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A Way to Get Back Home

by Craig Manning

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Chase Tremaine
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Chase Tremaine Picking a favorite is hard, but the expert melodies and harmonies on this song show off the vocal strengths Craig harnesses throughout this lovely homemade debut. Favorite track: Losers in a Losing Game.
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1.
Way Too Long 05:48
It's midnight, I'm going for a drive Out into the backstreets of this town I've called my life I'm driving slow, I've got nowhere to go But I know that come tomorrow, I'll be gone So, I won't sleep, I'll walk out my front door And take the long way home until I know what I'm here for With "All My Friends" looping on the stereo I shed a tear this place is home And you've been my world for so long But now I'm off to find a brand new start It's been way too long Since I cruised your streets that night Feeling younger than forever Feeling born to run for life And I heard my first song in your forest halls And I played my first chords between cinder walls But I know that there's no going back And it's been way too long It's 2:00 all my things have been in boxes for 12 hours now Come 2:00 in the afternoon tomorrow I'll be a resident of the highway So I'll stop by a house I've known forever Of a friend who's moving off to New York in September And we'll reminisce about the trouble that we caused Back when we were to young to know What we were gonna be when we grew up Long before this town was fading in the dark It's been way too long Since I cruised your streets that night Since I broke into my high school Just to remember what it was like To walk nervously to class on the very first day Or to sing a song on the very first stage That changed my world forever And I don't know how to get back there But it's been way too long I don't believe in moving on I think that youth is always there Obscured by fears of growing old But I must go away and write a different song Still I'll keep singing words about A brave new world along the road to home It's been way too long Since I looked upon your grace Your sunsets and your cloudless skies Your miles of shining lakes And I took my first drink in your loving arms And I kissed that girl beneath your bright blues stars And I know that it's only a memory But it's been way too long It's 10 to six, the night is done The light is breaking through the trees The summer's gone, nobody on the road And nobody on the beach Feel the sand in between my toes Feel the waves hitting soft and slow, it's home But I've gotta go, gotta hit the road But I'll be back before I know it, I suppose
2.
It's August 25th and I can't believe it's been a whole year since You caught my eye as I walked on by down on the boardwalk you were just trying to sing Along to the words of "Born to Run" or some summer song where the boy gets the girl And then you had me and I was down on one knee trying to joke my way into a dinner and then we'll see The temperature's down below 80 degrees for the first time since May And I gotta say that it sure is nice to walk out my door without the feeling that I might just burst into flames But I feel like the weather is sending me a sign, that you'll go and you'll be gone and we'll have run out of time So toss me a beer or two and I'll pretend that the summertime hasn't just come to an end The western sky's turning red And I know… That they're pulling down the carnival rides Locking down the beach, shutting off the lights But I've still got this car and a stereo So you can think back on this place and how it felt to call it home They're closing down the ice cream shop And you've got your suitcases packed to the car top Now I know when you come back you'll probably have a new lover But remember me like the last gasp of summer So now I'll hold you close and kiss you hard And try to hide the fact That when you leave this time on Thursday You won't be coming back I'll say "The fireworks are going off at nine And if we don't leave now we might miss the whole light show" And that would be a shame 'cause we won't get another Chance to see how our sparks caught the breeze at night Just you and me on the bridge When you said That there may be miles, there may be storms That we can't move past, can't ignore But we'll meet again somewhere off down the road And I'll kiss you like we haven't been apart at all 'Cause most small town dreams just seem to fade And most promises don't even last through the rain But you and me, baby, we can beat the thunder So remember me, like the last gasp of summer Why's it gotta be that it always goes this way? Like boy meets girl and boy falls in love And then boy lets girl just walk away? Why's it gotta be the summer always ends too soon? One day it's June 21 and then September has come And there's nothing left to do but sing… That they're pulling down the carnival rides Locking down the beach, shutting off the lights But I've still got my car and a stereo So you can think back on this place and how it felt to call it home They're closing down the ice cream shop And you've got your suitcases tied to the car top And I know if you come back you'll probably have a new lover But remember me like the last gasp of summer
3.
I've got a million numbers Just sitting on my phone From all the girls I thought I loved Before they walked right out the door I got a million excuses For the dreams that didn't come true I've got a million reasons why I dropped the ball and walked away before my time had come So I know I know I'm not so useful So I know that I got lost And now I know I won't be seeing you again 'Cause you're going off to Houston in the spring I've got a million memories Of sitting on that old park bench Where we first met in 2004 And you told me I was doing it all wrong I've got a million songs to sing Reminding me of everything I missed When I was being stupid and alone And I couldn't find the strength to just pick up the goddamn phone So I know I'm not that useful So I know I ruined it myself And now I know no one is coming back for me And I'll just be the old man left sitting underneath his willow tree You see I've got a million phone calls that I missed over the years Some from you and some from friends that I don't see Now I've got a million lessons that I never really learned But I'll start learning them now before I wind old, regretful, and alone Now I've got a million miles left to travel in the night If you're not gonna call me back... And if I never, ever, ever see your face again At least I'll know that I had something perfect Just for a little while
4.
