Hugh Moffatt: Lyrics, etc

Some of you have asked for lyrics to my songs that Thin Air performs.

Here they are!

We may not do all of these at every show, but feel free to print them and bring them with you if you want.

You'll have to copy and paste them into a word processor to do this. Sorry I don't have a way for you to print them directly.

I'm very pleased that you are interested in my lyrics.

Thanks!

- Hugh

Small Town Girl
By Hugh Moffatt

1 She’s my small town girl
The one I used to call
To go out after dinner to play volleyball
A quick and easy smile
She’s long and strong and tall
And ready for almost anything; she can do it all

CHORUS:
She’s the one that I can tell my troubles to
She’s the one I turn to when I’m blue
There’s just not much in this world I wouldn’t do
For my small town girl
She’s my whole world
My love is true

2 The rough and twisting road
The many storms of life
They never seem to bring her down; no one sees her cry
But when we are alone
Sometimes I’ll catch her eye
That small town girl can let it out, all she holds inside

CHORUS:
I’m the one that she can tell her troubles to
I’m the one she turns to when she’s blue
There’s just not much in this world I wouldn’t do
For my small town girl
She’s my whole world
My love is true

BRIDGE:
And whatever happens to me
There’s one thing I know for sure
As long as she still loves me
I can open any door

There’s just not much in this world I wouldn’t do
For my small town girl
She’s my whole world
My love is true

Oh, my small town girl
Yes, my whole world’s
Wrapped up in you
Wrapped up in you

© 2008 Songs of Lankhmar BMI

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Words at Twenty Paces
By Hugh Moffatt

1 Just like a western movie a challenge has been made
A shot was fired in anger and pride stepped off the train
Won't we ever stop this, killing me and you
Till our hearts are up on Boot Hill, and there's nothing we can do

CHORUS: Words at twenty paces, anger at high noon
This house aint big enough for both of us it's coming soon
We'll finish off our happiness and run hope out of town
With words at twenty paces, Lord, it's love we're gunning down

BRIDGE: How did we ever lose the dreams we used to share
The gentle touch, the words of love, the way we used to care
Sometimes your words cut like a bullet in my side
Oh, which is more important, wounded hearts or wounded pride

2 I've got my ammunition, I know you've got yours too
We know each other's weakness, Lord, the damage we can do
Why can't we just step aside and put our guns away
Let love come like the cavalry, ride in and save the day

CHORUS: Words at twenty paces, anger at high noon
This house aint big enough for both of us it's coming soon
We'll finish off our happiness and run hope out of town
With words at twenty paces, Lord, it's love we're gunning down

Words at twenty paces, anger at high noon
This house aint big enough for both of us it's coming soon
We'll finish off our happiness and run hope out of town
With words at twenty paces, Lord, it's love we're gunning down


© 1981 Boquillas Canyon Music/Atlantic Music Corp. BMI


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Where Did I Go Right
by Leigh Robbins, Ken Barken, and Hugh Moffatt

1 Must have been the moonlight
Shining in my eyes
Anyway I'm wide awake
You're sleeping by my side

Resting on my shoulder
I can feel you breathe
If I could not touch you here
I might think you were a dream

CHORUS: Touching you, holding you, wondering tonight
What did I do to deserve you?
Where did I go right?

2 All the mistakes I made
On my way to you
I wouldn’t change anything
You made my dreams come true

That is all that matters
Still I’d like to know
If it was something I did, don’t ever want to quit
Don’t ever want to see you go

CHORUS: Touching you, holding you, wondering tonight
What did I do to deserve you?
Where did I go right?

BRIDGE: All I want to know is why
I light up your eyes

CHORUS: Touching you, holding you, wondering tonight
What did I do to deserve you?
Where did I go right?

Where did I go right?


