BIRMINGHAM RADIO  - (self-titled) - 2025

 

All songs played in standard tuning

 

Minnesota Nice

 

Intro:  G  Cadd9 x 4

 

           G             Cadd9  G     Cadd9 

A friendly nod and a closed-lip smile

The Gap from ten years ago style

    D              Dsus4   D    Dsus4

You know he’d never get in a fight

       G          Cadd9            G    Cadd9 

‘Cause Mom and Dad raised him just right

 

    Em                A

You just want to come correct

       Em           A

But he cannot be direct

      Am                        D

Don’t matter that you asked him twice

                  G    Cadd9  G  Cadd9

He’s so Minnesota nice

 

At work, he does more than a little

He’s management content in the middle

He’ll sit and listen patiently

But silence doesn’t mean he’ll agree

 

Jesus loves him--Bible told him so

Got a thing for the status quo.

As exciting as a bowl of rice 

He’s so Minnesota nice

 

E               Am

I do not have a clue

     E              Am

What goes on in his head

      C                Dadd9sus4 (slide an open C chord up two frets)

His expressions are so few

         C               D7

I bet he’s really bad in bed

 

His phone just rings and rings

Eye contact just is not his thing

His heart’s a puck left on the ice

He’s so Minnesota nice

He’s so Minnesota nice

​

​

White Knuckles

 

(capo on 2)

 

    Am      D          G

Old lady in front, big rig on my right

A pickup behind me, and he’s flashing his lights

The sky opens up, now the highway’s wet

It’s a tailgate party that I’d like forget

Em                  A

The distance between us starts to decrease

I just want to get myself home in one piece

Am7                      D

How can’t he see that on all sides I’m trapped?

I should hold my tongue ‘cause he’s probably strapped

 

    G         G/F#

Oh, angry man behind the wheel

     Em7

This situation’s not ideal

    C               C/B

The traffic doesn’t match your speed

    Am7              

But is that really what you need?

   D                            Am7

My heart rate is increasing, but now I use my head

    C/B               C    D                      G G/F# Em7 G G/F# Em7 

And while I should be angry, I feel bad for you instead

 

The sky begins to clear

Familiar red cap still in my rearview mirror

I pray for an end to our unplanned race

When an exit ramp reveals a car-sized space

 

I finally change lanes, and clear out his route

He speeds by and shares his one-finger salute

His truck reads “All lives matter”, and “Fuck your vaccines”

I wonder if he knows what irony means

 

(Repeat Chorus, but end with E instead of Em7)

 

  Am                               D                             

I think of all the problems you’ve swept under the rug

    G                         E

Did Mommy not love you, or do you just need a hug?

  Am                         Bm

I know that driving fast, it sometimes has its perks

    C                                 D

But maybe you should rush yourself to therapy (it works!)

 

Yeah, angry man with fits of rage

A temper tantrum at this age?

The trouble you put others through

The problem isn’t them--it’s you

You don’t think there’s an issue, and you’re not gonna stop

But now that you’re pulled over, explain it to the cop

 

Unsolicited Advice

 

G   Bm   C    Cm

 

G                                     Bm

You should wear sunscreen. Oh, you’ve heard that before?

    C                              D7

Are you drinking water? You should probably drink more

G                    Bm

Fix your posture for your back’s sake

C                             D7

Put down your phone if you’re night’s spent awake

     Em                  A7   

It’s advice we hear, and then ignore

      Em                       A7

Cause following through can be such a chore

         Am            Bm

But just one tip trumps all the others

C               D7                    G  Bm  C  D7

Don’t you forget…to call you mother

 

Who’s this guy taking me to task?

Giving advice when nobody asked.

I mind my business most of the time

But my two cents should be worth a dime

I’ll let it be if you can prove

That calling mom is a lousy move

While you’re at it, remind your brother

                                          C7

Don’t forget…to call your mother

 

F                             C

She spent nine months housing your big head

    E                       Am

She wiped your butt and she kept you fed

F                     C

When you cried she supplied the hugs

        E               A7       D7

And she never told Dad about the drugs

 

She’s getting older, that’s for sure

Probably needs you more than you need her

She wants to tell you, if you’re free

About her car’s new warranty

 

She thinks of you every single day

Your just scrolling TikTok anyway

Show her just how much you love her

                               G   Bm   C    Cm   G

Go ahead… and call your mother

 

Empty

 

      D                      Dmaj7

I’m a pen without the ink. A June ice skating rink.

