LYRICS & STORIES
TRUCK STOP SOUVENIR – Written by Robert Deitch/Tony Hazelden
Daddy spent 5 out of 7 seven days
Chasing a buck down the interstate
So mom could stay home and raise us kids
Every night that phone would ring
And we’d catch him up on everything
Like where we went with who and what we did
Every Friday night he’d pull into the drive
Now and then he’d bring a surprise… like a
Snow globe from Niagara falls
Little toy train from Saginaw
An Elvis clock with crazy dancing’ legs
Matchbox NASCAR number 3
A Cowboy hat from Tennessee
yea even though he wasn’t always here
his love was always near..,
With truck stop souvenirs
Well He towed home an old Chevy truck
Said son me and you can fix her up
Let’s get a little grease on our hands
We tore that old rust bucket apart
Till I knew every nut and bolt by heart
More than that I got to know the man
It was 2 long years till she was ready for her first drive
Then we dressed her up and tricked her out in style
A big eight ball for shiftin gears
Fuzzy dice for the rear view mirror
Mud flaps with a naked silver girl
A bobble head doll in a hula skirt
More chrome than the truck was worth
man You can’t put a price on those years
Or How much he gave with love, sweat and tears,
and truck stop souvenirs
Now there’s a million miles of memories in this rear view mirror
Sometimes the road before me ain’t always clear
But I know my daddy’s here to help me steer
He’s always here just Like those Truck stop souvenirs
“WE TORE THAT OLD RUST BUCKET APART,
TILL I KNEW EVERY NUT AND BOLT BY HEART,
BUT MORE THAN THAT, I GOT TO KNOW THE MAN.”
​
"Truck Stop Souvenirs" was inspired by a quick glance at two signs in an Iowa truck stop while en route to Nashville. With hours to drive, I started crafting the story before meeting my co-writer, Tony Hazelden, a master songwriter and storyteller. The song was also shaped by the memory of a father and son restoring a vehicle to its original state, a project that spanned three years. Today, the son still cherishes the car, not for its value, but for the memories it holds.
THREE CHURCH, TWO TAVERN TOWN – Robert Deitch/Roger Murrah/Carson Chamberlain
Like a concrete island in a sea of corn
Where dreams die hard and heroes are born
Out here in the middle of our little piece of the heartland
Bunch a front porch prophets and Backwoods apostles
getting lost in the gossip and saved by gospel
But We all stand on common ground,
in this 3 church, 2 tavern town
A man can be rich and not have nothing
we can be poor and have it all
It all depends on who and what you’re lovin
That makes you stand proud and tall
In this 3 church 2 tavern town
After Sunday Sermon, we catch up on the news
Who got arrested and WHo’s sleepin with who
And all the rest of the headlines are down at dawson’s café
Now Everybody’s talkin bout our team makin state
N' zoning for that new school is heatin up debate
And You can bet if I been drinkin Word’s gonna get around
this 3 church, 2 tavern town
A man can be rich and not have nothing
we can be poor and have it all
It all depends on who and what you’re lovin
That makes you stand proud and tall
In this 3 church 2 tavern town
We’re all just livin dyin prayin and tryin to find our way
we can be rich and not have nothing
we can be poor and have it all
It all depends on who and what you’re lovin
That makes you stand proud and tall
In this 3 church 2 tavern town
Like a concrete island in a sea of corn
Where dreams die hard and heroes are born
THREE CHURCH, TWO TAVERN TOWN
“A MAN CAN BE RICH AND NOT HAVE NOTHIN,
A MAN CAN BE POOR AND HAVE IT ALL
IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHO AND WHAT YOU’RE LOVIN
THAT MAKES YOU STAND PROUD AND TALL
IN THIS THREE CHURCH, TWO TAVERN TOWN.”
​
Matthew 6:21 states: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” We didn’t write this song with our arrow pointed towards this scripture, but I think what we wrote, is a redneck version of the scripture. “Three Church, Two Tavern Town” was born out my attempt to think of a creative way to describe my home town while writing my bio. Within minutes, I had written down, “it’s a concrete island in a sea of corn” and “three church 2 tavern town”. Within days, I was in a writer’s room, writing with my boss, now friend, (and Hall of Fame songwriter), Roger Murrah, and hit songwriter, Carson Chamberlain. I played them what I had started, and we were off to the races. As I recall, we wrote the song fairly quickly. I held my own, but I learned a lot!