© 1994 Gray Mouser Music/Atlantic Music Corp. BMI


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Kim
By Hugh Moffatt

1 Gentle as the spirit of the slowly rising moon
Lovely as a lily by a stream
Dancing eyes that light on me and move on much too soon
Promising me all that I can dream

Chorus
Kim, tell me what I have to do
There’s so much I want to do for you
Kim, you are where I want to be
Tell me that you want to be with me

2 There is something magic in your light and graceful form
Bending like a willow in the wind
I can see a strength in you to weather any storm
Constant as a lover or a friend

Chorus
Kim, tell me what I have to do
There’s so much I want to do for you
Kim, you are where I want to be
Tell me that you want to be with me

3 Clouds have gathered in the east, the moon has disappeared
Still you linger near me in the dark
Can it be that I’m the reason you are waiting here
Stay—I am offering my heart
Offering my heart

Chorus
Kim, tell me what I have to do
There’s so much I want to do for you
Kim, you are where I want to be
Tell me that you want to be with me
Tell me that you want to be with me
With me, with me

© 2008 Songs of Lankhmar/Atlantic Music Corp BMI


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I Knew Her When
by Hugh Moffatt

1 I dropped in on my daddy to pass the time of day
I know he's feeling lonesome since mama passed away
I found him working in the yard, he looked up and smiled
He said, "It's good to see you son, can you stay and talk awhile?"

2 He started telling stories, how it used to be
Laughter in his eyes---not the tears I thought I’d see
I said, "How do you do it, Dad? My heart's about to break."
He said, "Don't you understand, I've got something time can't take...

CHORUS: "I knew her when
She was a beauty she was a pearl
She was the rock I built my life on
All I needed in this world
Through life’s trials and troubles, doubts and dreams
She loved me to the end
I’m a lucky man
I knew her when"

3 All at once a feeling I never felt before
Opened up inside of me like opening a door
My heart was lifted up I felt the pain begin to fade
I looked at daddy smiling and again I heard him say
"I knew her when…

CHORUS: "I knew her when
She was a beauty she was a pearl
She was the rock I built my life on
All I needed in this world
Through life’s trials and troubles, doubts and dreams
She loved me to the end
I’m a lucky man
I knew her when"

BRIDGE: Now I understand…

END: For all my trials and troubles doubts and dreams
She loved me to the end
And I’m a lucky man
Oh, I’m a lucky man
Yeah, I’m a lucky man
I knew her when
I knew her when

© 2010 Songs of Lankhmar, BMI

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Old Flames (Can't Hold a Candle to You)

Pebe Sebert
Hugh Moffatt

1 Downtown tonight I saw an old friend someone who
I used to take comfort from long before I met you
And I caught a spark from her eyes of forgotten desire
With a word or a touch, I could have rekindled that fire

CHORUS:
But old flames can't hold a candle to you
No one can light up the night like you do
Flickering embers of love I've known one or two
But old flames can't hold a candle to you

2 Sometimes at night I think of old lovers I've known
I remember how holding them helped me not feel so alone
Then I feel you beside me and even their memories are gone
Like stars in the night lost in the sweet light of dawn

CHORUS:
Old flames can't hold a candle to you
No one can light up the night like you do
Flickering embers of love I've known one or two
But old flames can't hold a candle to you

Old flames can't hold a candle to you

© 1978 Rightsong (BMI)

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Sunset on Misery River

By Hugh Moffatt

1 Way up north in the land of sorrow
Somewhere out of the way
There's a little town called Misery River
On the shore of Misery Bay

And every evening the townfolk gather
Hardly making a sound
They wander together down to the river
To watch the sun go down

CHORUS: Sunset on Misery River
Sunset over the bay
Sunlight raining down like fire on the water
Sun just sinking away

2 There goes Frankie, she shot Johnny
She can't love no other man
There's Eleanor Rigby and Father MacKenzie
Walking down on the sand

Up on the street leaning hard on that lamppost
Is Mr. Lonely himself
Nobody here knows how long he's been here
Longer than anyone else

CHORUS: Sunset on Misery River
Sunset over the bay
Sunlight raining down like fire on the water
Sun just sinking away

BRIDGE: Me, I'm sitting here watching the others
And writing a postcard or two
Just to let you know how I'm getting by
Getting over you

CHORUS: Sunset on Misery River
Sunset over the bay
Sunlight raining down like fire on the water
Sun just sinking away
Sun just sinking away


© 1984 Gray Mouser Music/Atlantic Music Corp. BMI

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Blood Red Moon
by Hugh Moffatt

CHORUS:

There’s a blood red moon a rising
There’s a crowd that wants my head
It will not be too surprising
If the mornin’ finds me dead

1 It was early in the summer
I came to this foreign land
And I found my loving woman
In the arms of another man

2 After midnight I came to them
And I found them where they lay
Close together in the darkness
Just as dead as the light of day

3 So I ran, I keep on running
Till they run me to the ground
Living only in the shadows
Praying I will not be found

CHORUS:

