Artist: Warren Zevon Album: Warren Zevon {1976}

On a small Missouri farm
Back when the west was young
Two boys learned to rope and ride
And be handy with a gun
War broke out between the states
And they joined up with Quantrill
And it was over in Clay county 
That Frank and Jesse finally learned to kill

Keep on riding, riding, riding Frank and Jesse James
Keep on riding, riding, riding till you clear your names
Keep on riding, riding, riding across the rivers and the range
Keep on riding, riding, riding Frank and Jesse James

After Appomattox
They were on the loosing side
So no amnesty was granted
And as outlaws they did ride 
They rode against the railroads
And they rode against the banks 
And they rode against the governor 
Never did they ask for a word of thanks

Keep on riding, riding, riding Frank and Jesse James
Keep on riding, riding, riding till you clear your names
Keep on riding, riding, riding across the prairies and the plains
Keep on riding, riding, riding Frank and Jesse James

Robert Ford, a gunman 
In exchange for his parole 
Took the life of James, the outlaw 
Which he snuck up on and stole 
No one knows just where
They came to be misunderstood 
But the poor Missouri farmers knew 
That Frank and Jesse do the best they could

Keep on riding, riding, riding Frank and Jesse James
Keep on riding, riding, riding till you clear your names
Keep on riding, riding, riding across the rivers and the range
Keep on riding, riding, riding Frank and Jesse James
Well, Frank and Jesse James
Keep on riding, riding, riding till you clear your names
Keep on riding, riding, riding across the prairies and the plains
Keep on riding, riding, riding Frank and Jesse James

Gambler ambled down a country lane 
Looking for a game of chance
She was twenty-one or two 
And she knew what she wanted
And she wanted that gamblin' man

Her parents warned her 
Tried to reason with her 
She was determined that she wanted Bill 
They'd all be offended at the mention still
If they heard this song, which I doubt they will

And my mama couldn't be persuaded when they pleaded with her
"Daughter, don't marry that gamblin' man."
Mama couldn't be persuaded when they pleaded with her
"Daughter, don't marry that gamblin' man."
Mama couldn't be persuaded when they pleaded with her
No, no nevertheless
I said, my mama couldn't be persuaded when they pleaded with her
"Daughter, don't marry that gamblin' man."

Gambler tried to be a family man
Though it didn't suit his style 
He thought he had him a winning combination 
So he took us where the stakes were high 
Her parents warned her 
Tried to reason with her 
Never kept their disappointment hid 
They all went to pieces when the bad luck hit
Stuck in the middle, I was the kid

And my mama couldn't be persuaded when they pleaded with her
"Daughter, don't marry that gamblin' man."
Mama couldn't be persuaded when they pleaded with her
"Daughter, don't marry that gamblin' man."
Mama couldn't be persuaded when they pleaded with her
No, no nevertheless
My mama couldn't be persuaded when my Granny pleaded with her
Not to marry that gamblin' man

I said, my mama couldn't be persuaded when they pleaded with her
"Daughter, don't marry that gamblin' man."
Mama couldn't be persuaded when they pleaded with her
"Daughter, don't marry that gamblin' man."
Mama couldn't be persuaded when they pleaded with her
"Daughter, don't marry that gamblin' man."
Mama couldn't be persuaded when they pleaded with her
"Daughter, don't marry that gamblin' man."

I was caught between the years
Nearly cost me all my tears
With my back turned, looking down the path
Hit me like a ton of bricks
Had to get my outlook fixed
With my back turned, looking down the path

People always ask me why
What's the matter with me
Nothing matters when I'm with my baby
With my back turned, looking down the path

We'll go walkin' hand in hand
Laughin' fit to beat the band
With our backs turned, looking down the path

People always ask me why
What's the matter with me
Nothing matters when I'm with my baby
With my back turned, looking down the path

Some may have, and some may not 
God, I'm thankful for what I got 
With my back turned, looking down the path
With my back turned, looking down the path
With my back turned, looking down the path

She tells him she thinks she needs to be free 
He tells her he doesn't understand 
She takes his hand 
She tells him nothing's working out the way they planned

She's so many women 
He can't find the one who was his friend 
So he's hanging on to half her heart 
But he can't have the restless part
So he tells her to hasten down the wind

Then he agrees, he thinks she needs to be free
Then she says she'd rather be with him
But it's just a whim
By which she hopes to keep him on the limb

She's so many women
He can't find the one who was his friend
So he's hanging on to half her heart
He can't have the restless part
So he tells her to hasten down the wind

She's so many women
He can't find the one who was his friend
So he's hanging on to half her heart
He can't have the restless part
So he tells her to hasten down the wind
He tells her to hasten down the wind

I'd lay my head on the railroad tracks
And wait for the Double E
The railroad don't run no more 
Poor, poor pitiful me

Poor, poor pitiful me
Poor, poor pitiful me
These young girls won't let me be
Lord, have mercy on me
Woe is me

Well, I met a girl in West Hollywood
I ain't naming names 
But she really worked me over good 
She was just like Jesse James 
She really worked me over good 
She was a credit to her gender 
She put me through some changes, Lord 
Sort of like a Waring blender

Poor, poor pitiful me
Poor, poor pitiful me
These young girls won't let me be
Lord, have mercy on me
Woe is me, woo

Poor, poor pitiful me
Poor, poor pitiful me
These young girls won't let me be
Lord, have mercy on me
Woe is me

I met a girl at the Rainbow bar 
She asked me if I'd beat her 
She took me back to the Hyatt House 
I don't want to talk about it

