Original subtitles

Western Stars is a 13-song meditation

on the struggle between individual freedom and communal life.

There are two sides of the American character.

One is transient, restless, solitary.

But the other is collective and communal,

in search of family, deep roots,

and a home for the heart to reside.

These two sides rub up against one another

always and forever

in everyday American life.

The barn.

We've got a 100-year-old barn on our property

built in the late 1800s,

and the hayloft is simply a spiritual space.

It has a high cathedral ceiling

that used to be packed with enough winter hay

to reach from the floor to the roof.

Since we've had the place,

we've held barn dances, weddings, harvest parties up there.

So it's a space

filled with the best kind of ghosts and spirits.

When we knew we were going to film Western Stars,

due to the instrumentation, I knew we'd need some place

that could fit a 30-piece orchestra.

Our barn is a structure that speaks to you.

Its natural beauty,

the artistry of its construction,

the aged wood.

It's like a fine instrument itself.

And it sounds good.

It's just got soul.

So for a few days,

we got to play for a few friends and entertain the horses down below.

So come on in,

'cause we're about to start our tale

with a man just standing by the roadside.

To having a great time.

Thumb stuck out as I go

And I'm just travelin' up the road

Well, maps don't do much for me, friend

I follow the weather and the wind

I'm hitchhikin' all day long

Got what I can carry and my song

I'm a rolling stone just rolling on

Catch me now 'Cause tomorrow I'll be gone

Family man gives me a ride

Got his pregnant Sally at his side

Yes, indeed, sir, children are a gift

Well, thank you kindly for the lift

Well, I'm hitchhikin' all day long

Trucker gears his engine down

Says, "Climb on up, son, I'm highway bound"

Well, dashboard picture of a pretty girl

I'm ridin' high on top of the world

I'm hitchhikin' all day long

Gearhead in a souped up '72

Wants to show a kid Just what this thing'll do

Telephone poles and trees Go whizzin' by

Well, thank you, pal She sure can fly

Hey, I'm hitchhikin' all day long

Well, I'm hitchhikin' all day long

Hey, I'm hitchhikin' all day long

Cars.

This is my 19th album,

and I'm still writing about cars.

Writing about the people in 'em, anyway.

Why? I don't know.

I guess the car remains a powerful metaphor for me.

We still live a lot of our lives here in America in cars,

just trying to get from one place to another,

from one place to another.

Now I suppose 40 years ago,

they were a potent metaphor for open roads, freedom.

Today, not so much.

At best, they're a metaphor for movement.

When we're in a car, we can feel like

we're always moving forward,

over the rise, around the bend,

into the future.

It can settle the spirit sometimes.

But are we moving forward?

A lot of the time, we're just moving.

It's the same sad story, love and glory

Goin' 'round and 'round

It's the same old cliché A wanderer on his way

Slippin' from town to town

Some find peace here On the sweet streets

The sweet streets of home

Where kindness falls And your heart calls

For a permanent place of your own

I'm a wayfarer, baby

I drift from town to town

When everyone's asleep And the midnight bells sound

My wheels are hissin' up the highway

Spinning 'round and 'round

You start out slow In a sweet little bungalow

Something two can call home

Then the rain comes fallin'

The blues come calling

You're left with a heart of stone

Some folks are inspired Sitting by the fire

Slippers tucked under the bed

When I go to sleep, I can't count sheep

For the white lines in my head

I'm a wayfarer, baby

I roam from town to town

When everyone's asleep And the midnight bells sound

My wheels are hissin' up the highway

Spinning 'round and 'round

Where are you now?

Where are you now?

Where are you now?

Come on!

I'm a wayfarer, baby

I roam from town to town

When everyone's asleep And the midnight bells sound

My wheels are hissin' up the highway

Spinning 'round and 'round

I'm a wayfarer, baby

I'm a wayfarer, baby

I'm a wayfarer, baby

Wayfarer, baby

I'm a wayfarer, baby

Wayfarer, baby

I'm a wayfarer, baby

Wayfarer, baby

I'm a wayfarer, baby

Wayfarer, baby

I'm a wayfarer, baby

Wayfarer, baby

I'm a wayfarer, baby

Wayfarer, baby

Come on, Charlie!

Change.

How do you change yourself?

I've spent my 10,000 hours and then some

learning my musical craft.

But I've spent a lot more time than that,

some 35 years, trying to learn how to let go

of the destructive parts of my character.

They did not go easily into that good night.

For a long time, if I loved you

and if I felt a deep attachment to you,

I would hurt you if I could.

