Bob Skidmore - lyrics

choose a song from the list below:

Forgiven
God and Country
Heaven Left For Me
Hello Young Lady (Melissa)
Life And Times
Memorial
Momma
That Hand
The Man That I've Become
Where Do You Go From Here
Workin' On Nine

more lyrics coming soon.....

Forgiven

Words and Music by Robert R. Skidmore

As the shade from daddy's favorite lamp came crashin' to the floor
I stood and watched the crystal shatter
And when he walked into the room and saw the damage I had done
There was nothin' I could say that much would matter

Oh, I could have blamed little sister
Or said "it wasn't me"
But the time had come to take my lumps
And hope the truth would set me free.

And I said…..

Papa, I'm so sorry, I know that I've done wrong
And then I braced myself for the iron hand
That I was sure would come along
But he said, "Bobby, you get busy…
Clean up this mess you made and this summer you'll work hard
To buy my lamp a brand-new shade."

Well, when they walked into the store
To tell me daddy'd passed away
My world came crashin' down around me
And standin' in the kitchen with my family and the preacher
The loneliness just started to surround me

Oh if I could have told somebody
How my heart was filled with fear
But it was him I needed to talk to
And I just prayed that he could hear…

And I said….

Papa, I'm so sorry, and I know I've done you wrong
'Cause when you needed me,
I wasn't there by your side where I belonged
I never gave you many reasons
For your chest to swell with pride
But I'll fight my way out of hell someday
To be back by your side.

Well, the hell that I've been fightin' through
Was made by my own hand
I thought I didn't need nobody,
On my own, I'd make my stand.

Well, the years went by and man,
I lost my way and went so wrong
Yeah the Devil tried to pull me under
But my father's hands are strong

No he never did forget me
And now he's set my soul at ease
Since the day I looked to Heaven
Clasped my hands and fell down on my knees

And I said….

Father, I'm so sorry and I know that I've done wrong
But I'd like to be a better man
If you could say I still belong
You finally helped me to forgive myself
And now I'm standin' here as living proof
That the only way to Heaven, Lord
Is through my Father's love.

God and Country

Music and Lyrics by Robert R. Skidmore
©February 1998

Sit cross-legged by his fire and smoke the pipe of peace.
Tell him you're his brother, we're all humans in this race.
When you've won his wary confidence and earned his sacred trust,
Then stand and shake his hand and shove your long knife through his chest.
Now stand up tall, 'cause you did it all, for your God and Country.

Now, when he tried his best to fight you, you killed his children, you took his pride.
Then you promised no more bloodshed and new lands to feed the tribe.
When he signed your paper treaty and once more felt like a man,
when you wanted all the lands he held, you stole his life again.
Now stand up tall, 'cause you did it all, for your God and Country.

Oh, but what God would really claim you, what country call you son?
What kind of people worship holy war and bloody son?

He sits cross-legged by his fire and he smokes the pipe alone.
'Cause the peace he's making now is with the God he calls his own.
The aging warrior bows his head, and he breathes one final breath,
And though you are not with him now, he's not alone in death,
Because he's now a much bigger part of his God and Country.
Oh yes, he's now a much bigger part of his God and Country.

(Is There Some) Heaven Left For Me

Music and lyrics by Robert R. Skidmore
©February 1998

Well, I wake up in the mornin', with my hair down in my eyes
Asking, "One more day, dear Jesus, (You got to)
Help me make this journey to tomorrow."

'Cause my body's torn and broken, and my soul is cold and empty
And I've reached into the future far too many times,
Now there's no more left to borrow.

It has been too hard to stay upon the paths I should have taken,
And I've tossed upon some cold and stormy seas.
Now I'm askin' for the strength to quit this hell that I've created
And I pray there's still some heaven left for me.
…..Is there some heaven left for me?

In the brightness of a noonday, I can finally see last night
And now I start to count the costs….and all the lives
That have been damaged by my living.

I hope that those I've injured, who may not even know my name
And even more, the ones that know me all too well,
Will somehow find themselves forgiving.

'Cause I have strayed too far, too easily
Never carin' for the consequence
Always roughshod over those I would not see.

