Greg Hayward

To all the old cowboys that don't have time for the nor the money to treat treatable diseases such as diabetes

Who will remember this forgotten soul?

Riding the sagebrush in the heat and bitter cold.

When will he retire his duster to a peg on the porch?

And listen to the nightfall from a chase not horse.

One of ten thousand yet one of a kind

Riding the Lost River Range until he went blind.

Lucas was a cowboy until he could cowboy no more.

And his dusty leather chaps rest in peace on his floor.

He was a hard working cowboy out Copper Basin way

From the first light morning to the last light of day

20,000 sunsets he’s seen from his horseback.

Looking weathered in his Stetson and dusty leather chaps.

The time was never right to start a family it seems.

All his lovers left Mackey chasing their dreams

Lucas looks for no pity, just to be left alone.

So he can hear the basin sounds blind as a stone.

Too long now since Lucas rode the Copper Basin

His floor well worn from his early morning pacin’

The time had come for Lucas to be in pain no more

In his dusty leather chaps he took his Colt from the drawer.

He was a hard working cowboy out Copper Basin way

From the first light morning to the last light of day

20,000 sunsets he’d seen from his horseback.

Laid to rest in his Sunday Stetson and polished leather chaps.

This old road hasn’t looked so good

In six months or so

I’ve been fighting this head wind

And it’s been a hard row to hoe

Every little teardrop has dried

Gone like the morning dew

My heart has started its healing

And some days I don’t think about you

Chorus:

All the love we have had

Has been a waste of seed

Not harvesting much of anything

That either of us need

Many nights were lost

Along with much needed rest

And too many hopes and dreams

Have fallen from the nest

Yes I left you but you left me too

Time marches to its own drum

And I fought the night demons

And he had many faces of lonesome

The empty way you touched me

Made us both decide

That moving on may well be

The best thing we could try.

Chorus

Drink to the Freedom

I come home late at night, knowing the house is dark and cold

Stumble down the stairs feeling drunk and old                              

4 empty walls and a past that echoes          

With the memories of the time this house was my home

Chorus:        

She doesn’t know what I’m going through

And the other woman she has left me too         

So I drink to the freedom some people say I’ve found

But it seems this freedom is driving me to the ground

My head hits the pillow and I know I’ll fight to sleep

Because my life, like my clothes, lies in a heap                              

The room spins around I put one foot on the floor         

Hoping she will come back I keep one eye on the door

Chorus:        

 All alone in this bed small enough for two

I’m afraid I am not through loving you                             

I would change to get you back I can clearly see

I’m not sure there are any changes left in me

 Chorus:         

My father committed suicide over 30 years ago.  I hadn't really forgiven him for that until I was able to put my feelings down in this song.  This is probably the most personal song that I have ever written.

Father

I wasn’t there when he passed away  

I didn’t hear the last thing he had to say,

Why did he prefer to alone?  

Did his pain finally slip away

I wonder if he beat his demons that day.

His death is a part of my story

 He wrote that chapter another I will start

 His dreams never became memories

 I hope they still live in his heart

 His memory has faded through the years

 I try and recall if I cried tears

 Or if in my anger I held them back

 In his own way he faced his fears

But what could we have done together if he’d stayed here?

 His death is a part of my story

 He wrote that chapter another I will start

 His dreams never became memories

 I hope they still live in his heart

 My father at times was a mystery

 And I wonder what else he could be

 I thought I knew but I never did

 Maybe he had seen all he wanted to see

 Maybe there was nothing left for him to be

His death is a part of my story

 He wrote that chapter another I will start

 His dreams never became memories

 I hope they live on in my heart

One of two brothers that are great singers and songwriters in their own right.  This is one of my favorites of Bob's...

