SINGER - SONGWRITER
LYRICS
Liberty
My good man he was standing by the ocean
He was walking on the water
making plans and observations
and a long time ago in the ages of Rome
they took all the pretty birds
and they put them all in cages
except for the fastest bird
who flew so fast they couldn't catch her
and her name was Liberty and I think I'll go and fetch her
I know the tree in which she sits I know
the eggs which she lays
I have so many words for you good God
but none that I can say
And these crooked lines we walk as we are waiting
at the station
When you've found liberty there's nothing left to say
Coal Mine Canary
Put your love in a suitcase baby and get on an old jet plane
Write it down on a steel string guitar
I know your apples are rotten and you are sick of the same old thing
Hand it off to good old Zanzibar
My memories they have served me very well
but they could use some reckoning...
Bye bye all you yellow canaries I am home free
Bye bye all you pretty blue jays I am home free
Cause a life in a coal mine
no it ain't for me
don't want to be no coal mine canary
Can you wait for me to get my shit together
Paris Hilton is in prison
She ain't tough man,
so I feel comfortable
sayin' that I could, do, it better
oh you know I could
so there's no need,
oh to question me
or my god-given abilities
Put your love in a suitcase baby
and get on an old jet plane
Write it down on a steel string guitar
My memories they have served me very well
but they could use some reckoning...
Bye bye all you yellow canaries I am home free
Bye bye all you pretty blue jays I am home free
Cause a life in a coal mine
no it ain't for me
don't want to be no coal mine canary
Self Righteous
I used to be so self-righteous, I could see the parasite on a tick
I could tell you what your name was, tell you what your game was
man it would make you sick
Lo and behold I was the perfect prick,
wait a minute baby better come here quick
I sing the devil his lullabies, I used to work with Michelangelo on the side
We all know the devil don't sleep at night,
and me and Mike we'd be paintin' the Sistine Chapel white
You might think it's a joke, you might think it's a lie
but why would I joke, why would I lie?
It would be professional suicide
I used to be so self-righteous, I could take the head off of a pin
With one phrase I could drag the cat out, beat him and then drag him back in
I could take the eye out of a fish, mix it with mayonnaise for potato chip dip
I could take the tire off of a car with a jar of Vaseline and an oak tree stick
Lo and behold I was the perfect prick, wait a minute momma better come here quick
I sing the devil his lullabies, I used to work with Michelangelo on the side
We all know the devil don't sleep at night,
and me and Mike we'd be paintin' the Sistine Chapel white
You might think it's a joke, you might think it's a lie
but why would I joke, why would I lie?
It would be professional suicide
I used to be so self-righteous
it was a long long time ago
Before my brain began to be allergic
To what I used to know
I used to be
so perfect
but it took up all my time
You don't need to know Michelangelo to know where to draw the line
I sing the devil his lullabies I used to work with Michelangelo on the side
we all know the devil don't sleep at night, and me and Mike we'd be paintin' the Sistine Chapel white
I used to be so self-righteous, but it took up all my time
and you don't need to know Michelangelo to know where to draw the line
Dog on the Street
All of your love is gone, what will you do? All of your love is gone, what will you do?
I dream I color I dream in red, I dream of everything you said to me
that a life long on beauty had been a long long time from me
but there's no use in gettin' me all worked up
and there's no use in gettin' me all jerked up to see
that my love is so far away from me
(Tempo Change)
I saw a dog, lying in the street
His master called to him but he didn't rise up on his feet
I saw a man, kneeling on the ground
His master called to him but he did not hear a sound
Who controls the universe? I think I control it with my mind.
Who controls the universe? I think I control it with my mind.
I saw a fly buzzing by the window but I didn't take his life
I saw a man leading someone by the hand it was his wife
Who controls the universe? I think I control it with my mind.
And if you don't see what I'm sayin', boy you are really blind
(Tempo changes again)
And now the train whistle blows in my ear
and how I wish that you were coming home
and now I'm ten miles high in the sky
and the stars are lonelier than you'd ever know
and I'm ten inches tall in the mirror
you know I hate to be alone
All of your love is gone, what will you do? All of your love is gone, what will you do?
I dream I color I dream in red, I dream of everything you said to me
that a life long on beauty had been a long long time from me
but there's no use in gettin' me all worked up
and there's no use in gettin' me all jerked up to see
that my love is so far away from me
You
You call me up, in the middle of the night just to say hello
as I hang up the phone I ask myself, just how deep does this love go?
