Singing loud, just to feel alive.
I felt like a nothing, I guess it started something-
Doesn’t everybody feel like this-
Won’t somebody please notice I exist.
Twenty-five, dive bar dark corner with a guitar in my hand
Living the dream, turn it up a little louder over the shouts of a drunk man
What is success, and how do you get it
Selling t-shirts outta my van
Dreaming bout the day when I can finally say
I made it man
This is nothing like I thought it was,
Late nights, doing my make up in a parking lot
Street tough, giving me side-eye while he looks for love…
Right through me, but doesn’t everyone-
Until the lights come up…
I was Just a kid on Parkwood Drive,
Singing loud, just to feel alive.
I felt like a nothing, I guess it started something-
Doesn’t everybody feel like this-
Won’t somebody please notice I exist.
I felt like a nothing, I guess it started something-
Now I’m waiting for the plot twist
Won’t somebody please notice I exist.
One Becomes Two
Sometimes I buy coffee cause I’ve got nothing to do
Every single quiet moment reminds me of you
You got it all figured out
You’re moving out your mama’s house
And I’m still waiting
For the moment to move me
To get out of my own way
Everybody asks me if I’m doing ok
I say yes but honestly
There’s no place I wanna be
I’m holding on to
Comfort to get me to the evening time
So I can drink it down
It’s just a little glass of wine
One becomes two
So I can forget you
The World is turning slowly
all the world is moving before me
Remember when you told me I was innocence defined
You’d laugh at my naivete
With your sophisticated mind
I’d play along so you could be
The big man that you wanna be
I’d bite my tongue
It isn’t like I didn’t know you took the best of me
Your words wrapped in pretty paper snowballing so quickly
One day I’m my own woman the next day I’m beholden to you
Why was I holding on to
Comfort to get me to the evening time
So I can drink it down
It’s just a little glass of wine
One becomes two
So I can forget you
The World is turning slowly
all the world is moving before me
Drink it down slowly
Drink it down sane
Til I forget who I am again
Drink it down slowly
It’s still a choice
I forget the sound of my own voice
Comfort to get me to the evening time
It’s just a little glass of wine
One becomes two
So I can forget you
The World is turning slowly
all the world is moving before me
Beer in a Teacup
Everybody fits in
Everybody gets it
Everybody’s looking at me
I’m all kinds of awkward
Don’t know how to talk first
Hide my face in a magazine
Might feel like I did
When I was just a little kid
But ain’t no reason
Not to dive in
No fancy dresses or leather boots
Little rough around the edges in my tennis shoes
But I can dress it up and put on a show!
Just pour my beer in a teacup and let it go
Ladies in their lipstick
Working out at Crossfit
Girls got legs for days
Living for that beach life
Happy wife’s a good wife
Baywatch in the waves
Ain’t no toned arms here
But hold my beer
There ain’t no reason
Not to dive in
No fancy dresses or leather boots
Little rough around the edges in my tennis shoes
But I can dress it up and put on a show!
Just pour my beer in a teacup and let it go
And I let it go
Yeah I let it go
I pour my beer in a teacup and let it go
Here’s a little secret
I ain’t gonna keep it
There’s no such thing as cool
Everybody’s messed up
Might not wanna fess up
The perfect man’s a fool
We fight against the clock
It’s insecurities that talk
Don’t we all just
Hide our own mess
with fancy dresses and leather boots
Little rough around the edges in my tennis shoes
But I can dress it up and put on a show!
Pour my beer in a teacup and let it go
I Wanna Tell You Something
You and me, a cool drink
On a summer evening
Eyes across the bonfire
Wonder what you’re thinking
I don’t think I’ve said too much
But I can’t keep it together
When we accidentally touch
I can wait
But I can’t wait
Baby this is everything
Lean into me closer cause
I wanna tell you something
I’ve learned how to embrace
All my features
The real me’s hidden underneath
Do you wanna meet her
You have been my great escape
Hands under my covers
Thinking about your face
I can wait
But I can’t wait
Baby this is everything
Lean into me closer cause
I wanna tell you something
What a cruel trick my friend
I hope this ain’t how we end
Used to have my shit together
Now I doubt I’ll ever get better
And I can’t pretend
So here’s the text I never sent
You make every room hotter
I’m drowning, you’re the water
I can wait
But I can’t wait
Baby this is everything
Lean into me closer cause
I wanna tell you something
You and me, a cool drink
On a summer evening
You and me taking it off
Down to nothing
Heartbreak Hell
I broke up with a guy cause he spelled Saturday wrong
Had it been Wednesday maybe I could understand
But he was cut like stone
And I felt less alone
In the arms of a brick of a man
I’m kind of a coward so I ghosted his ass
Now I’ve heard he’s saving lives with his bare hands
There was nothing wrong with him
It was always me
Time’s not wasted
Though it didn’t go too well
Self-inflicted heartbreak hell
But I walked away a little closer to myself
I met my dirty Danny in 9th grade French
And he had this kinda bad boy thing
We’d make out in his car and he’d take it too far
But at least he liked the way I sing
