Rob Boyle

Rob Boyle

My plane into Bozeman is late by an hour again

The mountains don’t care,

‘Cuz they’ve been waiting since God knows when

I came here to listen to a mother

That’s naturally born to sing sweet harmony

She asked me to stay for a while to be her melody

These valleys are altars anointed by new fallen snow

Where I’ve found a little hang on

And a little let go

I raised a boy up, and I held the hand

Of a woman while she said goodbye;

Memories that are as deep as a Montana sky

Every so often, when I hear the wind in the trees

I get a catch in my voice

And a bend in my knees

‘Cuz I want to see you, I want to feel your cool breath

Whispering I’m not far away

Here where the rivers run slow through heavenly days

My plane into Bozeman is late by an hour again

The mountains don’t care,

‘Cuz they’ve been waiting since God knows when

I came here to listen to a mother

That’s naturally born to sing sweet harmony

She asked me to stay for a while to be her melody

Rob Boyle and Johnny Henry

The girl in a white t-shirt frames her smile with cinnamon hair                                              
She’s got a secret she’s willing to share if someone will listen to her

It ain’t because she’s hurt, there are places that she needs to go
Chase the wind wherever it blows and find what she’s been missing

She wants to ride on the back of a Triumph out to the coast in the fall
With unfamiliar colors and breezes surrounding it all
She wants to dance in a swaying field where the air is tempting and sweet
With the late September sun on her face and dirt on her feet        
The girl in a white t-shirt

The girl in a white t-shirt has eyes that warm the things they see
But a little wild and free still shines through them

One thing that’s for certain is she’s tired of all the rules            
She’d like to be where the dreamers and fools find truth in everything they see

She wants to ride on the back of a Triumph out to the coast in the fall
With unfamiliar colors and breezes surrounding it all
She wants to dance in a swaying field where the air is tempting and sweet
With the late September sun on her face and dirt on her feet
The girl in a white t-shirt

The girl in a white t-shirt frames her smile with cinnamon hair
She’s got a secret she’s willing to share if someone would only hear her say

She wants to ride on the back of a Triumph out to the coast in the fall           
With unfamiliar colors and breezes surrounding it all                          
She wants to dance in a swaying field where the air is tempting and sweet
With the late September sun on her face and dirt on her feet
 
The girl in a white t-shirt
The girl in a white t-shirt

Rob Boyle

On a dark mid-winter afternoon
I knew my flight was leaving soon
So I rushed down through the jet way         
And forgot where I was bound

I walked past a hundred faces
To the final row, a peaceful space
It’s like I found my destination
Before we left the ground

There were words hanging in the air
That seemed to pull us home and suspend our care
Yes, I knew you once when gravity was defied
The night that we were lifted to a Carolina sky

Faith and leaving, strength and love
Were heightened thoughts while we rose above
The Earth stayed many miles away
And time melted like snow

There was an ease to comprehend
And I hoped we would not descend
Just let this crazy trip go on
And leave the world below

There were words hanging in the air
That seemed to pull us home and suspend our care
Yes, I knew you once when gravity was defied
The night that we were lifted to a Carolina sky

The landing could not have been any better
But it felt just a little like I fell
The airport brought back something so familiar
Then standing at the baggage carousel…

There were words hanging in the air
That seemed to pull us home and suspend our care
Yes, I knew you once when gravity was defied
The night that we were lifted to a Carolina sky

Yes, I knew you once when gravity was defied
The night that we were lifted to a Carolina sky

Rob Boyle

I think I saw your ghost, but this place ain’t haunted
I guess that you were all I really wanted
You brought on the chill in late December
The quiet days that I can still remember

Calling January, she found her way home          
Calling January, she found her way home

Your harvest greened and bloomed, but I’ve not forgotten
That underneath the snow these fields are rotten                         
I don’t want spring;  I won’t wish the cold away
Just let me stay here with your ghost for one more day

Calling January, she found her way home          
Calling January, she found her way home

Outside there’s a voice echoing fury in the wind
It wakes me up, but I don’t feel afraid
So I walk to the window, wipe the frost away to see         
A season’s apparition drift away

When winter’s up and gone, and I know you’re leavin’
You’ll still be a spirit I believe in                   
Let April rain, let August burn
It’s enough to know that maybe someday you’ll return

Calling January, she found her way home
Calling January, she found her way home

 

Rob Boyle

Hey Lilac, you are the center of my day
You bring my soul back in a hundred different ways
Your name’s not soft like Lilly, Rue, or Fern but I don’t mind
‘Cause Lilac, you are the memorable kind

Spring came one late April afternoon
And while the rain fell outside the window of my room
I said come on Lilac; tell me when will you appear     
It looks like I’m a little better when you’re near

I thought by June that you’d be mine
But summer soil turned alkaline
And autumn brought a hard November freeze
You said it’s time to rest a while
‘Cause withering is not your style
But when our eyes reopen,
We’ll dance and laugh the way we please

You put roots in a place where others wouldn’t dare
Then stood your ground quietly peddling your wares
Lilac, tell the truth, are you the author of this scene   
With its tales of lavender and melodies of green

Hey Lilac, you are the center of my day
You bring my soul back in a hundred different ways
Your name’s not soft like Lilly, Rue, or Fern but I don’t mind
‘Cause Lilac, you are the memorable kind

 

Rob Boyle

Jimmy drinks gin from the bottle
And prays the Lord won’t see the crime
He got himself tight under cover of night         
And he is down to his last dime
        
The jobs at the factory are leaving
His neighbors find work when they can           
For a chance, some men lied, but Jimmy’s got pride               
And he won’t be another man