I had been lookin' for something, that just might be found
and all I had to do is nothing
just had to stop turning my head around
Because You were right there in front of me
You were right there behind me
You were to the left and the right of me
Oh, you surround me
You have all the answers, You hold the key
What I wouldn't give to let you know just what I know
I would call you up in the middle of the night just to tell you so
Guess I was not so much as blind,
I just kept thinkin' that it couldn't be that easy
Every smile that comes to your face seems to shine
that much more brightly
and every step that I take on this earth
I seem to tread that much more lightly
and when I think of holding you I know that I'm going to
do it that much more tightly
Cause You were right there in front of me
You were right there behind me
You were to the left and the right of me
Oh, you surround me
You have all the answers, You hold the key
What I wouldn't give to let you know just what I see
I would call you up in the middle of the night but I think I'll just let you sleep
Jones
I was down in the swamps of Louisiana, I ran into a guy
I said "hi" my name is Hannah
He said, Oh no, his name was Jones
I could tell right away he was feathers and bones
Coyote howlin' underneath the yellow moon sayin'
don't make your mind up so soon
We headed on over to Oklahoma, one of us froze
one of use got a coma
I ain't gonna tell you which one of us got which disease
but it was easy to see who was on his knees
He said oh no his name was Jones
he had a pocket full of lies and a bucket of bones
he said he would trade
everything that he owned
to never be alone
We headed east over to Illinois to see what was the matter
see what was makin' all that noise
It was a coyote howlin' underneath the yellow moon
sayin' don't set your stakes so high so soon
We headed west to St. Louis by Soo Line
by the time we got there we were both doin' fine
We hopped a ferry back down to Louisiana
I said goodbye Jones, he said goodbye Hannah
and my heart was breakin'
And there was Mississippi mud on the bumper of his truck
it was full of bad diseases and full of bad luck
mud on the mirror and I couldn't see how
I could ever replace what I wanted to be
with who I was right now
(Break)
Ten years later I saw him in Savannah
I said hello Jones, he said hello Hannah
he had a tattoo of an eagle drawn on his chest
he was lookin' like a pirate and tan from Key West
he didn't say a word but looked like he wanted to make a bet
I said you know if we never would have seen each other again
that probably would have been best
But he just smiled, said he was headed to Key West
and asked me if I wanted another cigarette
I said no but I watched his burn
and I wondered how he had ever learned
And there was sand on the bumper of his truck
It was full of bad diseases but full of good luck
a smudge on the rearview mirror from his thumb
and he couldn't see how he had ever replaced
what he had been with what he had become
I told him I was headed to Memphis, Tennessee
he was takin' 95 and I took 16
All the while feelin' like I was in some crazy dream
By the time he got down to the Florida keys,
I was probably in Memphis down on my feathers and knees, you see
I listen to blues and I listen to jazz,
but my fingers keep pickin' this one old rag
It goes on it's the same old song
some of it is right ad some of it is wrong
Oh, no his name was Jones
I could tell right away he was still feathers and bones
Coyote howlin' underneath the yellow moon
sayin' don't make your mind up so soon.
Obit. Blues
I got a boy who sings the blues
he's got a temple built for his ridin' shoes
and he ain't never gonna be front page news
and I ain't gonna sit and sing no obituary blues
I got a guy who sends me letters, I got a suitcase full
and he rhymes al the time, and it eases my mind
I got a case like a case in court I got a head trip baby
don't need a head start
he's got the medic, he's got the cure
he ain't that prophetic, that's for sure
but he has his moments and he has his blues
he's got a temple built for his ridin' shoes
and I ain't gonna sit and sing no obituary blues
Hitchhikers you know they all die on the road
they got a fat mother and they don't eat right
they gotta stab their own brother in the back with a knife
just to survive, well you know that ain't no life
I got a boy who sings the blues
he's got a temple built for his ridin' shoes
and he ain't never gonna be front page news
and I ain't gonna sit and sing no obituary blues
Mass Hysteria (other lyrics to this as well as it is a rich topic)
Well it is mass hysteria in America, we are all fighting fighting for the crown
who will be the big big boss who will buy the next round
evil is confronting you
on the t.v. screen
oh just go read People
Time or some other magazine
cause it seems so quiet and it seems so serene
but it is mass hysteria in America cause we're all living in a dream
People overseas are dying with sand in their eyes
to white collar criminals we are just as blind
do you know it
do you choose not to see
it is mass hysteria in America
from sea to shining sea
boys and girls are dying
husbands and wives
so much resistance so many lives
the facts and figures are all mixed up like to cooked up some big lie
and its getting rather tense
It is mass hysteria in America cause we don't know the difference
It is mass hysteria in America, we are all fighting, fighting for the prize
what we do not realize is that it comes at such a high high price
because we eat up convenience
and we swallow peace of mind
it is mass hysteria in America
cause we are all so quiet
Did we have a lobotomy
We sacrifice all for the economy
for it any bullet we would bite
for the truth is without money
we have no control of our lives
Some people act liberal like it's their duty
some people like it's a disease
It is mass hysteria in America from sea to shining sea
Well you don’t see me at a rally
you don't see me handin' out cards
I got a pretty good head on my shoulders
I got a pretty good heart
and if all the chaos is not weighin' on my mind
buckle up, sit tight- you're in for the
destruction of mankind
We vote for lower taxes but pay more for gasoline
And we don't care about pain in the picture
when we're on the winning team
It is mass hysteria in America
cause we're all living in a dream
It is mass hysteria in America
cause we're all living in a dream
additional:
I would not trust the CIA with my goldfish
there are people dyin' in Humvees and something is amiss
We watch American Idol while a real hero dies
Tell me does it bring a tear to your eye
when you see the body counts on 'Dateline'
It's easy to blame one man, but a body make the laws
Did it take much research to see it is a very flawed cause?
Does it take much brain to see the mistake
Why change the recipe when it tastes like cake?
Stress is sugar for a rising middle class
it's just a storm, sure to pass
No need to get their feathers all mussed up
People are dying but my stock is waaaay up
Do we have a voice in government today?
Does it matter what we say
I listen but it's quiet and serene
It is mass hysteria in America
We must be living in a dream.
