Songs and Poems

 

Poems, Hymns and Songs written by Richard Lawry

Click on the links below for each poem

A Seaside Sunset

Chrome and Velvet Dreams

Whitewalls and Fenderskirts

A Solitary Place

Driving Arkansas Roads

Country Doctor

Temple of Steel

The Road Rolls On

Little Toy Train

Little Red and White Nash

Long Beach Serenade

Respect the Rust

Twisted Metal

Faded Name

Colorado Girl

Driving in the Fog

My OCD Won't Let Me Be

Never Said Much

Faded Name

Faded Name

by Kenny Van Orden

The pain of goodbye

Is beginning to hurt

I haven't allowed

Myself to shed a tear

The betrayal and rejection

Are too much to bear

I am mourning

A love that died

Through it all

God knows I tried

In time it will be

Another bad dream

A faded name

On a mental screen

My faded name

Will carry on

Just a bad dream

Not real

But very gone

My faded name

May no longer shine

My faded name

Will die in time

It takes a lot

To live so alone

To turn a heart

Of gold into stone

Will you remember me

When I am gone

Or just a faded name

You used too long

You may call my name

But I won't be there

To hold your hand

In times of despair

My faded name

Will stay with you

A discarded lover

Who helped you through

I gave you my all

As you needed help

I just couldn't save

You from yourself

My faded name

Will carry on

Just a bad dream

Not real

But very gone

My faded name

May no longer shine

My faded name

Will die with time

My faded name

A ghost from the past

My faded name

A love that didn't last

My faded name

Just a bad dream

My faded name

That just left the scene

You can listen to the song as recorded by Faded Chrome at this link

You can listen to the song as recorded by Van Orden at this link

Colorado Girl

 

Colorado Girl

by Richard Lawry

A little house on Benton Street

Filled with happy sounds where

A young girl plays in the yard

Sunlight in her blond hair

Tangled like the wind

Drifting through the trees

Sweet reflections of the past

Flow like a summer breeze

She's a Colorado girl

Loves aspens in the starlight

And sweet Palisade peaches

She's a Colorado girl

Loves snowy peaks

Frosted white

Violet blue columbines

And mountain sunset twilight

She's a Colorado Girl

Mama's pot roast on the stove

Sweet aroma in the air

Family gathered around

Love was always there

Grace before the meal

Then laughter filled the room

Simple days have gone too fast

Like a sweet and gentle tune

She's a Colorado girl

Loves aspens in the starlight

And sweet Palisade peaches

She's a Colorado girl

Loves snowy peaks

Frosted white

Violet blue columbines

And mountain sunset twilight

She's a Colorado Girl

Camping in the Rockies

Under stars that burn so bright

Campfire songs and stories

Carried far into the night

She learned the world was bigger

Than the streets she used to roam

But every mountain road

Led to her Colorado home

She's a Colorado girl

Loves aspens in the starlight

And sweet Palisade peaches

She's a Colorado girl

Loves snowy peaks

Frosted white

Violet blue columbines

And mountain sunset twilight

She's a Colorado Girl

That little house on Benton Street

Still holds her memories

Sweet reflections of the past

Flow like a summer breeze

And if you listen closely

You might still hear her song

She's still a Colorado Girl

She's a Colorado girl

Loves aspens in the starlight

And sweet Palisade peaches

She's a Colorado girl

Loves snowy peaks

Frosted white

Violet blue columbines

And mountain sunset twilight

She's still a Colorado Girl

You can listen to the song as recorded by Faded Chrome at this link

You can listen to the song as recorded by The Junkyard Misfits at this link

Driving in the Fog

 

