Days like this, they let me know, I can DO IT AGAIN

Songwriting about redemption and renewed hope

Last night I was a featured performer at a monthly showcase called, TOO TUESDAYS. I followed a performer named, Adam Havick. He has some nice tunes and great guitar work. Here is his YouTube channel.

I opened my set with my song, Do It Again. Below is a brief story of the song’s origins, a video from last night, and the lyrics.

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ABOUT THE SONG

Back in 2008, my oldest son was getting ready to embark on his second time hitch-hiking around the US.

I dropped him near a bus station in Phoenix. From his time on the road, he knew certain places gave him the best opportunity to get a ride. On his two stints around the country, he had several adventures.

He visited a few Rainbow Gatherings - hippie-esque events where people congregated in forests and other open spaces to play music, commune, do psychedelics, among other things. He visited national parks: Zion, Yosemite, Grand Tetons, etc.

He also ended up working at a fish processing plant in Dutch Harbor, Alaska. The map below shows where Dutch Harbor is located… it is remote!

People often ask me if I worried about him… Yes.. all the time.

Sometimes, I would get updates from people who had picked him up, let him stay in their homes, and given him some money for the road. The kindness of strangers can be astounding.

He’s also shared some stories about less savory people he ran into. Scary…

Back to the song

Watching some people board the bus I mused that those riding a bus (or hitch-hiking) may have grittier stories than those driving themselves across country. It’s just the nature of things.

I wrote the song quickly, starting with the second verse. I then wrote the first verse and added a bridge to tie things together.

I have added this song back into my set list and by the time I’m in Flagstaff should have it dialed in much better.

Enjoy!!

VIDEO

LYRICS

Do It Again
© 2008 – Matthew Moran
Arrogant Sage Music
...

30 miles outside of Albuquerque
The old man set his pack down to rest his bones
Years of bad luck and bad decisions
Years of no place to call a home

Looks out to the West, into the sunset
Says, “I think it might be time to settle down.”
Then he lights another smoke
Laughs at his old joke and
Stuck his thumb back out into the wind
... singing

It’s a long road to nowhere
It’s a long time when time is all you have

But if you don’t count all the days
Where you seem to lose your way
You can fool yourself and say
I can do it again

A young girl with her baby and her bruises
Nursing both and a shattered heart
Climbs a Greyhound bus to California
Searching for the sun, some warmth, a start

She don’t look back, she knows that he’s still sleeping
The beer and the pills well, they saw to that
Then she cries for her hope
Those dreams gone up in smoke
But smiles to herself cuz she’s gonna win
... singing

It’s a long road to nowhere
It’s a long time when time is all you have

But if you don’t count all the days
Where you seem to lose your way
You can fool yourself and say
I can do it again


Standing in the ocean
Waves swirl around her feet
She looks back at her little girl
Playing on the beach

And an old man and his guitar
Song comes floating on the wind
She says, “Days like this they let me know… I can do it again.”


I Look out to the West into the sunset
Say, “I think it might be time to settle down.”
Then I light another smoke
Laugh at my old joke and
Stick my thumb back out into the wind


It’s a long road to nowhere
It’s a long time when time is all you have

But if you don’t count all the days
Where you seem to lose your way
You can fool yourself and say
I can do it again

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June is almost upon us and The Flagstaff Folk Festival will be here soon. I plan to post some videos from that trip and do a live stream here on Substack or on YouTube.

Look for it.

Thank you for joining me on this journey.

With Love and Gratitude,
Matthew Moran
May 28, 2025