BETTER THINGS – Robert Deitch
I could Fold my hands and hit my knees
Lift a prayer and ask god please
For a little hope to hold on to
But i’ve got better things to do
I could write some words and make em rhyme
12 bars long in 6/8 time
sit right here and sing the blues
but ive got better things to do
Cause I ain’t wastin no more time
feelin sorry for the crime
Of bein me, and lovin you
ive got better things to do
​
Like wash the truck, and make the bed
Mow the yard and paint the shed
I find the more I find to do
Gets me further over you
(CHORUS)
Instrumental
You either love me or you don’t
You’ll either come back or you won’t
Yeah I could sit here missin you, drink another fifth or two
but I’ve got better things to do
Yeah i’m getting good at getting on
i even wrote myself a song
i’m findin better things to do
“Better Things” is, I believe is a song with a universal sentiment. A large part of the recovery from heartbreak is just acceptance, time and pressing forward. Most of us have been there. There comes a point in the grief process where we just find “Better Things” to do than wallow. We start living in solutions instead of the problems.
This was one of the fastest, easiest songs I’ve written, and one of my favorites. I was sitting on my couch in my living room on a cold Iowa day in Feb, playing a new guitar lick over and over, and trying to come up with a compelling idea for a song. My wife walked through and nicely asked, “hey, when you get a minute, would you mind taking out the trash”?? Being the well-intended, sometimes smartass husband that I am, I sang the words, “I’ve got better things to do” over the melody of the guitar lick. I immediately knew that it was something I needed to pursue, and that the character of the song was trying to find “Better Things” to do, than think about the person that broke his heart. It took less than 2 hours to write, and yes, the trash was sitting there waiting for me to take out, when I finished the song.
TRAILER PARK ROMANCE – BY ROBERT DEITCH
She was all high lights, a hundred pounds a dynamite
Queen of the honky tonk, and she was shootin down my every line
So I said doreen you’re, you’re killin me
Tried my best jokes, I tried shivalry
Just tell me what I gotta do, to make ya mine for the night
She said, don’t want me no one night rendevue
You may see white trash through and through, but
I won’t apologize, for what I want and like
I want a man to share my double wide,
I wanna long term, trailer park romance
Don’t want me no sissy boy fancy pants
Gimme a red neck handyman, who knows how to work his tool
I wanna hold his hands, on my cinder block front porch
Make out by the light of the teekee torch
Make some waves in our water bed
While I ride em like a rented mule
I wanna long term, trailer park romance
Well me nose was high, & my collar white
Till she changed my every way of life
From our first date at the steak and shake, she owned every piece of my heart
She got me eatin cheerios outta cool whip bowls
Whatchin hee haw rerun shows,
Wear flip flops n tank tops, and wrenchin on our neighbors cars, yeah …
You might think that I’ve been played a fool
You may see white trash through and through but
But I won’t apologize, for what I want and like
I’m just a man who loves his double wide
Chorus
I gotta long term, trailer park romance
Don’t call me no sissy boy fancy pants
Call me a red neck handyman,
Cause I know how to work my tool
I wanna hold his hands, on my cinder block front porch
Make out by the light of the teekee torch
Make some waves in our water bed
Whilee she rides me like a rented mule
We gotta long term, trailer park romance
We got trips to casinos
Chevy el caminos, nascar, pbr, ornaments in the yards,
Soulmate, give n take, genuine solid state
Lasting love on lot number eight
We’ve got a long term trailer park romance
Now the only thought worse than a spring tornado
Is losin Doreen cause I love her so
And this long term trailer park romance (2 times)
Don’t judge us till ya give it half a chance,
This long term trailer park romance
“SHE WAS ALL, HIGHLIGHTS AND HEADLIGHTS.
A HUNDRED POUNDS OF DYNAMITE.
