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Put a dead cat on the railroad tracks
When the wolf-banes blooming by the tressel
And get the eyeball of a rooster
And the stones from a ditch
And wash em down with bilge water
And say youll never snitch
Take the buttons from a yellow jacket
The feather from a buzzard
The blood from a bounty hunters cold black heart
Catch the tears of a widow in a thimble made of glass
Tell your mama and your papa they can kiss your ass
Poison all the water in the wishin well
And hang all them scarecrows from a Sycamore tree
Burn down all them honeymoons, put em in a pillow case
Wait next to the switchblades at the amusement park for me
Strangle all the Christmas carols, scratch out all the prayers
Tie em up with barbed wire and push em down the stairs
And Ill whittle you a pistol for keepin nightmares off your blinds
Them sons of bitches always seem to sneak up from behind
Siphon all the gas from your daddys pickup truck
Fill up Johnnys T-bird, I got a couple bucks
Put on a little perfume and wear a ribbon in your hair
Careful that you dont wake up the hounds
Tear a bolt of lightning from the side of the sky
Throw it in the cedar chest, if you want, Ill tell you why
Bring me the gear shift knob from a 49 Merc
Lie down here beside me, let me hold you in the dirt
Youre gonna tremble
Tear the throat out of the night
Sink your teeth into my shoulder
Dig your nails into my back
Tell that little girl to let go of my sleeve
Youll be a woman when I catch you
Come, baby, fall in love with me
With my double-barrel shotgun and a whole box of shells
Well celebrate the Fourth of July
Well do 100 miles an hour spending someone elses dough
Drive all the way to Reno on the wrong side of the road
The wrong side of the road
On the wrong side of the road
The wrong side of the road
Wrong side of the road
Wrong side of the road
Hey baby |
I grew up here, all of my life
I dreamed someday Id go
Where the blue-eyed girls and the red guitars
And the naked rivers flow
Now Im not all I thought Id be
I always stayed around
Ive been as far as Mercy and Grand
Frozen to the ground
I cant stay here and Im scared to leave
So kiss me once and then
Ill go to hell, I might as well
Be whistlin down the wind
Bus is at the corner
The clock on the wall
A broken-down windmill
Aint no wind at all
I yelled and I cursed
If I stay here, Ill rust
Im stuck like a shipwreck
Out here in the dust
The sky is red and the world is on fire
And the corn is taller than me
And the dog is tied to a wagon of rain
And the road is wet as the sea
But sometimes the music from a dance
Will carry across the plains
And the places that Im dreaming of
Do they dream only of me?
There are places where they never sleep
And the circus never ends
So I will take the Marley Bone Coach
And be whistlin down the wind
So I will take the Marley Bone Coach
And be whistlin down the wind |
Well, its hotter than blazes and all the long faces
Therell be no oasis for a dry local grazier
Therell be no refreshment for a thirsty jackaroo
From Melbourne to Adelaide on the overlander
With newfangled buffet cars and faster locomotives
The train stopped in Serviceton less and less often
Theres nothing sadder than a town with no cheer
Vic Rail decided the canteen was no longer necessary there
No spirits, no bilgewater and eighty dry locals
And the high noon sun beats a hundred-and-four
Theres a hummingbird trapped in a closed-down shoe store
This tiny Victorian rhubarb
Kept the watering hole open for sixty-five years
Now its boilin in a miserable March 21st
Wrapped the hills in a blanket of Patersons curse
The train smokes down the xylophone
Therell be no stopping here
All you can be is thirsty in a town with no cheer
No Bourbon, no Branchwater
Though the townspeople here
Fought her Vic Rail decree tooth and nail
Now its boilin in a miserable March 21st
Wrapped the hills in a blanket of Patersons curse
The train smokes down the xylophone
Therell be no stopping here
All you can be is thirsty in a town with no cheer |
Well, an inebriated good evening to you all. Welcome to Rapheals Silver Cloud Lounge. Slip me a little crimson, Jimson. Give me the low down, Brown. Whats the scoop, Betty Boop? Im on my way into town
Course Id rather... want to thank Dewana for opening the program for us. Im so God damn horny the crack of dawn better be careful around me
Yeah, I wanna pull on your coat about something here tonight. Yeah, a little news Id like to throw your direction. See I...I used to know a girl, yeah and it was a hubba hubba and ding dang ding. I said Baby, you got everything. A week later, it was a hubba hubba and ding ding dong, baby, it sure didnt last too long
I know things are tough all over, aint getting any better. I was moved, to kind of swivel a little bit of a kind of an emotional weather forecast for you this evening. What Im talking about is... well, you know Ive been playing night clubs and staying out all night long, come a home late, gone for three months, come back and everything in the refrigerator turns into a science project
So you get designs on a waitress, you know. She got three or four kids. Shes sorting out her cheques and shes counting out her change. You say, Hey baby, heat me up a bear claw on the radar range. Well and then it gets real cold |
Well, Im sitting on a windowsill, blowing my horn
Nobodys up except the moon and me
And a lazy old tomcat on a midnight spree
And all that you left me was a melody
Rosie, why do you evade me?
Rosie, how can I persuade thee?
Rosie
And the moons all up, full and big
Apricot tips in an indigo sky
And Ive been loving you, Rosa, since the day I was born
And Ill love you, Rosie, til the day I die
Rosie, why do you evade me?
Rosie, how can I persuade thee?
Rosie
Rosie, why do you evade me?
Rosie, how can I persuade thee?
Rosie
And Im sitting on a windowsill, blowing my horn
Nobodys up except the moon and me
And a lazy old tomcat on a midnight spree
All that you left me was a melody
Rosie, why do you evade me?
Rosie, how can I persuade thee?
Rosie |
Sing a song of sixpence, pocket full of rye
Hush-a-bye, my baby, no need to be crying
You can burn the midnight oil with me as long as you will
Stare out at the moon upon the windowsill
And dream
Sing a song of sixpence, a pocket full of rye
Hush-a-bye, my baby, no need to be crying
Theres dew drops on the windowsill, gumdrops in your head
Youre slipping into dreamland, youre nodding your head
So dream
Dream of West Virginia or of the British Isles
Cause when you are dreaming, you see for miles and miles
When you are much older, remember when we sat
At midnight on the windowsill and had this little chat
And dream
Come on and dream
Come on and dream
And dream
And dream
Come on and dream |
Rusted brandy in a diamond glass
Everything is made from dreams
Time is made from honey slow and sweet
Only the fools know what it means
Temptation, temptation, temptation
Oh, I cant resist
Well I know that he is made of smoke
But Ive lost my way
He knows that I am broke
But that I must play
Temptation, temptation, temptation
I can resist
Dutch pink and Italian blue
He is there waiting for you
My will has disappeared
Now my confusions oh so clear
Temptation, temptation, temptation
I cant resist |
Theres a house on my block thats abandoned and cold
The folks moved out of it a long time ago
And they took all their things and they never came back
It looks like its haunted with the windows all cracked
Everyone calls it the house, the house where nobody lives
Once it held laughter
Once it held dreams
Did they throw it away?
Did they know what it means?
Did someones heart break?
Or did someone do somebody wrong?
Well the paint was all cracked, it was peeled off of the wood
The papers were stacked on the porch where I stood
And the weeds had grown up just as high as the door
There were birds in the chimney and an old chest of drawers
Looks like no one will ever come back to the house where nobody lives
Once it held laughter
Once it held dreams
Did they throw it away?
Did they know what it means?
Did someones heart break?
Or did someone do somebody wrong?
So if you find someone, someone to have, someone to hold
Dont trade it for silver, oh dont trade it for gold
Cause I have all of lifes treasures and theyre fine and theyre good
They remind me that houses are just made of wood
What makes a house grand aint the roof or the doors
If theres love in a house, its a palace for sure
Without love, it aint nothin but a house
A house where nobody lives
Without love it aint nothin but a house
A house where nobody lives |
He had three whole dollars, a worn-out car
And a wife who was leaving for good
Lifes made of trouble, worry, pain, and struggle
She wrote goodbye in the dust on the hood
They found a map of Missouri, lipstick on the glass
They mustve left in the middle of the night
And I want to know the same thing
Everyone wants to know
Hows it going to end?
Behind a smoke-colored curtain, the girl disappeared
They found out that the ring was a fake
A tree born crooked will never grow straight
She sunk like a hammer into the lake
A long lost letter and an old leaky boat
Promises are never meant to keep
And I want to know the same thing
I want to know
Hows it going to end?
The barn leaned over, the vultures dried their wings
The moon climbed up an empty sky
The sun sank down behind the tree on the hill
Theres a killer and hes coming through the rye
But maybe hes the father of that lost little girl
Its hard to tell in this light
And I want to know the same thing
Everyone wants to know
Hows it going to end?
Drag your wagon and your plow over the bones of the dead
Out among the roses and the weeds
You can never go back and the answer is no
And wishing for it only makes it bleed
Joel Tornabene was broken on the wheel
Shane and Bum Mahoney on the lam
The grain was as gold as Sheilas hair
All the way from Liverpool with all we could steal
He was robbed of twenty dollars, his body found stripped
Cast into the harbor there and drowned
And I want to know the same thing
We all want to know
Hows it going to end?
The sirens are snaking their way up the hill
Its last call somewhere in the world
The reptiles blend in with the color of the street
Life is sweet at the edge of a razor
And down in the first row of on old picture show
The old man is asleep as the credits start to roll
And I want to know the same thing
We all want to know
Hows it going to end?
I want to know the same thing
We all want to know
Hows it going to end?
And then I just want to know the same thing
I want to know
Hows it going to end? |
Now youre gone
And its hotels and whiskey and sad luck dames
And I dont care if they miss me
I never remember their names
They say if you get far enough away
Youll be on your way back home
Well Im at the station
And I cant get on the train
It must be blind love
The only kind of love is stone blind love
Blind love
The only kind of love is stone blind love
With your blind love
With your blind love
Stone blind love
Its your stone blind love
Now the streets are turning blue
And the dogs are barking
And the night has come
And theres tears that are falling
From your blue eyes now
I wonder where you are
And I whisper your name
The only way to find you
Is if I close my eyes
Ill find you with my blind love
The only kind of love is stone blind love
Only kind of love is stone blind love
The only kind of love is stone blind love
With your blind love
Oh your blind love
Your stone blind love
Its your blind love
Only kind of love is stone blind love
Stone blind love
Only kind of love is stone blind love
Its your blind love
Only kind of love is stone blind love
Stone blind love
Stone blind love |
I was always—er—kinda wanted to like consider myself kind of a... pioneer of the palate
A restaurateur, if you will
Ive wined, dined, sipped and supped in some of the most demonstrably beamer epitomable bistros in the Los Angeles metropolitan region
Yeah, Ive had strange-looking patty melts at Norms
Ive had dangerous veal cutlets at the Copper Penny
Well what you get is a breaded Salisbury steak in a Shake n Bake
And topped with a provocative sauce of Velveeta and uh, half and half
Smothered with Campbells tomato soup, huhuhuhuh...
See I have kinda of a, well I order my veal cutlet
Christ, it left the plate and it walked down to the end of the counter and it—I just
Waitress named Irene, boy shes wearing those rhinestone glasses with the little pearl thing clipped on the sweater and...
My veal cutlet come down, tried to beat the shit out of my cup of coffee but...
Coffee just wasnt strong enough to defend itself, uhuhuhuh... |
Rusted brandy in a diamond glass
Everything is made from dreams
Time is made from honey slow and sweet
Only the fools know what it means
Temptation
Temptation
Temptation
I cant resist
I just know that shes made of smoke
But Ive lost my way, yeah
She knows that I am broke
But I must play, yeah
Temptation
Temptation
Temptation
I cant resist
Temptation
Temptation
Temptation
I just cant resist
Dutch pink and Italian blue
She is there waiting for you
My will has disappeared
My confusion is oh so clear
Temptation
Temptation
Temptation
I cant resist
Temptation
Temptation
Temptation
I just cant resist
Rusted brandy in a diamond glass
Everything is made from dreams
Time is made from honey slow and sweet
Only the fools know what it means
Temptation
Temptation
Temptation
Temptation
Temptation
Temptation |
I got your letter today and I miss you all so much here
I cant wait to see you all and Im counting the days, dear
I still believe that theres gold at the end of the world
And Ill come home to Illinois on the day after tomorrow
It is so hard and its cold here and Im tired of taking orders
And I miss old Rockford town up by the Wisconsin border
What I miss, you wont believe - shoveling snow and raking leaves
And my plane will touch down on the day after tomorrow
I close my eyes every night and I dream that I can hold you
They fill us full of lies, everyone buys about what it means to be a soldier
I still dont know how Im supposed to feel
About all the blood thats been spilled with God on his throne
Get me back home on the day after tomorrow
You cant deny, the other side dont want to die anymore than we do
What Im trying to say is, dont they pray to the same God that we do?
