The Stories
The Labor Begins
I was twelve when I picked up my first guitar. I still remember the lady who loaned it to my father so I could learn to play. Her name was Peggy Williams. She showed me two chords and taught me to strum it. I know, I was only twelve, but I was turned on in a way I didn’t know until later was love. A few years after that I moved, and had to give the guitar back to Peggy, but by that time that girl and I knew things about each other I can’t forget. Now, forty years later, the guitar and I have carried each other through the good times and bad in a way that only music can explain. Love of my Life is my attempt to explain that relationship to the world. Here are the lyrics:
Goodtime Charlie
Goodtime Charlie is a hundred stories from one life, my life. It begins with the Sea, Hear, Now Festival in Asbury Park, NJ.
It was September 21, 2021, just after the pandemic. Everyone was required to show proof of immunization and wear a mask to get through the front gate. Saturday night, Pearl Jam went on, and all 50,000 of us sat there singing, “I’m still Alive” in the way that Eddie intended when he wrote it.
We all valued those words in a way most of us had never before. It’s one thing to sing the words and mimic the sounds you hear, but that 50,000 souls knew the meaning of every word. We felt the music.
That was the day that Charlie Rubicon was born.
They let me out of the cage,
But not without a vaccine.
I stood ankle-deep in sand,
With fifty thousand souls, singing —
I'm still alive!
Now,
No matter what you think of me,
It was a day and a night,
When I was seventeen,
I saw my best friend's last breath
Fade right next to me.
Goodtime Charlie, rejoice,
Breathe in all the life.
See every show, burn every night —
'Cause what Charlie knows is… who knows?
Yeah, it's only life.
It's only rock and roll,
But it's all I've ever known.
Raise your glass, raise your voice,
For the friends we can't bring home.
It's only rock and roll,
And I'll play it 'til I go.
Yeah, it's only,
It's only rock and roll.
They let me out the house again,
Nearly dead, it's half past ten.
The Ten Band at the Tally Ho,
I sang it loud though my voice was low.
The release was so damn wide,
That all this broken life
Started to look like
Something worth the fight.
Goodtime Charlie, rejoice,
Breathe in all the life.
See every show, burn every night —
'Cause what Charlie knows is… who knows?
Yeah, it's only life.
It's only rock and roll,
But it's all I've ever known.
Raise your glass, raise your voice,
For the friends we can't bring home.
It's only rock and roll,
And I'll play it 'til I go.
Yeah, it's only,
It's only rock and roll.
I live my life so you'll never have to know,
What it's like to stand in the shadow of your ghost.
My last breath came and went —
Someone, somewhere called it sin.
A bullet, the bayou, a silent price —
I paid it with my soul,
And I'd pay it twice.
It's only rock and roll,
But it's all I've ever known.
Raise your glass, raise your voice,
For the friends we can't bring home.
It's only rock and roll,
And I'll play it 'til I go.
Yeah, it's only,
It's only rock and roll.
It's only rock and roll…
But it's the only thing I know.
Love Of My Life Lyrics
Slap the strap and travel,
Guitar ridin' shotgun seat.
I don't need much to rattle,
Just a song, a band, and a beat.
But the silence gets heavy,
When those eerie hands crawl in my head,
Yeah, they play their little games,
In the dark, where the echoes spread.
Ohhh, the love of my life,
She never wanted a man.
But she don't complain,
When I'm holdin' her tight again.
Six strings burnin' like fire,
I can't break from her demands,
Yeah, the world fades away,
With her strings in my hands.
I've seen the road get mean,
But it sings when the lights go low.
Every chord's gasoline,
Every solo's a thunder roll.
I don't beg for redemption,
I just ride where the sound commands,
She's my church, my confession,
And I'm prayin' with my hands.
Ohhh, the love of my life,
She never wanted a man.
But she don't complain,
When I'm holdin' her tight again.
Six strings burnin' like fire,
I can't break from her demands,
Yeah, the world fades away,
With her strings in my hands.
Every note a heartbeat,
Every bend a scream,
She's my midnight salvation,
My electric dream.
I'll follow that hum,
Wherever it lands,
'Cause I'm lost,
And I'm found,
With her strings in my hands.
Ohhh, the love of my life,
She never wanted a man.
But she don't complain,
When I'm holdin' her tight again.
Six strings burnin' like fire,
I can't break from her demands,
Yeah, the world fades away,
With her strings in my hands.
With her strings in my hands…
Yeah, her strings in my hands.
The feeling I get when I listen to and certainly when I play music is joy, an absolutely essential piece of life and living. Music has always been my anchor, a tie to a feeling or a person, maybe just a place in time. I expect you’ve been there. Couples everywhere talk about, “our song.” When I talk about the song Alive by Pearl Jam it’s nothing to do with when I first heard it. For me, it’s that moment in Asbury Park where all of this came together in my mind. Music can encompass any number of emotions and the meaning can be as varied as the number of people who listen to it.