QUEEN OF THE HONKYTONK ANGELS
AND SHE WAS SHOOTIN DOWN MY EVERY LINE”
“Trailer Park Romance” is a tongue in cheek song about long term love in a low rent trailer park. Years ago, in a life I lived before I started writing music, I knew a woman named Doreen, who lived in a double wide trailer, and she was very proud of her abode, as she should be. For some reason, it struck me…. Doreen? Trailer? So I made up a story song. What I love about the story is that the woman’s character wins over the male character to not only abandon the idea of a one-night stand for a long term relationship, but to a simpler, more authentic way of life. In a trailer park, on lot #8
BULLET HOLES –Robert Deitch
I Hate the man that I’ve become
a hair trigger on a loaded gun
A blinding urge that never ends
all alone in a room with all my sins
It’s a hard road i’ve travelled down
To hell and back and nowhere bound
Littered with lessons I never learned
Whiskey bottles and bridges burned
Lord is there still hope
Or does the devil have too strong a hold
Nowhere to turn, Threadbare and bone
and a hurt as deep as the secrets i’ve never told
Like bullet holes in an empty soul
Is this the dark before the dawn
Am I worth savin or too far gone
Is there enough of a heart for you to mend
Is this the beginning or the end
Chorus
​
are you the one they say you are
Salvation, grace, and a brand new start
cause I’m broken man on bended knees
With gun in my hand but I wanna believe
CHORUS
“Bullet Holes” is a song about the bottom. Every recovering addict/alcoholic has story about finding their bottom. Most would agree that the emptiness and brokenness of that moment is almost indescribable. “Bullet Holes in an empty soul” is my best description of that moment.
​
“I HATE THE MAN THAT I’VE BECOME
A HAIR TRIGGER ON A LOADED GUN
A BLINDING URGE THAT NEVER ENDS
ALONE IN A ROOM WITH ALL MY SINS”
​
From there, the character is essentially wrestling with Step 1 of AA, which is to “admit we are powerless over alcohol, and that our lives have become unmanageable”. I didn’t write this song to paint a grim picture, but rather, in hopes that those who are at the bottom and in the grips of addiction, or are headed there, can know they are not alone. There is a better way of life.
GOODBYE NASHVILLE – Robert Deitch
Hurts like hell and to tell the truth
I’ve broken down a time or two
Watchin you disappear in my review view
And I’ve count out and I’ve measured up
What I’ve failed to give to what I’ve given up
Truth is my best just ain’t good enough, so
Goodbye nashville, goodbye 16th avenue
So long broadway and bluebird
Got nothing left in me to prove (lose 2nd time)
Keep my hopes and dreams n my melodies
Just leave me with the memories
Of all those good times, chasin rhymes
Up and down your hallowed streeets
Do my best to move on but I doubt I ever will
So goodbye nashville
The good old souls who pick guitar
Who write the words and bare their scars
Give all they’ve got to make someone else a star
You’ve meant more than you’ll ever know
And in this heart you’ll always have a home
But I can’t make the highs outweigh the lows.., so
Chorus
Yeah I’ll try like hell but we both know I never will, I never will
So goodbye Nashville
​
THE GOOD OLE SOULS WHO PICK GUITARS,
WHO WRITE THE WORDS AND BARE THEIR SCARS,
GIVE ALL THEY GOT TO MAKE SOMEONE ELSE A STAR
YOU’VE MEANT MORE THAN YOU’LL EVER KNOW
AND IN THIS HEART YOU’LL ALWAYS HAVE A HOME
BUT I CAN’T MAKE THE HIGHS OUTWEIGH THE LOWS, SO
GOODBYE NASHVILLE
​
There were many factors that led to the decision, but between COVID, the travel and changing landscape of the industry, it was just time. What’s the saying…..? “Don’t be sad that it’s over, be happy that happened”.., Well, I’m pretty sure I’m still both.
DYIN DAY – Robert Deitch
I'm a soul fulla holes
N you’re a burnin light
Like a welders flame in the midnight sky, on my darkest nights
You’re the steady in my hands
When my world’s un-wound
You’re that voice in my head when I’m standin on the ledge
Saying don’t look down, baby don’t look down, and I’ll
And I’ll spend my life
Trynna live up what to what you see in me
Cause it’s beed 12 long steps down this winding road
Hell bent n bittersweet
You’re my saving grace,
And I’m a thousand rainy days
But you love me anyway
& I’ll love you till my dyin day
N you’re a little too much
In all the right ways
And if anyone dares to cross you up,
There’ll be hell to pay
Cause you’re an answered prayer
That I never prayed
You were waitin at the end of that broken road when I lost my way,
Helped me find my faith….And I’ll
Chorus
Yeah..You’re my saving grace,
And I’m a thousand rainy days
And I thank the good lord every day I wake
That you love me anyway
I was writing the proverbial “open in case something has happened” letter, to my wife. As you can imagine it’s a tough and beautiful thing to do. Even though I’ve written a few songs inspired by my wife, I wanted to write one that was raw, honest, to the point, and illustrated the dynamics of who we are together. “I’m a soul fulla holes, and you’re a burning light” is the opening line, and says it all. She has loved me at my best, through the worst, and every moment in between.