Tell me how does God choose whose prayers does he refuse?
Who turns the wheel? Who rolls the dice on the day after tomorrow?
I am not fighting for justice, I am not fighting for freedom
I am fighting for my life and another day in the world here
I just do what Ive been told, were just the gravel on the road
And only the lucky ones come home on the day after tomorrow
And the summer, it too will fade and with it brings the winters frost, dear
And I know we too are made of all the things that we have
Lost here, Ill be twenty-one today, I been saving all my pay
And my plane will touch down on the day after tomorrow |
And if I have to go
Will you remember me
Will you find someone else
While Im away
Theres nothing for me in this world full of strangers
Its all someone elses idea
I dont belong here and you cant go with me
Youll only slow me down
Until I send for you
Dont wear your hair that way
If you cannot be true
Ill understand
Tell all the others youll hold in your arms
I said Id come back for you
Ill leave my jacket to keep you warm
Thats all that I can do
And if I have to go
Will you remember me
Or will you find someone else
While Im away |
All night long on the broken glass
Livin in a medicine chest
Mediteromanian hotel back
Sprawled across a roll top desk
The monkey rode the blade on an overhead fan
They paint the donkey blue if you pay
I got a telephone call from Istanbul
My babys comin home today
Will you sell me one of those if I shave my head?
Get me out of town, is what Fireball said
Never trust a man in a blue trench coat
Never drive a car when youre dead
Saturdays a festival, Fridays a gem
Dye your hair yellow and raise your hem
Follow me to Beulahs on Dry Creek Road
I got to wear the hat that my baby done sewed, whoo!
Will you sell me one of those if I shave my head?
Get me out of town, is what Fireball said
Never trust a man in a blue trench coat
Never drive a car when youre dead
Saturdays a festival, Fridays a gem
Dye your hair yellow and raise your hem
Follow me to Beulah on Dry Creek Road
I got to wear the hat that my baby done sewed
Well, take me down to buy a tux on Red Rose Bear
I got to cut a hole in the day
I got a telephone call from Istanbul
My babys comin home today
Sell me one of those if I shave my head
Get me out of town, is what Fireball said
Never trust a man in a blue trench coat
Never drive a car when youre dead
Saturdays a festival, Fridays a gem
Dye your hair yellow and raise your hem
Follow me to Beulahs on Dry Creek Road
I got to wear the hat that my baby done sewed, whoo! |
Why be sweet? Why be careful? Why be kind?
A man has only one thing on his mind
Why ask politely? Why go lightly? Why say please?
They only want to get you on your knees
Theres a few things I never could believe
A woman when she weeps
A merchant when he swears
A thief who says hell pay
A lawyer when he cares
A snake when he is sleeping
A drunkard when he prays
I dont believe you go to heaven when youre good
And everything goes to hell anyway
Laissez-faire, mi amour, cest la vie
Shall I return to shore or swim back out to sea?
The world dont care what a sailor does in the town
Its hanging in the windows by the pound
I dont believe you go to heaven when youre good
And everything goes to hell anyway
I only want to hear your purr and to hear you moan
You have another man who brings the money home
I dont want dishes in the sink
Dont ask me what I feel or what I think
Theres a few things I never could believe
A woman when she weeps
A merchant when he swears
A thief who says hell pay
A lawyer when he cares
A snake when he is sleeping
A drunkard when he prays
I dont believe you go to heaven when youre good
Everything goes to hell anyway
Everything goes to hell anyway
Everything goes to hell anyway |
Well, Im walking on down Virginia Avenue
Trying to find somebody to tell my troubles to
Harolds Club is closing
And everybodys going on home:
Whats a poor boy to do?
Ill just get on back into my short
Make it back to the fort
Sleep off all the crazy lizards inside of my brain
Theres got to be some place
Thats better than this
This life Im leadings driving me insane
And let me tell you Im dreaming
Let me tell you that
Im dreaming to the twilight
This town has got me down
Ive seen all the highlights
Ive been walking all around
I wont make a fuss, Ill take a Greyhound bus
Carry me away from...
Tell me, what have I got to lose?
Cause Im walking on down Columbus Avenue
The bars are all closing
Cause its quarter to two
Every town I go to is like a lock without a key
Those I leave behind are catching up on me
Let me tell you theyre catching up on me
Theyre catching up on me
Catching up on me, catching up on me
Catching up on me |
Well the Ice Mans mule is parked outside the bar
Where a man with missing fingers plays a strange guitar
And the German dwarf dances with the butchers son
And tonight a little rain never hurt no one
Theyre dancing on the roof and the ceilings coming down
And I sleep with my shovel and my leather gloves
And a little trouble makes it worth the going
And a little rain never hurt no one
Oh, the world is round and Ill go around
You must risk something that matters
My hands are strong, Ill take any man here
If its worth the going, its worth the ride
She was 15 years old and shed never seen the ocean
She climbed into a van with a vagabond
And the last thing she said was I love you Mom
And a little rain never hurt no one
And a little rain never hurt no one |
Well I got a bad liver and a broken heart
Yea I drunk me a river since you tore me apart
And I dont have a drinking problem
Cept when I cant get a drink
And I wish youd a known her
We were quite a pair
She was sharp as a razor
And soft as a prayer
So welcome to the continuing saga
She was my better half
And I was just a dog
And so here am I slumped
I been chippied and I been chumped
On my stool
So buy this fool, some spirits and libations
Its these railroad station bars
With all these conductors and the porters
And Im all out of quarters
And this epitaph is the aftermath
Yea I choose my path
Hey come on Cath, hes a lawyer
He aint the one for ya
And no the moon aint romantic
Its intimidating as hell
And some guys tryin to sell
Me a watch
And so Ill meet you at the
Bottom of a bottle of
Bargain scotch
I got me a bottle and a dream
Its so maudlin it seems
You can name your poison
Go on ahead and make some noise
I aint sentimental
This aint a purchase its a rental
And its purgatory, hey
Whats your story, well
I dont even care
Cause I got my own double-cross to bear
And Ill see your Red Label
And Ill raise you one more
And you can pour me a cab
I just cant drink no more
Cause it dont douse the flames
That are started by dames
It aint like asbestos
It dont do nothing but
Rest us assured
And substantiate the rumors
That youve heard |
Take an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth
Just like they say in the Bible
Never leave a trace or forget a face
Of any man at the table
Any man at the table
When the moon is a cold chiseled dagger
And its sharp enough to draw blood from a stone
He rides through your dreams on a coach and horses
And the fence posts in the moonlight look like bones
Well theyve stopped trying to hold him
With mortar, stone and chain
He broke out of every prison
Boots mount the staircase
The door is flung back open
Hes not there, for he has risen
Hes not there, for he has risen
Some say he once killed a man with a guitar string
Hes been seen at the table with kings
Well, he once saved a baby from drowning
There are those that say beneath his coat, there are wings
Some say they fear him
Some say they fear
Others admire him
Because he steals his promise
One look in his eye
Everyone denies
Ever having met him
Ever having met him
He can turn himself into a stranger
Well they broke a lot of canes on his hide
He was born away in a cornfield
A fever beats in his head just like a drum inside
Some say they fear him
Others admire him
Because he steals his promise
One look in his eye
Everyone denies
Ever having met him
Ever having met him |
Lonely, lonely, lonely
Lonely eyes, lonely face
Lonely, lonely in your place
Lonely, lonely
Lonely eyes, lonely face
Lonely, lonely in your place
I thought that I knew all that there was to
Lonely, lonely, lonely
Melanie Jane, wont feel the pain
Lonely, lonely
Lonely eyes, lonely face
Lonely, lonely in your place
And I thought that I knew all that there was to
Lonely, lonely
Lonely eyes, lonely face
Lonely, lonely in your place
And I still love you
I still love you
Lonely, lonely |
Little trip to heaven on the wings of your love
Banana moon is shining in the sky
Feel like Im in heaven when youre with me
Know that Im in heaven when you smile
Though were stuck here on the ground
I got something that Ive found and its you
I dont have to take no trip to outer space
All I have to do is look at your face
And before I know it, Im in orbit around you
Thanking my lucky stars that Ive found you
When I see your constellation
Honey, youre my inspiration and its you
Youre my North Star when Im lost and feeling blue
The sun is breaking through the clouds
Dont you dont you know its true?
Honey, all the other stars seem dim around you
Thanking my lucky stars that Ive found you
When I see your smiling face
Honey, I know nothing ever gonna take your place and its you
And its you, and its you
And its you, and its you
And its you
And its you
And its you
Shoo-be-doo, ba-ba-da |
She took all my money and my best friend
You know the story, here it comes again
I have no pride, I have no shame
You gotta make it rain
Make it rain
Since youre gone, deep inside it hurts
Im just another sad guest on this dark Earth
I want to believe in the mercy of the world again
Make it rain
Make it rain
Nights too quiet, stretched out alone
I need the whip of thunder and the winds dark moan
Im not Able, Im just Cain
Open up the heavens
Make it rain
Im close to heaven, crushed at the gate
They sharpen their knives on my mistakes
What she done, you cant give it a name
You gotta just make it rain
Make it rain, yeah
Without her love, without your kiss
Hell cant burn me more than this
Im burning with all this pain
Put out the fire
Make it rain
Im born to trouble, born to fate
Inside a promise I cant escape
Its the same old world, but nothing looks the same
Make it rain
Make it rain
Gotta make it rain
Make it rain
Youve got to make it rain
Got to make it rain
Youve got to
I stand alone here
Ill stand alone here
Singing Make It Rain
Make it rain
Make it rain |
Did you hear the news about Edward?
On the back of his head, he had another face
Was it a womans face or a young girl?
They said to remove it would kill him
So poor Edward was doomed
The Face could laugh and cry
It was his devil twin
And at night she spoke to him
Of things heard only in Hell
They were impossible to separate
Chained together for life
Finally the bell tolled his doom
He took a suite of rooms
And hung himself and her by the balcony irons
Some still believe he was freed from her
But I knew her too well
I say she drove him to suicide
And took Poor Edward to Hell |
The bats are in the belfry
The dew is on the moor
Where are the arms that held me
And pledged her love before
And pledged her love before
Its such a sad old feeling
The fields are soft and green
Its memories that Im stealing
But youre innocent when you dream
When you dream
Youre innocent when you dream
I made a golden promise
That we would never part
I gave my love a locket
And then I broke her heart
And then I broke her heart
Its such a sad old feeling
The fields are soft and green
Its memories that Im stealing
But youre innocent when you dream
When you dream
Youre innocent when you dream
Running through the graveyard
We laughed my friends and I
We swore wed be together
Until the day we died
Until the day we died
Its such a sad old feeling
The fields are soft and green
Its memories that Im stealing
But youre innocent when you dream
When you dream
Youre innocent when you dream |
Well time is always money
For the boys at Union Square
Go on and bust your ass till doomsday
Dont forget to say your prayers
Someones riding down the backstreet
Said papa got a brand new slack
And your baby is handcuffed on the front seat
Sit right there, boy and you relax
Cmon honey, were all going down, down, down, downtown
Down downtown
Were going down downtown
Were going down downtown
Well, you spill out of the Cinema Fourteen
To that drag bar there on the block
Whizzin on down in front of the East Coast
Bank rolled up on your sock
She stand right there for your pleasure
Half Puerto Rican Chinese
You got to find your baby somebody to measure
Im going to get me some of these, baby
Cmon honey, do you hear what Im doing now?
Down, down, down, down, down, down downtown
Down downtown
Im going down downtown
Bout four in the morning on a Sunday
Sacco drinking whiskey in church
Half pint of Festival brandy
That boy bout to fall right off his perch
Well, that guy in the sweaters off duty
Well, hes out in front of that welfare hotel
The guy in the dress is a beauty
Go all the way, I swear you never can tell
Cmon honey and pull up your socks
Down, down, down
Im going down, down, down, downtown
Down downtown
Down, down, down
Down, down, down
Cmon down downtown
Going down downtown
Im going down downtown |
Theres a place for us
Somewhere a place for us
Peace and quiet and open air
Wait for us somewhere
Theres a time for us
Someday a time for us
Time together a time to spare
Time to learn and time to care
Someday somewhere
Well find a new way of living
Well find a way of forgiving
Somewhere
Theres a place for us
A time and a place for us
Hold my hand and were halfway there
Hold my hand and Ill take you there
Somehow someday somewhere |
One, two, three
Ooohhh, aaahhh...