  D7                         G

A quarry giving up its final stone

      Gm                      D

I’m a car without the gas. My second pinot glass  

     A                         A7

This bed since you left me all alone

 

    D      Dmaj7

I’m empty. Running on fumes

D7       G

Empty. Until our thing resumes

   Gm                        D

No reason left to live. And no more love to give

A     A7                              D  Dmaj7  D7  G

Empty. Since you said I’m full of it

 

I can’t see through the smog. And it’s started raining frogs.

Ever since you told me we were done 

I’m a shot that hit the post. But the thing that hurt the most

Was when you said I sucked out all the fun

 

Still empty. Like my spoken truth.

Empty. Like my bottle of vermouth.

There’s nothing to discuss when you’re all out of trust

                                    D    D7

Empty. Since you said I’m full of it

 

Em7                          Gm7   

I don’t really blame you for puttin’ on the breaks

F#m7                                 B7

No matter what you teach me, I don’t learn from mistakes

Em7                   Gm7

Every day I’m pushing boulders up a hill

    F#m7                   Em7          A7

But like a leaky bucket, I never get my fill. I’m still…

 

Empty…… like your closet in the hall.

Empty. Like the bar after last call.

Given one more chance, I couldn’t change your stance                                 

Empty

 

Dmaj7

 

Heat Advisory

 

G          G/F#      Em7                D              Am7

Lying here restless, warmth is seeping in from the outside 

                 D7

It’s overcome my drapes

Crawling on the ground looking for a place where I can hide

                 Bm7   E

But there’s no escape

     Am7                  D

This heat, it radiates my bed

    Am7                 Bm7   B7

The sweat, dampening my head

 

    Em

I’m running late, or so it seems

    A

The date I’ve scheduled in my dreams

      Am7

Can’t fall asleep, it’s almost two

     D             D7            G   G/F#  Em7  D  Am7     D7     

I’m always hot and bothered over you

 

Will you wait for me as planned, god knows that I’m hoping

Yet I’m awake

Ice water dabbing on my face--that’s how I’m coping.

But still I bake

Relief is hard for me to find

This fire burning in my mind

 

I’m overheating; I’m aflame

Finding strength to call your name

Fever breaking right on cue

                                 (no resolution--straight to Cmaj7 in bridge)

I’m always hot and bothered over you

 

Cmaj7           Gmaj7        

Yeah you’re a nice cool breeze

Set at 68 degrees

Am7            Bm7         

Feels like you break the rules

C                D7

‘Cause you’re both hot and cool

 

You’re everything I’ve ever felt

Hold me as I slowly melt

That’s all that I ask of you

                                 Em7   A7

I’m always hot and bothered over you

  Am7                                   

Despite all that you put me through 

    D              D7           G

I’m always hot and bothered over you

 

Tough Old Bird

 

C  Am7  Dm7  G

 

  C

Alarm at 5:30, she’s wakes by herself

Am7

Grabs keys and her purse from a photoless shelf

Dm7

Best years behind her, yeah she’s done the math

      G

Still keeps her head up and forges her path

 

Dm                                   Dmajmin7

Odds stacked against her, might take one on the chin

       Dm7                           G7

But he stays in the game, ‘cause she knows she can win

 

        C

She’s a tough old bird who took a chance

G

Never got a second glance

  Am                                  F

A tough old bird–you’ll never see her cry

  C         

A tough old bird who always can

E

Not defined by any man

  Am                 C/B              C G Am F (D before bridge)

A tough old bird who taught me how to fly

 

People all talk, yeah they’ve said it all

If their ideals rang, she’d hang up the call

Things she’s heard would lead a man to drink

But she don’t need wine to say what she thinks

 

Living her life, the rumors would swirl

But while they changed diapers, she traveled the world

 

(chorus)

 

  Dm7                           G

A man once asked her “don’t you want more from life?”

