(bright subtle country rock music) (bright subtle country rock music continues) (bright subtle country rock music continues) (bright upbeat country rock music) (groovy western guitar music) ♪ This ain't no pleasure cruise ♪ ♪ We ain't riding on a gravy train ♪ ♪ We're standing in line at the liquor store ♪ ♪ Wondering who'll stop the rain ♪ ♪ Tough times don't last ♪ Tough people do ♪ They find a way ♪ To make it through ♪ If they can do it ♪ Maybe we can too ♪ Tough times don't last ♪ But tough people do ♪ We can't go to town, we're stuck on the porch ♪ ♪ There's poison in the summer breeze ♪ ♪ But we've got some Mexican cornbread ♪ ♪ And a bushel of black-eyed peas ♪ ♪ Tough times don't last ♪ Tough people do ♪ They find a way to make it through ♪ ♪ If they can do it ♪ Maybe we can too ♪ Tough times don't last, but tough people do ♪ ♪ We've got demons in the closet and junk in the yard ♪ ♪ Enough to fill a big truckload ♪ ♪ The garbage man's willing to haul it away ♪ ♪ But we've got to take it to the road ♪ ♪ Tough times don't last ♪ Tough people do ♪ They find a way ♪ To make it through ♪ If they can do it, maybe we can too ♪ ♪ Tough times don't last, but tough people do ♪ (audience cheering and applauding) (groovy western upbeat music) (audience applauding) (mellow guitar music) ♪ Me and John Prine was eatin' ice cream ♪ ♪ At the Double Tree Inn suite 1019 ♪ ♪ Don't tell Fiona, she won't understand ♪ ♪ Life is a vapor, let's live it while we can ♪ (mellow guitar music) ♪ I took mama fishin', put our lunch in a sack ♪ ♪ We caught a few bream, but we threw 'em all back ♪ ♪ It don't matter that she don't know who I am ♪ ♪ Life is a vapor, let's live it while we can ♪ (mellow guitar music continues) ♪ Every day's a gift, breathe in and hold it ♪ ♪ Every day's a gift, it's gone before you know it ♪ ♪ Life is just a vapor, life is just a vapor ♪ ♪ Life is just a vapor ♪ Life is just a vapor ♪ Most Sunday evenings me and my friends ♪ ♪ Get together where the driveway ends ♪ ♪ We bring our guitars, we have a little jam ♪ ♪ Life is a vapor, let's live it while we can ♪ (soulful guitar music continues) ♪ Every day's a gift, breathe in and hold it ♪ ♪ Every day's a gift, it's gone before you know it ♪ ♪ Life is just a vapor ♪ Whoa, life is just a vapor ♪ Life is just a vapor ♪ Whoa, life is just a vapor ♪ These beautiful moments will never come again ♪ ♪ Life is a vapor, so let's live it while we can ♪ (soulful guitar music continues) ♪ Shoulda, coulda, woulda, I'll do it someday ♪ ♪ Turns into time just slippin' away ♪ ♪ The hourglass is runinn' out of sand ♪ ♪ Life is a vapor, let's live it while we can ♪ (soulful guitar music continues) ♪ Every day's a gift, breathe in and hold it ♪ ♪ Every day's a gift, it's gone before you know it ♪ ♪ Life is just a vapor, whoa, life is just a vapor ♪ ♪ Ooh, life is just a vapor ♪ Life is just a vapor ♪ Ah-huh (soulful guitar music continues) (audience cheering) - Nice.

- Thank you.

