HOW YOU HEAL

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LYRICS

How You Heal
Verse 1:
You could see the hurt in the cowboy’s eyes
Like a thunderhead in a clear blue sky
Twas a lonesome winter and a cold late Spring
Now it’s time to heal when the grass turns green

At the brandin’ pen ‘neath the snowy peak
On the reservoir road toward Otter Creek
Swing a leg on a bronc; feel the mountain wind
Build a big wide loop and let the fun begin

Chorus:
That’s how you heal a cowboy’s heart
Drag a slick new calf to the brandin’ fire
Thank the Lord above that you’re where you are
That’s how you heal a cowboy’s heart

Verse 2:
He was his youngest son; he was a damn good hand
He was just a boy but so much a man
And there will always be an emptiness inside
All a man can do is saddle up and ride

Repeat Chorus

Bridge
There is healing in the mountain’s church
There is peace for the hearts that hurt
There are pardners all you that you can and cannot see
Taste the dust, smell the sage, let it be

Final Verse
In the rearview mirror as you drive away
Stands a memory of a sacred day
A field of branded calves means a brand new start
That’s how you heal a cowboy’s heart
That’s how you heal a cowboy’s heart

Middle Age Cowboy
Verse 1
Doin’ what he can to survive chasin’ his tail from 9 to five he’s gonna go to a rodeo on the weekend
He married a girl from in town she swore that she’d settle him down but he’s got a wild side and a desire to ride that won’t end
And he’s too much in the bottle and he’s way too into cattle
And he’s tryin’ to be a father but when he’s six feet in the saddle

Chorus:
He’s a modern day middle aged cowboy
He’s caught ‘n’ dallied hard to his glory days
Ropin’ and ridin’ while his whole life goes glidin’ by him
Better to burn out than fade away
He’s just a modern day middle aged cowboy

Verse 2:
She wants him to build a new house He wants to buy some more cows and build a few new stalls on the barn for his new horses
She wants to travel someday, he wants to take her away to some old rodeo somewhere they’re on separate courses
And she’s too much in his business and he won’t ever listen
She’s swears that she’ll be gone by Christmas he promises she’ll miss him

Repeat Chorus

Instrumental Final

Chorus Breakdown

First Half

Highway to Nogales
On the highway to Nogales in the Arizona rain
On the way to Hermosillo with a kilo of cocaine

Verse:
My name is Milo Thomsey I’m a cowboy from Killeen
On the Arizona desert I have worked since seventeen
But the Drug-Lords and Banditos have a ransom on my life
And I will gladly pay to save my children and my wife
The border men and Sheriff they were nowhere to be found
When the son of Escondido fell into the creek and drowned
I rode and tried to save him as I dug his shallow grave
Another smuggler saw me and now I’m the one they blame

Verse:
Was an old retired bandito used to cowboy on the Bell
He was brought up in the shanties and his childhood days were Hell
So he worked for Escondido bringing drugs across the line
‘Til he swore a vow of silence if he smuggled one last time
And he told me they would kill him if I told them how I found
The home of Escondido and his Becatate compound
So I’m bound for Hermasillo with his money and his drugs
Only God now can deliver through the border and his thugs

Verse:
I told her I was leavin’ and she knew I had to go
Our lives and half-blood children would be gone like desert snow
I gave her all the money that I had left to my name
Said “If you don’t make it to Prescott then my life will be in vain”
I filled up the gas tank of my beat-up dirty truck
And looked deep into her dark eyes one more time for better luck
I’ll see my love in Prescott or else on the other side
Then I steeled myself to take this midnight ride

Verse:
At the iron gates of the compound by the high adobe wall
I recalled the son of ‘Dido how made his fatal fall
As the gates began to open and I slowly made it through
The guards were all around me and a rifle butt came through
The shattered glass and shouting was the last thing I recall
Til I woke ten hours later on a cold adobe wall
And sitting there before me in a three-piece linen suit
Was the man called Escondido wearin’ alligator boots

Verse:
So I told him what had happened and that I was all alone
When the cut-bank broke beneath his son and turned him into stone
I did not tell the lawmen and I’d never tell a soul
The drugs that I’ve returned to you are a token of my role
And I give my fate to you now but I beg you for the life
Of my black-hair, brown-eyed daughters and my sweet Apache wife
And the room it turned to silence but the pounding of my head
And I stared at Escondido for I knew that I was dead

Verse:
Then he said I built a business out of honor and I see
That a man of honor hangs here on the wall in front of me
I will give you life and freedom and the lives of those you love
And you make your vow of silence and you never more speak of
The son of Escondido and my Becatate home
The bravery you’ve shown by coming here alone
Then they drove me to the desert with a band around my eyes
And I burned three days and wandered neath the Becatate skies

Verse:
On the highway from Nogales through the Arizona rain
From the Becatate Mountains where a man could go insane
In the back of an old pickup with Tequila in a crate
I am thinking of my family and my miracle of fate
There’s a .45 colt pistol in my jeans upon its end
And a black-eyed girl in Prescott that I long to see again
And the sky is hot and empty out upon the desert ground
And the wheels upon the highway make a lonesome dreary sound

Twenty and Cowboy
Verse 1:
Somewhere tonight on Big D Double L
You’re watchin’ the sun goin’ down
There’s a chill comin’ on but the fire’s burnin’ well
As you look out across hallowed ground

There’s a coyote dancin’ along Mackie Draw
There’s a Golden Hawk perched on the wire
There’s a bedroll a waitin’ for your head to fall
As you stare deep into the campfire

Chorus:
And I’ve been camped where you are
And I’ve wished upon the same star
And I would give every last penny I’ll spend
If I could be twenty and cowboy again

Verse 2:
On an old Textan saddle with no buckin’ rolls
And a hand me down shank snaffle bit
And a rawhide reata that’s too long to hold
And a pair of old chinks that don’t fit

It’s seventeen miles from the Highway across
To the head of the summertime range
And there’s no one but you and the crew and the boss
And there’s nowhere to hide if it rains

Repeat Chorus:

Bridge:
I’ve got a place of my own And I’ve got a woman I love And I am never alone But sometimes that just isn’t enough

Final Chorus

American Blue Eyes
Verse 1:
American blue eyes take me away on the wings of a sweet memory
On a hot summer night off of old Combe road where your love like the wind flowed free
I was chasin’ a dream I was chasin’ my tail I was playin’ your heart all the while
And you were in love but I didn’t care lovin’ one girl wasn’t my style

Chorus:
On a faraway star I send up a wish
That I could turn back the time somehow
I told you that I didn’t love you back then
And I don’t love you now
I still don’t love you now

Verse 2:
American blue eyes I’m so far away from the wild one I used to be
On a cold winter night twenty years down the road with a job and family
I’m still chasin’ a dream and still chasin’ my tail now I’ve laid everything on the line
Is it you that I miss and your innocent love or the freedom that I left behind?

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:
Still see you cryin’ in that cold September rain
And neither one of us has ever been the same Verse 3:
American blue eyes take me away on the wings of a sweet memory
On a hot summer night off of old Combe road where you told me you’d always love me
You swore that you’d always love me

Fair Weather Cowboy
Verse 1:
I’m just a fair weather cowboy
A top hand when it’s sunny warm and clear
I’ll be the wooliest wildest buckaroo
But only when the summertime is here, or near

When that big ol’ sky is bright and blue
I am the man you should employ
But I’ll be gone when that autumn wind blows through
Cause I’m just a fair weather cowboy

Verse 2:
My ol’ hoss is cowhorse born ‘n’ bred
He likes draggin’ calves and ropin’ steers
He’ll sort and gather in beautiful weather
Then turn out to pasture for nine months of the year

Long as it ain’t dusty dry and hot
Ridin’ him is fundamental joy
We’ll give you ev’rything we got if it ain’t rainin’
Cause I’m just a fair weather cowboy

Verse 3:
If you ask me them cowpokes they’re all crazy
To sit upon a horse out in the rain
If it was me I’d go in and watch a western movie
And lament how I am just like old John Wayne when its sunny

Cause when that big ol’ sky is bright and blue
I am the man you should employ
But I’ll be gone when that autumn wind blows through
Cause I’m just a fair weather cowboy
Cause I’m just a fair weather cowboy

The Mountain is My Mistress
Verse 1:
I could see the longing look in your eyes
This morning when I kissed you all goodnight
And I know you want and need me here at home
And you wonder why I leave you all alone

Chorus:
The mountain is my mistress
And she’ll always come between us
And I’m wrapped inside her arms tonight
In this Idaho wilderness
I’m faithful to you more or less
But I’ve gotta get this off my chest
It’s somethin’ girl you’ll just have to accept
The mountain is my mistress

Verse 2:
There are some things that are too hard to explain
And I never meant to cause you so much pain
And I know that it’s not right to lead her on
But with the changin’ of the weather I’ll be gone

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:
And I know that she’s tearing us apart
And it’s killin’ me to know that I am breakin’ your heart

Final Chorus

Mono
Mono was the smallest of the foals that year don’t know how he stayed alive
Early spring blizzards kept the snow deep here yet somehow he survived
We had to separate him from the broodmare herd
He would’ve starved to death out on that lower third
And he was thin boned and pigeon toed but gentle in his eyes
And somehow he survived

I started Mono in the Spring of 95 I was seventeen and he was two
I’d work him from the ground and then I’d steal a ride he was learnin’ I was too
He bucked me off in the round pen once or twice
Stepped on my hand once and we fell down on the ice
But he started growin’ and his feet got straight and true
He was learnin’ I was too

We gathered cattle for the Bar B in the fall I rode him hard every day
Through shale rock canyons he gave his all and just got better in every way
He’d pin back his ears and bite an ornery cow
He was ready next mornin’ to go again somehow
And by the time the winter came I can honestly say
We were one in every way

I started college that semester in the Spring little Mono stayed at home
I rode Mono every night in my dreams while he waited all alone
I came home and branded cattle for my Dad
Little Mono gave me everything he had
When I went back to school again it hurt me to the bone
Little Mono stayed home

I met a girl that year and we fell in love and got married in the Fall
Goin’ to school and workin’ there was never time to ride little Mono at all
I sold him to a cowboy on the ALL
Heard Mono slipped and broke his neck when they fell
And now every time I saddle up a horse I can recall
How little Mono gave his all

I am a father now and life is hard and fast chasin’ children and their dreams
This world is changin’ and I long for the past and a simpler life or so it seems
I think of ridin’ Girtsen canyon in the Fall
I think of little Mono and how he gave his all
And I can’t find the words to say how much that memory means
But I still ride him in my dreams

The Dell
Verse 1:
It’s a little like Heaven south of the Dell
In the middle of April though you’re a hundred hard miles from Hell
And the mayhem traffic and the urban yell
Fades into silence south of the Dell

In a bar top trailer there’s a range bred horse
He’s a half blood mustang; he’s a wild unyielding force
When you start to gather you begin to gel
But it can get a little western south of the Dell

Chorus 1:
If it rains all night it’ll be dry by noon
There’s a strange blue light ‘neath the last blood moon
And the bawlin’ babies brand-burned to Hell
Like a choir from Heaven south of the Dell

Verse 2:
Dust devil goes dancin’ cross the Valley of the Skull
Toss a wind-burned penny down a dry stock well
Push a first-calf heifer to the brandin’ pen
To the edge of the world and back again

Chorus 2:
If it rains all night it’ll be dry by noon
There’s a strange blue light ‘neath the last blood moon
And your circlin’ pardners man they ride so well
They’re a picture of heaven south of the Dell

Bridge:
Cedar Mountains heal me hold me in your dry and barren hands
Urban poisons kill me; transfuse me with the blood of the land
Final Verse:
Take a drag on the free wind south of the Dell
If you don’t make it back again I’ll see you in Hell
On the eastbound freeway through the urban yell
Heaven will be waitin’ south of the Dell

Cowgirl Dreams
Verse 1:
Well you’re up before the sun workin’ hard on an old rail line
Life’s got you on the run always broke always runnin’ behind
And you’re upside down in an LQ trailer
Rather live in town than ever fail her
Brother I know just what it means

Chorus:
To be chasin’ cowgirl dreams
And there ain’t no in between
Win or lose it’s the road you choose
To be the best Father you can be
Everytime she spreads her wings
You’re chasin’ cowgirl dreams

Verse 2:
She’s got your same blue eyes but even brighter on a buckskin mare
And like a golden hawk she flies with the wind through her long blonde hair
And you’re upside down in love with the girl
With the breakaway rope she’s the center of your world
And brother I know just what it means

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:
So run like a train my friend
Saddle up when you get back home
Never doubt yourself again my friend
You are not alone

Verse 3:
When winter comes again and the rodeo season’s done
You can take a little time off then knowin’ she is the only one
That could ever tame an old bronc fighter
Whisky bended roughstock rider
Brother that’s you in a tighter pair of jeans

Final Chorus

Mama Bair
Verse 1:
Fightin’ cancer, fight the weather, fight the law, find the answers to the questions of life
Sunday mornin’ at the Gypsum Ward find the Lord as a sheep rancher’s wife
Raisin’ sons, raisin’ daughters, raisin’ Hell when they fell short of what she expects
Changin’ times, changin’ weather, changin’ ways, just ain’t nothin’ she could ever accept

Chorus:
And that Colorado highway ain’t a likely home
For a woman and a family livin’ there
She’s got a heart of gold and a will that’s made of stone
And you don’t ever mess with Mama Bair
Don’t try to second guess my Mama Bair

Verse 2:
There’s a new snow fallin’ on a cold November morn’ and a cowboy haulin’ bucks straight through the storm
She can hear him callin’ from a broken mobile phone so she sets out to save him all alone
Raisin’ lambs, raisin’ grandkids raisin’ hay ain’t the easy way to live but you find love
In the sacred land, and in the children that you raise, in the sheep and on the mountain above

Repeat Chorus

Verse 3:
Takin’ chemo and takin’ it like a man helps you understand your precious life
Back to the ranch to see if you can make a hand standin’ strong as a sheep rancher’s wife
Raisin’ sons, raisin’ daughters, raisin’ Hell when they fall short of what she expects
But you’ll find love a deep and neverending well in the heart of this woman of the west

Final Chorus

The Houndsman
Verse 1:
You’ll search forever for tracks in the snow
Waiting for winter ‘til it’s time to go
You’ll leave a good woman; take a good dog and horse
Leave her to worry all day and all night without remorse

New snow has fallen upon blood red cliffs
The mountains stand silent; the air clean and crisp
The bay of the walker is a song to your heart
That beats like a war drum every time you hear the song start

Chorus:
So Houndsman keep ridin’; away from your demons
The times they are changin’; you’re still up there dreamin’
These mountains and canyons that you love the most
Are dark and enchanted; you’re chasing a ghost

Verse 2:
They don’t understand you and they never will
The thrill of the chase is more than the kill
It’s something inside you that you can’t explain
It’s deeper than love, what love that you’ve known; it’s sharper than pain

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:
And freedom waits behind locked gates
The cattle are gone; the whole world’s movin’ on
It’s wild open country that you know so well
These mountains are haunted-but they’re Heaven
The cities are Hell

Final Chorus

She Could’ve Married A Cowboy
Verse 1:
She wrote him and told him goodbye
While he was off servin’ a mission
He came home and went back to cowboyin’
Now she’s forty years old and still wishin’
When dawn breaks tomorrow on Utah
He’ll saddle up once again
Hit that long trot through the canyon
She’ll wake up a wonderin’ about him

Chorus:
Singin’ I could’ve married a cowboy
But I broke a good cowboy’s heart
Now whenever I pass Heiner Canyon
I wonder where and how on earth you are
The life that I chose is a good one
But between all the pain and the joy
I guess that I’ll always wonder how it would be
If I married a cowboy

Verse 2:
At the twenty year high school reunion
She put on her best Sunday dress
She waited but he never came
Too busy out tamin’ the west I guess
The old flame burned down to ashes
And ashes blow hard on the wind
She longingly woke up the next mornin’ after
A wonderin’ and wishin’ again

Repeat Chorus

Knight On A White Horse
Verse 1:
There’s a knight on a white horse ridin’
Through the day and the dark to get home
From the battlegrounds where he was fightin’
To the woman he left waitin’ alone

There’s a cold hard wind upon his shoulder
There’s a ragin’ storm across the plain
There are mountains and deserts left to cross
Before he sees her again

Chorus:
Like the knight on the white horse ridin’
There is nothin’ in the world I wouldn’t do
For the hope and the promise of this family
I will always make it home to you
I will always come back home to you

Verse 2:
And I know you’ll be up all night a waitin’
Wonderin’ how I’ll make it home alive
Thinkin’ only the worst of news is comin’
Hopin’ and prayin’ I’ll survive

But the white knight wields the sword of God
And Faith is his everlasting shield
Love is his shining suit of armor
And a soldier’s heart is made of iron will

Repeat Chorus:

Bridge:
Bound by love that is Eternal
Sealed by promises we’ve made
There are legions of Angels all around us
That listen close to every word you pray

Final Verse:
There’s a knight on a white horse ridin’
Through the day and the dark to get home
From the battlegrounds where he was fightin’
To the woman he left waitin’ all alone

A Better Friend
Verse 1:
Through the phone I can hear the pain inside your voice
The same I’ve heard inside my own when I didn’t have a choice
You say the years and long hard miles have fin’ly taken their toll
Nowadays you come down hard when you used to tuck ‘n’ roll
Wild colts and lightnin’ bolts still dance inside your mind
But when a storm breaks loose on a young cayuse you’re just step behind

Chorus:
But I know who you are
And I know there’ll never be
A better man, a better hand, a better friend to me

Verse 2:
I listen to the stories of your life out in these hills
And through your eyes I always find a little iron will
To stand against the winds of change and go the extra mile
To treat my fellow man in kind with an honest word and smile
And sink a spur even when it hurts and always do my best
Never be afraid to wear my heart out on my chest

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:
Ain’t it time for some else to ride them green-broke colts
Take some time out for yourself and the woman that you hold
She’s got a heart of gold

Verse 3:
So take the easy trail back home there’s nothin’ left to prove
Wannabees like me come free but there’s damn few left like you
Sell your colts and your broken bones and buy a grown up horse
There’s no shame in givin’ in as nature takes its course
Wild colts and lightnin’ bolts still dance inside your mind
There’s a man looks just like you ropin’ mustangs inside mine

Final Chorus

Wolf Reaper
Verse 1:
Well the battle of the wolves is on
The north woods is their home
Where the Wapiti and Shiras used to run
They were once many thousand strong
Now the black bear is all but gone
And who will save the West there is but one

From deep in the Bitteroot Range
To the tips of the Selway Crags
The ghost wolf reaper rides his secret line
In those dark black timbered hills
He studies old wolf kills
Trying to restore what’s yours and mine

Chorus:
OOOOOh Ahhhhh Somewhere the ghost wolf reaper rides
OOOOOh Ahhhhh Until the last damn gray wolf cries

Verse 2:
You’ll never hear his name
He searches not for fame
For he’s seen the cow and calf elk on the run
Brought down in their own blood
To drown in crimson mud
And he won’t stop until the war is won

Think of him what you will
A man that lives to kill
Or is he more a man that lives to save
The last great roaming herds
Of wild things on the earth
What forty years of conservation gave

Repeat Chorus

Bridge:
And as another wolf pack cries
Their chorus sounds like demons in the night
Politicians sold on lies
But the west will not go down without a fight
Final Chorus

HOW YOU HEAL is the twelfth original studio album from Cowboy Singer/Songwriter Brenn Hill. Inspired by a life in and a love of the West, Hill continues to give great insight to the indomitable spirit of the Cowboy and the high and lonesome corners of the last American frontiers.

