“Going the Distance” lyrics

Going the Distance

We rolled the Toyota

Out on I-35

When the dust finally settled

Never felt so alive

We drove on in a rental

300 miles the next day

We had friends that were waiting

And songs yet to play

And we’re going the distance

Yeah, we’re going the distance

From Baltimore to Austin

California to Maine

Through roadblocks and detours

Through wind and through rain

We’re going the distance

Right up to the end

Yeah, we’re going the distance

I’m right beside you my friend

‘Cause we never stopped trying

And we never quit

I guess that’s the secret

No matter how hard it gets

Your daddy was hoping

To chase me away

After all of this time

Looks like I’m here to stay

Yeah the years have rolled by

And we’ve had sorrows to mend

But we’re going the distance

I’m right beside you my friend

And we’re going the distance

Right up to the end

Yeah, we’re going the distance

I’m right beside you my friend

We’re going the distance

© words and music by Jim Patton and Jeff Talmadge

That’s What I Do

Can’t hammer a nail

Can’t fix the fence

Can’t hang a picture

But in my defense

I can write you a love song

So deep and true

I can make you laugh,

I can make you cry

That’s what I do

Can’t promise the moon

Can’t pay the rent

I’ve followed my dream

At your expense

But I can write you a love song

So deep and true

I can make you laugh

I can make you cry

That’s what I do

And it goes:

Fa La La La La

It goes:

Fa La La La La

Now I’m kind of rough

Full of scratches and dents

And you’re so beautiful

This should make no sense

But I can write you a love song

So deep and true

I can make you laugh,

I can make you cry

That’s what I do

I can make you laugh,

I can make you cry

That’s what I do

And it goes:

Fa La La La La

It goes:

Fa La La La La

© words and music by Jim Patton

Struggling

I don’t know how this happened

I should be King of the World

I’m the guy with the guitar

I’m the guy who got the girl

But this ground where I’ve been standing

Keeps slipping beneath my feet

Too many worries, too little cash

And these ends won’t ever meet

So I’m struggling

I’m struggling

Can’t afford the doctor

Even when my daughter’s sick

Groceries have gone sky high

The car needs to be fixed

These dues that I’ve been paying

Have yet to pay me back

I’m playing the cards that I was dealt

But the deck is always stacked

So I’m struggling

Each day is another test

I’m struggling

I’m trying to do my best

But I’m struggling

I’m struggling

I’m not exactly drowning

Just a little over my head

A lot of people got it worse

I got a home, I got a bed

No sense being bitter

Or cursing how things are

After all, I still have the girl

And I still have this guitar

But I’m struggling

Each day is another test

I’m struggling

I’m trying to do my best

But I’m struggling

I’m struggling

I’m struggling

I’m not exactly drowning

But I am struggling

I’m struggling

© words and music by Jim Patton and Steve Brooks

Words I Can’t Unsay

I’m sorry I shouted

Those words I said

Shoulda kept ‘em

To myself instead

You never know what will come

Out of my head

I said:

Words I can’t unsay

Words I can’t wish away

You’ll never look at me

The same way

I said words

I can’t unsay

Blame it on my mother,

Blame it on my dad

You oughta see my brother

If you think I’m bad

I come from a house of anger

And I grew up mad

Saying

Words I can’t unsay

Words I can’t wish away

You’ll never look at me

The same way

I said words

I can’t unsay

I’m so sorry I made you cry

For the rest of my life I’ll wonder why

Because saying I’m sorry

Doesn’t take it back

Baby that’s a fact

Guess I shoulda warned ya

Not to get too close

I hurt the ones

Who love me most

I saw that look;

You were pale as a ghost

Cause I said:

Words I can’t unsay

Words I can’t wish away

You’ll never look at me

The same way

I said words

I can’t unsay

© Words and Music by Jim Patton and Jeff Talmadge

Janey It’s All Right

The last time I saw you, babe,

You were heading for an overload

You turned your back on me

I watched you stumble down the road

I heard you drifted up North somewhere

Trying to pay back

A debt you thought you owed

But Janey it’s all right

Babe I would meet you anywhere

Janey it’s all right

You name the place and I’ll be there

Janey it’s all right, it’s all right

It’s all right

Janey it’s all right

All the people that we used to know

I wonder where they’ve gone

I heard they all froze up inside

It’s the ice age coming on

I looked around to ask for help

But they’d vanished

Like the words to that old song

But Janey it’s all right

Babe I would meet you anywhere

Janey it’s all right

You name the place and I’ll be there

Janey it’s all right, it’s all right

It’s all right

Janey it’s all right

Sometimes you take me to places

I’ve never been before

Out of the dark and into the light

A window or an open door

Sometimes I’m so deep inside

I don’t know

How to get out anymore

But Janey it’s all right

Babe I would meet you anywhere

Janey it’s all right

You name the place and I’ll be there

Janey it’s all right, it’s all right

It’s all right

Janey it’s all right

© words and music by Jim Patton

Golden Boy

Golden boy on the ball field

Golden boy with a guitar

We loved you like a brother

Now you’re just a fallen star

You went from hometown hero

To a man who lost his soul

This golden boy turned into

Fool’s gold

Golden boy to your parents

Who bailed you out repeatedly

Golden boy to your lover

Until you practiced to deceive

You went from full of promise

To another guy getting old

This golden boy turned into

Fool’s gold

Some say you were brought down

By your addictions

Or did you fall beneath

The weight of those predictions?

