Six years ago, a pair of country-music archivists named Stephen Shutts and Robert Reynolds received a cryptic phone call from a woman in suburban Nashville. She had seen their ad in a local newspaper, soliciting memorabilia, and now she had something she wanted them to see: a creased brown notebook full of handwritten song lyrics with dates from the late 1940s. The woman said the journal once belonged to Roy Orbison, but Shutts and Reynolds, who could claim some expertise in these matters, having already managed to acquire a pair of Elvis Presley's underpants, among other relics, for their travelling Honky Tonk Hall of Fame, knew that Orbison didn't start writing songs until a few years later, when Dwight Eisenhower was president. They suspected that someone else had owned the notebook. After three visits to the woman's house, Shutts paid $1,500 to add it, and several other items, to their collection.

At first, Shutts and Reynolds weren't sure whose hand had written "Original Songs" in block letters across the cover of the brown journal, or who had marked its marginal ruled pages with lines like "the days that were happy turned into lonely years." But then they happened upon a coffee-table book called Snapshots from the Lost Highway, which had been published in 2001. It was filled with photos and documents from the life of Hank Williams, one of the finest American songwriters of the 20th century. And there, in full color, was a photograph of the notebook they had just bought. Reynolds says he gasped when he saw it.

When Hank Williams died, in the back seat of his Cadillac early on New Year’s Day in 1953, the 29-year-old country superstar left behind a legend that still towers over Nashville, as well as a tan leather briefcase. That satchel was filled with gold in the form of four spiral-bound notebooks with hand-written, unrecorded lyrics to 66 songs that had yet to be set to music.

Some were just rhyming couplets, while others were complete from verse to chorus. All had been locked away in his publisher’s vault in Nashville for more than 50 years.

On Tuesday, a dozen of those unsung, unknown gems will be released on the CD, “The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams,” featuring the master’s words completed by high-profile collaborators.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/music/lonesome_no_more_QQ2eI0oPDkeJD2qbEI4veK#ixzz1aP1DaeOl

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Velvet sounds you made

Sleeping symphony as I would lie awake

In the crevice of your shoulder soft and warm

That's where I miss your breathing

Black and pink and white

These are colors that remind me of the night

We fell on your steps and wished for all our lives

To be filled with such freedom

Picture perfect place

Painting shadows on the canvas of your face

Graceful rhythms in the frantic love we made

Moving underneath moonlight

Now looking at my mirror

The one you gave to me from the shop across the street

Where everything is rare

Just like your blue eyes

Just like your sad goodbyes

Just like the heartfelt letter that your mother mailed to you

Everything made me cry

So, here they come again

Haunting memories of you, they always win

Begging for a place to come alive again

I swear I will not hurt you again

Velvet sounds you made

Sleeping symphony as I would lie awake

In the crevice of your shoulder soft and warm

That's where I miss your breathing

Love no more, I have got a prayer

I ask forgiveness everywhere

Devil unseen, please stop bothering me

I've got a broken man to repair

Brakes aren't working now

I'm trying to stop this train

Of desperation, loneliness and pain

Nothing's up ahead, the lights are supposed to be there

And you probably think I never cared

I hope to God one day you find some peace

With the memory of me

Now it’s all in your head, and I'm the one at fault

Maybe I never loved you at all

I'd like to say I did, but I just don't know how

My heart could do the damage I allowed

The victim of my youth, the soldier of my dread

And I left all those tears in your bed

I hope to God one day you'll find some peace with the memory me

My potential is improving, my reckless days more calm

I know you won't believe me when I'm singing you this song

Damn, I wanted to please you, I just didn't have the will

I was never looking for someone to keep me still...

Now I see

So, if you pass this way again, if you feel the need

I'd love to hear the words that wait for me

But you don't need my sympathy, you're stronger than I think

I know you'll find your peace with the memory of me

He's a man in the making, afraid like a child

Who clings to all his fear

And I am his safety, the one with the love

Trying to see things clear and block his shadows

What do you want from me

I have been everything that I could be

You're just a man in the making

What do you need from me

After everything I've given you for free

You're just a man in the making

Hey, don't lose your patience

My joy in the morning, my pain in the night

Scattered he defines

And I'd like to help him discover himself

But after all that I've done, only he is qualified

What do you want from me

I have been everything that I could be

You're just a man in the making

What do you need from me

After everything I've given you for free

You're just a man in the making

Don't lose your patience

You wrestle with faith, you wrestle with your needs

You claim that I don't understand

But believe me, I see it deeper than you

Attempting it all too fast, prepare for a crash

What do you want from me?

