He raised me the old-fashioned way
Never spared the rod
Worked daylight to dark
Except for Sundays
Never heard him say
His life was hard
Taught me to drive a stick
To hunt, to fish, to throw a lick
And how to take one

Good times fly by
Years fade away
Yesterday dies
Time cries

Daddy was a good ol' boy
I'm talkin' about them good ol' boys
They're the heart of the South
Them good ol' boys
Well they're about as good as it gets

He gave up all the boyhood dreams
And plans he'd laid  
So that I'd have some
Sometimes he'd speak and gaze
A glimpse of better days
Back on the farm
I can just see him now singin'
"Not Fade Away" and "True Love Ways"
There in the sun

Good times fly by
Years fade away
Yesterday dies
Time cries

Daddy was a good ol' boy
I'm talkin' about them good ol' boys
They're the heart of the South
Them good ol' boys
Well they're about as good as it gets

I carry his picture in my wallet
Together with his boyhood dreams
The picture is of him at 12 years old
My wallet's bustin' out at the seams

Time cries out for them good ol' boys
I'm talkin' about them good ol' boys
They're the heart of the South
Them good ol' boys
My Daddy was as good as it gets

Time cries out
For the heart of the South

Time cries out
For the heart of the South

Time cries out...
Time cries out...
Time cries out...

© Jason Cole

when darkness falls upon my death
this heart is reaped
head laid to rest
do not weep
nor steep regret
you mustn't grieve a hollow chest

the calling of a soul to shed
all mortal sheaths
and specious breath
divinely deemed
a doom beset
by shadows of a hollow chest

as darkness breathes within our breast
our spirit clings
to walls of death
envisioning
a light bereft
imprisoned by a hollow chest

there's a certain song that's wept
within the halls
of sacrament
grief begone
and faith beget
freedom from a hollow chest

© Jason Cole

some folks got it better than some
some people got it better than none
count my money like i'm countin' sheep
one eye open that's how i sleep

i got a big house and a fancy car
both of 'em got a hell of a bar
when push comes to shove mister talk is cheap
my three dollar shovel runs six feet deep

i'm a smooth operator
what's yours is mine
i'm a mover and a shaker
the devilish kind
start my percolator won't a drop be weak
born to be a taker
i'm playin' for keeps
feels so good
i'm so glad
i'm so bad

my old lady says she needs to be free
but no woman ever gets far from me
my backdoor baby told me she don't care
long as she's able to get her share

well i don't know about you and yours
this life of mine's worth fightin' for
man over yonder sayin' it ain't fair
hey i don't make the rules i just bring 'em to bear

i'm a smooth operator
what's yours is mine
i'm a mover and a shaker
the devilish kind
start my percolator won't a drop be weak
born to be a taker
i'm playin' for keeps
feels so good
i'm so glad
i'm so bad

eye to eye and pound for pound
fist for fist and round to round
i'm the one that gets the doin' did
and it's in season to flip my lid

last one to try me is dead and gone
don't even think of what you're thinkin' on
been there done that is on my mind
worlds unravel when i unwind

i'm a smooth operator
what's yours is mine
i'm a mover and a shaker
the devilish kind
start my percolator won't a drop be weak
born to be a taker
i'm playin' for keeps
feels so good
i'm so glad
i'm so bad

feels so good
i'm so glad
i'm so bad

i'm tossin' and turnin' baby
since that little girl left my bed
tossin' and turnin' baby
over all the hurtful things i said
been wonderin' how she's gettin' on
and if she knows she's still in my head

i'm tossin' and turnin' baby
'bout seven days every week
tossin' and turnin' baby
gaining guilt and losing sleep
thinkin' i should'a done more
to make her see she's my only need

i'm tossin' and turnin' baby
just like an old plow out in the field
tossin' and turnin' baby
like a beat up wagon wheel
now what i say is all i feel
how i do love that little girl still

the glass is half empty
my mind is too full
negativity is all that tempts me
with its downward pull

with broken feathers
i fall from the sky
when it's always cloudy weather
hope is sure to die

once i was lost
broken and dying
now i can be found
fearlessly flying

I'm a saint of the vapor
that's my God-given nature
I'm only here for a season
with my heart, pen, and paper

riding the shadowless night
in search of his darkest day
more or less there's Hell to pay
and this is the way of The Wanderer