Golden boy in your own eyes

Golden boy to your friends

Until you started to cheat and lie

Now you’re harder to defend

You’re full of rage and anger

At least that’s what I’m told

This golden boy turned into

Fool’s gold

This golden boy turned into

Fool’s gold

© words and music by Jim Patton

Brand New Love

You think this dirty old town’s a beautiful place

Your boss is a jerk but you laugh in his face

You got a goofy grin; a secret smile

You haven’t been this happy in a long long while

Uh-oh, I think it’s true

Brand new love’s got a hold on you

You see life as a window instead of a wall

You don’t complain about the traffic at all

All your darkness turned to day

No one else has ever felt this way!

Uh-oh, I think it’s true

Brand new love’s got a hold on you

You know she’s not a passing thing

You’re working overtime just to buy a ring

Uh-oh, I think it’s true

Brand new love’s got a hold on you

© words and music by Jim Patton and Jeff Talmadge

Facing The Lions

Your philistine father

And his primitive curse

Your psychotic mother

And her fear of the hearse

Your unbearable burdens

Your unquenchable thirst

Now you’re standing alone

A long way from home

And you’re facing the lions

Your ill advised liaisons

Your mistaken beliefs

Your pharisee lovers

Your bottomless grief

Your romantic rebellions

Your chaotic defeats

Now you’re lost in the night

No rescue in sight

And you’re facing the lions

Out in the arena

The battle’s gone wrong

You’re facing the lions

Armed with only a song

Your outrageous behavior

Your mercurial whims

Your imperfect nature

And your Judas-like friends

Your auspicious beginnings

Your untimely end

Now you’re standing alone

A long way from home

And you’re facing the lions

Ah you’re lost in the night

No rescue in sight

And you’re facing the lions

© words & music by Jim Patton

Gino

Gino says the best part of his life

Was played out on a football field

Moment of glory, moon and the stars

Now he’s forgotten how he used to feel

He says he hates his life from the time he wakes up

Until he drinks himself to sleep at night

Never thought he was ever gonna get this old

Until it happened overnight

He still blames his parents for messin’ him up

But the boy just turned 53

Gino keeps banging his head against something

Hoping the pain will leave

Hoping this time he won’t bleed

He rolled his car in front of a cop car

And was able to walk away

And as much as he hates to admit it

That wasn’t close to his worst day

That was years ago

Now he drinks at home

Or at the bar right down the street

He thinks of it as self preservation

Or just a way to get to sleep

He still blames his parents for messin’ him up

But the boy just turned 53

Gino keeps banging his head against something

Hoping the pain will leave

Hoping this time he won’t bleed

Gino sits on the porch of his mother’s house

Watching his brothers’ kids

Playing with joy, full of life, and ambition

The way he and his brothers once did

He thinks about calling an old teammate up

But they’ve run out of things to say

And the night they pummeled Harbortowne

Is thirty five years away

He still blames his parents for messin’ him up

But the boy just turned 53

Gino keeps banging his head against something

Hoping the pain will leave

Hoping this time he won’t bleed

© words and music by Jim Patton

Austin Night

I heard Rubber Soul when I was just 15

Everything changed inside of me

Started playing guitar with my closest friend

Mama and Papa thought I’d reached a dead end

They said I’d never be famous

And they were right

But I’m still making music on an Austin night

So let’s rock

‘Cause it’s all right

I’m still making music on an Austin night

Now I could understand my parents point of view

It’s hard to pay the bills and be an artist too

But fame ain’t what it’s cracked up to be

I hear you’re just a cog in the machinery

They said I’d never get rich

And they were right

But I’m still making music on an Austin night

So let’s rock

‘Cause it’s all right

I’m still making music on an Austin night

Where I came from I was looked on with suspicion

Imagine their dismay at my musical ambition

I’ll admit some dreams did not come true

But that’s the case for all but a fortunate few

I’m not rich or famous, but I’m doing all right

I’m still making music on an Austin night

So let’s rock

‘Cause it’s all right

I’m still making music on an Austin night

© words and music by Jim Patton

I’m Still A Dreaming Man

My dreams did not come true

Bet I can say the same for you

That’s a secret they don’t tell ya as a kid:

Your biggest dreams will die

Or if they don’t, you’ll wish they did

But I’m still a dreaming man

Though my dreams are not the same

As way back when

I know what I am

I’m still a dreaming man

I wished upon a fallen star

Tonight I’m in this Austin bar

I feel like I’m an old beat up guitar

But when I’m up here playing

My dreams don’t seem that far

So I’m still a dreaming man

Though my dreams are not the same

As way back when

I know what I am

I’m still a dreaming man

Letting go of a dream

Is no disgrace

As long as a new one

Takes its place

So I’m still a dreaming man

Though my dreams are not the same

As way back when

I know what I am

I’m still a dreaming man

Yeah, I know what I am

I’m still a dreaming man

© words & music by Jim Patton, Jeff Talmadge, and Steve Brooks

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