As Long As I Can Stay Alive! Many times I’ve sat and watched the worried looks upon the faces Of those who watch me put my lungs and liver through the paces Yeah I’m always feelin’ fine so they might not realize How hard it is some days to get this red out of my eyes Even I don’t understand what keeps me goin’ when I think of all the things I have survived…… (Chorus): Gonna smoke gonna drink, gonna do what I think I’ve just gotta be pushin’ the lines Tendin’ my jones, just rollin’ the bones Has come to be a way of mine When you’re doin’ things you know will lead you to an early grave Is it suicide if you decide to give in to the crave? How can I live a life so ill advised? As long as I can stay alive! Somebody said I have no will but I can prove that isn’t so, Hell I quit smokin’ five whole days about three weeks ago. And I have said top of the mornin’ to the bottom of a glass I know I drive too hard but I just don’t run out of gas Some say the devil’s ridin’ on my shoulder But some things do feel to good to deny…. (Chorus 2) There are things I used to hate that I admit now turn me on I guess you could say in every sense my youth is dead and gone I live as if there’s no tomorrow cause I know there may not be I just make the best of it so it don’t get the best of me I pretend I don’t know where the road is goin’ Or when I’ll be expected to arrive….. (Chorus 3) Gary Bennett (BMI) Speelyai Creek songs/Hipgnosis songs

Don’t Be Killin’ My Buzz Well I was sittin’ here doin’ just fine, doin’ what I do to unwind when goodness sakes alive, I heard her come up the drive and me with all my honey do’s behind… Before she even got to the door, I could hear her givin’ me what for… so I put it all away, don’t wanna war today,So much for goin' out of my mind Don’t be killin’ my buzz, you know that’s all that it does I had it right where it was but then you came in the room and started trippin’ on me Don’t gotta be such a drag, I’m only half in the bag You say my head’s in the clouds but for cryin’ out loud, It was intended to be! I work my fingers to the bone everyday to keep it all from goin’ away It’s hard to understand her need to demand and a man was born to disobey. So here I am back in my cave, sometimes I just don’t wanna behave But when she treats me like a child it makes me wanna run wild and I don’t think there’s enough here to save. So I sit an’ have a drink and a puff, thinking’ how she might be gone long enough for me to gather my gear and get outta here Before she turns me into a slave So don’t be killin’ my buzz, you know it’s all that it does I had it right where it was but then she came in the room and started trippin’ on me Don’t gotta be such a drag, I’m only half in the bag You say my heads in the clouds but for cryin’ out loud, It was intended to be! Gary Bennett (BMI) Speelyai Creek songs/Hipgnosis songs

Radiation # 35 There’s something in my body and it shouldn’t be there pretty soon I might be losin’ my hair I’ve been takin’ my chances for a long, long time now I’m payin’ the price for doin’ the crime… They’re gonna put me in the oven and turn it up high I don’t wanna do it but I don’t wanna die The doctor told me, it’s thirty five days of radiation or you’ll go to your grave….he said: “Radiation (number, thirty five), an’ we'll combine it with some medication, gonna blow your mind. It’s the only way you’ll make it through alive.” So I’ll fight with everything that’s in me, I don’t know any other way I’ve been known for holding my own, but maybe this will be my judgement day. Well I’m half the way through and it’s wearin’ me down I’m wishin’ for help but there’s a little around I Sleep on the couch, I sleep on the bed till I ride into town and let ‘em cook my head I took it for granted, the body I had now I stay in the house cause I’m lookin’ so bad But nurse Christine says I’m takin’ it well but from the way I feel that ain’t too easy to tell… Radiation number thirty five is gonna take all the determination this body can find Maybe I can make it through alive I’ll have to fight with everything that’s in me , I don’t know any other way I’ve been known for holding my own but everyone must meet their judgement day -------------------S-O-L-O S-E-C-T-I-O-N------------------------------------------- Now the taxi man’s gone and I'm standin' in the drive, my body weak and tired but somehow I survived. It took all I had to handle it well, I guess to get to heaven, gotta go through hell. It took forty nine days and thirty five times but the laser rays cut it with a razor thin line With God and the doctor I whipped the big “C”, Now nothing’s alive in this body but me Radiation number thirty five, I accepted with a jubilation of a body revived. I wondered if I’d see this day arrive, I had to fight with everything that’s in me, but I don’t know any other way I’m kinda known for holding my own but someday I will meet my judgement day Gary Bennett (BMI) Speelyai Creek songs/Hipgnosis songs