There’s a blood red moon a rising
There’s a crowd that wants my head
It will not be too surprising
If the morning finds me dead

4 This evening I got careless
I was talking way too much
Got so tired of being lonesome
Now it’s bound to end up rough

CHORUS:

When that blood red moon is higher
It will shine with a cleaner light
I guess one way or another
I’ll be a freer man tonight

(solo)

5 Now I know I am not guilty
But I am not innocent
I’d have killed them if I could have
I just never had the chance

6 It’s a hard way to go
When the end is coming soon
And the only friends you know
Are a gun and a blood red moon

CHORUS:

There’s a blood red moon a rising
There’s a crowd that wants my head
It will not be too surprising
If the morning finds me dead

There’s a blood red moon a rising
There’s a crowd that wants my head
It will not be too surprising
If the morning finds me dead

© 19?? Boquillas Canyon Music/Atlantic Music Corp. BMI

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Drive
by Hugh Moffatt

1 I was standing on the highway out on suicide strip
About fifty miles gone on a thousand mile trip
When a pickup started pullin' up flashin' on the brights
The driver stopped the truck and she let me inside
Sayin' "Drive, Baby, drive, Baby, drive"

2 Well, that truck was bright and shiny like a pony made of steel
She were fast she were sleek like the driver at the wheel
They was both built for comfort they was both built for speed
She said, "I'm gonna put you in the driver's seat
And Drive, Baby, drive, Baby, drive"

(solo)

3 From that moment on's kinda hazy in my mind
It mighta been a week I sorta lost track of time
But she put me off right where I wanted to be
After one thousand miles in the land of the free
Sayin' "Drive, Baby, drive, Baby, drive"

4 Now I'm a little bit older I'm a little bit smart
Got a wife and kids and a family car
I don't stand in the rain out on suicide strip
But sometimes I think about that thousand mile trip
Sayin', "Drive, Baby, drive, Baby, drive

Yeah, Drive, Baby, drive, Baby, drive"

© 1989 Gray Mouser Music/Atlantic Music Corp. BMI

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Loving You
by Hugh Moffatt

1 I take pleasure in your smile
I take comfort in your touch
I take every chance I can to be with you
I take heart just thinking of you
When the winds of fate turn cruel
I have known no better love than loving you

2 How I long to hold you near me
As another holds you now
Won't you tell me that you feel the way I do
Though we're bound for separate cover
Surely we must have our day
You have set my soul on fire loving you

CHORUS: Loving you, loving you
You have set my soul on fire loving you

(solo)

3 There's a place for every purpose
Every feeling that is known
There's a way to make our dreams turn into gold
If we never walk together
Down the twisting roads of time
I will hold you always with me in my soul

CHORUS: In my soul, in my soul
I will hold you always with me in my soul

4 I take pleasure in your smile
I take comfort in your touch
I take every chance I can to be with you
I take heart just thinking of you
When the winds of fate turn cruel
I have known no better love than loving you

CHORUS: Loving you, loving you
I have known no better love than loving you

Loving you, loving you
I have known no better love than loving you

© 1985 Gray Mouser Music/Atlantic Music Corp. BMI

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Tiger’s
By Hugh Moffatt

1 C’mon all you boys when you’re out on the town
There’s a place you can go if you’re messin around
It’s just off of Broad in the bus station light
It’s a good time at Tiger’s on a Saturday night

Cho- Set em up Tiger
Got a friend here who’ll pay
Bobby’s gonna sing one
And the band’s gonna play

2 There’s a band called The Hardtimers workin for tips
Passin the kitty and cussin the gyps
You can give em a buck, not a five or a ten
If you gave em a twenty you’d never see em again

Cho- Set em up Tiger
Got a friend here who’ll pay
Bobby’s gonna sing one
And the band’s gonna play

3 Tex just walked in in his pearl button shirt
He’s foolin with Tiger, she’ll put him to work
Drove his rig from the valley to get him some thrills
Till he runs out of money and little white pills

Cho- Set em up Tiger
Got a friend here who’ll pay
Bobby’s gonna sing one
And the band’s gonna play

4 Dave’s gettin up with his old beat up Strat
Slung down round his knees, yeah, he likes it like that
Lord knows he aint country, he’s pure rock n roll
Little hard on the ears, but it’s good for the soul