Surrounded by some of the music industry’s finest instrumentalists, Brenn’s confident performances reflect an undeniable passion for his music and the people and places that inspire him. The title track, “How You Heal”, is a poignant tribute to a Utah Ranch Family reeling in the wake of tragedy. In its haunting refrain, we learn “how you heal a cowboy’s heart”. There is “healing in the mountain’s church” and “peace for the hearts that hurt”. It is the song that Brenn calls his “greatest work yet.”

“Modern-Day, Middle-Age Cowboy” is a tribute to the forty-something cowboys that are torn between the life they long to live and the obligations of a growing family. “Twenty and Cowboy” is a look back at the wonder and optimism that a young cowboy experiences as he hires on for his first job in the saddle. “The Highway To Nogales” is the story of a brave cowboy’s desperate plea to a Mexican Drug Lord and his odyssey through the Sonoran Desert. “Mono” gives insight to the depth and strength of the kinship between a cowboy and his working partner – the horse. “Knight On a White Horse” honors fatherhood and the integrity of family, while “Wolf Reaper” and “The Houndsman” give real insight to the men who spend their winters chasing the great predators of the West.

HOW YOU HEAL is a recording that covers a broad range of themes, none more prominent than a pure love of the land. It is both a look back and forward from an artist that knows what it takes to survive, thrive, and find love in the rugged and beautiful mountains and plains of the American West. Order your CD today!

CUT-BY-CUT (The story behind the songs)

01 How You Heal
 There’s a set of corrals at the bottom of Otter Creek that’s full of calves in the Spring. The Weston Family invited me to the brandin’ pen just a few months after losing one of their own in a truck rollover accident. “A field of branded calves” meant a brand new start for a significant Utah ranching family. It was a day I’ll never forget.
02 Middle Age Cowboy
 For my friends that refuse to put down the rope at any cost…this song is a tribute to the “modern day, middle-age cowboy.”
03 Highway to Nogales
 This one is spun from a book I read and the tales I’ve been told by ranchers and cowpokes on the Southern Arizona border. A Texas-raised puncher makes a brave delivery to save his family from a ruthless drug Lord. Think this never happened…?
04 Twenty and Cowboy
 We sent our oldest son off to Deseret Land & Livestock for an adventure with the Hooper 3rd Ward. It was his first trip to the mountains by himself and on top of being a little nervous about it, a part of me really wanted to be there. This song takes a look back at when I was Twenty and Cowboy.
05 American Blue Eyes
 On a cold winter night I found myself rolling along “Old Combe Road” in South Ogden remembering warm summer nights and a teenage romance. Oh how O-town has changed…
06 Fair Weather Cowboy
These days, it takes a little more than a good mount to make me a helluva hand.
07 The Mountain is My Mistress
The time I spend away from my family on the road is one thing, but to turn around and leave again the name of R&D is a hard sell sometimes. This one is a confession of sorts I guess. And may there always be another adventure.
08 Mono
Always in my dreams I’m on a little brown and white paint. He’s older now and a little less prone to booger. The weather is always good and it’s just me and my old pard and there’s nothin’ to do but ride.
09 The Dell
The Dell is one of the last exits before the salt flats out on I-80. The range stretches far to the south below the old cedar mountain range. The corrals by the highway are a good place to brand. The blood moon phase sheds an eerie light across the valley.
10 Cowgirl Dreams
Quinn Stark has appeared in more than a couple of my tunes. He’s a former rough stock rider and all around good guy. I nominate him for Jr High School rodeo Dad of the century.
11 Mama Bair
The Bair family ranches just east of Glenwood Springs. To know them is to love them. Mama Bair takes her shot of chemo and heads back to the ranch to make a hand. There’s a load of grit and love in her heart. She is a true woman of the west and the Bair ranch will always offer you a good adventure. www.highcanyonranch.com
12 The Houndsman
My cousin and a couple of my closest friends spend a good chunk of their winters chasing mountain lions. This song commemorates some great times on the mountain looking for tracks and listening for the bay of an old hound dog. Bring on the winter.
13 She Could’ve Married A Cowboy
When ‘Little Isaac’ left for his mission, I asked him if he had a girlfriend. We were looking down over China Town into Toone Canyon. It was his last day in the saddle on the range before he left for Philadelphia. And the rest is history.
14 Knight On A White Horse
With so much controversy surrounding the legal definition of the family, I set out with pen and guitar in hand to confirm my stance on this issue. My beautiful wife and family are the greatest gift God ever gave to me.
15 A Better Friend
When Briggs was “in-the-stuff” and on his back in the hospital, legendary cowboy and packer Ross Knox called about every other day to check on him. A few years down the road, after a bad wreck, I could hear a similar pain in Ross’s voice when I called to check on him.
16 Wolf Reaper
The ‘northern woods’ refers to the Selway-Bitterroot, the Kootenai, and the other mountain ranges of the west that have been wrongfully infested with a larger more aggressive Canadian Gray Wolf. Ranges that once were teeming with large ungulates are now quiet and empty as the packs enlarge and run deeper into the timber. But those who live there know the legend of one who rides to save the west.

SPIRIT RIDER

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    LYRICS

    Spirit Rider

    Verse 1:
    Well I know you can’t imagine ridin’ on alone
    Carryin’ on this ranch on your own
    Now the winds of change are blowin’ and the winter’s settin’ in
    And you look like you have lost your best friend
    And you’re feelin’ like the good times are all gone
    And you wonder if its time for movin’ on

    Chorus 1:
    But the Spirit Rider’s comin’
    On a white horse through the sky
    Give your horse his head and run him
    Brother don’t ever ask why
    I’m the angel on your shoulder
    I’ll be ridin’ alongside ya
    You will always be my brother
    Now I’m your Spirit Rider

    Verse 2:
    Well there ain’t no use in wishin’ you could hear my voice again
    Just listen to the cold Wyomin’ wind
    I’m the blue sky in the summer I’m the colors of the Fall
    I’m the horses you love most of all
    And if you really want to feel me close to you
    Go and do the things we loved to do

    Chorus 2:
    Cause the Spirit Rider’s comin’
    On a white horse through the sky
    Give your horse his head run him
    Brother don’t ever ask why
    I’m the angel on your shoulder
    I’ll be ridin’ alongside ya
    You will always be my brother
    Now I’m your Spirit Rider

    Bridge
    Carry on this family brand
    If you ever need a hand

    Final Chorus
    From Spotted Bear Montana to Nez Perce Idaho
    I am free Lord I am free
    Turn me loose and set me runnin’ on Elk City Wagon Road
    I’ll be free Lord I’ll be free

    The Land of No Return

    Verse 1:
    Through the veil I can see my family’s tears
    I can feel the depth of sorrow as they mourn
    For my body lies in ruin ‘neath a stand of Douglas Fir
    And from their arms for mortal life I have been torn

    But I lived strong and I loved deeply on the earth
    I chose the road of righteousness and truth
    And I held the girl that loved me; prayed for the one that gave me birth
    As I smiled and bid farewell to my own youth

    Chorus:
    So let me fly again on unbreakable wings
    We will meet again in the land beyond all dreams
    And though my life is over there’s no need for you to mourn
    There is peace here in the land of no return

    Verse 2:
    So live your dreams for I am living beyond mine
    I know now just how the mystery unfolds
    Believe in God’s eternal plan and know that I’ll be fine
    With the love of my life here for me to hold

    And praise the land where I took my final breath
    May those Salmon River Mountains ever stand
    For I lived a life of freedom and I died a cowboy’s death
    And there’s nothin’ more to ask of any man

    Repeat Chorus

    Guns A Blazin’

    Verse 1:
    You have cause to wonder how much I love you
    The time has come for you my son to finally hear the truth
    You are what I live for and everything I do
    I do because I love you and I know you love me too

    Chorus:
    And I yell from the sidelines of the game that you call life
    And I always love you though you won’t always be right
    For the rest of forever or until my days are through
    I’ll come runnin’ guns a blazin’ just to prove my love for you

    Verse 2:
    The signs are all around us the world is changing fast
    You are living proof to me God saved his best for last
    The way you treat the ones you beat with honor and respect
    The way you stand tall in defeat may you never forget

    Chorus
    That I yell from the sidelines of the game that you call life
    And I always love you though you won’t always be right
    For the rest of forever or until my days are through
    I’ll come runnin’ guns a blazin’ just to prove my love for you

    Bridge:
    And I know I don’t always say the things you need to hear
    But you can hear how I love you every time I stand and cheer
    And for the rest of forever or until my days are through
    I’ll come runnin’ guns a blazin’ just to prove my love for you
    I’ll come runnin’ guns a blazin’ just to prove my love for you

    Hill Family Song

    Verse 1:
    We have been saved for these latter days
    We have been made to follow His way
    There may be times we might turn in despair
    But He is always there

    Chorus:
    We will go on
    And we will not fall
    And we will not run
    We will be strong
    Through the darkest night
    We’ll stand and fight
    Through the deepest pain
    Our love remains
    And we will go on

    Verse 2:
    This battle of life
    Rages outside
    So we face the storm
    We’re ready to ride
    And there may be times
    We must stand on our own
    But we are never alone

    Repeat Chorus

    Bridge:
    The day will come when we will be with Him again
    But until then

    Final Chorus

    Tag
    We will go on
    We will go on

    Daddy’s And Daughters

    Verse 1:
    What am I gonna do with a little baby girl
    I don’t know the first thing ‘bout how you see the world
    I never had a sister I don’t understand my wife
    Now I’ve signed up to love you for the rest of my life

    Chorus:
    Daddy’s and daughters
    Cowboys and Angels
    It’s a love so true
    There’s nothin’ I won’t do
    For two sweet arms around my neck
    And a kiss upon my cheek
    Little girl you’re everything to me

    Verse 2:
    You’re growin’ up so fast and I really don’t know why
    I’ll hold you forever or until you wanna fly
    Cause everything that’s right and good and innocent and true
    Is sittin’ here right next to me and livin’ inside you

    Repeat Chorus

    Bridge:
    So take my hand and hold on for dear life
    It’s a big mean world so cover up your eyes
    And dream those dreams that every little cowgirl dreams
    Little girl you’re everything to me
    Little girl you’re everything to me

    Ballad of Sim Weston, Jr

    Verse 1:
    They arced on the highway one October mornin’
    When that renegade bay dropped his head without warnin’
    With two oncoming semis in either direction
    We reigned up to witness the fate of Simmie Weston

    Chorus:
    While off to the west over Monte dark thunderclouds gathered
    With his spurs deep in flanks it was clear that nothing else mattered
    With nothing to spare in time’s narrow portal
    We all turned to see Simmie Weston become immortal

    Verse 2:
    They were frozen in time; they were framed in blue lightnin’
    And I knew in my mind he’d die tryin’ to fight him
    As an oncoming semi laid hard on the horn
    I saw the eyes of that bronc become lost and forlorn

    Chorus
    While off on the soft grassy shoulder a thousand black cattle
    Bellowed in rhythm with thunder a song for the battle
    At the last fleeting moment in time’s narrow portal
    The bay horse decided Simmie Weston’s immortal

    Verse 3:
    Some men speak of legend I’ve told you no tale
    The greatest bronc fighters would die rather than fail
    But he rides today through time’s narrow portal
    Through the Deseret sage…Simmie Weston, the immortal

    Defenders Recording Company announces the release of SPIRIT RIDER, the eleventh studio recording from Singer/Songwriter Brenn Hill. Recorded at Spiral Studios of St George Utah and produced by Brenn Hill and Ryan Tilby , this Faith-Based collection of original songs and popular Hymns was released March 31st, 2015.

    Featuring one of the West’s most dynamic solo artists surrounded by some of the music industry’s finest instrumentalists, SPIRIT RIDER gives bold insight to western life, the land, and the perspective of the Christian Cowboy.

    “Spirit Rider” is a song that portrays the triumphant return of a fallen cowboy to his ranching family after a tragic and accidental death. “Guns A Blazin’” and “Daddies And Daughters” honor the deep love of a father for his children and “Land of No Return” reconnects an Angel with his family following a plane crash that left his “body in ruins ‘neath a stand of Douglas Fir.”

    Popular Hymns like “How Great Thou Art” and “The Rugged Old Cross” are Cowboy Church Classics recorded in contemporary form while Andy Wilkinson’s “Power In the Wind” and Red Steagall’s “One Empty Cot In the Bunkhouse” leave you with visions of the Texas Canyons that inspired them.

    If you love and long for the West, if the Mountain is your Church, and if Christ is your Beacon, SPIRIT RIDER will take you to high places.

    ODE TO SELWAY

    ODE TO SEGWAY

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    LYRICS

    Ode to Selway

    Verse 1:
    From the low-lying mountains to the Salmon River breaks
    I am free Lord I am free
    The MacGruder Road from Darby; headwaters of the Snake
    I am free Lord I am free

    Chorus 1:
    And I miss my home and family and the woman that I love
    But the spirit of The Lapwei runs through the land like blood
    And I’m leavin’ it behind me now for that’s how it has to be
    But I’ll return and I’ll be free

    Verse 2:
    The Black Bear and the Lion and the blasted timber wolves
    They run free Lord they run free
    The canyon winds and rivers clear and clean as polished gold
    They run free Lord they run free

    Chorus 2:
    And the world it keeps a changin’ spinnin’ faster all the time
    When a tired and troubled nation weighs heavy on my mind
    I can leave it all behind me and be just who I want to be
    And be free Lord and be free

    Instrumental

    Repeat Chorus 2

    Verse 3:
    From Spotted Bear Montana to Nez Perce Idaho
    I am free Lord I am free
    Turn me loose and set me runnin’ on Elk City Wagon Road
    I’ll be free Lord I’ll be free

    Final Chorus:
    When you see that crystal water you will never be the same
    You can disappear and wander in land never to be tame
    Leave your troubles far behind you come and ride along with me
    And be free Lord and be free
    And be free, and be free

    Breakaway Runaway

    Verse 1:
    She gathers slack on a Saturday night
    On a horse bred Lucky J Pine
    She spins his heels in the July dust
    And whispers ‘everything is gonna be fine’
    The price of diesel’s up a dollar fifteen
    Since they struck out in the Spring
    They broke left and she missed him clean
    All she can do now is cling to the dream

    Chorus:
    Of a Breakaway Runaway
    There’s another rodeo down a long dark road
    She’s far away from her Selway River home
    But she’s gonna bring the big money back one day
    She’s a Breakaway Runaway

    Verse 2:
    Her heart breaks at the sound of his voice
    Sayin’ “Mommy when you comin’ back home?”
    She whispers soon but she’s got no choice
    She never dreamed she could feel so alone
    But there’s a fire burnin’ deep inside
    And a new hope shinin’ in her eyes
    She was born to rope and ride
    From the Texas plains to the Selway skies

    Repeat Chorus

    Bridge:
    Her heart is flyin’ when the chute gate opens
    Horse is runnin’ like the Selway’s rollin’

    Final Chorus

    Blacktail Butte

    Verse 1:
    Nothin’ like the golden Camas Prairie in the Fall
    Stretchin’ to the canyons and the hills
    Catch that Old Blue Roani in the twilight before dawn
    With the whitetail buck a boundin’ through the fields
    Through the fields

    And it’s seven rocky miles to the meadows on the butte
    Where the fatties drift and mingle through the pines
    You dump out Old Blue Roani-he’s a frosty backed galute
    Thank goodness for the soft grass if you land on your behind

    Chorus:
    Up on Blacktail Butte it’s a high and lonesome feelin’
    Up on Blacktail Butte with the whipperwill a singin’
    Up on Blacktail Butte chase them fatties through the meadow
    Turn ‘em towards the two track on the muddy sawmill loop

    Up on Blacktail Butte you can hear the bull elk bugle
    Up on Blacktail Butte see the red tail and the eagle
    Up on Blacktail Butte chase them fatties through the meadow
    As you whoop an’ spur an’ spin an’ run
    Up on Blacktail Butte

    Verse 2:
    Twas just a dusty summer since we struck out in the rain
    Drove them skinnies up from down below
    Ol’ Quinney blew his latigo just off Kamiaih grade
    And landed in a pile of mud an’ snow
    Mud an’ snow

    He rode the long and windin’ road a shiverin’ to the bone
    Bouncin’ on that rusty old flat bed
    Climbed into his pickup and he lit a shuck fer home
    With a busted rib and goose egg on his head
    On his head

    Repeat Chorus

    Bridge:
    There’s somethin’ in the way those meadows move in the wind
    Somethin’ in the way the timber stands
    It’s somethin’ of a feelin’ when you ride along the rim
    And see a line o’ cattle wearin’ your old family brand

    Final Chorus

    Ridin' Job

    Verse 1:
    I still remember how it rained
    Still hear the whistlin’ wire
    I know we really haven’t changed
    Since our first brandin’ fire

    It’s such a long and windin’ road
    Through years of sacrifice
    If we knew then now what we know
    Would we still choose the life

    Chorus 1:
    We rode the Glory Trail my friend
    That leads right straight to God
    Still searchin’ everywhere west
    To find a ridin’ job

    Verse 2:
    You take the Baker Highway home
    To southeast Oregon
    You’d take it easy all alone
    But you are not alone

    Four hungry mouths you have to fill
    New dreams to carry on
    You’re just a buckaroo but still
    Your legacy grows strong

