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The Penguin Discography: The Way I Should




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    Song Title »
The Way I Should
    Authors »
Iris DeMent

    Year Written »
1996

    Lyrics »

A cold wind against my shoulder woke me up in the middle of the night
An Autumn leaf was scraping against my window
Like it was tryin' hard to get inside
And then a ghost that I had met before kept me up till dawn
And everything I thought was right was suddenly all wrong
He said "Your score is lookin' pretty bad"
Then he asked me what it was that I had to show

So I went runnin' down a list of things
Some were real, but on some of them I lied
'Cause I felt I had to justify each breath that I'd been breathin' in this life
Then I realized I was playing into someone else's rules
Tryin' to keep my score up in a game I did not choose
Then I looked that ghost straight in the eye and said
"You'd better not be comin' back by again"

Chorus:
And it's true that I don't work near as hard
As you tell me that I'm supposed to
I don't run as fast as I could
But I live just the way I want to
And that's the way I should

October's leaves were dancin' 'round
Like angels dressed in robes of red and gold
But November's come and gone now
And they're lyin' in the gutter out along the road
They're gonna make their way out to the ditch or someday to the sea
But they'll get to where they're goin' without the help of you or me
And if each life is just a grain of sand
I'm tellin' you man, this grain of sand is mine

(Repeat Chorus)

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    Performances »
Running Time 4:24
Performers Iris DeMent (Vocal), Iris DeMent (Acoustic Guitar), Chuck Leavell (Organ), John Jennings (Acoustic Guitar), Mark Knopfler (National Guitar), Steuart Smith (Electric Guitar), Tammy Rogers (Fiddle), Dave (David W.) Pomeroy (Bass), Paul Franklin (Steel Guitar), Harry Edward Stinson (Drums), Harry Edward Stinson (Harmony Vocal), Melodie Crittenden (Harmony Vocal)
Appears On
The Way I Should (1996)
Iris DeMent

    Comments »

(C) 1996 Songs of Iris ASCAP Lyrics Reprinted by Permission. All Rights Reserved.

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    Last Modified »
2009-06-16