Bootstrap Boys Lyrics

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Black and white vintage-style poster with a tree illustration and band name "The Bootstraps" at the top. Text below the illustration includes song titles and phrases like "New Years," "I Sang in Church," "A Fine Line," and "Tie a Yellow Ribbon."

  • Well I know I’m not the only one that lives like this

    Smoke’n shit and drinkin piss

    Showin’ up with a bag of roaches

    A pack wild dogs in the motor coach

    I aim to plan for the worst and hope to miss

    And I reckon there ain’t a lot of folks

    That view the world the way I do

    You oughta treat me just like I treat you

    Sow what you reap and reap what you sow

    Drive the speed limit in Ohio

    And if you’re gonna start somethin’ see it through

    I fly under the radar

    Every time I hit the highway

    And I love to see the country flyin’ by

    the clouds look purple but I don’t see rain

    Maybe that acid ate a hole in my brain

    But I’d like to think I’m just high

    Now when I come to town

    Set a place for me

    The boys and me are thirsty for good times

    So bring out all your party favors

    Old time heads and candy ravers

    Ima goin’ up if you throw down a line

    You don’t know me

    You don’t know what I’ve been through

    You ain’t walked a mile in these boots

    I miss cigarettes every which way

    & the lord knows I miss dope each day

    But I’m the one to blame as a rule

  • City livin ain't easy

    for a country boy at heart

    I need woods, clean air

    And two track dirt roads

    To keep from fallin' apart

    Yet it seems I've gotta find a way

    Every single working day

    To just keep my head down and do my part

    That just ain't been workin' out at all

    Lunch break, smoke break,

    Listen to a hot take

    And try’n make sense if it all

    Days go by like yesterday’s wine

    I got a lotta nothin’ to show for my time

    And that just ain’t been workin’ out at all

    Country livin’ comes easy

    If your heart’s already there

    The buzz of town is a distant dream

    Sittin’ in the shade with a breeze in the air

    You’ll no longer find your days

    Caught up runnin’ in the big rat race

    Fighting for the scraps

    That the rich folks choose to share

    That just ain't been workin' out at all

    Lunch break, smoke break,

    Listen to a hot take

    And try’n make sense if it all

    Days go by like yesterday’s wine

    I got a lotta nothin’ to show for my time

    And that just ain’t been workin’ out at all

  • Those big ole dreams in this little old town

    Three kids later came crashing on down

    With the lot rent due and the gas bill too

    I need a miracle to survive this week

    Twenty-two years on the same old grind

    Only four days a week but it’s 9 to 9

    You gotta do what you gotta do to get by

    And I’d need a miracle to survive this week

    Meaning well and such ain’t ever the stuff

    That makes one dear to us

    You know how the road to hell gets paved

    And you know how to call my bluff

    Call my bluff

    I need to take a little time for myself this year

    Go fishin’ plant a garden or maybe even brew my own beer

    Ya I need a little bit of time for myself this year

    And I need this weekend to take me away from here

    Take me away

    Lord knows I been tryin’ real hard

    Building my credit, even got me a car

    I don’t blow my paychecks on nights in the bar

    But I’ll need a miracle to survive this week

