THIS OLD HEART Take a look at this old heart, so many cracks Bruised in front, scars in the back It's a wonder that the love flows through it like it does And did you notice this old brain twists and it turns Trying to recall all the lessons that it learned It's a wonder my mind don't lose it, But it don't (not that it won’t) And these old hands still reach for more These old ears keep an eye on the door Cause when you come knockin’, my heart starts thumpin' My brain starts buzzin', and my tongue says somethin’, 'bout Fallin' in love with you Just like I did when this old heart was new And get a load of this old soul, sparkles in the dawn Dance a little jig with a robin on the lawn It’s a wonder how her smiling face brings amazing grace But sometimes when the now goes then, then goes there Ghosts ride in on the midnight air It’s a wonder if the light of day can drive them all away But this old man can’t ask for more And this old hawk keeps an eye on the door Cause when you come knockin’, my heart starts thumpin' My brain starts buzzin', and my tongue says somethin’, 'bout Fallin' in love with you Just like I did when this old heart was new Hey, sometimes love can’t catch a break But sometimes time is all it takes, all it takes So if you got a brand new heart, go ahead and use it If you wanna find it, first you gotta lose it It’s a wonder how a heart takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin’ And these old hands still reach for more These old ears keep an eye on the door Cause when you come knockin’, my heart starts thumpin' My brain starts buzzin', and my tongue says … hey When you come knockin', hearts starts trumpin’ Blood starts pumpin’, fists start bumpin’ When you come knockin’, the van starts rockin’ The noise gets shockin’, the neighbors start squawkin’ The cops come callin’ and you start ballin’ cause I’m Fallin’ in love with you Just like I did when this old heart was new Yeah, just like I did when this old heart was new ©2022 Walter H. Crockett Jr.

FLEET OF WOODEN CASKETS Hey, Georgia pines, are you sad to see us go Will you miss us in the evening by the campfire's gentle glow You won't find us on the mountain seeking refuge in the caves But in a fleet of wooden caskets floating on the waves Here's to the Mississippi, rolling toward the rising seas That swamp the crumbling coastline from Bar Harbor to the Keys Here's to the memory of the eagle, the bluebird and the bee All the times we couldn't listen, all the things we would not see And hey, sugar maples, are you sad to see us go Will you miss us in the springtime when the sap begins to flow You won't find us up in Greenland, where the glaciers used to be But in a fleet of wooden caskets bobbing on the sea Here's to the rolling prairie with its amber waves of grain To the days of dappled sunlight and the nights of gentle rain To the sound of children's laughter, to the love that let it be To the insect evolution at the end of history Hey, Okefenokee cypress, are you sad to see us go While your flocks of yellow warblers, singing soft and low, Fly away in all directions, for your home we cannot save From our fleet of wooden caskets floating on the waves So here's to the Bible and the Koran, the Torah and Talmud too The Vedas and the Bhagavad-Gita, and the ancient Book of Runes Here's to every god and goddess whose name we take in vain Through the wind's infernal howling, through the everlasting rain And hey, big rugged redwoods, are you sad to see us go Or didn't you even notice us on the forest floor below You might find us in the fault lines under highways proudly paved Or in a fleet of wooden caskets floating on the waves So here's to the brave, who struggled, and to the lucky ones, who died Before the fire consumed the land, as long was prophesied And when the flames do flicker out, as always was the case Long may the rocks we leave behind enjoy their state of grace But hey, Georgia pines, are you sad to see us go Will you miss us in the evening by the campfire's gentle glow You won't find us on the mountain seeking refuge in the caves But in a fleet of wooden caskets floating on the waves Yes there's a fleet of wooden caskets floating on the waves ©2022 Walter H. Crockett Jr.

THIS TIME I CAN'T STOP CRYIN' Hold on to me darling Hold on to me now Hold on to me darling Cause this time I can’t stop cryin’ You know that I’ll love you forever And you’ll always stay on my mind I’d fall down on my knees and pray to heaven But this time I can’t stop cryin’ So hold on to me darling Hold on to me now Hold on to me darling Cause this time I can’t stop cryin' Sun’s gonna rise up in the morning Birds gonna sing around your bed I’ll feel your smiling eyes upon me But this time I can’t stop cryin’ So hold on to me darling Hold on to me now Hold on to me darling This time I can’t stop cryin' ©2022 Walter H. Crockett Jr.

