1. Rose Colored Glasses (3:21) - This and the next three songs are slow waltz tunes. The narrator knows full well that his girlfriend has jilted him, but he still loves her so desperately that he wears rose-colored glasses, using them to live the illusion that she still loves him. Near the end of the song, he tells her he'll take the glasses off if she'll just come back to him.
2. Lady Lay Down (3:04) - The narrator feels ashamed of having taken his lady for granted. He failed to keep promises or to give her affection. So now he's doing the right thing: asking her to lie beside him, embrace him and stay with him.
3. Backside Of 30 (2:33) - Here John portrays a 30-something man whose wife divorces him, takes their son with her, and goes back to her mother's home. He is so depressed that he can't function at his job; he sluffs one Friday, then calls in sick the following Monday. Though he tells his friends he's fine, he clearly is not.
4. Before My Time (2:39) - The main character sings to a girl who's had bad luck with love. Her previous boyfriend lied to her, cheated on her, and did various other wrongs to make her lose faith in men and love. What she needs is a man who is loyal, is strong and can heal her wounds--traits that the narrator offers her. By "before [his] time," he means before she met him.
5. Friday Night Blues (3:17) - This moderate-paced song opens with a 17-second piano solo. The lyrics depict a husband and wife in different moods on Friday nights. He is so tired from work that he feels like resting and watching the evening TV news. She, on the other hand, is full of energy and wants to go out on the town, hence the title. Nothing could have said it better than the line "While he's kicking his shoes off, she's puttin' hers on."
6. She Can't Say That Anymore (2:44) - This song is moderately slow and features female background vocals. The subject of this song is the woman the narrator loves. She sneaks out at night to cheat on the narrator with another man. At first listen I had trouble figuring out what she couldn't say anymore. But my best guess is that the saying is "I never lied to you." Anyway, the truth is out and the relationship is over.
7. What I Had With You (2:56) - The tempo is slow. For the first minute there are no drums, and other instruments are subdued. The narrator can't get over his ex-girlfriend to whom he's singing. He has tried relationships with other girls, but they just don't feel the same. He so much regrets letting his ex slip through his fingers that he wishes he could have back what he had with her.
8. Miss Emily's Picture (3:33) - This song has a moderate pace, but the mood is the same as in the previous song: sadness and gloom. One notable instrument is a harmonica. The narrator misses his girlfriend Emily so much that he dreads getting up in the morning. Though he still goes to work, he performs poorly. Whenever he looks out his window he sees "nothin' but pain lookin' back at" him. He can't help but constantly look at Emily's picture and align it on the wall. He still drinks beer and plays pool with his buddies, and acts happy around them. But once the laughter stops, he takes Emily's picture out of his wallet and shows it to his buddies.
9. Busted (2:29) - The tempo is moderate. The opening guitar solo is low-toned and subdued, the kind of music that might accompany the silent and quick movement of a burglar trying to keep from being "busted" by the law. But the lyrics depict a different kind of "busted": broke, penniless, bankrupt. The narrator's cotton yields a price below cost of production. His cow won't give milk. His hen won't lay eggs. He's over his head in bills. He tries asking his brother for financial help, only to learn that the brother is broke himself, with a flu-stricken family.
10. Nothing Behind You, Nothing In Sight (2:57) - Here the slow waltz returns, with a fiddle playing somberly. The narrator works hard five days a week for a low salary. His superiors want him to be seen and not heard. Because of his scanty income, his wife can neither get a break from raising their kids nor afford to buy a new dress.
11. I Don't Remember Loving You (3:50) - This moderately fast song is sung from the perspective of a man in a mental-health facility. The woman he sings to is probably his ex-wife, with whom he had a child or two. She tells him she regrets having left him and driving him to quit his job and drink. Though she looks vaguely familiar to him, he doubts that he ever loved her. I can't help but wonder whether his amnesia is genuine. Maybe it is; maybe depression and anxiety can cloud a person's memory.
12. Common Man (2:41) - This song, slightly faster than moderate, illustrates the differences that can arise between a high-society woman and a working-class man (or vice versa). In the opening scene, the narrator has a fancy dinner with his girlfriend at her house. Though he is flattered, he feels like a fish out of water and asks that they leave. He takes her to McDonald's (my favorite fast-food restaurant!) and tells her that he's content with his Chevrolet, his mixed-breed dog, his Budweiser beer, and his buddies who lead similar lives. So if she doesn't want to give up her fancy lifestyle, then they're not compatible together.
13. I'm Only In It For The Love (3:16) - The tempo is moderately fast. Instruments include horns. When the narrator is with the girl he sings to, he sees something about her that romantically attracts him to her. So he tells her he loves her before his body language does. He has rushed blindly into love and gotten burned before, but he wants to make clear to her that he is in their relationship for nothing but pure love.
14. In My Eyes (3:37) - Though the measures count fast, the drums and other instruments give a soft and slow mood. In the narrator's eyes, his woman is unconditonally beautiful. No matter how much her skin might be wrinkling, or her hair might be graying, or how many mistakes she might make in her words and actions, he still loves her.
15. As Long As I'm Rockin' With You (3:22) - This moderately slow song is one of two songs that prompted me to buy this disc. Wherever the narrator goes or stays, all he needs is to stay with his woman, who means more to him than silver and gold. Whatever job he does, for whatever income, he's happy as long as she is. And as the title shows, her presence lessens his fear of rocking chairs.
16. Way Back (3:10) - This is my favorite song of John's, the other one for which I bought the disc. This song has a similar tempo to the previous one, but the mood is the opposite. The narrator looks back on the days when he and his girlfriend were together. They used to linger in bed while the sun shone through their window. They used to sing love songs to each other and believe their love would last forever. But now that it's over, he describes his days as "hazy."
17. Years After You (3:21) - This song has a similar tempo and feel to "In My Eyes." I hear a tambourine beat occasionally. Although time is said to heal all wounds, the narrator still feels sad years (and tears) after he and his girlfriend broke up. He still can't help but hear the echo of her voice telling him goodbye.
18. Working Man (3:53) - The measures count at a pace somewhat faster than moderate. A tambourine plays during the chorus. As we heard eight songs ago, here is a similar theme: the overworked, underpaid average Joe. He finds it almost impossible to please his boss. He lives from hand to mouth. His refrigerator is almost empty, and his kids go hungry. The IRS has assessed him for back taxes. He just can't win.
19. Blue Highway (3:16) - The tempo is slow. The narrator's job apparently involves a lot of travel. Whenever he drives along a highway, he can't help but feel lonely for his home and his lady. He calls her at every hotel stop and is glad to hear her voice, but he still aches to go back home to her.
20. Old School (3:55) - The tempo is slightly slower than moderate. The narrator and the woman to whom he sings used to be lovers when they were teenagers, alhough he grew up on the poor side of the town and she on the rich side. They used to borrow her father's car and drive around town. Then they graduated from high school (or "the old school," as they now know it) and their path forked. She went to college, he became a truck driver, and each married someone else. Now, at their high school reunion, they have come full circle; the old flame rekindles for a while as they dance together.