    Chorus 2:
    You ride the Glory Trail my friend
    That leads right straight to God
    Still searchin’ everywhere west
    To find a ridin’ job

    Bridge:
    And now the cities of the west
    They spread like prairie fire
    Still it burns deep inside my chest
    It is my one desire

    Final Verse:
    To saddle up at break of dawn
    And ride into the wind
    To see the west before it’s gone
    Once more with you my friend

    Final Chorus
    To ride the Glory Trail again
    That leads right straight to God
    Still searchin’ everywhere west
    To find a ridin’ job

    A Cowgirl's Goodbye

    Verse 1:
    Perkiset takes the edge off
    Ibuprofen takes the swell
    Ice packs upon these old broken bones
    Man I still feel like Hell

    I’ve had broken bones before
    I’ve been bucked off to save my life
    But the pain I feel it will never heal
    Your sharp tongue cuts me like a knife

    Chorus:
    And Hell hath no fury like a cowgirl’s goodbye
    It’s colder than the Norther blowin’ cross the Texas sky
    And it’s sharp like a dagger diggin’ deep into my side
    Hell hath no fury like a cowgirl’s goodbye

    Verse 2:
    I can’t run to chase you down
    And I won’t make it on my own
    When the night comes again the pain rushes in
    I’ll sober up and realize that you’re gone

    Repeat Chorus

    Bridge:
    You’ll be halfway to Oklahoma
    Just a whisper in that cold Panhandle wind
    I’ll be back on my feet in a couple of weeks
    But I’ll never be the same again

    Final Chorus

    The Ones That Changed Our Lives

    Verse 1:
    I can’t stand the news but I can’t walk away
    I hold the ones I love; I don’t know what to say
    I fall upon my knees and offer up a prayer
    For someone so far away somewhere

    Verse 2:
    I am a simple man I lead a simple life
    I do all that I can for my children and my wife
    But I can’t stop the world and I can’t guarantee
    A lesser fate will wait for them or me

    Chorus:
    There are days that change the times
    There’s a time to say goodbye
    There’s a place beyond the clouds where a precious angel flies
    Some things never change
    There are things that change us all
    This one’s for the ones that changed our lives

    Repeat Chorus

    Bridge:
    But we are not alone and loved ones never leave
    We will meet again if we just believe
    That love trumps tragedy in spite of what has been
    We will be with Emily again

    Final Chorus

    Brianna

    Verse 1:
    Brianna saddle up that pony and ride him one last time
    Before the winds of change blow you away
    Ride him ‘til you’re out of your troubled mind and everything will be okay
    I promise somebody hears the dreams you pray

    Chorus:
    And cowgirls and angels are one in the same
    And if you’re gonna be true you’re gonna have to be strong
    And if you find yourself all alone just whisper my name
    And hold on, hold on Brianna

    Verse 2:
    You know that somebody loves you more than you could ever know
    And everything that she does she does for you
    She can’t stop the risin’ tide of trouble in your life
    But she’ll do anything else that she can do

    Repeat Chorus

    Bridge:
    I can’t even stand to think of tears from your blue eyes
    So ride into the wind and let ‘em dry

    Final Chorus

    The Bristlecone Pine

    Verse 1:
    Staunch in conviction, hard twisted and ancient
    Surveying the world from its perch in the cold
    The bristlecone pine through millennia watches
    As new chapters open on stories untold

    It watched as our young ones were schooled in tradition
    And watched generations each march off to war
    Then watched as their soldiers returned broken hearted
    Just longing to sleep as they once had before

    Chorus 1:
    But war’s never over for mem’ry or dreams
    And, innocence lost ain’t important, it seems
    Oft woke being soaked through in sweat, fear and screams
    Which make both your head and heart pound
    You still drop at the stop of a sound
    Cuz you’re stuck on some old battleground

    Verse 2:
    The bristlecone whispers to wind in the valley
    The wisdom of ages that live on the shelf
    How humans are warlike by nature, and oddly
    The only real threat to their kind is their self

    They war over thought, and they war for religion
    They war for a prize just the size of a throne
    How many more young will they send off to battle
    Before they start helping the heart to get home

    Chorus 2:
    But war’s never over for mem’ry or dreams
    And, life ain’t as precious as claimed, so it seems
    Oft woke being soaked through in sweat, fear and screams
    In a pain worse than most can conceive
    Tryin’ hard to hold on and believe
    Feeling forgot and deceived
    Dying of PTSD

    Final Verse:
    The bristlecone whispers to wind in the valley
    Surveying the world from its perch in the cold
    Twisted and ancient, through millennia it watches
    As a new generation is readied for war

    It Wasn't California

    Verse 1:
    He wears an old gray sweat-stained hat
    With a Montana crease
    Pulled down low upon his eyes
    Gotta wonder how he sees

    He rides a Hamley A-Fork saddle
    Built in 1952
    And he swears that punchin’ cattle
    Is just what he was born to do

    Chorus:
    If he weren’t an old Vaquero
    And a two reign Hacka-Mormon
    You’d swear it wasn’t California

    Verse 2:
    Close the big steel gate behind ya
    Built by an LA millionaire
    Drive a mile past the home ranch
    You’re in Paradise somewhere

    Two track trail through live oak trees
    Cattle drift the golden hills
    The smell of ocean spray reminds you
    You’re in California still

    Repeat Chorus

    Bridge:
    And he can’t afford the taxes
    On a place to call his own
    And his truck won’t pass emissions
    And he can’t carry a gun

    Final Verse:
    So he hand braids horse hair bridles
    Just to pass the time away
    And he remembers California
    Before the sixties came to stay

    Final Chorus:
    And if it weren’t for the ocean
    And the rollin’ central coast
    And the live oak and persimmon
    And the canyons he loves most
    And if he weren’t an old vaquero
    And a two-reign Hacka-Mormon
    You’d swear it wasn’t California

    Salmon River Motel

    Verse 1:
    River riders wait for her
    Free and easy she is sure
    The Salmon River and her soul
    Come together where the rapids roll

    I’m a cowhand-a buckaroo
    Between the timber and Montana blue
    Now I wait for Friday night
    We’ll be dancin’ in the moonlight

    Chorus:
    At the Salmon River Motel
    Along the highway I know so well
    Heaven waits ‘neath Seven Devils
    At the Salmon River Motel

    Verse 2:
    She’s a taker; takes her time
    Makes me believe that she is mine
    But the Salmon River never ends
    Will she come back again

    Repeat Chorus

    Bridge:
    And it’s a lonesome drive on Sunday night
    Back to Missoula by first light
    There’s a river runnin’ through my mind
    And a girl I long to find

    Final Chorus

    The Rawhide Braider

    Chorus 1:
    Over two under two lay pull again
    I will teach you reata my friend
    Only good as what you will put in
    Over two under two lay pull again

    Verse 1:
    Scrapin’ hair off of hide he had skinned stretched and dried
    To cut braidin’ strings narrow and thin
    He taught me the trade in the cool Sunday shade
    The wisdom of more years than I’d been
    For decades he practiced the skill of the craftsmen
    For usable art he would strive
    His whisper to a world where nothing seems to last was
    Slow down no one gets out alive

    Chorus 2:
    Over two under two lay pull again
    I will teach you reata my friend
    Like a spirit they fly on the wind
    Over two under two lay pull again

    Verse 2:
    I spent most of my Sundays in his school of life
    He’d share of the things that he knew
    And I found that most guys that I had long idolized
    Learned their rawhide under him too
    Prepare the hide well the keep your blade sharp as Hell
    Damper the strings almost dry
    Take time to lay every string tight and straight
    And make somethin’ that’s worthy of pride
    That will live long after you die

    Final Chorus:
    Over two under two lay pull again
    I will teach you reata my friend
    One day we are all dust in the wind
    Over two under two lay pull again

    Angles in this Room

    Verse 1:
    The cold November chill
    Followed me at will
    Down the hall into my room
    That fateful night I first met you

    Now a warm Alaska sun
    Lights the night and makes us one
    I can’t believe I’m here with you
    But you believed in me and I believe it’s true

    Chorus 1:
    There were Angels in my room
    To show the way
    To get me through
    I don’t know where I’d be or what I’d do
    Without the Angels in my room
    One of them was you

    Verse 2:
    Let me feel the Kenai wind
    Let me dance with you my friend
    Let tonight go on and on
    From the midnight sun to the break of dawn

    Chorus 2:
    There’ll be Angels in this room
    To show the way
    To get you through
    I don’t know where I’d be or what I’d do
    Without the Angels in this room
    One of them was you

    Bridge:
    Can you believe how time flies?
    You’ll always be an Angel in my eyes

    Repeat Chorus 1

    50 Years
    (Ian Tyson lyrics) 

    Announcing the new release from singer/songwriter Brenn Hill, Red Cliffs Press is proud to present a collection of music that honors the great Selway Wilderness and beyond. Featuring twelve all-new, all-original songs and a cover of legendary Ian Tyson’s “Fifty Years Ago,”  (more…)

    NORTH POLE RODEO

    The official release of the long-awaited Christmas recording by Hooper, Utah-based Singer/Songwriter Brenn Hill. Recorded at Metcom, Studios in Salt Lake City, Utah, and produced by Brenn and multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire Ryan Tilby, this collection features Christmas favorites like “Oh Come All Ye Faithful”, “Silent Night”, and a honky-tonk version of “Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer”, as well as a few originals from Brenn like “Quinney’s Riggin’”, and “North Pole Rodeo.”

    NORTH POLE RODEO is the seventh release from Red Cliffs Press and the ninth recording from artist Brenn Hill.

    RODEO HEAVEN

    rodeo-heaven-large

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    LYRICS

    High Country

    Verse 1:
    I can’t think about my work today
    Even though I’m barely hangin’ on
    There’s a voice inside says “Run away…
    They won’t even know you’re gone”

    I’m a wildcat in a cage today
    Thinkin’ ‘bout the places I could be
    I don’t know how I can break away
    All I know is that I’ve got to break free

    Chorus:
    To the High Country
    Like the Mountain Lion
    In the Land of Eagles
    Let my soul unwind
    It’s my Rocky Mountains
    That you can’t take from me
    Let me find myself
    In the High Country

    Verse 2:
    There’s a trail up Granite Peak
    Hidden by the sagebrush and the wind
    You can hear the mountain speak
    It says welcome back my long lost friend

    Repeat Chorus:

    Bridge:
    And the future is uncertain for me
    For the places that I go
    Like the River of No Return you see
    Where the lost wind blows clean through your soul

    Verse 3:
    It’s a lonesome dream I know
    You might think I’ve lost my mind
    But there’s a hole inside your soul
    There’s a peace you long to find

    Final Chorus

    Hey Dawson
    Verse 1:
    Hey Dawson let’s ride again
    Up Franklin Canyon with our faces to the wind
    Let’s start at daybreak when the East is turnin’ gray
    Laugh about the ones that got away

    Hey Dawson let’s ride again
    Up the old red dugway and around the aspen bend
    Up on top of Timberfork and down the other side
    Let’s count our blessings as we ride

    Chorus:
    For the time’s a changin’ the city’s closin’ in
    Across that old cattle guard our troubles all begin
    My heart is broken I need a friend
    Hey Dawson let’s ride again

    Verse 2:
    Hey Dawson where the Hell you goin’
    Huntin’ season’s comin’ and there’s talk of early snow
    These old red canyons they won’t ever be the same
    Just by the mention of your name

    Hey Dawson I’ll write you a song
    But this time where you’re goin’ I can’t ride along
    From old Hunt’s Meadow to the dusty Echo side
    Those were the best times in my life

    Repeat Chorus

    Final Verse:
    Hey Dawson let’s ride again
    Paradise can’t hold a candle to the places we have been
    Beneath the endless shadows of majestic Lewis Peak
    Until They set my spirit free

    Final Chorus

    Courage In The Saddle
    Verse 1:
    My name is Bobby Adair listen to my tale
    It ain’t much of a story so you’d better listen well
    In Southeast Oklahoma when I was but a boy
    I ran many a match race and I never wanted more
    I believed then I could ride anything with hair
    Then one California mornin’ I found myself there
    At Los Alamitos Race Course in 1962
    Where the story starts and ends is where you find the dream comes true

    Chorus:
    Courage in the saddle
    Face into the wind
    You ride each time like you won’t live again
    If you’re gonna ride to win son it’s gonna be a battle
    You better have a heart of steel
    And courage in the saddle

    Verse 2:
    Anna Dial was ten to one in ’64 on May the 9th
    We were twenty-five-large richer when she crossed the finish line
    Night races at Bay Meadows ’68 to ‘73
    There never was a jockey who had won as much as me
    We were back at Alamitos in May of ‘84
    Thick fog down the straightaway, mud on the racetrack floor
    John Critter on “Face in the Crowd” turned left in front of me
    And the bottom side of runnin’ hooves was all that I could see

    Repeat Chorus

    Verse 3:
    Crushed my foot and ankle, my shoulder, and my face
    But my longin’ for the racetrack no surgery could replace
    So as a twenty year Outrider I’ll finally retire
    From the course at Alamitos the place I first caught fire
    And the years have passed right through me I’ll never be the same
    And the changin’ times and politics we ought to be ashamed
    For we’re short of field and horses Midwest jockeys they’re all through
    Where the story starts and ends is where you find the dream comes true

    Final Chorus

    Single Winter Rose
    Verse 1:
    Well the trail up Girtsen Canyon is covered in with snow
    I always dreamed that such a day would come my time to go
    With all our children gathered proud for the life I freely chose
    And on an old pine box you’d place a single winter rose

    For sixty years we did our best to make a house a home
    A woman’s life as a cowboy’s wife is too much time alone
    But down the trail I rode each night you waited here for me
    Now sittin’ here without you near ain’t how it’s supposed to be

    Chorus:
    And would you be a cowboy’s wife again
    The hard times and lonely days and nights that never end
    ‘Cause Eileen I still love you as the Good Lord only knows
    It’s time to say goodbye now with this single winter rose

    Verse 2:
    The kids are gathered round me now their children and our friends
    We’re singin’ songs and memories I hope it never ends
    There’s still so much we have to say about you and your love
    Lookin’ back I can’t help feel I never said enough

    We’ll put up your old saddle now your spurs hang on the wall
    The picture of our wedding day that I love most of all
    Little things I should’ve done Lord how the time it goes
    I honor and I love you with this single winter rose

    Repeat Chorus

    Tag
    The trail up Girtsen Canyon is covered in with snow
    I never dreamed that such a day would be your time to go…

    Finnigan
    Verse 1:
    Up Indian Canyon all the way down Argyle all the way down Nine Mile
    You’ll hear his name
    The drunks in the trailer park, Game Wardens ridin’ ‘round in the dark
    Doesn’t matter who they are
    They all love him just the same

    Chorus 1:
    They all say, “Hey Finnigan, it’s always good to see you again
    I still remember when you were drillin’ for coal
    You’re one helluva sawmill man so put a cold one in your hand
    And by the way Old Finnigan, Blake says hello”

    Verse 2:
    The fair at Emory County good folks all around me the conversation drowns me
    When he walks in
    The old rough coal miners and the dry land farmers young ‘uns and the old timers they all turn and
    say, “Hey there’s Fin!”

    Chorus 2:
    And they say, “Hey Finnigan, it’s always good to see you again
    I still remember when you were drillin’ for coal
    You’re one helluva sawmill man so put a cold one in your hand
    And by the way Old Finnigan, Brenn says hello”

    Bridge:
    I’ve been all around this wild and crazy world
    I’ve met folks from every walk of life
    The rich the poor the Jew the gentile boys and girls
    I’ve only met one woman I could ever call my wife

    Chorus 3:
    And there’s only one Finnigan it’s always good to see him again
    I’ve heard all the stories of when he was drillin’ for coal
    He’s one helluva sawmill man so put a cold one in his hand
    Then you tell Old Finnigan I said hello, Brenn says hello,
    You tell Old Finnigan, I said hello

    Bruneau Canyon
    Verse 1:
    I spent a night in the bunkhouse
    Down on Sheep Creek at Simplot #2
    Those black rock cliffs were all around us
    And the sky was a starry midnight blue

    Woke with the sunrise in the mornin’
    Desert sparrows singin’ through the brush
    I saddled Jasper in the lantern light
    And prayed I would make a hand that he could trust

    Chorus:
    In Bruneau Canyon
    Springtime brandin’
    Lonesome as the windy ‘Wyhee plains
    North of Elko
    Southeast Idaho
    The cold gray sky that never rains
    I thank God some things never change

    Verse 2:
    Ten thousand acres to a pasture
    We gathered heifers until noon
    With their babies a bawlin’ ‘long beside them
    They’d feel the brandin’ iron soon

    Owyhee Mountains on the skyline
    Horse sweat and leather on the wind
    Lone buckaroos driftin’ through the sagebrush
    I prayed the day would never end

    Verse 3:
    We branded through the afternoon
    Ate lunch out on the dusty desert ground
    Then me and Elvin trailed some old dry heifers
    Back to the old Sheep Creek corrals

    I loaded Jasper in the Sooner
    And bid my new found pardners Adios
    And I think about them to this day
    But it’s the deep, dark Bruneau Canyon I miss most

    Purple Heart
    Verse 1:
    Clearwater River never-ending canyon such a long way where you are
    On the trail of Old Chief Joseph to the cold Northern Prairie
    I hear you calling from afar
    Your Purple Heart and Bronze Star

    I walk the woods there behind your son my lucky rifle in my hand
    We laugh and wander like soldiers on the run
    Huntin’ down an outlaw Indian band
    To where they made their final stand

    Chorus:
    And Charlie can we talk about the war tonight
    Did you really kill 500 men
    Did their eyes glisten in the mortar light
    Would you go back there again
    With that damned old Agent Orange in your blood
    And that twisp of Old Montana in your scar
    Will you dig out that old Colt 45
    Your Purple Heart and Bronze Star

    Verse 2:
    Years on the mountain mappin’ out the Bob Morgan horses on the trails
    Them old canvas wall tents don’t hold out Grizzler Bears
    But that old pistol never failed
    And the best outfitter never tells

    Repeat Chorus

    Final Verse:
    Gotta go now I make my livin’ singin’ songs of men like you
    But this music business it’s like a war man
    They’ll kill a million ‘fore they’re through
    But my bullets fire red white and blue

    Final Chorus:

    A Mother's Love
    Verse 1:
    Look at me lookin’ down the children’s isle
    I feel your eyes upon me; I know I’ve been here quite a while
    And look at all these happy people with their children hand in hand
    Why the Lord took mine from me is somethin’ I won’t ever understand