They said it's Orange Alert
but I see no danger or hurt
They say to duck and cover
but all I smell is Big Brother
Shadow of God
Lordy lordy I was lookin' around, I saw the shadow of God down on the ground
I saw the shadow on the ground
Shadows of all of his creations
down at the train station
people and more people, faces and more faces
goin' to different places
I saw the shadows on the ground
The man in the shop wants to sell you a dollar for a nickel and a dime
I talk to him but I ran away because I had to chase my time
that was slippin' away
metal wheel on a metal rail and you go away
was it that simple yesterday, yesterday my son
finding out that you had to run
Lordy lordy I was lookin' around, I saw the shadow of God down on the ground
black as night, black as your head, black as the hole in your head
let's play a song on an old vinyl record instead
I've been living in a sea of ice for so long
and you wonder why I treat you so cold
brother please you don't wanna know
my story tonight
let's look at a photograph of us in the light
Lordy lordy I was lookin' around, I saw the shadow of God down on the ground
I saw the shadow on the ground
Shadows of all of his creation
down at the train station
people and more people, faces and more faces
goin' to different places
I saw the shadows on the ground
days went by and I hardly looked around
Just the reflection on the glass as they reflect the outside
all your shades all your skies
just a shadow for the man who died
well lordy lordy I was lookin around, I saw the shadow of god down on the ground
on a cold February day when I finally looked around
and as cold as your absence seems
June is somewhere deep in the ground
White Carrying Hands
I'm telling you now that it couldn't be worse
I'm about to call for my hope's hearse
Bring on those white carrying hands
and put it back down where it began
I'm telling you now that I'm out of my head
feelings of grief are turning into dread
waves of guilt they are crashing into lead
my heart no longer beats
Bring on those white carrying hands
and put me back down where I began
Forget it all and just be damned
bring on those white carrying hands
Flowers will bloom and the sky will listen
love is powerful and it will hold you
until all is forgiven
Bring on those white carrying hands
put me back down where I began
forsake it all and just be damned, no
bring on those white carrying hands
Flowers will bloom and the sky will listen
love is powerful and it will hold you
until all is forgiven
carry me with carrying hands
over the gardens of these promised lands
over the thorns that scratch your feet
for this all the stronger my heart beats
Bring on those white carrying hands
put me back down where I began
forget it all and just be damned
bring on those white carrying hands
Loved a Man
I loved a man and mmm, sometime he would love me
I woke one morning to stare in the mirror
and found the rodeo in my eyes
and love makes you lonesome sometimes
Well I laid him down on a fiery mountain and it broke my strings
the sky above the fiery fountain and it causes him to sing
I can hear that echo ring
I can hear that echo ring
I can hear that echo ring
Skeleton Girl
Skeleton girl has got some
pigeons on the backyard fence
silly child
cause she don't know the difference
starve yourself but you don't starve me
starve yourself but you don't starve me
in between cigarettes and death yes I think that is just where we met
in between cigarettes and death yes I think that is just where we met
skeleton girl and her bridesmaids
look at this feast that we have given you
starve yourself, but you don't starve me
starve yourself, but you don't starve me
Skeleton girl has got her bridesmaids in a row
there they stand, just like frozen dominoes
starve yourself, but you don't starve me
starve yourself, but you don't starve me
in between cigarettes and death yes I think that is just where we met
in between cigarettes and death yes I think that is just where we met
These Times Again
Well I don't mind walkin' down these times again
When the thoughts fold nice like the corners of the bed
that just come unraveled 'long with my head
when you lay down
when you lay down
when you lay down
Well I don't find myself at ease lately these days
I don't find myself any place if at all anyway
so if I can't find me then I guess I'm not lost
like if I don't know what I'm paying then it might as well
cost me nothing, for all I know
so I don't mind walkin' down these times again
'cause paths once traveled do stick to my shoes
lord forgive me for the way I think about you
No I don't mind walkin' down these times again
When the thoughts fold nice like the corners of the bed
that just come unraveled 'long with my head
[we could build a gravel road, ride it out of town
you're too good for me, wish I could take off your crown]
when you lay down
when you lay down
when you lay down
The Velvet and the Suede
Somewhere in between the velvet and the suede
lies the softest softness that we made
and I'm like a faded line in between the sunshine and the shade
I cannot be swayed either way-
to let things go
or to let them stay just the way that they are
oh why's it got to be, why's it got to be
so hard
when it started off
so softly
Now you look at me kind of weird
like a piece of glass looking into a mirror
and maybe all the reasons
are just far too clear
I see right through them if I see them at all
You look at me with those eyes and you ask me
what went wrong
and I just say babe, the answer is not in this song
You look at me with those eyes
and you ask me what went wrong
and I just say
(Musical outro)
Heaven
Heaven walks with her face down
heaven walks with her heart held high
above your reachin' hands
And I know that you're just a man
and I know that you're so much other than
other than
that I don't see much reason to mix the white with the black
yet here I am painting a picture
painting things but the things are all gray
like gray on top of gray on top of gray
what is that you're making you ask
and I don't know what to say
just something
other than
what I painted yesterday
Heaven walks with that face down
with her back turned and she has no words about it
and when she does speak she speaks so softly
it makes you wonder
if she's really even spoken at all
Learn to hear her voice within silence
urging you to move on
ah, to keep right on pursuing
what was already gone
because you know
further on road
fate slap you awake
and further on down the road
you will find that fate
is just another shade of paint
like gray on top of green on top of blue
like you on top of me on top of you
only if you want to
only if you want to
only if you want to understand
in his arms he wants to hold her
in his arms he wants to hold her there
in his arms he want to hold her there
stroke her hair, hold her there
let them stare, he says, let them stare
But in the back of the stands he hears laughter
shouting out, shouting out
that's not what I'm after at all
not at all
after all
after all
she has built such tall walls
such tall walls
but walls they all will fall
all walls they all will fall
all walls they all they will fall
they all, all will fall
The Graveyard Adventures of Survivor Cupcake (With Part II)
Well I'm behind you in handcuffs, rapping at the bones at your back door
crying to be taken home but that's me, survivor cupcake
ready to be consumed by what ails you
headache honey just drip down softly over the walls of this great
damn you
have built
to stop the rivers of a flowing passion but I really don't give a
Glances are séances as I try to communicate
with the dead lust buried six feet beneath white sheets
well beat down the flowers, take a shovel to the dust my sweet
roll over the stone and just throw me a bone and then
lay down at my feet
little whistle on a big train
comes rollin' round my place
little whistle like a big sigh
when I try to touch your face
you got pink sunshine on your face
you got hands too slow to think
you got eyes to weak to wink away the sand from when you were sleeping
you are keeping all your secrets deep
buried in a hurried heap of hiding
when it is you who is riding the train
whip out your sword but I'm already slain
I would spit at you but it looks like rain
mud might loosen up the grave,
mud might loosen up the grave
Parking meters on the freeway don't get a dime
just like melted clocks in the desert they don't tell the time
so we're having another one of those surreal moments
what’s it gonna be?
