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The lyrics should tell a story, or evoke an emotion. The lyrics do that, and there is a plethora of sprituality, and symbolism, and irony carefully ensconced here and there:
In "Pen And A Piece Of Paper," the guy only needed a piece of paper, not a full sheet, to write down what he remembered. A common refrain comes to mind ("you never listen to me...."), and women the world over may relate, but ,hey, he remembered some stuff, and atleast he tried to remember, and I thought he should get points for that. In "Pretty Soon," the line "I can make it without you, if I never think about you, and pretty soon you will be a long time ago" has a poignant illogical message, but the last verse of the song proves how correct, and how wrong the guy is. He meets his ex-flame by chance, and the song records what is going on in his mind. It IS a long time ago, and his mind did not lie, but the irony is that his heart complains the effect was not what was intimated and he is mad at both of them. On "Pickers and Poets," he contradicts himself ("I never, ever, miss you, but when I do they pull me through....), and then he says "so don't worry about me, I'll be alright." And he says he'll be alright because liars and fools and drunks are not going to let him down. Not good thinking, but maybe he is talking about how badly the girl let him down, huh? Then, too, he is also depending on the pickers and poets and the haunting fiddle music from a long time ago, and the ghosts in the Texas Music moonlight. Maybe he's really smart after all.
The album opens with a happy, upbeat, Texas-swing song, "Blue-eyed Texas Baby," and follows with a Texas-swing waltz about a famous dance hall. "Midnight in Dallas" is the start of the sad times and "You've Got The Blues" is the epitome of rock-bottom, and expresses the ultra-refined emotional agony that comes from hopelessness. A blues/waltz, the instrumentations capture the emotion musically with virtuoso performances, interweaving the sax, piano and fiddle.
From the depths the album becomes more rational and philosophical, attempting to deal with the ravages of a crushed heart and the searing emotional toll of a love that is gone. Thereafter, solace in sought in three spiritual songs and a light-hearted, Redneck attempt is made to explain it all and patch the rift in "Log-Hauler's Lovesong." Finally, the guy is in Texas, and no matter the price, it is worth it, and the album ends on an upbeat Bluegrass song. There is a song here for almost anyone. From Texas-swing to Jazz to Country to Blues to Bluegrass. And they all fit together and tell a story.
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