    Chorus:
    But I want this suit and tie
    And I want these little shoes
    Cause when we say goodbye
    I want him wearin’ somethin’ new
    And you ask if you can help me
    Maam you can’t help me enough
    I’m here today to redefine
    A Mother’s Love

    Verse 2:
    He was so much like his Daddy but so much more like me
    And he fought ev’ry day for ev’ry breath he took and now he’s fin’ly free
    And tonight I’ll dress him up just one last time for family and friends
    One door closes one door opens they say death is not the end

    Repeat Chorus:

    Bridge:
    And there’s nothin’ you can say I’ve heard it all before
    Just ring me up I’ll pay now and then be out the door

    Final Verse:
    And you can go home to your family and kiss them all goodnight
    And know they’ll be there in the mornin’ and everything will be alright
    And when you send them off to school remember I’ll be sendin’ mine
    Back to his home in heaven and yeah I will be just fine

    Final Chorus:
    Cause I’ve got this suit and tie
    And I’ve got these little shoes
    So when we say goodbye
    He’ll be wearin’ somethin’ new
    And you ask if you can help me
    Maam you’ve helped me here so much
    I’m here today to redefine
    A Mother’s Love

    Just Gettin' Started
    Verse 1:
    Well you best leave me a message I might be on some pitchy old bronc
    Deep seat in the rockin’ chair doin’ the Honky Tonk
    I ain’t got time to kill ridin’ down the miracle mile
    I’m goin’ against my will son but I’m goin’ with a smile

    Chorus:
    And that Rodeo Heaven that’s where I’ve already been
    New York in ’57 and I’m a goin’ there again
    So don’t expect to find me teary eyed and broken hearted
    The Doc might say I’m dyin’ son
    Hell I’m just gettin’ started

    Verse 2:
    I been ridin’ broncs and bulls for damn near fifty years
    I’ve lived all your cowboy poems and I ain’t got time for tears
    They say rodeo will kill ya’ leave ya’ a broken down tired old man
    I been dyin’ for years I guess cause ridin’ bulls son is who I am

    Repeat Chorus:

    Bridge:
    And all them Honky Tonk Angels I almost hear them now
    And all my rodeo buddies are gonna carry me out
    Carry me out

    Final Verse:
    So when you feel one start to buckin’
    Dig a big spur in for Junior
    Me and the boys from the RCA
    Are gonna sit right back and join ya’

    Final Chorus:

    Rodeo Heaven
    Verse 1:
    Hey little cowboy they’re waiting for you
    Rodeo Heaven’s got somethin’ to do
    Wing-broncs and silver-horned bulls that can fly
    Rodeo Angels to sing through the sky

    Chorus:
    Life is a gamble for any and all
    Sometimes you turn out
    Sometimes you fall
    Sometimes the best you can do is hang on
    Rodeo Heaven’s where Angels belong

    Verse 2:
    Mommy and Daddy are takin’ it hard
    Though deep in their hearts they know where you are
    So stop for a moment as you’re passin’ through
    Cadillac Cowboy a flyin’ through the blue

    Repeat Chorus

    Verse 3:
    Take your wings with you sweet little child
    Jesus will hold you so meek and so mild
    Then when you hear that old Rodeo bell
    Climb on that wing-bronc and spur him like Hell

    Repeat Chorus

    Benny
    Verse 1:
    Salt packin’, mule-skinnin’, son of the Sage
    I’m tall in the saddle here beside you
    But just a city boy from another day and age
    Awestruck with wonder as we ride through

    Sweetwater stories of Great Basin Buckaroos
    I’m lost in the tales that you tell
    Life is a dusty trail you wouldn’t always choose
    A little bit of heaven and a little bit of hell

    Chorus:
    Benny can you take me to the top of the world
    The Eastern Sierras where the mountains and the sky
    Come together forever like old friends in the wind
    Benny can you take me there again

    Verse 2:
    Don’t get your lead-rope caught beneath that horse’s tail
    Don’t rein him up hard if you do
    This is the canyon I remember oh so well
    When I was a wooly buckaroo

    My Basquo Father was New Mexican clean through
    He taught us horses all along
    I love my Linda and my baby Bonnie too
    Maybe you can put them in a song

    Repeat Chorus:

    Bridge:
    Benny I don’t understand the changin’ of the times
    Why little boys get cancer why the Hell did mine
    Benny I don’t think I ever want to go back home
    I wanna ride here with you til the river turns to stone

    Final Chorus:

    The Buckaroo Fringe
    Verse 1:
    Feel again another Spring wind
    The snow disappears on the Southern Rim
    Air him out in the fields when the mornin’ ice thins
    Load him quiet and tight ‘fore you shut him in
    Take a ride down the alkali road
    Put your hand in the air ‘til you cover this load
    Unload at the state line cross
    Where the last winter snow will catch ya’ if you get tossed

    Chorus 1:
    Then you ride on through the meadow
    Where the real free world begins
    And it’s cold out here on the Buckaroo fringe
    Yeah it’s still cold here on the Buckaroo fringe

    Verse 2:
    Settle in to the old long trot
    There’s a summer ahead ‘til you see what he’s got
    In the brandin’ pen on the black-rock slide
    And the trail and the gather on the long divide
    Green buds on the aspen stand
    Feel the tension rise with a loop in your hand
    Now you turn back to the state line cross
    With a fire in your heart and a pretty good hoss

    Chorus 2:
    And you ride back through the meadow
    Cleansed of all your sins
    And it’s cold out here on the Buckaroo Fringe
    Yeah it’s still cold here on the Buckaroo Fringe

    Bridge:
    We come alive in the early Spring when we’re tired ridin’ circles in a little round ring
    And it’s in the blood of the Buckaroo heart to be out in the world when it makes a new start

    Final Verse:
    Sun settin’ down the Centerline Road
    With a mud-track freezin’ in the twilight glow
    And a Dunn colt kickin’ on the last bend home
    At the end of his first ride out alone
    Turn him out in the stone corral
    Where he kicks and knickers at his long lost pals
    Then you close the gate and let the night begin
    And it’s cold out here on the Buckaroo Fringe
    Yeah it’s still cold here on the Buckaroo Fringe

    Carissa
    Verse 1:
    Carissa don’t you remember me there
    Flat on my back by that old rockin’ chair
    With tears in my eyes and tubes in my arm
    And my Mommy close by a keepin’ me warm

    Carissa I waited the whole winter long
    For you to come back and sing me a song
    The Spring and the Summer they beckoned you home
    You left me lonesome a singin’ alone

    Chorus:
    Carissa I carry your song in my heart
    I’m a survivor
    We’ve both come so far
    And now you are married I know he loves you
    Always remember that I love you too

    Verse 2:
    Carissa I’m ridin’ my horses again
    I walk on my own though I fall now and then
    They say that miracles happen you know
    Hold onto my memory never let go

    Repeat Chorus

    Verse 3:
    Carissa I love you I’m lettin’ you go
    Go make your life now while I learn and grow
    And someday I’ll marry a sweet girl too
    Carissa I hope that she’s so much like you

    Final Chorus

    Horses In Heaven
    Verse 1:
    Allie I’ll be around
    Close when you need me
    Close as the sound
    Of teardrops fallin’ down slow
    Sweet little princess
    Don’t you know

    Chorus 1:
    That if there are horses in heaven
    Dapples and Sorrels and Bays
    Quarters and Ponies
    Trotters and Paints
    Round ones and skinnies
    Short ones and tall
    If there are horses in heaven
    You won’t have to miss me at all

    Verse 2:
    Mommy this is your song
    Sing when you need me
    I’ll sing a long
    Like a cool breeze across your sweet face
    Or sun on your shoulder
    That once was my place

    Chorus 2:
    And if there are puppies in heaven
    Fast ones and shy ones and strays
    Spaniels and Collies
    Boxers and Goldens
    Round ones and skinnies
    Short ones and tall
    If there are puppies in heaven
    You won’t have to miss me at all

    Bridge:
    Maybe some days
    Days that we all used to love
    Christmas and birthdays
    That will be more than enough

    Final Chorus:
    Cause if there are horses in heaven
    Dapples and Sorrels and Bays
    Quarters and Ponies
    Trotters and Paints
    Round ones and skinnies
    Old ones and new
    If there are horses in heaven
    I’ll be here waiting for you

    RODEO HEAVEN is the eighth recording for Hill and the sixth under the Red Cliffs Press labeland produced by Brenn and his multi-instrumentalist cohort Ryan Tilby. It features veteran guitarist Rich Dickson and legendary Spokane, Washington bluegrass percussionist Bart Olson.  Hill penned fourteen all-new songs for the album which largely commemorates the immortality of one of the world’s most iconic figures-the cowboy.  “Live” studio recordings feature Brenn playing and singing surrounded by all-star musicians and capture raw emotion and dynamic energy with no auto-tune or studio tricks in chain.

    EQUINE

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    LYRICS

    Equine

    Verse 1:
    Stormy throws her head
    She don’t like the sound of lead
    Rippin’ through the sky on a cool clear autumn morn’
    She high trots back home
    She can’t stand to be alone
    And she’s been that way since the day that she was born

    Chorus 1:
    But I love her anyway and I wouldn’t trade a single day
    Of ridin’ for another day to be alive
    The wind in her long black mane
    She’s the only thing that keeps me sane
    The only way today a cowboy can survive
    Equine…

    Verse 2:
    A mind all his own
    Old Bud was as hard as a stone
    And he threw me to the ground a dozen times or more
    Runnin’ down the road
    Cussin’ cause I’d just been throwed
    All the way back to the old brown double barn door

    Chorus 2:
    But I loved him anyway and I wouldn’t trade a single day
    Of ridin’ for another day to be alive
    The wind in his long gold mane
    He was the only thing that kept me sane
    The only way today that a cowboy can survive
    Equine…

    Bridge:
    There’s a fire burnin’ in me still
    And a cold, hard-iron will
    To get back on no matter how hard I fall
    And I think of them days sometimes
    To ease my troubled mind
    Ev’rytime my back’s up against a wall

    Verse 3:
    He’s one tired, old paint
    He’s a little less can than can’t
    And I see the hesitation in his eyes
    I lift a little saddle on
    He kicks him in the sides and they’re gone
    And Lord I can’t believe how the years go by

    Chorus 3:
    And how I love that little boy
    Ridin’ high like Gene and Roy
    Fadin’ like a hero into that western sun
    The wind in his thick gold hair
    I close my eyes and for a moment I’m there
    The only way today a cowboy can survive
    Equine…

    Back's Against The Wall
    VERSE 1:
    So you left your Daddy’s ranch
    To make a livin’ on your own
    A herd o’ cows 
    And a mortgage on a home
    And now you’re out ridin’ broncs
    So you can pay the bills
    Busted up and travelin’ alone

    Hays up in the fields
    Needs cuttin’ before the rains
    Your wife’s knocked up
    And your tractor is broken down
    Your Old Man feeds your horses
    And cusses you on the phone
    Says you oughtta find a steady job in town

    CHORUS:
    So turn ’em out
    And dig ’em in
    I pray the Lord tonight you win
    Yer missin’ teeth, yer busted arm and all
    No guts
    No glory
    A hundred years and it’s the same old story
    You’re at your best when your back’s against the wall<

    VERSE 2:
    Remember those good times we had
    Sellin’ beer for Rick Makris
    He always had a case inside his truck
    Then you went straight for a mission
    And I cried at your farewell
    All I could say was goodbye and good luck

    Now we’re both pushin’ thirty-five
    Lucky we’re both still alive
    For the rank horses and the
    Crazy women we’ve knowed
    I’ve seen you down and out before
    And then come back to win
    But I wish I could help you shoulder your load

    Repeat Chorus

    FINAL VERSE:
    Well some might call that ride damn lucky
    But I know you’re the best
    That little mare can buck
    But she can’t fly
    A thousand dollars don’t go very far
    Health insurance and a second car
    But somethin’ tells me somehow you’ll get by

    Repeat Chorus

    Casey's A Cowboy

    Verse 1:
    The oldest of three
    And it’s plain to see
    That his life ain’t been hard
    But it sure ain’t been easy
    The little gray mare
    She started to buck
    He came up off the ground
    And called it hard luck

    Chorus:
    ‘Cause Casey’s a cowboy
    Right down to the core
    He’s blood, sweat, and grit
    No less and no more
    And the times might get tough
    As tough are the times
    But Casey’s a cowboy
    And he’ll do just fine

    Verse 2:
    His daddy don’t say much
    If it comes to a fight
    The old family quarrels
    The wrongs and right
    And the twelve hour days
    And hay on the ground
    And the family troubles
    They don’t get him down

    Repeat Chorus

    Bridge:
    I don’t wonder why you worry long
    He holds it all in-he won’t say what’s wrong
    I don’t doubt that you’d take all his pain
    To make it alright
    And I’d do the same

    Verse 3:
    But there’s an unwritten code
    He’s lived all his life
    He’ll shoulder this load
    And still love his wife
    And horses and troubles
    They get broken with time
    And Casey’s a cowboy
    And he’ll do just fine

    Final Chorus

    The Ballad of Ed Cantrell

    Verse 1:
    There’s a whole lot of holes in Sweetwater County
    The jackrabbits and the coyotes run
    The Red Desert rolls on forever
    Blood red in the settin’ sun
    The marijuana and the cocaine highway
    Federales couldn’t keep it clean
    State troopers start off the right way
    But big money’s just a lawman’s dream

    Chorus:
    And there’s a whole lot of holes in Sweetwater County
    One lone deputy upheld the law
    He was a black-belt in Quan Do Karate
    And a master of the old quick draw
    He gave ’em hell
    Ed Cantrell

    Verse 2:
    Was a long drive down to the Silver Dollar Bar
    He said take it slow Sargeant Callas you drive
    He saw a crooked smile in the rear view mirror
    Or he might have made it home alive
    But as Rosa reached down for his ankle gun
    Cantrell saw the flash through the thunder head sky
    He was spitten lead before the crash of thunder
    A thirty-eight special right between the eyes

    Repeat Chorus:

    Verse 3:
    The jury found Ed Cantrell not guilty
    Though some say he should’ve died in jail
    He went back to Sweetwater County
    Ready to take on the whole cartel
    The cattle rustlers and the low-dive dealers
    Sweat bullets when they heard his name
    The money and drugs quit runnin’
    He was one for the lawman hall-of-fame

    Repeat Chorus:

    Verse 4:
    So to all of you criminals and two-bit outlaws
    You drug runners and murderin’ thieves
    You might go scott-free in this life
    But you better watch out when you leave
    Cause if you’re headed where the brimstone burns and boils
    At the hot, black, gapin’ jaws of hell
    There’s a five-star standin’ with a thirty-eight pistol
    It’s gold-badge deputy Ed Cantrell

    Final Chorus

    Tag:
    There’s a whole lot of holes in Sweetwater County…

    Wild Weber River

    Verse 1:
    Another high water summer
    I feel her again
    A rush of passion and wonder
    Like a warm summer wind
    The taste of high mountain rain
    Fallin’ sweet off her cheeks
    Somewhere between pleasure and pain
    When that old memory speaks

    Chorus 1:
    And when the days turned to evenin’
    And the hot August sun fell down
    We’d drive to that place in the canyon
    And make love to the sound
    Of the Wild Weber River

    Verse 2:
    It was the summer from heaven
    How could I think it would end
    I went on back to Wyomin’
    She went to college with her friends

    Chorus 2:
    But when the days turned to evenin’
    And the hot August sun fell down
    I’d think of that place in the canyon
    Where we made love to the sound
    Of the Wild Weber River

    Bridge:
    So much time gone
    I’m still livin’ on the edge
    All I see lookin’ down from this bridge

    Verse 3:
    Is just the high rollin’ water
    Catchin’ the high mountain rain
    It disappears down canyon
    I’ll never see it again

    Chorus 3:
    But when the days turn to evenin’
    And the hot August sun falls down
    I drive to this place in the canyon
    Think of love; hear the sound
    Of the Wild Weber River

    Rachel's Roses

    Verse 1:
    Ten years ain’t a very long time
    When it’s all that you’ve had
    And there’s no easy way to break that kind of news
    You take the good with the bad
    She took the reins of a strong, fast horse
    She let his hair be her own
    And through the hardest of times he was there
    She was never alone

    Chorus 1:
    And the days ran long sometimes
    And the nights longer still
    Her Daddy lifted her up to ride
    But it was her iron will
    That cancer couldn’t kill

    Verse 2:
    Tonight she has turned twenty-five
    One good cowboy at her side
    And he thanks God that she made it through alive
    And together they will ride
    In a little house on an acre of land
    Old rose bushes ’round the yard
    She takes the reins of that same strong horse
    But she don’t ride him quite so hard

    Chorus 2:
    And the days will go by so fast
    The future God only knows
    I close my eyes and I think about the past
    When I see Rachel’s Roses
    When I see Rachel’s Roses

    Verse 3:
    I have my own cross I must bear
    I have my own twist of fate
    Doubt like cancer grows in my mind
    Sometimes I feel so afraid
    I take the reins of a strong, fast horse
    I let her will be my own
    And through the hardest of times she is there
    I am never alone

    Final Chorus:
    And the days will go by so fast
    The future God only knows
    I close my eyes and I feel so blessed
    When I see Rachel’s Roses
    When I see Rachel’s Roses

    Hell On Yer Women

    Verse 1:
    Watched my buckskin and my saddle and my day bags and my gun
    Rollin’ ass over tea-kettle down into the mornin’ sun
    She was bent and she was twisted she was bruised up in the back
    We were half-an-hour scoutin’ down the hill for broken tack
    We were halfway up Red Mountain we were full of grit and oil
    And I was bound and stone determined not to let that roundup spoil
    So I kicked her in the gizzard and I pulled up on the reins
    And climbed back up into the saddle ‘spite of all her aches and pains

    Chorus 1:
    And it ain’t that I don’t love ‘er ’cause the Good Lord knows I do
    And I’ll be on her or beside her right up ’til my days are through
    But if you’re gonna be a cowboy better heed your inner forces
    ‘Cause it’s hell on yer women and it’s harder on your horses

    Verse 2:
    She was cradlin’ my baby she was in her rockin’ chair
    And he was noisily a nursin’ ‘neath the tendrils of her hair
    And I just had to break it to her I was out o’ job again
    When I get back from buckarooin’ I will find some more work then
    ‘Cause we were off and we were runnin’ Heiner Canyon in the fall
    Tall, dark timber golden aspen ‘neath the red rock canyon wall
    Cattle rollin’ down the meadows mamas-babies hear ’em cry
    Brings a burnin’ to your bosom and a tear drop to your eye