(bright groovy upbeat music) (bright groovy upbeat music continues) (twangy groovy guitar music) ♪ My family reunion ♪ Is going on today ♪ My relatives have all flown in from places far away ♪ ♪ As we sit there eatin' chicken, it hits me like a truck ♪ ♪ I don't like half the folks I love ♪ (audience chuckling) (twangy groovy guitar music) ♪ Me and my former best friend had a big fallin' out ♪ ♪ I caught him with my wife, so I punched him in the mouth ♪ ♪ We just can't hang out anymore, but I still wish them luck ♪ ♪ I don't like half the folks I love ♪ ♪ God knows they're all dear to me, but if the truth be told ♪ ♪ I like it when they come, but I love it when they go ♪ ♪ I'm sure they've got good qualities ♪ ♪ But the bad ones cover 'em up ♪ ♪ I don't like half the folks I love ♪ ♪ My alcoholic buddies are fun to hang around ♪ ♪ When we drink together, peace and joy abound ♪ ♪ But sometimes they bring me one more shot ♪ ♪ When they know I've had enough ♪ ♪ I don't like half the folks I love ♪ ♪ God knows they're all dear to me, but if the truth be told ♪ ♪ I like it when they come, but I love it when they go ♪ ♪ I'm sure they've got good qualities ♪ ♪ But the bad ones cover 'em up ♪ ♪ I don't like half the folks I love ♪ ♪ In this world we live in, this I guarantee ♪ ♪ We all need more tolerance to get along peacefully ♪ ♪ But I'm not as nice as Jesus and I really am fed up ♪ ♪ I don't like half the folks I love ♪ ♪ God knows they're all dear to me, but if the truth be told ♪ ♪ I like it when they come, but I love it when they go ♪ ♪ I'm sure they've got good qualities ♪ ♪ But the bad ones cover 'em up ♪ ♪ I don't like half the folks I love ♪ ♪ Oh, I don't like half the folks I love ♪ (audience cheering) - Yes!

- Thank you.

(audience cheering) (mellow western orchestral music) (soulful country orchestral music) ♪ Dana, I don't get depressed anymore ♪ ♪ Except possibly this December on the Delaware shore ♪ ♪ Maybe missing numbers on the motel doors ♪ ♪ The toy section at this drug store ♪ ♪ Otherwise, I'm pretty much cured ♪ ♪ I've been getting out of bed before noon now ♪ ♪ Gonna find a new place pretty soon now ♪ ♪ The whole thing's moving uptown ♪ ♪ I'm sorry about the way that I scared you ♪ ♪ I'm sorry that I wasn't in touch since ♪ ♪ I spent way too much time ♪ With people without any substance ♪ (soulful country guitar music) ♪ And I've decided that I'm gonna push forward ♪ ♪ I'm committed to making the change ♪ ♪ But you gotta remember, I never go out in the rain ♪ ♪ And it's been raining all day ♪ ♪ And my jacket got nicked from the coat check ♪ ♪ The curtains can't keep out the gray ♪ ♪ These umbrellas that you get at the drug store ♪ ♪ Always blow the wrong way ♪ Well, Dana, I don't drink nearly as much ♪ ♪ One or two nights of the week at the most ♪ ♪ I know I used to be such a monster ♪ ♪ The city's still lousy with ghosts ♪ ♪ So I'm sorry about that fight in the taxi ♪ ♪ You know, that probably just wasn't my night ♪ ♪ If you'd just agree to come see me ♪ ♪ I could try to make it all right ♪ ♪ I've decided that I'm gonna back off now ♪ ♪ I heard you turned that old boy into a husband ♪ ♪ You're out in the county ♪ hanging out with some people of substance ♪ (soulful western guitar music continues) (soulful western guitar music continues) ♪ Dana, I'm done with the breakdowns ♪ ♪ But the winter's pretty weird here at the shore ♪ ♪ You never