Do you want to raise the dead with me?
Or will you push me away
with your lack of a smile
saying you just want to hang out in the desert for awhile
getting blisters on our backs and hands
I tell you that I'm thirsty and you help me eat the sand
bones rolling around in the hot hot sun
you don't have all your parts
yet you try to run
oh but honey you're just gonna run into time
then try to tell me I'm
the strange one.
Mississippi (written after seeing B.B. King in concert)
I was down in Mississippi running from a train
and the police you know barely missed me, I was caught out in the rain
tears rollin' down my face like this
and you dried all of my clothes
and you ask me like nobody knows
you say why do I love YOU?
Because no one loves ME oh the way that you do
I was up in Chicago wind poundin' on my brain
the clouds over Lake Michigan always look like rain
and if I came to your door
clothes tattered and plain
would you let me in
or turn away
saying you don't know the name
you dried all of my clothes
and you ask me like nobody knows
you ask why do I love YOU?
Because no one loves ME oh the way that you do
I was down in Mississippi knee deep in mud
You called me in the phone asked me what I was up to
I said oh not much you know just
trying to move a mountain that would not budge
And if it never was to be
may God still smile on me
give me someone that loves me like you do
She Never Falls
The forest crumbles, but you will not rot away
The statue rumbles, but it is he who rots away
The crystal ball she mumbles, but you don't hear her call
Destiny sometimes stumbles, but she never falls
Time is a child, but I know she's walked a wounded mile
You cannot tell if she's happy or sad when she smiles
The bird is flying toward you
dipping in and out of the light
The sun is falling toward you
every time you say goodnight
and the universe is shrinking
and I feel it all is a lie
and every time you say hello
I feel you are saying goodbye
and Destiny sometimes hangs her head
but she never stoops to cry
Time is a child, but I know she's walked a wounded mile
You cannot tell if she's happy or sad when she smiles
From the first breath of creation
I have been toiling from the start
won't you come down and relieve
the achin' of my heart
Destiny sometimes is the horse
and sometimes is the cart
Time is a child, but I know she's walked a wounded mile
You cannot tell if she's happy or sad when she smiles
Burnt Dinner
What happened ma, what happened ma
what happened to the years
It's so hard to see your face
when there's cocaine on the mirror
and if I had a dollar I still could not buy back my sense
funny how what was funny then ain't funny now
funny how what was funny then ain't funny now
Oh help me mother, help me please
help me to recall
the reasons I have left to hold up these broken walls
cause if I had mind to, I may just let them fall
Oh, help me to see reasons, if they're there at all
You throw me knives and you say, here try and catch 'em
you heave out grenades and you say go fetch 'em
but I'm not dumb, and you're a bum trying to change me into some-
thing that I'm not
when you know what I am is all I got
So what happened ma, what happened ma
what happened to the years
It's so hard to see your face
when there's cocaine on the mirror
and if I had a dollar I still could not buy back my sense
funny how what was funny then ain't funny now
funny how what was funny then ain't funny now
Starlight
Well try as you might, to look down the tracks,
it is gone
it isn't comin' back
it was a "fat train" full of cargo and it's so hard to let it go, I know
Now I don't run like gazelles, at home my mailbox is all bills
if I could rob that train on horseback by starlight, I would
Well I was gettin' sick, of just
hangin' around
I hopped a train I was South Dakota bound
I saw a woman all dressed in gray
Purple periwinkle gloves on her hands on her lap lay
She wore a locket around her neck,
she caught my eye one minute and then looked away the next
Well there was a man standing not far behind
who had something else entirely on his mind
The locket was a solid gold cross of Christ
no sign of movement had clued me into the heist
He got off, at Sioux Falls
and wrote his name upon the wall
he took the locket to his woman whose
dry white washerwoman hands on her lap lay
she picked up her face
now I don't tell it like it is
for any other reason other than this
think twice before you start to miss
what's been taken from you it could be in good hands by now
But the train moves fast once it gets going,
long way to go no sign of slowin' down for me
It just keeps on rollin' through the desert night
and it gets quieter as it gets out of sight
but if I could rob that train on horseback by starlight, I would
Time and Trees
The words drop like seeds right out of your mouth
and grow up to be trees that cast shadows of doubt
and when they lose their leaves there's nothing left to shout about
So I take a rake and I rake the leaves
into piles of wants
and piles of needs
and there's a little kid inside of me
that wants to jump right in
to the dried up colors
thoughts once bright now just get duller
with the passage of time
Blood in My Eyes (one of few covers)
Adapted from Blood in My Eyes written by The Mississippi Sheiks copyright Special Rider Music
Woke up this morning, feelin' blue
hey hey darlin' can I talk to you?
