Nightmares & Whiskey

In a room stark & white A nightmare he will ride tonight Twisted sheets in a rider's grip as he settles in for that fateful trip silently he screams & shouts This time there'll be no turn out The final clash of beast & man In the mind's arena plays out again Once was a time he was among the best Until that Brahma stepped on his chest Now he's locked in a ride he can't quit as his wife & his family at his bedside sit How he longs to be up & out of this bed Away from the demons in his head But you can't drown a nightmare in morphine And every night he rigs up again In a room stark & white She'll replay the ride tonight "Just one more ride & I'm done I've got to help raise our son" He'd said as he climbed in the chute and straddled that Brahma brute With a nod & a prayer, he marked out His last would be his best, no doubt Then, with a sudden twist & a flash of horn The cowboy from his seat was torn She watched him fall & struggle to rise Numb to the crowd's horrified cries Now she sits here each night without rest Cradling their baby boy close to her chest How she longs to have him hold her near Later, she reaches for the bottle to chase the fear But you can't drown a nightmare in whiskey And every night she rigs up again Under the arena's bright lights He'll dance with a nightmare tonight Wearing a greasepaint smile to hide the pain He plays out that fateful ride again One step out of rhythm & rhyme He'd lost the race against Brahma & time Word's haunt him still of a Cowboy's last request After that Brahma had stomped on his chest "Tell Katie I love her & I'm sorry for this" "If I'd listened to her, I'd not be in this mess" "You & the boys take care of her & my son" "I hear the chopper landing, guess this ride is done" How he wishes he could run that race once more The memory pushes him hard, it won't be ignored But you can't mask a nightmare with greasepaint And every night he rigs up again A wild Bullrider, loved one or clown no matter the poison the memory won't drown Nightmares, whiskey, greasepaint or morphine Can't kill the demons that ride through your dreams