And I know that I’m missing the war And I know that I'm growing up bored And I know that I don’t have the words anymore To say “I’m sorry that I left you alone” And I know that I don’t have a choice I just got so fucking sick of the sound of my own voice And I lost the will to go on again But I’ll find it when we’re grown But you find hope in the words I sing And you seem to know the answer to this riddle I haven’t been able to solve ‘Cause I…I don’t know Had a dream that I burned all the books That we used to read each other when we were thieves and crooks Before the ambulance arrived and took what’s left of my soul In the blood that I bleeding when I met you ‘Cause I know that you smashed a hole into my chest When I looked into your eyes that night And you said that it was perfect as you turned out the light And then they had to come scrape me off the floor Cause you found meaning in my stupid words And you saw a man instead of this scared and helpless little boy And you seemed to know the way to reach me when no one else could So I thought I’d give you my heart I know that I lost my way I just got so damn tired of driving down the same two-lane And now I feel my car’s about to die And you’re waiting there in the headlights And yeah, I know that I missed the class today And I’m off on some adventure And riding on that same airplane That killed Buddy Holly and so many other greater men than me What did I do to deserve you? ‘Cause I never thought I’d write a song worth anybody singing but my self Or pen a line that anyone would be able to remember past next week But you’re here and you’re singing along to every single letter And I know it’s just a song, but it’s ours So let’s go on, and let’s miss the war Let’s just ride off into the sunset, and find a place to call our own Don’t care if it’s on a mountain, or in a small and quiet town Let’s go, time’s a wastin’
5.
Leaving Song 06:29
She said "the summer's breaking up" I was the only one for her I told her I was gonna be there when the afternoon was done And that was gonna be my whole life Again and again And we'd fall in love each and every night Never have to see the end And she could be the one to change me Help me grow and learn to be a man And I could be the one to memorize Her stories and her plans And I could ask her that one question That would change both of our lives And we could build our own forever Flitting in and out of time But I'm telling you, It may not ever be the way you want Because I'm leaving in the morning With the rising of the sun And I'll be home by September If that's okay But if you miss me too much, baby I won't take it personally If you walk away Walk away, take back your whole life Tell me that this just won't work And I'll say "everything's alright" Because girl, I'll love you for the rest of my life And if you don't feel the same You can turn around and leave, girl And I won't say a single thing But if we're meant to be we'll weather this Long distance til it's gone The miles and the dusty roads The hours left 'til dawn And if you're tired of spinning wheels Or of waking up alone Just know, my love, that this is not goodbye It's just a leaving song This song is just four simple chords But babe it's all of me It's every Dashboard song on the radio As I turn around to leave It's every sunset over I-94 With your face still stuck in my rearview mirror And every time I know I won't be satisfied Until I'm headed back this way It's every moment that I felt that skipping beat within my chest Every phone call when we promised to love each other best It's every night spent lying out on the beach When the summertime was still in our reach And every Sunday evening, every long goodbye That I didn't want to say But if we're meant to be we'll weather this Long distance 'til it's gone The miles and the dusty roads The hours left 'til dawn And if you're tired of spinning wheels Or of waking up alone Just know, my love, that this is not goodbye It's just a leaving song I guess it all came down to that one night Out in the rain, freezing my ass off at some payphone in Ohio And you're crying on the other end And I don't think my soul is gonna take another bend Down one of these highway lines And I'm sorry I'm not there to make it right And they're telling us we're too young That we can't know love But I'm not going to listen to that Not making excuses, or turning back 'Cause miles are just numbers on a map And I'll be damned if I let them take you away But if we're meant to be we'll weather this Long distance 'til it's gone The miles and the dusty roads The hours left 'til dawn And if you're tired of spinning wheels Or of waking up alone Just know, my love, that this is not goodbye It's just a leaving song
6.