Driving in the Fog

by Richard Lawry

The alarm goes off

Shattering the silence

Of the night

At three A. M

Seems I just laid down

On my comfy bed

Now, I'm on

My feet again

Pull on my clothes

Wash my face

And I stumble

Out the door

The fog glows thick

In the porch light glow

It's time for work

Once more

I know this road

Like the back

Of my hand

This morning

It's not the same

There's an empty road

And miles to go

But it's the fog

That is to blame

The night sky is

As black as coal

My headlights

Shining bright

They just don't seem

To show the way

Fog keeps

Swallowing the light

The high beams flicker

And blind my eyes

Low beams show

Only the glow

Of fog hiding

The countryside

In a surreal

Shadowy tableau

Driving slow

Hands gripping the wheel

You can't see far

It seems unreal

Foot by foot

The road appears

Faith is driving

Through your fears

The fog will lift

And skies will clear

You were never alone

Grace was here

Mile by mile

Along the way

All you had to do

Was pray

Cars drift past

With halo rings

Cocoons of

Ghostly silver light

The sky begins

To softly glow

Dawn will dissolve

The inky night

Moon so thin

It almost hides

It's evanescent radiance

The dawn has promised

A reprieve

From this

Foggy night experience

Driving slow

Hands gripping the wheel

You can't see far

It seems unreal

Foot by foot

The road appears

Faith is driving

Through your fears

The fog will lift

And skies will clear

You were never alone

Grace was here

Mile by mile

Along the way

All you had to do

Was pray

You won't see

What the future holds

Just the guiding line

Of the road you're on

But the fog will lift

And skies will clear

With faith in what

Lies beyond

Slow down

Steady at the wheel

Driving in the fog

Is by degrees

Slow down

Steady at the wheel

Dawn is closer

Than it seems

Bob Lawry Auto Museum

Links to the lyrics of every song on the album, Bob Lawry Auto Museum, by Faded Chrome 

SIDE A

Temple of Steel

Bring Her Back

Driving Arkansas Roads

Whitewalls and Fenderskirts

Frazer in the Snow

Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh

SIDE B

Chrome and Velvet Dreams

Little Red and White Nash

Respect the Rust

Hubcaps and Memories

The Road Rolls On

My OCD Won't Let Me Be

My OCD Won't Let Me Be

by Kenny Van Orden and Richard Lawry

My OCD

Won't let me be

Sheldon ain't got

Nothing on me

Everything

In the number three

My OCD

Won't let me be

I've got a vision

A vision in my mind

Oh yeah, oh yeah

Let's shine

I've got a vision

A dream I won't deny

Oh no no

Oh no

Oh no

My OCD

Won't let me be

Sheldon ain't got

Nothing on me

Everything

In the number three

My OCD

Won't let me be

Can't you see it

It's lighting up the night

Oh yeah

Feeling alright

I've got a vision

A vision in my mind

Oh yeah, oh yeah

Let's shine

I've got a vision

A dream I won't deny

Oh no no

Oh no

Oh no

I'm a lighting designer

On the cheap

I knew that was the trick

Can't you see it

It's lighting up the night

Oh yeah

Feeling alright

My OCD

Won't let me be

Sheldon ain't got

Nothing on me

Everything

In the number three

My OCD

Won't let me be

My OCD

Won't let me be

My OCD

Won't let me be

You can listen to the song as recorded by The Junkyard Misfits at this link

Never Said Much

 

Never Said Much

by Richard Lawry

Quiet in the hallway

Head down low

Too shy for the girls

They didn't know

New school, old nerves

I couldn't start

Then you walked in

And stole my heart

Never said much

But I felt it all

Love was knocking

In the school hall

I never said much

Until I knew

That my whole life

Was waiting on you

History class

Harris Pine indoors

Me making dressers

You making drawers

Lost my job

Standing up for right

Found a flower

In a soda can

To my delight

Never said much

But I felt it all

Love was knocking

In the school hall

I never said much

Until I knew

That my whole life

Was waiting on you

First date ride

Made me spin around

Got sick in the sky

Kept nothing down

You took me home

Washed my clothes clean

Said, Let's ride the train

Soft and sweet

Five hundred miles

Tried to pull us apart

Couldn't break the promise

Of a devoted heart

Never said much

But I felt it all

Love was knocking

In the school hall

I never said much

Until I knew

That my whole life

Was waiting on you

I never said much

But I knew for sure

Our kind of love

Was built to endure

Same place, same time

I finally knew

My whole life

I was waiting on you

Never said much

But I felt it all

Love was knocking

In the school hall

I never said much

Until I knew

That my whole life

Was waiting on you

I never said much

But I chose you

You can listen to the song as recorded by The Junkyard Misfits at this link

Bring Her Back

 

Being Her Back

by Richard Lawry

Hiding behind an old barn door

I saw a project I couldn't ignore

Dust on her paint, her tires were worn

But I knew that she could be reborn

Gonna bring her back

Bring her back to life

Bring her back

Bring her back to life

A Forty Buick Limited

With sidemount spares

Jet black paint

Faded by years

Dirty old seats

Her engine worn

But I hear her whisper

She'll be reborn

Bring her back to life

Straight-eight running true

She's been waiting on me

Like old dreams do

Gonna bring her back

Bring her back to life

Bring her back

Bring her back to life

Wrenches and rags, late-night light

Bringing her engine back to life

Grease on my hands, knuckles torn

Every bolt says she'll be reborn

She's more than steel and an old design

She's a bygone era frozen in time

Stately and proud, the things she's seen

She's going to drive the roads again

Gonna bring her back

Bring her back to life

Bring her back

Bring her back to life

Gonna bring her back

Bring her back to life

Bring her back

Bring her back to life

You can listen to the song as recorded by Faded Chrome at this link

Frazer in the Snow

Frazer in the Snow

by Richard Lawry

Frazer in the snow

Roll on, roll on

Frazer in the snow

Roll on

Cold December, fifty four

Heading north from Tennessee

Blue Frazer rolling through the snow

Just Bob and Pat and what might be

Frazer in the snow

Roll on, roll on

Frazer in the snow

Roll on

Oh, Frazer in the snow keep rolling on

We don't have much but we got love

Thirty dollars and not yet twenty-one

But it feels like more than enough

Frazer in the snow

Roll on, roll on

Frazer in the snow

Roll on

Engine ticking near Michigan

Snow falling thick and slow

Said"I do" while the roads were closed

But two hearts said, "let's go"