And in the glory of Your Son, .I see the hurts that I must heal
And I pray there's still some heaven left for me.
Is there some heaven left for me?

I pray there's room in that beyond for one more sinner.
I pray Your love is great enough for one more prodigal son.
And I pray for strength I know I'll need to get there,
And, on my way, to right some wrongs that I have done.

In the purple of the twilight, I find myself upon my knees
And now I lift this voice to You, to try to thank You
For the gifts that I've been given.

For through the darkness of the evening,
I see it all so much more clearly
And I know that it is not the light of day….
That lets me see the way to heaven.

And now I thank You for the chances,
That any lives I may have touched somehow
Through the words that you have sent them through my songs.

But as I close my eyes and lay my weary head upon my pillow
Well, I must ask myself, again, where I belong?

Will you ever bless me with the eyes to see……
….Is there some heaven left for me?
….Is there some heaven left for me?
….Is there some heaven left for me?

Hello Young Lady
"Missy at 16"

Music and lyrics by Robert R. Skidmore
©February 1998

Hello, young lady, if I try real hard
I think I can remember you
-But you've grown an inch or two
And paper dolls have made way
For more sophisticated toys.

Such pretty hair, that button nose
And yet you have my father's shoulders
-I think he'd like how you carry yours.
I wish he'd seen you grow to be….
Your loving mother's pride and joy.

It seems to me you used to be
A little girl that sometimes clung to me
-Somehow you needed me
But like most good things in my life,
I never knew just what I had.

I should have know from all the tears
I cried when mine was taken, that November morn
-Six weeks after you were born.
How much it means to have someone
Upon this earth who calls you dad.

But you have shared me since your birth
With a siren lady called the stage
She's let me be so many things
But you're the one that taught me
How to act my age.

You know, young lady, if I look real close
I think I can remember you
-If these old eyes tell the truth
You're so tall and lovely now, but
I see the girl you were

How quickly time has flown and now you're grown
But I still hope you need me now and then.
-Although I'm not sure you did back then.
All I can do is hope I'm some part
Of your brave, new, grown-up world.

With your coal-black hair
And your stark-white hands you came
-And turned my whole world upside down
I wasn't ready for you then….
And God knows I'm not ready for you now….

But there you stand, you're all grown up
About to drive into the future
-Sometimes you seem too mature
You use your brains a lot more
Than your old man ever seemed to do.

For one who talks so much, you think
I might have learned how to communicate
-I sure hope it's not too late
To let you know how much I love….
And am so very proud of you.

I am so proud of you and I do love you….Melissa.

Life and Times

Words and Music by Robert R. Skidmore
©2001

Can you hear it all around you?
It's as gentle as a sigh.
But it's as urgent as a siren.
It's your life just passing by.

It's rushing like a river.
It's gentle as a breeze.
You see it coming to deliver.
You feel it drive you to your knees.

Time……….Your life and time………

You thought she could be your messiah.
The one to save you from yourself.
But she was just one more "Delilah".
She put you through just one more kind of Hell.

So now you cry about tomorrow.
You think the best is yet to come.
You don't know where the Hell you're going.
You can't remember where you're from.

Time……..Your life and time…..…..

You hoped the muse would come to rescue.
You hear them tell you that it's good.
But, they don't seem to want to hear you.
They wouldn't pay you if they should.

So will you go back to the living,
that takes you toward an early grave?
Or will you find a way to make it,
in the music that you crave?

You get so tired of contemplation.
You long to find that better way.
But when the fair winds start to blowin'
It nearly takes your breath away.

Now you're tired of just existing.
You want to "be or not to be".
I guess you'll have to turn the corner.
See what's left out there to see….

Of your time……..your life and time………

MOMMA

Music and lyrics by Robert R. Skidmore
© February 1998

Since God had other things to do
And other wheres to be
He sent a special lady down
To keep an eye on me
She raised nine more just like me
Although none were quite the same
Guess maybe all I have in common
With the others is my name.

I need to say, "I'm sorry" for
The trouble that I've caused
And tell her that she fills my thoughts
When I hear the applause
Tell her that I know she thinks
Some things I do are wrong
But they're a part of me
Just like she's "part" of this song.

