released July 19, 2019

Written and recorded by ANDY GALLAGHER
PAUL TILLERY - bass
JONATHAN SEBAT - drums
TRENT ROWLAND - guest vocals on track 5

Mixed by KEITH HANLON
Mastered by ADAM BOOSE
Album art by LAURA SANDERS

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THIS COUNTRY RUNS ON DIESEL

well it's seven in the morning, gotta get up and go
gotta find my diner coffee gonna carry this load
from the south of louisiana to the top of minnesota
and I think i’ll make a stop in des moines
yeah a steak and a baked potato in iowa
then get up and do it over again
livin' life on the road

everybody all across the nation
is banking on a trucker to make his destination
when we don’t deliver you’ll stop and reconsider
that this country runs on diesel
and it’s a hard, lonely road out there
while the highway’s unwinding you’re finding that your mind is
drifting to dreaming or love

sometimes life between the lines gets lonely
most of the time when you’re riding high you feel so alive
I got eighty thousand pounds a thousand miles from home
I got seventeen gears, double stacks of chrome
got a chain that hangs above me that works the horn

and if enough of the kids on the big yellow bus
pumping fists up and down tryin’ to get me to look
just exactly like i used to do when i was a kid
yeah it’s good to know that out on the road
life stays the same

livin' life on the road

everybody all across the nation
is bankin' on a trucker to make his destination
‘cause whether you’re making dinner or havin' it delivered
it’s a long, long way from the farm
and it’s a hard, lonely road out there
nobody lets you over when you’re passing
the slower RVs on the highway
we should always have the right of way, honey
‘cause truckers keep this nation right on time

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WRITING ON THE WALL

most of the writing on the walls of bathroom stalls
is on the right hand side of the wall
I guess that's probably because most people are right handed
but the stall I ended up in today
is one of the old ones with so much to say
it reminds me of the time when i was only four or five
my dad drove me from ohio to LA
he said we're gonna make you a star

we're gonna put you in the movies
we're gonna be rolling in the money, yeah soon you'll see
we'll be the talk of the town
we'll get invited all around
we'll get the keys to the city

so a few commercials later I guess I look good on tv
and a bit part in a sitcom leads to some family friendly movies
and now my face is on those magazines my sister used to read
I was everywhere until I turned thirteen
cause every star, no matter how large
has gotta burn up and fade away

no one called me for their movies anymore
and dad took all the money, didn't tell me what for
so I moved back to ohio
had a rough time in high school
and now i'm eighteen and free
and I don't know what I'm doing out here on the road
in a bathroom stall, just reading the writing on the wall

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BROADWAY

it’s alright if you find that you’re pining for the limelight
everybody needs their hour on the stage
but after you turned seventeen
you finished school but you didn’t leave
and now all of your friends have moved away
you're still at the same job, with a little more pay
still all I ever hear you talk about is living life up on the stage

I can’t tell you how many dreams i hear a night
everybody’s got a better life in mind
like maybe they could be on the silver screen
go live on a mountain, sail the seven seas
but everybody goes home and drinks away their dreams

and I’m sick of your bullshit, boys
quit yer bitchin - ain’t nobody s fault but your own
if you ain’t livin the life you hoped would be
when you were younger and you were brave enough to dream

if you want to go to broadway
baby you should go to broadway
but there’s no shame in driving, there’s no shame in serving
no one ever looks down on an honest job with honest pay
and if you go, at least you’ll know
it’s better to have lived and lost than never to have lived at all
if you want to go to broadway you should go
and leave me out here on the road
runnin a diner, asking truckers
“need a little more coffee?”
“yeah”

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When I Was a Lad

when I was a lad and I didn’t know sadness yet
my dad and I would hit the highway
he said when I turn sixteen
he'd teach me to drive this machine
but he couldn't have been less correct
no he couldn't have been less correct

‘cause a few days later came a knock on our door
heads held high, hats in their hands
he was changing a tire
and they haven't found the driver yet
he was pronounced dead at the scene
I looked at mom
she looked back at me

and we cried all night
no we never had the chance to tell my old man good bye
I didn’t know why oh why
some men grow old and some die before their time
and when the tears all dried
I climbed into the cab and kissed my mother goodbye

so I drove my dad's trailer like a forlorn sailor
from coast to coast to both borderlines
but while driving the highway I was dreaming of broadway
I was scared so I stared straight ahead
till I remembered what my old man had said

you only get one life
take just what you need and no regrets when you die
my broadway life seemed fine
thought i'd made new friends, thought i'd found my new life
but now my fame is fading
and my friends don't give a damn for me
so out here in the alley
I wonder who my friends could be

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LIFE ON THE HIGHWAY

Dan:
it’s been a long time since we talked my friend
I hope you're doing fine but I can't begin to describe
what i found out in middle America
never seen a sky that's so blue or so wide
never felt such freedom in all of my life
and no one's looking over my shoulder
no one gives a damn about the brand of your clothes here
every morning I am watching the sunrise
it’s the best that I have felt in a long time

livin' your life on the highway
it's the kind of life that fits my style
‘cause all I need is time to heal behind the wheel
I think I'll be a trucker a while

Pete:
I'm glad you found a life that makes you happy inside
but I've moved onto bigger and better things in life
and someday soon you're gonna say you knew me when
everyone goes wild when I step on the stage
the drugs are flowing easy, the critics are raving
they're calling me the midwestern savior
everyone's encouraging my diva behavior
yeah the life of spinning wheels ain't no goldmine
I've traded in my tractor for sondheim

living my life up on broadway
it's the kind of life that fits my style
every time I see my name on the marquee lights
I think I'll be in theatre for life

Dan:
careful, pete, it's a slippy slope
it's only easy when you're new in town
yeah the entertainment dollar will dry up in an hour
soon enough you're gonna be old news

Dan:
because fame fades away

Pete:
no it doesn’t

Dan:
fame fades away

Pete:
not for me it won’t

Dan:
fame is fickle and money it trickles away
don't forget it

Dan:
but living your life up on broadway
might seem like it's just your style
but when you can't find your name on the marquee lights
you still got to move on with your life

Pete:
well living your life on the highway
gets to gettin' old after a while
'cause all that time behind the wheel will soon reveal
a trucker's life is quite juvenile
and its time I lived my life under lights

dan:
but the lifestyle of the trucker is just my kind

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