CD LYRICS: FIRST WORLD REFUGEE

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PACIFICO BLUE Blue water and sunny skies/ Another day in paradise/ It wasn't long ago we said goodbye and I ended up down here/ Now who's to blame I can't recall / But who cares, it doesn't matter at all / 'Cause I'm a world away from you sucking down an ice cold beer / But things never work out the way quite like I planned / What are you doing back on my mind again?/

Sand dollars and pesos / A slight buzz and a sunburned nose / It ain't much but it's something to show for all this wasted time / I thought the beaches and the ocean view were all I needed to get over you / The sun is shining like tequila gold but I'm Pacifico blue

I could tell you about the fun I've had / At first it wasn't all that bad / The weather's nice and the people are too so how could I complain / But last night when I was all alone / I left a message at the sound of the tone / And said honey won't you pick up the phone before I go insane / You cut me off and you left me hanging on the line / Pulled out a glass and I chased you off my mind/ REPEAT CHORUS

 

A WORD IN SPANISH A hot night in this border town I'm a thousand miles from home / Your friend's out dancing with some guy and she left you there alone / Across this dark and crowded room you've been sitting there a while / What's that, did I just catch you smile? / A word in Spanish / I wish I only knew a word in Spanish / ‘Cause I'd sure like to talk to you / A word in Spanish / Maybe we could have some fun before the night is through

Now I'm no Latin lover but maybe I could learn / ‘Cause just one look at you and my passion starts to burn / Maybe it's those big brown eyes man they're driving me insane / But something tells me girl, you feel the same / A word in Spanish / I wish I only knew a word in Spanish / ‘Cause I'd sure like to talk to you / A word in Spanish / Maybe we could have some fun before the night is through

How did I end up out here / What did I say / To get you all alone with me right now / Whisper to me one more time / Let your sweet words flow / Could it be that you and me speak a language of our own? / Tell me once again a word in Spanish/ I think I finally understand a word in Spanish / Oye, morenita, andale

 

FIRST WORLD REFUGEE He wakes up and he looks out at the ocean / A big old lazy sun paints the morning sky / Somewhere off the coast of Hispaniola / He gently rubs the sleep out of his eyes / He's on the third year of a two week long vacation / Wasted too many years working too much overtime / Just to surround himself with stuff he never wanted / Til he hopped on board that boat and waved goodbye / Just the other day he took that cellphone and tossed it out in the Caribbean sea

They call him a first world refugee / Far away from the land of the free / He's got tropical sunshine running through his blood / Uncle Sam forgot his name / And he's never going back again / 'Cause he finally found a place to call his home

He reaches down below and grabs that old spear gun / 'Cause an ocean full of fish are calling out his name / Jump overboard and he'll swim out toward the island / Catch his lunch and come back home again / Now the folks back home say he must be smoking something / But they don't know what it is that gets him high / You see there's something in these blue and emerald waters / Gives him a buzz that money just can't buy/ So he heads that sailboat straight into the sunset / Hey there's no place on this earth he'd rather be /REPEAT CHORUS

Life is good on this side of the sandbar / Ain't no doubt about it this is where he's born to be / REPEAT CHORUS

 

GOODBYE You picked me up when I was feeling down / I've gotten kind of used to you hanging around / Now the taxicab is on its way / There's hardly time to hold you / And barely time to say/ Goodbye to you and a side of me that I never knew / Don't think I'll ever be the same again / Goodbye to us / Not really sure what this all was / But at least we had the chance to try / So long, adios, goodbye

You'll always have a place here in my heart / No matter where I go, no matter where you are / I thank you for the joy that you brought to me / For the laughter and the smiles / If it was only for a while / Goodbye to you and a side of me that I never knew / Don't think I'll ever be the same again / Goodbye to us / Not really sure what this all was / But I couldn't forget you even if I tried / So long, adios, goodbye

I should've known that it would end this way / Hey we both know it's over but it's still so hard to say / Goodbye to you and a side of me that I never knew / Don't think I'll ever be the same again / Goodbye to us / Not really sure what this all was / But at least we had the chance to try / So long, adios, goodbye

 

THIS AIN'T ME Miles and miles and miles of asphalt / Rooftops as far as I can see /These stores have things I never knew existed / And they're all necessities / Six months, three weeks, two days a counting / But don't it feel like it's been years / Look out at this big old town and wonder what in the world am I doing here / 'Cause there ain't no sun setting over the water / There ain't no soft warm sand beneath my feet / I heard I'm doing well, they call this place big time / But can't you see this ain't me / My body's here but my soul is somewhere beside the sea

