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I Won't Play By Your Rules

by Dan Whitaker

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1.
I Won't Play By Your Rules 05:17
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Spent a lot a time on the streets downtown moving them boxes and driving around in circles pick it up here, drop it off there moving their damn things every damn where if you bust your ass you can make your nut anything less is a punch in the gut and your paycheck get home late, try to come down if you lose your mind you can kick it around until the next day had another job at a steak restaurant the Scottsdale snowbirds' favorite haunt cleaning off plates, throwing out trash getting no love from the bosses lash at the end of the season I done got fired they told me my work was undesired handed me a check and I walked out the back felling like a low down two-bit hack working this job to pay my rent when my bills are paid, my money's all spent all these working class Joes think they're real smart to trust in a rich man that's got no heart but that gold is only fools so I'm packing up my tools and I won't play by your rules got a new job where I don't need to drive home on the laptop for eight to five, no holidays I thought some how I'd be more free but there's a chain around my ankle and the goddamn computer's shackled to me scrolling that mouse, picking them keys staring at logs til my eyeballs freeze if I work five years I can clear my debt but I might no nuts if I'm not there yet working this job to pay my rent when my bills are paid, my money's all spent all these working class Joes think they're real smart to trust in a rich man that's got no heart but that gold is only fools so I'm packing up my tools and I won't play by your rules, no, no
2.
Honky Tonk Waltz 04:09
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Somewhere alone in a barroom with her drink and her dress, in her stance a lady is waiting for someone to come up and ask her to dance steel guitar moans slowly the bass and the drums keeping time the singer is singing the way that he's feeling and the guitar player keeps it in line so get up and get off that bar stool don't think of your problems or faults lead her by the hand, out in front of that band and dance to the honky tonk waltz now you may be someone's sweet someone or you may have a heart that's alone maybe you came with your wife, or your husband and maybe you're here on your own it don't really matter who you dance with just as long as you travel the floor take a hand, and off you go with a quick step, toe, toe live it up before you head for the door get up and get off that bar stool don't think of your problems or faults lead her by the hand, out in front of that band and dance to the honky tonk waltz get up and get off that bar stool don't think of your problems or faults lead her by the hand, out in front of that band and dance to the honky tonk waltz
3.
Oh, Cayenne 04:16
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Cayenne was sitting by the riverside with her eyes closed in a trance in her mind she saw two figures in a trance well, they circled round, and around and around and they grew into some trees and the buds turned to flowers and the seeds flew down in keys oh, Cayenne, woah, Cayenne oh, Cayenne, woah, Cayenne then Cayenne felt that she wanted to fly and she took off in the sky in a moment she was half a mile high well she drifted through crystal skies and she saw the scene below of the people's hearts into the land they sow oh, Cayenne, woah, Cayenne oh, Cayenne, woah, Cayenne Feel the sun come shining down from the heavens see the clouds go rolling out to the sea hear the boots on the ground and the sorrow from the people they found as they're drowned out gradulally then Cayenne flew to another land and the people there were few with a palace of stone and lawns of shining dew and a king and a queen were taking a stoll with wine glasses in their hands directing servants as they made their plans oh, Cayenne, woah, Cayenne oh, Cayenne, woah, Cayenne well, she flew on to a city scene where the people there did crowd from machines and cries the din she heard was loud and into a plot of fresh dug graves the bodies they did go and into the earth theur spirits they did flow oh, Cayenne, woah, Cayenne oh, Cayenne, woah, Cayenne Feel the sun come shining down from the heavens see the clouds go rolling out to the sea hear the boots on the ground and the sorrow from the people they found as they're drowned out gradulally
4.
Humboldt Stroll 04:23
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5.
Every Now and Then 05:12
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I was alone, in the cold pouring rain watching my hope, flow down the drain broke and broke down, lost before I started the race way down and out, somewhere beyond losing face and then a stranger, walking by on the street lent me a hand, to get me back on my feet the weight of the world, from my shoulders fell to the ground and to this prison, I felt that I was no longer bound Everybody needs it, every now and then a little help from a stranger, maybe from a friend you may think you're an island, but that's just a dead end You don't know what's coming, and you don't know when Lost in my head, love had left me out in the cold I couldn't see, I could not remove my blindfold alone in my sadness, there was nothing left of my pride scraping the bottom, I didn't really care if I died I heard a knocking, finally made my way to the door my old friend Dave was there, but I didn't know what for with joking and talking, he finally brought me out of my shell and soon I could see, I'd trapped myself in my own hell Everybody needs it, every now and then a little help from a stranger, maybe from a friend you may think you're an island, but that's just a dead end You don't know what's coming, and you don't know when
6.
On a Sunny Day 03:59
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Singing on a sunny day, I'm pushing all my cares away and I won't be wringing my hands and cryin' leaving my worries at the door, I'm taking my clothes and nothing more I'll meet you for a drink but I won't be buying I ain't gonna go to no church mass I told my boss to kiss my ass saw a copper on the corner and flipped him the bird I'm humming to myself but it's nothing that I've heard smiling, feeling pretty high, on my tip toes trying to kiss the sky I'm dancing with my shadow on a sunny day walking, but not across the floor I'm searching through the isles of the store for that sweet, sweet jelly roll that I love whistlin', and shufflin' to the beat of the city as I'm walking down the street I'm calling to my baby like a turtle dove I ain't gonna go to no church mass, I told my boss to kiss my ass saw a copper on the corner and flipped him the bird I'm humming to myself but it's nothing that I've heard drifting, like a cloud across the sky I'm searchin' for the apple of my eye I'm living it up on a sunny day
