"We started out our MCA years with this. It's real special for me because I wrote it with Rosanne Cash. She had done it on her Rhythm & Romance album. In those days, it was a big deal for me to get a cut, because that's when you can really say you're a songwriter, when someone else besides yourself does one of your songs."
You were like a lost kid looking for home
You found what you wanted right in my arms
If you walk out on me
Just leave your memory
Just take my sympathy and go
I love you so you're never alone
If you find another one turns your head
And you can't understand why it hurts so bad
If you walk out on me
Just leave your memory
Just take my sympathy and go
If you walk out on me
Just leave your memory
Just take my sympathy and go
I love you so you're never alone
"I was away from home, and I knew I was going to be away from my daughter for a month. I was in Europe, sitting in this Dutch hotel, just really depressed. It was the first time I'd been away from my kid since she'd been born. The song wound up on two different albums of mine, in different versions."
No other lover ever really cared
When I've reached out for you you've always been there
Now I'm so far away and baby I'm scared
I never knew lonely til you
You are my rock and the strength I need
To keep me sane in this life that I lead
Now I'm not with you and my broken heart bleeds
I never knew lonely til you
I never knew lonely could be so blue
I never knew lonely could tear you in two
I never loved someone like I love you
I never knew lonely til you
I can't make up for the times I've been gone
But I'll prove I love you in the words of this song
Back in your arms girl it's where I belong
I never knew lonely til you
I never knew lonely could be so blue
I never knew lonely could tear you in two
I never loved someone like I love you
I never knew lonely til you
CMA's Song of the Year 1991 "I feel like I waited forever for this song to come along. Patty's contribution was invaluble."
I rushed home from work like I always do
I spent my whole day just thinking of you
When I walked through the front door my whole like was changed
Cause nobody answered when I called your name
A note on the table that told me goodbye
It said you'd grown weary of living a lie
Your love has ended but mine still remains
But nobody answers when I call your name
Oh the lonely sound of my voice calling
Is driving me insane
And just like rain the tears keep falling
Nobody answers when I call your name
Oh the lonely sound of my voice calling
Is driving me insane
And just like rain the tears keep falling
Nobody answers when I call your name
Oh nobody answers when I call your name
I can read the writing on the wall
You pretend that nothing's changed at all
I've got just one thing to ask you if it's so
Just take your memory with you when you go
So I won't have to think about
The lonely nights I'll be without
Someone to hold me when the cold wind blows
Take your memory with you when you go
I walk the floor and wonder what went wrong
I'll have to find a way to carry on
Why don't you leave before the heartache starts to show
Take your memory with you when you go
So I won't have to think about
The lonely nights I'll be without
Someone to hold me when the cold wind blows
Take your memory with you
So I won't have to miss you
Take your memory with you when you go
(In reference to above 3 songs) "These three songs came after the success of 'When I Call Your Name.' They formed a really country period for me. And that figured, because traditional country music was my starting place in all of this. When I was a kid, it was the first thing I heard, those records my Mom and Dad bought during the late-'50s and early-'60s. That country shuffle in 'Take Your Memory With You' has been done a gazillion times. And it never fails to fee great."
He slipped the ring off his finger
When he walked in the room
And he found him some stranger
And promised her the moon
How many lies you must have told
You think you're a rich man
With your pocket full of gold
For another man's treasure
You'd say anything
But is one night of pleasure
Worth the trouble you'll bring
Don't look so surprised
'Cause son I should know
I once was a rich man
With my pocket full of gold
Some night you're gonna wind up
On the wrong end of a gun
Some jealous guy's gonna show up
And you'll pay for what you've done
What will it say on your tombstone
Here lies a rich man
With his pocket full of gold
Yeah, here lies a rich man
With his pocket full of gold
The Heart Won't Lie (With Reba McEntire)(Kim Carnes, Donna Terry Weiss)
"Reba's a great friend, someone who sang with me on my first MCA record when I wasn't all that popular. On this, I was doing backgrounds on the album she was making then; I think I'd done half the record. She and Tony were sitting around, and she said, 'You ever think of this song as a duet?' So we tried it. It's a really cool song." (Song also appears on "It's Your Call" by Reba McEntire.)