Cho- Set em up Tiger
Got a friend here who’ll pay
Dave's gonna sing one
And the band’s gonna play

5 So the company aint polite the beer aint the best
But step right on inside, let your mind take a rest
You might end up fightin, drunk, or in jail
But you might have a time worth the price of your bail

Cho- Set em up Tiger
Got a friend here who’ll pay
Bobby’s gonna sing one
And the band’s gonna play

Cho- Set em up Tiger
Got a friend here who’ll pay
I'm gonna sing one
And the band’s gonna play


© 2011 Songs of Lankhmar BMI

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How Could I Love Her So Much
By Hugh Moffatt

1 As I walked through the door and my eyes fit the darkness
I saw him alone at the bar
I went over to him said, "You may not know me
But I sure do know who you are
Don't worry my anger was spent long ago
And only the memory remains
But Lord, how I suffered sometimes I still wonder
And maybe now you can explain
Tell me…

CHORUS: "How could I love her so much and them lose her
So quickly to someone like you
How did you know how to hold her and please her
How did you know what to do
After all of the time I spent learning to love her
And be what she needed me to
How could I love her so much and then lose her
So quickly to someone like you"

2 He said, "Friend let me buy you an drink and I'll tell you
A story that's sad but it's true
How I loved her and held her till some drifter stole her
From Me like i stole her from you
I guess no one can own her her hearts like a soldier
Of fortune her love's like the wind
Still all I can think of is finding her new love
And asking this question of him

CHORUS: "How could I love her so much and them lose her
So quickly to someone like you
How did you know how to hold her and please her
How did you know what to do
After all of the time I spent learning to love her
And be what she needed me to
How could I love her so much and then lose her
So quickly to someone like you
How could I love her so much and then lose her
So quickly to someone like you"

© 1982 Boquillas Canyon Music/Atlantic Music Corp. BMI

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Rock Bottom
By Hugh Moffatt

1 Johnnie made a deal with the devil one day
When she was feeling low
After she got up on her feet again
The devil came to take her soul

She said to him, “You didn’t do a damn thing
I believe you’re cheating me”
The devil said, “Now that it won’t do you no good
I’m gonna give you some advice for free”
Oh…

Chorus:
You can’t stand up on a slippery slope
Don’t set your feet in the sand
Every time you fall you got to pick yourself up
It’ll help if you understand
When you hit
Rock bottom, you’re on…
Rock bottom, you’re on…
Rock bottom, you’re on…
Solid ground
Solid ground

2 Johnnie slipped away to the heavenly gates
The devil hot on her trail
She cried, “St Peter won’t you save me now
I know that the Lord will prevail”

St Peter said, “Johnnie, aint you ever gonna learn?
You got everything that you need
You don’t need the devil and you don’t need me
On this Ol’ Scratch and I agree
Yeah…

Chorus:
You can’t stand up on a slippery slope
Don’t set your feet in the sand
Every time you fall you got to pick yourself up
It’ll help if you understand
When you hit
Rock bottom, you’re on…
Rock bottom, you’re on…
Rock bottom, you’re on…
Solid ground
3 The devil was breathing down Johnnie’s neck
She said, “I don’t really know what that means
But if this aint rock bottom then sure as hell
It’s as close as I want to be”

So she turned to the devil, set her feet on the ground
Said, “I aint going nowhere with you
You’re a liar and a cheat, we aint got no deal
And there aint a damn thing you can do”

Bridge
As those long skinny arms came reaching for her
The devil vanished in a puff of smoke
Johnnie looked up at Peter, and they both started laughing
Just like it was some kind of joke
And they were saying…

Chorus:
You can’t stand up on a slippery slope
Don’t set your feet in the sand
Every time you fall you got to pick yourself up
It’ll help if you understand
When you hit
Rock bottom, you’re on…
Rock bottom, you’re on…
Rock bottom, you’re on
Solid ground

When you hit
Rock bottom, you’re on…
Rock bottom, you’re on…
Rock bottom, you’re on
Solid ground
Standing on
Solid ground

© 2010 Songs of Lankhmar BMI

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Rose of My Heart
By Hugh Moffatt

1 We're the best partners this world's ever seen
Together as close as can be
But sometimes it's hard to find time in between
To tell you what you are to me

CHORUS: You are the rose of my heart
You are the love of my life
A flower not fading nor falling apart
If you're tired rest your head on my arm
Rose of my heart