It was a sin,

and I still have days when I struggle with it.

But I've gotten better.

Through the love of my family,

my good friends, I've learned how to love,

and to be compassionate with those close to me,

and to try and live with some small honor.

"Tucson Train" is about a guy

who's trying to follow his better angels,

working in the sun for a new start.

He's trying to change.

One, two...

One, two, three, four.

I got so down and out in 'Frisco

Tired of the pills and the rain

I picked up, headed for the sunshine

I left a good thing behind

Seemed all of our love was in vain

Now my baby's coming in On the Tucson train

I come here lookin' for a new life

One I wouldn't have to explain

To that voice That keeps me awake at night

When a little peace Would make everything right

If I could just turn off my brain

Now my baby's coming in On the Tucson train

Well, we fought hard over nothin'

We fought till nothin' remained

I've carried that nothin' For a long time

Now I carry my operator's license

And spend my days Just runnin' this crane

My baby's coming in On the Tucson train

Hard work'll clear your mind and body

The hard sun will burn out the pain

If they're lookin' for me Tell 'em, buddy

I'm waitin' down at the station

Prayin' to the 5:15

I'll wait all God's creation

Just to show her a man can change

Now my baby's coming in On the Tucson train

On the Tucson train

On the Tucson train

Waitin' on the 5:15

Here she comes

"Western Stars" is the heart of the record.

It was my reference point,

when I was searching for who my character was

and where he, I, was headed.

You've got a fading Western film star

watching the world change around him.

Watching it pass him by.

He's left doing Viagra commercials

and weekend rodeoing in the desert

east of Los Angeles,

with some Mexican charros who've come across la frontera.

He lives in the Hollywood Hills,

frequents LA watering holes,

where he's the oldest guy in the room.

But he's still got an inner compass

that doesn't allow him to bullshit himself.

He knows exactly who he is, what he's done,

the good, the bad, and the ugly of it.

It's his small redemption,

and he's made a relative peace with himself.

He's losing old friends quickly,

a lot of empty boots.

But he wakes up in the morning glad that his are still on.

I wake up in the morning

Just glad my boots are on

Instead of empty In the whispering grasses

Down the Five at Forest Lawn

On the set The makeup girl brings me

Two raw eggs and a shot of gin

Then I give it all up For that little blue pill

That promises to Bring it all back to you again

Yeah, ride me down easy

Ride me down easy, friend

Tonight, the western stars Are shining bright again

Here in the canyons above Sunset

The desert don't give up the fight

A coyote with someone's Chihuahua in its teeth

Skitters 'cross my veranda In the night

Some lost sheep from Oklahoma

Sips her mojito down at the Whisky bar

Smiles and says She thinks she remembers me

From that commercial With the credit card

Hell, these days there ain't no more

Now, there's just again

Tonight, the western stars Are shining bright again

Sundays, I take my El Camino

Throw my saddle in and go

East to the desert where the charros

They still ride and rope

Our American brothers

Cross the wire and bring The old ways with them

Tonight, the western stars Are shining bright again

Once I was shot by John Wayne

Yeah, it was towards the end

That one scene bought me A thousand drinks

Set me up And I'll tell it for you, friend

Here's to the cowboys

Riders in the whirlwind

Tonight, the western stars Are shining bright again

And the western stars Are shining bright again

Tonight, the riders on Sunset

Are smothered in the Santa Ana winds

And the western stars Are shining bright again

Come on and ride me down easy

Ride me down easy, friend

Tonight, the western stars Are shining bright again

I woke up this morning

Just glad my boots were on

It's Saturday night, let's rock and roll!

You've got to have a Saturday night.

I used to take my bike up into the Santa Monica Mountains,

where there was a weekend club.

Hundreds of bikes, a live band,

folks dancing from afternoon till night.

I'd have a few tequilas and watch the parade.

One, two, three, four!

There's a place out on the highway

'Cross the San Bernardino line

Where the truckers and the bikers Gather every night at the same time

At seven, the band comes in And locals dance the night away

At Sleepy Joe's Café

I drive on down from the big town Friday When the clock strikes 5:00

As the red sun sets in the ocean I start to come alive

Summer girls in the parking lot

Slap on their makeup And they flirt the night away

At Sleepy Joe's Café

Joe came home in '45 And took out a G.I. loan

On a sleepy little spot An army cook could call his own

He married May, the highway come in And they woke up to find

They were sitting on top Of a pretty little goldmine

Saturday night, the lights are bright As the folks pour in from town

Joe keeps the blues playin' At the bar, May lays the beers down

I come through the door And feel the workweek slip away

See you out on the floor

And Monday morning's A million miles away

Sleepy Joe's Café

Sleepy Joe's Café

Sleepy Joe's

Café

Come on, Charlie!

