Lyrics by RJ

Trophy, Girl

Genres: Indie, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Trophy, Girl
Written by: RJ

I was in the deep end but you
Still left me to drown
Cast my face in metal so youâ€™d
Never see me frown
Forged in fire and tough as iron and
Never slowing down
You said
Go and get your trophies girl

Sold my soul for fancy jobs and healthy bank accounts
Nothing else Iâ€™d ever done could 
Make you just as proud
I was born with hair of gold
So then I dyed it brown
When you said
Look at all those trophies, girl
Youâ€™re nothing but my trophy, girl

The Oracle

Genres: Indie, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

The Oracle
Written by: RJ

[verse 1]
If these walls could talk
You'd never hear your footsteps in the snow
The blistered solace of the cold
A warm embrace for its own

Because if she chose to speak
She couldn't feel the river as it goes
The answers we all seek
Come surely as tides ebb and flow

[chorus]
Smoke signals in the sky
The oracle never dies
Hush by the fireside
The oracle is biding time

Litle Oak Island

Genres: Indie, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Little Oak Island
Written by: RJ

There's no such thing as bad timing
The world moves in perfect sync
The moon pulls the oceans to rise when
The sun says it's time to sleep
There's no use fighting what ain't right when
You came back to Little Oak Island
And you kissed me by the creek
Thinking we were meant to be

Born Again

Genres: Indie, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Born Again
Written by: RJ

[verse]
A little gin, little wine
Crisis on the carpet
But we swore it's the last time

Chasing down the wayward signs
That we were young and dumb and heartless
But it found my new apartment

[pre-chorus]
A thousand miles away, for taking
I've been growing up
I hardly recognize the ways
I let you fuck me up
You had me by the line just waiting
Now I'm hanging up
Until I see your name
On my phone, when it's awfully late

[chorus]
I was born again
In a sea of shame
Where I washed away
The fears that saved me
In a different time
But if I see your face
Do I crawl back to the water
Or do you come and take your place

Crash

Genres: Indie, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Crash
Written by: RJ

[verse 1]
Sweetgrass and salted water
We pray to the river's daughter
Come June she'll stay low
But anything goes
God only knows

Go pack up that Northern whiskey
Smooth as the earth beneath my feet
Drive far from the coast
Where anything goes
God only knows

[chorus]
How she'll
Break down, through the walls built to keep her at bay
How she'll
Cry home, just to find out there's no one there
Waiting to call out her name
So she'll fight and she'll break all the glass
Knowing that
Once she looks pretty, they'll come running back
So just give me a second to crash

[verse 2]
Why say you like stormy weather
But jump your own ship before the bands
How is it worth
Lifetimes of work
Just for the sand
If you don't care to hold it down when she lands?
And watch the castle you built crumble where it stands

[chorus]
When she
Breaks down, through the walls built to keep her at bay
When she
Cries home, just to find out there's no one there
Waiting to call out her name
So she'll fight and she'll break all the glass
Knowing that
Once she looks pretty, they'll come running back
So just give me a second to crash

[bridge]
Stop your crying little girl
Wipe your eyes
The world ain't yours to bury us deep in your hurt
We're tired of the worst that you have
I'm sorry that I've given you all that I am
From all this time, I think that I now understand

[chorus]
How I
Break down, just for you to run far, far away
How I
Come home, just for you to shove me right back
Out into the fucking rain
So excuse me if I start to crack
I'll be damned
If one fucking thing's left for you to get back
Just give me a second to crash

Charleston Green

Genres: Indie, Pop, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Charleston Green
Written by: RJ

[Chorus 1]
He said "Good luck to you in that new Navy town"
Where there's no ghosts that walk on the water
and the buildings are newer and taller
I said "Please don't go make this be any harder"
Don't you know
I'll be as blue as a haint mezzanine
Of the sails down in the wind
I'll be Charleston green
I just go with the sea

[Bridge]
Heart wrought like the iron on the gates to the city
Stuck in its ways cause it's hard to get in it
I don't mind the hurt but I don't want your pity
I'm leaving this place and you're staying here with it

[Chorus 2]
I'll be thinking of you in that new Navy town
Watching the sun rise over the water
and how we'd watch it fall even harder
Just how freighters pass when the sky's getting darker
While we could, dance in the light for the time we received
I won't forget how your eyes shone with Charleston green