Looking back over the years
Of all the things I've always meant to say
But the words didn't come easily
So many times through empty fears
Of all the nights I tried to pick up the phone
So scared of who might be answering
You try to live your life from day to day
But seeing you across the room tonight
Just gives me away
Chorus:
Cause the heart won't lie
Sometimes life gets in the way
But there's one thing that won't change
I know I've tried
The heart won't lie
You can live your alibi
Who can see you're lost inside a foolish disguise
The heart won't lie
Long after tonight
Will you still hear my voice through the radio
Old desires make us act carelessly
Long after tonight, after the fire
After the scattered ashes fly
Through the four winds blown and gone
Will you come back to me
You try to love your life from day to day
But seeing you across the room tonight
Just gives me away
Repeat Chorus
Don't Let Our Love Start Slippin' Away(Vince Gill, Pete Wasner)
"It was a song written around a pretty funky groove. It came about when my buddy Pete Wasner and I got together. He's someone who's really looked in with me musically, and we snared a groove that was unbelievable."
We've been up
All night long
Trying to solve a problem
Hell it's almost dawn
Ain't no time for sleepin'
If our love is wearin' thin
'Cause I ain't givin' up
And you ain't givin' in
Don't let our love start slippin'
Love start slippin' away
'Cause the life we've been livin'
Gets harder everyday
Don't let our love start slippin'
Love start slippin' away
A wounded love
Walks a real thin line
And no communication
Will kill it every time
So open up your heart
Baby we can work it out
'Cause we've got the kind of love
People dream about
Don't let our love start slippin'
Love start slippin' away
'Cause the life we've been livin'
Gets harder everyday
Don't let our love start slippin'
Love start slippin' away
It's past the point of right or wrong
Let's find a way to just hold on
I Still Believe In You(Vince Gill, John Barlow Jarvis)
CMA's song of the Year 1993 "This was a real rangy song. As a writer, you can tailor-make a melody to suit you. It wasn't written as a ballad. When I went in the studio and said, 'I want to do this as a ballad.' people thought I was nuts. Bonnie Raitt's 'I Can't Make You Love Me' inspired the way I wanted record this song. I just wanted to let my voice sit up there and do what it does."
Everybody wants a little piece of my time
But still I put you at the end of the line
How it breaks my heart to cause you this pain
To see the tears you cry fallin' like rain
Give me the chance to prove
And I'll make it up to you
I still believe in you
With a love that will always be
Standing so strong and true
Baby I still believe in you and me
Somewhere along the way, I guess I just lost track
Only thinkin' of myself never lookin' back
For all the times I've hurt you, I apologize
I'm sorry it took so long to finally realize
Give me the chance to prove
That nothing's worth losing you
I still believe in you
With a love that will always be
Standing so strong and true
Baby I still believe in you and me
"Carl Jackson, my co-writer on this one, is another old friend. We've known each other for 20 years, playing bluegrass music and winding up in the same joints. We both have a tremendous love of hard-core bluegrassy-country things. And we both love waltzes."
I lie here tonight in the darkness
I've never felt so alone
tomorrow I'll wake up still lonesome
'Cause things haven't changed since you've gone
You walked out with angry words spoken
You're leavin' cut right to the bone
I'll pick up the pieces you have broken
Find the strength to go on
I still remember
How my love once held her
How long do old memories last
Why can't I forget it
Why can't I admit it
There ain't no future in the past
I still remember
How my love once held her
How long do old memories last
Why can't I forget it
Why can't I admit it
There ain't no future in the past
"I used to hang out with Harlan Howard a lot. He said to me one day before I began this, 'You know kid, there hasn't been a good death song written lately. You remember the last one, don't you?' I said, 'Yeah, "He Stopped Loving Her Today."' I just kind of took what he said to heart."