rocky is the path of mossless stones
and where it leads is less than known
nevertheless 'tis where he roams
and this is the way of The Wanderer

much pity there should not be
as he has visited much pain upon others
passing like a wraith through their friendly hearts
leaving nothing real or true in his wake

nothing could be so bold as a lost soul
unafraid of what is unknown
afoot the rocky path of mossless stones
all alone

and this is the way of i
i am The Wanderer

pray
somebody pray for me
why don't you pray
just bow your head and pray for me
done went and lost my direction
i wander 'round aimlessly

got one foot in my coffin
the other's in the grave
get so sick of livin'
'cause i'm tired most everyday
please pray
somebody bow their head for me
i'm lonely as a prisoner
my heart is shade 'neath the tree

pray
somebody pray for me
why don't you pray
just bow your head and pray for me
when i look at my reflection
my eyes are filled with misery

Mama she ain't lyin'
when she says what's on my brain
but i can't stop her cryin'
she sees right through my pain
Mama pray
just bow your worried head for me
you know i ain't been forgiven
and i'm so scared i'll never be

pray
somebody pray for me
why don't you pray
just bow your head and pray for me
i just turned my head up to Heaven
midnight's all i seen

I saw her standing in line fancying a magazine-
penniless as she was and buying food.
She had to use "the stamps", the mark of the poor.
She was as pretty a thing as I'd ever seen.
Her half-done hair and hand-me-down dress
were as beautiful as any model's straightway from Bloomingdale's.
Our eyes met, but I turned away...
My eyes unworthy to behold the gaze of the impoverished princess.

hey there little baby where's your Daddy's knee?
you don't have to be there, you can sit with me
wouldn't that be fine? could we try and see?
i feel you hurtin' inside of me
i know he left your Mama lonely
and your little heart feels like a stormy sea

but Sarah, you're a lighthouse
i've been wanderin' all my days
been lost in this world
Sarah, you're a lighthouse
you've shown me the way
now we don't have to be alone anymore

it's kinda funny how life is fair
i'm always movin', never really been anywhere
with nothin' behind me now i'm lookin' ahead
all things have passed just like the Good Book said
and after the rain the sun will shine
i feel it in my heart and in my mind

Sarah, you're a lighthouse
i've been wanderin' all my days
been lost in this world
Sarah, you're a lighthouse
you've shown me the way
now we don't have to be alone anymore

run and get Mama, give her the news
tell her we're leavin' - yeah, you too
tell her i love her and there's nothin' i won't do
we'll be a family, we'll start anew
you're gonna need a new dress and some shoes
you smile so pretty we can't lose

Sarah, you're a lighthouse
I've been wanderin' all my days
been lost in this world
Sarah, you're a lighthouse
you've shown me the way
now we don't have to be alone anymore

you're not alone, i'm not alone
you're not alone, i'm not alone
you're not alone, i'm not alone
we're not alone anymore

you can take all your aeroplanes
dump 'em all in the deep blue sea
said you can take all them aeroplanes
dump 'em all in the deep blue sea
say, i don't need no plane to fly me
i got my own smooth pair of wings

you can take all your automobiles
park 'em all in a big green field
said you can take all them automobiles
park 'em all in a big green field
say, i don't need no car to drive me
i got my own cool set of wheels

you can take all of your trains
and run 'em off the track
said you can take all of them trains
just run 'em right off the track
don't need no locomotive engine
i got the blues, i'll blow my stack
(better get back)

her summery eyes

set me adrift

on hopeful waters

where i sail

under clearer skies

content in my place and time

and untroubled by a destination

the heavy heart is a heathen
corrupter of better nature
committer of soul-treason

fueled by the miserable notion
that death is twilight
and life is dawn

to flight, to flail
to rage, to rail
to weep, to wail
to no avail

to unhope

and all of this minus the mercy

©Jason Cole

i've dreamt of you
since we last met

there
in the mirror
in all your raging glory

pleasure, and freedom
and every other thing beautiful
this is the nature of you

naked, you are my Alabama nights
and my every blue sky day
you have many stars in your hair
where all good wishes are kept
and so many fields in your eyes
wanton with the dancing flowers

i can only stand here behind you
clothed in the shadows of your light
waiting for your golden dawn to break

oh, to have once loved a true lady
of pleasure, and of freedom
and of every other thing beautiful
and to have shared in her glory

there
in the mirror
i've dreamt of you

it came to me subconsciously
as i succumbed to my sublimity
a wheel of fortune, i believe
unfortunately, i can't retrieve

but one thing clearly i do recall
"early life" were the words i saw
before life? is that the key?
there is no key, quite possibly

just a ken of surreality...
just a ken of surreality

come now, fresh soul of pure intent
reach and grasp this human torch
of day and night and all mortal woes
abort your paradise of no constraint

choice is no privilege of yours
until the moment in which you breach
but go back you can't