Just an interesting side note, the song was originally written in 2nd person, and it frustratingly came across as a very average song. I played it for my mentor and friend Mary Gauthier, and she immediately said “Switch it to 1st person!! Every woman wants their husband/boyfriend to sing these words to them, and every man wishes they could say or sing it”. I did, and immediately found out she was spot on! Thanks, Mary!
SCARS ON THIS GUITAR –Robert Deitch / Bill DiLuigi
Was a sunburst six string, pawn shop prize
The kinda cool that’ll catch’s your eye , when you’re,
An outsider always lookin in
15, and no girlfriend
Been played, and dropped, n scratched to heck
Shine’s been worn clean off the neck
And through break ups, n when grandpa died
Caught my tears when I finally cried
Time worn, rough around the edges
Go to for getting through the messes
Wards off my demons in the dark
Whole world of hurtn n healin
Love sick, lonesome feelins
And memories that left their mark in my heart
They’re all scars, on this guitar
Split the wood when it fell of the stand at the
Battle of the hometown bands
N just above that second fret
There’s a dive bar burn from a cigarette
Chorus
It’s my life told in chips, nicks n dings
Tough as nails and built for chasin dreams
Chorus
"Time worn, rough around the edges. My go to for gettin’ through the messes" is the first line of the chorus. For me, this line says so much. “Scars on this Guitar” is a depiction of not only the kind of connection and friendship that bonds the musician to the right guitar, but how the collective scars give it character. Each scar tells a story, and the more scars, the more character and appeal. The same holds true with the scars we carry as people. I wrote this with one of my all time favorite writer/friends, Bill DiLuigi. He was one of the first writers I met and wrote with when I arrived in Nashville, and we were fast friends, and part time roommates. We are both recovering alcoholics and addicts, so you could say we know a lot about scars. Both the givin’ and gettin’. But by the grace of God we are sober today.
ONE NIGHT IN A CADILLAC – Written by Robert Deitch
No greater gift to a father’s son
Than the one you left me when you passed on
That all banged up, smellin like fuel
Faded red box where you kept all your tools
N still taped down to the top of that lid is a
Dusty picture of that coupe deville
Rag top and red leather seats
Blue collar dream just out of your reach
I swear I saw one on the road today
Left me wishin like hell, for some kinda way way,
We could have just
One night in a cadillac, 69, n painted black
All stretched out on a long lonesome road
Tippin back a bud, n drivin real slow,
All the wishin in the world ain’t never gonna bring you back
But I’d take, one night in a cadillac
Road trippin to johnny cash
Ring of fire on an old eight track
Top down, collars pushed up
Don’t it make ya wanna ride with us
Chorus
For the one thing you wanted
But you never got to have
And for all those little moments
Gone by in a flash, wish we had
Chorus
Tag
But if the good lord gave me just one, I know what I’d ask
I’d take one night, you n me, and a cadillac
This song slowly formed over a long period of time. “One night in a Cadillac” was kind of like a question that needed to be answered. I saw an old caddy on the road one night and thought, “if I could just cruise around in an old caddy, for one night, who would I pick and why? The quick answer was, my old man, but as younger man, and before he carried the burdens of life. The melody, and the chorus were already bouncing around in my head, but it would take some time to get to the “nut” of the song.
​
Enter the toolbox…. After my Dad passed, he bequeathed me his toolbox. He was a mechanic by trade, and well known for his craft and expertise. I have no mechanical abilities (sorry Dad), for whatever reason, I had an overwhelming sense that a tool chest needed to be a key part of this song/story. This story’s plot, as well as why my Dad would leave me his tools/chest, were elusive to say the least. Until one day, as I was sitting in my writers room, in a thousand yard stare, trying to figure out how to write this song, I began to look at the guitars hanging on my walls, and reminiscing about which songs I had written on each, as well as which guitar will go to my wife and kids when I someday take my final sleep here on earth. I thought to myself, “these guitars, represent of who I am”, and that’s when it hit me right square in the knower! THAT’S why he wanted the toolbox to go to me! It best represented who he was. The story/song immediately opened up and I finished the song that day.