I have been everything that I could be

You're just a man in the making...

I used to call you mystery

I wanted to play all the parts

Beware the one who calls for me

I'll only break your heart

The beginning's always beautiful

Like every brand new start

But in the end, when there's nothing left of you

I'll only break your heart

I want you with a harsh desire

I crave you in the night

But I'm here to warn you

You're not safe with me

I'll only break your heart

It scares me like my deepest confession

It haunts me like their pain

While everyone's looking for someone to love

I'll only break your heart

I fade like every summer leaf

I drift like the mind of a child

I never was meant to stay in one place

I only broke their hearts

I used to call you mystery

I wanted to play all the parts

Beware the one who calls for me

I'll only break your heart

Did your lover leave you stranded

Did your heart endure the truth

Will you fight to find the healing, or will time heal all your wounds

Do you drown in your desire for a time you used to know

Memories can’t touch you, they are just a picture show

Don’t let go, oh honey, can’t you see

Everything’s a circle in itself

All as it should be

Have you stood inside a nightmare

Did it slap you in the face

Were you left to lose control

Did you ever find a way

Was it somebody that loved you, or a face you've never seen

So final, so quick are the hands of destiny

Don't let go, honey, can't you see

Everything’s a circle in itself

All as it should be

You philosophize each second, then you live as if you're dead

Always aching for the beauty of the visions in your head

Was it something that you wanted, only never had the guts

Now you stand ashamed and regret your giving up

Where would you be if you had tried

If you had given all you could...

To the passion of your life

There is someone out there watching every step you take today

Every struggle, all confusion, endless questions in your head

But He's got you where He wants you

There are reasons we can't see

We all stand where we belong

Every moment meant to be

So don't let go, honey, can't you see

Everything’s a circle in itself

All as it should be

All as it should be

All as it should be

All as it should be

It's a dead end road, and I'm fully aware

You got me there, I got me to you

Baby, I could do better, but I don't care

It's all the same when it's killing you

Please don't leave me, though my heart is black and blue

My love, deceive me

I'll believe you

Take Me Down

It's a naive world who loves the pain

The more it hurts, the more we gain

And I talk to God, but I got no prayers

I don't wanna rise out of this hell

Please don't leave me, though my heart is black and blue

My love, deceive me

I'll believe you, I'll believe you

Take Me Down

I'll please you in the morning light

When you're done, you leave my bed

And I've known all along that this ain't right

I give, I give, I give

You only take

Please don’t leave me...

If I could have used my hands to pick you up and make you stand

Would you still have fallen

If I could have told you true, would you still be with us in bloom

Would you have believed me

Or would you still have fallen

Days go by like broken years, with nothing felt, not even tears

Everything’s a lie

If I could have made you see, if I had tried everything I knew

Just a little harder...would you still have fallen

What’s the use in all these words

Where's the heart that I used to love

I'm sorry I'm too late

Rational thinking come undone

But it's not the man, it's the drug

Everything's a lie

Where have you fallen??

Well, I loved you more than you'll ever know

And I trusted you to never hurt yourself or anyone else

Now we’re the ones dying

Yeah, we’re the ones dying

You're not even here

But we're the ones dying

So, what’s the use in all these words

And where's the heart that I used to love

I'm sorry I'm too late

Rational thinking come undone

But it's not the man, it's the drug

Everything's a lie, everything's a lie

It's all a lie, it’s all a lie

If I could have made you see, if I had tried everything I knew

Just a little harder...would you still have fallen?

I think it's time you look at your own face

Can't you see you’re speaking out of place

There's nothing to keep you down

You're reaching for the sky while you drown

I'm aware that I've been lost, and I've been unkind

But at least I got the courage to admit the crime

So, don't come down on me

I'm still young, I'm trying to believe

Wait, I'll be fine

Just give me a couple years to say my prayers

I'm alive, you should keep that mirror for yourself

You've got problems you never saw

And I'm the bearer of them all

Everybody's waiting for me to fall

You criticize my walk as I watch you crawl

Nothing's ever fair

But I believe in reality everywhere

Wait, I'll be fine

Just give me a couple years to say my prayers

I'm alive, you should keep that mirror for yourself

Everybody's fighting hard

But there's no leader in the dark

Everybody's waiting for a change

Everybody's waiting for...

