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The Superstore

by Stephen Simmons

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1.
THE SUPERSTORE Well I go down to the new superstore To get a few groceries and some engine oil Another Saturday afternoon nothing better to do There’s a guy with his girl in the picture booth He’s smiling at her in a cheap blue suit, as I read her lips, “I love you too” There’s a man in a wheelchair looking at craftsman tools He catches me staring and makes me feel like a fool And as I walk away, I hear him say something ‘bout the war There’s some stiff in a suit inside the music store And he’s asking some teenager to help him find this tune He says it’s the latest…the next big thing Then I bump into some Joe with a chip on his shoulder And he looks up at me like I’ve got something on him And I say, “I’m sorry,” but he doesn’t speak What keeps this world from going down What saves the people of this country, of this town Were all looking for something that’s already found But we keep searching That’s what keeps this world turning round We’ll I’ve got my things so I’ll be on my way I’ve got to get on with my lazy day But as I start to leave the irony catches me Everyone in this store’s in such a hurry They’ve worked sixty-hour weeks now it’s time to spend that money On necessities and a few things they don’t need Most of these people work with their hands and they stay on their feet Some have degrees and some G.E.D.’s But they’re all here together an end to their means We’ll this is Main Street America 2000 style Must be two or three hundred of ‘em all crammed in one isle But I’m no judge and this ain’t no trial What keeps this world from going down What saves the people of this country, of this town Were all looking for something that’s already found But we keep searching That’s what keeps this world turning round Yea we keep searching, and I guess that’s what keeps this old world turning round.
2.
Memories 03:10
MEMORIES “Come up here my Grandson, sit on my knee and I’ll tell you one” “Well giddy-up horsy, how fast can you run? Well do it again Grandpa that sure was fun” Memories, Memories Some are kind and happy Some are mean and scary Memories, Memories Such a tiny little head with so much to carry I’m catching up to you brother Gave you a head start but now I’m gaining speed Round the corner I take the lead Maybe next time little brother you can beat me Memories, Memories Some are kind and happy Some are mean and scary Memories, Memories Such a tiny little head with so much to carry Take my hand sweet Rebecca Lynn Squeeze it tight don’t let this end I always heard but I never believed That the love of a girl could do this to me Memories, Memories Some are kind and happy Some are mean and scary Memories, Memories Such a tiny little head with so much to carry Don’t close your eyes Ma. Don’t close your eyes So much love to give it can’t be your time Why must this happen? I can’t say goodbye But I’ll see you in heaven, will you be looking for me? Memories, Memories Some are kind and happy Some are mean and scary Memories, Memories Such a tiny little head with so much to carry
3.
Kiss Me Baby 04:14
KISS ME BABY Well his hands are shaking as he pulls into the filling station Her love has clouded his mind, but he still knows what he could lose And the cold steel in his hand, is a funny new sensation And she says “Baby if you’re gonna prove your love to me, you know what you gotta do” And he says “This world is full of people both good and bad And you’ll love someone if they’re all you ever had I love you crazy, I love you mad I’d give my life for you, but my heart is torn So kiss me baby, so I’ll remember what I’m doing this for” Well her knees are shaking as he turns off the bedroom light She’s made him wait as long as she could, tonight he won’t be denied And she’s trembling inside, cause she knows that it’s not right And he says “Baby if you’re gonna prove your love to me, you know what you gotta do” chorus Well love is elusive and hard to find But we’re the only ones here who are blind And we tell ourselves but our hearts don’t mind When we think we’ve found love but it’s the wrong kind And we need a little something to help us remind Well her heart is breaking as they pull around behind the clinic She knows this is what he wants her to do, and she thought that she did too And she feels like a part of her is dying She never thought she’d feel this way, like either way she’d lose And he’s the only one that she’s ever loved Right or wrong, good or bad And he says “Baby if you’re gonna prove your love, you know what you gotta do” chorus
4.
Loserville 06:07