These people, they never slow down / You've got to drive about an hour just to get to the other side of town / But why go there / It all looks the same / Strip malls and stucco walls and hamburger chains / And the kids here don't play outside / You walk through the neighborhood, there's not a soul in sight / And the stars must have disappeared / ‘Cause the only lights I see at night are planes bringing more people here / The sign says welcome to Phoenix, Arizona / Population more than I can take / To me it's all just LA California / But can't you see this ain't me / And this ain't the town that I remember in my dreams

Road rage and drive-bys fill the headlines / Late at night I hear those sirens scream / The smog's so thick I can't see the horizon / Won't someone wake me from this crazy dream / Five o'clock madness out on the freeway / Come Monday plays on my radio / Tonight I think I'll blow right past that exit / Aim for the distance and keep on going / ‘Cause I need a sun setting over some water / I need some soft warm sand beneath my feet / I've got to watch a wave breaking on the shoreline / Can't you see that's more like me / Forget about this place I'm heading back to the sea

 

HE REMEMBERS He remembers how she used to love the water / How she would play out in the ocean all day long / A Southern California girl / A sweet smile and soft brown curls / He wonders where those summer days have gone / ‘Cause seasons change and autumn nights grow cold / Funny how the time can take its toll / He remembers how she used to wake up laughing / From a crazy dream she'd had the night before / His whole world revolved around her / He couldn't believe he'd ever found her / Whatever happened to the girl he used to know / It's like she disappeared, gone without a trace / And he sure does miss that smile on her face and he says

Oh girl, I need you / I live you, and I breathe you / And once upon a time you felt the same / Was it me, was it you / Was it something I didn't do / You're right beside me but your heart's so far away

She remembers how he used to come home early / Back before he could afford to lose that job / With little gifts and cards and flowers just to be with her an extra hour / She wonders where those first few years have gone / Was it all a dream that never did come true / Did he get bored, or find somebody new / She remembers how he used to take her dancing / How they would drive up to the mountains now and then / Now they never even hit the beach / And all he does is watch TV / She can't believe this once was her best friend / Whatever happened to the guy he used to be / Is he in this house, or just a memory / And she thinks

Oh yeah, I need you / I live you, and I breathe you / Once upon a time you felt the same / Was it me, was it you / Was it something I didn't do / You're right beside me but you feel so far away /

Now the candle keeps on burning and the world keeps on turning / And it ain't gonna slow down any time soon / We gotta turn this thing around / Get our love back on solid ground / ‘Cause this story sounds a lot like me and you / He remembers / She remembers / We remember

 

DRINKING MEXICO DRY Spring breakers with salt shakers chasing every shot with a lime / Old geezers and gold diggers / It's amazing what money can buy / They're all drinking Mexico dry / Dancing on the tables and falling on the floor / They're all drinking Mexico dry / And I wish that they would just go home

He dumped his wife way up in Dallas / Ain't seen his kids in a year / He's forty five, she's nineteen / Hey baby, can I buy you a beer? / He's drinking Mexico dry / Expatriated from the red, white and blue / Drinking Mexico dry / And I wish that he would just go home

They'll always tell you don't drink the water but this ain't what they mean / They call the culture intoxicating but I look around and all I see / Are underage white trash playing king for a day / Screaming hey waiter speak English can't you see I'm from the USA / Drinking Mexico dry / One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor! / Drinking Mexico dry / And I wish that they would just go home

He wants to live “La Vida Loca” / He wants to really get wild / Another shot and vacation's over / Now he's here for a while / ‘Cause he got hammered, he got nailed / They threw his butt in the can / Now it's please God, get me out / And I'll never drink tequila again / No more drinking Mexico dry / He's finally learning how to say no more / Drinking Mexico dry /And he wishes he could just go home / Skanky folks with rum and cokes /I wish that they would just go home

 

THAT'S WHAT IT TAKES Interstates and endless two lane highways / Seems like years since I've been gone / But the lines on this old road map must be lying / ‘Cause in my rearview mirror I swear I still see home / No one ever told us this was easy / A baby boy and a stack of bills to pay / Who knows what might have happened if I only took that job / Maybe I'd be there with you today / But that's what it takes to make our dreams come true / Standing on a stage singing about me and you / So take that little boy and hold him tight / And tell him that his daddy misses him tonight

Do you remember when I first sang you a love song / If you'd only known back then how things would be / Spend half of my life out on some highway instead of there at home with my family / Me and this guitar, we've had some good times / There's nothing in this world I'd rather do / But these towns all look the same to me / The bars, the cheap motels / All that I can think about is you / ‘Cause that's what it takes to make our dreams come true / Standing on a stage singing about me and you / So take our little boy and hold him tight / And tell him that his daddy misses you tonight

