Bob Frey
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All Lyrics Written by Bob Frey
Freedom On the Ledges

Summer's end is coming soon, I can feel it in the Wind 
Blowing gently 'cross the Water, now, I find myself again 
In a house inside the northern Woods my parents built when they were young 
They're older now and, I am, too, and I wonder where it's gone 
I'm all alone again 
It's someplace that I never thought I'd be 
I'm feeling stoned again 
It's a place that's quite familiar to me 
I've got no one to talk to even though I've got some friends 
There's no way that I can say how much I'm broken and I'm bent 
Can't stop the rain... 
But, they're not to blame 

Daniel was an artist, he made his living with his hands 
He liked his bourbon and his cigarettes, he loved his music and his friends 
Daniel was a friend of mine, he was loyal like the Sun 
Setting gently 'neath the Western shore, now, like another day he's done 
Now, it's been too long 
Since I sat and drank with him and we said goodbye 
I think he knew it, too... 
Though, he told me that it wouldn't be the last time 
That I saw him, "Shit," he said, "I'm gonna make it to the Woods" 
"We'll shoot some pool and drink until the dawn" and I know he would've 
If he could've... 
But, he couldn't... 

And, now, sometimes I can't help feeling like I'm losing everything 
Daniel would've said "Hey, it's not that way" 
"Quit writing all them words of woe and play a song that makes me smile" 
He always kind of lived his life that way 

There's freedom on the ledges, Babe, and you can always find some room 
Step outside the edges in your time 
On the backroads of your yesteryears you just might find some truth 
The kind you can take with you down the line
LongShot Deal

Hey, hey Darling, my head's on fire 
I feel like something's gonna happen soon 
And, I've been waiting to see you for a little while 
Now, I don't know what to do 
If I could turn it around on my own, don't you think 
That I would do the same for you? 
It's a long, long way, and a longshot deal 
But, that ain't nothing new... 

Hey, hey Lover, it's cold outside 
But, inside it's colder still 
I've got a room with a window and a backdoor plan 
I've got a number and I've got the will 
I know you're traveling now, and it kind of seems far 
But, you could always find me still 
It's a long, long way, and a longshot deal 
But, you're still beautiful 

Hey, hey Friends, looks like I'm calling again 
I'm worn out on my sleeve 
I called it right from the start, I played it straight from the heart 
I took a runner on a longshot deal 
And, it ain't no surprise, you know I've always been lucky 
Now, I'm just looking for some time to steal 
It's a long, long way, I bet it all today 
On a longshot deal 

Hey, hey Lover, it ain't nothing tragic 
No more drastic than a second thought 
And, I've been easy to read for a long time now 
Some kind of steady, ain't that what you bought? 
I ain't going nowhere, I've got nowhere I'm longing to be 
'Cept wherever you are, that's wherever I'll be 
It's a longshot deal, Baby, You and Me 
I bet it all today 
On a longshot deal, Baby, You and Me 
It's a long, long way, and a longshot deal 
Baby, You and Me
We Used To Look Like That

I see 'em sitting at a table, they're right in front of me 
Her chin is on his shoulder, he's got his hand upon her knee 
I came to hear the band begin and, maybe, find some company 
But, as I sit and watch this scene unfold, I'm attacked by memory 

I can see desire burning as she stares into his eyes 
And, though he tries to play it cool, I know he feels the same inside 
I remember countless barrooms, countless tables where we sat 
And, I wonder did we used to look like that? 
Yeah, I wonder did we used to look like that? 

You never told me, Darling, when it all began to fade 
But, I don't forget the friends we had and the plans that we all made 
We don't talk that much no more, I wonder did we let them down? 
And, i wish that I could tell them, Darling, why you're not around anymore... 

I'm driving down the avenue, and right in front of me 
I see a couple in a car, I see him slam the steering wheel 
It looks like she is crying and it looks like he is mad 
And, I wonder did we used to look like that? 
Well, I suppose it's true we used to look like that 

I still don't know what happened 
It still feels so incomplete 
When we met and when you left, both times 
You knocked me off my feet 
And, I suppose you were unsatisfied, but I'm trying to understand 
How we ever let ourselves end up like that 
'Cause I never thought that we could look like that 
But, I suppose it's true we used to look like that
Every Single Turn

You are the one I would've wanted 
The one I would've longed for from afar 
But, you wouldn't have even noticed me back in them days 
'Cause it was older dudes and cigarettes and cars 
Now, every time I hear them old songs 
From pop radio of our early teenage years 
I feel the yearning of a young kid 
In the backseat waiting for the chance to steer 

You spent them years in Minnesota 
I lived in Cleveland so far away 
I think it's just as well back then I didn't know you 
See, I think I probably would've been afraid 