A TRUCKSTOP CHRISTMAS They’ve closed the interstate, nothing to do but wait A parade of red tail lights in front of me. The snow is a saltin’ down twelve hours from my hometown Man, this ain’t no way to spend a Christmas eve. A billboard back there said that there’s a truckstop up ahead So I decides to pull ‘er over and get my hunger fed. I fumble for my phone cause I should be callin’ home To tell her I cant make it but I’ve not a worse regret . (CHORUS) But it looks like this is gonna be a truckstop Christmas Miles from where I really wanted to be And I hate to know how they’ll be missin’ me It’s gonna be a truckstop Christmas and a lonesome Christmas eve. (BRIDGE) I done promised my wife and them kids of mine Daddy’s gonna get back home. Last five days I’ve been hammerin’ down but now daddy’s gonna be alone… V.2 In the corner no surprise, old men telling’ lies Tryin’ to top each other as if there was a prize. A waitress in her jingle bells and a trucker play show and tell As the man behind the counter and a boozer harmonize. I wish to God that I was home as I stare out at the storm Hands around my coffee cup, the only part of me that’s warm No other place to be or go and without a soul I know And this truckstop pumpkin pie just seems to add to my forlorn. Chorus Gary Bennett (BMI) Speelyai Creek songs/Hipgnosis songs

Reese’s Old Store Me and my brother would walk down the road, Cross over the bridge where the Speelyai flowed Walk up those old steps and open the door, Step up to the counter in Reese’s old store. Well it was run by the Reese’s, they were up in their years To sit down and talk such stories we’d hear. With the shelves full of groceries, candy and more, We’d buy us a bag and walk out the door. Well it weren’t nothing’ fancy with old wooden floors A big old front porch built long years before Out of all of my memories there’s one I adore All the good time we had in Reese’s old store Then Harry he died and left her alone To run that old store all on her own But she never complained at all in those days But opened up every morning with a smile on her face. Well it weren’t nothing’ fancy with old wooden floors A big old front porch built long years before Out of all of my memories there’s one I adore All the good times we had in Reese’s old store Well then I grew up and so moved away to the city but I knew I’d be back someday. Well today I came back for a few days or more, Drove up that old road to Reese’s old store. But when I pulled up a tear filled my eye, Just a sign on the door, nobody inside. I walked up those old steps and peeked through the door and remembered the good times in Reese’s Old store. Well it weren’t nothing fancy with old wooden floors A big ld front porch built long years before. Out of all of my memories there’s one I adore All the good times we had in Reese’s old store. Yes I’ll always remember Reese’s old store. Gary Bennett © 1985 Speelyai creek songs (BMI) Hipgnosis Music group, Nashville, TN

The Ballad of Harry and Helen In eighteen ninety six was born a West Virginia son he didn’t know it then but he would go to Washington. His name was Harry Truman but by pure coincidence cause he’d grow up to be a mountain man but not the president. When Harry was eleven his whole family took the train from the hills of West Virginia up into the great cascades. These Truman men were timber men, each tougher than the next, they taught Harry to live off the land of the great northwest. But by nineteen twenty six he was in trouble runnin’ shine Harry hiked up in the woods across the Skamania county line. When he laid eyes on St. Helens he swore to the skies above: I’ll be damned I do declare, I believe I am in love! He cussed more than any sailor anybody ever knew He’d drink and fight and he just might knock the hell right outta you But Harry looked up at Helen and said“I’m never leavin’ you, Nobody’s ever gonna take me from the mountain! Yeah I’d I’d like to see the man who could take me down. Never more to roam, Spirit lake was Truman’s home. He built a lodge right next to her but he still felt all alone. So right before her eyes, Harry took a wife but she knew when he looked up at her she was the true love of his life. Well this Mt. St. Helens lodge became quite well renowned cause to this sportsmen’s paradise, came folks from the world around For summer time vacations, city folks fled to the hills by renting boats and cabins, the Trumans paid the bills. And so on through his life Harry lived in paradise he had Helen’s natural beauty but he took three mortal wives. One Sunday in September he laid Edna down to rest In grief he hollered “Eddie girl, you were by far the best!” He cussed more than any sailor anybody ever knew and without her there to love him he drank a lot more too but harry looked up at Helen and said “at least I still have you, nobody’s ever gonna take me from the mountain, Yeah I’d like to see the man who could take me down. In March of nineteen eighty he was eighty four years old Helen had a reputation she was wanting to uphold Stirring from her slumber with a jolt that shook the earth, she vied for his attention with all that she was worth. See Helen had a secret that old Harry didn’t know, this natural cascade beauty was one hot little volcano! One week later to the day her temper flared again you could see her steam a risin’ and catchin’ in the wind Harry did not deny she had a violent history he just took a long drink of whiskey an’ said “she wouldn’t do that to me she knows how much I love her so quit telling’ me to go" but day and night she rumbled how the world was about to know That Harry stayed right by her, local folks could not believe but he said “in twenty six, I swore to her I’d never leave everyone for miles around from Helen’s fury, ran The Skamania county law said “Harry get out while you can!” For seven weeks she carried on while the whole world looked upon, fumin’, steamin’ everyday, nothin’ could get in her way. She wanted this old mountain man, and if him this was about, he said he’d rather die for her than to ever live without. So Helen had her wedding on the eighteenth day of may we watched it from our front porch only seven miles away The world thought such a tragedy should never have occurred but I prefer to think that Helen just made harry a part of her. Gary Bennett (BMI) Speelyai Creek songs/Hipgnosis songs