Well, he wasnt looking for fanfare or fame
But it all came around just the same
He then met a girl with desire in her eye
He gave her love, she took his name
The times they were good, the times they were bad
Most times it was just in between
The hard pill he swallowed was the times that they had
She put on display for all to be seen
Some find their solace in work or the lord
She was quite content in her dream
When his eyes they burned from the bright lime light
He found comfort in the bottle of old Jimmy Beam
One day from the depths of his deep darkened hole
He reached out for something to feel
She offered back nothing but lack of respect
So he let himself out with two barrels of steel
She cried in the day, she cried in the night
She cried loudest when someone was near
Whether crying for him or she cried for herself
The bigger the camera, the bigger the tear
Most folks agree that she was living a hell
And publicly she showed her pain
And never once was there a thought for herself
And the ever-growing slices of fortune and fame
Now on the coattails of a dead man shell ride
On the coattails of a dead man shell ride
On the coattails of a dead man shell ride, shell ride
On the coattails of a dead man shell ride, shell ride high
On the coattails of a dead man shell ride
On the coattails of a dead man shell ride
On the coattails of a dead man shell ride, shell ride
On the coattails of a dead man shell ride, shell ride high
On the coattails of a dead man shell ride
On the coattails of a dead man shell ride
On the coattails of a dead man shell ride, shell ride
On the coattails of a dead man shell ride, shell ride high
On the coattails of a dead man shell ride
On the coattails of a dead man shell ride
On the coattails of a dead man shell ride, shell ride
On the coattails of a dead man shell ride, shell ride high
On the coattails of a dead man shell ride
On the coattails of a dead man shell ride
On the coattails of a dead man shell ride, shell ride
On the coattails of a dead man shell ride, shell ride high |
The evening fell just like a star
Left a trail behind
You spit as you slammed out the door
If this is love, were crazy
As we fight like cats and dogs
I just know theres got to be more
So please call me, baby, wherever you are
Its too cold to be out walking in the streets
We do crazy things when were wounded
Everyones a bit insane
I dont want you catching your death of cold
Out walking in the rain
I admit that I aint no angel
I admit that I aint no saint
Im selfish and Im cruel, but youre blind
If I exorcise my devils
Well my angels may leave too
When they leave, theyre so hard to find
Please call me, baby, wherever you are
Its too cold to be out walking in the streets
We do crazy things when were wounded
Everyones a bit insane
I dont want you catching your death of cold
Out walking in the rain
Were always at each others throats
You know, it drives me up the wall
Most of the time Im just blowing off steam
And I wish to God youd leave me
Baby, I wish to God youd stay
Lifes so different than it is in your dreams
Please call me, baby
Wherever you are
Its too cold to be out walking in the streets
We do crazy things when were wounded
Everyones a bit insane
I dont want you catching your death of cold
Out walking in the rain |
Nighthawks at the diner of Emmas Forty-Niner
Theres a rendezvous of strangers around the coffee urn tonight
All the gypsy hacks and the insomniacs
Now the papers been read, now the waitress said
Eggs and sausage and a side of toast
Coffee and a roll, hash browns over easy
Chili in a bowl with burgers and fries
What kind of pie? Yeah
Its a graveyard charade, its a late shift masquerade
And its two for a quarter, dime for a dance
Woolworths rhinestone diamond earrings and a sideways glance
Now the register rings, now the waitress sings
Eggs and sausage and a side of toast
Coffee and a roll, hash browns over easy
Chili in a bowl with burgers and fries
What kind of pie? Yeah
Now well, the classified section offers no direction
Its a cold caffeine in a nicotine cloud
Now the touch of your fingers lingers burning in my memory
Ive been eighty-sixed from your scheme
Now Im in a melodramatic nocturnal scene
Now Im a refugee from a disconcerted affair
Now the lead pipe morning falls, now the waitress calls
Eggs and sausage, another side of toast
Coffee and a roll, hash browns over easy
Chili in a bowl with burgers and fries
Now what kind of pie?
À la mode if you will
Just come in and join the crowd
Had some time to kill, yeah
You see, I just come in to join the crowd
Had some time to kill
Just come in to join the crowd
Cause I had some time to kill |
She lives in a house thats way back off the road
Theres a man with a lantern and he carries her soul
A coal stove and a bed, a skillet and a hound
She drove a camel through a needle in this sinking boardwalk town
Shes my black market baby
Shes my black market baby
Shes a diamond that wants to stay coal
Wants to stay coal
I swang out wide with her on hells iron gate
Anything that you wanted, you could have
My eyes say their prayers to her, sailors ring her bell
The way a moth mistakes a light bulb for the moon and goes to hell
Shes my black market baby
Shes my black market baby
Shes a diamond that wants to stay coal
Wants to stay coal
Theres no prayer like desire, theres amnesia in her kiss
Shes a swan and a pistol and she will follow you like this
In Moberly, Missouri at the Iroquois Hotel
She checked in with the President and she ran up quite a bill
Shes my black market baby
Shes my black market baby
Shes a diamond that wants to stay coal
Wants to stay coal
Shes whiskey in a teacup, she gives blondes a lousy name
Shes a bonsai Aphrodite and a ticket back to Spain
Shes a hard way to go, there aint no way to stop
Every time you play the red, the black is coming up
Shes my black market baby
Shes my black market baby
Shes a diamond that wants to stay coal
Wants to stay coal
Wants to stay coal |
Will you take me across the channel
London Bridge is falling down
Strange a woman tries to save
More than a man will try to drown
And its the rain that they predicted
Its the forecast every time
The rose has died because you picked it
I believe that brandys mine
And all over the world
Strangers talk only about the weather
All over the world
Its the same
Its the same
And the world is getting flatter
And the sky is falling all around
Oh and nothing is the matter
For Ill never cry in town
And a love like ours my dear
Is best measured when its down
And I never buy umbrellas
Cause theres always one around
And all over the world
Strangers talk only about the weather
All over the world
Its the same
Its the same
And you know that its the beginning
And you know that its the end
Once again we are strangers
As the fog goes rolling in
And all over the world
Strangers talk only about the weather
All over the world
Its the same
Its the same
Its the same |
I got a belly full of you and that Leavenworth stuff
Now Im gonna get out and Im gonna get tough
Youve been lying to me, how could you crawl so low?
With some gin-soaked boy that you dont know
I come home last night full a fifth of Old Crow
You said you goin to your Mas, but where the hell did you go?
You went and slipped out nights, you didnt think that Id know
With some gin-soaked boy that you dont know
Well I would bet you as far as Oklahoma by now
The dogs are barking out back and youre knittin your brow
Well, Im on your tail, I sussed your M.O
From some gin-soaked boy that you dont know |
For all the bachelors out there tonight
Yeah for anybody whos ever whistled this song
Maybe you whistled it, but you lost the sheet music
Um...this is um...actually I dont mind going to weddings or anything
As long as its not my own, I show up
But Ive always kinda been partial to calling myself up on the phone and asking myself out, you know?
Oh yeah, you call yourself up too huh?
Yeah, well one thing about it, youre always around
Yeah I know, yeah you ask yourself out, you know
Some class joint somewhere
The Burrito King or something, you know
Well I aint cheap, you know
Take yourself out for a couple of drinks maybe
Then thered be some provocative conversation on the way home
And park in front of the house, you know
Oh yeah, you smoothly put a little nice music on
Maybe you put on like uh, you know, like shopping music
Something thats not too interruptive, you know
And then uh slide over real nice and say
Oh I think you have something in your eye
Well maybe its not that romantic with you, but Christ
I dont know, you know I get into it, you know
Take myself up to the porch, take myself inside or maybe uh
Or may get a little something in a brandy snifter or something
Would like you like to listen to some of my back records?
I got something here
Well usually about 2.30 in the morning youve ended up taking advantage of yourself
There aint no way around that, you know
Yeah, making a scene with a magazine, there aint no way around
Ill confess you know, Im no different, you know
Im not weird about it or anything, I dont tie myself up first
I just kinda spend a little time with myself
So this is kind of a little anthem here |
Im on a black elevator goin down
Little Joe from Kokomo, it rattles to the ground
The dice is laughin at the man that he throwed
Im rollin over to the lowside of the road
The moon is red and youre dancin real slow
Twenty-nine miles left to go
The chain monkeys help you with your load
Youre rollin over to the lowside of the road
Jezebel is naked with an axe
The prosecution tells you to relax
Your head feels like its ready to explode
Youre rollin over, youre rollin over
Well, the clapper has been ripped out of the bell
The flapper has been kicked right out of hell
When the horse whips the man that he rode
Youre rollin over to the lowside of the road
The dog wont bite, if you beat him with a bone
Shes so shy when shes talkin on the phone
The ground rises up and starts to groan
Youre rollin over to the lowside of the road
To the lowside of the road
To the lowside of the road |
There was a murder in the red barn
A murder in the red barn
The trees are bending over
And the cows are lying down
The autumns taking over
You can hear the Buckshot hounds
The watchman said to Reba the loon
Was that pale at Manzanita?
Or was it Blind Bob the coon?
Pin it on a drifter
They sleep beneath the bridge
One plays the violin
And sleeps inside a fridge
There was a murder in the red barn
A murder in the red barn
Someones crying in the woods
Someones burying all his clothes
Now Slam the Crank from Wheezer
Slept outside last night and froze
Roadkill has its seasons
Just like anything
There is possums in the autumn
And theres farm cats in the spring
There was a murder in the red barn
A murder in the red barn
Now thou shalt not covet thy neighbors house
Or covet thy neighbors wife
But for some
Murder is the only door thru which they enter life
Now they surrounded the house
They smoked him out
And took him off in chains
The sky turned black and bruised
And we had months of heavy rains
Now the ravens nest in the rotted roof
Of Chenoweths old place
And no ones asking Cal
About that scar upon his face
Cause theres nothin strange
About an axe with bloodstains in the barn
Theres always some killin
You got to do around the farm
A murder in the red barn
A murder in the red barn
The woods will never tell
What sleeps beneath the trees
Or whats buried neath a rock
Or hiding in the leaves
Cause roadkill has its seasons
Just like anything
Its possums in the autumn
And its farm cats in the spring
A murder in the red barn
A murder in the red barn
Now a lady cant do nothin
Without folks tongues waggin
Is that blood on the tree?
Or is it autumns red blaze?
When the ground is soft for diggin
And the rain will bring all this gloom
Theres nothing wrong with a lady
Drinking alone in a room
But there was a murder in the red barn
A murder in the red barn
There was a murder in the red barn
A murder in the red barn
There was a murder in the red barn
A murder in the red barn |
The piano has been drinking
My necktie is asleep
And the combo went back to New York
The jukebox has to take a leak
And the carpet needs a haircut
And the spotlight looks like a prison break
Cause the telephones out of cigarettes
And the balconys on the make
And the piano has been drinking
The piano has been drinking
And the menus are all freezing
And the light mans blind in one eye
And he cant see out of the other
And the piano-tuners got a hearing aid
And he showed up with his mother
And the piano has been drinking
The piano has been drinking
Cause the bouncer is a sumo wrestler
Cream puff Casper milquetoast
And the owner is a mental midget
With the I.Q. of a fencepost
Cause the piano has been drinking
The piano has been drinking
And you cant find your waitress
With a geiger counter
And she hates you and your friends
And you just cant get served without her
And the box-office is drooling
And the bar stools are on fire
And the newspapers were fooling
And the ashtrays have retired
Cause the piano has been drinking
The piano has been drinking
The piano has been drinking
Not me, not me, not me, not me, not me |
Black cellophane sky at midnight
Big blue moon with three gold rings
I called Champion to the window
And I pointed up above the trees
Thats when I heard my name in a scream
Coming from the woods out there
I let my dog run off of the chain
I locked my door real good with a chair
Dont go into that barn, yeah
Dont go into that barn, yeah
Everett Lee broke loose again
Its worse than the time before
Cause hes high on potato and tulip wine
Fermented in the muddy rain, of course
A drunken wail, a drunken train
Blew through the birdless trees
Oh, youre alone alright, youre alone alright
How did I know? How did I know?
Dont go into that barn, yeah
I said, dont go into that barn, yeah
An old black tree scratching up the sky
With bony, claw-like fingers
A rusty black rake digging up the turnips
Of a muddy cold grey sky
Shiny tooth talons coiled for grabbing a stranger happening by
And the day went home early
And the sun sank down into the muck of a deep, dead sky
Dont go into that barn, yeah
I said, dont go into that barn, yeah
Bank since Saginaw Calinda was born
Its been cotton, soybeans, tobacco, and corn
Behind the porticoed house of a long-dead farm
They found the falling down timbers of a spooky old barn
Out there like a slave ship upside down
Wrecked beneath the waves of grain
When the river is low, they find old bones
And when they plow they always dig up chains
Dont go into that barn, yeah
I said, dont go into that barn, yeah
Did you bury your fire?
Yes sir
Did you cover your tracks?
Yes sir
Did you bring your knife?
Yes sir
Did they see your face?
No sir
Did the moon see you?
No sir
Did you go cross the river?
Yes sir
Did you fix your rake?
Yes sir
Did you stay downwind?
Yes sir
Did you hide your gun?
Yes sir
Did you smuggle your rum?
Yes sir
How did I know?
How did I know?