La la la la, he is tired of dying
La la la la, so he won’t bend this time
There is a consequence, there’ll be a change    
If he writes another man’s rhyme

Katherine sure was a beauty
They met up north in ‘63     
For twenty-five years that girl rested his fears
And she was his only family

To this day, he doesn’t blame her             
‘Cause things didn’t work like they planned        
His drinking brought doubt, then the money ran out         
And she found another man

La la la la, he is tired of dying
La la la la, so he won’t bend this time
There is a consequence, there’ll be a change    
If he writes another man’s rhyme

Jimmy looks through an old bottle
The blur gives him cover to hide         
He’s out on his own, but he’s never alone         
The Devil stays close by his side
                
But the Devil’s a no good companion
He’ll reach out then pull back his hand
With a mind ill at ease, Jimmy falls to his knees               
To find faith in another man

La la la la, he is tired of dying
La la la la, so he won’t bend this time
There is a consequence, there’ll be a change    
If he writes another man’s rhyme

 

Rob Boyle

On and on the phone keeps ringing
But all along her lips keep singing
Songs that bring back memories
From days she used to know

This town is getting colder
And she's a little older
So she slow dances across the room
Alone before she goes
 
It's taken time to realize she don't love him anymore
She'll put one hand on her Bible before she closes the door

The fire turns to ember
Still she's thankful for December
The winter always speaks to her
And knows what words to say

Her bag is packed and waiting
And she's not contemplating    
But maybe she could pour just one               
Before she walks  away

It's taken time to realize she don't love him anymore
She'll put one hand on her Bible before she closes the door

Ain't no rain that's falling
No horizon calling
It's just the turning of a page

She takes one more look around
It's quiet till she hears the sound
Of the second hand's reminder
It's time to say goodbye

There's no telling where she's going
When she gets there she will know
And maybe there will be some peace
Of mind that she can try

It's taken time to realize she don't love him anymore
She'll put one hand on her Bible before she closes the door
She'll put one hand on her Bible before she closes the door

Rob Boyle

Third shift’s never easy, working nights is pretty hard
From Twelve to Eight I pull my weight out in the factory yard
When morning comes I punch the clock, I’m tired but I don’t care
Because I know that she’ll be waiting there

I’ll get a little Blue Collar Lovin’ from the girl I love the best           
When I get home from work she says that it ain’t time to rest       
We might stay on the couch, but we ain’t gonna watch TV                        
Make a little Blue Collar Lovin’ with me

Every night I give eight hours to pay the bills I owe
I stay awake; I bleed and ache, and sweat despite the cold
When I see the sun come up, I know it won’t be long
I’ll be back to where our love is strong

I’ll get a little Blue Collar Lovin’ from the girl I love the best            
When I get home from work she says that it ain’t time to rest       
Forget about the bills, cause what we’re gonna do is free                        
Make a little Blue Collar Lovin’ with me

Third shift’s never easy, working nights is pretty hard
From Twelve to Eight I pull my weight out in the factory yard
When morning comes I punch the clock, I’m tired but I don’t care
Because I know that she’ll be waiting there

I’ll get a little Blue Collar Lovin’ from the girl I love the best            
When I get home from work she says that it ain’t time to rest
Close the blinds and lock the door then throw away the key
                        
Make a little Blue Collar Lovin’ with me                            
Make a little Blue Collar Lovin’ with me
Make a little Blue Collar Lovin’ with me

 

Rob Boyle

I'm lying in this hotel with some thoughts I left behind
The clouds outside my window match the clouds inside my mind
I'm tired of the leaving and I'm worn out from the day
But you're still with me while I drift away

I want to run to you without ever moving
I want to feel like I am falling till my eyes open and you
Are there with the honey sun
Silhouetting your face with its golden beam
And I want to love you like I love you in my dream
I want to love you like I love you in my dream

There's a moment of where am I while my consciousness returns
To the images that danced above those I'm alone concerns
I don't know what woke me, but I do know what I feel
The pictures in my head were something real

I want to run to you without ever moving
I want to feel like I am falling till my eyes open and you
Are there with the honey sun
Silhouetting your face with its golden beam
And I want to love you like I love you in my dream
I want to love you like I love you in my dream

Looking back, I guess it’s not that hard to understand
Why nighttime played those scenes of me still reaching for your hand
It was a silent film with bending edges, limitless in time
With pale blue skies and clocks that never chime

I want to run to you without ever moving
I want to feel like I am falling till my eyes open and you
Are there with the honey sun
Silhouetting your face with its golden beam
And I want to love you like I love you in my dream

I want to love you like I love you in my dream                       
I want to love you like I love you in my dream

Rob Boyle

There was no other way for me to make a living
When men from the lower forty-eight came signing laborers names
They said the wage is fair, but the land is unforgiving
At dawn we'll steam out of Charlottetown bound for Casco Bay, Maine

Prince Edward Island's cold, but north New England's colder
January's fury hardened my will and my hands
Brick and mortar, steel and time made all the men look older
I hope that boy still knows my face when he moves down from Grand River
            
I'm tired, and it's a long, long time from home

In a rare and welcome quiet time, I think about my calling
My father wanted more for me, but his trade carved the way
From Scotland to the Maritimes, this hammer keeps on falling
Now it falls on bending metal that just won't bend today

I wonder who'll remember me when these years have come and gone
Will someone find my struggles and my tools somewhere
In an attic where I rested till the morning light came shining on    
My face and I no longer had to walk down those stairs

I'm tired, and it's a long, long time from home

There was no other way for me to make a living
When men from the lower forty-eight came signing laborers names
They said the wage is fair, but the land is unforgiving
At dawn we'll steam out of Charlottetown bound for Casco Bay, Maine