LITTLE SUNLIGHT Hey moody woman, won't you lay that lonesome burden down How much longer, how much farther can you drag that weight around Somebody hurt you, somebody lied Somebody left you shaken inside Shivering lonely and unsatisfied Moody woman, I'm talking to you What can I do to make your dreams come true Hey little sunlight, won't you stay and fill my heart a while So much to see you babe, so much to feel you in the morning, so much life in your smile I wouldn't hurt you, and I couldn't lie I wouldn't leave you, never goodbye I'll be your well when your river runs dry Little sunlight, I'm talking to you What can I do to make your dreams come true Little sunlight, I'm talking to you What can I do to make your dreams come true ©2022 Walter H. Crockett Jr.

ROLL ON There was a weepin’ and a wailin’ and a carryin’ on Like all of the magic in the world was gone Breaking of promises, shattering vows Wholesale slaughter of the sacred cows Oh lord, have mercy. This whole world’s looking like New Jersey Under water and under fire Keep on trudging through the muck and the mire Roll on through the night of a million years Roll on from the site of the trail of tears Roll on to the light of your Chosen Son Roll on till the rollin’ on is done There was a rising of waters, toppling of trees Widespread die-off of the bats and the bees Vanishing glaciers, thundering snow Whole lot of reaping what we shouldn’t have sowed Clean coal – there’s the answer! Might as well tout it as a cure for cancer Take cover! Hold your fire!. Keep on trudging through the muck and the mire Roll on through the night of a million years Roll on from the site of the trail of tears Roll on to the light of your Chosen One Roll on till the rollin’ on is done Don’t know where we’ll end up goin’ Anywhere the wind ain’t blowin’ Anywhere there’s shelter to be found Keep your children close beside you Let the North Star be your guide to Somewhere where the sun don’t burn the ground Roll on. When the banks went broke and the Internet died We all got ticked, quick to pick sides Then the civil war raged for a couple three years But whoever won it we never did hear Cause when the Lord didn’t show like they promised he would We headed up north through the Michigan woods There were 66 of us, we called it a tribe Six months later we were down to five Six months later we were down to five Two died stealing cattle Twelve went down in the heat of battle Seven perished in the cold One got strangled on her chain of gold Five bit the dust in the dry heat Four went badly on rancid meat Three wandered off into the sun Two did something that they never should have done Two did something that they never should have done Despair dropped seven Walking pneumonia bagged 10 or 11 Four died by their own hand Two fed the wolves and one quicksand Two fed the wolves and one quicksand Roll on through the night of a million years Roll on from the site of the trail of tears Roll on to the light of your Chosen One Roll on till the rollin’ on is done Well the Earth cooled down in a million years And all kinds of strange new creatures appeared We could eat ’em, and fly ’em Sleep on the ground right there beside ’em And the hundred or so of us who survived Soon split up into separate tribes Telling stories of the hell Long long ago when mankind fell Back when knowledge was not enough When faith betrayed us, and only love Got us through The long nights Burning sun Cruel waters Hunger Lives lost Hunger Lives lost Sorrow Death’s dance Sorrow Death’s dance Sorrow Sorrow And here we stand with a second chance Here we stand with a second chance Roll on through the night of a million years Roll on from the site of the trail of tears Roll on to the light of your Chosen One Roll on till the rollin’ on is done ©2022 Walter H. Crockett Jr.

CARRYIN' ON Six kids sittin' on a hillside singing overlooking a Tennessee town It was me and Slim and the Jackson twins, Big Weasel, and Sally Brown Three guitars, a couple kazoos, a gallon of cheapo wine We were feeling all right by the firelight when a crash came from behind Scared the twins near out of their mind It was a skinny old man in convict stripes and a three-day growth of beard He said, "Kids, don't run, I ain't got no gun, and there ain't no reason to fear I just busted loose of the calaboose, and they shot my buddy down All I need is a change of clothes and a look at the old home town And I'll be Alabama bound." He said, "My buddy was a jailhouse minstrel, barely knew right from wrong But if you pass me down that old guitar, I'll sing his favorite song He called it 'Carryin' On.' Goes like this... Go in peace, go in truth, keep your faith, you can't keep youth And if I never see your smiling face again Take the spirit of the song, make your own when mine is gone For I'll be there in the wine and the wailin' carryin' on. So we sent Big Weasel down off of the hill to get the man a change of clothes Sally Brown said, "Mister, where you gonna run?" He said, "I don't rightly know." But the night was right and the wine was fine and we sang the songs he knew Serenading the deer and the skunks and the bear with the Good Old Mountain Dew Oh the good old mountain dew And when he finally rose to leave us, as the night turned into dawn He passed me back my old guitar, and we sang his favorite song The one called 'Carryin On' Go in peace... Well, that was 40 years ago, and I married Sally Brown And it wasn't but a month or so till a fever struck her down I've been a rambler ever since, I guess I always will But you must imagine my surprise when I climbed back up this hill And the kids were singing still So I thank you for the change of clothes, the music and the wine And if you pass me down that old guitar, I hope that you don't mind If we sing it one more time Go in peace, go in truth, keep your faith, you can't keep youth And if I never see your smiling face again Take the spirit of the song, make your own when mine is gone For I'll be there in the wine and the wailin' carryin' on. ©2022 Walter H. Crockett Jr.