    Meaning well and such ain’t ever the stuff

    That makes one dear to us

    You know how the road to hell gets paved

    And you know how to call my bluff

    Call my bluff

  • Sometimes you ride

    Sometimes you fall

    Sometimes you shine

    Sometimes you’re dull

    If it ain’t one thing it’s another

    Makes you wonder why bother

    At all

    Today the dark clouds almost won

    It was thunder & lightning & I was numb

    The head games that you play

    When you’re a lonely old stray

    Are enough to put a dead fox on the run

    They say that dark times are to come

    Well I say come on and get you some

    I don’t mean to feed your fears

    But dark times been here for years

    And it don’t look good now playin dumb

    Sometimes you ride

    Sometimes you fall

    Sometimes you shine

    Sometimes you’re dull

    If it ain’t one thing it’s another

    Makes you wonder why bother

    At all

    Today the dark clouds almost won

    It was thunder & lightning & I was numb

    The head games that you play

    When you’re a lonely old stray

    Are enough to put a dead fox on the run

    They say that dark times are to come

    Well I say come on and get you some

    I don’t mean to feed your fears

    But dark times been here for years

    And it don’t look good now playin dumb

  • Been livin on hand me downs

    Re-brewin’ old coffee grounds

    Line dancin’ in a zig-zag

    With the savvy of an old fag

    I can make a mean cornbread

    Got the recipe in my head

    Came from an old farmer

    Name of Fanny, she’s a charmer

    Woah you got that right

    Woah you got that right

    Been playin’ that waiting game

    Slow car on the fast train

    Think I just might derail

    Jump on a ship and set sail

    Tried to step up to the plate

    Don’t ya know I swung too late

    Tried to light a hot fire

    But only had a pile of wet tires

    Woah you got that right

    Whoa you got that right

    Well, it don’t matter if you do or you don’t

    You can or you can’t or you will or you won’t

    I’m gonna do my thing until I die

    I’m gonna do my thing until I die

    Woah you got that right

    Whoa you got that right

    Well, it don’t matter if you do or you don’t

    You can or you can’t or you will or you won’t

    I’m gonna do my thing until I die

    I’m gonna do my thing until I die

  • To begin again

    Something must end

    That’s everything then

    No time to mend

    Yesterday’s trend

    Goodbye my friend

    To begin again

    First steps must be taken

    Like bread needs breakin

    The yard needs rakin

    Love needs makin

    Beliefs get shaken

    Don’t blow your heart up shooting cocaine

    Find yourself surfin’ round the astral plane

    One heroic dose over the threshold

    Ya ain’t no stoic if ya let yourself unfold

    1 I, 2 I, 3 I’ll go

    I’ve been around but ain’t no cotton-eyed Joe

    To begin again

    Blurred vision clearing

    A road not veering

    No end nearing

    All terms endearing

    And no judgment leering

    To begin again

    Old nightmares mastered

    Awaken faster, have no disasters

    In verdant pastures

    Of Sweet Williams and Asters

    To begin again

    To begin again

    To begin again and again and again

  • don’t get mad at you for getting up early

    Please don’t be mad at me for staying up late

    You know my hours are a little bit surly

    From when the sun goes down

    to when the devil wakes

    But there’ll be angels in the mornin’