Chorus:
You gave this life to me and now I use it like I can
And though I don't know why I seem to be a Music Man.
It isn't what you want from me but it's all that I can do
And I hope someday I can find a way to make it up to you.

It's been tearin' at me all these years
Until I've nearly lost my mind
You probably think to write this song
Was just another waste of time.

Well, it's just a simple little tune
And it's played with simple chords
The melody came easily and even easier
Came the words
Words I never did tell papa,
No, I waited far too long
So now I'm goin' to say I love you, Mom
With this simple little song.

Chorus:
'Cause you gave this life to me and now I use it like I can
And though I don't know why I seem to be a music man
It isn't what you want from me but it's all that I can do
And I hope someday I can find a way to make it up to you.

Yes, I hope some day I can find a way to make it up to you.

Memorial

Words and Music by Robert R. Skidmore
©2000

The county bands played "THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER".
The color-guards proudly marched "Old Glory" by,
and Memorial day wore its red, white, and blue
on the day I said "goodbye" to you.

On a clear November day, we laid your body to rest.
Tryin' hard for each other, we all did our best,
but, when we walked by your graveside, there was one thing left to do.
I'd have to say "goodbye", to you.

Mom and the girls didn't think they could bear
the mournful sound of "TAPS" in the cool autumn air,
but when the cold shout of rifles shook my body, I knew
how I'd have to say "goodbye", to you.

It could never have ended, with the flag they handed Mama,
or, with the preacher's closing prayer.
So I stood by your headstone, with a horn I my hand,
for the first time in what seemed a thousand years.

(INSTRUMENTAL-TAPS)

Yes, the county bands played "THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER".
The color-guards proudly marched "Old Glory" by,
and Memorial day wore its red, white, and blue
on the day I said "goodbye" to you.

and Memorial day wore its red, white, and blue
on the day I said "goodbye" to you.

That Hand

Music and lyrics by Robert R. Skidmore

The first thing that she noticed, was the sling that held his hand
As he got down off the train, to the sound of the army band.
He'd been wounded fighting evil, in a distant foreign land,
But after two long years apart, she would once more hold that hand.

Oh how that caloused hand was shaking, when she held it in her own,
And she placed the ring upon it just before the rice was thrown,
And how she held that hand so tightly, as she pushed with all her might
When she gave to him their first-born son on a rainy August night.

And it was that hand that would give her…her lifetime's biggest scare,
When he caught it in the single-tree trying to hitch that Belgian mare.
She swore she'd never been so frightened, as she tried to stop the flow,
But the doctor said He could save that hand …if she would just let go.

With that hand, when it was called for, he would warm the children's bottoms,
And with that same hand, He'd wipe away their tears.
And it was that same hand, when gently laid upon her cheek with love,
That had been her greatest comfort through the years…….
All their seventy-seven years……

But now she sits beside the bed, and holds the hand just one last time.
She cannot stop the bleeding now, because it's deep down in his mind.
She puts the hand against her withered cheek, to try to calm her fears,
But his eyes are to the ceiling, and his cheeks are streaked with tears.

She knows he wants to say "I love you.", and tell her things will be just fine.
She pulls the hair back from his forehead, and tells him that She knows it's time.
And when He's finally gone to Jesus, then quietly She stands,
Tells him that She loves him, and across his chest…..She lays that hand…
…..She lays the hand.

The Man That I've Become

In the corner of the bedroom, I can see the wooden cradle
That my father used his hands to shape the year I came along.
The thing that strikes me most is how we've used our hands so differently;
Him for building wooden things, me for building songs.

Looking back I see myself working in the hayfields,
And looking toward the farmhouse, through distorted summer air.
I'd see him leave the tool shed, with the hoes to hill potatoes,
And I'd swear I was in Hell on earth, wondering what I'd done to get there.

Trying not to be a different man than he was. Wondering ,"Is this really where I'm from?".
Struggling just to walk along his path from there to here, and thinking on the man that I'd become.

