1. |
Follow Me to Tennessee
04:31
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Opportunity has finally come.
Today we celebrate,
we leave tomorrow.
There’s no brighter sun.
There’s no greener grass.
Trees will be taller there.
The rivers will be wider.
People will love you…
That’s what they do.
There’s no better place for me and you.
Follow me to Tennessee…
It’s where all the action is.
Follow me to Tennessee.
These old friends of yours –
they ain’t friends anymore.
This old home of ours –
it ain’t home anymore.
Follow me to Tennessee…
It’s where all the action is.
Follow me to Tennessee…
Fireworks all year round.
Times like these we need to stick together.
A man like me can’t stay put forever.
What’s best for me is best for the family.
The people in this town ain’t what they used to be.
Follow me to Tennessee…
It’s where all the action is.
Follow me to Tennessee.
These old friends of yours –
they ain’t friends anymore.
This old home of ours –
it ain’t home anymore.
Follow me to Tennessee…
It’s where all the action is.
Follow me to Tennessee…
Fireworks all year round.
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2. |
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I want to find a woman who will change me,
who won’t just love me for who I am.
She’ll see my potential and remind me every day
how I’m not good enough until I change my ways.
I long to find a love that’s everlasting –
contingent upon my evolution.
She’ll change what I wear and how I fix my hair,
all because she loves me and all that I could be.
Please don’t take me as I am.
Please don’t settle for where I live.
You can make me better than I’ve ever been before.
I just want to be like all your other boys.
I want to be well-versed in conversation
and please her with all that I say.
She can choose all my friends and point out all the sins
of my prior life and the people I call friends.
I know that I could be something special.
A flower waiting to bloom.
I just need to find me a woman
who will change me through and through.
Please don’t take me as I am.
Please don’t settle for where I live.
You can make me better than I’ve ever been before.
I just want to be like all your other boys.
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3. |
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I used to live
in fascination nation
and saw every man as an equal.
But one day my boss,
he pulled me aside and
said some were more equal than others.
He said, “Son if you want
to be something special
leave your potential at the door.”
“What you need to do
is follow my lead –
all great things in life will be yours.”
Years, they went by
and so did my pride.
But I was the king of my world.
Everywhere I’d go
the people did know
that I owned them and all of their children.
Then times, they got tough
I rolled up my sleeves
and had my secretaries lay everyone off.
Now I sit on a hill
in a home that I built.
It’s proof that I was once on top.
I used to own
fascination nation.
But I’m still alright ‘though it’s gone.
Copyright © 2009
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4. |
Illumined Man
03:08
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I don’t need to go nowhere.
Everything I need is right here.
I’ve seen cars from Oklahoma,
They’re the same kind of cars that people drive around here
I don’t need Pennsylvania
or people in the next county over.
I once met a man from Paris, France –
and he seemed the same as everyone around here.
Life here great. That’s why I never leave.
I can’t imagine a place more beautiful than it is right here.
The people here are so nice they’ll treat you like one of their own.
Come back any time to this paradise I call home.
I don’t need high fashion
from countries far from mine.
I once bought a shirt made in Mexico.
I wore it two weeks and it was full of holes.
Life here great. That’s why I never leave.
I can’t imagine a place more beautiful than it is right here.
The people here are so nice they’ll treat you like one of their own.
Come back any time to this paradise I call home.
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5. |
When I Was in Heaven
04:35
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When I was in heaven
before I was born
I would sing, I would play
in the clouds with the angels and their harps.
They gathered me around
and said my time had come.
Then the angels sang this song for me
to prepare me for the world…
“Sometimes your brains will hurt.
Sometimes your food won’t taste quite right.
And sometimes you won’t get what you want –
That’s more often than not.”
I don’t want to hear any more.
I just want to stay where I am.
I can’t wait to be big and strong.
I’ll just run around and do whatever I want.
What do I need to do
to stay up here with you?
I don’t want to live down there
in that crazy people stew.
“It’s not as bad as it seems.
Some people are really nice down there.
Time will go by so fast…
You’ll be back here in a flash.”
I don’t want to listen any more.
I can see with my own two eyes.
People down there – they can’t get along.
Whose to say I won’t play along?
When I was in heaven,
before I was born.
The angels sang this song for me
to prepare me for the world.
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6. |
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I loved you like no other.
We seemed so happy together.
Our love was light as a feather.
But one day you thought you could better.
You fell in love with another,
And held on to me for the comfort.
Just when I thought we were over,
You came back and wanted to start over.
I love you a little bit.
I love my T.V. a lot.
I love you in the morning when the coffee’s still hot –
As long as my favorite team hasn’t just lost.
I love you a little bit.
I love my T.V. a lot.
All things can be forgiven,
But some things can never be forgotten.
They say time heals all that’s broken.
If not loving you is healing, then I’m unbroken.
I love you a little bit.
I love my T.V. a lot.
I love you in the morning when the coffee’s still hot –
As long as my favorite team hasn’t just lost.
I love you a little bit.
I love my T.V. a lot.
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7. |
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I play to win and I win to play…
Been that way since I was born.
Look – there are losers everywhere
content with where they are.
Though I’m not quite perfect
everything I touch turns to gold.
I’m a self-made success
and I wear it from head to toe.
The day I first met you,
I knew you were my prize.
The missing piece –
in an otherwise perfect life.
Everything I own
reminds me of all we shared.
The dreams, the fire, the passion –
Dissolved into thin air.
Everybody loves you in Bellevue
Because you’re beautiful.
