Idiot Wind

(album: Blood On The Tracks - 2023)

Someone's got it in for me
They're planting stories in the press
Whoever it is I wish they'd cut it out
But when they will I can only guess
They say I shot a man named Gray
And took his wife to Italy
And she inherited a million bucks
And when she died it came to me
I can't help it if I'm lucky

People see me all the time
They just can't remember how to act
Their minds are filled with big ideas, images and distorted facts
And even you, yesterday
You had to ask me where it was at
I couldn't believe after all this time
You didn't know me better than that
Sweet lady

Idiot wind
Blowing every time you move your mouth
Blowing down the backroads heading south
Idiot wind
Blowing every time you move your teeth
You're an idiot, babe
It's a wonder that you still know how to breathe

Through the [?] yesterday
Said there might be thunder at the well
Peace and quiet's been avoiding me
For so long, it feels like living hell
There's a lone soldier on the hill
Watching falling raindrops pour
You'd never know [?] to look at him
But in the final shot he'd won the war
After losing every battle

I woke up on the roadside
Daydreaming about the way things sometimes are
Hoofbeats pounding in my head
I'd break the [?] it's making me see stars
You hurt the ones that I love best
You cover up the truth with lies
One day you'll be in the ditch
Flies buzzing around your eyes
Blood on your saddle

Idiot wind
Blowing through the flowers on your tomb
Blowing through the curtains in your room
Idiot wind
Blowing every time you move your teeth
You're an idiot, babe
It's a wonder that you still know how to breathe

It was gravity which pulled us in
And destiny which broke us apart
You tamed the lion in my cage
But it just wasn't enough to change my heart
Now everything's a little upside down
As a matter of fact, the wheels have stopped
What's good is bad, what's bad is good
You'll find out when you reach the top
That you're on the bottom

I noticed at the ceremony
That you left all your bags behind
The driver came in after you left
And gave them all to me and then he resigned
The priest wore black on the seventh day
Waltzing 'round while the buildings burned
You didn't trust me for a minute, babe
I've never known the spring to turn
So quickly to Autumn

Idiot wind
Blowing every time you move your jaw
From the Grand Coulee Dam to Mardi Gras
Idiot wind
Blowing every time you move your teeth
You're an idiot, babe
It's a wonder that you still know how to breathe

We pushed each other a little too far
And one day it just jumped into a raging storm
Behind [?] babe, behind [?] trees
As I was packing up my uniform
I figured I'd lost you anyway
Why go on? What's the use?
In order to get in a word with you I'd have to
Come up with some excuse
And it just struck me kind of funny

I been double-crossed too much
At times I think I've almost lost my mind
Lady killers load ice on me behind my back while
Imitators steal me blind
You close your eyes and part of your lips
And slip your fingers from your glove
You can have the best there is
But its gonna cost you all your love
You won't get it for the money

Idiot wind
Blowing through the buttons of our coats
Blowing through the letters that we wrote
Idiot wind
Blowing through the dust upon our shelves
We're idiots, babe
It's a wonder we can even feed ourselves