7.
Ky Laffoon's Last Stand 03:46
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Was a quiet day in Orlando, 1942 The tanned and tested Golf pro knew what he had to do But his 18th hole putt clicked and spun around the hole Like a flaming torch stirring acid in his gentle soul Those who gathered round him, all did a double take Ky’s body trembled and his bones began to shake "Take that you son of a bitch! That’s the last time you three putt on me" And he shot his club full of holes, not one time but three The pride of Miami Oklahoma, he became a pro at 15 He could hit the ball like no one’s ever seen caddied Titanic Thompson, a legend all his own who saw the murder of Arnold Rothstein, and had lunch with Al Capone Ky won the Nebraska Open, loved to gamble loved to cuss Had a trunk load full of weapons, there was no one he could trust He loved strong drink and had a temper to match When he missed a shot the next time he swung it was his own damned head he’d bash If he had tamed his demon, hadn't clubbed his head with dents or cut down on his drinking, he could have won more tournaments Some sing of him now, why’d he leave us so soon But Miami, Oklahoma's proud of Mr. Ky Laffoon You could say he loved rough, but he was true He punched his ticket early, retired at 42 But still he played Schifferdecker with a deadly handicap He put Miami Oklahoma, back on the map He fell ill with cancer in 1982 He didn’t wait around, he knew what he had to do He dealt the hand, then the cards he read He went out his own way, with a bullet to his head If he had tamed his demon, hadn't clubbed his head with dents or cut down on his drinking, he could have won more tournaments Some sing of him now, why’d he leave us so soon But Miami, Oklahoma's proud of Mr. Ky Laffoon
8.
3AM Blues 03:52
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I ain't sleepin', but I'm in bed thinking through everything I said my eyes wide open with the 3 am blues my baby's sleeping, she's next to me off in dreamland where I wish I could be but I lay awake with the 3 am blues my mind is churning, my thoughts are burning my restless body is tossing and turning just like a bubble, I'm sensing trouble and its coming at me on the double the pillow's lumpy, the room is cold there's street noise outside and the windows are old and I'm staring at the ceiling with the 3 am blues I'm counting sheep, like little Bo Peep and imagine I'm on some mountain side, high and steep I'm barely clinging, the sandman's bringing then I hear that god damn robin singing tomorrow's bringing a brand new day but I can't let the last one slip away I'm going nowhere with the 3 am blues I'm going nowhere with the 3 am blues
9.
Double Agent 04:49
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10.
Switching From Booze to Beer 03:44
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Once I was happy and gay til the booze went and washed me away I spied me a gal, and we started to pal but not a word to my wife did I say I met her at a far away bar she said she was learning guitar we got real friendly singing along with Don Henley when she told me she didn't live far switching from booze to beer the bottle's run dry and I've cried my last tear my wife, she's gone, but life must go on and the six pack in the fridge is so near she said, "Come on by for a spell" and the whiskey replied, "What the hell" we went in for a drink and I didn't even think of all the lies I would soon have to tell well, she loved me until I had nothing more and I knew that I'd been bad to the core I rehearsed all my lines, my wife had other designs she done changed the lock on the door switching from booze to beer the bottle's run dry and I've cried my last tear my wife, she's gone, but life must go on and the six pack in the fridge is so near
11.
Rainy Night in the Day 04:11
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Rainy night in the day, washing my blues away it’s really not all that bad summer has just begun, we can have lots of fun it's better not to be so sad everything's different now, no one even knows how it didn't go the way that we planned don't get too attached or count your chicks before they hatch your castle's made out of sand back when home was on the range, life was never too strange the good guys always won looking back on the past, you could see it wouldn't last the law was nothing more than a gun John Wayne will lead your fight, as long as your skin is white otherwise you're all on your own pull up by your boot straps, here's a couple table scraps ask the bank for a loan I saw the fountains of St. Mark flowing today as I passed by in the drizzling rain they're seldom running on a warm and sunny day and why that's is I can't explain you gotta change the way you're living, and change the way you're givin' you don't want to catch a case my dad's a CEO, your dad's from Mexico be careful not to step out of pace easy come, easy go, welcome to the clown's show but don't believe a word that he said a life full of luxury or full time at the factory either way you end up dead I saw the fountains of St. Mark flowing today as I passed by in the drizzling rain they're seldom running on a warm and sunny day and why that's is I can't explain Rainy night in the day, washing my blues away it’s really not all that bad summer has just begun, we can have lots of fun it's better not to be so sad everything's different now, no one even knows how it didn't go the way that we planned don't get too attached or count your chicks before they hatch your castle's made out of sand the cards are junk in your hand and no one gives a dirty god damn

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released April 28, 2023

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Dan Whitaker Austin, Texas

Songwriter Dan Whitaker is a lifelong musician with over 30 years performing and 14 albums of original songs to his name. Noted for his “smooth world-wise voice” and well-crafted tunes, he recently relocated from his longtime home Chicago to start a new chapter in Texas, where his outsider ways seem to fit right in. ... more

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