  Dm7                    G

Directly in front of his miserable wife

Em7                A

Way before Stella, she got her groove

Em7                     A

And she doesn’t care if you don’t approve

 

(chorus a full step up: D A Bm G D F# Bm A D)

​
 

I Wasn’t Ready

 

(capo on 2)

​

         C                            Cadd11       C

I’d have stretched if I’d known you’d work me like that

   G                        Gadd11        G

My fingers were numb, I was pinned to the mat

       Am                        Asus4   Am

As you stood there above me, for mercy I prayed

    G                     Gadd11 G

Too tired to fight, as my body decayed

 

You told me that this was par for the course

I tried to recall, couldn’t ID the source

Of the pain that I felt, it came out of the blue

And I couldn’t go back as you tightened the screw

F                        E7

Comfort is something I’m starting to miss

Am

One thing’s for sure:

F                  C   G   Am   

I wasn’t ready for this

 F                  C     G    Am    Dm

I wasn’t ready for this

 

The throbbing was fierce; tried rest and tried ice

I smiled through various witless advice

“If it hurts,” they’d say, “then just don’t do it.”

But nothing I heard could help me fight through it

 

When I found the strength, I worked ‘til I burned

But after some time, the hurt had returned

I tried everything pill in my medicine chest

But it turns out that drinks to forget still work best

 

Tried to ignore, but I’d be remiss

One thing’s for sure:

I wasn’t ready for this.

                   C     G    Am    A7                             

I wasn’t ready for this.

 

     Dm                   G

I’ve accepted that we are way past our prime

   C                       A7

And no one can conquer the passage of time

  Dm                     G

I kept true to plan, and I never strayed

    A7                        B7

But who could have known that feelings would fade?

 

    G                   F#7

You ended it all with a forehead kiss

Bm

I know it’s over but

G                  D    A    Bm    G

I wasn’t ready for this

                   D    A    Bm    G  

I wasn’t ready for this

​

 

Wary Dog

​

                        G       Cadd9

Another breath of mountain air

                        G       Cadd9

Got a home with room to spare

                         D   Dsus2   D

Nature far as I can see

                               G

But this just doesn’t work for me

 

                            Em     D

The snowy peaks could be my muse

                   G    G/F#   Em

As I drown in microbrews

                            A7     Am7

They promised I would never leave

         D              G       Cadd9

But there’s another life I grieve

 

They tell me hiking should be fun

And I could learn to shoot a gun

300 days without a cloud

But I’m still longing for the crowds

 

Got that Rocky Mountain high

And the bluest Denver sky

The powder here cannot be beat

But I just can’t shake city streets

 

  E                          Am

I can’t imagine anyone who’d want to leave this place

      D                           G           

But I need more than sunlight and all this open space

It’s hard to miss a town without leaving for a spell

                                  D                    D7

Nothing beats the city. Think I even miss the smell!

 

I’ll remember mountain views

And the life so many choose

The scenery’s a work of art

But I’m a city boy at heart

​

​

Fade

 

(Capo on 2 except high E left open. Chords represent fingering and not the actual chord names. ie Cmaj7 is actually a Cmaj9, etc.)

 

Cmaj7  Am7   Dm7  G

 

Cmaj7       Am7           Dm7                         G

One part red. One part blue. We always thought they’d blend

Can’t agree on what is true. So it’s not purple in the end

Fmaj7                       E

Orange stains remain on the country I once knew 

Am                     D  

The foundation’s all decayed

   Dm               G                         Cmaj7 Am7 Dm7 G (x2)

So what are we to do when the colors start to fade?

 

Friends of old. Families too. Bonds struggle to survive

All because of different views on when a kid’s alive

Then you’ve got the rich and another set of rules

The whole country’s getting played

So what are we to do when the colors start to fade?  (E7 before bridge)

 

A                                Amaj7 

I see our country bleed as we’re damaged to the core

D                           Dm

Falling backwards towards a second civil war

Democracy we say, but now it’s just in name

It’s hard for us to cope now that pride has turned to shame

 

Fmaj7                          E

Never thought I’d see children shot down in a school

Am                        D

And half the country only prayed

   Dm               G                         Cmaj7 Am7 Dm7 G (x2)

So what are we to do when the colors start to fade?