    Repeat Chorus

    Bridge:
    I can stand here before you I can look you in the eye
    And say I’ll never be a rich man and I know the reason why
    ‘Cause I’d trade fancy trucks and money
    I’d trade power, I’d trade fame
    For one more day of buckarooin’ on a horse that’s halfway lame

    Final Chorus:
    And it ain’t that I don’t love ’em cause the Good Lord knows I do
    And I’ll be on ’em or beside ’em right up ’til my days are through
    But if you’re gonna be a cowboy better heed your inner forces
    ‘Cause it’s Hell on yer women and it’s harder on your horses

    Hey Little Isaac

    Verse 1:
    Hey, Hey little Isaac/Carry that old shed horn
    All the way to the cabin/Where your Grandpa was born
    Down in Heiner Canyon/’Neath that red rock wall
    And the sortin’ pen/Where you saw your Daddy fall
    It’s a cool spring mornin’/It’s a far, far cry
    From the world that’s changin’/Fast as the days go by
    Better cinch your saddle/Better hold your reigns
    Better ride like hell/Through the winds of change

    Chorus:
    Hey little Isaac there’s a family brand/On a runnin’ iron passin’ into your hand
    Six generations that depend on you/Gonna be some hard times
    Gonna be a wreck or two

    Verse 2:
    When you fall down hard/And your life goes by
    And you’re layin’ on a rock/Lookin’ through the sky
    With a son of your own/Fightin’ back his tears
    Holdin’ onto your hand/Will you have no fear
    For the life you’ve lived/Ridin’ tall and true
    On the sacred land/That the Lord gave you
    Can you take what comes boy/Can you pass it on
    Can you be who you are son/And let the world move on

    Repeat Chorus

    Bridge:
    It ain’t so much he’s livin’ right as he’s got more to do
    Hey Little Isaac he depends on you

    Final Chorus

    Still Your Little Cowgirl

    Verse 1
    It’s a long way from Saddleback to Sunset Boulevard
    And the bright lights of the city hide the stars
    And there’s always somethin’ pressin’ you; someone you need to call
    But Daddy I’d give anything to be there where you are

    Chorus
    In Colorado
    It doesn’t seem like long ago
    I rode beside you
    And Daddy I love you
    Now California
    The weather’s so much warmer
    But tonight I miss you
    And Daddy I love you
    I’m down here on top of the world
    But Daddy I am still your little cowgirl

    Verse 2
    You’re a long way from the little girl that you once used to be
    But you always said my dreams could all come true
    I always hoped that Steamboat Springs had all you’d ever need
    Now after all this time I feel there’s more for me to do

    Repeat Chorus
    Bridge
    City lights
    Hollywood Hills
    You are there
    But my heart is still
    Final Chorus

    Nothin' In This Life

    Verse 1:
    One foot in front of the other
    One day at a time
    Another round of chemo comin’
    It gets to be a grind
    The sun’s out
    The springtime’s comin’
    He wants to go outside
    He may never walk again
    But he will ride…
    A little sorrel mare called Jessie
    A long way from home
    The little boy she used to carry
    Has left her all alone
    The sun’s high
    Over Franklin Canyon
    She wants to go outside
    He may never walk again
    But he will ride…

    Chorus:
    And they are two hearts in need of somethin’
    That only they can provide
    A cowhorse and her little cowboy
    Waitin’ to reunite
    The will to live
    The will to ride
    It’s a powerful force
    There’s nothin’ in this life worth doin’
    That you can’t do on a horse

    Verse 2:
    I don’t have a crystal ball
    I’m not a PhD
    You won’t get to be rich and famous
    Hangin’ around with me
    But I believe that
    God’s a cowboy
    And that He understands
    A little boy so sick and tired
    Needs a special friend

    Repeat Chorus

    Verse 3:
    Stem cells and radiation
    Another second chance
    They say that life is that which happens
    While makin’ other plans
    My story has a happy ending
    For all the tears we’ve cried
    You don’t have to walk my friend
    To be able to ride

    Final Chorus

    With A Whisper

    Verse 1:
    Show me the ways of horsemen
    Rope halter, snaffle, and bosal
    Screw me down tight on the buckers
    I wanna ride this colt through hell
    Tell me the Roughrider’s secrets
    How to 9-1-1 your latigo
    To cross her feet in a tussle
    When to hang on when to let go

    Chorus:
    You are a modern contradiction
    You hold to the ways of yesterday
    You wooly buckaroo
    I wish I was you
    You say all there is to say
    With a whisper

    Verse 2:
    Soft-mouthed and always lookin’ for you
    I see obedience in her eye
    Her ears are ever-leanin’ forward
    Between the desert and the sky
    With a fancy wild-rag ’round your neck
    Jingle-bobs are singin’ outta tune
    Just you and her until the sun sets
    Here upon the far Owyhee moon

    Repeat Chorus

    Verse 3:
    Show me the ways of horsemen
    Rope halter,snaffle, and bosal
    Teach me the Roughrider’s secrets
    I wanna ride this colt through hell

    Where the High Meets the Lonesome

    Verse 1:
    Where the high meets the lonesome with my face into the wind
    Lookin’ out across the canyon I remember what has been
    In the sky like the eagle on the mountain like the deer
    When I’m longing for freedom I can always find it here

    Chorus:
    And the distant thunder echoes
    Like the troubles in my soul
    We turn tail to the wind
    And listen to it roll

    Verse 2:
    Where the high meets the lonesome I am looking in the mirror
    And my sins and my burdens wash away when I am here
    In the sky God is watching o’er the mountain where I stand
    It is here we can commune and I know He understands

    Chorus 2:
    And when the distant thunder echoes
    Through the canyons of my soul
    I can feel His sweet embrace
    And we listen to it roll

    Verse 3:
    Where the high meets the lonesome I look the devil in the eye
    He is deep in the canyon; he is always standing by
    But I fly like the eagle and I run like the deer
    Where the high meets the lonesome he can never touch me here

    Ridin' Them Colts

    Verse 1:
    Damned old cowboy you’re broken again
    Just a quiver and a change on the wind
    And you’re pullin’ out leather and cussin’ in vain
    Tryin’ to stand through the pain
    Damned old buckskin all full of the fire
    She’s like moonlight aglow on the wire
    Soft in the round corral gentle and light
    Then she decides to fight

    Chorus:
    And all that you are comes down to horses
    Old childhood dreams and unexplained forces
    Sometimes you’re the bottle that holds lightin’ bolts
    But you’ll be a dead man if you don’t quite ridin’ them colts

    Verse 2:
    One good woman and two little boys
    Still its horses that bring you true joy
    Now you’re down on your back again perkeset high
    Stoned like the look in your eye

    Repeat Chorus

    Bridge:
    Man can you feel that burn in your shoulder
    When will you realize that you’re gettin’ older

    Final Chorus

    Monster On Your Back

    Verse 1:
    Listen up
    I’ve rode this mountain seventy years I’ve been alive
    Choked on rocks and rattlesnakes a wonder I’ve survived
    Don’t think I haven’t had a bronc like you try me
    Ev’rytime he thinks a monster is hidin’ ’round a tree

    Chorus 1:
    Well the monster’s on your back son better try to understand
    The cowboy that you’re fightin’ now was born to this here land
    One day you’ll earn your scars and all the fearlessness you lack
    Don’t worry ’bout the things that you can’t see
    The monster’s on your back

    Verse 2:
    Now hear this
    I’ve rode through howlin’ hell and wind and snow and rain
    I am oblivious to misery and pain
    That iron in your gizzard it will never go away
    So long as you got work to do today

    Chorus 2:
    And there’s a monster on your back son get your guts up off the trail
    We got a job to do I promise we won’t fail
    One day you’ll earn your scars and all the fearlessness you lack
    Don’t worry ’bout the that ornery Charlais bull
    The monster’s on your back

    Bridge:
    You think that if you buck me off that I won’t get back on
    You could stomp me in the ground and I’ll be gone
    You think that this old man ain’t tough like he once used to be
    Try me one more time and you will see

    Final Chorus:
    There’s a monster on your back son better start to understand
    The cowboy that you’re fightin’ now was born to this here land
    One day you’ll earn your scars and all the fearlessness you lack
    ‘Til then you’re gonna have to trust in me
    The monster’s on your back

    Carter Cedars

    Verse 1:
    It’s hard to imagine at this very place and time
    But there are better days ahead
    I’ll sing you a song to try to ease your troubled mind
    Take you far from this hospital bed
    When September comes again this will all be far behind you
    And nothin’ out there to remind you

    Chorus:
    And we’ll saddle up in the golden sun
    With miles to ride before the day is done
    We’ll bring your Mommy but you won’t need her
    We’ll shoot a badger in the Carter Cedars

    Verse 2:
    It’s hard to believe all of the hell that you have seen
    All of the pain you have endured
    You’re probably the toughest little boy there’s ever been
    You are an army with the Lord
    But when September comes again I’m gonna take you by the hand
    Do all the things that we have planned

    Chorus:
    And we’ll saddle up in the golden sun
    We’ll trade your pain in on a whole lot of fun
    Good things happen to the true believers
    We’ll shoot a badger in the Carter Cedars

    Bridge:
    You been my little shadow since the day you said my name
    Until you’re well I’ll be the same

    Verse 3:
    I’ve never loved someone the way that I love you
    I see the world straight through your eyes
    I’ll never hurt again the way I’ve hurt for you
    I’ll never understand just why
    Though September is a long way down this dark and dusty road
    And you’ve got such a heavy load

    Chorus:
    We’ll saddle up in the golden sun
    And ride side by side though we will be as one
    Mother Nature can be kind if that’s how you treat her
    We’ll shoot a badger in the Carter Cedars
    We’ll skin a badger in the Carter Cedars

    The Power of Prayer

    Verse 1:
    Of all of my dreams
    The one that means the most to me
    In a hospital bed
    Scared half to death
    And all of my life
    Goes dark as the night and I finally see
    What matters the most
    I hold him up close
    All of my fears
    Runnin’ like tears from the sides of my eyes
    He asks, “Daddy what’s wrong?
    You been cryin’ so long.”
    But all I can say
    Is buddy lets lay right here for a while
    But I’m dyin’ inside
    With nowhere to hide

    Chorus:
    But the Power of Prayer
    Is stronger than fear
    It’s deeper than love
    Its message is clear
    When all hope is lost
    And you believe you can’t live any longer
    The Power of Prayer is stronger.

    Verse 2:
    He looks in my eye
    I’m not gonna lie to you this isn’t good
    Won’t know ’til we’re through
    How much we can do
    We’ve seen this before
    And there’s nothin’ more that I want for your son
    Than to keep him alive
    But sir my hands are tied

    Repeat Chorus

    Bridge:
    When the question is burning inside of your soul like a light through the dark
    Let the answer bring peace to your mind with a voice that you hear in your heart
    In your heart

    Final Chorus

    EQUINE is the seventh studio recording from Utah Singer/Songwriter Brenn Hill. Features 16 original songs that in large part focus on the relationship between people and their horses. It includes audience favorites like “Monster On Your Back”, a song written about seventy-plus-year-old cowboy legend Bill Hadlock from Huntsville, Utah, and “Ridin’ Them Colts”, a song about a cowboy’s life-long addiction to colt-breaking. Other live-performance favorites like “Rachel’s Roses”, “Nothin’ In This Life” and “Carter Cedars” commemorate the profound struggle of cancer and the healing power of horses, while “The Ballad of Ed Cantrell” honors the life and career of the controversial lawman from Sweetwater County, Wyoming.

    The album also features an all-star cast of award-winning musicians such as Larry Beaird, Jonathan Yudkin, JT Corenflos, and Eddie Bayerz. Recorded at Beaird Music Group studios in Nashville, Tennessee, the result is a broad array of musical influences and tastes that create a diverse listening experience for any music lover. The recording comes on the heels of some of the most challenging experiences of Hill’s life and will leave you with good reason to be hopeful for the injured bronc-rider, the cancer-stricken child, or the horses that bring peace to the high and low points of life. It is an inspiring look at the generational nature of equine love, ranching, fatherhood, and the ever-determined western spirit. If you love horses you must have EQUINE.

    CUT-BY-CUT (The story behind the songs)

    01 Equine
    Over the years, horses have been a constant in my life and in the lives of those around me. The life lessons that I have learned from them have shaped me, refined me, and carried me through the hard times. It is a love and passion that I hope to share with my children. What do horses mean to you?

    02 Back's Against The Wall
    I wrote this song for all those thirty-something and older cowboys that grew up on the ranch and that are still out on the roadmakin’ a livin’ on the back of a bronc, bull, or rope-horse. It takes a mighty sacrifice to do what you love for a livin’. This one’s for all of those that still ride for the brand.
    03 Casey's A Cowboy
    I wrote this song about Casey Bitton. He’s a father, a cowboy, and a damn good friend. My wife used to worry about all that he was takin’ on in life until I assured her with this song that he’d pull through. Cowboys always do.
    04 The Ballad Of Ed Cantrell
    This one’s a barn burner for sure. Ol’ Cantrell was one tough lawman. Some folks didn’t care too much for him. But he patrolled some wild country through the years of the oil boom. No matter how you feel about Cantrell, you gotta respect the guy. He was a survivor.
    05 Wild Web River
    This song really doesn’t have much to do with horses, but my wife insisted that I put it on the record. She’s a love song fanatic and can’t figure out why it’s so hard for me to write love songs. Here’s one that I can put my brand on…
    06 Rachel's Roses
    I wrote this song as a wedding present for Casey and Rachel Bitton. She’s a ten-year-plus cancer survivor and she competed for a National Title when she was in treatment. They live in a hundred-year-old home in Hooper with the prettiest rose bushes you’ve ever seen. She always wanted to live in that house. How could any of us have known in June of 2007 how much meaning this song would have for us all today…?
    07 Hell On Yer Women
    Let’s just say this isn’t my mother’s favorite song. But it’s true all the same. My wife puts up with a lot and never complains when I go on a Cowboy Day with my pards. My horses have even more patience than she does…
    08 Hey Little Isaac
    When I saw that little red-roan mare haul over backwards on Chris Hopkins, I was frozen in fear. It was the worst wreck I’d ever witnessed. We all thought we’d lost him. As Little Isaac, who’s not so little anymore, wiped the tears off his dusty face, I realized what it means to inherit the family brand – the awesome responsibility of the land and the cattle. These words came to me as Rick, Casey, Bob, Bruce, and I stayed to push Chris’ heifers up the rest of Heiner Canyon.
    09 Still Your Little Cowgirl
    Bill Montag is one of my best friends. We were punchin’ cows one day at the ranch he used to run over in Steamboat Springswhen he told me about his famous daughter Heidi. I didn’t think anybody could ever be as famous as Bill but he insiststhat his daughter is even more famous than he is. What the heck is ‘reality TV’ anyway?
    10 Nothin' In This Life
    One of the most heart-wrenching aspects of my son Briggs’ battle with brain and spinal cancer was his inability to be withhis horse Jessie. While he was sick in bed, she was in Henefer being taken care of by some friends. But we knew all along that they would reunite and she would play a big role in his rehabilitation. They’re both home now…
    11 With A Whisper
    This one was inspired by Chris Redman, colt-breaker, buckaroo, and good friend from Idaho. I’ve always admired how he can do in an afternoon what takes me a month with a colt. He’s got a gift and a good horse is a tool-of-the-trade for a fella that does what he does day-in and day-out. Thanks for the lessons amigo.
    12 Where The High Meets The Lonesome
    On Comical Ridge you can see a long ways. It’s a wild and windy rim where the mountain and the sky meet. It’s a place that I can go to think clearly and sort through my troubles. Everyone needs a place like that…
    13 Ridin' Them Colts
    I wrote this song one night after talking to my cousin Keith the day after he’d been bucked off a dunn colt that is the brotherto the buckskin mare that bucked me off a week before. My buddy Lawson Hadlock got bucked off a few days earlier and saidhis shoulder was still pretty sore. My good ol’ pard Lon Hansen had just gone over the handlebars on a little roan mare he wasbreakin’, and Casey was gimpin’ around after comin’ off of the old HB. You get the picture…
    14 Monster On Your Back
    This song was inspired by and written for Bill Hadlock. He’s run what’s left of the Bar B Ranch in Huntsville, Utah for better than fifty years. He says it’s the only job he’s ever had and he wouldn’t trade a life full of memories from ridin’ for the brand for all the moneyin the world. Anyhow, he and I were ridin’ up Gertsin Canyon one morning and he said that the big two-year-old bay colt he was on needed to come to the realization at some point that the “monster is on his back…”

    15 Carter Cedars
    As I sat by Briggs’ bed during his third round of chemo, I wondered just how much more a little boy could take. He would wake up every now and then to throw up the nothing that was in his stomach and tell the nurses that he and I were going to hunt badgers when he got all better. Watching someone you love go through something like cancer is the hardest thing you’ll ever experience in this life.Briggs has earned his right to a life of good memories and you can bet that we’ll be across the cattle guard as soon as he’s able.

    16 The Power Of Prayer
    In the busy halls of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Primary Children’s Medical Center, Sylina and I were told by Dr. Brockmeyer that our son might not make it. The following day, Briggs faced a six-and-a-half hour surgery that would either claim his life or save it. Sylina and I prayed hard, needless to say, for peace, comfort, and a miracle. Six rounds of chemo, three bone marrow transplants, and a full course of radiation later, my son is still with us. This stuff is real…

    WHAT’S A MAN GOT TO DO

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    LYRICS

    Meet Me In McCall
    If you have the power where you are right now
    To change the seasons back somehow
    To highway 95
    Cool September rain
    If you could be alive again….

