I Walked With You A Ways, by Plains (2024)

1.

When the summer sun melts candles I dig out the wickHoney we’re up against something Our love alone can’t fixSo I won’t see the garden or the figs when they are ripeIt hurts to be leaving, but I know that staying ain’t rightIt was always fun getting a little drunkOn your back deck in the rainAnd I’d cook for you like a good woman do You had no reason to be afraidThat my heart was hidden behind a wall that came before youIt’s really no one’s faultBut I tried to warn youYou wanted understanding, your intentions they were pure Well that wasn’t the problem,I always knew that they wereWhen the summer sun melts candles I dig out the wickIn another life it’s simple,but I know someone is gonna getAll the love you have to giveYou need a heart that’s ready for ya It’s really no one’s faultBut I tried to warn you

2.

I drift out farther awayI got a problem with it & I don’t know how to say It’s a pink carnation, it’s a hand hastily played Potboiler wearing outGive em something to kick up dust aboutIf it was love you were after,with a long shadow of doubtIf it’s all you got, yeah it’s all you gave I got a problem with itIf you can’t do better than that babeI got a problem with itJustified it in my own wayI lost myself in itIf it’s all you got, it’s enough you say I got a problem with itI drive fast on high alertPass the Jet Pep and the Baptist ChurchOn the county line I’ll be a songbird softly heard My loose change falling outGot a heartbreak burn, take the quickest route On this 4 lane highway I’ll trace it in the clouds

3.

Lord, if I’m wrong set me straight Get me back in lineOh & if I’m not, let the sun come out Baby ease my mindYou know I struggle every time In the bright spotlightI gotta take my timeI’ll get it right, I’ll get it right& I don’t wanna give you an eye for an eye There’s a heart beating underA case I make all worn out, running dry Howling out like thunder& I can’t hideIn your line of sightLord, take me back, passing through On my own timeThe July moon & the stars align Baby ease my mindOh & you know me, a cruel mystery Driving West in the stillest peaceGotta heed my prideI’ll get it right, I could get it right

4.

We don’t need to talk about Abilene Cause Abilene don’t meanNo coffee shop, no liquor storeSo I don’t talk about Abilene no moreYoung lovers like to dreamWe’ll settle down and we’ll make a good team Well Main Street was cute andthe rents there were cheapBut I was too much for you and for your AbileneWe don’t need to talk about Abilene Cause Abilene don’t meanNo couple acres, no screened in porch So I don’t talk about Abilene no moreI remember the air when I drove out of town Crying on the highway with my windows down I’da stayed there forever, till death do us part Texas in my rearview, Plains in my heartCouldn’t hold it together when Abilene fell apartWe don’t need to talk about Abilene Cause Abilene don’t meanNo turning the garden, no toys on the floorSo I don’t talk about Abilene no moreWe don’t need to talk about AbileneCause Abilene don’t meanNo life that we’re building, no weathering storms That’s why I don’t talk about Abilene no more That’s why I don’t talk about Abilene no more

5.

I blow into town, babeI do my worst, it’s trueIf I don’t ruin everything Baby I’ll come back to you Baby I’ll come back to youYou run off to the desert Try to make yourself small I might do a little damage But you always take my call& I come in like a cannonball I’ve been that way my whole life Sweet as honeysuckleWhen you want a pocketknife& if you keep calm in my hurricane I might keep it at bayBut I know you’ll love me anywayIf I stand in the shadows When you say something true I might try to argueBut baby I’ll come back to you Baby I’ll come back to youYou stand in the great wide open Try to hear yourself thinkI can learn to wait for youRide it out with some peaceBaby I’ll come back to youBaby I’ll come back to youYou know that I’ll come back to youBaby I’ll come back to you

6.

Her face read like Anna KareninaShe was strong as that old gypsum weedAnd oh she could dance like a blind beggars hand Just waiting for someone to seeShe spoke like a hard night in Beaumont Carried on like the old SuwanneeAnd she came along like a ravenous song So hungry for someone to singThe days turned like cowardsSo swiftly to the hour of needAnd I’ll be a martyr to whatever your heartache Will leaveThen I’ll slip through your hands like a boy Born with no nameHer eyes they were set like a cannon And boy, they’d blow you awayAnd she’d cross your mindlike a cheap box of wineWhere each sip is like a track switch and train She swore like a dry county welderShe’s pry on the side seldom seenAnd she could make love like Augusta Road And just buckle like the bends in a creek

7.

Leaving here tomorrow if it don’t go my way& if it does or doesn’t, don’t have much of a sayI can’t take that bull right by the horns,call it a foul play& when I lose my good grip,get down on my knees & pray& I’ll dry my eyesOr I’ll laugh insteadOh I’m leaving tomorrow, babe I’ll come back from the dead& I’ll hold your handLet the noise go unheard Pretend that we’re alone here& we’re the last 2 on EarthLeaving here tomorrow if it don’t turn out right Can’t tell nobody nothing,it’s a bright spark to igniteIt looks like it might stay the samefor a long long timeYou can take that sin to battlebut you can’t make it fight

8.

Keep your own timeYou know, I wasn’t gonna be much betterYou call a spade a spadeYou gotta shield yourself from stormy weather An onslaught of cynical people, baby& I’m notI never wasIt’s not gonna be easy, babe You’re not gonna believe it When you shake offwhat’s weighing down heavily But it’s not gonna be easyCall it a farceYou drop down, take it to the limitYa know ya, can’t lose a fight if you takecover or abandon itAn onslaught of noise in the background, babe What you’ve got, don’t let it fade

9.

Give me a minuteFor my soul and my heart to finish What we startedThis aching spirit’s gotta mend Before I let you inI can’t ask you to wait on thisLord I wish you wouldSome things won’t stop, you try to pause it When love comes callingWhen love comes callingHold onCan’t untie a candleCan’t blow out a knotI can’t blame ya, angel Somewhere we just got lostLove is patient, love is kind Love’ll give you a real hard time A cigarette in a potted plant Empty bottles, open handsAnd no record of wrongsno record of wrongsno record of wrongsno record of wrongs

10.

I ain’t your girl no moreBusted out the gates of your worldI’m clinging to my candle in this dark valley No one watches over meNo one watches over meOn the winding path of lifesometimes you walk aloneCause people come and goThere is a season for each oneThey change your heart, and then it’s done Well I’ll be better all my daysCause I walked with you a ways I walked with you a waysThere always is a last time for anything you do We don’t notice in the momentYou’ll know after it’s throughMy back is to the sunsetCause I wanna see your faceGlow in the light at the end of the day Glow in the light, I’ll think of you that way

released October 14, 2022

PLAINS IS
Katie Crutchfield
Jess Williamson

PRODUCED BY
Brad Cook

Katie Crutchfield - Lead and Harmony Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Jess Williamson - Lead and Harmony Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Brad Cook - Acoustic and Electric Guitar, Wurlitzer, Mellotron, Bass
Phil Cook - Piano, Wurlitzer, Organ, Dobro, Banjo, Electric Slide
Spencer Tweedy - Drums, Percussion
Andrew Marlin - Mandolin, Acoustic Guitar
Libby Rodenbough - Fiddle
Alex Farrar - Electric Guitar

Engineered by Jon Ashley
Additional Engineering by Alli Rogers and Brad Cook
Mixed by Alex Farrar
Mastered by Emily Lazar and Chris Allgood at The Lodge, NY

Photography by Molly Matalon
Styling by Emily Emke-Hays
Design by Mike Krol