Lyrics

All songs written by Cullen Brian Gallagher

Self-titled album (2024, Bad Channels Records)

1 - I Miss Those Days of Living For the Night

I miss those days of living for the night

Of looking for love under the glow of neon lights

Never knowing where I'm going or who I'm gonna meet

Just trusting my shoes to get me home and in one piece


I miss those days

I miss those nights

I miss those days of living for the night


I miss those friends who I'd meet at the bar

We'd drink a beer together while we bear our broken hearts

We'd talk all night about our lives and the things we plan do

Tomorrow seems so far away, but I hope that our dreams come true


I miss last call, drinking one more for the road

Say goodbye to all my friends and then try to stumble home

But my feet they know the way even when I go astray

Yeah my shoes can get me home even when I'm drunk and all alone


2 - Next Bus Home

You're running down the road 

just trying to catch the next bus home

but you missed it and the next one will be a while

So you head into a bar 

and have a drink to pass the hour

but pretty soon you've missed the next one, too


Cuz you're never going home as long as that jukebox keeps playing songs

and you've pockets full of quarters and tonight's a night for sing alongs

So just keep drinking and just keep singing 

and just keep thinking you'll catch the next bus home


Now you're drunk enough to call old friends

and ask them how they've been

and if it is too late to make amends

You say that you will buy the first round

if they feel like coming out

You're probably gonna be here for awhile


Cuz you're never going home as long as that jukebox keeps playing songs 

and you've pockets full of quarters and tonight's a night for sing along

And buying rounds for strangers is your preferred form of penitence

The anonymity is such a comfort, curse, and luxury


So just keep drinking and just keep singing 

and just keep thinking you'll catch the next bus home


3 - I Could Be With You By Morning

I could be with you by morning

if I catch the midnight bus

say goodbye to this here city

and be on my way to you


there's an hour stop in Boston

but an hour's not that long

just time enough to get some coffee

then we're on the road again


I could be with you by morning

and in your arms by afternoon

I could be there in your heart, too,

before tomorrow's day is through


I'll grab a cab from the station

stop for groceries along the way

and get a big bouquet of roses

in case I don't know what to say


I could be there if you want me

And if you want just say the word

I'll stay as long as you would let me

But if you don't I understand


4 - I Can't Sleep Alone If I'm Not Drunk

I guess I didn't plan this night too well

It's 10 o'clock and I'm already out of beer

I head across the street to get some stuff

Walking home I hope that it's enough


Cuz I can't sleep alone if I'm not drunk

And I can't stay in bed if you're not there

And I can't stand my thoughts if I'm not thinking of you

And I can't sleep alone if I'm not drunk


I watch the ceiling fan go round and round

And I can't rid my ears of this ringing sound

The quiet nights are always so damned loud

Am I too far gone to turn my life around?


I watch the ceiling fan go round and round

Nagging doubts and regrets can't be drowned

The quiet nights they always ring so loud

Am I too far gone to turn my life around?


My neighbor's out the door for his morning run

It's times like these I'm glad I don't have a gun

The birds of dawn are outside singing songs

It's time I made my bed and start moving on


4 - A Question That Answers Itself

Should I have another drink tonight

or tell myself that I have had enough

I try to convince myself that I don't need no more

But deep inside, I can't help myself


Should I have another drink tonight

It's a question that I often ask myself

Do I want to feel like I'm alright for just a moment

It's a question that answers itself


Do I like the man that I've become?

Am I proud of things that I have done?

Do I want the memories from which I've tried to run?