Frazer in the snow

Roll on, roll on

Frazer in the snow

Roll on

Oh, Frazer in the snow keep rolling on

We don't have much but we got love

Thirty dollars and not yet twenty-one

But it feels like more than enough

Frazer in the snow

Roll on, roll on

Frazer in the snow

Roll on

Knocking hard on the Kansas line

Pulled one plug, limped back home

Grease and hope and a little luck

And they were safely home

Frazer in the snow

Roll on, roll on

Frazer in the snow

Roll on

Oh, Frazer in the snow you carried them

When the road was hard and long

From snow plows to winter vows

Their love kept rolling on

Frazer in the snow

Roll on, roll on

Frazer in the snow

Roll on 

Oh, Frazer in the snow keep rolling on

We don't have much but we got love

Thirty dollars and not yet twenty-one

But it feels like more than enough

You kept their love rolling on

You can listen to the song as recorded by Faded Chrome at this link

You can listen to the song as recorded by The Junkyard Misfits at this link

Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh

Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh

by Richard Lawry

I was walking past the trailers

At the edge of the fair

When a funny little sound

Came through the air

Puhht whoosh whoosh

Whoosh whoosh Puhht

A sound not well known

No steady beat

just a mind of its own

Putt whoosh whoosh

Whoosh whoosh putt

An engine spinning slow

But just fast enough

It hits when it needs

It misses by design

Old iron heartbeat

Keeping perfect time

Flywheels heavy

As a farmer's hands

Spinning out the work

Across the land

Governor swinging

Like a metronome

Tells that piston

When it's time to come home

Putt whoosh whoosh

Whoosh whoosh putt

Fire and coast

Till the load gets tough

Under strain

It talks a little more

At idle it'll rest

Six strokes or more

Hits when it wants

Misses by design

World's laziest engine

keeping perfect time

Missing on purpose

Loud and proud

Corn got shelled

And the water got pumped

Wood got sawed

And the butter got clumped

Wash got done

And the cream got spun

All from a hit and miss

gitting er done

Putt whoosh whoosh

Whoosh whoosh putt

Fire and coast

Till the load gets tough

Under strain

It talks a little more

At idle it'll rest

Six strokes or more

She don't fire on command

She fires on feel

Like an old farmhand

Makin' a better deal

You can't hurry iron

From nineteen ought two

It'll let you know

When it's ready for you

Putt whoosh whoosh

Whoosh whoosh putt

Fire and coast

Till the load gets tough

Under strain

It talks a little more

At idle it'll rest

Six strokes or more

Hits when it wants

Misses by design

World's laziest engine

keeping perfect time

Missing on purpose

Loud and proud

Putt whoosh whoosh

Whoosh whoosh putt

Whoosh whoosh

Whoosh whoosh putt

Whoosh whoosh

Whoosh whoosh putt

Whoosh whoosh

Whoosh whoosh

You can listen to the song as recorded by Faded Chrome at this link

You can listen to the song as recorded by The Junkyard Misfits, under the title Hit and Miss, at this link

Hubcaps and Memories

 

Hubcaps and Memories

by Richard Lawry

Years of collecting

It's all hanging there

Hubcaps line the rafters

With a fifties flair

Car parts rusting

But they've got a place

Each one a story

Each a showcase

The rafters creak

The memories call

A lifetime of treasures

Lining the wall

Hubcaps and memories

They're gleaming tonight

Pieces of the past

In the museum light

A Ford Model A

And a toy car parade

Humble reminders

Of the life you made

Antique toy trucks

On a high wooden shelf

I see your smile in each

One of them myself

They called it junk

But you called it gold

A museum of autos

And stories they told

Through grease and grit

Through laughter and tears

You built this life

Over all these years

The way you worked

Long hours each day

Things collected

Never thrown away

Now they hang

Like reflections of you

The world calls it clutter

But they don't see

Every part

Every scratch

Is a memory

It's more than the metal

The chrome or the rust

It's the vision

The dream

And the wanderlust

Hubcaps and memories

They're gleaming tonight

Pieces of the past

In the museum light

A Ford Model A

And a toy car parade

Humble reminders

Of the life you made

Hubcaps and memories

Are the best

You can listen to the song as recorded by Faded Chrome at this link