Hey hey babe I got blood in my eyes for you
I got blood in my eyes for you baby I don't care what in the world you do
Woke up the next day, feelin' red
Gonna get that guy now that is what I said
so in my hair these ribbons I tie
gonna get that guy that money will buy
Hey hey babe I got blood in my eyes for you
I got blood in my eyes for you baby I don't care what in the world you do
Woke up the next day I was feelin' yellow
gonna get that guy he's such a good lookin' fella
hey hey babe I got blood in my eyes for you
That guy of mine you know he stole my car
and went and lost it, playin' cards
I'll tell you something, I will keep it to the facts
if I get that guy I don't need my car back
Hey hey babe I got blood in my eyes for you
I got blood in my eyes for you baby I don't care what in the world you do
Woke up the last day, feelin' gray
gonna get that guy no matter what he say
I'll tell you something, you know it's true
Hey hey babe I got blood in my eyes for you
I got blood in my eyes for you baby I don't care what in the world you do
Therapeutic Baby Lotion
Therapeutic baby lotion covered up the Atlantic Ocean
fish fry on a Friday night
catch me if you're lookin' right
Loads of sugar, loads of clams
flowers for the forgotten man
a garden grows on the coast of hell
excuse me while I slip
back into my shell
A mariner and a mariner's wife had a lot to say they couldn't get it right
Calculus and Geometry was nature's innocence and its recovery
cause they painted the water towers black
Radio and cocker spaniels, Walter Cronkite, Judy Daniels
the Jack of Spades and ladders too, excuse me while I look at you
they're gonna call you up to the ladders in the sky
they wanna hear you sing that lullaby
it's a committee meeting don't be fooled
they're gonna break it down and just play pool
you're gonna bet your life
Police line says walk this way
you'll be worse tomorrow but better today
I tried to tell you of my life and times
but all the headlines in my mind said
Therapeutic baby lotion covered up the Atlantic Ocean
from California up to Fargo
they are unloading all this strange cargo
you were as warm as Key West, now you're as cold as Fargo
Therapeutic baby lotion covered up the Atlantic Ocean
fish fry on a Friday night
catch me if you're lookin' right
Loads of sugar, loads of clams
a rose for the forgotten man
Juke joint on my jumpin' jack
you took my brain I'd like to take it back
the farther you go you cannot come back
there is a maroon scarf down by the railroad track
and they painted the water towers black
Correspondence*
Write me a letter sometime boy, tell me about your heartbreak
Write me a letter of joy boy make no mistake
my shoes are almost green and I had wanted to capture you
my patience is almost cruel so send your sweet words to me
Where You Got It (The True Love Story of Dizzy and Destiny)
He says hey, can I bum a smoke
she says well, well I guess so
but don't, tell anyone where you got it
no don't, tell anyone where you got it
He says girl, you're so pretty
you're the prettiest girl in the country
She says boy, you're so dizzy
you're the dizziest guy in the room, I'll be up soon
He says hey, can I bum a light?
She says I am the light it is the flame you seek
he says okay, then can I have a flame?
Hey, what's your name?
She says, my name is Destiny what is yours?
He said I can tell that tonight will be no bore
He says girl, you're so pretty
you're the prettiest girl in the country
She says boy, you're so dizzy
you're the dizziest guy in the room, I'll be up soon
but don't, no don't, tell anyone where you got it
Headache
Well I've been up for three days and I don't understand
why I have this headache
I've been taking Tylenol and Jack and Coke
Hey maybe that's why I have this headache
but I don't want it to go away
because thinking about you is what gave me this headache
thinking about how I could never have you is what gave me this headache
so I don't want it to go away
I can see me applying for a job
telling them I work really hard but I just have this headache
You know they make things handicap accessible now
maybe this falls into that category
maybe I could get my own parking spot
but there'd probably be some kind of lawsuit,
so why don't you just come back home
My liquor cabinet’s empty, I swear I don't know where it went
and I can't find my wallet, but I'm sure my money's all spent
So I go down to the laundromat
I go to wash my clothes
makin' eyes with the Spanish guys
while I am buying soap
I'm cleaning out my throat
singing songs but every high note
makes my head buzz like you don't want to know
So until they make the medicine stronger,
I cannot sing much longer
baby won't you please come back home
Like a farmer calls for pigs, like a farmer calls for cows
baby won't you please come back home, right now.
Disaster
She built her life on blood and stress
it did not make for a very pretty dress
the boys always said that she looked so alone
distant eyes and a warm stone cold face
She built her life on a geographic slate
on miles of coral left from a glacier
she tried it all but it didn't satiate her
She built her mind on an interstellar plate
she worried about the colors of the gases
exploding from distant stars
meanwhile we just passed her
she built her life on disaster after disaster
If only she would have been alive
during the times of ancient floods and sacrifice
she would have made a very intelligent martyr
they would have built her a statue made of stone
maybe that's why she's got that old time laughter
coming out from the bones
coming out from the bones
of her warm stone cold face
Amber
Well I don't think you need to draw the blueprints
yet I am still trapped in amber
build me a staircase to the lightning
and I will build you a sauna of thunder
In the middle of the night
when the black berries fall from the trees
and the birds underneath
shine in the moon so whitely
You will tell me that you were a dove
in a past life but I don't believe you love
and on the west bank of the river
the river that never sleeps
tiny boats go around and around
down to the stony dip
where the river meets the sea
In the isles of the shadowed sun
where water over rocks run
the beach is dead of all array
and there is sand on all the games you play
You are a crow on the highway
you are a vulture in my brain
You are the light and the thunderous horn
on time's oncoming train
The berries, they are poisonous, why do you eat them?
Do you think you are immune do you think that you can beat them?
The raccoon and her babies
will slowly steal themselves away
crouching behind the garbage cans
they have been eating all that you throw away
The garbage tops and the street signs
the disarray of life
is painted upon your dinner plate
it is what you will eat tonight
Far outside in suburbia an angel is standing in the woods
his wings and halo have been broken he has no food to eat
and would you eat a poison berry
just to put shoes on your feet?
You are a crow on the highway
you are a vulture in my brain
You are the light and the thunderous horn
on time's oncoming train
And I don't think you need to draw the blueprints
yet I am still trapped in amber
build me a staircase to the lightning
and I will build you a sauna of thunder
Sailors
Sailors on a sinking ship
Try, try just a little bit
You did not want to sit around here
so you went on a ship
to seek your fortune
to seek your fortune
Sailor, there's not much to do now
Ghosts, ghosts from stern to bow
All this bounty all this treasure
all these things beyond measure
you wanted to see just how high you could go
Sailor you are about to go down as far as you can go
Sailor, you're on a sinkin' ship
Try, try just a little bit
But life is futile to save
and you are about to go down
with the next ocean wave
Recognize
Do you sit and recognize
all these things that you've compromised
waiting for the West
So you go and you wrap your hands around the handshake of forsaken men
and never look the other way
and when your glass slipper breaks
do you just say it's for the best?