As I take a sip, the answer comes


5 - Shaken

Ever woken up covered in sweat

scared of what you've done or might do yet

not sure if it's just some silly dream

or a portent of the man you're gonna be


You're shaken, you're shaken, you're shaken


Ever dreamt about someone you know

Feeling things you didn't feel before

A face you hadn't thought about in years

Leaves you cold and covered in tears


Ever seen a picture of your dad

And seen a life that you didn't know he had

A smiling handsome face so full of youth

No trace of the bitter man you knew


6 - Could We Try Our Love Again

I've gone six weeks being sober

I've walked around on sleepless nights

but I can't stand another second alone

could we try our love again


Lately I've been lonely

and it feels like I'm in hell

I really need to hear your voice

would you pick up if I call


I've been reliving all my mistakes

and I think I know where I went wrong

I never should have chosen her over you

could we try our love


Lately I've been thinking

about the good times that we had

I really need to feel your arms

would you hold me for awhile

and if you could forgive me

could we try our love again


7 - Dead and gone

I'm looking for someone to love me

when I'm dead and gone

someone to keep my picture

hanging on the wall

she don't have to dust it

or pick it up if it falls

just as long as she remembers me at all


Dead and gone

dead and gone

one day I'll be dead 

and she'll be gone


I'm looking for someone to think of me 

from time to time

when she's getting high

or when she's drinking wine

she don't have to think good thoughts

the bad ones would be fine

just as long as she remembers me at all


I'm looking for someone to tell me

I wasn't wrong

wasting all these years

writing all these songs

but she don't have to like them

or sing them, if she don't like

just as long as she remembers me at all


And I know she's gonna forget me after all


8 - Dry My Weeping Eyes

I don't mind missing you

It feels kind of good

cuz I know I'll see you soon


I don't mind crying sometimes

cuz when you come back

you'll dry my weeping eyes


Dry my weeping eyes

Hold my trembling hand

Fill my empty arms

Don't be gone too long


I don't mind waking up scared

Your pillow still smells 

just like your strawberry hair


I don't mind the lonely nights,

cuz when you come back 

you'll dry my weeping eyes


9 - I Still Dream of Her

I sleep beside you every night

but I still dream of her

and think of all the awful things

that she did not deserve

I promised that I'd treat her right

and god knows that I tried

I sleep beside you every night

but I still dream of her


You look so peaceful sleeping there

While I lie wide awake

I close my eyes but I still see

The sadness in her face

I plug my ears but I still hear

the things I never said

I sleep beside you every night

but I still dream of her


I put my arm around your waist

and pull you close to me

but the closer that our bodies get

the more my mind's adrift

thinking of the one before

and all the ones to come

I sleep beside you every night

but I still dream of her


Yes, I still dream of her


10 - The More I Think of Someone New

The more I think of someone new

the more I think of you

I've tried so many other ones

why can't they all be you?


I wish my mind were somewhere else

instead of in the past

it hurt to think of yesterday

and love that did not last


Maybe I'll go out tonight

and try to ease my mind

find someone to buy a drink

who's easy on the eyes


I hope that I won't be alone

when the bars all close

maybe I'll have company

to walk home next to me


And it hurts to think

that come tomorrow

tonight's love will have past


11 - Tanked at Hank's

Lately I've been late to work

showing up hungover

wearing the clothes I wore the day before

but I don't care what people think

and if they know how much I drink

there's only one thing gets me through the week


I like getting tanked at Hank's Saloon

it happens every Sunday afternoon

I leave my troubles at the door

and drink until I hit the floor

and then I get up and drink a couple more

because I like getting tanked at Hank's Saloon


And when I get to feeling low

and wish my life were over

there's only one place that I wanna go

Jeannie brightens up my day

and Sean Kershaw's band is on the stage

and all my favorite songs they're gonna play


The Lonely Place of You EP (2021)

1- The Lonely Place of You

Coffee don't keep me up at night

and drinking don't take pain away

and loving someone new never takes

the lonely place of you


Dreaming brings us back together

and waking up just pulls us back apart

and loving someone new never takes

the lonely place of you


'cause no one wears your dress

and no one wears your shoes

and no one dances quite as close as you


Saying sorry won't change the past

and talking sweet won't bring you back

and loving someone new never takes

the lonely place of you


but loving someone new

will have to do


2 - One for Two

I'm cleaning out my closet

and throwing out my old clothes

I'm getting rid of everything I own


I'm making room in my home for you

I'm making my whole world one for two


I'm buying a new bed

a pillow for your pretty head

and you can trust everything I've said


So goodbye old love letters

and bad memories of their senders

I'm not living in the past anymore


And if I cry at night

as I am wont to do

just hold me close

I'll do the same for you


3 - A Couple of Broken Hearts

It ain't a bar without a couple spilled beers

and it ain't a party without a couple shed tears


You can't have one without the other

You can't have fun without another

And it ain't true love without a couple broken hearts


And it ain't a race if there isn't last palace

and it ain't worth chasing, if it can't get away


You say you've been wrong and you won't be wronged no more

You say you've been hurt and you won't be hurt no more


And it ain't a song without a couple notes wrong

and it ain't a kiss if it wouldn't be missed


You can't have one without the other

Your love's begun, and then it's over


No it ain't true love without a couple broken hearts


4 - My Private Hell

There are places lonelier than a motel room

and my heart's the loneliest one of all

there are places colder than Neptune's farthest moon

and my heart's the coldest one of all


My heart's so cold and lonely

it beats for me and me only

there ain't no room for nobody else

cuz it's just me and my private hell


There are places darker than a night sky without stars

and my heart's the darkest one of all

There are places emptier than the unslept half of bed

and my heart's the emptiest one of all