One more time around, Charles. Come on!

Whoo!

In "Drive Fast," I had that metaphor

of the stuntman.

Which is always a metaphor of risk

and of this idea that we all have our broken pieces.

What frightens and what exhilarates and inspires us

are often very close together.

Those feelings are the essence of what drives us to risk

in life and in love.

Everybody's broken in some way.

Physically, emotionally, spiritually.

In this life, nobody gets away unhurt.

I wrote a song about a guy

notjust finding the fearlessness to do his job,

but the fearlessness to risk

being with somebody that you love.

We're always trying to find somebody

whose broken pieces fit with our broken pieces

and something whole emerges.

So, it was just a good metaphor for a story like that.

One, two...

One, two, three, four.

I got two pins in my ankle And a busted collarbone

A steel rod in my leg But it walks me home

At nine, I climbed high into the boughs Of our neighborhood's tallest tree

I don't remember the fear Just the breeze

Drive fast, fall hard

I'll keep you in my heart

Yeah, don't worry about tomorrow

Don't mind the scars

Just drive fast, fall hard

At 19, I was the king of the dirt Down at the Remington draw

I liked the pedal And I didn't mind the wall

'Midst the roar of the metal

I never heard a sound

I was looking for anything

Any kind of drug To lift me up off this ground

Yeah, drive fast, fall hard

I'll keep you in my heart

Yeah, don't worry about tomorrow

And don't mind the scars

Just drive fast, fall hard

We met on the set of this B picture

That she made

She liked her guys a little greasy And 'neath her pay grade

We headed down to Baja

In the desert we'd make our stand of it

Figured maybe together we could get The broken pieces to fit

Drive fast, fall hard

Keep me in your heart

Yeah, don't worry about tomorrow

And don't mind the scars

Just drive fast, fall hard

I'll keep you in my heart

Yeah, don't worry about tomorrow

And don't mind the scars

Just drive fast, fall hard

I got two pins in my ankle And a busted collarbone

A steel rod in my leg But it walks me home

It's easy to lose yourself,

or never find yourself.

The older you get,

the heavier that baggage becomes that you haven't sorted through.

So you pay the price.

And the older you get, the higher that price is.

But in the past, putting yourself on the line,

putting your heart on the line

has bred nothing but pain and failure, so you run.

I've done a lot of that kind of running.

You lose control of your desires, your appetites, your temper,

and you reap what you sow.

You run until you've left everything

that you've loved and loves you behind.

Guess it was somethin' I shouldn't have done

Guess I regret it now

Ever since I was a kid

Tryin' to keep my temper down Is like chasin' wild horses

Chasin' wild horses

Chasin' wild horses

I left my home, left my friends

I didn't say goodbye

I contract out to the BLM

Up on the Montana line

Chasin' wild horses

Chasin' wild horses

We're out before sunup

We're in after sundown

There's two men in the chopper

Two under saddle on the ground

In the evenings, we'd hop in the pickup

Head into town for a drink

I make sure I work till I'm so damn tired

Way too tired to think

You lose track of time

It's all just storms blowin' through

You come rollin' 'cross my mind

Your hair flashin' in the blue

Like wild horses

Just like wild horses

Just like wild horses

A fingernail moon in a twilight sky

I'm ridin' the high grass Of the switchback

I shout your name into the canyon

The echo throws it back

The winter snow whites out the plains

Till it can turn you blind

The only thing up here I've found

Is tryin' to get you off my mind

It's like chasin' wild horses

Chasin' wild horses

Chasin' wild horses

Chasin' wild horses

Oh!

Sundown.

A new day in a new town.

I had a gal in New Jersey who broke my heart,

ripped it to shreds, trampled on it,

and sent it to me, COD, in a paper bag.

So, I was out of there

on the first ride west, no looking back.

I was going to build a new life in California,

3,000 miles away from the pain.

But it didn't take long before my luck ran out,

and my money ran out,

and it just wasn't gonna happen, so...

Well, this song was my shot,

my tribute to all the great Jimmy Webb songs

about character and place.

Here, we find my brother in heartbreak

a long way from home.

Trying to work it off, sweat it out

over a long, lonely summer

in a faraway town.