really told me what it was you cut me off for ♪ ♪ And I'm still not sure ♪ So I've decided that I'd call and just check in ♪ ♪ 'Cause if I was good enough for you back then ♪ ♪ You shouldn't be ashamed to bring me around ♪ ♪ To your new friends ♪ I've been asking around ♪ For some sort of system to trust in ♪ ♪ And maybe you could put me in touch ♪ ♪ With some people of substance ♪ ♪ I spent way too much time on people without any substance ♪ ♪ I spent way too much time on people without any substance ♪ (soulful western guitar music continues) (audience cheering and applauding) (bright country orchestral music) (soulful mellow guitar music) ♪ She met him after summer school ♪ ♪ A Hiawatha bus stop ♪ In a knockoff Celtics jacket ♪ Said his crew, they call him Shamrock ♪ ♪ His mother died when he was five ♪ ♪ And his dad's some sort of drug cop ♪ ♪ But the apple sometimes rolls way down the hill ♪ ♪ Sabrina claimed the Southside ♪ ♪ But really she's from Richfield ♪ ♪ These invisible divisions ♪ They never seemed like such a big deal ♪ ♪ She's been working at a wine bar ♪ ♪ Making jokes about the mouthfeel ♪ ♪ She sometimes takes 20s from the till ♪ ♪ Unprovoked and unadorned ♪ White T-shirts and cutoff shorts ♪ ♪ Summer takes a shapeless form ♪ ♪ After dark in powderhorn ♪ If you pool your funds together ♪ ♪ Then you're barely ever broke ♪ ♪ Walking up to SA to get smokes ♪ (mellow soulful guitar music) ♪ In the spring, they found some shambles ♪ ♪ In the south suburban sprawl ♪ Sabrina's taking classes ♪ Shamrock's hanging drywall ♪ But his fingernails keep falling off ♪ ♪ And he comes home mean and sore ♪ ♪ And every day he hates it more and more ♪ ♪ So the years go by and life goes on ♪ ♪ Nothing really happens ♪ School became a drag so she went back to be a waitress ♪ ♪ There isn't much to sit on ♪ When the old crew comes to visit ♪ ♪ So they all get high and pass out on the floor ♪ (mellow soulful guitar music continues) ♪ Then Shamrock just stops working ♪ ♪ He said it's such a meager pittance ♪ ♪ Once they take the taxes out ♪ It's barely even worth it ♪ And the TV's set to static ♪ There's drums off in the distance ♪ ♪ Their daughter's sleeping in a dresser drawer ♪ ♪ Unprescribed and unfulfilled ♪ Applications special skills ♪ She admits she sometimes still takes 20s from the till ♪ ♪ And Shamrock's sick of trying to smile ♪ ♪ When he's holding in the smoke ♪ ♪ Got talking to this guy he sort of knows ♪ (soulful mellow guitar music continues) ♪ A call came in this evening ♪ From the county credit union ♪ Two guys with masks and pistols ♪ ♪ Crashed in as they were closing ♪ ♪ By the time the cruisers came around ♪ ♪ They'd grabbed the cash and scattered ♪ ♪ But the cameras always capture all the action ♪ ♪ So a trooper pulled 'em over ♪ On a vehicle description ♪ At a Hampton Inn in Hudson about a mile into Wisconsin ♪ ♪ When the footage ran on News at 9 ♪ ♪ She could tell that it was Shamrock ♪ ♪ In that ragged satin jacket that says Boston ♪ (soulful mellow guitar music continues) ♪ Unrehearsed and unprepared ♪ To be the only one who cares ♪ For a daughter who keeps asking about her father ♪ ♪ They pooled their funds together ♪ ♪ But somehow she's still broke ♪ ♪ Walking up to Speedway to get smokes ♪ ♪ Walking up to Speedway to get smokes ♪ (concluding soulful mellow guitar music) (audience cheering and applauding) All right, thanks for having me.