Do you sit and recognize
all these clocks as they hypnotize the heartbeat in your chest
and when things finally change
do you just smile and say it's for the best
There are always things unseen
above the mountains in your misty dreams
between the light of the sun and the shadow of death
do you sit and disagree?
Argumentative conceptuality
that follows you around
like four horsemen waiting to be seen
and when your glass slipper breaks
are you just glad you're not the one
Or do you sit and bitch awhile
crack a smile just to let me know
that you, are human too
on this road you shall walk awhile
in my shoes you will walk this mile
I will tell you what to do
and like dust you will rise
looking back on all you've compromised over the years
condemned to rationalize
the heartbreak of your forsaken lies
please just try to dry your tears
And when all the walls you climb
all that's left is fear
so when your glass slipper breaks
when your glass slipper breaks
please don't hold it dear
no please don't hold me dear
The mind games of relationships
turn it down just a little bit
I'm trying to hear
so listen closely as I tell to you
what will bring you to the clear
Your head is turned at every twist
twisted at every turn
how long must you reflect in these broken mirrors
where you will never learn
what's right is wrong though it's just a song
please release your fears
and listen closely as I tell to you
the truth
though the truth in itself does not draw you near
You are listening
to your rationale's christening
please release your fears
And when your glass slipper breaks
when your glass slipper breaks
when your glass slipper breaks
please don't hold it dear
please don't hold it dear
Fortune Teller
The fortune teller runs the show
she will tell you what you want to know
she will tell you what you want to know
I could not get to sleep last night
worrying if everything would be alright
Carpet tacks they are on my feet
it hurts so bad to hit the street
and all the houses on all the roads
comfort me when I see your soul is gone
when the sky fades from blue
I'll go down to get her point of view
The fortune teller will tell you what you want to know
Above the brick door is a neon light
it's around the bend and just out of sight
now she doesn't have any crystal ball
it's just an old shack, just a hole in the wall
She can read your palm and she can read the skies
she can read the cards just as well as your read your eyes
The fortune teller will tell you what you want to know
I went to her place last night
to try to see if things would be alright
I listened hard but I'm still not sure
if I should really listen to her
Because the fortune teller will tell you what you want to know
You can get a lesson in fate and free will
for a mere twenty dollar bill
the fortune teller will tell you what you want to know
Dyin’' To Divide (referring to Five-Card Draw)
Oh I know you are dyin' to divide
your Queen of Hearts into that seven that you're missing
so that you can make that straight
and lay it down on me so that I was wishing
that I never would have bet my life
You better lay down your best pocket knife
and I will go home and get my silver ladle
and cook you stew just one more time
we'll lay these red and white face cards down on the table
look at each other and never go blind
Oh I know you are dyin' to divide
so cut the deck what are you waitin' for
when the stakes are high I don't want to see you looking at the door
Look at each other and never go blind
and we'll play this hand even if it takes all night
we'll see who wins your best pocket knife
we'll see who takes my silver ladle
so cut the deck just as soon as you are willing and able
And I will go home and get my silver ladle
and cook you stew just one more time
we'll lay these red and white face cards
face down on the table
look at each other and never go blind
Twisted
Wish that I could have seen you there
wish that I could watch the light sine
through that hair
time after time
I see you sitting in the bright light
of the sunshine
won't you come into my shade?
Won't you come into my shade, yeah
And when you're drowning in the darkness
of my love
pain is the hate that you've been dreaming of
and what can you do
can you pray to be saved
just for now won't you
come into my shade
You know that bright light
ain't good for your eyes
read a book to me and I'll tell you why
Just lost inside some kind of
train of thought
I sold my soul this is just what I bought
and what can you do
can you pray to be saved
just for now won't you
come into my shade
won't you come into my shade
-yeah
The Ace of Hearts Fell to the Floor
Like a book on a shelf she was never open to much of anything
Like cards out on the table he was obsessed with the fortune
and the things it would bring
and he walked her home so she would not be alone
He was all tied up like a noose in a fire very hot
she was contemplating her desires, he was busy telling her what she was not
and she got a little evil, but not too evil
He spent his days out on the highway looking for dimes for his next meal
She spent her days counting her gold rings
trying them on different fingers to see how they'd feel
and they got along, please don't remind me why it was so wrong
He wanted to be an accountant and build her a house out in the woods
she wanted to be a movie star and live out in Hollywood
but sometimes they would agree
she's play piano and he would sing
oh don't you know
that out of all of life's tragedies
I don't count among them the story of you and me
He spent his old days down by the fish pond trying to get a bite
she spent her days in the bathroom staring at her aging face
under fluorescent lights
and somewhere in their reflections
is a love that might have been
Somewhere in all their good intentions
was a million miles of suffering
that got the best of them
and wasn't it all just a little selfish in the end
don't you think to just call them friends
and wasn't it all just a little selfish in the end
don't you think to just call them friends
Lie To Me
He had tattoos of stars upon his arms
and I think he had an earring or two
I told him to stay away from her
but I knew he was not going to
She had tattoos of birds upon her breasts
and he said she always smelled like cinnamon
Lie, lie, lie lie to me
like I haven't already got enough souls on the fire
Try, try try try try to be all that I desire
And by the empty silos outside of town
there are ghosts of farmer's bummin' round
Meanwhile in the crackling skies where electricity hangs
I'm sitting on a telephone wire when it is just about to rain
pouring bags of salt on the earth
Lie, lie, lie lie to me
like I haven't already got enough souls on the fire
Try, try try try try to be all that I desire
He laid the headphones on his ears
and tried to set himself aflame
by the time he got out of the shower
he could not recall her name
Lie, lie, lie lie to me
lie with every bone in your body
Would you lie, lie, lie lie to me
lie with all your energy
Chicago (location Rogers Park 1998)
Go on and steal, steal all of my bread from me
feed it to your children down by the bitter sea
but if those tired, happy, dirty little faces don't set you free
I walk on the beach I walk to drum beats
we are all just people off the streets
Livers and dyers all may meet
in the summer heat
I thank the Lord for the beach
in this octopus of stone
too many roads to find my way home
Cry me a river down to Lake Shore Drive
Now, now now now now now
Cry me a river down to Lake Shore Drive now
now, now now now now
Winter is suffocating me
Winter is suffocating me
Then the fair weather comes...
