American Country Singers

"When the world wide war is over and done And the dream of peace comes through We'll all be drinking some free bubble up And eating some rainbow stew."

"He cultivated an appreciation of musicians that seemed more appropriate to a jazz bandleader. … Even more arresting than the band was Haggard’s phrasing, which contradicted almost every precedent. Clear-toned, sinuous and shockingly free of twang and vocal affectation, Haggard sang with a sensitivity that bordered on tenderness. … Haggard has long referred to his music as “country jazz,” and is the only country musician to have appeared on the cover of Down Beat, the definitive jazz publication. Over the years, he has developed a definition of the term that reflects his nostalgia for a moment in history that preceded genres, when figures like Emmett Miller, Milton Brown and Django Reinhardt seemed to draw out of the air a music that defied classification. “I realized that jazz meant that you could play anything,” says Haggard. “It meant that you were a full-fledged musician, that you could play with Louis Armstrong or Johnny Cash.”"

"Today I started loving you again I'm right back where I've really always been; I got over you just long enough to let my heartache mend, Then today I started loving you again."

"Every fool has a rainbow But he never seems to find The reward that should be waiting At the end of the line. But he'll give up a bed of roses For a hammock filled with thorns And go chasing after rainbows Every time a dream is born. And every fool has a rainbow That only he can see Every fool has a rainbow And the rule applies to me."

"We don’t smoke marijuana in Muskogee We don’t take our trips on LSD We don’t burn our draft cards down on Main Street We like living right and being free."

"For that river of red could be the death of me. God, give me strength and keep reminding me That blood is thicker than water. Oh, but love is thicker than blood.And if blood is thicker than water, Then what are we fighting for? We're all sons and daughters Of something that means so much more."

"And what they don't see, Is what is killing me. It's blessing and a curse That love is blind."

"On a prayer, In a song, I hear your voice, And it keeps me hanging on. Oh, raining down, against the wind, I'm reaching out, 'Till we reach the circle's end. When you come back to me again."

"After seven years of marriage, He wanted out. Now after seven months of freedom, It's clear that there's no doubt.She's gonna make it, And he never will. He's at the foot of the mountain, And she's over that hill. He's sinkin' at sea, And her sails are filled. She's gonna make it, And he never will."

"She's anything but typical; She's so unpredictable. Oh but even at her worst it ain't that bad. She's as real as real can be And she's every fantasy. Lord she's every lover that I've ever had. And she's every lover that I've never had."

"In another's eyes I'm afraid that I can't see This picture perfect portrait that they paint of me. They don't realize and I pray they never do, 'Cause every time I look I'm seein' you In another's eyes."

"[Brooks] is the blueprint for the modern country star. There is no Kenny Chesney, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean or Tim McGraw without Garth Brooks, who brought country music to stadiums. Brooks has sold more records than just about anyone and is most responsible for the genre’s mainstream boom."

"He asked her twice to come along; They said good-bye at the break of dawn. 'Cause you can't hold back the wind, If it's meant to be again, Then someday he'll find his way back to her arms."

"Moonlight on canvas, midnight and wine, Two shadows starting to softly combine. The picture they're painting Is one of the heart; And to those who have seen it, It's a true work of art.Oh, the red strokes, Passions uncaged; Thundering moments of tenderness rage. Oh, the red strokes, Tempered and strong (Fearlessly drawn), Burning the night like the dawn."

"He was up in Wyoming, And drew a bull no man could ride. He promised her he'd turn out, Well it turned out that he lied. And their dreams that they'd been livin', In the California sand, Died right there beside him in Cheyenne."

"Standing outside the fire; Standing outside the fire. Life is not tried, it is merely survived If you're standing outside the fire."

"She had a need to feel the thunder, To chase the lightning from the sky, To watch a storm with all its wonder Written in her lover's eyes. She had to ride the heat of passion Like a comet burning bright, Rushing headlong in the wind Now where only dreams have been, Burning both ends of the night."

"Ain't going down 'til the sun comes up; Ain't givin' in 'til they get enough. Going 'round the world in a pickup truck, Ain't goin' down 'til the sun comes up."

"It's midnight Cinderella time that you should know, There's gonna be some changes in the way this story goes. It's midnight Cinderella but don't you worry none, 'Cause I'm Peter Peter the Pumpkin Eater And the party's just begun."

"Mama was a looker, Lord, how she shined. Papa was a good'n, But the jealous kind. Papa loved Mama; Mama loved men. Mama's in the graveyard; Papa's in the pen."

"'Cause what she's doin' now is tearin' me apart, Fillin' up my mind and emptyin' my heart. I can hear her call each time the cold wind blows, And I wonder if she knows...what she's doin' now."

"You know a dream is like a river, Ever changin' as it flows. And a dreamer's just a vessel That must follow where it goes. Trying to learn from what's behind you, And never knowing what's in store Makes each day a constant battle Just to stay between the shores...andI will sail my vessel 'Til the river runs dry. Like a bird upon the wind, These waters are my sky. I'll never reach my destination If I never try. So I will sail my vessel 'Til the river runs dry."

"Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers. Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs, That just because he doesn't answer doesn't mean he don't care. Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers."

"'Cause I've got friends in low places Where the whiskey drowns And the beer chases my blues away. And I'll be okay. I'm not big on social graces; Think I'll slip on down to the oasis. Oh, I've got friends in low places."

"Well it's bulls and blood, It's dust and mud, It's the roar of a Sunday crowd. It's the white in his knuckles, The gold in the buckle, He'll win the next go 'round. It's boots and chaps, It's cowboy hats, It's spurs and latigo. It's the ropes and the reins, And the joy and the pain, And they call the thing rodeo."

"When the last child cries for a crust of bread; When the last man dies for just words that he said; When there's shelter over the poorest head, We shall be free.When the last thing we notice is the color of skin, And the first thing we look for is the beauty within, When the skies and the oceans are clean again, Then we shall be free."

"If tomorrow never comes, Will she know how much I loved her? Did I try in every way to show her every day That she's my only one? And if my time on earth were through, And she must face the world without me, Is the love I gave her in the past Gonna be enough to last? If tomorrow never comes."

"The thunder rolls, And the lightnin' strikes. Another love grows cold On a sleepless night. As the storm blows on Out of control, Deep in her heart The thunder rolls."

"Not counting you I've never had a heartache. Not counting you I never have been blue. There's no exceptions to the rule; I've never been nobody's fool. I've never lost at love not counting you."

"And the white line's getting longer and the saddle's getting cold. I'm much too young to feel this damn old. All my cards are on the table with no ace left in the hole, I'm much too young to feel this damn old."

"Somewhere other than the night She needs to hear I love you. Somewhere other than the night She needs to know you care. She wants to know she's needed, She needs to be held tight Somewhere other than the night."

"We're gypsies in the palace, he's left us here alone. The order of the Sleepless Knights will now assume the throne. We ain't got no money, we ain't got no right, But we're gypsies in the palace, we got it all tonight."

"Enduring echoes call out from his past. Time ain't for saving, no time's not for that. Chasing false echoes like a lost legionnaire, He waltzes on memories while he fades like a flare."

"I'm growing older but not up. My metabolic rate is pleasantly stuck. Let those winds of time blow over my head. I'd rather die while I'm living than live while I'm dead."

"Please don't say mañana if you don't mean it I have heard those words for so very long. Don't try to describe the ocean if you've never seen it. Don't ever forget that you just may wind up being wrong."

"We’ve gotta roll with the punches Learn to play all of our hunches. Makin’ the best of whatever comes your way. Forget that blind ambition And learn to trust your intuition. Plowin’ straight ahead come what may."

"Can't you feel 'em circlin' honey? Can't you feel 'em swimmin' around? You got fins to the left, fins to the right, And you're the only bait in town. You got fins to the left, fins to the right, And you're the only girl in town."

"I used to rule my world from a pay phone And ships out on the sea. But now times are rough And I got too much stuff; Can't explain the likes of me.But there's this one particular harbour, So far but yet so near. Where I see the days as they fade away, And finally disappear."

"Wasted away again in Margaritaville, Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt. Some people claim that there's a woman to blame, But I know it's nobody's fault."

"These changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes, Nothing remains quite the same. Through all of the islands and all of the highlands, If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane."

"I blew out my flip flop, Stepped on a pop top, Cut my heel, had to cruise on back home. But there's booze in the blender, And soon it will render That frozen concoction that helps me hang on."

"Mother, mother ocean, I have heard you call. Wanted to sail upon your waters Since I was three feet tall. You've seen it all, you've seen it all.Watched the men who rode you, Switch from sails to steam. And in your belly you hold the treasure That few have ever seen. Most of them dreams, Most of them dreams."

"Come Monday, it'll be all right. Come Monday, I'll be holding you tight. I spent four lonely days in a brown L.A. haze And I just want you back by my side."

"Mother, mother ocean, after all these years I've found My occupational hazard being my occupations just not around. I feel like I've drowned, Gonna head uptown."

"Now, I don't know, I don't know where I'm a gonna go When the volcano blow."

"Boat drinks. Waitress, I need two more boat drinks. Then I'm headin south 'fore my dream shrinks. I gotta go where it's warm."

"As the son of a son of a sailor, I went out on the sea for adventure. Expanding the view of the captain and crew Like a man just released from indenture."

"I went down to Captain Tony's to get out of the heat When I heard a voice call out to me, "Son, come have a seat." I had to search my memory as I looked into those eyes; Our lives change like the weather but a legend never dies"

"Now he lives in the islands, fishes the pilin's And drinks his green label each day, He's writing his memoirs and losing his hearing, But he don't care what most people say. Through eighty-six years of perpetual motion, If he likes you he'll smile then he'll say, Jimmy, some of it's magic, some of it's tragic, But I had a good life all the way."

"He went to Paris, looking for answers To questions that bothered him so. He was impressive, young and aggressive, Saving the world on his own. But the warm Summer breezes, The French wines and cheeses Put his ambition at bay. And Summers and Winters Scattered like splinters, And four or five years slipped away."