LOSERVILLE Well it’s another dead night around here, another Saturday night here in Loserville And all us losers are looking for something to do Well Robert Earle’s my best friend, and my Daddy used to work with his Way back before they shut down the Textile Mill Well Bobby and William both live up the road, and I’ve known ‘em for years, forever I suppose Not a bad group all in all as losers go Well I stole a twenty from my old Man’s wallet, just cause it was there And we took off down the road just drinking our beer A dangerous combination of nothing to lose, and nothing to fear I didn’t know just how fast life goes Took it for granted just because it wasn’t fun I suppose I suppose Well old man Johnson lives on the outskirts of town That crazy old man, nobody goes around, nobody ‘cept for punks like me and my friends We’d pull up in his yard and throw bottles at his house, open all his gates, and let his cattle out And just for a laugh drive back by again Well I guess he finally got tired of all of our shit, the day he came running out of that house choking that thirty-ought six. I just prayed to God that he’d miss Well I heard the glass shatter and blood hit the dash, heard Bobby screaming, but William didn’t make a sound. And I was going too fast to ever slow down Well I tried to gain control but I ran off the road, ran right through his front yard, right through his soul The look on that old man’s face, forever etched in stone I didn’t know just how fast life goes Took it for granted just because it wasn’t fun I suppose I suppose Well William’s been dead for almost six years, heard Bobby moved off and had a couple kids And they say Robert Earle these days, most of the time don’t even know where he is But he was in the front seat with me on that cold January day The day that old man bloodied that rusty Chevrolet I still remember him screaming, “Look Out!” guess those were the last words that he’d ever say Well me I finally got out of that town, got thirty more years and I figure I’m Hell bound Sometimes I’d like to say that I’m sorry, but I don’t know just who I would tell I didn’t know just how fast life goes Took it for granted just because it wasn’t fun I suppose I suppose, I suppose, I suppose But me I can’t help wonder tonight in my cell, what’s going on tonight….. down in Loserville.
5.
Black Skies 02:58
BLACK SKIES Black Skies Coming over the rise Black Skies Stretch on for miles and miles You left me at 4a.m. Didn’t say where you’d go didn’t say where you went You say it’s you but I know it’s him Black Skies again Chorus I told you how I loved you Tried to prove to you those words were true But he came in and stole you Black Skies again Chorus There’s a flowing river down by the hillside Where the trees are so thick the moon can’t shine her light Tonight down here at the end of my line Black Skies again Chorus
6.
Just Go 03:57
JUST GO A hundred miles an hour Flying down your road Passing farms and trailers and houses All lined up in a row Then I’d pull down your old driveway You’d meet me at the car and say let’s go Go crazy Go half-mad for you baby Go to the edge of the world Just to make you my lady Go driving Go parking, go walking Go anywhere with you Just go Well the picture said I love you And I meant it to say so And the waterfall was cold and clean But it was probably my fault we got caught So embarrassed that we had been seen Young and careless, in love, naïve Chorus Sometimes that old wind blows in a funny way on certain days And sometimes that old porch swing it sways in my mind when I dream And sometimes I feel that you still think of me today and I know That you still feel the need to Chorus
7.
Houston 05:07
HOUSTON Well I drink whiskey in the wintertime To warm my bones and blood And when the snow melts in the springtime I drink ice tea to beat the sun Well I know I drank too much back then But I hardly ever used my gun But that boy stole twenty dollars from me In a card game I had won But I ain’t going to Houston Lord knows I hate that town I killed a boy last winter there And they’ll hang me if ever I’m found Well I go to church on Sundays now And I call Spokane home And I work just like an honest man I don’t cuss and fight no more The preacher says that God forgives For your sins he will atone And he washed me in the blood in Wilson’s Creek But I never told him what I’d done Chorus You could smell it in the air that summer day And I could feel it in my bones They rode in from the Southeast I knew they were from Houston and they knew what I’d done You could tell they knew that they had me For they’d polished up their guns But I drew first and took the Sheriff down And his Deputies one by one Chorus
8.
Lonely Town 05:31
LONELY TOWN You can sit here all alone, with your own thoughts till dawn You can lie here, or stand here, whichever way that you want You can cry in the phone, but no one’s listening, no one’s home You can scream out to be heard, but you won’t Welcome to Lonely Town Say you won’t stay long, you just broke down Well I should know cause I been around In Lonely Town You recall your past, pray your memories will last You get good at that, like you should be proud But you don’t come here your cast, your a prisoner no guest You’re cursed son not blessed, you sure don’t see no crowd Chorus You ponder your fate, you can’t go just wait If someone would listen, you might pray. But there ain’t Try to feel but you can’t. Try to touch, the same thing No one to love, no one to hate No one to blame Chorus