Poor, poor pitiful me, woo
Poor, poor pitiful me - never mind
Poor, poor pitiful me, woo-hoo
Poor, poor pitiful me
Poor, poor pitiful me

How you gonna to make your way in the world, woman
When you weren't cut out for working 
When your fingers are slender and frail 
How you gonna to get around
In this sleazy bedroom town 
If you don't put yourself up for sale

Where will you go with your scarves and your miracles 
Who's gonna know who you are 
Drugs and wine and flattering light 
You must try it again till you get it right 
Maybe you'll end up with someone different every night

All these people with no home to go home to
They'd all like to spend the night with you 
Maybe I would, too

But tell me, how you gonna to make your way in the world, woman
When you weren't cut out for working 
And you just can't concentrate 
And you always show up late

You said you were an actress
Yes, I believe you are
I thought you'd be a star
So I drank up all the money
Yes, I drank up all the money
With these phonies in this Hollywood bar
These friends of mine in this Hollywood bar

Loneliness and frustration
We both came down with an acute case
But when the lights came up at two
I caught a glimpse of you
And your face looked like something
Death brought with him in his suitcase

Your pretty face, it looked so wasted
Another pretty face devastated
The French Inhaler
He stamped and mailed her 
"So long, Norman." 
She said, "So long, Norman."

Everybody's restless and they got no place to go 
Someone's always trying to tell them 
Something they already know 
So their anger and resentment flow

But don't it make you want to rock and roll
All night long, Mohammed's Radio
I heard somebody singing sweet and soulful
On the radio, Mohammed's Radio

You know, the Sheriff's got his problems, too
He will surely take them out on you 
In walks the village idiot and his face was all aglow 
He's been up all night listening to Mohammed's Radio

Didn't it'd make you want to rock and roll
All night long, Mohammed's Radio
I heard somebody singing sweet and soulful
On the radio, Mohammed's Radio

Everybody's desperate trying to make ends meet 
Work all day, still can't pay the price of gasoline and meat 
Alas, their lives are incomplete

Don't it make you want to rock and roll
All night long, Mohammed's Radio
I heard somebody singing sweet and soulful
On the radio, Mohammed's Radio

You've been up all night listening for his drum - up all night
Hoping that the righteous
Might just, might just, might just come - just it might
I heard the General whisper to his aide-de-camp
"Be watchful for Mohammed's lamp."

Don't it make you want to rock and roll
All night long, Mohammed's Radio
I heard somebody singing sweet and soulful
On the radio, Mohammed's Radio
Mohammed's Radio

So much to do, there's plenty on the farm
I'll sleep when I'm dead
Saturday night I like to raise a little harm
I'll sleep when I'm dead, hey

I'm drinking heartbreak motor oil and Bombay gin
I'll sleep when I'm dead
Straight from the bottle, twisted again
I'll sleep when I'm dead, alright

Well, I take this medicine as prescribed
I'll sleep when I'm dead
It don't matter if I get a little tired
I'll sleep when I'm dead

I've got a .38 special up on the shelf
I'll sleep when I'm dead
If I start acting stupid I'll shoot myself
Then I'll sleep when I'm dead

So much to do, there's plenty on the farm
I'll sleep when I'm dead
Saturday night I like to raise a little harm
I'll sleep when I'm dead, alright

I hear Mariachi static on my radio 
And the tubes they glow in the dark 
And I'm there with her in Ensenada 
And I'm here in Echo Park

Carmelita hold me tighter
I think I'm sinking down 
And I'm all strung out on heroin
On the outskirts of town

Well, I'm sittin' here playing solitaire
With my pearl-handled deck
The county won't give me no more methadone
And they cut off your welfare check

Carmelita hold me tighter
I think I'm sinking down
And I'm all strung out on heroin
On the outskirts of town

Well, I pawned my Smith Corona
And I went to meet my man
He hangs out down on Alvarado Street
By the Pioneer chicken stand

Carmelita hold me tighter
I think I'm sinking down
And I'm all strung out on heroin
On the outskirts of town
 
Carmelita hold me tighter 
I think I'm sinking down 
And I'm all strung out on heroin
On the outskirts of town

Well, they say this place is evil
That ain't why I stay
Cos I found something that'll never be nothing
And I found it in L.A.

It was midnight in Topanga - in Topanga
I heard the DJ say
There's a full moon rising
Join me in L.A., join me in L.A.

Wake up, wake up

I was at the Tropicana
On a dark and sultry day
Had to call somebody long distance
I said, "Join me in L.A., join me in L.A."

I was sitting in the Hollywood Hawaiian Hotel
I was staring in my empty coffee cup
I was thinking that the gypsy wasn't lyin'
All the salty margaritas in Los Angeles, I'm gonna drink 'em up

And if California slides into the ocean
Like the mystics and statistics say it will
I predict this motel will be standing until I pay my bill

Don't the sun look angry through the trees
Don't the trees look like crucified thieves
Don't you feel like Desperados under the eaves
Heaven help the one who leaves

Still waking up in the mornings with shaking hands
And I'm trying to find a girl who understands me
But except in dreams, you're never really free
Don't the sun look angry at me

I was sitting in the Hollywood Hawaiian Hotel
I was listening to the air conditioner hum
It went hmmm

Look away down Gower Avenue, look away
Look away down Gower Avenue, look away
Look away down Gower Avenue, look away
Look away down Gower Avenue, look away
Look away down Gower Avenue, look away
Look away down Gower Avenue, look away