How did I know?
Dont go into that barn, yeah
I said, dont go into that barn, yeah
Dont forget that I warned ya
I said, dont go into that barn, yeah
Dont go into that barn, yeah
I said, dont go into that barn, yea
No shirt, no coat
Take me on a flat boat
Dover down to Covington
Covington to Louisville
Louisville to Henderson
Henderson to Smithland
Smithland to Memphis
Memphis down to Vicksburg
Vicksburg to Natchez
Going down to Natchez
Put me on a flat boat
Dover down to Covington
Covington to Louisville
Louisville to Henderson
Henderson to Smithland
Smithland to Memphis
Memphis down to Vicksburg
Vicksburg to Natchez |
I always play Russian Roulette in my head
Seventeen black or twenty-nine red
How far from the gutter? How far from the pew?
I will always remember to forget about you
A good man is hard to find
Only strangers sleep in my bed
And my favorite words are good-bye
And my favorite color is red
A long-dead soldier looks out from the frame
No one remembers his war, no one remembers his name
Go out to the meadow, scare off all the crows
It does nothing but rain here, nothing grows
A good man is hard to find
Only strangers sleep in my bed
And my favorite words are good-bye
And my favorite color is
My favorite color is
My favorite color is red |
I spent all my money in a Mexican whorehouse, babe
Across the street from a Catholic church
And I wiped off my revolver
And I buttoned up my burgundy shirt
I shot the morning in the back with my red wings on
Told the sun he better go back down
And if I can find a book of matches
Im going to burn this hotel down
You got to tell me, brave captain
Why are the wicked so strong?
How do the angels get to sleep
When the devil leaves his porch light on?
Well I dropped thirty grand on the Nugget slots
I had to sell my ass on Fremont Street
And the drummer said theres sanctuary
Over at the Baghdad Room
Oh and now theres one for the money two for the show
Three to get ready and go man go
I said Tell me, Mr. Siegel
How do I get out of here?
Willards knocked out on a bottle of heat
Drivin dangerous curves across the dirty sheets
He said, Man, you ought to see her when her parents are gone
Man you ought to hear her when the sirens on
I said tell me, brave captain
Why are the wicked so strong?
How do the angels get to sleep
When the devil leaves the porch light on?
Dont you know that aint no broken bottle that I picked up in my headlights
On the other side of the Nevada line?
Where they live hard, die young
And have a good lookin corpse every time
Well you know the pit boss said I should keep movin
This is where you go when you die
So I shot a black beauty
And I kissed her right between the eyes
Oh well, Willards knocked out on a bottle of heat
Drivin dangerous curves across the dirty sheets
He said, When the bitch is wound up and her parents are gone
Man, you oughta hear her with the siren on
I said tell me, brave captain
Why are the wicked so strong?
How do the angels get to sleep
When the devil leaves his porch light on?
I spent all my money now in a Mexican whorehouse
Across the street from a Catholic church
And then I wiped off my revolver
And buttoned up my burgundy shirt
I shot the morning in the back with my red wings on
Told the sun hed better go back down
If I can find a book of matches
Im goin to burn this hotel down
Well its one for the money, two for the show
I said three to get ready and go man go
I said, Tell me, Mr. Siegel
How do I get out of here? |
What were talking about is late night and early morning low clouds
With a chance of fog, chance of showers into the afternoon
With variable high cloudiness and gusty winds
Gusty winds at times around the corner of Sunset and Alvarado
Yeah, I know, things are tough all over
When the thunderstorms start increasing over the
Southeast and south central portions of my apartment, I get upset
And a line of thunderstorms was developing in the early morning hours
Ahead of a slow moving cold front, cold-blooded
With tornado watches issued shortly before noon Sunday
For the areas including the western region of my mental health
And the northern portion of my ability to deal rationally
With my disconcerted precarious emotional situation
Its cold out there
Colder than the ticket takers smile at the Ivar Theatre, on Saturday night
Flash flood watches cover the southern portion of my disposition, yeah
There was no severe weather well into the afternoon
Except for kind of a lone gust of wind in the bedroom
A high pressure zone covering the eastern portion of a small
Suburban community with a 1034 millibar high pressure zone
And a weak pressure ridge extending from my eyes down to my cheeks
Cause since you left me baby and put the vice grips on my mental health
Well, the extended outlook for an indefinite period of time
Until you come back to me, baby, is high tonight, low tomorrow
And precipitation is expected
That wraps up the weather for this evening
Now back to the eleven oclock blues
Doctor George Fishbeck aint got nothing on me! |
Life is whittled, lifes a riddle
Mans a fiddle that life plays on
When the day breaks and the earth quakes
Lifes a mistake all day long
Tell me who gives a good goddamn
Youll never get out alive
Dont go dreaming
Dont go scheming
A man must test his mettle
In the crooked old world
Starving in the belly
Starving in the belly
Starving in the belly of a whale
Starving in the belly
Starving in the belly
Starving in the belly of a whale
Dont take my word, just look skyward
They that dance must pay the fiddler
Sky is darkening, dogs are barking
But the caravan moves on
Tell me who gives a good goddamn
Youll never get get out alive
Dont go dreaming
Dont go scheming
A man must test his mettle
In the crooked old world
Starving in the belly
Starving in the belly
Starving in the belly of a whale
Starving in the belly
Starving in the belly
Starving in the belly of a whale
As the crow flies, its there the truth lies
At the bottom of the well
E-o-leven goes to heaven
Bless the dead here as the rain falls
Dont trust a bulls horn, a dobermans tooth
A runaway horse or me
Dont be greedy, dont be needy
If you live in hope, youre dancing to a terrible tune
Starving in the belly
Starving in the belly
Starving in the belly of a whale
Starving in the belly
Starving in the belly
Starving in the belly of a whale |
You dance real slow, you wreck it down
Then you walk away, you turn around
What did that old blonde gal say?
That is the part you throw away
I want that beggars eyes, a winning horse
A tidy Mexican divorce
St. Marys prayers, Houdinis hands
And a barman who always understands
Will you lose the flowers? Hold on to the vase
Will you wipe all those teardrops away from your face?
I cant help thinking as I close the door
I have done all of this many times before
The bone must go, the wish can stay
The kiss dont know what the lips will say
Forget Ive hurt you, put stones in our bed
And remember to never mind instead
Well, all of your letters burned up in the fire
Time is just memory mixed with desire
Thats not the road, this is only the map
I said gone just like matches from a closed-down cabaret
In a Portuguese saloon, a fly is circling around the room
Youll soon forget the tune that you play
Cause that is the part you throw away
Oh that is the part you throw away |
Well, Im a jitterbug boy by the shoeshine
Resting on my laurels and my Hardys too
Life of Riley on the swing shift, girls follow my drift
Once upon a time I was in showbiz too
I seen the Brooklyn Dodgers playin at Ebbets Field
Seen the Kentucky Derby too
Its fast women, slow horses, unreliable sources
And Im holding up a lamppost, if you wanna know
I seen the Wabash Cannonball, buddy, Ive done it all
Because I slept with the lions and Marilyn Monroe
Had breakfast in the eye of a hurricane
Fought Rocky Marciano, played Minnesota Fats
Burned hundred dollar bills, I eaten Mulligan stew
Got drunk with Louis Armstrong, whats that old song?
I taught Mickey Mantle everything that he knows
So youll ask me what Im doin here holdin up a lamppost
Flippin this quarter, tryin to make up my mind
If its heads, Ill go to Tennessee, tails, Ill buy a drink
If it lands on the edge, Ill keep talkin to you |
All my friends are married
Every Tom and Dick and Harry
You must be strong if youre to go it alone
Heres to the bachelors and the Bowery bums
Those who feel that theyre the ones
That are better off without a wife
Cause I like to sleep until the crack of noon
Midnight howling at the moon
Going out when I want to
And Im coming home when I please
Dont have to ask permission
If I wanna go out fishing
Never have to ask for the keys
Ive never been no Valentino
But I had a girl who lived in Reno
Left me for a trumpet player
Well, it didnt get me down
He was wanted for assault
And though he said it werent his fault
You know the coppers rode him right out of town
Ill be sleeping until the crack of noon
Midnight howling at the moon
And Ill be going out when I want to
Coming home when I please
Dont have to ask permission
If I wanna go out fishing
Never have to ask for the keys
Yeah, you see Im kinda selfish about my privacy
Now as long as I can be with me
We get along so well I cant even believe it
I love to chew the fat with folks
Ill be listening to all your dirty jokes
Im so thankful for these friends I do receive
Ill be sleeping until the crack of noon
Midnight howling at the moon
And Ill be going out when I want to
Coming home when I please
Dont have to ask permission
If I wanna go out fishing
Never have to ask for the keys, no
Hey, I got this girl I know, man, and I just
Shes been married several times and
I dont wanna end up like her
I mean, shes been married so many times
Shes got rice-marks all over her face
Yeah, you know the kind |
Well pale face said to the eyeball kid
She just goes clank and boom and steam
A halo, wings, horns, and a tail
Shoveling coal inside my dreams
There are no laws, shes made of cream
Shes such a scream
Qui bon tres bien, nails in cement
A Donnie gal from mortal clay
The plow is red, the well is full
Inside the dollhouse of her skull
A cheetah coat fills up with steam
Shes such a scream
All crooked lines, her fireplace
A milktrain so clean, machine gun haste
Youll ride the only wall of shame
And drag that chain across the state
Her lips are red, she is the queen
Shes such a scream |
Well, Zenora Bariella and Coriander Pyle
They had sixteen children in the usual style
They had a curio museum and they had no guile
All they ever wanted was a showbiz child
The seventh of December, nineteen-forty-nine
They got what theyd been wishing for all of the time
He grew up in a trailer, by the time he was nine
Rolled off to join the circus, telling fortunes on the side
Hail, hail, the Eyeball Kid
Well, the first time I saw him was a Saigon jail
Cost me twenty-seven dollars just to go his bail
I said, Your name will be in lights, and thats no doubt
But you just got to have a manager, thats what its all about
Yeah, yeah, yeah
The people would point, the people would stare
Ill always be here to protect you and to cut down on the glare
I know you cant speak, I know you cant sign
So cry right here on the dotted line
Hail, hail, the Eyeball Kid
Well, he was born without a body, not even a brow
I made the kid a promise, I made the kid a vow
Hes not conventionally handsome, hell never be tall
He said, All you got to do is book me into Carnegie Hall
Hoo
Hes just a little bitty thing, hes just a little guy
But women go crazy for the big blue eye
How does he dream, how does he think
When he cant even speak and he cant even blink?
I said Hail, hail, the Eyeball Kid
Hail, hail, Eyeball Kid
Hail, hail, Eyeball Kid
Give it up and throw me down a couple of quid
Everybody wants to see the Eyeball Kid
Hoo
They say, How does he dream, how does he think
When he cant even speak and he cant even blink?
Were all lost in the wilderness, were as blind as can be
He come down to teach us how to really see
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
So give it up and throw me down a couple of quid
Everybody wants to see the Eyeball Kid
Give it up and throw me down a couple of quid
Everybody wants to see the Eyeball Kid
Give it up
Give it up
Give it up and throw me down a couple of quid
Everybody will want to see the Eyeball Kid
Eyeball Kid
Eyeball Kid
Ooh, Eyeball Kid |
Its the same with men as with horses and dogs
Nothing wants to die
Evelyn James they killed in a game
With guns too big for their hands
Just off St. Charles in no mans land
And youll have to find your own way home boys
Youll have to find your own way home
The oldest was Troy
An eighteen year old boy
Shot dead in March in a robbery
His brother started out to hell and to ruin
Troys killer was never caught they say
Young Nick he just went bad that day
Now hell have to find his own way home
Boys, hell have to find his own way home
Why cook dinner
Why make my bed
Why come home at all
Out the door and through the woods
Theres a world where nothing grows
Its hard to say grace and to sit in the place
Of someone missing at the table
Moms hair sprayed tight and her face in her hands
Watching TV for answers to me
After all shes only human
Shes trying to find her own way home boys
Shes trying to find her own way home
My legs ache
My heart is sore
The well is full of pennies |
Kommienezuspadt
Kommienezuspadt
Kommienezuspadt
Kommienezuspadt
Sei punktlich
Sei punktlich
Sei punktlich
Kommienezuspadt
Kommienezuspadt
Kommienezuspadt
Kommienezuspadt
And we cant be late
And we cant be late
And we cant be late
Kommiene, Kommiene
Kommienezuspadt
Kommienezuspadt
Kommienezuspadt
And we cant be late
And we cant be late
And we cant be late
And we cant be late
Kommienezuspadt
Kommienezuspadt
Sei punktlich
Sei punktlich
Sei punktlich
Kommienezuspadt
Kommienezuspadt
Ha, ha, ha, ha
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha
Ha, ha, ha, ha
Kommienezuspadt
And we cant be late
And we cant be late
And we cant be late
Sei punktlich
Sei punktlich
Kommienezuspadt
Kommiene, kommiene, kommiene, kommiene
Kommienezuspadt |
I shook the hand of the president and the pope in Rome
Ive been to parties where Ive had to be flown
They said everything was sacred, nothing was profane
And money was something that you throw off the back of trains
Oh always keep a diamond in your mind
Youve got to always keep a diamond in your mind
Wherever you may wander
Wherever you may roam
Youve got to always keep a diamond in your mind
Steam of the gravy with little fried pearls
Floating like a necklace on a beautiful girl
Johnna says thanks to the food and land
And oh so ever grateful for Gods on my hands
Oh always keep a diamond in your mind
Always keep a diamond in your mind
Wherever you may wander
Wherever you may roam
Youve got to always keep a diamond in your mind
Shes got the milk of human kindness and the fat of the lamb
Scared like a baby, well she drives like a man
She lives outside of Natchez where she operates a crane
Shes like a wrecking ball no longer connected to the chain
Oh Zerelda Samuel said she almost never prayed
Said she lost her right arm, blown off in a Pinkerton raid
Then they lashed her to a windmill with old 3-fingered Dave
Now shes a hundred-and-two drinking mint juleps in the shade
Everybody...