    When the joy comes if you believe

    In that hopeful sentiment

    And I’ll always be here for you

    Until the heavens makes me prove

    when I cried for mercy that I meant it

    I’ll be your Carhartt cowboy

    I’ll be your fancy-dudded dude

    I’ll be everything in between

    That you want me to

    I’ll be your cookin-up-chow-boy

    Your holy-cow-wow-boy

    It’s all up to you

    I’ll do anything you want me to

    You know never slowin’ down will wear ya thin

    Even if you’re ridin high with a master plan

    And you know the shape I get myself in

    Between a couple drinks & now I need a hand

    I been waitin’ on the mornin when the joy come

    Cause I’m a fool for hopeful sentiment

    You’ve been tossed about with me

    Like two old souls lost at sea

    ridin’ out the waves til they relent

    I’ll be your Carhartt cowboy

    I’ll be your fancy-dudded dude

    I’ll be everything in between

    That you want me to

    I’ll be your cookin’-up-chow boy

    Your holy-cow-wow boy

    Runnin’-that-plow boy

    Look what you did now, boy

    It’s all up to you

    I’ll do anything you want me to

  • We’ll leave only tire tracks

    And take only memories

    I know a trail that winds its way

    On back through the trees

    To a clearing in the moonlight

    Where we can fool around all night

    Aw, Baby, just you and me

    Making sweet loving memories

    Let’s take that old county road

    that sorta goes through

    See what kind of trouble we can get up to

    Got a four wheel drive that just don’t work quite right

    I’m not so secretly hoping we get stuck tonight

    We’ll leave only tire tracks

    And we’ll take only memories

    I know a trail that winds its way

    On back through the trees

    To a clearing in the moonlight

    Where we can fool around all night

    Aw, Baby, just you and me

    Making sweet loving memories

    Got a cold case of beer if you want one

    If you want dinner I’ll catch you some

    My old fishin’ pole sits behind the seat

    And I can see the mayflies on the creek

    We’ll leave only tire tracks

    And we’ll take only memories

    I know a trail that winds its way

    On back through the trees

    To a clearing in the moonlight

    Where we can fool around all night

    Aw, Baby, just you and me

    Making sweet loving memories

  • If I don’t see you, then I’ll see you

    At the last round up

    Where we’ll gather round again

    and drink that same old cup

    We’ll relive our best old times

    And forget about the bad

    We’ll saddle up and ride out

    On The best trip we’ve ever had

    Clouds roll by

    Day turns to night

    The stars up high

    Are shining bright

    Moments of zen

    Now and then

    Little bits of heaven

    The end

    Time and space have acquiesced

    At the last round up

    Forever don’t make sense and death is so abrupt

    Am I just a speck of cosmic dust

    Fleeing the scene

    On the windshield of a spaceship microbus

    Good Lord, what does it mean

    Clouds roll by

    Day turns to night

    The stars up high

    Are shining bright

    Moments of zen

    Now and then

    Little bits of heaven

    The endItem description

  • I guess I still write songs and play guitar in hopes that I’d

    make my daddy proud

    He’s been gone a long long time but you know

    I wish he was still around

    I’d love to play along with him again

    And show him all the licks I’ve learned

    I’ve been through his old songbooks

    And I didn’t leave a page unturned

    I’d sit and pick a G run while he strummed

    Along with a heavy right hand

    Maybe I’d have him come out to a show

    And even sit in with the band

    I can almost hear our voices as they joined

    In that old church harmony

    And I’d ask him to say a prayer for

    Everything I do that’s harmin’ me

    Even though he had to die

    for me to be the man that I’ve become

    I’d give anything to hear him sing again

    Don’t take your guns to town, son

    I cried when Mr. Hall told his dad he’d call

    And promised him he’d write

    Sometimes an old song can feel too real

    When it hits you just right

    I ain’t been home for much of nothing now

    In seven years or more

    And I’d get out of my head if I could

    find the will to just kick down the door

    Even though he’s gone I thank the Lord

    That he played a good role

    But I’d do anything to sing with him again

    What would you give in exchange for your soul

    *What would you give

    In exchange

    What would you give

    In exchange

    What would you give in exchange for your soul?

    For if today God should call you away

    What would you give

    In exchange for your soul?

    [*What Would You Give? - Traditional American Hymn]

A white recreational vehicle parked in front of a restaurant with a sign that reads "New Beginnings Restaurant," and a rainbow graphic in the top right corner with the text "The Bootstraps Boys" and "New Beginnings."

  • Excuse me darling while I grab a beer 

    it’s been a long hard day

    you’ve seen me toilin’

    on down thru the years 

    All the long hard way

    What makes men often breaks men

    It’s on the edge of a knife

    You take what you get 

    then forget about the rest

    And that’s some kind of life

    At least that’s the story were fed

    But there ain’t no great understanding 

    So much more than ours

    And there ain’t no magic answer 

    written in the stars

    We make plans to break plans

    With struggle and strife

    In the new nuclear age 

    But even good change is a stressor 

    And the whole world’s rife 

    In people exploding with rage

    But there ain’t no great understanding 

    So much more than ours

    And there ain’t no magic answer 

    written in the stars

  • Willie I’m ready 

    To lay down on Broadway

    What good advice

    Do you have for me?

