Lyrics
Harbor Light
Heard the ocean call again this morning
Tide along the breach is rising fast
Heading out I turn to wave across the water
Sandy footprints falling thru an hourglass
I’ve been up and down this jagged coastline
Drifting past the breakers at first light
Living out my younger days like brave Ulysses
Shortwave songs and sirens echo thru the night
I knew when I met you those days were numbered
Sailing three sheets to the wind now for so long
And if I take too long to think things over
I could turn around and you’d be gone
I got half a mind to start all over
Lord knows I’m not tied down to the mast
When I think of all the miles I put between us
I can see a Harbor Light to guide me home at last
Phantom ships roll hazy in the distance
Carolina moon is fading fast
When the last star turns to blue on that horizon
Won’t you be my Harbor Light and guide me home at last?
Home at last... Harbor Light
Low Tide
Took a chance on a queen high strait
That ol’ river card came a hand too late
Mighty Mississippi slowed to a drip
Ol’ man river done gave me the slip
Chorus:
Low tide, no one knows, why it runs or where it goes
Only one cure for those dry dock blues
Low tide, cabin’s water tight, Trade winds are fair tonight
Perfect for a very stationary cruise
Swung my lantern, shot from the hip
Free the paddle wheel or abandon ship
The moon was high but the tide was low
Walked all the way to the Gulf of Mexico
Chorus
Ain’t no smoother ride than laying low tide
​
I have joined the ranks of haints and anglers who never catch a break
Trolling all the local sushi bars for tackle, beer and bait
Now I Hope and pray someday I’ll get my boat back on the bay
Reeling in the big one could be just one lucky cast away
Tried my luck down on Oyster Row
Venus on the half shell gave me a tow
Now it’s open ocean on a full moon tide
With my Cajun queen of the Friday fish fry
Chorus
Ain’t no smoother ride than laying low tide
Low Tide...
Flotsam & Jetsam
​
Summertime crossing up the lines, surfing off the old pier
Dodging dorsal fins and tourists, collecting souvenirs
Flotsam and jetsam - secrets of the sea
Flotsam and jetsam - sunken mysteries
Sitting on a front porch swing with a bottle and an old guitar
Just like all them half baked heroes singing in a salty bar
Flotsam and jetsam - secrets of the sea
Flotsam and jetsam - sunken mysteries
Discards, ruins and debris
At the water’s edge, the treasure that surrounds me
Flotsam and jetsam
Chucked it all in a smugglers boat and when that sucker sank
They were singing this song too far gone to remember who to thank
Flotsam and jetsam - secrets of the sea
Flotsam and jetsam - sunken mysteries
Flotsam and jetsam - Flotsam and jetsam
Pirate Dice
​
When I first saw you I said, “There goes the reason why
a Rover sails the oceans of the world “
Can’t imagine why you never caught my eye til you became the Captain’s girl
Always had a taste for dark Jamaican rum
Like a pirate searching for an island in the sun
I’m coming after you
I was a sailor in the Saint James Rebellion and a Quartermaster in my day
I got Shanghai’d down in Kinsale sound and woke up 500 miles away
Never had much use for trinkets make of gold
But I have stolen more than seven Spanish galleons can hold
And I’m coming after you
Chasing slow rolling pirate dice
Southern stars in your eyes
Should the moon refuse to rise
We’ll teach the crew to turn the tides
With slow rolling pirate’s dice
Just out of Ol’ Lahaina headed back to Carolina lose talk turned to mutiny
We caught the captain unawares now he’s swearing
From the bottom of the deep blue sea
Seen enough blood run to turn the coast to crimson wine
But I promise I’ll hang my sword and scabbard up this time
‘Cos I’m coming after you
​
Chorus
​
Island Hideaway
Took Dona Maria to the oyster banks
To meet Mother Nature and give our thanks
Pulling groceries right from a creek
Fed my family for a week
Sat Dona Maria on a hollow log
Wrapped her up in the morning fog
Crickets chorus where the rivers run
Seagulls climbing with the rising sun
Island Hideaway beyond the coastal waterway
Moonrise dancing on the shining sea
Roll on sandy beaches deep into my soul she reaches
And gives her love to me so free
Hot as cayenne in the summer shade
Smooth as juniper lemonade
Sweet as sand like sugar grains
‘Tween my toes and pure as rain
Island Hideaway beyond the coastal waterway
Moonrise dancing on the shining sea
Roll on sandy beaches deep into my soul she reaches
Twilight Carolina sunset island nothings finer
Me and Mother Nature’s daughter
Glide across her misty water
Gonna take Dona Maria to Ol’ Gray Bay
Where the pickers grin and fiddlers play
Making love on the outer banks
Mother Nature we give our thanks
Island Hideaway beyond the coastal waterway
Moonrise dancing on the shining sea
Roll on sandy beaches deep into my soul she reaches
And gives her love to me…
When she gives her love to me... so free
Holdup Girl
​
Of all the bars on cinder blocks ya tumble into mine
With your .45, .22, .38s a blazin’
Never mind ya coming ‘round half past closing time
It’s always hell and branch water we get to raisin’
Hold up girl where’d ya get them pearl handled nerves of steel?
I been shot down a time or two but I’m willing’ to make a deal
Nobody moves like ya do
When the corner jukebox waisl a lonesome highway song
Reminds me of the day the cowgirl rode away
Tonight I just might ride along
Hold up girl, hold up girl
Ya never were the kinda gal to settle in a two dog town
Had to ride that southern wind running’ wild and free
Long forgotten ghosts always seem to track me down
Take one more shot give me all ya got tonight the dream’s on me
Hold up girl where’d ya get them pearl handled nerves of steel?
I been shot down a time or two but I’m willing’ to make a deal
Nobody moves like ya do
When the corner jukebox wails a lonesome highway song
Reminds me of the day the cowgirl rode away
Tonight I just might ride along
Cos I still like the way you move
When the corner jukebox wails a lonesome highway song
Reminds me of the day the cowgirl rode away
Tonight I just might ride along
Hold up girl, hold up girl
Hold up girl, hold up girl
Where the Heart Goes
From the foothills of the Smoky Mountains to the slopes of Santa Fe
A father daughter road trip bound from Boston to LA
The Albuquerque skyline, Nashville in the rain
Record shops and all night diners, play that Rayland song for me again
Rusted Cadillacs and tickets to the show
Felt like the road was paved with gold
Follow where the heart goes…
There’s a cozy little pub in Doolin, on the road to Ballyvaughn
Mama raised a Drumshanbo to our favorite Bonnie song
Were you singing by the river or cliffs above the bay
When all those tipsy woodland faeries came and carried you away?
A flask of ashes and old wishes light the way
Between the Emerald Isle and skies of grey
Follow where the heart goes...