(audience continues cheering and applauding) - Hi, I'm Shelby Olive.

"Studio C Sessions" is possible because you support The Summit FM and PBS Western Reserve.

Thank you!

(intriguing soulful guitar music) ♪ My sister has a daughter that doesn't look much like her ♪ ♪ Looks more like the father she won't see ♪ ♪ She's mostly on her phone these days ♪ ♪ She's got a couple friends her age ♪ ♪ Some secrets that she'd die to try to keep ♪ ♪ When I'm staying in their guest room ♪ ♪ I can hear her in the next room ♪ ♪ The whispers and the silence and the sighs ♪ ♪ She doesn't eat much breakfast ♪ ♪ A single slice of toast at most ♪ ♪ Watches from the corners of her eyes ♪ ♪ And there's crumbs around the corner of her mouth ♪ ♪ And you can hear the highway from their house ♪ (intriguing mellow guitar music) ♪ The traffic sounds like water in a river rushing south ♪ ♪ We'll never win this war ♪ But maybe we can wait it out ♪ We'll never win this war ♪ But maybe we can wait it out (intriguing soulful guitar music continues) ♪ Her mother is my sister ♪ She's a fighter but she's tired now ♪ ♪ The third shift's such a b***h to decent sleep ♪ ♪ On Sundays, she puts perfume on ♪ ♪ And waltzes with the vacuum on ♪ ♪ Sucks up the destruction of the week ♪ ♪ In the kitchen, there's a radio ♪ ♪ She sings along the ones she knows ♪ ♪ Remembers back when some of these were new ♪ ♪ When the girls all chose a guy ♪ ♪ From the dances at the Y ♪ Felt like that was what you're supposed to do ♪ ♪ Now all those choices seem a little grim ♪ ♪ Violent, wild or disengaged and dim ♪ (intriguing mellow guitar music continues) ♪ The highway goes forever ♪ But your funds will fence you in ♪ ♪ Paying bills and stubbing out generic super slims ♪ ♪ The years they put the yellow ♪ ♪ In her hair and teeth and skin ♪ (intriguing soulful guitar music continues) ♪ And her husband was a contractor ♪ ♪ A hunter and a fly fisher ♪ Never raised a hand, he just withdrew ♪ ♪ So far inside his head that ♪ You'd barely even notice him ♪ A ghost that's usually in the other room ♪ ♪ Eventually, they started sleeping separately ♪ ♪ Eventually, it didn't even hurt ♪ ♪ Last winter, he moved out to his brother's house ♪ ♪ Eventually, he stopped going to work ♪ (intriguing soulful guitar music) ♪ And now she hasn't seen a check in seven months ♪ ♪ And they're living off of credit cards and crumbs ♪ (intriguing soulful guitar music continues) ♪ She's pretty sure her daughter ♪ ♪ Has been meeting up with boys ♪ ♪ We'll never win this war, but maybe we won't get destroyed ♪ ♪ She's wishing that that highway ♪ ♪ Wouldn't make that g******n noise ♪ ♪ She doesn't really trust her daughter's friends ♪ ♪ But she's happy that I'm helping out with rent ♪ ♪ So we stay up late and talk about the way it was before ♪ ♪ We can maybe wait it out ♪ But we'll never win this war ♪ We can maybe wait it out ♪ But we'll never win this war ♪ We can maybe wait it out ♪ But we'll never win this war (audience applauding) (groovy western orchestral music) (bright serene guitar music) ♪ I was born down in the handle ♪ ♪ I was brought up by the strap ♪ ♪ When the Devil starts to show up in your dreams ♪ ♪ Then it's hard to get your dreams back ♪ ♪ And if I've lost my sense of wonder ♪ ♪ You can blame it on the banks ♪ ♪ Well, the scammers and the skimmers ♪ ♪ They swim around together ♪ And every dealer has a fish tank ♪ ♪ The numbers never lie ♪ But they also never tell the whole truth ♪ ♪ Deanna's in the passenger side with the Buffalo blues ♪ ♪ She said the guys that you'll be meeting with ♪ ♪ Won't be easily impressed ♪ And if your whole thing's where you're coming from ♪ ♪ They'll wonder why you left ♪ I used to play first-person shooters ♪ ♪ I'd spend days inside those games ♪ ♪ Well, the speed made my head like a cockpit computer ♪ ♪ 'Til the wings came off the plane ♪ ♪ And I was deep in debt and desperate ♪ ♪ I met some hesher and his henchmen ♪ ♪ Put on my only suit and I walked up to the interview ♪ ♪ I applied for the position ♪ When the whole thing finally happened ♪ ♪ They flew me out to Buffalo, New York ♪ ♪ Well, the terms were much different ♪ ♪ Than what we'd first discussed ♪ ♪ But I was grateful for the work ♪ ♪ Deanna was the girl ♪ That used to ride around and wait in the car ♪ ♪ And the gig was pretty good ♪ They just always need to know where you are ♪ ♪ Well, they gifted me a CR-V, and a decent place to live ♪ ♪ A pistol and a nickname ♪ I'm The Amarillo Kid (bright serene guitar music) (bright serene guitar music continues) ♪ Dispatch and deliver ♪ It's tough to drive in winter weather ♪ ♪ 30 minutes or the next one is free ♪ ♪ Still feels like forever ♪ Deanna now I know that you were only there ♪ ♪ To watch me work ♪ And I didn't see staying on ♪ Just to maintain the way that we were ♪ ♪ Well, the ashtray is the bathtub ♪ ♪ There's a stove-top kitchenette ♪ ♪ The wallpaper is jaundiced ♪ But it's still a step ahead ♪ Didn't think they'd have the wherewithal ♪ ♪ To hunt me down out West ♪ I sold half of it in Wichita ♪ I'm wrapping up the rest ♪ So darling, sit down on the bed ♪ ♪ Maybe have another hit ♪ And listen to the legend ♪ Of The Amarillo Kid ♪ Listen to the legend ♪ Of The Amarillo Kid (concluding serene guitar music) (audience applauding) Thanks so much for being a part of this tonight, it's really, really nice.

Great to be back in Akron.

Thank you, Chad, thank you, everyone, for being here.

(audience continues applauding)