    I’ve been in the whiskey

    I’ve been in the valley

    Seeking the path that leads

    Up to the peak


    Rock of ages

    burnin sages

    fending off my demons in the dark

    In the dark dreary mines

    of my mind sometimes 

    It’s lonely as a dyin’ fire’s 

    last dyin’ spark


    I’m ready to raise up

    My ebineezer

    A rock and reminder 

    forgiveness is free

    I’ve been going upstream

    But making no headway

    And Lord it would be nice

    If you’d cleft for me

    Rock of ages

    burnin sages

    fending off my demons in the dark

    In the dark dreary mines

    of my mind sometimes 

    It’s lonely as a dyin’ fire’s 

    last dyin’ spark

  • I left the driest deserts of my mind

    Seeking any old oasis I could find

    intelligent design? 

    boy, I’ve wrestled with mine

    When it comes down to the hustle and grind


    Smoke floats off to the heavens

    Shades of my loved ones stand by

    From the first chord I could hold

    Back at 7 years old

    To the last salty 6 string mournful cry


    I sat back in my own skin

    Let the visions all play out

    It was the same as when I came 

    down from wildcat mountain

    And felt the presence of god all around

    I lit out for my highest plain

    In the deepest recesses of my mind

    But my attempts were in vain, 

    don’t you know it’s all the same

    I’ll never again reach those heights


  • Well it seems like I’ve been wandering 

    around the swimmin’ pool

    Dippin’ my toes in the shallow end

    Tryna play it cool

    Jealous of the folks that cannonball

    Like angry fool

    I can cannonball too-oo-oo

    There ain’t no rules 


    Every morning I’m serving up A bad attitude 

    No need to tell me to smile

    This is just me and my moods

    And No need to worry momma

    I ain’t bein rude

    It’s just hard to look past the ba-a-ad 

    And start seeing good 

    Meanwhile I’m

    Tryna To be fine

    But it’s taking all my will and precious time

    They say failure shoulda made me smarter

    but just Givin’ up is a shitty non starter

    And meanwhile

    I’m tryna be fine

    Every evening I settle down 

    with a heavy heart

    Can’t seem to catch a lucky break

    And stop playing parts

    One of these days I’ll wake up

    To a brand new start

    With fond memories of livin my dreams

    In a honky tonk bar

    Meanwhile I’m

    Tryin To be fine

    But it’s taking all my stubborn will and all my precious time

    They say failure shoulda made me smarter

    but Just Givin’ up is a shitty non starter

    And meanwhile

    I’m tryna be fine

    meanwhile

    I’m tryna be fine

  • Well it’s always gonna be hard to get through the hard times 

    That’s where they get their name 

    And it won’t be a problem to miss what’s right before you

    If Some days it’s like I was born with a shovel in my hand

    Who would’ve thought hard labor would be in such high demand

    Ah, but it’s best if I just get it over with

    Come this time tomorrow it won’t matter a lick

    I wish I may, I might shrink away from the task at hand

    The sweat of my brow could start a river that’d flood this land

    Dayside dreaming of a reason for my time

    Nightside grieving the dreams I’ve left behind


    Some days

    Some days


    That mean old sun would like to burn me up right where I stand

    That I should work so damn hard must be a reprimand

    Am I paying toll on the original sin highway?

