Austin John

All lyrics by Todd Austin John Elsliger

SADIE

We drove you home, pressed into my chest

Close enough to, fill the emptiness

Mend a broken heart and pass the test 

Fall in love again and figure out the rest

You made sounds that kept us up at night

Made a mess of everything in sight

The attitude of something twice your size

Found a way to fit inside of our lives

Sadie forgive us for depending so much on you. 

You’ve seen us in good times, also at our worst

A quiet listener, comfort when it hurts

Soaking wet and, digging in the dirt

Shake it off and cover us all over

Sadie forgive us it’s hard to keep up with you 

The star of everything you do

Tilt your head, stretch your legs, watch us melt on cue

Its hard to stay in a bad mood

Sadie forgive us for projecting so much on you 

You’re sleeping in my, favorite chair again

Dreaming, twitching, running with your friends

I wanna eat you up so this never ends 

Another rainy day adventure begins   

Sadie forgive us for depending so much on you, 

projecting so much on you, we’re trying to keep up with you

IRRELEVANT 

I’ve learned a few things, been through enough

To last a lifetime if you think you’ve had it rough

I’m always here for, sober advice

If I could get it past the boredom in your eyes

Welcome to my new life and its irrelevant

For not keeping up with every little trend they’re stepping to

If cool was a state of mind, I’m miles ahead of them

So why do I care what music all the kids are listening to?

The clothes you’re wearing, I’ve seen before

I’ve worn them tight and loose and back to tight once more

The slang you’re using, it took a while

But I have cracked the code I’m downloading the file 

Welcome to my new style and its irrelevant

For not keeping up with every little trend they’re stepping to

If cool was a state of mind, I’m miles ahead of them

So why do I care what music all the kids are listening to?

The streets are yours now, I’ll go away

Enjoy the spoils of being beautiful today

A time will come when, you won’t belong

And you’ll remember how you treated me so wrong 

Welcome to my new song and it’s Irrelevant

For not keeping up with every little trend they’re stepping to

If cool was a state of mind, I’m miles ahead of them

So why do I care what music all the kids are listening to?

APPLES

You practiced hard, and bought a new guitar you hold dear

But the second gig you played, 

and left it on the stage it disappeared

When all it takes is one bad apple to spoil the whole bunch, 

it leaves a bitter taste

All the best of intentions by the 99%, 

Will all be laid to waste 

A quiet night, no reason to drive like a fool

But someone’s going way too fast, 

And just about to crash into you

When all it takes is one bad apple to spoil the whole bunch, 

it leaves a bitter taste

All the best of intentions by the 99%, 

Will all be laid to waste

And this is why we can’t have nice things

Somebody always wants much more, 

than they’ll ever bring

You wanna lead, and have a few ideas that are good

But you’re first day on the job, 

somebody drops a bomb on the world

(Chorus)

STUCK

I’m stuck, in an old routine that used to work

I woke up from a dream that I got hurt

The night, doesn’t agree with me no more

I’m stuck, on a word that best describes my thought

I had it for a second now it’s lost

The tip, of this tongue is getting tired, and bored

Save me from the shadows at my door

Sorry if you’ve heard this song before

But I’m stuck, In a pair of jeans that fit so tight 

They’re tearing at the seams of days gone by,

When I, used to slip right out of trouble

I’m stuck, in a traffic jam backed up for miles

Decisions I’ve avoided for a while

Are due, I used to trust my intuition, more

(chorus)

I’m stuck, I don’t think I can write another verse

This middle life crises is a curse, that feeds

On my secret fear of being, ignored

(chorus)

SMALL TOWN

I grew up in a small town

Had a lot of big ideas for a skinny kid

Who skateboarded 

like bad boys did in my small town

I fell in love in a small town

All the times I had my heart broken by girls next door 

Or went to war 

with boyfriends of the girls in small towns

Let’s sneak out, after dark

Run the streets, under the stars

I learned guitar, in a small town

Everybody played guitar in the halls at school

Thought we were cool 

breaking rules in a small town

Let’s sneak out, after dark

Run the streets, under the stars, under the stars

Sometimes I miss, living in a small town

I used to wanna be a big shot under city lights

But here tonight

wish that I was right back in a small town

SURVIVE EACH OTHER

The walls we painted, and shoes that line the floor

Are closing in on, the space we had before

Boxes of things that we ordered, left by the door

To a world that we don’t visit anymore

All we gotta do is survive each other

All I wanna do is survive each other

The sound of your voice, used to sooth my ears

Now I can hear you breathing, down my neck my dear

Both working from home for the last 2 or 3 years

Where did the music in my head disappear

All we gotta do is survive each other

All I wanna do is survive each other

First you get the fever, then you catch a cold 

But I don’t think that either, will be what does us in 

when the final story’s told

I reached the end of, the internet today

If the TV goes down, we’ll have nothing left to say

We’ve never had this much trouble, keeping the wolves at bay

But we had a few distractions along the way                                       

All we gotta do is survive each other

IN LOVE

Friends in common, a view of the park

coffee taken the same way 

Walk-in closets, breakfast with in-laws 

t.v. wrapping up each day

The rest of your life begins, 

In love with a lot of things, but not in love.

Wanting for nothing, guilty for children, 

Buried, lost in a routine

Alone in a daydream, lonely together

forgetting who you used to be

The rest of your life begins, 

In love with a lot of things, but not in love.  Are we in love.. ooo

The rest of your life begins, in love with a lot of things.. 

A pool in the backyard, earrings for Christmas

A cottage with stars up above

A dog on the front porch, a lease in the driveway

Pretending that we’re still in love

LEAVE

I sleepwalk through the day, my 9 to 5

Vital signs are barely alive

Rinse and repeat

Counting down the days till the end of each week

These streets all look the same, it deja vue

Living here since ‘92

Chasing the dream

of everything I want, and nothing I need

Not good enough to stay, but too good to leave

Down on my knees

but too good to leave

I met someone last night, maybe a friend

Or maybe something more let’s pretend

you and I are through

With promises we made, that never came true

(chorus)

Don’t make a sound, 2 feet on the ground

is good enough for now

Blow a kiss and take a bow, now turn around

Back where this all started out

What keeps me here 

I’ve got  nothing to lose, and nothing to fear

(chorus)

YOU MAKE 

I know there’s a whole world out there, 

but I don’t care

‘cause you make staying home so good

A neighborhood stroll, the food we like, 

a quiet night

You make home feel like it should

I know seeing friends is nice sometimes, 

yours or mine

But you make lonely matter less

We don’t need to talk, but I’m happy to, 

being with you

Makes quick work of loneliness

I know growing old scares us both, 

it’s getting close

But you look better everyday

The curls in your hair and eyes of blue, loving you

Makes my worries go away

Whatever comes next in troubled times, 

we’ll be just fine

‘cause you make me feel like myself