2 When sorrow holds you in her arms of clay
It's raindrops that fall from your eyes
Your smile's like the sun come to earth for a day
You brighten my blackest of skies

CHORUS: You are the rose of my heart
You are the love of my life
A flower not fading nor falling apart
If you're cold let my love make you warm
Rose of my heart

3 So hard times or easy times what do I care
There's nothing I'd change if I could
The tears and the laughter are things that we share
Your hand in mine makes all times good

CHORUS: You are the rose of my heart
You are the love of my life
A flower not fading nor falling apart
You're my harbor in life's restless storm
Rose of my heart

© 1982 Boquillas Canyon Music/Atlantic Music Corp. BMI

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Long Wide Open Road
By Hugh Moffatt

1 Remember the days when our love came alive
You’d slide over next to me while I’d drive
And all we could see was the stars in our eyes
And that long wide open road

We’ve traveled a whole lot of miles since then
Got bucket seats with belts to hold us in
Some wear and tear from time’s howling winds
And curves and cracks in the road

CHORUS:
But the stars still shine
I see them in your eyes
They’re calling me to go
With you by my side
To the end of time
Out on that long wide open road

2 We used to raise Cain in a borrowed bed
Been raising a couple of kids instead
It’s easy to see now they’re turning their heads
To that old wide open road

For all of their ragged and reckless pride
There’s something calling them deep inside
And we couldn’t hold ‘em back if we tried
They’re gonna find their own road

CHORUS:
And the stars still shine
I see them in your eyes
They’re calling me to go
With you by my side
To the end of time
Out on that long wide open road

BRIDGE:
Here we are again you and me
Look at me now, can’t you see what I see

CHORUS:
Oh the stars still shine
I see them in your eyes
They’re calling me to go
With you by my side
To the end of time
Out on that long wide open road
Out on that long wide open road

© 2008 Songs of Lankhmar BMI

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EXTRAS - NOT IN THE CURRENT SET LIST
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Cover Me
By Hugh Moffatt

1 Cover me with kindness, cover me with love
Things I just can’t get too much of
Treat me right; tell you what I’ll do
Cover me baby and I’ll cover you

Cover me, cover me, cover me
Cover me baby and I’ll cover you

2 Hold me close when the night turns cold
Won’t need a blanket with you to hold
Keep me warm the whole night through
Cover me baby and I’ll cover you

Cover me, cover me, cover me
Cover me baby and I’ll cover you

Bridge-It’s a jungle out there trying to make my way
Will you watch my back each and every day
Be my bud and see me through
Take care of me and I’ll take care of you

3 Life’s a gamble seven days a week
Will you cover my marker on a losing streak
Cut me slack and I’ll come through
Cover me baby and I’ll cover you

Bridge-It’s a jungle out there trying to make my way
Will you watch my back each and every day
Be my bud, yeah, see me through
Take care of me and I’ll take care of you

Cover me, cover me, cover me
Cover me baby, and I’ll cover you

Cover me, cover me, cover me
Cover me baby, and I’ll cover you
Cover me baby, and I’ll cover you
Cover me baby, and I’ll cover you

© 2008 Songs of Lankhmar BMI

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Carolina Star
By Hugh Moffatt

1 Back in the hills, those slow rolling hills
Where North Carolina comes close to the stars
There's living a lady shining so high
They call her the Carolina star

2 She works at the factory from Monday through Friday
She's raising three daughters alone
Their Daddy's away, chasing a dream
She's living for the day that he comes home

CHORUS: Oh-oh, Carolina
Even stars get lonesome now and then
Oh-oh, Carolina
Don't you worry he's coming home again

3 He's singing his songs in Nashville
Working for tips in a bar
He's broke and all alone and he dreams of going home
But he's gonna be a country singing star

CHORUS: Oh-oh, Carolina
Even stars get lonesome now and then
Oh-oh, Carolina
Don't you worry he's coming home again

4 (spoken)
Sometimes she wakes up thinking of him
She remembers him beside her in the night
While out across the field the moon is setting
And those Carolina stars are shining bright

CHORUS: Oh-oh, Carolina
Even stars get lonesome now and then
Oh-oh, Carolina
Don't you worry he's coming home again

Oh-oh, Carolina
Even stars get lonesome now and then
Oh-oh, Carolina
He loves you, he's coming home again


© 1974 Gray Mouser Music/Atlantic Music Corp. (BMI)

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