    Waiting & hoping & praying for a better day


    Some days

    Some days

    Some daysyou die worrying in vain 

    There’s an old quote where I’m from 

    And it may be older still 

    Life is for the living 

    And there ain’t no time kill

    Sometimes you lay the cards you’re deal when you should have just drawn two 

    No sense in playing cat and mouse 

    And don’t go playing games you may not know how to 

    The odds are always on the house 


    There’s an old quote where I’m from 

    And it may be older still 

    Life is for the living 

    And there ain’t no time kill


    There’s a lot of metaphors for better living

    I’ve heard so many along the way 

    It’s tough to take advice that you’ve been given 

    When you spent your life going against the grain 


    There’s an old quote where I’m from 

    And it may be older still 

    Life is for the living 

    And there ain’t no time kill

    There’s an old quote where I’m from 

    And it may be older still 

    Life is for the living 

    And there ain’t no time kill

  • Oh say can you see by the bars neon light 

    I’m really getting riled up tonight 

    silhouette of a broken man 

    busted fingers Beat up hands 

    but I still like to drink like I’m young 

    I’m two whiskeys away from a brown out 

    and ain’t got nobody to call 

    when the thousand yard gazes

     give way to the mazes 

    I’ll have to unravel to find my way home


    And it’s a hard path through foggy terrain 

    where I can’t seem to find the sun for the rain 

    I’ll talk about forgiveness till I’m blue in the face 

    then act like it matters at all 


    Oh the lessons I’m learning don’t stay learnt

     please don’t wake me up with the sun

     I’ll feel bad enough for the both of us 

    if you just let me sleep it off

Artistic illustration of a dinosaur skeleton, specifically a Theropod, with stylized text around it that reads 'The Bootstraps' and 'Worry & Sober' in a vintage, hand-drawn style.

  • Well another year is gone done, been once around the sun

    unhand my old on strong and let's do one just for fun 

    A someone can sing-along song

    A never done nobody wrong song 

    every whiskey poUr is better and the more 

    gimme four and then I'm long gone, get on

    There were days that went by easy 

    And some days that got real rough 

    there were days that made me Thirsty 

    and some days I could not get enough 

    so lift one for the good times and long live may they be 

    well hot cross buns and a son of a gun 

    And you can have that one for free, ah-haw

    I've been up down high and low 

    I've been round and round 

    I've been downright lost a few good times 

    but I have always been found 

    I've been mean and fair full of joy and scared 

    cradled in the void 

    don't ask me now 'cause I couldn't say how 

    but I made it this far boys

  • I sang in church for what it’s worth 

    they let me out for time served 

    I learned anything goes in love and war fare 

    I went to work so I could live 

    when I tried to live I had nothing to give

    but I learned a thing or two about doing my share

    I went to school so I could learn 

    but nobody knew how to teach

    So I picked up a lot just hangin ‘round

    Played guitar like thunderstruck

    Played in the woods and got high in my truck

    I sang a different tune and I had to sing it loud

    I’ve worked a lot of jobs 

    and had a few real tough gigs

    I’ve played a lot of shows for just a few

    And I’ve seen people change their ways

    Out of time and out of place

    But no stones thrown ‘cause I know I’ve done it too

  • Oh and Walt said it did not contain his measure 

    yet for some folks it's their greatest treasure 

    I don't believe what you believe makes you any better 

    for the most part we all change like the weather 

    and I don't care if you've got dirt all on your face and hands

    That just means you're down to earth and 

    it's a fine line between content 

    and complacent

    My family had a lot of isms 

    like “you can't eat them flowers” and “you are to be forgiven” 