EITHER WAY – Written by Robert Deitch / Lacy Green
They say you’re supposed to go with what you’re feeling
But it’s hard when you’ve felt that way before
When you feel like you could love someone forever
Then you find yourself drifting towards the door
Can’t seem to put my finger on what’s missing
Can’t figure why I wouldn’t want to stay
Or the feeling that the right one’s somewhere waiting
Why black and white always turns to grey
Chorus
Either way, here I am
Always homesick for places I’ve never been
Right or wrong, choice or fate
Still searching for a place to put my faith
Either way
Wish there was the book with all the answers
That laid out the road to happiness

I’d study every page from every chapter
I’d know enough to never have to guess
Chorus
I could spend my life chasing ghosts
Or I could stay and never know
Or maybe it’s just a god shaped hole keep trying to fill
Against my will
Either way, here I am
Always homesick for places I’ve never been
Right or wrong, choice or fate
Still searching for a place to put my faith
I guess I’ll be ok…either way
“Either way” is a song about coming to terms. There was a time in my life where everyone around me were pairing off and finding happiness. A time where I would date incredibly nice, beautiful women, left scratching my head as to why I’m incapable of committing to them, or loving them. Looking back, I was untethered. Always running to or from something, Drunks can be hard to pin down. Lol. When I met my cowriter, Lacy Green, some of what she was experiencing in her season of life, took me right back to my experience in that same season of life. For me, it took getting sober, accepting myself for who I was (and wasn’t) and learning to live life on life’s terms.
CAROLINA SKY (Baby Blue Eyes) – Written by Robert Deitch
Rollin down this highway winding my way home
Been to bakersfield & baton rouge,
N back on down to san antone
Listenin to that mix tape you handed me
Last time we said goodbye
Countin down the memories and the miles,
Till I can see your smile, and those
Carolina sky, baby blue eyes
Waitin patiently for me, j
Ust beyond those old georia pines
And I miss you every single day,
N twice as much each night
N those carolina sky, baby blue eyes
I’ve seen red weathered barns set against
Rolling amber waves of grain
Seen sunrise on a southern cross,
Through the mist of the smokey mountain range
More pretty than a picture,
That any livin man could ever paint
They can’t compare to that scene
That waits for me, or the breath you take away with those
Chorus
Girl leave that porch light on, cause I’ll be home tonight
The song, “Carolina Sky” is about longing for the one you love. It’s about taking in the ability to take in the beauty around you, while counting down the minutes till being reunited with the one you love. I woke up one early summer day in 2021, with the melody of the song in my head. The only words I heard were, “Carolina Sky, Baby Blue Eyes” I could hear those specific words, but any other words were faint, muffled and unrecognizable in the distance. I tapped in to some of the images I had seen in my many music journeys, as well as the anticipation of getting to see the one I love, after out time apart. The line “more pretty than a picture, that any livin man could ever paint, can’t compare to the scene that waits for me, or the breath you take away” is the line that says it all for me. There’s no place like home, especially when the love of your life is there waiting for you.
WATER TOWER – ROBERT DEITCH
Burnin up this black top 2 lane road -
5 hours down, 6 more to go
N there’s nothing on this am radio
Just high wires and broken yellow lines
Fading in to a pale blue desert sky
And I’m reelin you in with every lonely mile
Through canyons, hills and fields of wild flowers
I keep searchin for the next water tower
Cause every time I see
The next one comin at me,
I can picture, you little clearer
Every town gets me a little nearer ..To you
It’s why I’m, wide open 85/95/105 miles an hour
To the next water tower
Too many midnight scenes in smokey bars
Singin bout tears and beers and broke down hearts
Yeah the dues I pay ain’t worth the time apart
So I loaded up my dreams and amplifiers
And started looking for the that westbound water tower
Chorus
Each ones a little different
But the purpose is still the same
To pass the miles and distance
Keep me from going insane
Chorus
“Water Tower” is a song about living two dreams, and, giving up one dream to go all in on the other. The song’s main character is a grizzled music veteran, road warrior, who has decided, in the middle of a lackluster tour, to call it quits and head home, to his soul mate. He’s giving up his 2nd true love, to be with his 1st , and using each water towers as navigational countdown to find his
way back home. The idea was born out of me getting lost while on a motorcycle ride. I learned at a very young age, riding dirt bikes on gravel roads, that if you get lost, you start looking for a water tower. The water tower will tell you where you are, and if you know where you are, you can find your way home.