CD LYRICS: SAME BEER, DIFFERENT CAN

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BACK UNDER BLUE SKY (Mark Mulligan)

Up there they're up to thirty eight
Down here we're down to seventy five
While the weatherman in Cleveland says the rain ain’t gonna end
And they’re freezing up in Denver in the ice and snow and wind

I’m back under blue sky, back in the sunshine
Back where I ought to be
Like a fish out of water suddenly tossed back into the sea
One glimpse of the ocean and waves in slow motion
No need to ask me why
I’m back under blue sky

Looking back I guess I can’t complain
The folks were nice and the job it paid real well
But the truth is I don’t get how people keep from going insane
Cooped up in their houses seeking shelter from the rain

I’m back under blue sky, back in the sunshine
Back where I ought to be
Like a fish out of water suddenly tossed back into the sea
One glimpse of the ocean and waves in slow motion
No need to ask me why
I’m back under blue sky

Bundled up ain’t how I’m meant to be
Flip flops and tank tops, that’s more like me

I’m back under blue sky, back in the sunshine
Back where I ought to be
Like a fish out of water suddenly tossed back into the sea
The sound of the ocean and waves in slow motion
No need to ask me why
I’m back under blue sky

 

SAME BEER, DIFFERENT CAN (Mark Mulligan, Thom Shepherd)

The old man drank a beer every now and then
One day we cracked a couple, just me and him
At eighty years old, oh the stories he could tell you
About his far flung friends from France to Venezuela

He said I’ve swigged Fosters with Aussies
And Guinness in an Irish Pub
Drank a Shiner Bock in Luckenbach and buddy sure enough

It’s all the same beer, different can
Different labels, different brands
The more you sip, the more you understand
We’re all the same beer, different can

My pal Thom Shephard did a tour overseas
Singing for all our folks stationed in the Middle East
At the Ambassador’s home right there in Riyadh
He sang a special song he wrote about his dad

When the show was over, and he was loading up the band
This guy walked up to Thom and stuck out his hand
And said that song about your father really meant a lot to me
‘Cause I just lost mine, and you described him perfectly

Now that man had on a white robe
And wore sandles on his feet
He had a gutra on his head
Man, it ain’t that hard to see 

We’re all the same beer, different can
Different labels and different brands
The more you sip, the more you understand
We’re all the same beer, different can

My old friend said I believe
God's gonna get a good laugh
When we learn all of us Buds and Millers
Landsharks, Coors and even Pabsts

We're all the same beer in different cans
Just different labels and different brands
The more you sip the more you understand
We’re all the same beer, different can
Same beer, different can

BACOCHIBAMPO BAY (Mark Mulligan)

A gringo accent lingers on my tongue from a past existence
In a distant place another world away
Where I once dodged traffic, not oyster cages and crab traps
Until echoes on the wind led me away

Bacochibampo Bay, your tranquil waters and shades of blue
Your peaceful winds, they tamed my restless ways
Bacochibampo Bay, Bacochibampo Bay

It’s a show out on the water when the dolphins come to play
I watch them as they dance across my wake
And this coastal conversation of waves instead of words
Is a soothing sound that somehow seems to say

Bacochibampo Bay, untold stories and hidden dreams
The tourist crowds still don’t know your name
Bacochibampo Bay, Bacochibampo Bay

Up north they’re getting by and without me, they’ll do just fine
Their bank accounts have more than mine will ever see one day

Ripples lap the shoreline as the tide rolls gently in
And a lazy yellow sun hangs in the air
It crawls toward the horizon across an ever changing sky
Descending slowly til it disappears

On Bacochibampo Bay
That’s the place I call my home
Forget the world, I think I’d rather stay
Yeah, keep the money, me I’d rather stay
In Bacochibampo Bay, Bacochibampo Bay
It’s just another day, Bacochibampo Bay

 

LITTLE BOAT IN THE WATER (Mark Mulligan)

Little boat in the water
Big boat in the yard
Sitting up on a trailer
Bound with tie downs and a tarp
Always one thing or another
Keeps that hull from getting wet
Now summer’s halfway over
She still ain’t been out there yet
Little boat’s in the water
Big boat’s in the yard

Flashy and extravagant from bow to stern
He arrogantly christened her “Money To Burn”
But problem after problem makes a boat mechanic rich
Didn’t take very long til he said man I wish