    you never knew what you were getting until you bit in 

    it takes all kinds of people to make the world a place to live in

    And I don't care if you've got dirt all on your face and hands 

    that just means you're down to earth and 

    it's a fine line 

    between content and complacent

  • He’d been grinding ears nearly 40 years 

    when the grain elevator closed

    Since 10th grade any plans he made 

    He made around that post

    He wasn’t ever a T total man 

    but I never saw him drunk

    Well that was the plan with a fifth in his hand 

    on the tailgate of his truck

    When they locked the doors for the last time 

    and everybody sat around outside

    Strong drinks for heavy hearts anything with a kick’ll do

    Getting by on 90 proof

    I’ll take the corn the wheat and rye

    Stick with the tried and true

    Getting by on 90 proof

    Ginny work the late night bar crowd 

    Shift at the old café

    She’d grab a drunk by the collar and the belt 

    and toss’em like a bale of hay

    When a fryer shorted out in the middle of the night 

    and burned the joint to the ground 

    she pulled a chair from a pile of ashes 

    and took a pint of whiskey down 

    And that’s OK, so say we all 

    you make your way, you make the call

    Strong drinks for heavy hearts anything with a kick’ll do

    Getting by on 90 proof

    I’ll take the corn the wheat and rye

    Stick with the tried and true

    Getting by on 90 proof

  • Well it’s always gonna be hard to get through the hard times 

    That’s where they get their name 

    And it won’t be a problem to miss what’s right before you

    If you die worrying in vain 

    There’s an old quote where I’m from 

    And it may be older still 

    Life is for the living 

    And there ain’t no time kill

    Sometimes you lay the cards you’re deal when you should have just drawn two 

    No sense in playing cat and mouse 

    And don’t go playing games you may not know how to 

    The odds are always on the house 


    There’s an old quote where I’m from 

    And it may be older still 

    Life is for the living 

    And there ain’t no time kill


    There’s a lot of metaphors for better living

    I’ve heard so many along the way 

    It’s tough to take advice that you’ve been given 

    When you spent your life going against the grain 


    There’s an old quote where I’m from 

    And it may be older still 

    Life is for the living 

    And there ain’t no time kill

    There’s an old quote where I’m from 

    And it may be older still 

    Life is for the living 

    And there ain’t no time kill

  • I've got a new set of strings and a story to tell let's roll 

    a bird on the wing but it broke and I fell let's roll 

    ditch your plans and all your cares let's roll

     I've got a bottle in a bag to share let's roll 

    leave you're worried mind behind let's roll 

    we're going to tear up until closing time let's roll 

    round up your good time friends all right let's roll 

    we're going to burn this whole thing down tonight let's roll 

    and of the rolling keeps on going 

    I got a hook in me 

    and there ain't no way of knowing

    how it's going to be 

    another small town, a couple more rounds 

    I think the Lord for the friends I have found

    let's roll

    Ain't nobody going to get in my way let's roll

    It takes a lot of hard work to play let's roll 

    another dollar and another day let's roll 

    and one more time for kicks I'll say let's roll

    and of the rolling keeps on going 

    I got a hook in me 

    and there ain't no way of knowing

    how it's going to be 

    another small town, a couple more rounds 

    I think the Lord for the friends I have found

    let's roll

  • I can’t say what is wrong or what is right 

    But i could sit here and sip this drink all night 

    Play old country records until dawn 

    I might even fall out on the lawn 

    With my troubles out of mind and out of sight

    I got a jar of my friend’s moonshine by my side

    That he made when he cooked down some homemade wine 

    It tastes like fruit on fire don’t you know

    Well, take two pills and you’ll be good to go 

    Strap your old boots on it’s steppin’ time 

    Tie a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree

    That sweet rose of San Antone is the only one I need 

    Let the train blow a whistle when I go 

    Oh, sweet chariot, won’t you please swing long 

    I’ve been tuning in and twanging out for so long
    I already went to Nashville and I already moved on 

    Running on  hopes dreams booze and weed

    And every other little thing in between 

    And I’d do it all again to play one more song 

    Tie a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree

    Whispering pines send my baby back to me 

    Country roads won’t you take me home 

    Oh, sweet chariot, won’t you please swing low 

    Tie a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree

    I’ll be drifting right along with the tumbling tumbleweeds

    Yippie ti ay, and a yippie aye kay oh

    Oh sweet chariot won’t you please swing low 

    Oh sweet chariot won’t you please swing low


  • Remember when you used to love me?  

    You wide-eyed loving gaze upon me

    Now I just sit and stare out the window 

    At the street lights 

    There was no one you’d put above me 

    You used to turtledove me 

    Now I’m drowning in the liquor every night 


    Well, I’ve been low before dear 

    And I may be real down again 

    But I don’t believe I’ve ever been this empty within 

    I miss the way you used to hold me 

    Even the way you used to scold me

    And I’m trying to change 

    I swear I am 

    Well, I’ve been low before dear 

    And I may be real down again 

    But I don’t believe I’ve ever been this empty within 

    I miss the way you used to hold me 

    Even the way you used to scold me

    And I’m trying to change 

    I swear I am