    Then meet me in McCall
    And make it early fall
    Bring a good horse and a rifle and that’s all
    We’ll ride the golden aspen trail
    ‘Neath timber dark and tall
    So meet me in McCall
    In the early fall

    Thought I heard your voice
    Out on the oak brush rim
    Cold rush upon my face
    But it was just the wind
    And a bugle down the draw
    From somewhere in the pines
    Like twenty years ago
    Branded on my mind

    Somewhere above McCall
    And it was early fall
    Good horses and our rifles and that’s all
    We rode the golden aspen trail
    ‘Neath timber dark and tall
    Somewhere above McCall
    In the early fall

    And I wish I could disappear
    Every now and then
    Not a day goes by that I don’t wish you were here
    So I could tell you once again

    To meet me in McCall
    And make it early fall
    Bring a good horse and a rifle and that’s all
    We’ll ride the golden aspen trail
    ‘Neath timber dark and tall
    So meet me in McCall
    In the early fall
    Meet me in McCall

    Caffeine
    Seven hundred miles before the sun comes up
    My savin’ grace is in my styrofoam cup
    Every highway, every city
    I think I’ve seen them all
    I don’t smoke tobacco and I don’t drink alcohol

    But baby caffeine, caffeine
    Pour me a cup of that gasoline
    Caffeine, caffeine
    Tonight I’m flyin’ lean and mean
    And it’s killin’ me, savin’ me, or somewhere in between
    But I’m like a machine
    On caffeine

    When the white lines start to fade
    My eyes get heavy as lead
    And it feels like a hundred days
    Since I last saw my bed
    I’m lookin’ for that neon sign like an angel in the night
    To help me lose these old highway blues
    ‘Til the mornin’ light

    It’s caffeine, caffeine
    Pour me a cup of that gasoline
    Caffeine, caffeine
    Tonight I’m flyin’ lean and mean
    And its killin’ me, savin’ me, or somewhere in between
    But I’m like a machine
    On caffeine

    Take it hot, take it cold
    Swallow it in a pill
    I’ll be back out on the road
    Just as soon as I get my fill

    Caffeine, caffeine
    Pour me a cup of that gasoline
    Caffeine, caffeine
    Tonight I’m flyin’ lean and mean
    And its killin’ me, savin’ me, or somewhere in between
    But I’m like a machine
    I’m flyin’ lean and mean, baby
    I’m like a machine
    On caffeine

    The Onyx Mine
    Miners came from Tennessee back in 1891
    The west was still young and free like the early mornin’ sun
    Diggin’ into the mountainside lookin’ for a streak of gold
    In the marrow of the onyx mine lies the story that they told

    Now a hundred years gone by you still can see their sign
    Way out on the Boulder Road that leads down to the old mine
    I came for the first time when I was just sixteen
    Now twenty years have passed and I’m still just a refugee

    ‘Cause I feel somethin’ when I ride that rocky trail
    I hear voices in the tall dark pines
    And I don’t feel nothin’ when I drive these city streets
    So I think I’ll leave this city behind
    And head for the onyx mine

    Father told the story about drivin’ that old road
    In a 1941 Ford the day after it snowed
    A downed-log through the fender and a busted-out headlamp
    By the early mornin’ light they made it to the old mine camp

    When my world turns dark and cold and the gold in life don’t shine
    I gather up my family and we head up to the old mine
    We sit around a campfire and look up at the full white moon
    And listen to the coyote howl an old ghost miner’s tune

    ‘Cause I feel somethin’ when I ride that rocky trail
    I hear voices in the tall dark pines
    And I don’t feel nothin’ when I drive these city streets
    So I think I’ll leave this city behind
    And head for the onyx mine
    For the onyx mine

    The Ballad of Buffalo Brogan
    He was born in the Gyp Hills
    The son of the Buffalo Wind
    He had the red dirt in his skin
    And a twister in his soul
    The first-born of a white girl
    She’d come over on the Mormon Trail
    She was an angel born in Hell
    So as the story’s told

    And they left him young
    In a California rush
    He was livin’ in the mesquite brush
    When a rancher took him in
    And he learned how to ride
    With a lasso in his hand
    He rode for the Leventhal brand
    In the cold West Kansas wind

    But the world it can be hard on a Cherokee’s son
    Learnin’ how the west was lost and won

    And Buffalo Brogan
    Hard as the Gyp Hill stone
    You were born to ride alone
    And your name will carry well
    Just a castaway
    ‘Til Mother Nature took you in
    There’s a lesson that I spin in the story that I tell

    Just a rancher’s daughter
    Pretty as a full white moon
    Born with a silver spoon
    Tom Leventhal’s only girl
    And she fell in love
    With that half-blood Cherokee hand
    Half devil and half man
    They fit together like a hand in a glove

    Soft silhouette
    Against a gold sun goin’ down
    Of her legs through a cotton gown
    It took him by surprise
    He stood down off his mount
    And he took her by the hand
    And they fell to the Gyp Hill sand
    ‘Neath the troubled Kansas skies

    And love was a taste he’d never known
    Sweet as any loop he’d ever thrown

    And Buffalo Brogan
    Hard as the Gyp Hill stone
    Got tired of bein’ alone
    Livin’ in a cold dark shell
    Got cast in her arms
    And though he knew it was a sin
    There’s a lesson that I spin in the story that I tell
    She told her Mama ’bout the baby growin’ inside
    She told Old Brogan he should run away and hide
    But he said I love you and I’ll stay and make my stand
    ‘Cause I have been true to your Daddy and his brand

    But the world it is so hard on a Cherokee’s son
    Learnin’ how the west was lost and won

    Now there’s a wanted sign
    For a man named Buffalo
    Most everywhere you go
    From here to Oklahome
    They say he pulled a knife
    In a fight with Leventhal
    He had his back up against a wall
    Now he wanders all alone

    And there’s a baby boy
    With his Daddy’s cold dark eyes
    Troubled as the Kansas skies
    Tight against her breast
    He’s the heir to the brand
    And one day he’ll learn to ride
    With his Mama by his side
    The girl with no regrets

    But the world it is so hard on a Cherokee’s son
    Learnin’ how the west was lost and won

    And Buffalo Brogan
    Hard as the Gyp Hill stone
    You were born to ride alone
    And your name will carry well
    You’re just a castaway
    I pray Mother Nature takes you in
    There’s a lesson that I spin in the story that I tell

    Sweetwater Beach
    Hot summer sun, rickies and lime
    Cool water wind passin’ like time
    Runnin’ down off the snow-capped mountain peaks
    Rollin’ like waves on the shores of Sweetwater Beach

    Indian Summer days runnin’ from school
    A green-eyed angel and a reckless fool
    The taste of her lips and the sun on her cheeks
    Were sweet as my memories of Sweetwater Beach

    But I can’t go back and I can’t be still
    I loved her then and I always will
    I close my eyes and it’s just out of reach
    Like the love we made on Sweetwater Beach

    When you’re seventeen you’ve got nothin’ to lose
    Just freedom to run and freedom to choose
    And lessons that only love can teach
    Siftin’ like sand on Sweetwater Beach

    But I can’t go back and I can’t be still
    I loved her then and I always will
    I close my eyes and it’s just out of reach
    Like the love we made on Sweetwater Beach

    Innocence drifted on the soft warm breeze
    Now it’s just a memory

    There’s a blue lake shinin’ in my dreams tonight
    Green eyes sparkle in the gold moonlight
    And two young lovers run wild and free
    Where the whitecaps break on Sweetwater Beach

    But I can’t go back and I can’t be still
    I loved her then and I always will
    I close my eyes and it’s just out of reach
    Like the love that we made on Sweetwater Beach
    The love we made on Sweetwater Beach
    Sweetwater Beach
    Sweetwater Beach
    Sweetwater Beach
    Sweetwater Beach

    What A Man's Got To Do
    There’s six hundred dollars tucked into his jeans
    Burnin’ a hole in his heart
    He stares at the phone in a cheap motel
    And he knows that it won’t get him far
    Got a half-busted shoulder on a bull down in Houston
    There once was a time that he didn’t mind losin’
    But it’s all on the line now and then some too
    And he just don’t know what to do

    There’s a Greyhound Station with a midnight ride
    That’d take him back home before dawn
    And he could pick up that phone and hear her voice on the line
    And like a flash of wild lightnin’ be gone
    But another bus leaves for Laredo at sunrise
    As he fights back the tears fallin’ down from his blue eyes
    He whispers her name and a prayer to get through
    ‘Cause he just don’t know what to do

    It’s a hundred year story of struggle and strife
    It’s the pain and the glory of every cowboy’s life
    When there’s just enough money to ride or go home
    You fall down for good or you get back on

    There’s a chute flyin’ open down in Laredo Texas
    The crowd comes alive with the rush
    There’s a cowboy spinnin’ and a Brahma-cross buckin’
    He’s ridin’ all out or bust
    He’s fightin’ and spurrin’
    They’re twistin’ and turnin’
    And inside the fire it just keeps on burnin’
    And he calls when it’s over to say I love you
    But a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do

    Oak Brush
    In the bottom of the canyon
    At the old blue cattle-guard gate
    To the top of Comical Ridge
    Where the sunrise can’t wait
    And all along the Right Hand Fork road
    Diggin’ deep into the paint
    Well, it’s anywhere you’re lookin’
    And it’s everywhere you ain’t

    And I’ve got these sheep and cattle
    They don’t seem like all that much
    Ten thousand dusty acres of
    That old gray-brown oak brush

    It eats your chaps and saddle
    And your tapaderos too
    Puts a red burn on your face and hide
    And scuff marks in your boots
    It’s porcupines and falcons
    And a brand new mule deer fawn
    It was here before the day I came
    It’ll be here when I’m gone

    And these sheep and wild damn cattle
    Don’t seem like all that much
    For forty years of fightin’ through
    That old gray-brown oak brush

    But I don’t know where I’d be if I wasn’t here right now
    A farmer in a valley cussin’ at my plow
    Or in some damned old city starin’ at the wall
    Up in a high rise building wishin’ it would fall
    And I know my time’s a comin’
    ‘Though I ain’t in any rush
    They’ll plant my bones six feet below
    That old gray-brown oak brush
    They’ll plant my bones six feet below
    That old gray-brown oak brush

    She Loves Me Anyway
    I don’t do dishes
    I don’t mow the lawn
    I don’t do laundry
    I sleep in too long…everyday
    And I’m a little clumsy
    But what can I say
    She loves me anyway

    I forgot her birthday
    And our anniversary
    I spent all of our money
    Buyin’ stuff for me
    I told her I was sorry
    But what could I say
    She loves me anyway

    Is it my cowboy charm
    The muscles in my arm
    Or the way that I look in my BVDs
    Is it the jokes I tell
    The way I scream and I yell
    When she tries to watch one of her DVDs
    Like Pretty Woman or Notting Hill

    I didn’t make the bed
    Left the seat up on the john
    I drank all of the OJ
    And the Lucky Charms are all gone
    Last night I fell asleep
    I thought I heard her say
    I love you anyway
    Honey I love you anyway

    The Ballad of Pogue and Elms
    My name is Conley Elms
    I died in 1981
    Gunned down in cold blood
    By an outlaw on the run
    On a cold gray afternoon
    I felt that bitter chill
    By the banks of the Owyhee
    And my soul it lives there still

    My partner William Pogue
    He fell that day with me
    A straight and honest lawman
    As fair as he could be
    His good name put on trial
    We watched in disbelief
    As the system we relied on
    Set a killer all but free

    But with every freedom comes
    An even greater cost
    The answer seldom easy
    The question sometimes lost
    For though our lives were shortened
    Our work was not in vain
    And given one more chance
    I’d wear that badge again

    Now many years gone by
    Our families carry on
    Though our lives have been lost
    Our legacy grows strong
    And every man must answer
    For the things that he has done
    We find our peace in knowing
    The judgment day shall come

    Convictions forged in campfires
    For the work we live and breathe
    Let the burden be to those
    Who live farther on than me
    The Owyhees to the Sawtooths
    Let the Boise run its miles
    And let our memory’s stand
    For all that there lives wild…

    For with every freedom comes
    An even greater cost
    The answer seldom easy
    The question sometimes lost
    For though our lives were shortened
    Our work was not in vain
    And given one more chance
    I’d wear that badge again

    Given one more chance
    I’d wear that badge again

    Casa Blanca
    It’s a never-ending winter
    Monday through Friday 8 to 5
    And baby sometimes it’s a wonder
    That we even stay alive
    To meet our every obligation
    We stretch ourselves so very thin
    I think it’s time for a vacation
    Let’s take a honeymoon again

    Down at the Casa Blanca
    Cold Blue Hawaiians by the pool
    Down at the Casa Blanca
    Lovin’ and laughin’ like a fool
    Baby all I really need
    Is you lyin’ next to me
    Down at the Casa Blanca
    That’s where I want to be

    Real life’s so unromantic
    And the weather’s so damn cold
    We run around here like we’re frantic
    Doin’ only what we’re told
    I kiss you goodbye in the mornin’
    I’ll see you when the sun goes down
    Let them take this as their warnin’
    Find us at the lost and found

    Down at the Casa Blanca
    It’s a desert paradise
    Down at the Casa Blanca
    Pour our troubles over ice
    Beneath the Virgin River sun
    Just like two lovers on the run
    Down at the Casa Blanca
    I think it’s time we have some fun

    Down at the Casa Blanca
    Cold Blue Hawaiians by the pool
    Down at the Casa Blanca
    Lovin’ and laughin’ like a fool
    ‘Cause baby all I’ll ever need
    Is that one sweet memory
    Down at the Casa Blanca
    That’s where I want to be
    Down at the Casa Blanca

    Debt
    I got a brand new custom rambler with rooms I’ve never seen
    And a matchin’ 10-stall barn that’s any cowboy’s dream
    I got a brand new diesel pick-up truck that I can’t afford to drive
    We’re puttin’ groceries on the credit card so we can stay alive

    ‘Cause I’m in debt up to my nose
    I make a lot of money but I don’t know where it goes
    My friends they look at me and they think I’m doin’ fine
    But I take my paycheck and send it on down the line
    ‘Cause I’m in debt
    I’m only 29

    Well I kiss my wife ev’ry mornin’ and I watch her drive away
    And there ain’t no time for lovin’ when you got big bills to pay
    But she sure looks sexy drivin’ in her luxury sedan
    Just last night she told me she wants to have a baby again

    Now we’re in debt up to my nose
    I make a lot of money but I don’t know where it goes
    My friends they look at me and they think I’m doin’ fine
    But I take my paycheck and send it on down the line
    ‘Cause I’m in debt
    I’m only 29

    I think a lot of folks are livin’ just like me
    Waitin’ for the day they can break free

    From all this debt – it’s up to my nose
    I make a lot of money but I don’t know where it goes
    And my friends they look at me and they think I’m doin’ fine
    But I take my paycheck and send it on down the line
    ‘Cause I’m in debt
    I’m only 29
    Yeah I’m in debt
    I think I’m fallin’ behind

    Jeremiah's Last Ride
    Jeremiah rode a buckin’ horse
    It was an unchained natural force
    They took a free, unguided course
    And the rest was history

    When all the girls in rodeo town
    Heard that he had fallen down
    You could almost hear the sound
    Of them fallin’ to their knees
    The way night falls through the trees

    There was a full moon shinin’ bright
    Down at the old fairground one night
    Breakin’ out of chute #1 was that old gray line-back dun
    The only bronc that Jeremiah never won

    You couldn’t hear a single breath
    Eight seconds was all he had left
    The one that threw him to his death
    Saw the crowd one more time

    And I was only nine years old
    Still I shivered in that cold
    For I knew that he had sold his soul
    And left the rest of us behind
    Like beggars in the welfare line

    Then they turned out all the lights
    Down at the old fairground that night
    The gate shut like the bullet of a gun
    On that old gray line-back dun
    The only bronc that Jeremiah never won

    There were tears of joy and pain
    They’d never see that bronc again
    They’d never see the boy he killed
    Though I believe he’s ridin’ still

    And where that old gray dun is now
    Nobody ever talks about
    But I think about him when they turn me out
    And my spurs sink in again
    When I ride I ride for him

    When there’s a full moon shinin’ bright
    And it hits the old fairground just right
    Breakin’ out of chute #1
    It’s Jeremiah and that old gray dun
    The only bronc he never won

    The Gaping Jaws Of Hell
    Won’t take it in a rest home
    Sittin’ in a wheelchair
    Seen way too many a good man go down in there
    I’ll take it in the Yellowstone
    From a Grizzler Bear
    One arm behind my back and the fight is fair

    I’ve seen seventy-one years through an old trail hosses’ ears
    And I’ll tell you son that’s livin’ well
    And I’ll lead my pack string
    Straight through the gaping jaws of hell

    Take you to the badlands down in South Dakoteo
    And I’ll tell you ’bout the good old days of the rodeo
    Or take you to the grand land north west of Codyo
    Leave behind your cell phone and your radio

    ‘Cause there’s nothin’ to fear
    God lives up here
    And I’ll tell you son He’s livin’ well
    Leadin’ me and my pack string
    Straight through the gaping jaws of hell

    Tell me I got cancer
    Here’s your answer
    Black cowboy coffee ’round the fire
    This old mustang runs on pure desire

    I’ve seen seventy-one years through an old trail hosses’ ears
    And I’ll tell you son that’s livin’ well
    And I’ll lead my pack string
    Straight through the gaping jaws of hell
    Yeah I’ll lead my pack string
    Straight through the gaping jaws of hell

    Into The Wind
    We were out on Lightning Ridge
    In the center of a storm
    It was deep into October
    And I was fightin’ to stay warm
    Stray cattle in the canyon
    And out on the mountain’s edge
    Ol’ Charlie reined up heavy
    And he turned to me and said:

    Son this is where you separate
    The cowboys from the men
    Hard times have come before
    And they’re gonna come again
    So you can turn that horse and ride back home
    And wait until it ends
    Or just grit your teeth, bow your head
    And ride into the wind

    He said it’s Man and Mother Nature
    She tells us who we are
    The strength to keep on ridin’
    It’s a never-ending war
    And the right thing’s never easy
    And the good don’t always win
    But it’s the memories of days like this
    That you cherish in the end

    It’s times like these you separate
    The cowboys from the men
    Hard times have come before
    And they’re gonna come again
    So you can turn that horse and ride back home
    And wait until it ends
    Or just grit your teeth, bow your head
    And ride into the wind

    And as I watched him ride away
    Headlong into the storm
    I think I finally figured out what we were ridin’ for
    So I turned up my own collar
    Pushed down my hat and then
    I took a deep seat in my saddle
    And spurred on into the wind

    It’s times like these you separate
    The cowboys from the men
    Hard times have come before
    And they’re gonna come again
    So you can turn that horse and ride back home
    And wait until it ends
    Or just grit your teeth, bow your head
    And ride into the wind

    Simple Things
    All the simple things in life
    Like the colors of the fall
    Like an eagle on the wind
    High above the canyon wall
    Like the sound of the river
    Runnin’ wild in the spring
    We are here but for a while
    To learn to love the simple things

    Like a baby when he smiles
    For the first time in his life
    Cradled gently in the arms
    Of my beautiful wife
    Growin’ stronger by the day
    And the change that every morning brings
    He is here but for a while
    To learn to love the simple things

    And it’s so easy to lose track
    And never take the time to see
    All the simple things we have
    Are gifts from God for you and me

    Like the memories we share
    Years and miles cannot erase
    Like the sound of your sweet voice
    Like the smile on your face
    Like the promise of tomorrow
    In a land where freedom rings
    We are here but for a while
    To learn to love the simple things
    Learn to love the simple things

    WHAT A MAN’S GOT TO DO, Brenn’s sixth album release.Like previous albums, this contains songs that speak boldly of life in the modern mountain west, songs punctuated by crisp cinematic imagery and underscored by confident melodies. While the central theme in Hill’s other albums are once again apparent, this release reveals a new maturity in Brenn’s songwriting as he offers his deepest exploration yet of the core values of the cowboy.

