Every time that you make me smile
It's the same old way it used to be
And that's enough for me

Every time that sleep don't come
It's the same old pain that used to be
And that's enough for me

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, mmm, ah, oh
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, mmm, ah, oh

Every night that the sleep don't come
It's the same old pain it used to be
And that's enough for me
And that's enough for me
And that's enough for me

Demo version (a.k.a. "Out on the Road") appears on the Tusk Reissue (2004)

WEBMISTRESS speculates:

I love this song! It sounds so fun! And yet the subject matter isn't exactly bright and sunny. As with so many songs on Tusk, Lindsey is again expressing his impatience and frustration with Stevie, but in a much less openly hostile way here. This song is more wistful than angry. Stevie still "makes him smile" and gives him that same old feeling, but in the night, she's still not there, and the pain comes back as well. He can't take it anymore - it's not worth it. "That's enough for me." It's as simple as that.

 

DW speculates:

This is the only song on Tusk that Lindsey, himself, in interviews, has ever confirmed touches partially upon Stevie. I see the sentiment of this song as being really rather sweet about her. For himself, I think it’s a confused statement on love and about needing to let her go for his own peace of mind.

"Every time that you make me smile/ It's the same old way it used to be/ And that's enough for me." I think he’s saying that there are subtle things that remind him of what he loved when they were together, and even if he only gets a very small dose of them now, he’s ready to accept that. That little bit is enough, since that’s how it has to be now that they’re apart.

"Every time the sleep don’t come/ It’s the same old pain that used to be/ And that’s enough for me." This line in the second and third verses is quite clever in how it communicates two ideas at once. One way to read it is that the pain of not having her still keeps him awake at night, and he’d rather live with that pain so that he still has something of her for himself, than to live without her altogether. The pain is enough, if he can have nothing else. The other way to read the line is to see it as a statement of realization about how much the pain of her leaving does still linger, and knowing he’s got to let it go or he’ll be in pain forever. In this case, the pain is too much and he’s had enough of it. I think he intended the double meaning, because it’s a clever lyrical device that he often uses to reveal his simultaneous strength and vulnerability, without being too explicit about it, and if reflects the complexity of real emotions.