You could have given me a million reasons why
But it wouldn't change a thing
You said it all when you said goodbye
And you took off your wedding ring
I've been tryin' to get over you
I've been spending time alone
I've been tryin' to get over you
But it'll take dyin' to get it done
All my friends keep tryin' to fix me up
They say I need somebody new
When it comes to love, I've all but given up
'Cause life don't mean nothin' without you
I've been tryin' to get over you
I've been spending time alone
I've been tryin' to get over you
But it'll take dyin' to get it done
"Mark Knopfler's style of guitar playing was a big influence on this song. They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery. I've always tried to play like guys I admired. I'm still working on the English accent."
She was standing at the front door
When I came home last night
A good book in her left hand
And a rollin' pin in the right
She said you've come home for the last time
With whiskey on your breath
If you don't listen to my preachin' boy
I'm goin' to have to beat you half to death
Give me just a one more last chance
Before you say we're through
I know I drive you crazy baby
It's the best that I can do
We're just some good ol' boys, a makin' noise
I ain't a runnin' 'round on you
Give me just a one more last chance
Before you say we're through
First she hid my glasses
'Cause she knows that I can't see
She said you ain't goin' nowhere boy
'Til you spend a little time with me
Then the boys called from the honky tonk
Said there's a party goin' on down here
Well she might've took my car keys
But she forgot about my old John Deere
So give me just a one more last chance
Before you say we're through
I know I drive you crazy baby
It's the best that I can do
We're just some good ol' boys, a makin' noise
I ain't a runnin' 'round on you
Give me just a one more last chance
Before you say we're through
I Can't Tell You Why(Don Henley, Glen Frey, Timothy B. Schmit)
"It's awkward covering a tune that's been such a huge hit, but this record was done more for the love of the Walden Woods Project."
Musicians:Soprano Saxophone: Jim Horn, Drums: Milton Sledge, Hammond B-3/Synthesizer: Steve Nathan, Wurlitzer: Pete Wasner, Bass: David Hungate, Electric Guitar: George Marinelli, Background Vocals: Timothy B. Schmit & Vince Gill
Look at us baby
Up all night
Tearin' our love apart
Aren't we the same two people
Who lived through years in the dark
Every time I try to walk away
Somethin' makes me turn and stay
I can't tell you why
When we get crazy
It just ain't right
(Try to keep your head on, girl)
'Cause girl I get lonely too
You don't have to worry
Just hold on tight
(Don't get caught in your little world)
'Cause I love you
Nothin's wrong as far as I can see
We make it harder than it has to be
I can't tell you why
No, baby, I can't tell you why
I can't tell you why
Every time I try to walk away
Somethin' makes me turn around and stay
I can't tell you why
No, baby, I can't tell you why
I can't tell you why
I can't tell you why... yeah
No, baby
Ooooh, I can't tell you why
I Will Always Love You (With Dolly Parton)(Dolly Parton)
"Singing with Dolly is awesome because you don't have to worry about pitch; it's like getting to hang out with a radar, it's so perfect. I've listened to her ever since I started listening to music, when she was a kid singing on Porter Waggoner's show selling towels in boxes of Breeze. Then here I am, years later, doing a duet with her, and I'm totally jazzed. She's gone one of the purest voices ever. I think the world of her, her voice, and her songwriting, which often gets overlooked."
If I should stay
I would only be in your way
So I'll go, but I know
I'll think of you each step of the way
And I will always love you
I will always love you
Bitter sweet memories
That is all I am taking with me
Goodbye, please don't you cry
'Cause we both know I'm not what you need
But I will always love you
I will always love you
I hope life (I hope life)
Treats you kind (treats you kind)
And I hope you have all you dream of
I wish you joy (wish you joy)
And happiness (and happiness)
But above all this I wish you love
And I will always love you
I will always love you
Yes, I will always love you
I will always love you