FEELIN' LOW Feelin' Low, and you're gone Stubborn heart, won't move on Stubborn love, won't let go Feelin' low With these arms, with these hands In this bed, in this sand I held on, you let go Feelin' low The sooner I put some miles between this place And the river that rolls into my dreams The longer I'll have to find the time to face That your heart was never all it seemed To me The harder I try to find another way The longer I struggle with the past The tighter I hold on to these better days The sooner they slip out of my grasp Like you Feelin' low, and you're gone Stubborn lips, want your song Stubborn eyes, tears won't flow Feelin' low Stubborn heart, won't let go Feelin' low ©2022 Walter H. Crockett Jr.

YOU HAD IT You had it, you don’t have it anymore Just leave your badge with the man at the door You got it? You don’t get it no more. Get it? You got it. You’re gone. You built it, they don’t buy it anymore Work all your life tell me what was it for You knew it, they don’t know you no more Get it? You got it. You’re gone. Some call it fate some call it pain Soon you’re standing out in the pouring rain Wondering how you’ll hang on to your pride Still the whisper of that voice inside Did you get it that you got it did you get it you're gone Did you get it that you got it that you… You love it, can’t leave it alone But the note that she wrote said it’s time to go home And that does it, you don’t do it no more Get it? You got it. You’re gone. They took it, you can’t take it anymore Work all your life you’ve got nothing to show They got it, you don’t get it no more Get it? You got it. You’re gone. Some call it fear some call it hate First you learn to cry then you learn to wait Wondering how your children will survive Still the whisper of that voice inside Did you get it that you got it did you get it you're gone? Did you get it that you got it did you get it you're gone? Did you get it that you got it that you’re… Gone! ©2022 Walter H. Crockett Jr.

CHILDREN SO LONG My granddaddy died last year He left behind a souvenir A photograph, a favorite song A voice so gentle yet so strong He said, "Children, so long. Soon I'll be gone. Never give up on humankind Live by your heart, not just your mind Children so long. Soon I'll be gone." People seem so sad today The world just wants to blow away There's so much greed and so much sin Sometimes we wish it all could end But long as I can see the light I'll teach my children wrong from right I'll count my blessings and I'll pray They'll live to hear their daddy say Children so long. Soon I'll be gone. Never give up on humankind Live by your heart, not just your mind Love other people, and like yourself I know the years, they'll treat you well Children so long. Soon I'll be gone. But your old granddaddy and your grandma too, we always wanted the best for you Good life, good love, good fun, good food, where the only law is the Golden Rule Don't lie with the bully and the cheater Don't kneel for the preaching fool Don't bow to the man with the gun in his hand just because his aim is true Stand up for the world, children Stand up for the rights of all Reach out to your brothers and your sisters Catch 'em before they fall Children, there's hard times comin', when the house is burnin; and the rats are runnin' But your love is strong, your heart is true There's just one thing for you to do: Never give up Never give up Never give up Children Children ©2022 Walter H. Crockett Jr.

THESE DAYS ARE OURS Take off the cloak that you wore in Remove the veil of sorrow Dismiss the years that brought you here Release all your tomorrows Just for the day be here be now No shadow lurks behind you Let no old sadness touch your heart No sudden fear confine you Outside the fortress of your soul A long-dead knight still taunts you Where strangers, friends and lovers all Have left their mark upon you And, worst of all, the best of them The ones who should have loved you They left you there to sink or swim They put their lives above you How many years Until we climb Up through the tears Beyond the time How many lives Have never known: These days are ours Those days are gone So rest right here and breathe the air While sunlight plays around you And stare out through an endless sky And know that love has found you Just for the day be here be now No challenge lies before you Just feel the beating of our hearts And know that I adore you How many years Until we climb Up through the tears Beyond the time How many lives Have never known: These days are ours Those days are gone These days are ours Those days… ©2022 Walter H. Crockett Jr.