Everybody's waiting for something better

Everybody's peeking behind that door

If you try too hard you will never find it

Everybody's waiting for something more

There is so much danger in wanting more...

A memory falls down from where it was

With this confession I beg for more

I never mean to, and it's been awhile

Since I found meaning in these desires

I know it's wrong to hurt you like this

I know it's wrong to lie like a kid

Fire and blankets, a cheap parade

Of guilty pleasures, I take the stage

But nothing feels good if it ain't true

It's like trying to cry for someone you never knew

I know it's wrong to hurt you like this

I know it's wrong to lie like a kid

I love you with more tears than any pain could ever bring me

I fight it most everyday

I hurt you with more truth than your own eyes could ever teach you

I'm tired of living this way, when I know it's wrong

I never told you, you just kinda knew

By the way I'm not when I'm with you

You never take me like you used to

And nothing heals the scars of all the ones we never knew

I love you with more tears than any pain could ever bring me

I fight it most everyday

I hurt you with more truth than your own eyes could ever teach you

I'm tired of living this way, when I know it's wrong

I know it's wrong to hurt you again

I know it's wrong to lie like a kid

I wish I were a little girl in this lie

No one could resist my little girl smile

I wish I were a baby in this love

I'd be cradled in your arms day and night

I wish I were an old man, a scholar

With the wisdom of a 1,000 men before me

I wish I were a funny dream that haunted

The people I love every time they were down

I wish I was a fine wine

I wish I were a good drug

Hey, and if I were Jesus, maybe I could heal all of us

Just like a good lover, which one do you prefer?

In a world full of vices, I wish I were a little bird

Sometimes

I wish I were the sunset in Verona

I'd make a beautiful picture every time I went to bed

Or maybe more the sunrise waking up to a sad man

And hey, if I were the blue skies, I'd never rain on him

I wish I was a fine wine

I wish I were a good drug

Yeah, and if I were Jesus, maybe I could heal all of us

Just like a good lover, which one do you prefer?

In a world full of vices, I wish I were a little bird

Sometimes

I wish I were an angel in ‘52

In a blue Cadillac on the eve of the New Year

And there I would have saved him, the man who sang the blues

But maybe he is listening right now

Hopefully he's listening right now

We are all a little crazy, we are all a little weak

And we all are very fragile when there's nothing left to speak

When there's no one left to talk to, no more tears are left to cry

Will you stand up for the right thing or continue in denial

 I don't know

Well, you know I'd love to help you, you know I'd love to heal

But without the hands of God, you will never be revealed

So, take off your mask of happiness, take off your mask of fame

We all know that you've got problems just like everybody's name

I don't know why you fold in the arms of reality

Why do you break with every wave in your stormy sea

You know I'd love to think you were doing fine, but I'd be lying

So, don't tell me everything is good, don't walk on bitter ground

I have seen you at your worst, and I still love you when you're down

But I hate to see you live like this, I hate to see you crying

And I hate to see you tangled in her web of sex and lies

Do you have a god you pray to, do you have a god you love

Do you have some twisted fear about the will from up above

Do you wait for him in silence, do you wait for him in vain

Do you think some crazy fool is gonna preach your pain

I don't know why you fold in the arms of reality

Why do you break with every wave in your stormy sea

Why do you cringe at the wake of every godly dream

While I watch you laughing on the brink of insecurity

You know I'd love to say you were doing fine, but I'd be lying

So, why must you walk with burdens much too big for you to bear

When you know it's not your fault

There are saints and sinners everywhere

You don't have to smile, I can read between your lines

I read guilt, and I read mercy, I read glory to the father

I read bitterness and suffering and love for all your children

I read brokenness inside your heart and scars too deep to see

I read pain from a young boy who's father left too early

Who's mother tried to mold him into what she'd love to be…

I don't know why you fold in the arms of reality

Why do you break with every wave in your stormy sea

And why do you cringe at the wake of every godly dream while

I watch you laughin’ on the brink of insecurity

You know we'd love to help, yeah, you know we'd love to heal

But without the hands of God, you will never be revealed

You know we'd all love to say you were doing fine, but we'd be lying