To say much to you as your beauty blossomed 
And, with it, all the confidence that came 
And, I know I would've noticed you at every single turn 
Wondering if you even knew my name 

I think it's funny how the passing time can be a friend 
See, that ain't how I tend to view it, usually 
But, if it wasn't for the passing days and the passing years 
You surely wouldn't be sitting here with me 
I hear them songs, they make me think of younger days 
Days I wish I could've spent with you 
Some would say that things just have a way of working out 
I'd say that if you're lucky then they do 
Then, suddenly one fine Spring day I found you 
Always believed when I was ready that you would come 
Then the miles and years between us disappeared so easily 
We gave each other someplace to stop running 
You are the Beauty that I dreamed of 
You are the one I won't let go 
You are the Lover of my lifetime 
You are the Friend I've always known 

Since the days I would've been afraid to show myself to you 
Pent up and frustrated all the same 
But, I know I would've noticed you at every single turn 
Wondering if you even knew my name
A Small Stage

He ain't ever played the big stage, Darling 
'Cept for maybe a couple of times 
But, you can find him on a small stage, Darling 
Guess he's a small stage kind of guy 

The songs he sings, they will not make you move your feet 
Ain't no one dancing 'cross that floor 
Just a crew of regulars and a bunch of empty seats 
There ain't no lines outside that door 

He ain't ever played the big stage, Darling 
But, It ain't like he hasn't tried 
You can find him on a small stage, Darling 
A pint of beer and a tip jar to the side 

Ain't nobody ever said that he was the "latest thing" 
Quite likely no one ever will 
But, unlike most every "latest thing" that's come and gone 
He's up there singing for you still 

He ain't ever played the big stage, Darling 
Hell, he ain't even got a band 
But, you can find him on a small stage, Darling 
All alone with just a guitar in his hand 

Sometimes he wonders why he does it anymore 
But, he still gets nervous before every show 
Then it all makes sense once he starts singing that first song 
It's something he learned many years ago 

He ain't ever played the big stage, Darling 
But, what's a big stage anyhow? 
There's something truthful 'bout a small stage, Darling 
And a falling tree will always make a sound 
Nowhere to hide up on that small stage, Darling 
Yeah, a falling tree still always makes a sound
15th Love Song

He was still just a Kid with a pen in his pocket 
She was a Beauty just back from the Orient 
And, all kinds of mystery and stories behind her 
The Kid always believed he was destined to find her 

Old red brick buildings lining century streets 
Dappled light from the Sun shining down thru the trees 
In the curio shops, filled with treasures and songs 
She said she'd stay for a while, but she never said how long 
They kissed in the basement, she talked about politics 
He played her some Dylan, said he never got tired of it 
And, all of the best things she said for no reason 
Like "Let go of Anger" and "Don't hate the Season" 
And, "Why really hate anything?" and "Remember your Mother" 
"It's brave to be truthful" and "Just consider the other..." 
"Jealousy's poison, just consider the other..." 

'Neath the trashpaper news and the gathering flies 
The flash of a tragedy before the eyes 
Never lacks for attention, at least at the start 
But, quickly forgotten, 'less you're playing a part in it 
Or, got something to say and the time for to say it 
If you ain't got the time ain't that something to think about, Darling 
If you really don't care ain't that something to consider, Dear 

There's a house on the corner with nobody in it 
The neighbors walk by and they wonder what happened 
To the people inside and there's a crack in the window 
It lets in the wind and the rain and the snow 
And the Summertime bells from a distant cathedral 
Everything looks a little bit different when somebody needs you 
Yeah, your whole world can change all at once when somebody needs you 

There's always a Kid with a crush on a Girl 
Everything looks a little bit different from inside your world 
When somebody needs you...
Best of Luck

So, you say you want something new 
I guess you think you're quite original 
I think you're clever, but wasted, too 
And, I don't know if you're forgettable 
You search for something you think will last 
You tell me minutes go by so fast 
I say it's all in the way you use 'em 

Writers sing, singers act, and actors write 
Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference 
Now, you stand here after all this time 
And make me question all my confidence 
You know I never had all that much 
I only trust in what I can touch 
And, a couple things I know are real 

I see you on the street 
You've got your pencil and your black beret 
It's not so often that we meet 
And, you don't realize there isn't much to say 
You always played the safest bet 
But, it ain't got you nowhere yet 
Saving pennies thru a hurricane
​
Mishaps & Mistakes

You were used to being looked at, Darling, I could see that it was true 
As I'm sitting here, across from you, inside this room, I'm looking, too 
I am not shy, Baby, I'm looking, too 

What'd you learn from him I ask you, you say "Everything and Nothing" 
I say, "Darling, I wish that you could hear me now" 
Hear me now, hear me now, hear me now 
Yeah, just once again somehow 

But, no matter if you hear 'em, I will own these words I sing 
They mean just what I want 'em to, y'know, they might mean anything
And, maybe, i am not the player that I want to be, but, I dig the one I am 
I am, I am, I am, yes, I dig the one I am... 