I had a little boat in the water
Not this big boat in the yard
He hears a single outboard chugging
While his twins won’t even start
He never could break that addiction
Always had to have more
So much for all that bragging
Saying what’s money for?
Little boat’s in the water
Big boat’s in the yard

She said I’ve met my man
When she laid eyes on that craft
The house, the cars, the money
She said “I can do that”
Til reality caught up and soon
Everything went south
With a wake of debt behind them
She said “you work it out”

Now little boat’s in the water
Bouncing across the bay
While the sea of bills he’s sinking in
Gets deeper every day
His lawyer’s talking options
It’s looking pretty grim
Stares out of his office window
And remembers when

He had a little boat on the water
Not a big boat in the yard
Somewhere he got sucked in
Now he just wants out
‘Cause bigger don’t mean better
Sometime’s enough’s enough
Forget that stupid joke
‘Bout he who dies with the most stuff
Just keep a little boat on the water
Some fancy yacht, no need to bother
Just a little boat on the water

 

THIS LETTER (Mark Mulligan)

Excuse me if I ramble on a little more than I really should
I’d pull this pen from this paper
If words unsaid were somehow understood
Don’t want to overstep my bounds
Change your mind or bring you down
That’s the last thing I want to do
But since the day I heard the news
When they told me about you
You’re the one place my thoughts go to
As they wind me back through memories
I guess that time has yet to wash away

I hear he’s everything you never realized
Meant so much to you
Security, stability were things I couldn’t provide, it’s true
That wishing well ran dry
But if dreams could get you by
Would things have turned out differently
Or would you find you still belong
In the words of every song
Of our shared autobiography
And I wonder would he be writing you this letter
If somehow our paths were to cross again

There’s a box of faded photographs
That tell the tale of you and me
But I guess those old what might have beens
Can’t replace what’s bound to be

Still if I could today
I’d call you up and just say hey
And tell you how I wish you well
But knowing me I bet I’d say something I’d regret
Or hear secrets you best not tell
So instead I wrote this letter
Though I could still write you love letters
That’s why I still ain’t sent this letter

 

THE RIGHT TIME (Mark Mulligan)

He said come on, there’s only so long they’ll be kids
She said right now’s the wrong time for this
A big trip together sure sounds fun
But face it, we’ve got too much going on
It’s the wrong time
Not the right time
But we’ve got a lifetime
To have those good times one day

His phone rang late one night at work
He said Mom please don't think I'm a jerk
But this project takes up all the time I have
When things slow down I’ll come visit you and Dad
It’s just the wrong time
Not the right time
But I promise I’m gonna see you sometime soon

  In this race against the clock the clock’s the only winner
Always one step ahead of the one there in the mirror
You can’t flip the hourglass and get another shot
No second chances, one’s all you got

 Now his wallet’s gotten fat but his hair has gotten thinner
He opens up a box and takes out his Daddy’s picture
And wishes we had been there, but how was he to know
Puts down that picture and picks up his phone

Yeah, I know you guys are all grown up
Jobs, bills and kids and all that stuff
But your Mom and me decided it can’t wait
There’s this trip, now come on, what do you say?
Sure, it’s the wrong time
But it’s the right time
And who says the wrong time
Ain't the right time
And right now the wrong time
Is the right time

TOGETHER (Mark Mulligan)

Children play in the sand
And lovers walk hand in hand
They remind me of us together
Although you’re a million miles from here
I swear I hear your voice in my ear
And for the moment it's just like we’re together

Ships are sailing on the horizon
Wish one would take me back to you

Remember the day that we met
Back then who would ever have guessed
Somehow our two roads would come together
Now people probably don’t understand
Just what you ever saw in this man
But like our children love to say, yeah whatever

There must be something about this island
Tonight I feel like one too

Now a spotlight lights up the stage
I’m tuned up and ready to play
And this song I wrote for you could be way better
I guess I just want you to know
No matter where I may go
In my heart we’ll always be together

 

POSTCARD (Dave Mulligan)

Send me a postcard
From where you wind up when you’re  gone
When you’re gone
‘Cause I’ve been wondering
Where you’re moving now that you’re moving on

‘Cause you ain’t talking very much
And you won’t look me in the eye
You’ve been hiding from the crowd
You ain’t home when I drop by