'tis a forwardly motion you must endure
unless you choose wrong or quit your fate
yes, purest intentions can lead to hate
but also to love

come now, young life
heed this call for blind existence!

through shattered glass a broken mind
in one lone voice terse and cleansed
speaks unspoken thoughts of rusty will

nestled in spirit's brawny grasp
winged notions lay in wait
on woodless edges of fate's forest
relenting for relent's sake

heart-shaped clouds bleed sorrowed sheets
blanketing a clown of shame
huddled atop nervy stilts
embedded in the muck of mourn

furious fields forge fires of rage
a sweltering stench stands tall
in lockstep a ghosts parade
foggy silhouettes stop and gaze
watching, waiting, wanting
to rob future's grave of treasures past

scratched and bruised and battered lands
tattered bands of dreamscape caravans
timeless sands, spineless hands, heartless clans
among these, fate is planned

a distant city stands to fall
infidels shall cringe and crawl
brotherhood of hate begun
redemption of man undone

©Jason Cole

who would smile on broken pride?
alas, you - none other that called my name
shame, your willful heart content

i came and went
i came and went

untroubled still by peace of mind?
by peace of dreams?
no peace is mine

as thus a guiltless crime would be
could never be! should never be!

who would smile on broken pride?
you that called my name the least
dare i say you called it last?
no other sound could be the same
shame, your willful heart content

i came and went
i came and went

the static quo must go
nothing beneath, or behind the sounds
deaf tones bones strewn all around

long words, all cheap
dumb lines, all neat

coughed-up cadence and routine cream
cartoon choruses and tricked-out seams

hooky fakes and bookend breaks
easy gaits
minimum stakes

no sharp edge, no hidden fold
no golden age spirit, no new age soul
no color streaks, or manic peaks
no blind side streets, or bipolar beats

disconnect my wires, or else cut it off
put out my fire, or else cut it off

nothing sticks
nothing clicks
**** me quick

doomsday dreaming
child's play screaming
***** devil scheming

i could disappear

one-time saver
two-time stopper
three-time clocker

i should disappear

untied up
bottled down
freely bound

i can disappear

stand - ovation
people - nation
love - starvation

i will disappear

highways and byways
rivers and streams
molehills and mountains
hopes and dreams

cry, hopeless woman with desperate voice
fly, sweet freedom and blessed choice
love, loveless loser of selfish means
above, soulless skies are so unclean

highways and byways
rivers and streams
molehills and mountains
hopes and dreams

grieve, gentle child with much remorse
leave, grievous man without recourse
shout, silent heart with much to say
about, hordes of hollow heroes lay

highways and byways
rivers and streams
molehills and mountains
hopes and dreams

this memory
this ghost for hire
for which i pay dearly
is worth as much, or more

these blue night skies
and black sky days
deserve as much, or more

rainy eyes my mind clouds make
sunny eyes my mind clouds fake

take, take, take
that is all she does
it is all she knows

this ghost
this memory
this love

©Jason Cole

fools come, fools go
incognito

poets cry and lovers dream
incognito

children die and soldiers scream
incognito

takers take, givers give
good men lie, bad men try
teachers teach, some learn
preachers preach, some turn

fools they come, fools they go
incognito

the weight is deceiving and the weight is due
like the weight of a wanton heart
the weight is bereaving and untrue
like the weight of a guilty heart

don't wait

i looked, and there, in the glass
death rode fast behind me
i looked, and there, in the glass
time stood still before me
i looked, and there- out there and beyond
my eyes betrayed me

don't wait

if ever you must carry- carry on
carry on as the sun, whose brightest ray has yet to shine
carry on as the moon, whose darkest day you'll never find
and as the stars, who spend all their days reaching
out there and beyond
falling short, but ever closer to glory
all the while, quietly sharing the heavens