I heard a new song Last night And it was our song by the time the dark turned to daylight And it was your face On my mind The girl from class who rolls her eyes every time I walk on by And I know we're from different sides of the street now I drive a blue beater Chevrolet, you drive a Mercedes Benz now But we're not so far apart So I'm hatching this plan built to steal your heart And I know it's dumb trying to change your mind But if you'd give me a shot you might just like a guy who plays guitar all the time And I'll learn the words to all your favorite songs And we could sing along to them together, baby, out on that two lane road The smell of summer Of long nights Of driving 'round til the radio plays a song that sounds all right The smell of your hair On my clothes From kissing down on the beach before you told me it was time to go And I know that youth is just a shout into the breeze now And you leave for college in the fall But we got two months to do this right So let's not waste another night Let's not waste another night So if you give me a chance we'll work this whole thing out I'll get the night off from work and take you dancing downtown And you might just see me for who I really am And on the way home you might just kiss me on the side of that two lane road We broke the rules again Stayed out past 3 a.m. And now I'm driving home alone The stars are glowing bright I think maybe tonight We'll stay out past the rising sun And make that drive last all night long Because I don't think That I can do it alone Now I know it's late and our curfews are blown But what's the point in playing by the rules when it's you and me out here all alone? I can just turn left and take the short way home Or I can take a right and you can stay with me out on this two lane road
7.
7. Losers in a Losing Game The longest minutes of my life were spent just sitting By the sign that pointed off toward the stage While four old men just sat behind that velvet curtain And spared five minutes to decide my whole damn fate But while I was staring at the walls I got to thinking Of walking out the door and on my way Remove the pretense of this awful situation It's my life and it's my time now to be brave To be braver than the songs, to be braver than the words That they'll speak to me to dismantle my dreams Cause they're no more than teachers who never taught No more than singers who never sung No more than losers in this goddamn losing game They called my name out in a callous fractured cadence And I walked the 50 feet to reach their cage And in a chair designed for students in pursuit of something more I saw three years of my life vanish away I could have cried, I could have broken down and begged them To reconsider, or to spare me from the pain I could have smashed the Grand Piano off the edge of that damn stage Left them open-mouthed and fearing for their names But I'll be braver than the songs, I'll be braver than the words That they spoke to me to dismantle my dreams Cause they're no more than teachers who never taught No more than singers who never sung No more than losers in this goddamn losing game But failure it don't have to be the ending Not of life, or hope, or dreams of better days And I'm done giving you the power to make me cry or make me rage Because to me you're just debris, you're something I don't want to be I'll keep myself and snuff you out in an ashtray And I'll be braver than the songs, and I'm braver than the words That you spoke to me to try to change my dreams 'Cause you're no more than teachers who never taught No more than singers who never sung No more than losers in this goddamn losing game I don't wanna be a loser in a game that I can't play
8.
Walking these halls back in 2009 I never really thought we'd make much out of life We were young and dumb, broke and drunk Skipping classes every day, skating by on luck We had some massive nights, we had some crushing lows Played our records so damn loud that every neighbor would know If it was Bruce or Butch, The Hold Steady or Cash And now I look back at those days and how they went up in flames so fast 'Cause four years looked so long When we were standing on the precipice, movin' in here And now we're breaking leases and cuttin' ties I wonder when it's gonna be you and I again Now I'm driving down the street where we used to live And I can feel it all come back Tossing bottles off the porch on a Thursday night Feel the spring breeze rushing through the black Hear the train whistle out my window Like some age-old call to war It's my house, but I don't live there anymore It was senior year and we were burning the candle At both ends, living life as both students and vandals We had a booth at the bar like some sitcom group And we'd stay up until the morning writing songs on the roof Just laughing out loud at the thought of growing old At the chances of us ever doing what we were told And now it's nine-to-fives and suits and ties But all I really want to do is crank the volume and drive Back down the street where we used to live So I can feel it all come back Tossing bottles off the porch on a Thursday night Feel the spring breeze rushing through the black Hear the train whistle out my window Like some age-old call to war It's my house, but I don't live there anymore And someone else will walk these halls And feel the youth within these walls And someone else will play their songs On that back porch, the one that used to be ours And someone else will make good friends here And feel like it's never going to end here But then it does and it's all gone So just hold on, so just hold on To those old streets where we used to live Where we could feel it all come back Tossing bottles off the porch on a Thursday night Feel the spring breeze rushing through the black Hear the train whistle out my window Like an age-old call to war It's my house but I don't live there anymore It's our college town But we don't go back there anymore
9.