Always keep a diamond in your mind
Youve got to always keep a diamond in your mind
Wherever you may wander
Wherever you may roam
Youve got to always keep a diamond in your mind
Would you help me sing it, come on
Always keep a diamond in your mind
Always keep a diamond in your mind
Wherever you may wander
Wherever you may roam
Your gotta always keep a diamond in your mind
One more time, come on...
Always keep a diamond in your mind
Always keep a diamond in your mind
Wherever you may wander
Wherever you may roam
Your gotta always keep a diamond in your mind
Always keep a diamond in your mind
Always keep a diamond in your mind |
Every night she comes to take me out to dreamland
When Im with her, Im the richest man in the town
Shes a rose, shes a pearl, shes the spin on my world
All the stars make their wishes on her eyes
Shes my Coney Island baby
Shes my Coney Island girl
Shes a princess in a red dress
Shes the moon in the mist to me
Shes my Coney Island baby
Shes my Coney Island girl
Every night she comes to take me out to dreamland
When Im with her, Im the richest man in the town
Shes a rose, shes a pearl, shes the spin on my world
All the stars make their wishes on her eyes
Shes my Coney Island baby
Shes my Coney Island girl
Shes a princess in a red dress
Shes the moon in the mist to me
Shes my Coney Island baby
Shes my Coney Island girl
Shes my Coney Island baby
Shes my Coney Island girl |
They bought a round for the sailor
And they heard his tale
Of a world that was so far away
And a song that wed never heard
A song of a little bird
That fell in love with a whale
He said, You cannot live in the ocean
And she said to him, You never can live in the sky
But the ocean is filled with tears
And the sea turns into a mirror
And theres a whale in the moon when its clear
And a bird on the tide
Please dont cry
Let me dry your eyes
So tell me that you will wait for me
Hold me in your arms
I promise we never will part
Ill never sail back to the time
But Ill always pretend youre mine
Though I know that we both must part
You can live in my heart |
Davai yestshio! Davai yestshio!
Odeen, dva, tree, cheteeri |
No shadows, no stars
Theres no moon and no cars
November
It only believes in a pile of dead leaves
And a moon thats the color of bone
No prayers for November to linger longer
Stick your spoon in the wall and well slaughter them all
November has tied me to an old dead tree
Get word to April to rescue me
Novembers cold chain made of wet boots and rain
And shiny black ravens on chimney smoke lanes
November seems odd, youre my firing squad
November
With my hair slicked back with carrion shellac
And the blood from a pheasant and the bone from a hare
Tied to the branches of a roebuck stag
Left to wave in the timber like a buckshot flag
Go away, you rainsnout
Go away, blow your brains out
November |
Cold was the night and hard was the ground
They found her in a small grove of trees
Lonesome was the place where Georgia was found
Shes too young to be out on the street
Why wasnt God watching?
Why wasnt God listening?
Why wasnt God there for Georgia Lee?
Ida said she couldnt keep Georgia from dropping out of school
I was doing the best that I could
But she kept runnin away from this world
These children are so hard to raise good
Why wasnt God watching?
Why wasnt God listening?
Why wasnt God there for Georgia Lee?
Close your eyes and count to ten
I will go and hide but then be sure to find me
I want you to find me, and well play all over
Well play all over
Well play all over again
Theres a toad in the witch grass, theres a crow in the corn
Wild flowers on a cross by the road
And somewhere a baby is crying for her mom
As the hills turn from green back to gold
Why wasnt God watching?
Why wasnt God listening?
Why wasnt God there for Georgia Lee? |
He went down down down
And the devil called him by name
He went down down down
Hangin onto the back of a train
He went down down down
This boy went solid down
Always chewed tobacco
And the bathtub gin
Always chewed tobacco
And the bathtub gin
He went down down down
This boy went solid down
He went down
Well he went down down down
And the devil jumped on his head
He went down down down
Stayin in a broken down shed
He went down down down
Sleepin in the devils bed
He went down down down
Never listened to the words I said
He went down
Well he went down down down
And the devil said where you been
He went down down down
He screamin down around the bend
Down down down
This boy went solid down
He was always cheatin
And he always told lies
He was always cheatin
And he always told lies
He went down down down
This boy went solid down
He went down |
If you walk through the garden
You better watch your back
Well, I beg your pardon, walk the straight and narrow track
If you walk with Jesus, hes gonna save your soul
You gotta keep the Devil way down in the hole
Hes got the fire and the fury at his command
Well, you dont have to worry if you hold on to Jesus hand
Well all be safe from Satan when the thunder rolls
We just got to keep the Devil way down in the hole
All the angels sing about Jesus mighty sword
And theyll shield you with their wing
And keep you close to the Lord
Dont pay heed to temptation, for his hands are so cold
You gotta help me keep the Devil way down in the hole
Down in the hole
Down in the hole
Down in the hole
Down in the hole
Down in the hole
Down in the hole
You gotta help me keep the Devil down in the hole |
Well, these diamonds on my windshield
And these tears from heaven
Well, Im pulling into town on the Interstate
I got a steel train in the rain
And the wind bites my cheek through the wing
And its these late nights and this freeway flying
It always makes me sing
Theres a Duster trying to change my tune
Hes pulling up fast on the right
Rolling restlessly by a 24-hour moon
And a Wisconsin hiker with a cue-ball head
Hes wishing he was home in a Wisconsin bed
But theres fifteen feet of snow in the east
Colder than a well-diggers ass
And its colder than a well-diggers ass
Oceanside, it ends the ride with San Clemente coming up
Those Sunday desperados slip by and cruise with a dry back
And the orange drive-in, the neon billing
And the theatres filling to the brim
With slave girls and a hot spurn bucket full of sin
Metropolitan area with interchange and connections
Fly-by-nights from Riverside
And out-of-state plates running a little late
But the sailors jockey for the fast lane
So 101, dont miss it
Theres rolling hills and concrete fields
And the broken lines on your mind
The eights go east and the fives go north
And the merging nexus back and forth
You see your sign, cross the line, signaling with a blink
And the radios gone off the air
Gives you time to think
And you hear the rumble
As you fumble for a cigarette
And blazing through this midnight jungle
Remember someone that you met
And one more block, the engine talks
Whispers home at last
It whispers home at last
Whispers home at last
Whispers home at last
Whispers home at last
And the diamonds on my windshield
And these tears from heaven
Well Im pulling into town on the Interstate
I got me a steel train in the rain
And the wind bites my cheek through the wing
Late nights and freeway flying
Always makes me sing
It always makes me sing
Hey, look here, Jack
Okay |
The women all control their men with razors and with wrists
And the princess squeezes grape juice from a torrid, bloody kiss
What will you be wearing there? The lion or the raven head?
The flesh will all be tearing, but the tale will be my own
In the colosseum
In the colosseum
In the colosseum tonight
In the colosseum
In the colosseum
In the colosseum tonight
This ones for the balcony and this ones for the floor
As the senators decapitate the presidential whore
The bald-headed senators are splashing in the blood
The dogs are having someone who is screaming in the mud
In the colosseum
In the colosseum
In the colosseum tonight
In the colosseum
In the colosseum
In the colosseum tonight
Now its raining and its pouring on the pillaging and goring
The constable is swinging from the chains
For the dead, there is no story, no memory, no blame
Their families shout blue murder, but tomorrow its the same
In the colosseum
In the colosseum
In the colosseum tonight
In the colosseum
Call em as we see em
In the colosseum tonight
A slowly-acting poison will be given to the favorite one
The dark horse will bring glory to the jailer and his men
Its always much more sporting when theres families in the pit
And the madness of the crowd is an epileptic fit
In the colosseum
In the colosseum
In the colosseum tonight
In the colosseum
We call em as we see em
In the colosseum tonight
No justice here, no liberty, no reason, no blame
Theres no cause to taint the sweetest taste of blood
And greetings from the nation as we shake the hands of time
Theyre taking their ovation, the vultures stay behind
In the colosseum
In the colosseum
In the colosseum tonight
In the colosseum
In the colosseum
In the colosseum tonight
In the colosseum tonight
In the colosseum tonight |
Friday left me fumblin with the blues
And its hard to win when you always lose
Because the nightspots spend your spirit
Beat your head against the wall
Two dead-ends and youve still got to choose
You know the bartenders, they all know my name
And they catch me when Im pulling up lame
And Im a pool-shooting-shimmy-shyster shaking my head
When I should be living clean instead
You know the ladies Ive been seeing off and on
Well they spend your love and then theyre gone
You cant be lovin someone who is savage and cruel
Take your love and then they leave on out of town
You know they do
Well now falling in love is such a breeze
But its standing up thats so hard for me
I wanna squeeze you, but Im scared to death Id break your back
You know your perfume, well it wont let me be
And you know the bartenders all know my name
And they catch me when Im pulling up lame
And Im a pool-shooting-shimmy-shyster shaking my head
When I should be living clean instead
Well, come on baby, let your love light shine
Gotta bury me inside of your fire
Because your eyes are enough to blind me
Youre like a-looking at the sun
You gotta whisper, tell me Im the one
Come on and whisper, tell me Im the one
Gotta whisper, tell me Im the one
Come on and whisper, tell me Im the one |
Outside another yellow moon
Punched a hole in the nighttime, yes
Climb through your window and down the street
Im shining like a new dime
The downtown trains are full with all of those Brooklyn girls
They try so hard to break out of their little worlds
You wave your hand and they scatter like crows
They have nothing that can capture your heart
Theyre just thorns without the rose
Be careful of them in the dark
If I was the one you chose to be your only one
Baby cant you hear me, cant you hear me now
Will I see you tonight
On a downtown train
Every night its just the same
You leave me lonely now
I know your window and I know its late
I know your stairs and your doorway
I walk down your street and past your gate
Stand by the light at the four-way
And you watch them as they fall, they all have heart attacks
They stay at the carnival, but theyll never win you back
Will I see you tonight
In a downtown train?
Every night, its just the same
You leave me lonely
Will I see you tonight
On a downtown train?
All of my tears just fall like rain
All upon a downtown train |
Come on along with the Black Rider
Well have a gay old time
Lay down in the web of the black spider
Ill drink your blood like wine
So come on in
It aint no sin
Take off your skin
And dance around in your bones
So come on along with the Black Rider
Well have a gay old time
Step right up and hold right on there, little
Have your tickets ready, under twelve are free
Anchors away with the Black Rider
Ill drink your blood like wine
Ill drop you off in Harlem with the Black Rider
Out where the bullets shine
And when youre done, youll cock your gun
The blood will run like ribbons through your hair
Just come on along with the Black Rider
Well have a gay old time
Lines form to the left
Have your tickets ready
See the dog-faced boy
Come on along with the Black Rider
Ive got just the thing for thee
Come on along with the Black Rider
I want your company
Ill have the veal, a lovely meal
Thats how I feel, may I use your skull for a bowl?
