Willie Nelson - Ride Me Back Home Album Lyrics

We rode into battle barebacked and saddled
You took the wound in your side
You pulled the sleds and you pulled the wagons
You gave 'em somewhere to hide
Now they don't need you and there's no one to feed you
And there's fences where you used to roam
I wish I could gather up all of your brothers
And you would just ride me back home

Ride me back home to a much better place
Blue skies and sunshine and plenty of space
Somewhere where they would just leave you alone
Somewhere that you could call home
And you would just ride me back home

I got a small place up in the foothills
Where green grass is precious as gold
I paid a fortune for what little I got here
But you know that I'd sell my soul
To have all the mountains, the rivers and valleys
The places where you need to roam
And I would just gather up all of your brothers
And you would just ride me back home

Ride me back home to a much better place
Blue skies and sunshine and plenty of space
Somewhere where they would just leave you alone
Somewhere that you could call home
And you would just ride me back home

Ride me back home to a much better place
Blue skies and sunshine and plenty of space
Somewhere where they would just leave you alone
Somewhere that you could call home
And you would just ride me back home

Time is my friend, my friend
The more I reject it, the more that it kicks in
Just enough to keep me on my toes
I say, come on time, I've beat you before
Come on time, what have you got for me this time?
I'll take your words of wisdom and I'll try to make 'em rhyme
Hey, it's just me and you again, come on time

Time, you're not fooling me
You're something I can't kill
You're flying like a mighty wind
You're never standing still

Time, as you've passed me by
Why did you leave these lines on my face?
You sure have put me in my place
Come on time, come on time
It looks like you're winning the race

Time, you're not fooling me
You're something I can't kill
You're flying like a mighty wind
You're never standing still

Time, as you've passed me by
Why did you leave these lines on my face?
You sure have put me in my place
Come on time, come on time
It looks like you're winning the race
Come on time, come on time
It looks like you're winning the race

My favorite picture of you
Is the one where you're staring
Straight into the lens
It's just a Polaroid shot
Someone took on the spot
No beginning, no end
Just a moment in time that you can't have back
You never left but your bags were packed
Just in case

My favorite picture of you
Is bent and it's faded
And it's pinned to my wall
Oh, and you were so angry
That it's hard to believe
That we were lovers at all
There's a fire in your eyes, your heart's on your sleeve
A curse on your lips, but all I can see is beautiful

My favorite picture of you
Is the one where
Your wings are showing
And your arms are crossed
And your fists are clenched
Not gone, but going
A stand-up angel who won't back down
Nobody's fool and nobody's clown
You were smarter than that

My favorite picture of you
Is the one where
It hasn't rained yet
And as I recall
There came a winter squall
And we got soaking wet
A thousand words in the blink of an eye
The camera loves you and so do I
Click

My favorite picture of you
Is the one where you're staring
Straight into the lens

I had the seven year itch, scratched it out in three
Well, you may say "How?"
But you don't know me
I've taken my licks and I'm paying my fee
I had the seven year itch, scratched it out in three

Been riding my mind 'round my neighborhood
Getting 'nowhere slow but I'm feeling good
Stayed up all night, that's when I'm at my best
Sleep all day and that's too much rest

I had the seven year itch, scratched it out in three
Well, you may say "How?"
But you don't know me
I've taken my licks and I'm paying my fee
I had the seven year itch, scratched it out in three

I went crazy one day but I came back when
I caught myself going crazy again
I decided to write the world's best song
But when I got around to it, it had done moved on

I had the seven year itch, scratched it out in three
Well, you may say "How?"
But you don't know me
I've taken my licks and I'm paying my fee
I had the seven year itch, scratched it out in three

Oh, Ellis Island was swarming
Like a scene from a costume ball
Decked out in the colors of Europe
And on fire with the hope of it all
There my father's own father stood huddled
With the tired and hungry and scared
Turn of the century pilgrims
Bound by the dream that they shared
They were standing in line just like cattle
Poked and sorted and shoved
Some were one desk away from sweet freedom
Some were torn from someone they love
Through this sprawling Tower of Babel
Came a young man, confused and alone
Determined and bound for America
And carrying all that he owned

Sometimes when I looked in my grandfather's immigrant eyes
I saw that day reflected and I couldn't hold my feelings inside
I saw started with nothing and working hard all of his life
"So don't take it for granted," said grandfather's immigrant eyes

He would rock and stare out the window
But his eyes are still just as clear
As the day he sailed through the Harbor
And come ashore on that island of tears
My grandfather's days were numbered
But I won't let his memory die
'Cause he gave me the gift of this country
And the look in his immigrant eyes

Sometimes when I looked in my grandfather's immigrant eyes
I saw that day reflected and couldn't hold my feelings inside
I saw started with nothing and working hard all of his life
"So don't take it for granted," said grandfather's immigrant eyes
"Don't take it for granted," said grandfather's immigrant eyes