9.
A Soft Bed 03:07
A SOFT BED I’m tired and I’m weary and I need a place to rest A place where I could get a warm meal and maybe a soft bed I don’t know how long I’ve walked these streets that I now call home I know there are many others like me still I feel so alone I think I used to go by the name Jonathan In my former life that’s who I think I was But sometimes there by the bridge that I now sleep under I lay there and wonder why Carl sounds more familiar What could’ve been her name? Sometimes I do wonder My finger looks like I used to wear a ring that something must have torn asunder Cause I’ve got this hole in my belly that burns down in my soul And I know with my memory I can’t be sure, but this ain’t the kinda pain caused by hunger I don’t even know what day it is, I don’t read these papers I sleep under I don’t know what drove me to this, and when I ain’t lookin’ for food I sometimes wonder But I’m tired and I’m weary and I need a place to rest A place where I could get a warm meal and maybe a soft bed A soft bed Someplace to lay my head Safe from the cold night air A soft bed
10.
BULLS IN THE RING Driving through town, late last night Two black guys on the corner, in a fight They try to kill each other but it’s me they hate They hate You look me in the eye, and see if I’ll blink And you watch me walk away like you know what I think It’d justify your thoughts if true were those things That you think I think You don’t know why you don’t look like I do I don’t know why you act like you do You say I’ve caused you pain That I should be ashamed Should be ashamed We’re all here together, we’re all bulls in this ring And we’re all seeing red cause we’re chasing the same thing But you turn you’re eyes from God and your soul it’ll bleed Cause the Devil’s the Matador pulling the strings And fanning the flames Of hate
11.
START OUT AS ANGELS Well sometimes I think about Tony Williams. He used to sit behind me in first grade And we both got in trouble one day, I knew he should of never listened to me anyways Out assignment was simple, color the picture in blue and pink We decided a little red was all it’d need, and we colored up all over the page Well Mrs. Carter was swift and mean, made an example for all the other kids to see Boys and Girls don’t get caught looking like these, trying to color outside the lines Just to do as you please Well Tony and me got pretty tight, we had the same last name so we’s always next in line It didn’t matter he was black and I was white, least not when we were five I never saw Tony much more after about the fifth grade His parents picked up and moved away, I heard they had family somewhere out of state Well I finished school in eighty-two and Went to Junior College like a lot of folks do But somewhere among all that knowledge, I got a different calling about what really wanted to do I went through the Academy and I joined the Force My parents were proud and they gave me their support Sarah and I married in eighty-four, and three years later they moved me to Detroit Well after ten hard years I worked my way up to Vice, and I fought the good fight And I fought to stay alive Cause I had three kids in the Suburbs and a wife, who made me always swear that I would survive It was a routine bust, supposed to be neat and clean. They were gonna seize the house And I was gonna watch the street. All these dealers think they can just do as they please, we were gonna hit ‘em hard Make examples of these. But something went wrong, and shots were fired. And I heard it on the short wave like God almighty Two officers down and the bust was blown, suspect was headed for the street And he was armed and alone Me and Jim took position, we sealed off the street. There was only one way out And that was through him and me. I said a little prayer and Jim nodded at me Then I thought of my kids and gritted my teeth. He came busting out the door running for his life, I yelled, “Freeze” and drew but I was paralyzed Stood there in a moment that’s still frozen in time. Just stood there staring in Tony Williams eyes Well Jim opened fire and put two rounds in his side, and I kneeled beside Tony And slowly watched him die. I took his hand and looked in his eyes And I know he recognized me, that’s why he never fired We all start out as Angels But this World teaches us to hate Damn the World for making things this way Damn the Government, Damn the State You damn the ones that you say you hate But damn yourselves when you’re to blame
12.