Just come on along with the Black Rider
Well have a gay old
Well have a gay old
Well have a gay old
Well have a gay old
Well have a gay old time |
Theres a place I know
Where the train goes slow
Where the sinners can be washed
In the blood of the lamb
Theres a river by the trestle
Down by Sinners Grove
Down where the Willow and the Dogwood grows
Down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there where the train
Goes slow
You can hear the whistle
You can hear the bell
From the halls of heaven
To the gates of hell
Theres room for the foresaken
If youre there on time
Youll be washed of all your sins
And all of your crimes
Down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there where the train
Goes slow
Theres a golden moon
That shines up through the mist
I know that your name
Will be on that list
Theres no eye for an eye
Theres no tooth for a tooth
I saw Judas Iscariot carrying John Wilkes Booth
Down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there where the train
Goes slow
So if you live in darkness
If you live in shame
All of the passengers
Will be treated the same
Old Humpty Jackson and Gyp the Blood will sing
Charlie Whitman is on the Dillingers wings
Down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there where the train
Goes slow
If youve lost all your hope
If youve lost all your faith
I know you will be cared for
I know you will be safe
All the shameful and all of the whores
Even the soldier who pierced the heart of the lord
Is down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there where the train
Goes slow
Well Ive never asked forgiveness and
Ive never said a prayer
Ive never given of myself
Ive never truly cared
Ive hurt the ones who loved me
Im still raising Cain
Ive taken the low road and
If youve done the same
Meet me down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there where the train
Goes slow |
Well, ring the bell backwards, and bury the axe
Fall down on your knees in the dirt
Im tied to the mast between water and wind
Believe me, youll never get hurt
Now the rings in the pawnshop
The rains in the hole, down at the Five Points I stand
Ill lose everything, but I wont let go of your hand
Now Peter denied and Judas betrayed
Ill pay with the roll of the drum
The wind will tell the turn from the wheel
And the watchman is making his rounds
Well, you leave me hanging by the skin of my teeth
Ive only got one leg to stand
You can send me to hell
But Ill never let go of your hand
Swing from a rope on a cross-legged tree
Signed with the one-eyed jacks blood
From Temple and Union to Weyley and Grand
Walking back home in the mud
I must make my best of the only way home
Marley deals only in stones
Im lost on the midway, Im reckless in your eyes
Just give me a couple more throws
Ill dare you to dine with the cross-legged knights
Dare me to jump and I will
Ill fall from your grace
But Ill never let go of your hand
Ill never let go of your hand |
Its warm beer and cold women, no I just dont fit in
Every joint I stumbled into tonight, thats just how its been
All these double-knit strangers with gin and vermouth
And recycled stories in the naugahyde booths
And the platinum blondes and tobacco brunettes
Ill just be drinking to forget you, I light another cigarette
And the bands playing something by Tammy Wynette
And the drinks are on me tonight
All my conversations now, Ill just be talking about you, baby
Im boring some sailor as I try to get through
I just want him to listen now I say thats all you have to do
He said Im better off without you until I showed him my tattoo
And now the moons rising, aint no time to lose
Time to get down to drinking, tell the band to play the blues
And the drinks are on me, Ill buy a couple rounds
At the last ditch attempt saloon
Warm beer and cold women, no I just dont fit in
Every joint I stumble into tonight, thats just how its been
All these double-knit strangers with gin and vermouth
Receding hairlines in the naugahyde booths
And the platinum blondes and tobacco brunettes
Ill just be drinking to forget you, baby, I light a menthol cigarette
And the bands playing something by Johnnie Barnette
At the last ditch attempt saloon |
Hang on St. Christopher through the smoke and the oil
Buckle down the rumble seat, let the radiator boil
Got an overhead downshift and a two-dollar grill
Got an 85 cabin on an 85 hill
Hang on St. Christopher on the passenger side
Open it up, tonight the devil can ride
Hang on St. Christopher with a barrelhouse dog
Kick me up Mt. Baldy, throw me out in the fog
Tear a hole in the jackpot, drive a stake through his heart
Do a hundred on the grapevine, do a jump on the start
Hang on St. Christopher now, dont let me go
Get me to Reno and bring it in low, yeah
Hang on St. Christopher with the hammer to the floor
Put a hi-ball in the crank case, nail a crow to the door
Get a bottle for the jockey, gimme a 294
Theres a 750 Norton bustin down Januarys door
Hang on St. Christopher on the passenger side
Open it up, at night the devil can ride
Hang on St. Christopher, now dont let me go
Get to me Reno, got to bring it in low
Put my baby on the flat car, got to burn down the caboose
Get em all jacked up on whiskey, then well turn the mad dog loose
Hang on St. Christopher on the passenger side
Open it up, tonight the devil can ride
Oh yeah, oh yeah |
Goodness, gracious. Our bass player should be chained up somewhere. Mongrel, canine, growling. I want to take you on kind of an inebriational travelogue here. Yeah, you aint got no spare, you aint got no jack, you dont give a shit, you aint never coming back. Maybe youre standing on the corner of 17th and Wazee Streets. Out in front of the terminal bar, theres a Thunderbird moon in a muscatel sky. Youve been drinking cleaning products all night. Open for suggestions. Kind of about, well, its kind of about going down to the corner, saying, Well, Im just going down to the corner to get a pack of cigarettes, Ill be back in a minute.
Yeah, you check out the street and it looks like theres kind of a
Kind of a blur drizzle down the plate glass
And as a neon swizzle stick is stirring up the sultry night air
Looks like a yellow biscuit of a buttery cue ball moon
Rolling maverick across an obsidian sky
And as the buses go groaning and wheezing
Down on the corner, Im freezing
On a restless boulevard at a midnight road
Im across town from Easy Street
With the tight knots of moviegoers and out-of-towners on the stroll
The buildings towering high above lit like dominoes or black dice
Used car salesmen dressed up in Purina checkerboard slacks
And Foster Grant wraparounds
Pacing in front of Rainbow, Earl Scheib, $39.95 merchandise
Like barkers at a shooting gallery
They throw out a Texas Guinan routine:
Hello sucker, we like your money
Just as well as anybody elses here
Come on over here now...
Let me put the cut back in your strut
And the glide back in your stride
Now climb aboard a custom Oldsmobile
Let me take you for a ride
Or they give you that P. T. Barnum bit:
Theres a sucker born every minute!
You just happened to be coming along at the right time, you know
Come over here
And you know, all the harlequin sailors are on the stroll
In search of like new new paint
And decent factory air and AM/FM dreams
Yeah, and all the piss yellow gypsy cabs
Theyre stacked up in the taxi zones
And theyre waiting like pinball machines
To be ticking off a joyride to a magical place
Like Truckers Welcome diners
With dirt lots full of Peterbilts and Kenworths and Jimmies and the like
Theyre hi-balling with bankrupt brakes
Man, theyre overdriven and theyre underpaid
Theyre overfed and theyre a day late and a dollar short
But Christ, I got my lips around a bottle
And I got my foot on the throttle and Im standing on the corner
Standing on the corner like a just got-in-town Jasper
Im on a street corner with a gasper
Looking for some kind of a Cheshire billboard grin
Stroking a goateed chin
Using parking meters as walking sticks on the inebriated stroll
With my eyelids propped open at half mast
But you know, over at Chubbs Pool and Snooker
Well, it was a nickel after two, yeah, it was a nickel after two
And in the cobalt steel blue dream smoke
Why, it was the radio that groaned out the hit parade
And the chalk squeaked and the floorboards creaked
And an Olympia sign winked through a torn yellow shade
Old Jack Chance himself leaning up against a Wurlitzer
Man, he was eyeballing out a five-ball combination shot
Impossible you say? Hard to believe?
Perhaps out of the realm of possibility?
Naaaah
Cause he be stretching out long tawny fingers
Out across a cool green felt in a provocative golden gate
He got a full table railshot thats no sweat
And I leaned up against my banister
I wandered over to the Wurlitzer and I punched A2
I was looking for maybe Wine Wine Wine by the Nightcaps
Starring Chuck E. Weiss
Or maybe... maybe a little something called High Blood Pressure
By George Perkins, no dice
Cause thats life, thats what all the people say
Youre riding high in April
Youre seriously shot down in May
I know Im gonna change that tune
When Im standing underneath a buttery moon
Thats all melted off to one side
Parkay
It was just about that time that the sun came crawling yellow
Out of a manhole at the foot of 23rd Street
And a Dracula moon in a black disguise
Was making its way back to its pre-paid room at the St. Moritz Hotel
And the El train tumbled across the trestles
And it sounded like the ghost of Gene Krupa
With an overhead cam and glass packs
And the whispering brushes of wet radials on wet pavement
Shhhhhhhhhhhhh
With a traffic jam session on Belmont tonight
And the rhapsody of the pending evening
I leaned up against my banister
And Ive been looking for some kind of an emotional investment
With romantic dividends
Yeah, kind of a physical negotiation is underway
As I attempt to consolidate all my missed weekly rendezvous
Into one low monthly payment, through the nose
With romantic residuals and legs akimbo
But the chances are that more than likely
Standing underneath a moon holding water
Ill probably be held over for another
Smashed weekend
Thank you |
I grew up here for all of my life
But I dreamed someday Id go
Where blue eyed girls and red guitars
And the naked rivers flow
Im not all I thought Id be
Ive always stayed around
And Ive been as far as Mercy and Grand
Frozen to the ground
I cant stay here and Im scared to leave
So kiss me once and then
Ill go to hell, I might as well
Be whistlin down the wind
Buses at the corner
Clock on the wall
Broken down windmill
Aint no wind at all
Ive yelled and Ive cursed
If I stay here Ill rust
Im stuck like a shipwreck
Out here in the dust
The sky is red, and the world is on fire
And the corn is taller than me
And the dog is tied to a wagon of rain
And the road is wet as the sea
Sometimes the music from a dance
Will carry across the plains
And the places that Im dreaming of
Dream only of your face
There are places where they never sleep
And the circus never ends
So I will take the Marley Bone Coach
And be whistlin down the wind
So I will take the Marley Bone Coach
And be whistlin down the wind |
Ive seen it all, boys, Ive been all over
Been everywhere in the whole wide world
I rode the high line with old blind Darby
I danced real slow with Ida Jane
I was full of wonder when I left Murfreesboro
Now I am full of hollow on Maxwell Street
And I hope my pony
I hope my pony
I hope my pony
Knows the way back home
I walked from Natchez to Hushpukena
I built a fire by the side of the road
I worked for nothin in a Belzoni saw mill
I caught a blind out on the B&O
Talullahs friendly, Belzoni aint so
A 44 will get you 99
I hope my pony
I hope my pony
I hope my pony
Knows the way back home
I run my race with burnt-face Jake
I gave him a Manzanita cross
I lived on nothin but dreams and train smoke
Somehow my watch and chain got lost
I wish I was home in Evelyns kitchen
With old Gyp curled around my feet
I hope my pony
I hope my pony
I hope my pony
Knows the way back home |
She wore red shoes by the newsstand
As the rain splashed the nickel
And spilled like chablis all along the midway
Theres a little blue jay
In a red dress on a sad night
One straw in a root beer
A compact with a cracked mirror
A bottle of evening in Paris perfume
Whats this sad tune
He told her to wait in by the magazines
To take care of some business it seems
Bring a raincoat
Bring a suitcase
Bring your dark eyes
And wear those red shoes
Theres a dark huddle at the bus stop
Umbrellas arranged in a sad bouquet
Lil Caesar got caught
He was going down to second
He was cooled
Changing stations on the chamber
To steal a diamond ring
From a jewelry store for his baby
He loved the way she looked
In those red shoes
She waited by the drugstore
Caesar had never been this late before
The dogs bayed the moon
And rattled their chain
And the cold jingle of taps in a puddle
Was the burglar alarm
Snitchin on Caesar
The rain washes memories from the sidewalks
And the hounds splash the nickel full of soldiers
And Santa Claus is drunk
In the ski room
And its Christmas Eve
In a sad café
When the moon gets its way
Theres a little blue jay by the newsstand
Red shoes
Red shoes
So meet me tonight by the drugstore
Meet me tonight by the drugstore
Meet me tonight by the drugstore
Goin out tonight
Goin out tonight
Goin out tonight
Wear your red shoes
Red shoes
Red shoes
Red shoes
Red shoes |
If you want money in your pocket
And a top hat on your head
A hot meal on your table
And a blanket on your bed
Today is grey skies
Tomorrow is tears
Youll have to wait
Till yesterday is here
Im going to New York City
And Im leaving on a train
And if you wanna stay behind
Wait till I come back again
Today is grey skies
Tomorrow is tears
Youll have to wait
Till yesterday is here
If you want to go where the rainbows end
You will have to say goodbye
All our dreams come true, baby, up ahead
And its out where your memories lie
And the road is out before me
And the moon is shining bright
What I want you to remember
As I disappear tonight
Today is grey skies
Tomorrow is tears
Youll have to wait
Till yesterday is here
Today is grey skies
Tomorrow is tears
Youll have to wait
Till yesterday is here |
Well the time will come when the wind will shout
All stripped down, all stripped down
And all the sinners know what Im talking about
All stripped down, all stripped down
When all the creatures of the world are gonna line up at the gate
All stripped down, all stripped down
And you better be on time and you better not be late
All stripped, all stripped down
Well, you know in your heart what you gotta bring
All stripped down, all stripped down
No big mink coat, no diamond ring
All stripped down, all stripped down
Well take off your paint and take off your rouge
All stripped down, all stripped down
Let your backbone flip and let your spirit shine through
All stripped down, all stripped down
I want you all stripped, all stripped, all stripped down
All the men we got, well theyre goin down the drain
All stripped down, all stripped down
And when I see your sadness on a river of shame
All stripped down, all stripped down
You gotta raise up both the quick and the dead
All stripped down, all stripped down
With no shoes on your feet, no hat on your head
All stripped down, all stripped down
I want you all stripped, all stripped, all stripped
All stripped down
Aint nothin in my heart, but fire for you
All stripped down, all stripped down
With my rainy hammer and a heart thats true
All stripped, all stripped down
All stripped, all stripped, all stripped down
All stripped down, all stripped down yeah
All stripped, all stripped |
When you hear sweet syncopation
And the music softly moans
Taint no sin to take off your skin
And dance around in your bones
When it gets too hot for comfort
And you cant get an ice cream cone
Taint no sin to take off your skin
And dance around in your bones
Just like those bamboo babies
Down in the South Sea tropic zone
Taint no sin to take off your skin
And dance around in your bones
When you hear sweet syncopation
And the music softly moans
Taint no sin to take off your skin
And dance around in your boness
When it gets too hot for comfort
And you cant get an ice cream cone
Taint no sin to take off your skin
And dance around in your bones
Just like those bamboo babies
Down in the South Sea tropic zone
Taint no sin to take off your skin
And dance around in your bones |
You havent looked at me that way in years
You dreamed me up and left me here
How long was I dreaming for?