I wrote this long distance dedication / Though you'll never hear this song on the radio / On the road ahead lie unknown destinations / Guess that I just wanted you to know / That's what it takes to make our dreams come true / Standing on a stage singing about me and you / So take that little boy and hold him tight / And tell him that his daddy misses him tonight / Tell him that his daddy misses you

 

 

 

A FISHERMAN'S DAUGHTER That little diamond is way too tiny / She said is this the best ring you could buy me / Don't you know this is her big day / And daddy's girl always gets her way / But little does she know that not so long ago / On that weekend they didn't talk / It's not quite what she thought / Three days on a desolate coast / South of the border down in Mexico / A sleeping bag and an old guitar / Camping out under the stars / A quick flight away from one angry fiancée / You should have heard her girlfriends talking while on that first night he went walking past a shack down by the water / That's when he first saw the fisherman's daughter

It wasn't planned, it just kind of happened / He waved at her and she smiled at him / Her daddy didn't like that much / He turned around and went back in the hut / But later on that night between dusk and morning light / I guess Spanish class paid off / They laughed and joked and talked / Not like the babe in Bride Magazine / A ragged shirt and some worn out jeans / Big brown eyes and skin so tan / Kind of shy kind of innocent / And he told her about his girl in her “gotta have it” world / The credit cards, the catalogs / The nose job and the spas / And the night got dark and the fire grew hotter / Hanging out with a fisherman's daughter

For a girl raised on nothing she sure was something else / For the first time in ages he could simply be himself / They spent that weekend all alone together and wished somehow the now could last forever

Somebody's having a real bad hair day freaking out and fighting with the bridesmaid / The church is packed, it's half past noon / Nobody's seen or heard from the groom / But just down the street he stumbles to his feet / Lays down a tip of fifty bucks / The bartender says “good luck” / He made it there in the nick of time / Her dad was mad and her mom was crying / Before he had a chance to say a thing / He heard those church bells ring / Here comes the bride marching down the aisle / He could hear his own heartbeat / Was it the booze or just cold feet? Then the best man grinned and the bride got ill / When he looked at her and said “I gotta bail” / I really hate to stand you up at the altar / But I'm in love with a fisherman's daughter

 

SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE Messing around in the middle of class and counting down the days / Who can think about first grade math with summer on the way / They called my parents on the telephone and said he's having too much fun / We're gonna keep him after school again / He better straighten up / Back in nineteen sixty something we busted on to the scene / Through it all I had a ball / Look in the mirror and I see / Some things never change though life gets rearranged / And time has turned that dark hair into gray / There are wrinkles and some lines from years of damn good times / But deep inside you know I'm still the same / Some things never change

Was it really twenty years ago or just the other day / Across the border down in Mexico in a beat up old Chevrolet / We stumbled in and staggered out of every bar in town / And prayed our folks would not find out / But buddy we were wrong / Well the details are kind of fuzzy but we woke up and the car was gone / And we swore we learned our lesson as we hitch-hiked our way home / Some things never change though life gets rearranged / And time has turned your dark hair into gray / There are wrinkles and some lines from years of damn good times / But deep inside you know you're still the same / Some things never change

Now the time just keeps on flying / The years they come and go / We're getting older, there's no denying / Still it's kind of nice to know some things never change though life gets rearranged / And time has turned our dark hair into gray / There are wrinkles and some lines from years of damn good times / But deep inside you know we're still the same / Some things never change

 

THE COAST OF NOWHERE The sun's coming up and the dogs are barking outside / She says this one's for luck and she kisses him goodbye / He looks about fifty but he's only thirty five / Fishing ain't easy but it's all that keeps him alive / But he can't quit now he's got mouths to feed / So he aims that panga out to sea / And heads out on another run off the coast of nowhere

Spanish explorers and ghosts from long ago still haunt these tranquil waters/ Still roam these Cortez shores / And the voice of the Seri whispers on the wind / Telling tales in a language nobody understands / How before the days of you and me magnificent creatures ruled these seas / All through the centuries off the coast of nowhere

Marlins and mantas, dolphins and whales would put on a show for the men who set sail / Conquistadors of a world untouched by time / Mysterious secrets better left untold / By dreamers and vagabond drifters and castaway souls

Pirates and thieves in search of pink gold / On Mexican shrimpers all rusty and old / Are leaving one big empty wake behind / From Cabo to Kino, Penasco to Mulege / Seems all that they left us are memories of yesterday /

Now the sun's going down and the day is almost done / He takes one last look behind and sees a silhouette of Tiburon / Just like his father a generation before / He looks out on the water and wonders how many decades more / ‘Til there's nothing left of the sea turtle here / And that last vaquita disappears / That day is getting near off the coast of nowhere / What's he gonna tell his son when the nets are empty and the fish are all gone / They say it won't be long

 

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