John Rose

Professional Subscriber to Songbay
John Rose

I’m driving east of Amarillo
headed all the way to Texarkana
and the edges of the towns are pushing back
against the crashing of the sky

I drive for fourteen hours
and arriving get a kiss from a Rosanna
what Texas means to me these days
is mainly just a girl that I passed by

Chorus:
What was the message of that skeptical smile
you showed me from time to time
not that you weren’t happy then to have me stay awhile
but you were fine, just fine

Well I got friends in Conroe and in Dallas
and way down in San Antonio
I been in and out of honky-tonks
in Houston recently

And they tell me I got relatives
in Galveston and maybe
there’s some angel down in Austin
who could use some company

Bridge:
But when I think of Texas
it’s those greasy spoons and truckstops
and the highway east of Amarillo
between that girl and me
the sky that pushes hard against
the silos and the railroads
and the miles and the wishes
that she’s waitin’ patiently

Chorus

Skeptical Smile

This song is basically a love letter to Tucson and the years I lived there. Ther...
Play Now

Tucson

The repeated lyric "Who has time?" pictures a child that everyone has lost track...
Play Now

Home


Latest Uploads

I’m driving east of Amarillo
headed all the way to Texarkana
and the edges of the towns are pushing back
against the crashing of the sky

I drive for fourteen hours
and arriving get a kiss from a Rosanna
what Texas means to me these days
is mainly just a girl that I passed by

Chorus:
What was the message of that skeptical smile
you showed me from time to time
not that you weren’t happy then to have me stay awhile
but you were fine, just fine

Well I got friends in Conroe and in Dallas
and way down in San Antonio
I been in and out of honky-tonks
in Houston recently

And they tell me I got relatives
in Galveston and maybe
there’s some angel down in Austin
who could use some company

Bridge:
But when I think of Texas
it’s those greasy spoons and truckstops
and the highway east of Amarillo
between that girl and me
the sky that pushes hard against
the silos and the railroads
and the miles and the wishes
that she’s waitin’ patiently

Chorus

Skeptical Smile

This song is basically a love letter to Tucson and the years I lived there. Ther...
Play Now

Tucson

The repeated lyric "Who has time?" pictures a child that everyone has lost track...
Play Now

Home

My Uploads

I’m driving east of Amarillo
headed all the way to Texarkana
and the edges of the towns are pushing back
against the crashing of the sky

I drive for fourteen hours
and arriving get a kiss from a Rosanna
what Texas means to me these days
is mainly just a girl that I passed by

Chorus:
What was the message of that skeptical smile
you showed me from time to time
not that you weren’t happy then to have me stay awhile
but you were fine, just fine

Well I got friends in Conroe and in Dallas
and way down in San Antonio
I been in and out of honky-tonks
in Houston recently

And they tell me I got relatives
in Galveston and maybe
there’s some angel down in Austin
who could use some company

Bridge:
But when I think of Texas
it’s those greasy spoons and truckstops
and the highway east of Amarillo
between that girl and me
the sky that pushes hard against
the silos and the railroads
and the miles and the wishes
that she’s waitin’ patiently

Chorus

Skeptical Smile

This song is basically a love letter to Tucson and the years I lived there. Ther...
Play Now

Tucson

The repeated lyric "Who has time?" pictures a child that everyone has lost track...
Play Now

Home


About Me

Bio

I'm a singer/songwriter with a background in classical music and experimental theater, proud resident of New York's Hudson Valley. I've often been asked at open mics if I had classical training, not really as a compliment, but I'd say my influences are much more folk-rock, along the lines of Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Paul Simon, James Taylor, you get the idea. I've also had a practically life-long passion about Kate Bush and the Grateful Dead, and more recently the Milk Carton Kids, so whatever all that does to a songwriter has been done to me. If anybody wants to collaborate I'd love to talk.

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