What was it you wanted me for?
You havent looked at me that way in years
Your watch has stopped and the pond is clear
Someone turn the lights back on
Ill love you till all time is gone
You havent looked at me that way in years
But Im still here |
Lay your head where my heart used to be
Hold the earth above me
Lay down on the green grass
Remember when you loved me
Come closer dont be shy
Stand beneath a rainy sky
The moon is over the rise
Think of me as a train goes by
Clear the thistles and brambles
Whistle Didnt he ramble
Now theres a bubble of me
And its floating in thee
God took the stars and he tossed em
Cant tell the birds from the blossoms
Youll never be free of me
Hell make a tree from me
Stand in the shade of me
Things are now made of me
The weather vane will say
It smells like rain today
Dont say goodbye to me
Describe the skies to me
And when the sky falls, mark my words
Well catch a mocking bird |
Well its raining, its pouring
You didnt bring a sweater
Nebraska will never let you come back home
Now on Hollywood and Vine
By the Thrifty Mart sign
Any night, Ill be willing to bet
Theres a young girl
With sweet little dreams and pretty blue wishes
Standin there just gettin all wet
Now theres a place off the drag
Called the Gilbert Hotel
And theres a couple letters
Burned out in the sign
And its better than a bus stop
They do good business every time it rains
For little girls with nothing in their jeans
But pretty blue wishes and sweet little dreams
And its raining, its pouring
The old man is snoring
Now I lay me down to sleep
I hear the sirens in the street
All my dreams are made of chrome
I have no way to get back home
Id rather die before I wake
Like Marilyn Monroe
And you could throw my dreams out in the street
And let the rain make em grow
Now the night clerk, he got a club foot
Hes heard every hard luck story
At least a hundred times or more
He says check-out time is 10 am
And thats just what it means
Go on up the stairs
With your sweet little wishes and pretty blue dreams
And its raining, its pouring
Hollywoods just fine
Swindle a little girl out of her dreams
Another letter in the sign
Now never trust a scarecrow wearin shades after dark
Be careful of that old bowtie he wears
It takes a sweet little bullet from a pretty blue gun
To put those scarlet ribbons in your hair
No, that aint no cherry bomb
Fourth of Julys all done
It was just some fool playin that second line
From the barrel of a pretty blue gun
No, that aint no cherry bomb
Fourth of Julys all done
Just some fool playin that second line
From the barrel of a pretty blue gun |
The ocean doesnt want me today
But Ill be back tomorrow to play
And the strangels will take me
Down deep in their brine
The mischievous braingels
Down into the endless blue wine
Ill open my head and let out all of my time
Id love to go drowning
And to stay and to stay
But the ocean doesnt want me today
Ill go in up to here, it cant possibly hurt
All they will find is my beer and my shirt
A riptide is raging and the lifeguard is away
But the ocean doesnt want me today
The ocean doesnt want me today |
Nighthawks at the diner of Emmas Forty-Niner
Theres a rendezvous of strangers around the coffee urn tonight
All the gypsy hacks and the insomniacs
Now the papers been read, now the waitress said
Eggs and sausage and a side of toast
Coffee and a roll, hash browns over easy
Chile in a bowl with burgers and fries
What kind of pie? Yeah...
Its a graveyard charade, its a late shift masquerade
And its two for a quarter, dime for a dance
Woolworths rhinestone diamond earrings and a sideways glance
Now the register rings, now the waitress sings
Eggs and sausage and a side of toast
Coffee and a roll, hash browns over easy
Chile in a bowl with burgers and fries
What kind of pie? Yeah
Now well, the classified section offers no direction
Its a cold caffeine in a nicotine cloud
Now the touch of your fingers lingers burning in my memory
Ive been eighty-sixed from your scheme
Now Im in a melodramatic nocturnal scene
Now Im a refugee from a disconcerted affair
Now the lead pipe morning falls, now the waitress calls
Eggs and sausage, another side of toast
Coffee and a roll, hash browns over easy
Chile in a bowl with burgers and fries
Now what kind of pie?
À la mode if you will
Just come in and join the crowd
Had some time to kill, yeah
You see, I just come in to join the crowd
Had some time to kill
Just come in to join the crowd
Cause I had some time to kill |
When Im lyin in my bed at night I dont wanna grow up
Nothing ever seems to turn out right I dont wanna grow up
How do you move in a world of fog thats always
Changing things Makes wish that I could be a dog
When I see the price that you pay I dont wanna grow up
I dont ever want to be that way I dont wanna grow up
Seems that folks turn into things that they
Never want The only thing to live for is today...
Im gonna put a hole in my T.V. set I dont wanna grow up
Open up the medicine chest I dont wanna grow up
I dont wanna have to shout it out I dont want my hair to fall out
I dont wanna be filled with doubtI dont wanna be a good boy scout
I dont wanna have to learn to count I dont wanna have the biggest amount
I dont wanna grow up
Well when I see my parents fight I dont wanna grow up
They all go out and drinkin all night I dont wanna grow up
Id rather stay here in my room Nothin out there but sad and gloom
I dont wanna live in a big old tomb on grand street
When I see the 5 oclock news I dont wanna grow up
Comb their hair and shine their shoes I dont wanna grow up
Stay around in my old hometown I dont wanna put no money down
I dont wanna get a big old loan Work them fingers to the bone
I dont wanna float on a broom Fall in love, get married then boom
How the hell did it get here so soon I dont wanna grow up |
You can never hold back spring
You can be sure I will never stop believing
The blushing rose that will climb
Spring ahead or fall behind
Winter dreams the same dream every time
Baby, you can never hold back spring
Even though youve lost your way
The world is dreaming, dreaming of spring
So close your eyes, open your heart
To the one whos dreaming of you
You can never hold back spring
Remember everything that spring can bring
Baby, you can never hold back spring |
Yeah!
This is a national message!
N.A.S.A. worldwide!
One... Take the spotlight off me
I remember when the Cubans was first on Broadway
With dark and yellow gold
I was 11 years old
The inspiration was spread out like a blanket, ask em
My discovery was beyond the pick, the Lee suit, and the afro
Now from the flair jeans on 169th from College
Watching the dude lean on one-seven-o
With a Kangol cross America
I saw the hippies cross
By Herc on Technique needles syncopated time was on time
The same time as the Beatles
I was up there watching James Browns pockets, stuffed with Jolly Ranchers
When the NFL had the Rams in Los Angeles
Charles Finley in Oakland
And my kindergarten moment was the beginning
Til the Caribbean people came to New York and sheepskin was bought
The wind breaker
The building never fall down
They are the teeth of the town
They crush us up in they grind
The meat and bone of the mind
We gather here on the block
They key broke off in the lock
Ill meet you down at the well
Ill meet you down at the well
My balloon drops down at midnight
Stranglin the monkey with the hands of a clock
Good cant help but do a little evil
Evil cant help but
Do a little good
Whos that singing in the kitchen by the stove?
All aboard for the night train!
They say the moon, it smells just like a cherry bomb
Come on home
All is forgiven
Everything costs
Deliver us from evil
And carry your own cross
The time gathered with poppy seeds and grass
Growing nobody faster than Jesse Owens
With everything Im seeing and knowing
London Heathrow
Walking through the airport with green Pro-Keds
Sixty-niners from the designers
Tom McCann above the hill
Next to my man, Lou Man
The cardigan sweaters
The still sell the New Eras now at Jew Man!
Ghetto Bhudda in the second set
Breaking out in a cold sweat
Ill meet you in the music
We meet in the music
Those we never met
Keep dancing like theres nobody watching
Everyone can win the toss
I may wander, bit I am never lost |
Ive come 500 miles
Just to see your halo
Come from St. Petersburg
Scarlett and me
When I open my eyes
I was blind as can be
When you give a man luck
He must fall in the sea
And she wants you to steal and get caught
For she loves you for all that you are not
When youre falling down
Falling down
When youre falling down
Falling down falling down
You forget all the roses
Dont come around on Sunday
Shes not gonna choose you
For standing so tall
Go on take a swig of that poison
And like it
And now dont ask for silverware
Dont ask for nothing
Go on and put your ear to the ground
You know youll be hearing that sound
Falling down
Youre falling down falling down
Falling down falling down
Falling down
When youre falling down
Falling down falling down
Go on down see that wrecking ball
Come swing in on her now
Everyone knew that hotel was a goner
They broke all the windows
And took all the door knobs
And they hauled it away
In a couple of days
Now someone yelled timber
Take off your hat
We all look smaller
Down here on the ground
When youre falling down
Falling down falling down
Falling down falling down
Falling down
Someones falling down
Falling down falling down
Falling down falling down
Falling down |
There is a light in the forest
Theres a face in the tree
Ill pull you out of the chorus
And the first ones always free
You can never go a-hunting
With just a flintlock and a hound
You wont go home with a bunting
If you blow a hundred rounds
It takes much more than wild courage
Or youll hit the tattered clouds
You must have just the right bullets
And the first ones always free
You must be careful in the forest
Broken glass and rusty nails
If youre to bring back something for us
I have bullets for sale
Why be a fool when you can chase away
Your blind and your gloom?
I have blessed each one of these bullets
And they shine just like a spoon
To have sixty silver wishes
Is a small price to pay
Theyll be your private little fishes
And theyll never swim away
I just want you to be happy
Thats my only little wish
Ill fix your wagon and your musket
And the spoon will have its dish
And I shudder at the thought of your
Poor empty hunters pouch
So Ill keep the wind from your barrel
And bless the roof of your house |
Tonight Ill shave the mountain
Ill cut the hearts from pharaohs
I pull the road off of the rise
Tear the memories from my eyes
And in the morning Ill be gone
I drink a thousand shipwrecks
Tonight I steal your paychecks
I paint the sheets across my bed
The birds will all fly from my head
And in the morning Ill be gone
Take every dream thats breathing
Find every boot thats leaving
Shoot all the lights in the cafe
And in the morning Ill be gone
I bet a thousand dollars
I have a French companion
I tie myself below the deck
I pull the rope around my neck
And in the morning Ill be gone
It takes a life to win her
There is a drum of bourbon
800 pounds of nitro
His boots are thunder as he plays
There is a stone inside it
Tonight his bones will ride it
Ill need a tent to hide it
And in the morning Ill be gone
And in the morning Ill be gone
And in the morning Ill be gone
And in the morning Ill be gone
And in the morning Ill be gone
And in the morning Ill be gone |
The jigolos jumpin salty
Aint no trade out on the streets
Half past the unlucky
And the hawks a front row seat
Dressed in full orchestration
Stage door johnnys got to pay
And send him home
Talking bout the one that got away
Could a been on easy street
Could a been a wheel
With irons in the fire
And all them business deals
But the last of the big time losers
Shouted before he drove away
Ill be right back as soon as I crack
The one that got away
The ambulance drivers dont give a shit
They just want to get off work
And the short stop and the victim
Have already gone berserk
And the shroud tailor measures him
For a deep six holiday
The stiff is froze, the case is closed
On the one that got away
Jim Crows directing traffic
With them cemetery blues
With those peculiar looking trousers
And them old Italian shoes
The wooden kimona was all ready
To drop in San Francisco bay
But now hes mumbling something
All about the one that got away
Costello was the champion
At the St. Moritz Hotel
And the best this side of Fairfax
Reliable sources tell
But his reputation is at large
And hes at Ben Franks every day
Waiting for the one that got away
Hes got a snake skin sportshirt
And he looks like Vincent Price
With a little piece of chicken
And hes carving off a slice
But someone tipped her off
Shell be doing a Houdini now any day
She shook his hustle
The Greyhound busll
Take the one that got away
Andre is at the piano
Behind the Ivar in the Sewers
With a buck a shot for pop tunes
And a fin for guided tours
He could of been in Casablanca
He stood in line out there all day
But now hes spilling whiskey
And learning songs about the one that got away
Well Ive lost my equilibrium
My car keys and my pride
Tattoo parlors warm
And so I huddle there inside
The grinding of the buzzsaw
Whatchuwanthathingtosay
Just dont misspell her name
Buddy shes the one that got away |
Well I pulled on troubles braids
And I hid in the briars
Out by the quick mud
Stayin away from the main roads
Passin out wolf tickets
Downwind from the bloodhounds
And I pulled on troubles braids
And I lay by a cypress
As quiet as a stone
Till the bleeding stopped
I blew the weather vane
Off some old roadhouse
I built a fire in the
Skeleton back seat of an old Tucker
And I pulled on troubles braids
I spanked cold red mud
Where the hornet stung deep
And I tossed in the ditch
In a restless sleep
And I pulled on troubles braids
I hung my rain-soaked jacket
On some old barbed wire
Poured cold rusty water
On a miserable fire
I pulled on troubles braids
The creek was swollen by daybreak
And I could just barely see
And I floated downstream
On an old dead tree
And I pulled on troubles braids
I pulled on troubles braids
I pulled on troubles braids
I pulled on troubles braids |
Red Pants and the Sugarman in the Temple Street gloom
Drinkin Chivas Regal in a four-dollar room
Just another dead soldier in a powder-blue light
Sugarman says, baby, everythings alright
Goin downtown down downtown
Goin down downtown
Montclaire de Havelin doin the St. Vitus dance
Lookin for someone to chop the lumber in his pants
How am I gonna unload all of this ice and all this mink?