 

 

Wyoming

 

(capo on 4)

 

     D                     F#m

Take I-80 West towards the distant white peaks

          Bm                    G

Where the deer and the antelope roam

If you listen real close, the wind seems to speak

While the snow fences usher you home

     Em                 F#m

When I see a bison or a cottonwood tree

  G                         A7

I know that I’m right where I’m meant to be

 

  D          A             Em

Wyoming. Why not? Hear the meadowlark sing

  D             A       Em

Wyoming, please take me away

  D             A       F#         Bm

Wyoming. you’ve got the piping hot springs

     E                      A  D A Em D A Em (E7)

That heal at the end of the day

 

D                   F#m

Jackson has got the powder you crave

   Bm                          G

To help you sail down from the sky

Yellowstone’s still the home of the brave

Where nature showed me how to fly

Em                    F#m

Laramie taught me all I need to know

   G                 A7

So given a choice, I know where I’ll go

 

(chorus ending w E7 instead of Em)

 

Bm         Bm/A    E

Montana, Nebraska, Idaho too

     A                          F#m

Good neighbors, or so I’ve been told

Utah it has a half-decent view

    A                    A7

Colorado: God save their souls!

 

(chorus then chorus with only the “Wyomings” with final line 

“Wyoming, you are the song that I sing; you must be the reason we stay”)

 

 

See Through

 

(capo on 2)

 

G G6sus G G6sus G                                     Cmaj7

You can always tell how he feels when he clenches his jaw

With that deep icy gaze – takes so long to thaw

D                            Daug

Breaks up the silence with a clearly forced laugh

G                      E7

Snaps you awake like a cramp in your calf

     Am7                            D7

He’s trying hard to see through the blue. Hope you’re trying too.

 

When it’s him reaching out, it means more than you think

Every unanswered word adds a drop to his drink

Won’t ask for help. It’s not how he was raised

Perfected the art of looking unphased                         G7

He’s trying hard to see through the blue. Hope you’re trying too.

 

Am7                      Bm7    

It’s loud and it’s clear, the message he sends

   G                  E7

So which will you be: acquaintance or friend?

Am7                      Bm7

When you got hurt, he was there first

   G                           E7

So where will you be when the roles are reversed?

 

     Am7                            D7

He’s trying hard to see through the blue

   Bm7                       E7

He knows that this all feels new

     Am7                            D7                         G

He’s trying hard to see through the blue. And he’s waiting for you.

​

​

The Executor

 

(capo on 4)

​

Dm    G Gadd4 G

 

    C            Cmaj7                             Am      Asus2

The circle of life–     think I missed that day in class

  Dm                  Dsus2                         G       Gadd4

I prefer to see it full       when I’m looking at a glass

 

Em                            A7

Dark times intrude, but I never let em dwell

    Dm                         G         

Was introduced to grief, now I know it all too well, so…

 

C                                   E7

You’re not allowed to die!  I still need you around

   Am                           Dm

My tear ducts are dry, so let’s stay above ground

      G                  F                  Em                    A7

where skies are gray but that’s okay, we’ve still got years to go

       Dm                  G                    C  E7  Am  Dm  

You’re not allowed to die.    Not ‘til I say so!

 

C            Cmaj7                   Am      Asus2

Endless youth-      it’s only in our dreams

Dm        Dsus2                                G       Gadd4

Aging out           is way more common now, it seems

Em                    A7

Expiration– it’s been happening in waves

     Dm                       G

I’ll even go to church if you promise Jesus saves, and…

 

(chorus without the 4 chords after–directly into bridge)

 

F                           E

     Lights look white, but don’t walk through

Am                         G

I think heaven’s full, and hell is full too

F                              E

I’ve been made aware that this system is flawed

Am                            G           G7

Still if you don’t mind, I’ll try to play god… and say…

 

(chorus)