Closing All the Honky Tonks Down

There ain't nothing like a honky tonk bar
you'll know it when you hear that steel guitar
the people used to come from near and far
cuz you never knew just who was gonna be the next star

Now they're closing all the honky tonks down
cuz country music has lost its sweet old sound
and my honky-tonk angel just can't be found
when they're closing all the honky tonks down

This street alone used to hold four
honky tonk bars with big old dance floors
there'd be people two steppin and swingin through the doors
now all we've got is these nickel and dime stores

Chorus

Fourth of July

We deployed for eighteen months two years ago
mission accomplished but I still walk this road
does my wife still love me has my child grown
will I be the same man if I make it home

We don't want to stay any longer
won't you send us home tonight
where the only friendly-fire
in lighting up the sky
I just want to be home
by the fourth of July

Dreamin' of colonials and the lights at chrismas time
Don says things are better it ain't his son that's dying
meanwhile his cronies are making five bucks to my dime
laughing all the way to the bank while I waste away my prime

chorus

When we gonna pull back and leave these folks alone
people have been trying to take this place since before time was born how
many of our soldiers are you ready to send home
wrapped up in the stars and stripes with taps on the horn

chorus

Modern Times

We try to color the past
there's no such thing as progress
and this imitation just won't last

You were born in a time
that had no essence
but we gave it all a polish and shine

so I'll leave you this letter
darlin clementine
when you're searching for something better
don't subscribe to modern times

wonder who makes the ideal
who paints these lines
and what is lost and what is real

because everything's movin' fast
and there's no progress
nothing's built to last

chorus

The Man She Can't Stand

Every time the front door opens
this dark bar fills with daylight
and I'm hoping that it's her
letting in the light
not some drunkard bellyin' up
just to let me down
I ain't hidin' behind this bar
she knows where I'll be found

On the other side of the bar tonight
that's where she can find me
when she comes lookin for the man
that she can't stand

She's been gone for weeks
still it's service with a smile
that won't last for long
like the markers on the miles
that she's been driving past
but I know she'll turn around
she knows where she can find me
she knows where I'll be found

chorus
chorus

Mountainaire

I opened up the book of cliches
there was no where left to turn
thinkin' bout my younger days
and all the bridges that I'd burned
now I'm a little older
but the candle still burns at both ends
even though I never see you
I know we'll always be friends

Those good old times have been replaced
by even better times with each year
people finding love and finding faith
and overcoming all our fears
and it's crazy to think about
just who's making babies of their own
olivia elijah and waylon and rye
and then some

Lookin in the mirror
suddenly I've got lines around my eyes
and even though we've come 2,000 miles
it feels like ten as the crow flies
since I gave you that ring
if I've got a penny I'm a millionaire
cuz I've got everything I need
right here, in Mountainaire...

Valentine

I ain't much for holidays
cuz I give thanks all the time
but I've got reason to celebrate
in you my Valentine

So many years so far away
you were always on my mind
I was hopin I wasn't too late
for you my valentine

now I wake with you each day
I pinch myself every time
seems I made a great escape
with you my valentine

California

We drove west out across the desert
the city of angels was in our sights
we passed bakersfield and mr. haggard's house
that was his place before he was doin' time
he sure was a long way from nashville
that gives us hope we can make it on our own
chasing the sun as the day turns into night
all the artificial light makes the horizon glow

we're gonna watch the sunrise
over the mountain
we're gonna watch the sunset
on the end of the continent
going to California
golden California
we have arrived, we have arrived

As we get closer you can smell the ocean
in the distance is the hollywood sign
the traffic's heavy even on 99
I wish we had a roadie and I wouldn't have to drive
we played topanga well past midnight
you wouldn't know it was the city with the stars in our eyes
searchin for an after-hours not a care in the world
we stayed up until we saw the morning light

we watched the sunrise
over the mountain
we watched the sunset
on the end of the continent
only California
golden California
we have arrived, we have arrived

We're gonna watch the sunrise
over the mountainside
we're gonna watch the sunset
on the end of the continent
only California
golden California
we have arrived...

Nolan McKelvey

Singer/Songwriter/Musician

Wildfire

Smoke clouds on the horizon
can't see the mountain through the haze
haven't seen its like in a hundred years
a hundred thousand acre blaze

it's been dry as a bone this winter
there's no water in the lakes
the river's low and there's nowhere left to go
there is no escaping

wildfire

they're calling in the hot-shots
they come from all the western states
they're forming lines and their airplanes are flying
but they can't contain the flames

The first to fall is the steeple
with it falls the people's faith
the bell it sounds as it tumbles to the ground
can you feel it raging

chorus