All the traffic in the street, but its so hard to think
Goin downtown down downtown
Goin down downtown
Frankies wearin lipstick, Pierre Cardin
I swear to god I seen him holdin hands with Jimmy Bond
Sallys high on crank and hungry for some sweets
Fem in the sheets, but shes butch in the streets
Goin downtown down downtown
Goin down downtown
Its the cool of the evening, the suns goin down
I want to hold you in my arms, I want to push you around
I wanna break your bottle and spill out all your charms
Come on baby, well set off all the burglar alarms
Goin downtown down downtown
Goin down downtown
Red Pants and the Sugarman in the Temple Street gloom
Are drinkin Chivas Regal in a four-dollar room
Just another dead soldier in a powder-blue night
Red Pants says to Sugarman, said everythings alright
Goin downtown down downtown
Goin down downtown |
Long way going to get my medicine
Skys the autumn grey of a lonely wren
Piano from a window played
Gone tomorrow, gone yesterday
Found it in the street
At first, I did not see lying at my feet, a trampled rose
Passing the hat in church
It never stops going round
You never pay just once to get the job done
What I done to me, I done to you
So what happened to the trampled rose?
In the muddy street, with the fireworks and leaves
A blind man with a cup I asked
If he would sing Kisses Sweeter Than Wine
I know this rose like I know my name
The one I gave my love, it was the same
Now I find it in the street, a trampled rose |
Well, I hope that I dont fall in love with you
Cause falling in love just makes me blue
When the music plays and you display your heart for me to see
I had a beer and now I hear you calling out for me
And I hope that I dont fall in love with you
Well, the room is crowded, people everywhere
And I wonder should I offer you a chair
Well, if you sit down with this old clown, take that frown and break it
Before the evenings gone away, I think that we can make it
And I hope that I dont fall in love with you
Well, the night does funny things inside a man
These old tomcat feelings you dont understand
Well, I turn around to look at you, you light a cigarette
I wish I had the guts to bum one, but weve never met
And I hope that I dont fall in love with you
I can see that you are lonesome, just like me
And it being late, youd like some company
Well, I turn around to look at you, and you look back at me
The guy youre with has up and split, the chair next to you is free
And I hope that you dont fall in love with me
Its closing time, the musics fading out
Last call for drinks, Ill have another stout
Well, I turn around to look at you, youre nowhere to be found
I search the place for your lost face, guess Ill have another round
And I think that I just fell in love with you |
Last night I dreamed that I was dreaming of you
And from a window across the lawn I watched you undress
Wearing your sunset of purple tightly woven around your hair
That rose in strangled ebony curls
Moving in a yellow bedroom light
The air is wet with sound
The faraway yelping of a wounded dog
And the ground is drinking a slow faucet leak
Your house is so soft and fading as it soaks the black summer heat
A light goes on and the door opens
And a yellow cat runs out on the stream of hall light and into the yard
A wooden cherry scent is faintly breathing the air
I hear your champagne laugh
You wear two lavender orchids
One in your hair and one on your hip
A string of yellow carnival lights comes on with the dusk
Circling the lake with a slowly dipping halo
And I hear a banjo tango
And you dance into the shadow of a black poplar tree
And I watched you as you disappeared
I watched you as you disappeared
I watched you as you disappeared
I watched you as you disappeared |
The seeds are planted here, but they won’t grow
We won’t have to say goodbye if we all go
Maybe things will be better in Chicago
To leave all we’ve ever known for a place we’ve never seen
Maybe things will be better in Chicago
Well it’s brave for us to stay, even braver to go
Wherever she goes, I go
Maybe things will be better in Chicago
What we need, the Lord will give us
All we want, we carry with us
You know where I can be found
Where the rainbow hits the ground
I’m not alone, I’m not afraid
Cause this bird has flown from his cage
There’s so much magic we have known
On this sapphire we call home
With my coat and my hat
I say goodbye to all that
Maybe things will be better in Chicago
Maybe things will be better in Chicago |
Check this strange beverage that falls out from the sky
Splashin Baghdad on the Hudson in Panther Martins eyes
Hes high and outside, wearin candy apple red
Scarlett gave him twenty-seven stitches in his head
With a pint of green chartreuse, aint nothin seems right
You buy the Sunday paper on a Saturday night
Cant you hear the thunder? Someone stole my watch
I sold a quart of blood and bought a half-a-pint of scotch
Someone tell those Chinamen on Telegraph Canyon Road
When youre on the bill with the spoon, there aint no time to unload
So bye bye baby, baby bye bye
Droopy stranger, lonely dreamer, toy puppy, and the prado
Were laughin as they piled into Olmos Eldorado
Jesus whispered, Eenie meany miney moe
Theyre too proud to duck their heads
Thats why they bring it down so low
So bye bye baby, baby bye bye
The pointed man is smack dab in the middle of July
Swingin from the rafters in his brand-new tie
He said, I cant go back to that hotel room, all they do is shout
But listen, baby, Ill stay with you till the money runs out
So bye bye baby, baby bye bye
Check this strange beverage that falls out from the sky
Splashin Baghdad on the Hudson in Panther Martins eyes
Hes high and outside, wearin candy apple red
Scarlett gave him twenty-seven stitches in his head
With a pint of green chartreuse, aint nothin seems right
You buy the Sunday paper on a Saturday night
Bye bye baby, baby bye bye
Bye bye baby, baby bye bye
Bye bye baby, baby bye bye
Bye bye baby, baby bye bye |
In between love trying to scheme love
Who can tell what we may find
Never thought love, not get caught love
Between the magic in your eyes
Loves like women, its cool and breezy
Never thought that love could be so easy
In between love trying to scheme love
In between love again
In between love trying to scheme love
Who can tell what we may find
All this time love, I sublime love
To the feelings in my mind
Loves like women, its cool and breezy
Never thought that love could be so easy
In between love trying to scheme love
In between love, again |
Its more than rain that falls on our parade tonight
Its more than thunder, its more than thunder
And its more than a bad dream now that Im sober
Nothing but sad times, nothing but sad times
None of our pockets are lined with gold
Nobodys caught the bouquet
There are no dead presidents we can fold
Nothing is going our way
And its more than trouble Ive got myself into
Its more than woe-begotten gray skies now
And its more than a bad dream now that Im sober
Theres no more dancing, theres no more dancing
And its more than trouble Ive got myself into
Nothing but sad times, nothing but sad times
None of our pockets are lined with gold
Nobodys caught the bouquet
There are no dead presidents we can fold
Nothing is going our way
And its more than goodbye I have to say to you
Its more than woe-begotten gray skies now
And its more than goodbye I have to say to you
Its more than woe-begotten gray skies now
And its more than woe-begotten gray skies now |
Well I dont mind working
Cause I used to be jerking off
Most of my time in the the bars
I been a cabby and a stock clerk
And a soda fountain jock jerk
And a manic mechanic on cars
Its nice work if you can get it
Now who the hell said it
I got money to spend on my girl
But the work never stops
And Ill be busting my chops
Working for Joe & Sal
And I cant wait to get off work
And see my baby
She said shed leave the porch lite
On for me
Im disheveled Im disdainful
Im distracted and its painful
But this job sweeping up here is
Gainfully employing me tonight
Tom do this Tom do that
Tom dont do that
Count the cash clean the oven
Dump the trash oh your lovin
Is a rare and a copasetic gift
Im a moonlight watchmanic
Its hard to be romantic
(sweeping up over by the
Cigarette machine
Sweeping up over by the cigarette machine)
And cant wait to get off work
And see my baby
Shell be waiting up with a magazine for me
Clean the bathrooms, clean um good
Oh youre lovin I wish you would
Come down here and sweepameoffmyfeet
This broomll have to be my baby
If I hurry I just might
Get off before the dawns early light |
Well, my Mama didnt want me
On the day I was born
I was born without a body
I got nothin but scorn
But I always loved music
All I had was my hands
I dreamed Id be famous
And Id work at The Sands
Singing
Tabletop Joe
Tabletop Joe
How everyone will know Tabletop Joe
I had trouble with the pedals
But I had a strong left hand
And I could play Stravinsky
On a Baby Grand
I said Im gonna join the circus
Cause thats where I belong
So I went to Coney Island
I was singing this song
Tabletop Joe
Tabletop Joe
Now everyone knows Tabletop Joe
They gave me top billing
In the Dreamland show
I had my own orchestra
Starring Tabletop Joe
And the man without a body
Proved everyone wrong
I was rich and I was famous
I was where I belonged
Tabletop Joe
Tabletop Joe
Now everyone knows Tabletop Joe |
Well I left New York
In nineteen forty-nine
To go across the country
Without a bad-blamed dime
Montana in the cold, cold fall
I found my father in a gambling hall
Father father
Where you been
Ive been out in the world
Since I was only ten
Dont worry about me
Im about to die of the pleurisy
Cross the Mississippi
Cross the Tennessee
Cross the Niobrara
Home Ill never be
Home in old Medora
Home in ol Truckee
Apalachicola
Home Ill never be
For better or for worse
And thick and thin
Like being married to the little woman
God loves me
Like I love him
I want you to do
Just the same for him
Well the worms eat away
But the worrywarts will win
Oh the worms eat away
But the worrywarts will win
Oh the worms eat away
But the worrywarts will win
So I left Montana
On that old freight train
The night my father died
In the cold, cold rain
Home in old Medora
Home in ol Truckee
Apalachicola
Home Ill never be
Home Ill never be
Home Ill never be |
When traveling abroad in the continental style
Its my belief one must attempt to be discreet
And subsequently bear in mind your transient position
Allows you a perspective thats unique
And though youll find your itinerary a blessing and a curse
Your wanderlust wont let you settle down
And youll wonder how you ever fathomed that youd be content
To stay within the city limits of a small mid western town
Most vagabonds I knowed dont ever want to find the culprit
That remains the object of their long relentless quest
The obsessions in the chasing and not the apprehending
The pursuit you see and never the arrest
Without fear of contradiction bon voyage is always hollered
In conjunction with a handkerchief from shore
By a girl who drives a Rambler and furthermore is overly concerned
That she wont see him anymore
Planes and trains and boats and buses characteristically
Evoke a common attitude of blue
Unless you have a suitcase and a ticket and a passport
And the cargo that theyre carrying is you
A foreign affair juxtaposed with a stateside
And domestically approved romantic fancy
Is mysteriously attractive due to circumstances
Knowing it will only be parlayed into a memory |
Once upon a time there was a poor child
With no father and no mother
And everything was dead
And no one was left in the whole world
Everything was dead
And the child went on search day and night
And since nobody was left on the earth
He wanted to go up into the heavens
And the moon was looking at him so friendly
And when he finally got to the moon
The moon was a piece of rotten wood
And then he went to the sun
And when he got there
The sun was a wilted sunflower
And when he got to the stars
They were little golden flies
Stuck up there like the shrike
Sticks em on a blackthorn
And when he wanted to go back down to earth
The earth was an overturned piss pot
And he was all alone
He sat down and he cried
And he is there till this day
All alone
Okay theres your story
Night night |