Yellowjacket marks a breakthrough in Stephen's approach to
his craft. He has assumed the mantle of producer for the first time
since his early albums, and is thrilled at the results. “This
was done in the most relaxed way I’ve ever made a record,
and I hear that in my voice and guitar playing. Producing frees
you up to be a lot less critical of yourself.”
Yellowjacket
Stephen Fearing / Tom Wilson
What you dream is what you get, anything can happen
Following the big beat
If your dreams haven’t happened yet, you just keep dreaming
Following the big beat
And they call me Yellowjacket
‘Cause I never run away
I’m Yellowjacket
Come a long way to find the big beat
I left home on a summer’s day,
Took off with the queen of the freeway
Following the big beat
I used to think that the world was bigger
Out amongst the saints and sinners
Following the big beat
And they call me Yellowjacket
‘Cause I never run away
I’m Yellowjacket
Come a long way to find the big beat
You and me
Running behind, following
You and me
Running behind, flying on our feet
I got stuck in Honeytown
Truth is where you find it
Following the big beat
Sugar cane and coming down
I learned to like it
Following the big beat
And they call me Yellowjacket
‘Cause I never run away
I’m Yellowjacket
Come a long way to find the big beat
You and me
Running behind, following
You and me
Running behind, flying on our feet
What you dream is what you get, anything can happen
Following the big beat
The Man Who Married Music
Stephen Fearing
I had a dream that you were pregnant and I awoke to pray
That the stork who carries baby songs was headed my way
I was tangled in the sheets, I was torn between the two
The man who married music and the man who married you
Am I over the hill, have I gone around the bend?
I’m out there chasing songs with melodies that never end
And I sing them ‘cause I have to and I love them so I do
The man who married music and the man who married you
Every life is suffering
Every life is pain
Agony and ecstasy are my middle names
Truth is stranger than fiction and strange is what I do
So keep a candle in the window, I’ll be home soon
I know that you can hear me and you’re not the jealous kind
‘Cause on the day we were wed, there were two grooms and two brides
And I stood right beside you and they stood beside us too
The man who married music and the man who married you
I miss you when I’m everywhere
I miss you when I’m home
I miss you when I’m nothing
And when I’m alone
Truth is stranger than fiction and strange is what I do
The man who married music and the man who married you
The man who married music and the man who married you
One Flat Tire
Stephen Fearing
Pickup trucks and reefers ganging up in the middle lane
I’m stuck on the shoulder trying to get out of the rain
One flat tire, this river of tail lights and chrome
One flat tire, another night away from home
Bernie went to hospital; he said there wasn’t much pain
But I couldn’t sleep that night in case he didn’t wake again
One flat tire and a shaky voice on the phone
One flat tire, another night away from home
Oh the grand designs of mice and men
The rats racing in the streets
As the fumes of ambition fill the air
Life is a four letter word like love, like hate
And it’s salty on my tongue like blood or tears
Blood or tears
When I can’t be near you, I pull myself apart
When I can’t get through to you it’s like a hole in my heart
One flat tire, like I’m swallowing a stone
One flat tire, another night away from home
One flat tire, another night away from home
Love Only Knows
Stephen Fearing / Josh Finlayson
You, you’ve got the eyes
Of a heart that’s on fire
With all the things you’re doing
I’m losing my mind
Watching you fly
Trying to hold on to you
Love only knows what happens now
Yesterday turns under the plough
Only a fool would not allow
You to stand on your own
I must turn away
From those younger days
Days we shared that made us one
‘Cause you, you’re growing apart
Taking this heart
And making it two from one
Love only knows what happens now
Yesterday turns under the plough
Only a fool would not allow
You to stand on your own
Love
Like Every Other Morning
Stephen Fearing
What do you say when they are leaving?
Oh we bite the hand that feeds
From the depths of our despair
In the hour of need
And the neighbourhood is sleeping
There’s a sorrow you can’t drown
And not a single light on
I’ve been on the road you’re going down
So put your heart away
For a while
Until the morning rises in front of you
Like every other morning
Sunrise
All you’ll ever find are clues
Who really knows anybody else?