I'm 2,500 miles From where I wanna be

It feels like a hundred years Since you've been near to me

I guess what goes around

Baby, comes around

Just wishing you were here with me

In Sundown

Sundown ain't the kind of place You want to be on your own

It's all long, hot, endless days And cold nights all alone

I drift from bar to bar

Here in lonely town

Just wishing you were here with me

Come sundown

Sundown, the cafés are filled With lovers passing time

Sundown, all I've got's Trouble on my mind

So I work all day out here On the county line

I tell myself It's all just gonna work out in time

When summer's through

You'll come around

That little voice in my head's

All that keeps me from sinking down

- Come Sundown - Come Sundown

When summer's through

You'll come around

That little voice in my head's All that keeps me

- From sinking down - Sinking down

- Come Sundown - Come Sundown

I wrote this song quickly at the kitchen table one morning.

It's just about being lost on the highway of life.

Lost is something I'm good at writing about.

Sometimes you've been too beat up or haven't healed enough

of the fear out of you

to know a good thing when you've found it.

Sometimes you just gravitate to the pain.

It's what you're used to.

It's how you recognize yourself.

It feels like home.

It feels more familiar to you than love.

So that's where you go.

You don't know how to hold on to love,

but you know how to hold on to hurt.

Came into town With a pocketful of songs

I made the rounds But I didn't last long

I'm out on this highway With a bone-cold chill

Here, somewhere north of Nashville

I lie awake in the middle of the night

Makin' a list of things That I didn't do right

With you at the top Of a long page filled

Here, somewhere north of Nashville

For the deal I made The price was strong

I traded you for this song

We woke each morning With hearts filled

Bluebird of love on the windowsill

Now the heart's unsteady And the night is still

All I've got's this melody And time to kill

Here, somewhere north of Nashville

Here, somewhere north of Nashville

Here, somewhere north of Nashville

Lies.

They will devour everything you have and everything you will ever have.

Faith.

Hope.

Trust.

All those things that are hard to come by.

That's what grows your garden of love.

Lies will try to make a fool out of all those things.

But without them? All you have is stones.

I woke up this morning

With stones in my mouth

You said those are Only the lies you've told me

Only the lies you've told me

I pulled my collar to the wind

And spit them on the ground

You said those are Only the lies you've told me

Only the lies you've told me

Sat on the edge of our bed In the sun

I felt them gather on my tongue

I woke up this morning

With stones in my mouth

You said those are

Only the lies you've told me

Only the lies you've told me

The dirt-brown winter field

A thousand black crows Cover the ground

You say those are

Only the lies you've told me

Those are

Only the lies you've told me

Autumn wind blows through the trees

The dark leaves come tumbling down

You say those are

Only the lies you've told me

Those are

Only the lies you've told me

I walk a highway washed in sun

I feel weight gather on my tongue

I woke up this morning

With stones in my mouth

You said those are

Only the lies you've told me

Only the lies you've told me

Those are only

The lies you've told me

Only the lies you've told me

Those are only the lies you've told me

Only the lies you've told me

Those are only the lies you've told me

Only the lies you've told me

Those are only the lies you've told me

I woke up this morning

With stones in my mouth

I woke up this morning

With stones in my mouth

"Miracle" is a Southern California pop symphony

about throwing away the best thing you ever had.

That's the perfect ingredient for an epic pop single.

Love is one of the only miracles

God has given us daily proof of on Earth.

And while we do our best to disprove this idea,

love is there to better us.

But you must work for its blessings.

Love and the creative life it births

is a small, sweet sign of God's divinity within us.

Now my man in this song knows the rules.

Works to abide by them.

But sometimes our fears, our old habits,

and our insecurities get the best of the best that's within us.

And there goes my miracle.

Sunrise, sundown

The streets gone golden brown

Auburn skies above

I'm searching for my love

There goes my miracle

Walking away

Walking away

There goes my miracle

Walking away

Walking away

Moonlight, moon bright

Where's my lucky star tonight?

Streets lost in lamp light

Then suddenly in sight

Suddenly in sight

There goes my miracle

Walking away

Walking away

There goes my miracle

Walking away

Look what you've done

Look what you've done

Oh, oh

- Look what we've done - Look what we've done

Look what we've done

Oh, oh

Heartache, heartbreak

Love gives, love takes

The book of love holds its rules

Disobeyed by fools

There goes my miracle

Walking away

There goes my miracle

Walking away

Walking away

There goes my miracle

Sunrise, sundown

A love song.

It's the redemption of your heart.

Your soul transformed through hard thought,

hard times, and hard realizations.

We drive out of the darkness into sunshine and love.

Quote,

"You fall in love with lonely, you end up that way."