You’ve been saving up your bread
And you’ve been whispering on the phone
Sounds like you’ve got yourself a plan
I can hear it in your tone
I can hear it in your tone

Send me a postcard
From where you wind up when you’re  gone
When you’re gone
‘Cause I’ve been wondering
Where you’re moving now that you’re moving on

Don’t promise letters
‘Cause you’ve talked that way before
And nothing’s ever shown up at my door
So I ain’t hoping now for anything more
Than a postcard

 

BUT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD (Mark Mulligan)

His feet are bare
His body’s skin and bones
His hungry eyes tell tales better left untold
And as he disappears down a dusty village street
He turns and lifts a tiny hand
And waves back at me
A mama prays, her baby cries
And it seems to me their only crime
Was being born into a world different than mine

There but for the grace of God go I
And I’ve often wondered why I find myself with such good fortune
When I could have been
Trapped in hopeless poverty
Begging for a bite to eat
Like so many out there struggling to get by
There but for the grace of God go I

Yeah I’ve often thought
Man it isn’t fair
Some folks are down to nothing
Me, I’ve got more than my share
Then I’m reminded of words from the past
To he whom much is given
Much is asked

So I can’t just be complacent
Sit back and count my blessings
There's more that I was put on earth to do

There but for the grace of God go I
I’ll never know the reason why
But I still can’t help but question
Why instead of me it’s him
Out there lost and all alone
No place to call a home
Fighting day to day just to survive
There but for the grace of God go I

Had I taken my first breath somewhere else instead
Or had a dad who disappeared where would I be
It wasn’t my choice, it wasn’t my plan
I was just dealt a real good hand
I've been blessed with more than I could ever need       

There but for the grace of God go I
Could have been that other guy who didn’t have life quite so easy
Or half as good as me
I might be penniless and unemployed
Or hungry like that little boy
All because, Lord knows why
There but for the grace of God go I
There but for the grace of God go I

 

THANK YOU (Mark Mulligan)

I was reading about this rock star griping about his fans
How he’s sick and tired of signing autographs
How people asking for pictures is such a total pain
I just thought of you and and raised my glass

I’ve sung in your backyards
Had you jump-start my car
As I this circus show moves from town to town
I’ve slept on your couches
And helped you polish off your rum
But through the years there’s one thing that I’ve found

We keep it real, man, that’s our deal
And it’s been that way ever since the start
You’ve shared so much of you and I strive to do the same
Every time I pick up this guitar
Now writing songs, that's what I do
And I wrote this one to say thank you

Thank you for putting up with me
Thank you, ‘cause who knows where I’d be
Probably unemployed or in jail
So thank you

You’ve been with me through good times
We’ve shared a lot of laughs
Then you stuck with me when things got real bad
You even showed up on my doorstep with home-cooked meals
As I learned how to be a single Dad

Then you cheered me on when God came along
And brought a brand new love into my life
We partied on the beach as one big family
On the day that Elsa became my wife

Now that superstar might think he’s pretty cool
But me, I simply say thank you

Thank you time and time again
Thank you, he’s got fans but I’ve got friends
Some old, some brand new
Thank you

When the show is over you help me load my gear
Then I buckle up and head on down the road
Exactly where it’s gonna lead is anybody’s guess
Just want to say one thing before I go

Thank you, I’m grateful as can be
Thank you, for letting me follow my dream
Nothing else on earth I’d rather do

Thank you for just being who you are
Thank you for letting my music be a part
Of your lives that way that you guys do
Thank you

This little song’s the best that I can do
To thank you

SAME BEER, DIFFERENT CAN is available HERE

ALBUM CREDITS:

Produced by Kenny Royster, Direct Image Recording, Nashville TN

All Songs Written By Mark Mulligan (c2018 Mulligan's Island Music (ASCAP) except "Postcard" (Dave Mulligan) and "Same Beer, Different Can" (Mark Mulligan, Thom Shepherd)

Electric guitars: Jon Conley

Acoustic Guitars: Bobby Terry, John Willis

Keyboards: Dennis Wage

Bass: Dave Francis

Drums:Nick Buda

Harmonica: Jim Hoke

Lead and backing vocals: Mark Mulligan

Additional vocals: Dave Mulligan, Wendy Newcomer

CD Design and Artwork: Angie Leyva

 

 

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