The Storm

Yesterday my soul was lost but I can’t remember why

I was searching for my patch of blue but the sun had left the sky

I can’t explain the change I feel or know if it will stay

But it’s plain to see I was meant to live his way

I just sit here in the afternoon and listen to the sounds

Of the crashing waves upon the shore and the people walking around

Though tomorrow may raise hell with me I could be lonesome once again

Today I’m content just to sit alone and watch the storm roll in

Now the moments freely call to me come and take my place

The world I see responds to me there’s a smile on my face

Like a meadowlark in springtime I’ve the time to sing my song

And all my fears and fantasies are gone

I just sit here in the afternoon and listen to the sounds

Of the crashing waves upon the shore and the people walking around

Though tomorrow may raise hell with me I could be lonesome once again

Today I’m content just to sit alone and watch the storm roll in

My life’s a poem that seldom rhymes though I supply the verse

I’ve come to find a certain times I am my own curse

I’m sailing like a Sunday ship you have no claim on me

But in the still of night it’s your face I see

I just sit here in the afternoon and listen to the sounds

Of the crashing waves upon the shore and the people walking around

Though tomorrow may raise hell with me I could be lonesome once again

Today I’m content just to sit alone and watch the storm roll in

A Hole in the Night

There’s a hole in the night you used to fill

There were soft places to touch to take away the chill

There was shelter from the storms meaning use no harm

But the miles have taken me from the shelter of your arms

So when your living fast take time to feel the slow

Don’t over stay your welcome when its time to go

Stop sometimes to catch up with your past

Because you don’t know how long the future may last

At times I feel larger than life

But I too have feelings that cut like a knife

I try and keep my life on an even keel

And I need to show you what I feel is real

I try and remember all the things I’ve seen

Like the light striking your face in an Idaho spring

I try and capture what makes me feel

Words lie as empty as a fallow field

There’s a hole in the night you used to fill

There were soft places to touch to take away the chill

So when your living fast take time to feel the slow

Don’t over stay your welcome when its time to go

Mike Spencer, the Antelope Creek Cowboy had been punching cows for over 10 years for a part time rancher up Antelope Creek, Idaho. When the old man passed his children opted to sell of the land rather than work it.  So with a very small severance check Mike had to move his family from the ranch.  Not many places for a man to cowboy much more...

Antelope Creek Cowboy

He rides with ease, up Antelope Creek

Working the cows on this land

City life outgrown, now he rides alone

Working some one else’s brand

He and the old man they understand

What it takes to cowboy up here

There’s a family to feed and all their needs

Are hard to meet on this frontier

And he’s riding into the wind

Trying to beat one more storm

Hoping to get back

Where he’ll be dry and warm

All he needs is horsehide and blue jeans

And a whiskey on the side

A good woman in his bed

And a fine horse to ride

He dreams of land and riding his own brand

He works hard at what he does

Up Antelope Creek surrounded by peaks

He rides through the vistas

The land may be sold and he’ll have to go

But he’ll still work at his trade

He doesn’t feel old but the mornings are cold

And sixty will come this decade

Fading Out of View

Shelter, from a driving rain

Standing too close to the flood plain

There are things I’m sure we both will miss

Waking in the morning sharing a kiss

Time, It has been too long

Since we talked until dawn

If I had wings I would surely fly

Back to this other time

Your sweater is still in my closet

And it still smells of you

Your picture is still in my wallet

But it’s slowly fading out of view

Words,  I guess they’ve all been said

Leaving only our egos to be fed

It finally became final today

And I am sure that we will be okay

Shelter, from a driving rain

Standing too close to the flood plain

There are things I’m sure we both will miss

Waking in the morning sharing a kiss

It’s Another Day

It’s another day

I have seen them before

Same old life gone astray

Yesterday’s clothes still on the floor

Another woman gone by

Trying to face another night

No need to chase the why

It’s somehow not right

Can you give me back my life

Can you forgive the things I’ve done

I’ve been searching for the answers

But the answers have not come

Can one bad night bring me down?

Temptation is all around

How can I leave this place

When everywhere I look I see your face

I’m burning up my life

And sometimes it gets rough

And it cuts like a knife

When will enough be enough?

your thinking on us

And you will let me know

These shackles burn my skin

When will they let go

Can you give me back my life

Can you forgive the things I’ve done

I’ve been searching for the answers

But the answers have not come

Can one bad night bring me down?

Temptation is all around

How can I leave this place

When everywhere I look I see your face