But you walk away from love
You’re running from yourself
And I know how much this hurts
So you don’t even have to talk to me
At the bottom of the well
It’s dark and lonely
So put your heart away
For a while
Until the morning rises in front of you
Like every other morning
Sunrise
Put your heart away
For a while
Until the morning rises in front of you
Like every other morning
Sunrise
When My Work Is Done
Josh Finlayson / Stephen Fearing
One day you’ll be gone
I know that time will come
Some day I’ll follow you
When my work is done
If I was not your little boy
Rolling like a train
Still I’d ride the rails for you
To hell and back again
Heartache’s a lonely path
That pulls you ‘round the bend
And you find the ones who love you
When you reach the story’s end
One day you’ll be gone
I know that time will come
Some day I’ll follow you
When my work is done
Hardships and broken dreams
Is all you’ve ever known
Trying to make a better life
And call this house a home
High winds and broken clouds
The angels must have cried
When they saw you gaze at me
With the loving in your eyes
One day you’ll be gone
I know that time will come
Some day I’ll follow you
When my work is done
That chip upon my shoulder
Is a long and sorry tale
Hold a hammer tight enough
The world looks like a nail
I’m rollin’down the tracks
I’m the little red caboose
I’m chasing all my demons down
So I can sing the blues
One day you’ll be gone
I know that time will come
Some day I’ll follow you
When my work is done
This Guitar
Stephen Fearing / Josh Finlayson
We were born and raised
Like a song, like this guitar
Born to seize the day
Like the songs we sang on this guitar
We were born to dream
Like a song, like this guitar
Backseat harmonies
Like the songs we sang on this guitar
Every memory
Everyone we try to be
Every song that sends us chasing down the highway
Every town we play
Every truth we try to say
That every tale has a beginning and an ending
When you get your wings
Like a song, like this guitar
You must rise up singing
Like the songs we sang on this guitar
Looking back to find
All the lives you left behind
Are you caught now between yesterday and tomorrow?
‘Cause everyone pretends
That they want to know the ending
But then they run away with their pride and their sorrow
So when you get your wings
Like a song, like this guitar
You must rise up singing
Like the songs we sang on this guitar
You must rise up singing
Like the songs we sang on this guitar
This guitar
Johnny’s Lament
Stephen Fearing
Sometimes at night when I hear the wind
I wish I was crazy again
Fallen off the edge of something far away from here
6am and the dawn’s just getting in
All drizzling rain and sleepy business men
And I don’t see how I will sleep tonight
So I lie on my back and wait for the sun
A watercolour morning bringing roses for the dawn
I send this out to everyone
Every soul who ever lay awake all night
The world is black and white
Waiting for the morning to come
Sometimes at night when I smell the rain
I dream that I am lost again
Running towards the edge of someplace far away from her
Whisky and Adrenaline
Snow white and the seven deadly sins
We crawled out of that hole towards the light
Now I lie on my back and wait for the sun
A watercolour morning bringing roses for the dawn
I send this out to everyone
Every soul who ever lay awake all night
The world is black and white
Waiting for the morning to come
Ball ‘n’ Chain
Josh Finlayson / Stephen Fearing
Anytime you need me near you
Anytime you call my name
If you find me not beside
You’ve only got yourself to blame
It’s the saddest observation
People sleep their lives away
Others walk the halls at night
And time drags like a ball ‘n’ chain
Holly, do you still want me?
Are we still two hot flames?
‘Cause I really can’t tell you
What the future could bring
And I wouldn’t want to
Make believe is everything
So anytime you need me near you
Anytime you call my name
If you find me not beside
You’ve only got yourself to blame
Holly, are you still with me?
Are we still two sharp blades ?
‘Cause I really don’t know what
Runs around in your head
But it doesn’t matter
What you give is what you get
It’s the saddest observation
People sleep their lives away
Others walk the halls at night
And time drags like a ball ‘n’ chain
Time drags like a ball ‘n’ chain
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