Stay away from lonely places follow the crowd
Stay around familiar faces play the music loud
Be seen at all the parties dress yourself in style
Stay away from lonely places for awhile

Stay away from lonely places
till you learn to live alone
Someone's outstretched arms are waiting
to stay with you at least till dawn
Remember that sorrow prospers in a heart that never smiles
So stay away from lonely places for awhile

Stay away from lonely places
it takes time to learn to live alone
And someone's outstretched arms are waiting
to stay with you at least till dawn
Remember that sorrow prospers in a heart that never smiles
So stay away from lonely places for awhile

Don't go changing to try and please me
You've never let me down before
And don't imagine you're too familiar
And I don't see you anymore
I would not leave you in times of trouble
We never could have come this far
I took the good times and I'll take the bad times
I'll take you just the way you are

And don't go trying some new fashion
Don't change the color of your hair
You always have my unspoken passion
Although I may not seem to care
I don't want clever conversation
I never want to work that hard
I just want someone that I can talk to
I want you just the way you are

I need to know that you will always be
The same old someone that I knew
What will it take 'til you believe in me
The way that I believe in you?
I said I love you and that's forever
And this I promise from the heart
But I couldn't love you any better
I love you just the way you are

I don't want clever conversation
I never want to work that hard
I just want someone that I can talk to
I want you just the way you are

I got one more song to write
And I've got one more bridge to burn
I've got one more endless night
One more lesson to be learned
One more hill to climb
And it's somewhere in my mind
I'll know it when it's right
I've got one more song to write

I got one more horse to ride
And no more secrets left to hide
No more staring at the sun
Just to watch them ponies run
No more bounty to divide
There ain't no secrets left to hide
My life's an open book
Turn the page and have a look

I got one more song to write
And I've got one more bridge to burn
I've got one more endless night
One more lesson to be learned
One more hill to climb
And it's somewhere in my mind
But I'll know it when it's right
I've got one more song to write

I got one more song to write
I got one more bridge to burn
I've got one more endless night
One more lesson to be learned
One more hill to climb
And it's somewhere in my mind
I'll know it when it's right
I've got one more song to write

He was choking back the tears
As he tried to tell his wife
That the job he'd had for years
He'd worked hard all his life
That everything went south
And he couldn't meet the bills
And he had to sell the house
That his daddy built

And he'd ask how such a thing could be happening
But he was sure there was nobody listening

In the Gulf of Mexico
Near the town of New Orleans
Where all the tourists go
In this land of hopes and dreams
Then there came a killer storm
A devastating flood
And the people, they were warned
That it would turn their streets to mud

Sure enough, that storm took everything
And it was like there was nobody listening

In these days of change and mass communication
Seems like no one's plugged into the sounds of desperation
And they say the future's just an extension of the past
And history has knack of coming back

Now the writer takes his pen
And he tries to find the words
Though time and time again
They often go unheard
And the singer sings his song
And he tries to impart
All the troubles going on
Weighing heavy on his heart

But what good is the song that he has to sing
When nobody's listening?
But I know why he has to try to sing
'Cause he believes that somebody's listening

Oh Lord, it's hard to be humble
When you're perfect in every way
I can't wait to look in the mirror
'Cause I get better looking each day
To know me is to love me
I must be a hell of a man
Oh Lord, it's hard to be humble
But I'm doing the best that I can

I used to have me a girlfriend
But I guess that she couldn't compete
With all of them love-starved women
Who keep clamoring around at my feet
Well I probably could find me another
But I guess they're all in awe of me (oh man)
Who cares? I'll never get lonesome
'Cause I treasure my own company

Oh Lord, it's hard to be humble
When you're perfect in every way
I can't wait to look in the mirror
'Cause I get better looking each day
To know me is to love me
I must be one hell of a man
Oh Lord, it's hard to be humble
But I'm doing the best that we can

I guess you could say I'm a loner (yeah)
A cowboy outlaw, tough and proud
I could have a lot of friends if I wanted
But then I wouldn't stand out from the crowd
Some folks say that I'm egotistical
Hell, I don't even know what that means
I guess it has something to do with the way
That I fill out my skintight blue jeans

Oh Lord, it's hard to be humble
When you're perfect in every way
I can't wait to look in the mirror
But I get better looking each day
To know me is to love me
I must be one hell of a man
Oh Lord, it's hard to be humble
But I'm doing the best that we can
Lord, it's hard to be humble
But I'm doing the best that I can

Here you are, back on my mind, where you stay quite a lot
Bringing back all the old memories I thought I'd forgot
I just keep finding you with me and I don't know why
Maybe I should've been listening when you said goodbye

I can't believe how you keep hanging on to my mind
Now I know leaving means one goes and one stays behind
I can't escape from you no matter how hard I try
Maybe I should've been listening when you said goodbye

Maybe I should've been watching when you walked away
Maybe you wouldn't keep turning up day after day
If I'd payed attention, I'd known that you didn't lie
Maybe I should've been listening when you said goodbye
Maybe I should have been listening when you said goodbye