then the fair weather comes...
when the fair weather comes
you know I'm gonna be alright
Stay in the sand
sunrise to moonlight
you can take my shame you can take these earthly delights
I said you can take all the bread
all the bread that you like from me
feed it to your children down by the bitter sea
and if those tired, happy, lonely little faces don't set you free
Carried Water
Once upon a time, I carried water
Time comes upon me once
and water carries me
I am about to become good friends with the highway
don't know why it always seems like these flood waters are comin' my way
hey son you think you can help me build a boat?
hey son you think you can help me build a boat?
there's two of us I think I know where I can get two goats
but as far as anything else we'll just have to learn how to row
Well I lay back all mermaid braids
slish slosh and breathe bathe
wonder what you gave me
wonder wonder what you gave me
wonder wonder what you gave me
Once upon a time I carried water
Once upon a time I carried water
Time comes upon me once
and water carries me
Empty Streets
Well empty streets don't recognize me
if I stick to the wires that are glued to my feet
like my feet don't hurt if I wear the right shoes
and my mind don't hurt when I'm lookin' at you
but I don't care if you recognize me
it's not the way you look
it's the way you hang your head
My soul ain't dead it's just moving kind of slow
rollin' over in bed in some motel off some freeway down below
Lord don't let me wake up
just to find that my love is gone
Lord don't let me wake up
just to find that my love of all things is gone
Well hold my hand on a dire street wail
I was forty-four before I learned to breathe
walked through the woods but there were deer on my trail
and I know when I'm too blind to see
so Lord don't let me wake up
just to find that my love is gone
Lord don't let me wake up
just to find that my love of all things is gone
My soul ain't dead it's just tired and old
rollin' over in bed in some motel off some freeway down below
Lord don't let me wake up
just to find that my love is gone
Lord don't let me wake up
just to find that my love of all things is gone
Blackbird (set in summer)
Well I'm feelin' like a blackbird on wire
in the middle of summer
in some farmer kid's scope
I got a rock to throw
at your window just to let you know
that I am not alright and I ain't gonna be alright
til I see you in my sights
I got a pair of ice skates sitting in the closet
but I'm not gonna need them for months
I have a wad of bills that I need to deposit
but I'm not going to do it, all at once
I got a pair of binoculars I can see for miles
see the whites of your eyes as you start to smile
and see my, see my face in the clouds
and see my, see my face in the clouds
I got a refrigerator full of food
I put my money down cause I just can't lose
I got food on the stove I got food on the oven
and I'm getting pretty good at stealin' your lovin'
Oh Lordy lordy lordy lordy lord
I'm singin' blues on a summer night
singing blues you know I'm feeling alright
I got a rock to throw
at the blackbird in the farmer kid's scope
and the bird will fly away into the sky
and the kid will just say
that's the one that got away
and he won't be the wiser
Money Man
Well fireworks and corporate jerks
I gotta find me a money man
been workin' on the railroad for 12 long years
I got the golden spike driven in my hands
Jack of Spades and the tower of God
misfit's walkin with a wooden cane
tappin' on the ground to find buried rain
You know food is plentiful
but love is scarce
common sense runnin' down your face
Your ears and nose and throat are pierced
by the strange sounds of her black lace
your eyes are smooth and beautiful
The train is going west but you're looking east
0 and 1, the numbers of the beast
save some food we could have a feast
give some away we could have some peace
but the frailest of graves don't wave in wind
I got a stone bubble I could pop with a pin
Cain and Abel, cordless telephone salvation
black ooze runnin' down your face
if you come to your own conclusions
do it by some higher grace
your eyes are smooth and beautiful
Jack of Spades and the tower of God
misfit walkin but his shirt is stained
his t-shirt is just a canvas, a canvas of his pain
Fireworks, corporate jerks
I gotta find me a money man
been workin' on the railroad for 12 long years
I got the golden spike driven in my hands
Apartment
I drink your wine and I call out your name
I cry to myself cause it hurts less than pain
and no one alive can do what you do
no one alive can do what you do
should be no surprise
should be no surprise
I got it through and through
If you don't love me why don't you tell me so
If you want to shove me off this earth I'll gladly go
I'll get a ticket, take the first train outta here
oh no don't you lie to me
oh no don't you lie to me
oh no don't you lie to me
I know you want to call me dear
I drink your wine and I call out your name
I cry to myself cause it's a crying shame
no one alive can do what you do
no one alive can do what you do
should be no surprise
should be no surprise
I got it through and through
Strange Things Have Happened (cover)
By The Mississippi Sheiks copyright Special Rider Music
Found on Bob Dylan's World Gone Wrong
Strange things have happened, like never before
my baby told me I would have to go
I can't be good no more
once like I did before
I can't be good baby
honey because the world has gone wrong
Felt bad this morning
Ain't got no home
no use in worrying cause the world's gone wrong
[Chorus]
I told you baby right to your head
If I didn't leave you I would have to kill you dead
[Chorus]
Tried to be good now
and treat you fine
but you ain't never right
you ain't got no loyal mind
[Chorus]
Pack up my suitcase
give me my hat
no use in asking me nothing
cause I'll never be back
[Chorus]
Teeth
I've grown another row of teeth
oh to play with you, babe
and I don't know whom I'm gonna meet
that can take the veil from my brain
I'm sleeping sideways on the sofa
sinking in my Sunday sins
thinking of the Christ child out in the wilderness
I haven't seen since God knows when
I have gotten accustomed to the numbness in my hands
from carrying the heavy purses of your contraband
and I fi-fi-finally found that what the advertisers say ain't true