Redstone

Genres: Indie, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Redstone
Written by: RJ

A little lake west of Redstone
Where I go to lay my head to rest
Your footsteps on the carpet
Rags to riches, make this rental look its best
Southern winds got nothing on us laughing up a storm
Not anymore
The roof is dry and the weather vane's been
Quiet since the day you closed the door

Supernova

Genres: Indie, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Supernova
Written by: RJ

[verse]
You always walk the line
But never lose your balance because the
Muscles around your spine
Are stronger than your willpower
To do what is right by me

Every little smile
Your diction, sweet as cinnamon
It burns after awhile
You say to me the same as her
The fool you must take me to be

[chorus]
Hanging on the ropes since I first met you
I let you bite my tongue so I would bleed
He's a supernova
Cosmic wonder
Why he always needs something more than me

Bite My Tongue and Pray

Genres: Country, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Bite My Tongue and Pray
Written by: RJ

I just sit in the silence
I don't dare to breathe
I promise it's not the words that evade me

Behind closed doors and 
Bound in leather
Gospels bled from my pen 
In praise of a godsend

I know what I would say
If you were gonna stay
You breathe this air but
Your heart's in a different place
So all I do is bite my tongue and pray

Self-medicate

Genres: Country, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Self-medicate
Written by RJ

[Verse]
I've been
Getting sicker every morning
Waking up
The rain is pouring
On the cut-up pine that's
Never dried to burn

They'll say
You were born with troubled breathing
You won't ever stop your wheezing
When the air's gone stale for
Miles at every turn...

[Pre-chorus]
... around
When you see an open road and
You don't know where it goes
Tell me now
If the magic pill is getting lost
Just to be found

[Chorus]
Then I'd self-medicate
When all's too still
But the blood in my veins
Like water settled in the banks
Found a home in river rock
But never stops to stay

Flight to England

Genres: Country, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Flight to England
Written by RJ

[Verse 1]
Won't you tell me what the flight to England's like
Sitting by the window
Wishing on the stars that are passing by

Did you take a bullet train under cobble streets
And drink away the memories
The consequences barely feel like anything

[Chorus]
When you're out there
Running wild, a rebel child
Kerosene on your tongue, setting fires
But dig through the rubble and
You'll see there's no one to find
Icarus finally getting his own chance to fly

[Verse 2]
Did you meet up with the buddies you ain't seen in years
And tell them about your family
Your son is touring Europe and your daughter's here

Are they happy to know that we are doing fine
I'm making my own money
Waiting for the day I don't live on your dime

[Chorus]
Because that was your
Petty lie, to justify
Never saying you loved me because you provide
The roof for my head and the bed
That I sleep on at night
Icarus finally getting his own chance to fly

Orange and Irish Whiskey

Genres: Country, Indie, Folk

Orange and Irish Whiskey
Written by: RJ

[chorus]
You said you liked me drunk on the weekend
While you're sitting pretty, biting on your lip
But then she's calling, and arguing like crazy
And you said "I think it's time to get a drink"
So we walked right over to that bartop
When I felt your fingers brushing on my skin
Bought a round of orange and Irish whiskey
And you watched me as I took it all in

Blue Light Angels

Genres: Country, Indie, Folk

Blue Light Angels
Written by RJ

[Verse 1]
We live in a world made of 1s and 0s
And how it's done, no one knows
Our problems, born and raised in batteries
We are all blue light angels
Took from a life someone gave us
Longing for the things that naturally

[Chorus]
Come in waves, fall from clouds
Grow from love and from the ground

[Verse 2]
We try so hard for simplicity
But get lost in the frequency
We're somehow always left wanting more
They're telling me that I need fancy things
To get outside, write, and breathe
Since when are soul and spirit sold in stores

[Chorus]
Let's run away, leave the crowds
Get some horses in a ranching town

[Verse 3]
When we feel small from all the pressure
Fall back on the simple pleasures
Like golden hour warming up your skin
The beauty's lost of the day-to-day when
Everything's gotta be automated 
Life is not a race we're meant to win

Ain't Seen Nothing Yet

Genres: Country, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Ain't Seen Nothing Yet
Written by RJ

