Country's most consistent traditionalist, George Strait, scores again with Blue Clear Sky, one of the best albums of his 15-year career. Blue Clear Sky shows off Strait's range with a well-chosen sweep of material. "Rockin' in the Arms of Your Memory" and "I'd Just as Soon Go" prove that well-written, mainstream adult ballads can carry an insinuating strength when performed with the subtle grace of a master. On "Need I Say More," Strait reveals again that he's also a wonderful jazz-tinged crooner. "I Ain't Never Seen No One Like You" swings with the joyful ease of a youngster on a backyard set, and "Do the Right Thing" gives Strait the chance to show casually that he can navigate an eccentric meter, masking how difficult the inventive arrangement might have been for a lesser vocalist. Strait, an experienced calf-roping competitor, also includes "I Can Still Make Cheyenne." Instead of creating a deadly, dramatic situation or joking about the macho manner of the lifestyle, the song uses a telephone call between a struggling rider and his lover to convey the dreams, the fears, the financial hardships, and the difficulties of life on the road that surround the sport. Just like the singer, the song relies on quietly reserved emotion to convey enormously important sentiments.
GEORGE STRAIT
BLUE CLEAR SKY
MCA 11428
April 23/1996
Produced by Tony Brown & George Strait
Steve Gibson, Brent Mason - guitar
Biff Watson - rh.guitar
Paul Franklin - steel
Glenn Worf - bass
Eddie Bayers - drums
Matt Rollings - piano
Stuart Duncan - fiddle
Curtis Young, Linda Manis - vocals
1.
BLUE CLEAR SKY
(Bob DiPiero - Mark D. Sanders - John Jarrard)
« © '96 Tree Publishing, BMI »
You swear you've had enough you're ready to give up
On that little lie they call love then out of a blue clear sky
Fallin' right into your hands like rain on a desert's sands
It's the last thing you had planned headin' out of the blue clear sky
Here she comes a walking talking true love
Saying I've been looking for you love
Surprise your new love has arrived out of a blue clear sky
Ain't love a funny thing one day you're giving up the dream
And the next you're picking out a ring out of the blue clear sky
Here she comes a walking...
[ steel ]
Here she comes a walking...
Here she comes a walking...
Out of a blue clear sky
**********
2.
CARRIED AWAY
(Steve Bogard - Jeff Stevens)
« © '96 Warner-Tamerlane Publishing, BMI »
I don't take my whiskey to extremes
Don't believe in chasin' crazy dreams
My feet are planted firmly on the ground
But darling when you come around
I get carried away by the look by the light in your eyes
Before I even realize the ride I'm on baby I'm long gone
I get carried away nothing matters but being with you
Like a feather flying high up in the sky on a windy day
I get carried away
It might seem like an ordinary night
Same ol' stars the same ol' moon up high
But when I see you standing at your door
Nothing's ordinary anymore
I get carried away by the look...
I get carried away by the look...
Carried away
**********
3.
ROCKIN' IN THE ARMS OF YOUR MEMORY
(Dean Dillon - Norro Wilson)
« © '96 Acuff-Rose Music, BMI »
The first time I saw you you were waitin' tables at the corner diner
I said to myself never seen a woman look any finer
From that moment on I was stone cold gone
You would be forever in my mind
Now somewhere in the neon lights I'm holding on for dear life
Rocking in the arms of your memory tonight
It was San Francisco silly suits and white ties by the bay
You appeared with your papa tears were rolling down your mother's face
Everyone was happy showered by well wishers as we drove away
Now somewhere in the neon lights...
I'm living but dying I'm laughing but crying
Somebody tell me it will be all right
I bought it for your birthday God you looked so lovely in that dress
I took you to a party or was it to a night club I forget
Been twenty years and counting
I'm drowning in your love a little more each day
Now somewhere in the neon lights...
Now somewhere in the neon lights...
**********
4.
SHE KNOWS WHEN YOU'RE ON MY MIND
(Wayne Kemp - Mack Vickery)
« © '73 Tree Publishing, BMI »
She's knows she's holding someone who don't love her
She knows she's where you could have been
She knows I turn to her because you turned me down
And she knows when you're on my mind again
Every night she opens up the door to heaven
But when you're on my mind I can't go in
And you come running through my mind and I let my mem'ry chase you
She knows when you're on my mind again
[ steel ]
Sometimes late at night I hear her crying
She turns to me but you won't let her in
She knows the door is locked but she keeps trying
She knows when you're on my mind again
Every night she opens up...
**********
5.