After running out of daylight, we were sitting on the porch steps,
heat lightning all around us and a whisper of a breeze.
He told me, "Let's go walking." I just sat there, unbelieving,
But he said, "The moon will show the way.", and he popped me on the knee.

Walking through the woods, fighting hard to cut the darkness,
He laughed and told me, "Boy, It's not a wonder you can't see."
You've got to get out from behind me, so you can see your way more clearly.
The light above will show you where your path's supposed to be."

But, was it safe to walk a different way than he was? Would I ever see the way that I had come?
Could I really find another way to get from here to there? And if I could, what kind of man would I become?

But, now and then, the Lord sends a vision down, to guide me.
Of looking through the fields to see my father, tools in hand.
Now, I realize he's showing me what Heaven really looks like,
and that the path I'll take's important, but not so much as how I stand.

It's OK to be a different man than he was, as long as I remember where I'm from.
It's all right to choose another way to get from there to here. It's how I've made myself the man that I've become. No.

It's how he's made of me THE MAN THAT I'VE BECOME.

Where Do You Go From Here

Shadow of a mornin' dove goes slippin' 'neath my wheels,
and it's hard now to concince myself just exactly how it feels.
'Cause there's a clean exhilaration to bein' out here on my own,
but it's one short step from the cripplin' fear of bein' all alone…..
…and the old stone faces in the granite cliffs, they sit so stoically and ask me….
…………………..WHERE DO YOU GO FROM HERE?………………………

I remember walkin' hand in hand on holy ground…
And tryin' not to say "I love you" as the rain kept pourin' down.
In the shelter of a doorway , our lips began to touch..
I could never know a kiss so soft..could ever hurt so much….
…and now a tattered woolen sweater is my last and best reminder and it sits there askin' me….
…………………...WHERE DO YOU GO FROM HERE?……………………...

Since you went away, I've kind of gotten used to feelin' half-alive,
and just goin' through the motions of each slowly passin' day.
I'm sittin' in a darkened room, with mt arms around the only friend I have ,tonight,
but her strings have cut my fingers, and I've even chased my melodies away.

Sometimes I wonder, just how many people still would come around,
If this voice of mine were silenced, and the rhythm left these hands.
I know I couldn't really blame them. I guess it's all I've ever really had to give,
And when I get like this….sometimes it's even more than I can stand!

Now I'm walkin' by the river to the place we called our own,
But there's a breeze that's blowin' cold and hard, and it chills me to the bone.
At my back is a memorial to our fighting men so brave.
Would they curse my tears at missing you, and the healing touch you gave?
…and the names, carved deep into the polished marble, seem to call my name and ask me….
…………………...WHERE DO YOU GO FROM HERE?………………………
………………………WHERE DO YOU GO FROM HERE?………………………
………………………….WHERE DO YOU GO FROM HERE?………………………

Workin' On Nine

Late night….in a hotel room..
Mr. john, he grabs the phone and says..
"Y'all send me a woman over here,…
and her hair had better be red!"

Well, leave him alone. Just leave him alone.
You can see he's burnin' the line.
Yeah, leave him alone, 'cause he's Holdin' at eight,
and he's feelin' just fine……….but he's WORKIN' ON NINE!

Slick Sammy, in his satin suit,
He chokes on more than he needs.
His only friends are dead presidents,
and his heart pumps nothin' but greed!

Awwwww, leave him alone, just leave him alone.
Just watch him dancin' on that line.
Yeah leave him alone, 'cause he's payin for eight,
and he's feelin' just fine……….but he's WORKIN' ON NINE!

Up in your face….Down like a dog
Bingein' on women and wine.
Out in the streets or in their suburban homes,
It's just more cats on the fences, or wallows full of swine!

So if you're runnin' with the big dogs,with your candy up your nose,
Or drinkin' vodka 'til you can't feel your hands.
Just like a Tomcat…your eighth life's round the corner,
and the last one's sinkin' in those wicked, wicked sands.

Should we leave you alone, just leave you alone,
and watch you trippin' on that line?
Yeah, we'll leave you alone, 'cause you've wasted the eighth,
and you're feelin just fine…….but you're WORKIN' ON NINE!
…………………………………yeah,yeah, you're WORKIN' ON NINE