[Verse 1]
I said "Daddy, where you going?
It's near awfully late for you to take a drive"
Holy water on his breath
He sat on down and promised little me,
"Darling, you ain't seen nothing yet"

The bankers, they all warned him
They had nothing left to give him but a dime
Iron soaking down his debt
He grabbed him by the collar, told him
"Don't you try to holler or you're dead"

[Chorus]
And he took it all
Oh we rejoice
But lower your voices
They can track me by the tread
And we'll be alright
But when he said goodnight
He slipped a Colt in my bed

[Verse 2]
Now Daddy ain't seen forty since the
Union said that he fell out of line
Trouble rushing to his head
He saw the road to gold and liquor
Paving just a couple shots ahead

Some fellas in the corner 
Smoking cloves and ashing just to pass the time
Gotta clean their money red
Daddy bought a round and told them 
"Ain't it always nice to help a friend"

He said he owned a body shop
The bones are rusting, dusting through the grime
Burning dollars just to mend
The men agreed and handed him a bag
But he just ran away instead

[Chorus]
And he took it all
We hit the road
With nowhere to go
Luck hanging by a thread
And if they show up
I don't want to fuss
End it right there and then

To Me and You

Genres: Country, Indie, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

To Me and You
Written by RJ

[Verse 1]
Your strength and independence
Everybody loves to pride
Built your walls up as a secret
An Everest no one climbs

And you fear the day you fall
Throw the keys down off the edge
What if they leave you too broken
And you lock it up again

[Chorus]
Is that really what you want
Chasing fires through the dark
To me and you from the heart
Nothing is ever that far apart
But nothing will change if you never start

[Verse 2] 
Why do you chose the silence
When your thoughts are raging loud
It's okay to light those flare guns
If you need someone around

And it's not a feat of weakness
Nobody could be as strong
The way you shoulder all your burdens
So life can move along

[Chorus]
Is that really what you want
Chasing fires through the dark
To me and you from the heart
Nothing is ever that far apart
But nothing will change if you never start

[Verse 3]
How do I say I need you
After working a long day
What if all I hear is static
When I call out your name

Why would I say forever
Nothing good is meant to stay
What would happen if I fall in love
And you don't feel the same

Cherry Cigar Lights

Genres: Indie, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

Cherry Cigar Lights
Written by RJ

[Verse 1]
Coffee on an empty stomach
So I can think straight
But when I try to write you
The pen, it starts to shake

Threw away all my watches
It was always 11:10
And the roads were filled with gravel
Instead of bricks and ruby red

[Chorus]
Looking for the right time
To say I don't want you and
No, I don't need your
Cherry cigar lights on the floor
But your
Corrosive attention and rusty allure
Are breaking me down but keep
Pulling me back in for more
What was that for

[Verse 2]
Interstate after hours
But the traffic hasn't cleared
I thought I was so careful
But we always end up here

Biting it like the Bulleit
You taught me how to shoot
Chased with sweet contention
That the burn is nothing new

[Chorus]
Looking for the right time
To say I don't want you and
No, I don't need your
Cherry cigar lights on the floor
But your
Corrosive attention and rusty allure
Are breaking me down but keep
Pulling me back in for more
I ain't no better than before

U.S. 52

Genres: Indie, Folk, Singer-Songwriter

U.S. 52
Written by RJ

[Verse 1]
If you trace the lights through the hills
Of an old Kentucky town
A plot of dirt is the only thing that can
Tie a young man down

A girl she's chasing up the river
Looking for a place to call her home
The water's able to free her from all the
Fear that she can't control

[Verse 2]
She grew up fighting the rapids
So when she was thrown to shore
His boots in the mud led her to a hill
She ain't ever seen before

They stood out there watching for hours
The rain falling through the trees
He was ready to move along when this was
All she would ever need

[Verse 3]
The coal hauling west through the lock
Lost to the train racing by its side
If only he had the strength to sound the
Siren at the water line

He knew that her spirit was different
Than those railways made of steel
But he carried on and watched her fall
Knowing it was never real

[Verse 4]
A storm cloud was brewing above them
The riverbanks disappeared
His hurricane just stopped to say that
She never really belonged here

She ran back home to the water
Alone but safe at last
Drifting away to a different place
Until the little lights on the hill
Fade to black