SWEET SALVATION This old white line is longer Than the time I’ve left to roam I always thought I was stronger I thought by now I’d have found my home But you can’t wait any longer You’ve been waiting all along Cause pain ain’t nuthin’ without hunger And my soul’s been starving for so long Sweet Salvation Finally know where I belong I’m ready for redemption Ready to finally go home Well I set out just a young man Hell-bent to make this world my own But even the best of laid plans Can fall apart out on the road And I don’t know how I found you In the kind a places that I roam It’s always the fool that’s the last to see It was more like you that found me Sweet Salvation Finally know where I belong I’m ready for redemption Ready to finally go home
13.
LONG WALK BACK HOME Yesterday came a flood, and washed out all the valley Today brought the sun, and I surveyed all the damage So sure that you were the one, now I know what wrong is I was thinking that love had finally come Now I know it never did But it’s gonna be a long walk back home Well at least the daisy’s are blooming baby While I sing my song And I don’t know where I went wrong But they’ll be plenty of time to ponder babe Cause it’s a long walk back home To tell the truth I never could see how love’s all it’s cracked up to be I know I probably need it but it’s never been all that good to me I shoulda smelled the rain and the storm clouds a brewing Now I pray that Mother Nature will wash away my pain Chorus I know I’ll never pass this way again Been deep inside the arms of a woman now I’m heading home again It was a beautiful ride I surely hate to see it end But now I’m slowly heading back to be the man I’ve always been Chorus A long walk back home A long walk back home A long walk back home
14.
HIGHWAY PATROLMAN My name is Joe Roberts I work for the State I'm a sergeant out on Perenville barracks No 8 I've always done an honest job honest as I could Got a brother named Frankie Frankie ain't no good Ever since we were young kids it's been the same come down I'd get a call on a short way Frankie's in trouble downtown But if it was any other man I'd put him straight away But sometimes when it's your brother you look the other way Yeah me and Frankie laughin' and drinkin' nothin' feels better than blood on blood Takin' turns dancin' with Maria While the band played The Night Of The Johnstown Flood I catch him when he's strayin' like any brother should Man turns his back on his family he ain't no good Well Frankie went into the army back in 1965 I got a farm deferment settled down took Maria for my wife But them wheat prices kept on droppin' till it was like we's gettin' robbed Frankie came home in '68 and me I took this job Yeah me and Frankie laughin' and drinkin' nothin' feels better than blood on blood Takin' turns dancin' with Maria While the band played The Night Of The Johnstown Flood [ Highway Patrolman lyrics from http://www.lyricsyoulove.com/j/johnny_cash/highway_patrolman/ ]I catch him when he's strayin' teach him how to walk that line Man turns his back on his family ain't no friend of mine The night was like any other I got a call bout the quarter of nine There was trouble at a roadhouse out on the Michigan line There was a kid on the floor lookin' bad bleedin' hard from his head There was a girl cryin' at a table it was Frankie she said I ran out and I jumped in my car then I hit the lights I must have done about a hundred and ten to Michigan County that night It was down by the crossroads out bout willow bank Seen the buick with Ohio plates behind the wheel was Frank Well I chased him through them county roads Till the sign said Canadian border five miles from here Pulled over to the south out the highway watched his taillights disappeared Yeah me and Frankie laughin' and drinkin' nothin' feels better than blood on blood Takin' turns dancin' with Maria While the band played The Night Of The Johnstown Flood I catch him when he's strayin' like any brother should Man turns his back on his family ain't no good Music and Lyrics by Bruce Springsteen / ASCAP

about

The Superstore is a re-release of Simmons' initial 2001 ep offering. Recorded with just a guitar and a harp in a dingy bar in Murfreesboro, TN. Originally a 5 song ep, the re-release has been expanded to a lengthy 14 tracks and remastered at Yes Master Studios in Nashville, TN.

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released October 15, 2001

THE SUPERSTORE lyrics
All songs written by Stephen Simmons
Copyrighted to Downguy Music / ASCAP
Or to Shiny Geode Music / SESAC
*Except for Highway Patrolman
Written by Bruce Springsteen / ASCAP

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Stephen Simmons Nashville, Tennessee

Stephen Simmons was raised in the small town of Woodbury, Tennessee. As a songwriter and Ten years as a Road Dog, Stephen’s vision has grown to entail more than just reflections of rural America. Stephen’s records (which were compared to everyone from Johnny Cash to Ryan Adams) combine virtuosic songcraft and musicianship with unparalleled artistic honesty. ... more

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