I wish you Patience and the Time to learn it, Darling 
I wish you Time, I wish you Time, I wish you Time 

Maybe, finally I'm the singer that you wanted me to be 
But, if I have slept in weeks, my Dear, it comes as news to me 
Yeah, if I have slept at all, Dear, I must be just too tired to see 
I'm too tired to see... I must be just too tired to see... 

I thank you for allowing me my mishaps and mistakes 
I should've been home early, Darling, now it's getting really late 
I know it's late, it's late, it's late 
Yes, it's getting really late 

I take comfort in some places that I shouldn't, Dear 
But, I could always take comfort in you 

If we only get one Season, shouldn't we try to be extreme 
Least something to remember 'stead of something short of dreaming 
Like a hidden Saint among Us, Lazarus without a bed 
Is it a Fable or a Deal dancing visions in your head? 
But, I will love you Here instead... 

If you always feel outnumbered, Babe, ain't it hard to get some rest 
And, if you're scared of being forgotten that ain't some sin you must confess 
When I think of where we're headed, Darling, it's always to the West 
Always to the West, into the Sun, always to the West 

So, now I'm fighting 'gainst the darkness, Darling, searching for the light 
I'm fighting 'gainst the darkness, Darling, searching for the light 
I'm always fighting 'gainst the darkness, I'm just trying to get it right...
​
Snake Oil

"Snake Oil, Snake Oil come and get you some!" 
"Snake Oil, Snake Oil 'cause I got a bunch!" 
"Snake Oil, Snake Oil step right up!" 
"Snake Oil, Snake Oil all you need's a gulp" 
"You can mix it with the whiskey in your coffee cup!" 

The oil's been around for a thousand years 
Handed down from the pharaohs and the ancient seers 
Yeah, it's been around forever, it's heaven sent 
They used to sell it from the wagons and the circus tents 
Now, it's late-nite television, strip malls, and the internet 
Yeah, you can get it from me on t.v. or the internet 

Roots and herbs from a foreign land 
Make the blind man see, make the lame man stand 
Make the coward brave, a boy a man 
It used to be you couldn't, but, now you can 
With some honey and some oil taken straight from the serpent's gland
Yeah, some honey and some oil taken straight from the serpent's gland 

I never had the inkling for medical school 
Too many numbers and too many rules 
But, I've got my intuition, I've got a hunch 
I could fix whatever's hurting with a little punch 
I've got the oil from the serpent, Darling, and the magic touch 
I've got the oil from the serpent, Darling, and the magic touch 

I moves around a little, moves around a lot 
I never stay in any single place too long 
So, get it while I got it 'cause I'm leaving town 
It seems like somebody from somewhere always follow me around 
IRS, FDA, FBI or the lawyers for the AMA 
CBS, CIA, I'm just trying to help the people, but it's getting harder everyday
American Kid

Sleeping in on Sunday mornings as the neighbors went to church 
And, the countdown on the AM radio 
I guess I made the confirmation, but, it didn't mean much to me 
Just a temporary place I had to go 
At the retreat, she was older, but, she was nothing like a Saint 
Though, I still remember everything she did 
So, Condemn me, or Forsake me, Criticize me, or Embrace me 
I was just an American Kid 

Drinking beers outside the bars, after closing time was called 
We were not ambitious, we had no place else to be 
We were young, the Summer long, the cops they were not hard to dodge 
And, I played guitar 'neath her sister's balcony 
I sang my songs like no one else could, but, I don't think she even cared 
Though, my blood dripped off of every word I said 
So, Condemn me, or Forsake me, Criticize me, or Embrace me 
I was just an American Kid 

So, I wandered for a while, left everything I knew behind 
Everyone except the Trusted and the True 
I cast my fate into the Northern Wind, I did not know where I might land 
I took a chance, Babe, but I was counting upon you 
If I told you that I always do my best would you believe me? 
Or, would you leave me wandering where I stand? 
So, Condemn me, or Forsake me, Criticize me, or Embrace me 
I am just an American Kid 

Even looking backward, Dear, you know the view ain't always clear 
Though, it's plain to see I made some big mistakes 
If I could do it all again, you know, my Love, I can't pretend 
I'd know what to give back and what I'd try to take 
But, there ain't nothing black or white, Dear, though there are things worth fighting for 
And, if pressed to choose, I can only hope I would 
Condemn me, or Forsake me, Criticize me or Embrace me 
'Cause I am just an American Kid
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