    CUT-BY-CUT (The story behind the songs)

    01 Meet Me In McCall
    My uncle Ray was killed in 1996 in a wood-cutting accident. He came to visit me in a dream a while back. We were, of all places, in the mountains west of McCall – a place we’d been a few times before. If only we could be there again….
    02 Caffeine
    I wrote this one on I-70 between Grand Junction, Colorado, and Richfield, Utah. There’s not much to see out there but sage and sky. A fella could fall asleep if he didn’t have some octane in  his blood.
    03 The Onyx Mine
    My dad used to take me and my brothers to the old Onyx Mine when we were growing up. Some of my best memories are of long rides across the old rocky road to the canyon where the mine sits. You can bet I’ll be taking my family there too.
    04 The Ballad of Buffalo Brogan
    Just south and a little east of Dodge City is a part of Kansas called the Gyp Hills. It’s unique country. I dreamed this one up on a drive from Dodge City to Oklahoma City one morning. Maybe old Brogan’s still out there somewhere.
    05 Sweetwater Beach
    If you grow up in Northern Utah, you’re bound to know where Bear Lake is. Many a kid has had many a good time swimmin’ in the cold blue water. There’s nothin’ like the warm sun, tall mountain peaks, and a cool breeze off the lake to stir up a little teenage romance. A beautiful girl doesn’t hurt either. My special thanks to Eddie for the help on this one.
    06 What A Man’s Got To Do
     Jeff Wolfe, a wonderful western artist from Utah, sent me this story. Before he was a painter he was a buckaroo–before that, he rodeoed. As soon as I read the story, I knew this was a keeper. Thanks Jeff. 
    07 She Loves Me Anyway
     This one’s for all the patient, long-suffering women who faithfully stand by their man. I thank the good Lord my wife stands by me.
    08 Oakbrush
    You can find this stuff all over the west. It stands anywhere from one to ten feet tall and grows wherever Mother Nature dares it not to. If you try to ride through it, you’ll surely lose some hide. If you try to ride around it, you’ll be bound to get stuck. I’d like to thank Dennis Richins for this one. He’s ridden through a lot of Oakbrush.
    09 The Ballad of Pogue and Elms
    I ran into my friend and USFWS Special Agent Scott Bragonier over at Elko a few years back. He’ s a dedicated conservationist, horseman, outdoorsman, father, and songwriter. We decided it was time pay tribute to Bill and Conlee and their families with a song. Thanks for making this one possible, Scott. And thanks to all of you who serve us everyday by dedicating your lives to wildlife conservation.
    10 Debt
    It’s the rage of the day and age. Buy more CDs–we take credit cards.
    11 Casa Blanca
    My wife and I spent our honeymoon in Mesquite, Nevada at a little resort called the Casa Blanca. It’s  the closest thing to a winter-time beach you can get when you call Hooper, Utah your home.
    12 The Gaping Jaws of Hell
    Bob Lantis is an outfitter and horseman from Rapid City, South Dakota. He was a ’40s era bronc rider and has been taking folks into  the backcountry for 40 years. At 72, he’s as feisty as ever and tough as the country he rides. I’m honored to know him. Check him out at GunselHorseAdventures.com. Maybe you can ride with him too.
    13 Jeremiah’s Last Ride
    On a radio tour through Texas, I stopped into a Pickup-Truck Café in Dalhart. I chatted with some old cowboys for a while about the history of the Northern Panhandle area. When they asked me what I was doing there, I told them I was a writer looking for a story. One old boy turned and said, “I got a story for you.” He wasn’t kiddin’ around. About a month later, I was in Grafton, West Virginia when a young bronc-rider named Jeremiah Austin introduced himself to me. A chill went up my spine and a while later, I had this one finished.
    14 Into the Wind
    A friend suggested I try to write a song that talked about the hard times this country and the world has seen in the last few years. From 911 and the war, to Hurricane Katrina, there are a lot of people who’ve suffered. This i s a song about how to face hard times–the cowboy way. I would like to dedicate it to those of you who have chosen to defend this country in the armed services. I thank you for protecting our freedom. My family’s prayers are with you always.
    15 Simple Things
    I had the opportunity to meet the Oborn family of Farr West, Utah just before their daughter, Taylor, passed away of cancer when she was only seven years old. While I only knew her for a short time, Taylor taught me a lot about faith, love, and the simple blessings of life. I think of her every day and I thank the Oborn family for allowing me the opportunity to be a part of their lives. This one is for Taylor.

    ENDANGERED

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    LYRICS

    Buckaroo Tattoo

    In a one-ton Ford
    In a cloud of dust
    Down the gravel road
    Headin’ straight for us
    We’re by the home corral
    In the mornin’ sun
    We’ll all be in love
    Before the day is done

    ‘Cause steppin’ down that rail
    In her tight blue jeans
    A silver Stetson hat
    And her well-worn chinks
    She throws the gate out wide
    On a Featherlite
    Brings a roan horse down
    And pulls the cinch up tight

    She can rope and ride
    A little better than me
    She sure is a sight
    For a cowboy to see
    And she don’t come down
    Until the hard work’s through
    But take it from me don’t ask to see
    The buckaroo tattoo

    She’s a daddy’s girl
    And she really don’t care
    That he’s an oil tycoon
    A multi-millionaire
    ‘Cause she’ll be right on time
    When it’s time to brand
    When it’s time to prove
    That a girl can make a hand

    She’d never give her heart
    To some rodeo wrangler
    Or the college boys
    That keep tryin’ to change her
    ‘Cause she’s in love with her horse
    And her cow dog too
    And take it from me don’t ask to see
    The buckaroo tattoo

    I really don’t know where
    But it’s gotta be there
    Around the back of her somethin’
    Around the side of her somethin’ else somewhere
    Some say it’s a rumor
    But I’m bettin’ it’s true
    And take it from me don’t ask to see
    The buckaroo tattoo

    You didn’t hear it from me don’t ask to see
    The buckaroo tattoo

    Legacy Highway

    A hundred thousand smokin' cars
    Ev'ry single day
    All bumper to bumper
    Better build another highway
    Right through the wetlands
    And the farmland way out west
    Then take a dagger
    Sink it in my chest
    And call it

    The Legacy Highway
    Right along the flyway
    Right through the farmland and fields
    Don't forget to tell the children about the way it used to be
    When you take them for a ride down a road called Legacy

    Well there ain't no way to stop
    The sunrise or the wind
    Changes and chances
    They never come back again
    Some will remember
    Some will forget
    Someday our children
    Just might regret
    We built that

    Legacy Highway
    Right along the flyway
    Right through the farmland and fields
    The children might wonder 'bout the way it used to be
    When you take them for a ride down a road called Legacy

    Don't forget to tell the children about the way it used to be
    When you take them for a ride down a road called Legacy

    Pickup Truck Café

    Talk about the weather
    And the prices of cattle
    Your wife’s worthless brother
    And his brand new saddle

    Talk about women
    The heart-breakin’ kind
    And lay it all on the table
    Get it off your mind

    Down at the Pickup Truck Café
    We drink coffee here every day
    We sit and talk the morning away
    Down at the Pickup Truck Café

    ‘Cross the county line
    And out on the very edge of town
    You’ll never see the sign
    Facin’ down on the ground

    The world’s movin’ on
    The mornin’ radio
    Twenty years long gone
    Nobody knows where they go

    Down at the Pickup Truck Café
    We drink coffee here every day
    We sit and talk the morning away
    Down at the Pickup Truck Café

    It don’t matter what you wear
    It don’t matter who you are
    Cuz most things they don’t care
    But don’t you dare drive a car

    Down to the Pickup Truck Café
    We drink coffee here every day
    We sit and watch the time just fade away
    Down at the Pickup Truck Café

    Last of the Redrock Riders

    I never was good at goodbye
    I couldn’t stand to see her cry
    Lookin’ out at the river all alone
    Cody stood behind me like a stone

    While she said goodbye to the last of the red rock riders
    She said you’ll never see the mornin’ sun
    One last ride into the sunset
    One last midnight run

    We followed tracks down through the canyon
    To two lame horses they’d abandoned
    The river shinin’ ‘neath that ghost-white Texas moon
    I could feel the gunfight
    Knew it was comin’ soon

    And I said a prayer for the last of the red rock riders
    For we might never see the mornin’ sun
    One last ride into the sunset
    One last midnight run

    I felt the shot ring through the black
    Cody fell when I looked back
    In a silhouette against the silver midnight lightnin’
    I pulled the trigger
    And I stopped the fightin’

    To say goodbye to the last of the red rock riders
    I knew he’d never see the mornin’ sun
    One last ride into the sunset
    One last midnight run

    I never was good at goodbye

    Dance Like The Fire

    The canyon road
    Tall dark trees
    The cabin glow
    Smoke on the breeze

    It’s a cold autumn night
    Rain turns to snow
    In the warm firelight
    I’m watchin’ you glow

    And I bought you a rose and a bottle of wine
    There’s a picture of you only in my mind
    You let down your hair and I’m lost in desire
    When you dance like the fire

    It’s dark outside
    The shadows play
    I’m feedin’ the flames
    To chase the cold away

    And I gave you the rose and a bottle of wine
    A picture of us only in my mind
    You let down your hair and I’m lost in desire
    When you dance like the fire

    We’re curled up tight
    And the wind sings its song
    In a quiet so deep
    In a feelin’ so strong
    We’re two lovers lost in each other
    These hours before the dawn

    And you loved the rose
    And we drank the wine
    There’s a picture of you always in my mind
    I run my hands through your hair and I’m lost in desire
    When you dance like the fire

    Dance like the fire

    Pierce

    Rode down Wolf Creek pass
    In the white autumn lightnin’
    October twenty-third
    Nineteen thirty-five
    I was one mounted rider
    I was ridin’ alone
    On a gray line-back dun
    He was the color of stone

    On a company saddle
    On a company horse
    I give him the name
    For Chief Joseph Nez Perce
    And down Davenport Canyon
    Pushin’ seventeen head
    I swore to the foreman
    They’d come back alive

    That night in the canyon
    Was windy and black
    Except for the lightnin’
    That cursed through the sky
    The cattle wild and restless
    I fought at my fear
    Swore to finish the job
    Only Pierce could hear

    We came to the rocks
    And it was too dark to see
    The storm flashed around me
    Through the cold, pourin’ rain
    And the cattle got scattered
    Where the cedars hung low
    I prayed they would gather
    In the canyon below

    So I just closed my eyes
    And waited to die
    In a white flash of light
    Down the wet canyon wall
    I gave Pierce the reins
    And he found us a trail
    When we came to the bottom
    I took rein once again

    Gathered the cattle
    And trailed them to town

    Now I’m 91 years
    And ol’ Pierce is long gone
    I’ve seen my last winter
    I’ve sung my last song
    Still remember the ranges
    Still remember the sky
    Still remember the darkness
    Still see Pierce’s eye

    And he’ll come for me
    This dark rainy night
    Through the white autumn lightnin’
    We’ll ride once again

    My Old Chevy

    Where the oil road meets the gravel
    The grass is turnin’ green
    It’s a far cry from the city
    And the places I’ve just been
    Comin’ up the home road
    I see a front yard full of toys
    A pretty blonde-haired Mama
    And a handsome little boy

    And there’s my old Chevy
    All covered up in dust
    Sittin’ in the driveway
    Waitin’ there for us
    To load up our horses in the twilight before dawn
    You know I always miss you while I’m gone

    We’ll ride out through Wyomin’
    Cross the Great Divide
    And the highway’s not so lonesome
    When you’re sittin’ by my side
    And we’ll find some misty mountain
    And a dusty gravel road
    Pull out off the highway
    And finally unload

    And we’ll leave my old Chevy
    All covered up in dust
    Sittin’ in the tall grass
    Awaitin’ there for us
    Shinin’ in the shadows
    The whole afternoon long
    And you can say “we’ll miss you while we’re gone”

    A little part of me that I can pass along to you
    Like the aspen and the sagebrush and the sky of endless blue
    And a dusty worn-out pickup truck
    The day you turn sixteen
    And a prayer you’ll understand what it means

    To drive my old Chevy
    All covered up in dust
    Seldom in the driveway
    Showin’ a little rust
    But it’ll still haul all your troubles
    Down whatever road you’re on
    And son I’m gonna miss you when you’re gone
    But next time we don’t have to ride alone

    Be Back In Texas

    There’s a brand new gold
    Palomino colt
    Knee-high in the Colorado grass
    And a note by the bed
    He reads it again
    ‘Cause it all happened way too fast
    Now he’s drivin’ around
    Lookin’ all over town
    For her ’66 hardtop Mustang
    But her cell phone keeps ringin’
    Like the dreams he’s been dreamin’
    And it looks like it just might rain

    And she’s drivin’ like lightnin’ down I-25
    She’s tired of fightin’ and she’s gettin’ restless
    She’s leavin’ him sleepin’ while she’s still alive
    And by sundown she’ll be back in Texas

    He called from the road
    From the last rodeo
    And said you don’t make it easy on me
    To listen to you cry
    And try to answer why
    I’m the way I just have to be
    So she hung up the phone
    And packed all her things
    In the back of that ’66 Ford
    When he came home that night
    She turned out the light
    And said it won’t be goodnight anymore

    ‘Cause she’s drivin’ like lightnin’ down I-25
    She’s tired of fightin’ and she’s gettin’ restless
    So she’s leavin’ him sleepin’ while she’s still alive
    And by sundown she’ll be back in Texas

    He didn’t really think
    She meant what she said
    As he drifted off to sleep

    Now the sun’s gone around
    On that front range town
    It’s startin’ to settle in
    He reads it again
    In the note by the bed
    She won’t ever be back again

    ‘Cause she’s drivin’ like lightnin’ down I-25
    She’s tired of fightin’ and she’s way past restless
    She’s leavin’ me sleepin’ while she’s still alive
    And by sundown she’ll be back in Texas

    Mirror Of Your Eyes

    Lock the world outside the door
    We don't need it anymore
    Make it all just go away
    Until some cold gray rainy day

    You and I we are the same
    Both victims of the game
    But that's all part of the past
    And tonight will go so fast

    Light the candle by the bed
    Come and rest your weary head
    Outside the night wind cries
    I see the golden candlelight
    In the mirror of your eyes

    In the mirror of your eyes
    There's a truth that never lies
    And I get lost inside the love
    And I can never get enough

    Dancing on the bedroom walls
    Risin' up until it falls
    I feel you breathe and hear your sighs
    I see the dying candlelight
    In the mirror of your eyes

    And mornin's comin' all too fast
    Gotta make these moments last
    I just can't say goodbye
    To the mirror of your eyes

    To the mirror of your eyes

    Mirror of your eyes

    One Hand In The Riggin'

    I got bucked off down in Prescott
    And I’ve been drivin’ half the night
    Down this long and lonesome highway
    It seems there ain’t no end in sight
    I didn’t make the short-go
    But if I make it to Cheyenne
    There’ll be another bronc to ride
    And I just might have a chance
    If I keep

    One hand in the riggin’
    And one hand on the wheel
    No matter how far down the road I go
    There’s always one more rodeo
    She’d like for me to settle down
    But long as I’m still livin’
    I’ll keep one hand on the wheel
    And one hand in the riggin’

    What it is that keeps me goin’
    Sometimes I just don’t know
    For the years that I’ve spent ridin’
    I don’t have much to show
    While she waits all alone
    Hopin’ I’ll come back to stay
    But there’s always one more mile to drive
    Down another lonely highway
    And I keep

    One hand in the riggin’
    One hand on the wheel
    No matter how far down the road I go
    There’s always one more rodeo
    She’d like for me to settle down
    Long as I’m still livin’
    I’ll keep one hand on the wheel
    And one hand in the riggin’

    One hand on the wheel
    And one hand in the riggin’

    Canadians

    From the cold Alberta plain
    You’re a drifter passin’ through
    I know you’ll be back again
    You disappear into the blue
    I think I’m a lot like you

    But just a dreamer on the ground
    Only wishin’ I could fly
    How I long to hear the sound
    Of your wings upon the sky
    Your hello and your goodbye

    Ooahh
    Ooahh
    Ooohhh
    Ooahh
    Ooahh
    Ooaye
    I wish that I could fly

    Will you reach the desert shore
    Or the California coast
    Of all the places that you soar
    Do you love Canada the most
    Or are you just another ghost

    Ooahh
    Ooahh
    Ooohhh
    Ooahh
    Ooahh
    Ooaye
    I wish that I could fly

    And is there somethin’ you are searchin’ for
    The love you lost along the way
    A southern wind down in old Mexico
    A golden stubblefield of hay
    For your safe return I pray

    Ooahh
    Ooahh
    Ooohhh
    Ooahh
    Ooahh
    Ooaye
    See you in the April sky

    Little John

    Little John the hobo taught me how to ride the rail
    As he told me of the days he spent wranglin’ on the trail
    From the canyons of north Texas to the rail yards on the plain
    I learned half the his’try of the west there on that train

    And Little John he told me ’bout the rivers he did cross
    ‘Bout ridin’ through the dust storms on the back of his old hoss
    ‘Bout bandit pistoleros and the cattle that they stole
    And the hundred mile ride to the desert water hole

    As we rode out to Memphis lookin’ for a better life
    He told me ’bout the past while I thought about my wife
    And the miles and years between us seemed like only yesterday
    As Little John the hobo taught me how to run away

    Little John drank whiskey through the night as we did ride
    He said it chased the demons from the canyons deep inside
    And Little John he told me that the whiskey eased the pain
    So Little John drank whiskey I just drank the rain