Come On Bigfoot! Bigfoot I don’t care about ya, Bigfoot I hardly think about ya, you usually are the last thing on my mind! Till some stupid late night T.V. show comes on and just makes me laugh yeah you do get publicity but ya can’t sign an autograph And by the way that does remind me, you could use a new photograph In this one your face looks like your__________! Come On Bigfoot, what’s the matter? You’re only half way up the ladder! Step on up and be a man, an’ let me introduce my big right hand You might scare little girls but you don’t scare me! Bigfoot you’re too much drama, you stink just like your mama An’ I’ll bet your wife and kids smell that way too. Some say you are the missing link and maybe there is a void But we don’t need some sneaky doofy bi-ped humanoid Hidin’ out in the woods and scarin’ little girls and boys Im sick and tired of hearing all this noise! Come on Bigfoot, what’s the matter? You’re only halfway up the ladder! I don‘t think you‘re so big or grand and I'm gonna make you understand, you might scare little kids but you don’t scare me! S-O-L-O Many theories, one Darwinian, talk about the rise of man. But there’s been someone foolin’ everyone, ever since the world began. Are you Bigfoot? Sasquatch? Yeti? Or some name from across the sea? or the most monstrously imposterous hoax in all of history? Bigfoot nobody loves you, hell nobody even likes you and it is because you are of a lower class. If this is you in this picture, O.K., you do look a little bit tough but I know one ol’ boy from Yacolt, makes you look like a powder puff. We can fight tonight at my house if you think you’re man enough but a hundred dollars says you don’t show up! Come on Bigfoot, what’s the matter? You’re only halfway up the ladder You’ll never be the man I am, I’ll knock you on your big ol’ can you might scare little girls but you don’t scare me! Gary Bennett (BMI) Speelyai Creek songs/Hipgnosis songs

Surely, Shirley. Shirley’s silk skirt twirlin’ in the wind, I wish I was the man on the other end. It’s the same song and dance every night, while I’m singing the songs, she's dancin' under the light. And I watch her tear the boys all apart and fallin’ wouldn’t be very smart Cause surely, Shirley would break my heart. Shirley, Shirley, she’s a real heart breaker and she don’t mind playin’ the part But something tells me if I fall in love with Shirley, surely she’d break my heart Long brown hair flowin’ down her back an’ her legs could give a man a heart attack It’s the same song and dance every night Im singing the songs, she’s dancing’ under the light And as I watch her tear the boys all apart, I wonder am I going too far? Cause surely Shirley would break my heart Shirley, Shirley, she’s a real heart breaker and she don’t mind playin’ the part But something tells me if I fall in love with Shirley, surely she’d break my heart Gary Bennett (BMI) Speelyai Creek songs/Hipgnosis songs

The Legend Of Princess Noccalula I sit at the top of the waterfall, looking down at the spot where she laid, Beautiful young Noccalula, Cherokee Indian maid Prettiest of all the young maidens, her father the chief of the tribe, Said he’d not let her marry a warrior, then he drove me away from the tribe. Princes Noccalula, your heart so faithful and true, Living your life without your true love was the one thing you just couldn’t do. We used to come to the waterfall, holding hands while we walked down the trail And the birds in the trees would sing to her while I dreamed of her beauty unveiled. But the chief of a neighboring band, with riches too great to describe Offered much for her hand and the bordering land so they drove me away from the tribe Princes Noccalula, your heart so faithful and true, Living your life without your true love was the one thing you just couldn’t do. Then came the night before the wedding day When the tribes came together to feast Though the women from both tribes adorned her Noccalula was heavy with grief She waited until she was alone then she quietly slipped from the crowd On the path to the falls the dark shadows grew tall But she knew what she could not allow When she came to the top of the waterfall Without even as much as a scream beautiful young Noccalula Jumped into the black creek ravine I was the first one to find her, in the moonlight she laid on the shore Her spirit was gone but she’ll always live on In my heart and this place evermore. Princes Noccalula, your heart so faithful and true, Living your life without your true love was the one thing you just couldn’t do. Gary Bennett (BMI) Speelyai Creek songs Hipgnosis songs

My Truck’s Bigger Than Your truck (Chorus 1): My truck’s bigger than your truck, yeah mine’s way bigger than yours Your truck next to my truck is like a splinter to a two by four. Go on get out of my way cause I really haven’t got all day So move it down the road with your little bitty load cause I gotta hear my engine roar! I guess you didn’t have an awful lot of dough, But now your little knick knack’s holdin’ everybody back And you oughta think more about the other folks on the road. And how is it that you think you’re riding high? You’re small and tiny minded and I’m a bettin’ that you don’t see why All them other truckers Flip you off as they pass you by. (Chorus 2) I took a loading job a long, long time ago Where the truck’s go in and the truck’s pull out And every trucker’s tryin’ to be the first one to drop their load But I would have been the envy of them all If I’da just had this truck of mine parked out on the lot Such a proud and tall reminder of something that they haven’t got. (Chorus 3) Gary Bennett (BMI) Speelyai Creek songs/Hipgnosis songs