What do I do to forget? Riding down the street in your '72 corvette What do I do about the wall That I hit in the middle of the night? 'Cause you're not there to call anymore What do I do about those years? That are all just in my memory They're not coming back here What do I do about the last words that I said to you? They're not the ones I would have wanted But I guess that they'll have to do What do I do? I just can't forget you Oh no Driving down the road now by myself Ain't got no one sitting beside me Just my music playing loud Dashboard light shining at me I've got 1,500 miles left to go before I see Anyone I know Or a face I'd recognize A landmark to tell me this ain't a bad dream in disguise Or a house in the middle of a field Like the one you grew up in Got demolished half a century ago So I got nothing left Of when I was a kid and you were there When I was a kid and I was scared For you to leave at the end of a visit 'Cause I didn't want to go back to being alone But now I'm so damn alone 'Cause you're gone forever And I can't get you back And I can't call you on the phone Or hear your voice Aside from the messages you left When I didn't pick up And I'm sorry 'bout that now 'Cause I can't go back to knowing What it was like just to see your name on the readout Comforting, knowing you're near And knowing that you knew What you meant to me What do I do? Cause I just can't forget you
10.
This is an ode to the one who always got me From point A to point B This is an ode to my partner in crime On those nights out exploring the backstreets This is an ode to the one that was there As I headed off to college for the first time, hit the county line And it's an ode to my way back home Always there when I needed an escape A silver lining in this cold dark world A Fortress of Solitude for me to call my own A song on the radio that might reboot my dreams It's all gone And I'm off on one last ride 300,000 miles crossed And countless battles won and lost She's beaten and battered but she'd still run To the end of the earth and probably beyond Driving way too fast Coasting way too slow Falling in love in a 45-mile-an-hour town Ain't possible unless you're capable of both A silver lining in this cold dark world A Fortress of Solitude for me to call my own A song on the radio that might reboot my dreams It's all gone And I'm off on one last ride We've been down every street From Thunder Road to Desolation Row We've screamed through every line From "screen doors slams" to "no direction home" The red light's turning green And now I know it's really time to go The miles that we rolled
11.
Sleep well, good night Maybe ‘til we meet each other by the morning light Farewell, it’s too late To do all the things we wanted before reaching heaven’s gates I don’t know where you’ve gone But I know the pain is leaving and that you’ll never be alone So just surrender, close your eyes Let the sickness fade away until you’re strong and full of light Down here, we’ll remember all the good times All the baseball games and Cub fan dreams and the raucous jokes you told Down here, we’ll laugh and make a toast to you The memories we made with you and the love you left behind Call this an elegy, an effigy, a monument to you As we blast through all the memories, the ghost stories and truths We’ll remember you, brave and good and witty ‘til the end And raise a glass to you, in heaven, in a choir with the best I couldn’t find the way to say goodbye When I was sitting by your bedside I didn’t know how to fit so many years of what you meant to me Into a word, into a phrase, into an anecdote to capture This family that you built, this life you lived so brilliantly The people that you touched, the middle name you gave to me The bond we shared through writing, and how you got to see Me stand up at the altar and pledge my life to be Something like the man you were, a husband and a father A man you could be proud of, a man to share your legacy And carry it forth, carry it forth, carry it forth, carry it forth We’ll carry it forth And live every day To honor your memory To honor your name We’ll carry it forth With love and with pride So lucky were we To spend a life by your side We’ll carry it forth In stories and songs In memories and photographs Of the days that are gone Just know you’re always with us We are the lives that you changed And just a fraction of the people Who are better cause they knew your name I’m so much better cause I knew your name And your voice, and your face, and your heart And your kindness, and your grace, and your life, and your love Goodnight, goodbye I know the years they took their toll, and that it’s time for you to go But with the closing of your eyes Just know I love you, you’re the best I man I know The best man I know
12.
The winter snow is falling down And I can feel the cold I'm not ready for you to go So I'll throw on another log The fire is burning bright, you see And you're the only one So take a drink and watch it burn And hum this winter song The seasons change, the years roll on I found this home with you, but now you're gone You know I've been here a long time Always finding my way Always watching through the window as the smoke burns away The weekends that we have together Always end too soon And we head back to our lives In different cities, different rooms But I don't want to go back to The way things were before Let's freeze this frame and keep it 'Cause this family is my home But time keeps on falling by And these moments fade away And I don't know how to leave here I don't know how to stay I just get into my car Turn the heat on again It don't work well anymore But neither do I So let's drive across the country Let's find a way to get back home And back to how it was when we were younger 'Cause I'm so damn tired Of losing that The winter snow is falling down The holidays are here And I can't sleep, so I'll stay up And crack another beer And think back on the days of wonder At what this time of year could bring The colored lights, the snowball fights The early morning ring But many years have come and gone We've all grown up and moved along And I just we should could go back there Be the family that we were But you can't go backwards You can only go on So just meet me at the intersection Of who we are and what we want

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Inspired by the loss of my grandfather, A Way to Get Back Home tackles questions of love, family, home, growing up, leaving it all behind, and knowing when it's time to come back.

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released April 19, 2016

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Craig Manning Traverse City, Michigan

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