and that the closer you are to beauty the closer you are to truth
I've grown another row of teeth, it happened overnight
I looked into the bathroom mirror, it was really
quite a fright
There's grenades in my grape juice
and I'm just about to pull
the pin
there's a look in your eyes man
cold as a freezer and it's just about to do me in
I'll go back to reciting sonnets in graveyards
and eating out of tins
some say how do you get by when it's so hard
it's just the way I've always been
I smell Japanese flowers they are planting in the hall
when I look outside, there is nothing there at all
It's just a memory of what has never been
grow another row of teeth, and bite right in
Woman's Roots
Homeless woman with a shopping cart
shopping for her mind, shopping for her heart
her soul is gold and her love is off the charts
the sun rising always is a start
Woman's roots are too deep for You
woman's roots are too deep for me
above the ground you can see for miles, but
under the ground you can never see
Rich man with a good looking wife
Poor boy doesn't stand a chance tonight
Go going on the river that is gold
She says, I don't give a damn about growing old
Woman's roots are too deep for You
woman's roots are too deep for me
above the ground you can see for miles, but
under the ground you can never see
Young girl staring at her ribs
looking at her thighs instead of a science book
and they wonder why all women are poor
and they wonder why all men are crooks
Homeless woman picking up cans
looking for her face, as she tries to stand
She made no mistakes, but she also made no plans
When we stare into each others souls
looking for rocks to fill our holes
I got the difference between the
aluminum
and the gold
hold it in the sun
Hold On To Me
Hold on to me he says
No one but me he says
There are pictures in the hallway of you letting down your hair
There are pictures in the bathroom of you sitting on the stairs
And you can destroy
You can destroy the camera
but the pictures are still there
Hold on to me he says
No one but me he says
And the voodoo I've endured for the last year and a half
I'm like a voodoo Barbie doll with pins upon my back
and I don't need your voodoo
and I don't need your pins
I am woman yes I've suffered for my sins
Hold on to me he says
No one but me he says
And your picture is still grinning at me from across the wall
And your picture is still grinning at me from across the wall
Leave me with good sense if you leave me with sense at all
Fifth Street
Yeah she was dancing around the room with her foot in her mouth
and she didn't really go with the music
and she was trying to keep time but her mind kept slippin'
Crazy as ever lost in a kaleidoscope of heart beats and feathers
met her in some kind of american bar down on 5th street
Ordered a drink on me think as you sink on me
Deeper into what I'd like to be
Wash me down with ice melt so nice inside
of what I'd like to be
Out on the corner waiting for some better-than
save her while we can as her hands reach out from the inside
like it or not doin' shots of yesterday
down by the way
there's something she forgot to say
Hey don't you miss her
don't you feel her breathe?
She's just wasting her days down down on 5th street
Carrying on like some wild bird cry
Hear he sing bring it on left her behind
Now she's telling me stories and what's on her mind
but as for me I'll just order some more of those good times
Cause you know it's all too soon lost forever
But-- in her feathers she still carries on watch her
dance her way to the bar she says...
Not a day goes by, that her heart doesn't cry
Don't turn your back on the ones who care
Walk away but you are headed nowhere...
Yeah she was dancing around the room with her foot in her mouth
and she didn't really go with the music
and she was trying to keep time but her mind kept slippin'
Crazy as ever lost in a kaleidoscope of heart beats and feathers
met her in some kind of american bar down on 5th street
Ordered a drink on me think as you sink on me
Deeper into what I'd like to be
Wash me down with ice melt so nice inside
of what I'd like to be
Brakeman
Well Bobby was a fine man
with a gunstain on his hand
well he road that train until he reached the Eastern lands
where there were cities and towers
Men and women and children too
so different from the plains he knew
Well he heard that a man cannot find
no he cannot find a workin' man
so he put his hands to use
to drive the gun stain from his hands
to drive the blood stain from his hands
Well hey hey Mister Brakeman, are you going to let me ride?
Well hey hey Mister Brakeman, are you going to let me ride?
Or are you gonna tell me that my chains are inside
oh please don't tell me that my chains are inside
oh please don't tell me that my chains are inside
I wanna travel with the sun
and get back to where I begun
I want to take that train
until I reach the Western lands
I want to show the Sheriff there
that the gun stains are from my hands
that the gun stains are no longer on my hands
that the blood stains are from my hands
Well you can tell this tale to the stars
and anyone else who has traveled far
that there were cities and towers too
Men and women and children too
Men and women and children too
So different from the plains he knew
Pitch Black Eyes
It was my first reaction
that I was on my own
I had no plans to guide me
seemed my baby bird had flown
I traveled through the night just to see your face
Wound up in a graveyard miles from any place
Surely it must be a cloud
or some smoke from some old fire
I could see an apparition
from the gravestone rising higher
Watch her as she rises
Watch her as she rises
She had pitch black eyes
She had pitch black eyes
and a bottle of wine
and a bottle of wine
It was my old man's funeral
Put that hat back on your head
for it was this ghost that showed me
that my love was far from dead
So I made a small bouquet
laid it on the gravestone
on the fenceline I thought I saw a bluejay
I looked twice but he had flown
watch him as he rises
watch him as he rises
She had pitch black eyes
She had pitch black eyes
and a bottle of wine
and a bottle of the reddest wine
Booking 847-533-8370
Email: [email protected]
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