The lines got blurred with his hand up my shirt
I didn’t give him enough so my heart got hurt
Was there something wrong with him
Or was it me
Time’s not wasted
Though it didn’t go too well
Self-inflicted heartbreak hell
But I walked away a little closer to myself
He liked history and I like history
And it should have been as simple as that
He was cute and smart, played bad guitar
And he really liked to pet my cat
It took a little while to find a chink in the armor
Could have overlooked his temper, could have tried a little harder
There was something wrong with him
It wasn’t me
Time’s not wasted
Though it didn’t go too well
Self-inflicted heartbreak hell
But I walked away a little closer to myself
You and Me Talking
Remember when we’d drive around
Cause there’s nothing to do in this Podunk town
Restaurants never open late
But Little Harbor never closed the gate
Kids in cars making out
Jealousy we never talked about
Our names in hearts drawn in the sand
We didn’t want too much just the whole boy band
What I wouldn’t give right now to meet ya
On that quiet beach on an autumn day
To feel the rocks and the shells ‘neath our feet
But we ain’t giving up, cause we’re tough
And we’re walking
Just you and me talking
Always trying to lose the weight
To get pretty enough for other girls to hate
Hours at the YMCA
Earning calories for our coffee date
What I wouldn’t give right now to meet ya
On that quiet beach on an autumn day
To feel the rocks and the shells ‘neath our feet
But we ain’t giving up, cause we’re tough
And we’re walking
Just you and me talking
Pretty girls who had it all
While we were stuck against the wall
Planning their downfall
We’ll watch their tans turn to wrinkles
We’ll be happy, they’ll be single
Life was that simple
Distance played a funny hand
We’ve forgotten about our old homeland
Sometimes I send a cool postcard
Is a phonecall really all that hard
What I wouldn’t give right now to meet ya
On that quiet beach on an autumn day
To feel the rocks and the shells ‘neath our feet
But we ain’t giving up, cause we’re tough
And we’re walking
Just you and me talking
Poor Man’s Daughter
I know poor like the Devil knows the fiddle
Leaves ya cold at night and hungry in the middle
It took to me like moss to stone
Poverty is in my bones
Fear made me do bad things
Bad things
Tryin’ to claw my way out
I know it’s just a memory
But it sends me back
To hopeless, helpless
In a hand me down dress
I been down to the river, down to the river
But some things don’t wash away with water
So I’ll always be a poor man’s daughter
I know want like a lonely tomcat
Howling in the night singing “where my girls at”
I think it’s true that he did love me
All I could see was the money
Fear made me do bad things
Bad things
Tryin’ to claw my way out
I know it’s just a memory
But it sends me back
To hopeless, helpless
In a hand me down dress
I been down to the river, down to the river
But some things don’t wash away with water
So I’ll always be a poor man’s daughter
I might be what you’d call white trash
Don’t throw anything away cause we might need that
White bread Sunday, White bread Monday
Ima be a big wheel someday
Fear made me do bad things
Bad things
Tryin’ to claw my way out
I know it’s just a memory
But it sends me back
To hopeless, helpless
In a hand me down dress
I been down to the river, down to the river
But some things don’t wash away with water
So I’ll always be a poor man’s daughter
Gloria
There’s a wooden carving of an old fisherman
Yellow rain slicker and a smoke pipe
He’s staring off blindly toward Nauset Light
‘boys I don’t think we’re leaving the harbor tonight’
The sea throws up sick
White caps look like tossed ships
And they ain’t gonna get no reprieve
Gloria, Gloria, say her name, Gloria
Gloria she don’t want me to leave
I came back home for the last time I thought
Just to grab my old cat and some things
Then that sickly sweet voice started calling my name
Boys you ain’t ever heard this girl sing
So roll, roll, roll up your rigging
She ain’t gonna stop
And I ain’t ever leaving
This hell hole town got my heart in it’s hands
Let her win, she’s too strong, I can’t stand
Red sky in the morning when I left my mooring
Calamity I should have seen
But the temptation of finally getting away
From the woman who cuckholded me
The sea throws up sick
White caps look like tossed ships
And they ain’t gonna get no reprieve
Gloria, Gloria, say her name, Gloria
Gloria she don’t want me to leave
It swirls like black ink when ya fall in the drink
There’s no fighting the girl’s current son
Just float like the martyr of all the old salts
Pray you wash up on the shore when she’s done
So roll, roll, roll up your rigging
She ain’t gonna stop
And I ain’t ever leaving
This hell hole town got my heart in it’s hands
Let her win, she’s too strong, I can’t stand
There’s a wooden carving of an old fisherman
And I think that he looks just like me
I’ve grown into the floorboards of this
Godforsaken house
It’s my ghost in the window you see
The sea throws up sick
White caps look like tossed ships
And they ain’t gonna get no reprieve
Gloria, Gloria, say her name, Gloria
Gloria she don’t want me to leave
Avoiding Confrontation
My life’s motto since 1992
Is “Avoid the confrontation”
Might not be the healthiest trick
That I have ever used
It’s just self preservation