Everyone puts everything through their own ears. You may hear anger while another person hears social justice, and you’re both right. Music isn’t something to fight over. It’s something to experience together. For me, my purpose is to create and spread joy. Wherever you find joy, I want to experience that with you, and that’s what this song is about. Here’s the lyrics to the song, The Joy:
The Joy
When I need an anchor,
To mark a place in time,
To tie me to an old heart,
After she's said goodbye,
There's still a sacred space
Locked safe inside my mind
Yea, safe inside my mind…
The music starts to play,
And I may start to cry,
But music is the key,
the Anchor without time…
She's there, she's waitin',
And now we're gonna fly.
Music is the storm at night,
Yeah, when I need a light,
To find a way through memory,
A way that makes things right.
Oh the thunder and the train,
That concert in the rain.
The joy that we retain
From Asbury Park to Red Rocks
From Memphis to LA
In Richmond, yeah in Washington
We're waiting just to play.
Music is the thunder,
The lightning in the storm,
A heartbeat and compassion,
The sound that keeps us warm.
She's fire in the silence,
The truth behind the lie,
She breaks me and remakes me,
Oh, she's teaching me to fly.
Yea I fly
I fly
I roar
What for
To rejoice
Relive
To take
And to give
Music is the storm at night,
Yeah, when I need a light,
To find a way through memory,
A way that makes things right.
Oh the thunder and the train,
That concert in the rain.
The joy that we retain
From Asbury Park to Red Rocks
From Memphis to LA
In Richmond, yeah in Washington
We're waiting just to play.
River runnin' wild, emotions flying by,
An anchor to tomorrow, beneath an open sky.
The road, I'm holdin'
Hope at bay,
To find the stage
So I can play.
Yeah, play it loud and make it right.
So you can feel
Yeah, feel alright.
Music is the darkness,
Music is the light,
Our voice through all the madness,
The way to make things right.
Play on — roll on,
Keep ridin' through the rain,
That song goes on forever,
Yeah, The Joy we still retain.
The Love,
The Joy,
The sadness
Disgust, anger,
Fear
Forgiveness
Forgiveness
Take a step
Let go of sadness
The Joy
The Love
Oh THE LOVE
Bridges are a unique creation in human history. I mean, we draw lines on a map to create artificial separations between people and governments. We have governments to mediate arguments between people. The world is full of ways to separate people from each other. When I decided to define who Charlie Rubicon is, I was coming out of a Frank Turner show. Frank is a brilliant performer, songwriter, and all-around great guy. I’ve seen his show probably twenty times in the last five years. The first thing he says in every show is, “I have two rules. First, don’t be a dickhead. Second, if you know the words, you have to sing along.” I told that story as a short explanation of what I’m doing here.
As Charlie Rubicon was being born, the world was tearing itself apart. This is why I felt like I needed rules and a well defined purpose. That’s why I started by laying down one rule to rule them all, “first, do no harm.” Sound familiar, during my army days, I spent some time as a medic. You won’t believe how often the oath I took echoes in my ears. So I have a rule, but I needed a purpose. Above, I mentioned Joy, the creation and spread of it, but I needed to go deeper. What are the root causes of Joy? I mean if you can’t make every day Christmas. I knew what I wanted to be, a symbol of hope and love. These are where people find joy. Most of all, I wanted to bring people together. So I defined my purpose through a song and I called it, The Bridge. Here are the lyrics:
The Bridge
Nevermore the lore,
We are the story told.
We are the myth and magic,
Binding young and old.
If there's a moment of peace,
In this sacrifice,
Let it find me living,
Not just payin' the price.
And, oh Lord, let me be hope,
Not just a shadow on the road.
Let me be someone's light,
When the night is cold.
If I fall, let me fall
Where the angels know—
On a bridge above the river,
Oh Lord, let me be hope.
I have traveled many roads,
Sank in the sands of dreams.
Raised my sword from the water,
Torn apart at the seams.
I've trembled, I've fallen,
I've tried not to care.
Thought myself an old man,
Still fighting somewhere.
Oh Lord, let me be hope,
Not just a shadow on the road.
Let me be someone's song,
When the fire grows cold.
If I rise, let me rise
Where the rivers flow—
On the waves of your creation,
Oh Lord, let me be hope.
I've drifted in and out of passion,
Tried on shackles I could wear.
I've cast off slavery's echoes,
But the chains are always there.
Still, I keep on praying,
As the daylight fades and dreams—
"Let me live, Lord…
Let me live my dreams."
Oh Lord, let me be hope,
Not just a shadow on the road.
Let me be someone's light,
When the night is cold.
If I fall, let me fall,
Where the angels know…
On a bridge above the river,
Oh Lord, let me be hope.