I AIN'T NEVER SEEN NO ONE LIKE YOU
(Roger Springer - Bruce Bouton - Mark Chesnut)
« © '95 April Music, ASCAP / Blackwood Music, BMI »
I've traveled through lots of places seen lots of folks and lots of faces
Even settled down a time or two
I've worked the farms I've been to town guess you could say I've been around
But I ain't never seen no one like you
I can tell by your smile you don't believe a word I say
You're thinkin' I'll just stay a while then be on my way
But girl I think it's fair to warn ya I've done been to California
I ain't never seen no one like you
[ piano - guitar ]
I knew girl in Mississippi had twenty different ways to kiss me
Never found a thing she couldn't do
Hey I even knew some twins in Denver stayed with them one cold December
I ain't never seen no one like you
I can tell by your smile...
[ fiddle - steel ]
East to west north to south you're the very best girl there ain't no doubt
I'm tellin' you you're really something the way you got my heart a jumping
I ain't never seen no one like you
I can tell by your smile...
Girl I think it's fair to warn ya I've done been to California
I ain't never seen no one like you
**********
6.
I CAN STILL MAKE CHEYENNE
(Aaron Baker - Erv Woolsey)
« © '95 Hit Street Music, BMI »
Her telephone rang bout a quarter to nine
She heard his voice on the other end of the line
She wondered what was wrong this time
She never knew what his calls might bring
With a cowboy like him it could be anything
And she always expected the worst in the back of her mind
He said it's cold out here and I'm all alone
Didn't make the short go again and I'm coming home
I know I've been away too long
I never got a chance to write or call
And I know this rodeo has been hard on us all
But I'll be home soon and honey is there something wrong
She said don't bother coming home
By the time you get here I'll be long gone
There's somebody new and he sure ain't no rodeo man
He said I'm sorry it's come down to this
There's so much about you that I'm gonna miss
But it's alright baby if I hurry I can still make Cheyenne
Gotta go now baby if I hurry I can still make Cheyenne
He left that phone danglin' off the hook
Then slowly turned around and gave it one last look
Then he just walked away
He aimed his truck toward that Wyoming line
With a little luck he could still get there in time
And in that Cheyenne wind he could still hear her say
She said don't bother comin' home...
She never knew what his calls might bring
With a cowboy like him it could be anything
And she always expected the worst in the back of her mind
**********
7.
KING OF THE MOUNTAIN
(Larry Boone - Paul Nelson)
« © '91 Tree Publishing, BMI »
I gave her that diamond she dreamed of
And I bought her a home with a view
I took her to the end of a rainbow
But and I left her was blue
Seems I never had time to love her
And now it seems the time just stands still
I thought I was king of the mountain
But I was only a fool on the hill
Now I'm here alone after leaving her lonely
Lord I'm living with a mem'ry I know I can't kill
I thought I was king of the mountain
But I was only a fool on the hill
[ steel ]
Yeah I'm here alone after leaving her lonely...
Yeah I thought I was king of the mountain
But I was only a fool on the hill
**********
8.
DO THE RIGHT THING
(Gary Nicholson - Jim Lauderdale)
« © '96 Mighty Nice Music, BMI »
Once you told me you were gonna love me
That it was meant to be and there's no other way
Then came someone showed you more fun
We've had a good run better think it over
Do the right thing baby do the right thing
Go with your heart and do the right thing
He's got a good line shows you a good time
Did he change your mind guess it's your move
I'll lose my pride I'd even step aside
Honey you really must decide who's the best for you
Do the right thing baby...
Do the right thing baby...
[ guitar - steel - fiddle ]
You might chose me or chose to lose me
Someday you'll see the good thing you had
Do the right thing baby...
Do the right thing baby...
Go with your heart and do the right thing
**********
9.
I'D JUST AS SOON GO
(Dean Dillon - Aaron Baker)
« © '96 Hit Street Music, BMI »
You say you want to talk it over want to try again
But there's no way of working out this love that we're not in
We could talk and talk and accomplish nothing we've tried it all before
It's time somebody did some walking and I can see the door
So I'd just as soon go I'd just as soon say goodbye
There's no reason to prolong what we should just let die
I'd just as soon stop I'd just as soon end the madness
Knowing what I know I'd just as soon go
It's not an easy thing to do leaving seldom ever is
But staying just to see us through just ain't no way to live
It's hard for you to understand but we're better off this way
I can't fake it one more night or take it one more day
So I'd just as soon go...
Knowing what I know I'd just as soon go
**********
10.
NEED I SAY MORE
(Roger Brown - Clay Blaker)
« © '96 WB Music, ASCAP / Ensign Music, BMI »
You're the only one and only my heart's beating for
I love you need I say more
Now and ever we'll be together of that you can be sure
I love you need I say more
I don't know just what it is that you're needin' to hear me say
The way that I'm feeling is more than mere words can describe
All this discussion could never do justice to something so heavenly made
I'd rather tell you with touches how I feel inside
Let me hold you let me show you what true love's all about
In these arms of mine I know you will find
You won't do without anymore
I'll love you forever need I say more
[ guitar - fiddle ]
I don't know just what it is...
Let me hold you let me show you...
I'll love you forever need I say more
**********