I wish on you and yours only love,

companionship, God's blessing,

and a guiding light through the dark for all your days.

Had enough of heartbreak and pain

Had a little sweet spot for the rain

For the rain and skies of gray

Hello, sunshine, won't you stay?

You know I always liked My walking shoes

But you can get a little Too fond of the blues

You walk too far You walk away

Hello, sunshine, won't you stay?

You know I always loved A lonely town

Those empty streets No one around

You fall in love with lonely You end up that way

Hello, sunshine, won't you stay?

You know I always liked That empty road

No place to be and miles to go

But miles to go is miles away

Hello, sunshine, won't you stay?

Yeah, miles to go is miles away

Hello, sunshine, won't you stay?

Hello, sunshine, won't you stay?

Hello, sunshine

Here we are.

When Patti and I got together,

there was nothing guaranteed.

We didn't know where our love was gonna take us.

All we had was the next day,

and the shaky faith that it would lead us somewhere.

We had to sneak around, so I'd meet her on the same bench

in Chelsea, across from the Empire Diner,

when I came into New York City.

I'd bring some beer in a paper bag, and we'd sit and talk.

That was the bench I proposed to her on,

and where we brought our first son, Evan,

and carved our initials into the wood.

That was some 30 years ago now.

And marriage still doesn't bring along its guarantees.

Just the faith and love you have in one another

and the next day.

There's a place On a blank stretch of road

Where nobody travels and nobody goes

Deskman says these days 'round here

Well, two young folks could Probably up and disappear

Into rustlin' sheets A sleepy corner room

Into the musty smell

Of wilted flowers And lazy afternoon hours

At the Moonlight Motel

Well, the pool's filled With empty eight-foot deep

Got dandelions growin' up Through the cracks in the concrete

Chain-link fence half-rusted away

Got a sign says, "Children, be careful how you play"

Your lipstick taste And your whispered secret

I promised I'd never tell

A half-drunk beer Your breath in my ear

At the Moonlight Motel

Well, then it's

Bills and kids and kids and bills

And the ringing of the bell

Across the valley floor

- Through the dusty screen door - Dusty screen door

Of the Moonlight Motel

Last night I dreamed of you, my lover

And the wind blew through the window

And blew off the covers

Of my lonely bed I woke to something you said

It's better to have loved Yeah

It's better to have loved

As I drove There was a chill in the breeze

And leaves tumbled From the sky and fell

Onto a road so black As I backtracked

To the Moonlight Motel

She was boarded up and gone Like an old summer song

Nothing but an empty shell

I pulled in And stopped into my old spot

I pulled a bottle of Jack Out of a paper bag

Poured one for me And one for you as well

Then it was one more shot

Poured out onto the parking lot

To the Moonlight Motel

Yeah, let's move on.

That was good, Tommy, that was good.

But the one last night...

You never know what's going to happen with new music.

Especially when it's played live.

I love collaborating with people from my past,

but I also love the challenge

of finding and working with new collaborators.

Now, during the filmmaking process,

we took some chances,

and a certain kind of magic took place.

Just the right amount of mistakes happened.

And as you hoped it would,

the music began to take on a life of its own

as it bounced around the wooden shell of our old barn.

So when the music's over at the end of the day,

life's mysteries remain and deepen.

Its answers unresolved.

But if your heart is open,

and you're thinking hard, and living and loving in good faith,

the questions you are asking yourself grow deeper, better.

So you walk on,

in pursuit of those better questions,

tentatively putting one foot in front of another,

through the dark.

Because that's where the next morning is.

Travel safe, pilgrim.

One, two, three, four.

I've been walkin' these streets so long

Singin' the same old song

I know every crack In the dirty sidewalks of Broadway

Where hustle's the name of the game

And nice guys get washed away Like the snow and the rain

There's been a load of compromisin'

On the road to my horizon

But I'm gonna be where The lights are shinin' on me

Like a rhinestone cowboy

Oh, riding out on a horse In a star-spangled rodeo

Like a rhinestone cowboy

Getting cards and letters From people I don't even know

And offers comin' over the phone

I really don't mind the rain

A smile can hide all the pain

But you're down When you're ridin' that train

That's takin' the long way

And I dream of the things I'll do

With a subway token and a dollar Tucked inside my shoe

There'll be a load of compromisin'

On the road to my horizon

But I'm gonna be where The lights are shinin' on me

Like a rhinestone cowboy

Riding out on a horse In a star-spangled rodeo

Like a rhinestone cowboy

Gettin' cards and letters From people I don't even know

And offers comin' over the phone

Like a rhinestone cowboy