no guilt lives here
no binding fear
no last chance proof
no remedies moot

the hollowed heart
pounds still
the measured mark
unfilled

driven thoughts
will stay their course
amid the freaks
of future's force

change of mind
is change of time
chain this shame - raise this blind
fork this road - freeze this cold
bide this crime - bend this fold

embattled breath
to and fro
know no rest - take this toll

buried love
long and low
climb this crest - breach this hole

here where no guilt lives
where the hollow heart pounds still
pumping pain like a train through my brain
'til i'm a free bird in the rain
'til i'm a T-Bird in a frame
'til i'm a face without a name

©Jason Cole

o'child
sweet, sweet child
so sin-free and so pure

o'child
beautiful child
your purity i adore

o'child
wondrous child
so filled with love aplenty

o'child
magnificent child
your loveliness i envy

so gentle were the years of my youth
eyes beaming, gleaming, like tiny colorful moons
never a day too long, or too hard

times alone weren't lonely times
no judgment shown, there were no crimes

firsts as frequent as a feeding dove
first snow, first kiss, first love

so very gentle were those years i long for
of course, i can't go back
i would die for that

fate's mighty mast is surely sinking
drink the punishing sky
comets go down easy
all overboard

lay to rest
the souls of ever
flock together in the never

accept death's caress
at once cold and hot
altogether bright and dim

darkness breathes light into life
through light darkness also lives

sparks take flight
once were night
embers fade to black
once were white

father flesh your vows were made
with certain good intent
better yet the brows you raised
could see no self dissent

strong, you were
a rock of sorts
which seldom moves an inch

long, you were
on life of course
life is but a cinch

oh so brave to walk the fire
the fire gone unkindled
a smothered flame to breathe again
once properly swindled

conscience plays a partial part
in stemming liability
but time you'll find will rob your mind
of valuable stability

it's a tell-tale sort of story
though no moral or no fable
and if you'll kindly pay the ransom-
the deed to my betrayal

we shall climb this rugged mountain
together we shall ascend
and once atop the sound will drop
"my father is my friend!"

©Jason Cole

no law condemns the sovereign heart
nor pulls the puppet strings of love
left lonely, one man is only half
and Lawless is his middle name

soldiers of grace exalt her fate
love's empire undone
damaged hearts like near-dead stars
spit and spark and groan

spit is sweet add ripe revenge
mine is the honey-laden mouth
which drips with sweat of sword-ish tongue
and breathes the breath of lesser men

come softly down
move gently through
do not go lightly

oh passion, shimmering spirit of hope
your voice resounds

strengthen, uplift
inspire and deliver
do not stop short

oh passion, coiled conception of desire
your heart resounds

fill slowly up
remain deep and true
do burn brightly, do

oh passion, elusive love-light
your fire is water

your clean lips and serene eyes
are instruments
they, with fearless precision
play

those neatly folded tufts of skin on either side
are speakers
they, with unnatural ease
amplify

the epidermal pyramid sloping symmetrically
amid your instruments
is a songstress

she, with innate necessity
sings the song of life

your head is a concert
music to my troubled eyes

©Jason Cole

hold your head up high
like a fightin' rooster
**** your walk like you used to

talk and squawk
screech and yell
scratch holes in the earth
fight like hell

rip through the rain
ride on the wind
run fast and firm and free again

cry out loud at the break of dawn
you can make the sun your own
send it on up and roll it around

make it smile
make the sun smile
and light your eyes
and paint your feathers

get your head up high
like a fightin' rooster
let us stand together
never mind the weather
blood is forever

©Jason Cole

dizzied waves calm the haze
count the ways of perfect blue
hurried trees catch salty breeze
besting winded walkers by
sand surrenders to barefoot folly
warming and forming prints
a scattered sky drips a drop or two
nothing stays like perfect blue

see the sea shake
feel the heat ache
smell the sun bake
taste the cloud shapes

horizons breathe
shorelines walk
water talks

cream-filled crests crown the abyss
distant ships tilt and lilt
slippery wakes surfers skate
children trench
tanners twist
lovers tryst

caught by chance in ocean's glance
impelled to do this human dance
nature's floor a ballroom
its rhythm a rapacious hue
life cascades in perfect blue

©Jason Cole