I don’t wanna hear you tell me that I’m wrong
Maybe we’re just singing different words to the same song
If we all can’t get along
I’ll sit alone and I’ll read every book
Happy in my library nook all day
I got a couple friends I hardly ever see
Except for “hey how are you doing”
Presidential politics, we agree to disagree
But I don’t respect their opinion
And I don’t wanna hear ‘em tell me that I’m wrong
Maybe we’re just singing different words to the same song
If we all can’t get along
I’ll just sit alone and I’ll read every book
Happy in my library nook all day
How can we all be friends
When can’t even pretend to be civil
Id rather walk alone again
Or get a block of wood and start to whittle
Cause This living
Ain’t for chickens
He fell in love with alcohol and hiding it from me
I was afraid to hurt his feelings
So I stuck around a year or two and tried to set him free
It was a lonely state of being
He didn’t want to hear me tell him he was wrong
We were singing different words it was barely a song
Gave up on getting along
So I sit alone and I read every book
Happy in my library nook all day
Cause my life’s motto since 1992
Is “avoid the confrontation”
Only a Man
Growing up on Datewood Street
My mama always baking pies
To give us a taste of something sweet
And keep us happy
Oh how she tried
I wish that she had known it
In her bones
Just cause you’ve got four walls
It don’t mean that you’re home
You don’t have to take it
You could up and run away
Over the bridges to the Cape
Cross invisible lines that make you stay
He’s only a man
Only a man
Only a man
At the end of the day
From the smoky rug in the living room
Hiding behind my trains and toys
Wanted to save her from
My lone model of a man
But I was only a little boy
There’s no way to see
Behind a one-way glass
Black and blue, it aint the color of you
Come on and leave it in the past
You don’t have to take it
You could up and run away
Over the bridges to the Cape
Cross invisible lines that make you stay
He’s only a man
Only a man
Only a man
At the end of the day
Who’s Raising Who
I’m gonna be a better parent than my mom was.
Gonna win a golden medal from the PTA.
And my kid will wear his sunblock,
Double knotted sneakers won’t fall off
And he’ll always get good grades
I had organic fresh fruit cut in pieces,
Made smiley faces, ya know, like you do.
But the truth was hard to take,
He went on hunger strike for cake
And I learned early to let go, and bend the rules.
Who’s raising who?
Who’s raising who?
Real life ain’t a movie
The sky ain’t always blue.
Who’s raising who?
Who’s raising who?
There are days I think I’ll dress up like a lady
But I’ve settled into sweatpants aint it great
Cause you can’t climb in a sandbox in stilettos
And there’s a superhero standoff that won’t wait
Who’s raising who?
Who’s raising who?
Real life ain’t a movie
The sky ain’t always blue.
Who’s raising who?
Who’s raising who?
As it turns out you don’t need much sleep to make it
Three hours every night for six months straight
And looking in the mirror, my inheritance is clear
I’m so glad that what I see’s my mother’s face
Who’s raising who?
Who’s raising who?
Real life ain’t a movie
The sky ain’t always blue.
Who’s raising who?
Who’s raising who?
Real life ain’t a movie
And it seems I’ve stepped into
My mother’s shoes
Who’s raising who?
Smoke Stain
He walks by my front window every morning
Clutching his soul in a paper bag
His life passed by him quick without no warning
He tells himself it ain’t so bad
Quiet steps to the church basement
Wood paneling been listening
Since 1970
We go round and round and pray that we might change
While the smoke stain stays
For twenty dollars she’s a hand with a haircut
So she can bring her kids to the fast food line
One hand’s a cup of coffee one is searching
For a glass and a box of wine
Quiet steps to the church basement
Wood paneling been listening
Since 1970
We go round and round and pray that we might change
While the smoke stain stays
Sometimes I feel like I ain’t go no mooring
Bobbing about in the open sea
Ignore the dreams I had of a new day dawning
This town always swallows me
Quiet steps to the church basement
Wood paneling been listening
Since 1970
We go round and round and pray that we might change
While the smoke stain stays
On My Way Massachusetts
I’m on my way Massachusetts
I’ve still got 3,000 miles ahead
The desert’s singing sweetly but the truth is
There’s no other place I wanna rest my head
You caught my eye Carolina
You’re tempting me Tennessee
But when I think about skipping stones
And winding roads that lead you home
There’s one place I see
So I’m on my way Massachusetts
Can almost feel my feet at the water’s edge
I try to quell the homesick but it’s useless
The summer heat, the sandy feet there in my bed
You caught my eye Carolina
You’re tempting me Tennessee
When I think about autumn’s turn
The way the leaves there start to burn
There’s one place for me
You caught my eye Carolina
You’re tempting me Tennessee
When I think about what it would cost
The magic of the winters lost
There’s one place for me
So I’m on my way Massachusetts
My soul’s made up of your history
I know you like to claim the founding fathers
But how ‘bout mermaid tales, big ol’ whales and piracy
Cobblestones, colonial homes, land of the free
Love or hate her, she’s the state I’ll never leave