I just want to be with you in Bellevue
Because you’re beautiful.
A love like this deserves to be in Bellevue.
Everybody loves you in Bellevue
Because you’re beautiful.
I play to win and I win to play…
Been that way since I was born.
Look – there are losers everywhere
content with where they are.
Though I’m not quite perfect
everything I touch turns to gold.
I’m a self-made success
and I wear it from head to toe.
Everybody loves you in Bellevue
Because you’re beautiful.
I just want to be with you in Bellevue
Because you’re beautiful.
A love like this deserves to be in Bellevue.
Everybody loves you in Bellevue
Because you’re beautiful.
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8. |
Friday Night
02:33
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I’ll put on my face one more time.
For the chance to find a love that’s right.
Dust off these clothes that everyone knows
And hope I look good enough in a room with no lights.
These games I play,
are the spoils of a freedom
I fought for long ago.
It’s Friday night…
Time carves new lines on my face.
I feel the night outshine the day.
The dreams I let go have left me alone,
with nothing but memories to keep me warm at night.
To hold you again,
would remind me of the comfort
I ran from long ago.
It’s Friday night…
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9. |
I Miss You
04:22
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I miss you… I miss me.
I miss having nothing and everything it brings.
The day I left you for my ambition
Was the last good day of my life.
The road still calls me. I just don’t answer.
I’ve lost the courage to let my pride go.
I convince myself that I don’t need you.
When the world says I do.
I’m a winner, a fighter…
Everyone I know loves me.
King of a big, empty home.
I’ve got friends throughout creation,
but every night I’m lonesome.
I’m on top – where I belong.
The worlds between us fit inside one room.
The words between us were dead long ago.
You only love me because you remember
The man I used to be.
I’m a winner, a fighter…
Everyone I know loves me.
King of a big, empty home.
I’ve got friends throughout creation,
but every night I’m lonesome.
I’m on top – where I belong.
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10. |
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There are two different people living inside of me…
Sometimes we just don’t get along.
One of me may want to fly around the world,
while the other one wants to stay on the couch.
I’ve traveled in pairs ever since I was born.
Sometimes I long to be one.
Then jealousy arises and the fight is on.
My peace of mind is gone.
Rules are meant to be broken…
At least that’s what one of me believes.
For every rule that I’ve broken –
The judge inside me is not pleased.
From day to day the winds will change.
Power struggles come and they go.
But I could never live without each other.
I could never live alone.
At least I have each other.
All my lonely days are gone.
When I come together –
There’s a party going on.
One day my body walked across the street
and left the rest of me behind.
When I finally caught up too myself
the damage had already been done.
If I could take back all the time
I’ve spent somewhere other than where I was…
I would gain a whole new life –
But the two of me would have to end.
At least I have each other.
All my lonely days are gone.
When I come together –
There’s a party going on.
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11. |
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Dear Lord,
Give me a coat. Give me a tie.
Give me a home that sits nice and high above the town I love.
Give me three cars. Give me a shave.
Give me a wife that makes me look good in front of all my friends.
Give me a bank for my daily bread
and I will pick stocks that double every year.
Forgive all my debts until I collect mine. I’ll give you 6 percent – if I can keep 10.
Give me a couch. Give me a tube.
Give me a show that takes me away to a place where people look like me.
Give me a steak. Give me some fries.
Give me a plate that is full every meal so I can sleep at night.
Give me a heart made of gold like my smile. I’ll earn people’s trust and ask them for the sale.
I will mention your name when it works in my favor. All in your name.
Amen.
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12. |
I Thought of You
03:37
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I ain’t saying that I miss you
or that I’ll take you back.
I’m just feeling kind of frisky
and longing for the touch of a woman.
And I thought of you.
If you wouldn’t mind,
come on over,
let’s spend a little time.
I know that we ain’t speakin’
ever since we broke up.
But I’ve had a long week
and I need to find a friend that I can trust.
And I though of you.
If you wouldn’t mind,
come on over,
let’s spend a little time.
I love my freedom.
I love my life.
If you don’t hear from me –
It means I’m doing all right.
I love my freedom.
I love my life.
If you hear from me –
It means that somethin’ ain’t right.
I met a real nice woman
who was perfect in every way.
She got me so excited
but I couldn’t understand a thing she said.
And I though of you.
If you wouldn’t mind,
come on over,
let’s spend a little time.
I love my freedom.
I love my life.
If you don’t hear from me –
It means I’m doing all right.
I love my freedom.
I love my life.
If you hear from me –
It means that somethin’ ain’t right.
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13. |
Faith
06:15
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I walk a little slower now
Since the angels took you away
I see your face on everyone
and hope they call my name
At night I make maps in my mind
of the ceiling above my bed
When the sun comes up before I sleep
I wonder if I’m the one who’s dead
What kind of God makes a man like me
so full of faults even the blind can see
and leaves me here to carry on
when the perfect on, the innocent one is gone
I once had faith in my feet
and the ground where they would fall
But now the Earth is gone and as I fall
My faith is all but lost
What kind of God makes a man like me
so full of faults even the blind can see
and leaves me here to carry on
when the perfect on, the innocent one is gone
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Michael Stegner Los Angeles, California
Michael Stegner is an LA-based musician, producer, songwriter and composer.
He has performed
and/or collaborated with artists such as Aiko Shimada, Robin Holcomb, Michael Shrieve, Wayne Horvitz, Reggie Watts, Louis Cole, Lee Oskar, Mike Doughty and the Jongleurs to name a few.
... more
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