Buddy Wakefield - Information Man lyrics

[Buddy Wakefield] After over 300,000 miles 12 dozen breakdowns, nervous One too many midnights and a bunch of broken laws later I have come here from out of the rain and into this rest area Caught, 22 miles between you and me watching the Information Man Behind his Information Booth, juggling predictable conversation With folks who look like iceberg lettuce and who believe that somehow The flat lines of small talk will give us life I want them to leave Like a big deal orchestra removing itself from the stringed section So I can fiddle with fate and make music There is a distance the size of bravery It forms like words in the mouth of a baby Reaching out for the point where all things meet On one end of it sits an Information Man Who I imagine holds down his second job as church bartender Behind locked doors, leading to the bell tower we are not allowed see On the other end of this space I am standing like shoe polish on an overstocked shelf Hoping that one day someone will pick me to make things better This is not a showdown or a shootout, we are not facing off But I can feel the rumble between dusk and dawn As if the chance to come clean with myself will be outlawed unless I relax I have heard, that if you pull a bent breath Through the second hole of a harmonica Tuned to the key of Georgia While a train moves by on the tail end of dusk There is a good chance you will finally know what it means to rest I have not yet rested It takes a long time to make love with someone who hates themselves It feels like I've been standing here for exactly that long When at last, the rain outside drops off And takes everyone in the rest area with it Except for me and the Information Man If we were created in God's image, then when God was a child He smushed fire ants with his finger tips and avoided tough questions There are ways around being the go-to person, even for ourselves But tonight we will get the answer, and you know what I'm talking about The Answer Emphasis on E, Answer So I put my best foot forward And take the kind of deep breath that gives me away As someone who deals with anxiety and odd numbers Every other Other every minute In between it, the Info Guy's eyes grab me then shift Back and forth Like mopping floors with the sweat I sweat in battles against myself He's got me locked in and is smiling If you've never been rocked back by the presence of purpose This poem is too soon for you Return to your mediocrity Plug it into an amplifier And rethink yourself Because some of us are on fire for the answer I am ready for rejection and rebirthing balance in my stutter steps When the Info Guy finally pipes up Like C.R. Avery on a piano box And says to me: [Information Man] I can tell you're looking for answers In the same way I can see when Kenny Rogers is out of aces So for a taste of your whiskey I'll give you some advice (Laughs) I'm just f**ing with you You're not allowed to have alcohol here, man It's a rest area Listen If I didn't have so much of this life all wrong I would have gotten it right by now I talk a whole bunch, but I really know only a few things So I'm not saying to follow along verbatim here I'll just tell ya the things I tell myself The things I know And you can see what sticks I know our shoes were stitched from songs about highways The best songs are the ones about Georgia Even though I've never been there it's the only place I still believe in Jesus I know that no matter what it is you believe in You've got to spare yourself the futility of making fun of God Because that guy hasn't even talked Ever I know troubleshooting yourself in the foot And acting as your own universe is a tricky dichotomy to deal with But, yes, you are the center of the universe If you weren't you wouldn't be here So as the middle of space, and everything floating in it It is your job to know that the emptiness is just emptiness That the stars are stars And that the flying rocks hurt So please, stop inviting walls into wide open spaces I know everything is out there It's why they call it everything I know there are times When you will lay your head to rest And have a moment of brilliance That will grow into a perfect order of words But you will fall asleep instead of painting it down on paper When you wake up you will have forgotten the idea completely And miss it like a front tooth But at least you know how to recognize moments of brilliance Because even at your worst you are f**ing incredible It comes honest So return to yourself even if you're already there Because no matter where you go Or how hard you try Or what you do The only person you're ever going get to be And I know it Thank God Is you