    While we rode out to Memphis lookin’ for a better life
    He thought about the past while I told him ’bout my wife
    And the miles and years between us seemed like only yesterday
    As Little John the hobo taught me how to run away

    When we finally rode into the yard at Tennessee
    I looked up at Little John and he looked down at me
    He said that he was headed for a town called New Orleans
    Said somethin’ ’bout a daughter that he hadn’t ever seen

    So we parted ways in Memphis lookin’ for a better life
    He’s goin’ to find his past I’m goin’ back home to my wife
    For I never will forget him walkin’ down that street alone
    Little John the hobo taught me how to go back home
    Little John the hobo taught me how to go back home

    Lost River Outpost

    Out on Highway 84
    Forty miles outside of town
    Down the old gravel road
    You can hear the lonely sound
    Of buffalo soldiers fallin’ down

    Some who try to run away
    Some run away to try to hide
    Some are runnin’ from the law
    Law don’t ever come inside
    Lookin’ for the children of the night

    And I sing for the lonely and forgotten
    The wounded hearts that need a song the most
    And the buffalo soldiers who fought and died
    Outside of that old Lost River outpost

    The lonely desert buckaroos
    They ask for the Little Wrangler Joe
    Soldiers like gospel and the blues
    Songs from the war that I don’t know
    Places in the heart that I don’t go

    And the good old boys just out of prison
    They like songs about the train
    But when I sing a song about their mamas
    You know I can feel their pain
    Sometimes the tears fall like rain

    And I sing for the lonely and forgotten
    The wounded hearts that need a song the most
    And the buffalo soldiers who fought and died
    Outside of that old Lost River outpost

    And the wind can make you crazy
    Blowin’ through the cracks in the walls
    Sounds like the chorus of a thousand demons
    Trapped here inside these halls
    Buffalo soldiers one and all

    So sing for the lonely and forgotten
    Sing for the hearts that need it most
    And the buffalo soldiers who fought and died
    Outside of that old Lost River outpost

    And the buffalo soldiers who fought and died
    Outside of that old Lost River outpost

    Endangered

    Bald eagles
    And the grizzly bear
    Blue heron
    Clean air
    And open gates
    On open ranges
    One and all
    Endangered

    And the gray wolf
    And the whooping crane
    Atlantic salmon
    All the same
    All we have done
    They still remain
    In a word
    Endangered

    Reaching out for someone
    And holdin’ on to nothin’
    In a world
    Torn by changes
    Like me
    Endangered

    The white tiger
    And the blue whale
    The redwood forest
    We cannot fail
    We must fight
    To sustain them
    For we may all be
    Endangered

    Reachin’ out for someone
    And holdin’ on to nothin’
    In a world
    Torn by changes
    Like love
    Endangered

    And we have come
    This far alone
    Now we must find
    A way to go on
    We fell in love
    We were perfect strangers
    Now here we are
    Endangered

    Reachin’ out for someone
    And holdin’ on to nothin’
    In a world
    Torn by changes
    You and I
    Endangered

    Endangered

    ENDANGERED, Brenn’s fifth album, features deep insight into the heart and soul of life in the west as he boldly takes on delicate issues like conservation, romance, and the indomitable western spirit. Crisp cinematic imagery is abundant throughout each of the fourteen cuts. Produced and arranged by Veteran Record Producer and songwriter Eddie Schwartz, Endangered will take you on a journey through the west of yesterday and today and offer new perspective and insight into the cowboy of the 21st Century.

    DEEPER THAN MUD

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    LYRICS

    Roundup Fire
    Frost on the wheat grass
    Frost on the sage
    Frost on the aspen leaves
    Steam on the lake

    The blue autumn sky is turnin’ colder by the day
    Its time to get this roundup party underway
    So buckle on your leggings get your saddle cinched up tight
    For the roundup fire burns tonight

    Cattle on the skyline
    Cattle through the trees
    Riders close behind them
    And freedom on the breeze

    This way of life is gettin’ older by the day
    Its time to get this roundup party underway
    So resin up your ropes and spur your pony quick and light
    For the roundup fire burns tonight

    I spent the summer waitin’ workin’ on the land
    I’ll spend the winter waitin’ for the time to brand

    And I’ll spend a lifetime
    Ridin’ through the sage
    Its burnin’ in my blood
    There is no other way

    You can call me crazy say whatever you will say
    But its time to get this roundup party underway
    So buckle on your leggings get your saddle cinched up tight
    For the roundup fire burns tonight
    Yeah the roundup fire burns tonight

    Wyoming Wind

    I said goodbye to the state line of Wyoming
    And four hundred miles of friends along the way
    I know tomorrow I’ll wake up feelin’ lonesome
    ‘Cause there’s a part of me that’s wishin’ I could stay
    From the sage of Cheyenne on up north to Cody
    I’ve drifted like a rollin’ tumbleweed
    And a thousand pair of eyes and smiles that know me
    Are cryin’ every time I turn to leave

    And though I’ve heard New Mexico is magical
    Chicago town can make you fall in love again
    You can keep your beaches in Hawaii
    I’ll take the Wyoming Wind

    Sometimes I dream of life out on the range
    Pushin’ cattle ‘cross the Great Divide
    And every time I smell that springtime sage
    I get this wild feelin’ deep inside
    And I long to be where I can see the mountains
    Stretchin’ ‘cross that never-ending sky
    Or standin’ on the banks along the mighty Bighorn River
    Listenin’ to the water roll on by

    And though I’ve heard the sun sets over California
    The Smoky Mountains seem like an old friend
    You can keep your dusty Texas plains
    I’ll take the Wyoming wind

    Can you hear that lonesome coyote howlin’
    I think I know just how he feels

    Because it’s down the road and far from here I wander
    But I know I’ll be comin’ back again
    ‘Cause all I am and all I ever hope to be
    Is somewhere in that Wyoming wind
    Somewhere in that Wyoming wind

    Fall Comin' On

    I smell it a little bit
    In the air tonight
    I feel it a little bit on the wind
    I turn my collar up
    For the evenin’ ride
    Sad to see the summer’s gone again

    CHORUS:
    But tonight it’s more than autumn
    Chillin’ in my blood
    And tonight it’s more than summer
    Goin’ down and gettin’ gone
    For tonight I feel a loneliness
    Deeper than the mud
    And I feel the fall comin’ on

    There wasn’t anything different
    In the way she said goodbye
    But it was somethin’ missin’ in her kiss
    Somethin’ turned cold
    When she looked me in the eye
    And I shivered like an aspen in the whisper of the wind

    CHORUS

    And I could fight like a warm wind blowin’ on the breeze
    Driftin’ like our summer memories
    But a cold rain starts a blizzard that goes blowin’ through the leaves
    That keep fallin’ like me

    So I’ll keep my eye
    To the western sky
    Try to find shelter from the rain
    And hope that she believes
    That I believe her when she lies
    Make my getaway before the pain rushes in

    CHORUS

    And I feel the fall comin’ on
    And I feel the fall comin’ on

    Hold It On The Road

    Muddy boots and slammin’ chutes
    Lyin’ in the dust of old Cheyenne
    Just another day
    Gettin’ on and gettin’ gone
    He’s gonna make the next go-round any way he can
    He’s sure it’s gonna pay

    And though he plays an old guitar
    And he writes a song or two
    He don’t think he’s Johnny Cash and he don’t want you to
    He’s just a workin’ man
    Doin’ the best he can

    CHORUS:
    And we gotta hold it on the road
    ‘Cause these old hills are gettin’ higher
    We gotta hold it on the road
    ‘Cause these old eyes are gettin’ tired
    So saddle up it’s time to go
    Man we just keep gettin’ older
    Just another rodeo
    Just another cowboy show
    We gotta hold it on the road

    I write country songs about the rights and wrongs
    And the broken hearts healin’ up on the old dance floor
    In three-quarter time
    Swingin’ doors and sawdust floors
    And every night’s the same as the one before
    I never save a dime

    And though I love the rodeo
    And my cowboy hat and boots
    I don’t think I’m Casey Tibbs and I don’t want you to
    I’m just a workin’ man
    Doin’ the best I can

    CHORUS

    Just another rodeo
    Just another cowboy show
    We gotta hold it on the road

    The Wanderer's Song

    Where the water is clear as a river runnin’ down from heaven
    And the air is pure as a midnight sky
    And the moonbeams dance like a gypsy woman to the music
    Through the timber swayin’ as the wind goes by

    There’s a part of me that might stay here forever
    But I must follow this voice inside my heart
    And I don’t know how but I know I was born to wander
    I follow that one bright shinin’ star

    Down a highway callin’ like a dancin’ gypsy girl
    To another corner of the world
    I find another corner of the world

    It’s a buckaroo spirit it’s the feelin’ of forever
    To go fadin’ into that distant blue
    And once you hear it you know you can turn back never
    ‘Cause this road becomes a part of you

    If I roam too far know that I’ll love you forever
    I leave a little piece of my heart
    And I don’t know how but I know I was born to wander
    I follow that one bright distant star

    Down a highway callin’ like a dancin’ gypsy girl
    To another corner of the world
    I find another corner of the world

    Well I can’t stay long ’cause this road rolls on forever
    But I will always come back where you are
    And I don’t know how but I know I was born to wander
    I follow that one bright northern star

    Down a highway callin’ like a dancin’ gypsy girl
    To another corner of the world
    I find another corner of the world
    I find another corner of the world

    Cottonwood

    Around the rim on Cottonwood
    There stands a cedar shack
    And a pole corral to pen a bronc
    And a shed to hang your khack
    Beneath the peak of lodgepoles
    Between an aspen stand
    Behind the crest of cedars
    That stretch the broken land
    Between the sage and the timber
    Where cattle often hide
    Where I ride to each December to curl up inside
    And look up at the windy peaks
    And feel the fire’s glow
    Then trot out through the morning
    ‘Cross the dusted winter snow
    Around the rim on Cottonwood
    A brand new lion track
    That dots a line up through the draw
    And slowly circles back
    Where somewhere in the bitter night
    He drifted like a spirit
    Beyond the realm of vision
    Not I nor horse could hear it
    But yet the proof that there he crept
    Cut fresh into the snow
    And still I shiver at the thought
    Of where and why he goes
    Around the rim on Cottonwood
    Where deep the canyon cuts
    Into the mountain’s very bowels
    Its twisted winding guts
    The frozen rivers down below
    And warm springs on the hill
    At minus seventeen and more
    The water’s running still
    And running deep are shadows now
    For day does not stay long
    Soon the full moon rises high
    And I can hear the song of one lonely coyote
    Singing farewell to the sun
    Sending out the call that finally evening time has come
    Around the rim on Cottonwood
    My fire’s burning down
    My cabin warm
    My ride was good
    My sleep is sweet and sound

    Deseret

    ‘Tis the age of the educated cowboy
    Though it ain’t the wage of an educated man
    And you can change Cowography a thousand ways
    But you can never change this jagged land

    ‘Tis the place where the past and the future collide
    Computers weigh the heifer in the pen
    But the squeakin’ of the leather beneath me as I ride
    Gets me longin’ for the good old days again

    CHORUS:
    And just another day
    Over Deseret
    And you can tell me how but I’ll punch these cows my own way
    I don’t need a PHD to tell me when the sun will rise and fade
    Over Deseret

    ‘Tis the way that the wind blows through the aspen
    And the freedom of an endless sky and range
    And when it comes to movin’ on I’ll be the last one
    But then again I guess that some things never change

    CHORUS

    Nighthorse

    Well it’s hard to find a night horse
    That one sure-footed right horse
    To ride a cowboy safely through the dark
    The finest one I ever rode
    Was a short-leg bay named Little Joe
    When I signed on with this outfit in South Park
    Well the night was still and the moon went down
    Through the herd there was not a sound
    That’s the time an old hand knows a cow might run
    Sure enough they jumped and ran
    Went crashin’ through the smooth strand
    And twenty buckaroos knew what was to come

    CHORUS:
    They’re runnin’ boys, they’re runnin’
    You all go run along
    Don’t try to turn ’em back ’til they tire
    Just let ’em run their course
    Turn it over to your night horse
    Let him bring you back on home to the fire

    Well a lot of things that night happened
    That later got us laughin’
    ‘Though in the moment we were all strung out pretty tight
    Joe Petty thought a clump of chimeeza
    Was a bedded down herd of cows
    So he circled around ’em singin’ ’til daylight
    Then his night horse stolen by the cook
    Old Bill Jim got set afoot
    Cussin’ out that cook as they rode away
    But they didn’t go far and they had a bad wreck
    Bill’s horse died of a broken neck
    And the cook stumbled through the night in a daze

    CHORUS

    Well it’s gopher holes and steep ravines
    That in the night cannot be seen
    So he must use somethin’ other than his eyes
    Whatever birds fly south on
    I guess that’s what he counts on
    Little Joe could carry me through to sunrise

    CHORUS

    Just let ’em run their course
    Turn it over to your night horse
    Let him bring you back on home to the fire

    Reservation Will

    Apache mama gave her up when she was three weeks old
    She didn’t have a dime or any other place to go
    So some white folks came and took her away to a house up on the hill
    Now a little girl won’t remember what the Reservation will

    CHORUS:
    Now she’s livin’ in a white man’s world
    As a white man’s little girl
    But when she looks in the mirror she don’t know how to feel
    ‘Cause she’s pretty as a blood red rose
    And I wonder if she’ll ever know
    What a little girl won’t remember is what a Reservation will

    They taught her all about freedom and the good old USA
    They put her up in curlers and told her all the right things to say
    And what she really don’t know can’t hurt her like the past ain’t really real
    ‘Cause a little girl won’t remember what a Reservation will

    CHORUS

    They can’t hide forever and I wonder if they know
    They can’t change the color of her soul
    Even though

    CHORUS

    Edge Of The World

    We have gathered here tonight
    A meeting of the heart and the mind
    The answer clearly in sight
    We must leave this world behind

    For I believe there’s land that a man has never seen
    Where the mountains reach the never-ending sky
    Where the waters in the rivers are still deep and pure and clean
    And you can still see the eagle as she flies

    CHORUS:
    Somewhere beyond the edge of the world
    Farther than any man has dreamed
    Where the grass is deep and green and a life of wandering
    Is waiting there beyond the edge of the world

    We have all that we will need
    For our journey through the sky
    And once our spirits are free
    The rest is up to you and I

    And we will ride like a ranger on this very last frontier
    Where the mountains kiss the never-ending sky
    Where the waters in the rivers are still deep and pure and clear
    And you can feel like the eagle as she flies

    CHORUS

    And if only in our dreams
    We will remember all the country we have seen

    CHORUS

    Is waiting there beyond the edge of the world

    High Rollin' Cowboy

    Ten wheels, one road, and five hundred miles
    One horse, one saddle, and five thousand smiles

    CHORUS:
    You better keep it on the highway
    And hold it on the road
    You’re a high rollin’ cowboy
    Ridin’ to the rodeo

    There’s a lot of girls, a lot of money and a whole lot of fame
    It’s a dirty job but you gotta do it, man ain’t it a shame

    CHORUS

    Some people wake up in the same town every day
    Drive to an office and they’d die to get away
    Same people turn their head ’cause they don’t understand
    The ramblin’ spirit of a rodeo man

    So saddle up, time to ride, time to turn out that steer
    And fuel the fire that’s burnin’ inside and then get the hell on outta here

    CHORUS

    The star of the rodeo
    Legend of the rodeo

    Angels Can Do No More
    We laid poor Sammy to his rest
    Dug a deep hole and did our best
    To say the right thing as we knocked the dirt from the shovel
    So far from God and so near to a life of trouble

    No more than a boy when he died like a man
    We stood around his grave with our hats in our hand
    Leanin’ first on one foot and then on the other
    Wishin’ we’d a knowed what to say to write to his mother

    CHORUS:
    But there ain’t much to say when a man dies young
    Before he can do what he should have done
    Leastways the cowboys that knowed him swore
    Sammy done his damnedest
    Angels can do no more

    We stared at our boots and nobody spoke
    ‘Til the trail boss coughed, cleared his throat
    And said to the cook, “Tear a plank off the chuckwagon
    And bring it here to mark the grave of our young companion.”

    So the wranglers made a fire out of dry prairie coal
    The wind fanned the flames ’til the brandin’ iron glowed
    Then we burned in the wood the words we should’ve been sayin’
    Down on our knees like a bunch of growed men prayin’

    CHORUS

    Sammy rode hard and never complained
    Two long years on the Rockin’ Chair range
    Chasin’ them steers down the salt fork of the Red River
    Angels’ and cowboys’ work goes on forever

    And as for myself when it’s my time to die
    I hope there’s a cowhand or two standin’ by
    To pack down the dirt and carry the news to the family
    And say over me what we should’ve said over Sammy

    CHORUS

    CHORUS

    Sammy done his damnedest
    Angels can do no more

    Nightrider

    When the sun sets down and the shadows rise
    And the wind has wandered home
    And the song of sleep pulls on your eyes
    I shall set out alone
    Along the trapper’s trail we’ll trot
    Up to the timberline
    Through glow upon the snow that’s brought
    Fluorescent by moonshine
    Across the snow-blue snowshoe flats
    Until the trail goes thin
    To check the line of coyote traps
    Along the rocky rim
    The rim where they each stop to cry
    Their sighs into the dark
    Across the valleys far and wide
    ‘Tis winter’s meadowlark
    And I can hear one calling now
    From somewhere further on
    So empty does it drift
    And how his chorus carries on
    The sound that sometimes even I
    Will welcome as a friend
    The mournful dead cold cry that sometimes
    Tests the wits of men
    Along the rim we wander
    By the light of stars and moon
    And time not ours to squander
    For the day is rising soon
    As here atop the palest ridge
    We stop to watch the dawn
    The glow above the Eastern Ledge
    Says soon the night is gone
    And gone am I
    Along the draw
    Before the shadows fade
    And confident that no one saw
    The midnight ride I made
    Just tracks along the trapper’s trail
    And two coyotes less to wail

    DEEPER THAN MUD, Brenn’s second recording produced by Veteran Producer and Songwriter Bruce Innes offers proof that this young songwriter means business. This collection of songs portrays the elegance of the western dream as well as the realities of the challenges of ranch life. Another must-have for your cowboy collection.

    RANGEFIRE

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    RANGEFIRE, Brenn’s debut album, received numerous recognitions as this venerable young lion of the western genre boldy portrayed the west with cinematic imagery and depth-of-emotion well-beyond his years. Songs like Call You Cowboy, Rewin The West, and Rangefirehave since become campfire classics. You will listen many times over to this collection.

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