Jim Croce - The Essential Collection [compilation] (2005) by Jim Croce (보컬) on maniadb.com

Well, the south side of Chicago
Is the baddest part of town
And if you go down there
You better just beware
Of a man name of Leroy Brown

Now Leroy more than trouble
You see he stand ‘bout six foot four
All those downtown ladies call him "Treetop Lover"
All the men just call him "Sir"

And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

Now Leroy he a gambler
And he like his fancy clothes
And he like to wave his diamond rings
Under everybody's nose

He got a custom Continental
He got an Eldorado too
He got a 32 gun in his pocket full a fun
He got a razor in his shoe

And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

Well Friday 'bout a week ago
Leroy shootin' dice
And at the edge of the bar
Sat a girl named Doris
And oh that girl looked nice

Well he cast his eyes upon her
And the trouble soon began
And Leroy Brown had learned a lesson
'Bout a-messin' with the wife of a jealous man

And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than a-old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

Well the two men took to fighting
And when they pulled them from the floor
Leroy looked like a jigsaw puzzle
With a couple of pieces gone

And it's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

Yeah he was badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog.

Gonna tell you a story, that you won't believe
But I fell in love last Friday evening
With the girl I saw on a bar room TV screen
Well I was just getting ready to get my hat
When she caught my eye, and I put it back
And I ordered myself couple of more shots and beers

The night that I fell in love with a roller derby queen
around and round, a round and round
The meanest hunk of woman that anybody ever seen
Down in the arena

She was 5 foot 6, two fifteen
A beach blonde mama with a streak of mean
She knew how to knuckle and she knew how to scuffle and fight
And the roller derby program said
that she was built like a 'fridgerator with a head
Her fans called her Tuffy, but all her buddies called her Spike

The night that I fell in love with a roller derby queen
around and round, a round and round
The meanest hunk of woman that anybody ever seen
Down in the arena

Well I could not help it, but to fall in love
With this heavy duty woman I've been speaking of
Things were kinda bad, untill the day she skated into my life
Well she might be nasty, she might be fat
But I never met a person who would tell her that
She's my bleach blonde bomber, my heavy handed Hackensack sack mama

The night that I fell in love with a roller derby queen
around and round, a round and round
The meanest hunk of woman that anybody ever seen
Down in the arena

Oh Rapid Roy that stock car boy
He too much too believe
You know he always got an extra pack of cigarettes
Rolled up in his t-shirt sleeve
He got a tattoo on his arm that say "baby"
He got another one that just say "hey"
But every sunday afternoon he is a dirt track demon
In a '57 Chevrolet

Oh Rapid Roy that stock car boy
He's the best driver in the land
He say that he learned to race a stock car
By runnin' shine outta Alabam'
Oh the demolition derby
And the figure eight
Is easy money in the bank
Compared to runnin' from the man
In Oklahoma City
With a 500 gallon tank

Oh Rapid Roy that stock car boy
He too much too believe
You know he always got an extra pack of cigarettes
Rolled up in his t-shirt sleeve
He got a tattoo on his arm that say "baby"
He got another one that just say "hey"
But every Sunday afternoon he is a dirt track demon
In a '57 Chevrolet

Yeah, Roy's so cool, that racin fool
He don't know what fear's about.
He do a hundred thirty mile an hour, smilin at the camera
With a tooth pick in his mouth.
He got a girl back home, name of Dixie Dawn
But he got honeys all along the way
And you oughta hear 'em screamin for that dirt track demon
in a '57 Chevrolet.

Oh Rapid Roy that stock car boy
He too much too believe
You know he always got an extra pack of cigarettes
Rolled up in his t-shirt sleeve
He got a tattoo on his arm that say "baby"
He got another one that just say "hey"
But every sunday afternoon he is a dirt track demon
In a '57 Chevrolet

With just a sleeping bag
And an old guitar
I left the band in New Orleans
I did some time with the bottle
Some with the river queens
I never thought I would meet a girl
Who could turn my head around
'Til I met that Mississippi lady
In sleepy Gulfport town, she was a

Mississippi lady
My lovin' Gulfport gal
She taught me how to love
And she really loved me well
She took me up to heaven
Then she brought me down
That Mississippi lady
Sweet Cordelia Brown

Hot July in Gulfport
And I was working in the bars

And she was working on the street
With the rest of the evening stars
She said, "I never met a guy
Who could turn my head around"
And that's really sayin' something
For sweet Cordelia Brown, she was a

Now I'm back in New York City
Playin' in a band
But my mind's on Mississippi
Is it hard to understand
I never thought I would meet a girl
Who could bring me that far down
Like the girl I met in Gulfport
Sweet Cordelia Brown, she was a

That Mississippi lady
Sweet Cordelia Brown

That Mississippi lady
Sweet Cordelia Brown

Seems like such a long time ago,
I was walking on a lonely road.
Getting tired of dreaming alone,
like all the lonely people I had known.

Seems like such a long time ago,
there was no one who would share my song.
I was just a boy far from home,
but I became a man when you came along.

We spent the whole night talking.
You said you'd like to see the sun rise.
But in the gold of morning,
was nothing that I had not seen in your eyes.

I was so afraid to touch you,
thought you were too young, you know.
So I just watched you sleeping.
Then you woke and said to me,
The night is cold, it frightens me.
I could sleep so easy next to you.

Wasn't very long ago,
you said that you would like to share my role.
Then you started singing my song.
Spent so many nights a-waiting,
Lets not spend a moments wasting time,
because we have very far to go.
I will go if you will take me,
I have never had a lover.
I am young but I am so alone.

We spent the whole night talking.
But in the gold of morning...

Hey tomorrow, where are you goin'
Do you have some room for me
'Cause night is fallin' and the dawn is callin'
I'll have a new day if she'll have me

Hey tomorrow, I can't show you nothin'
You've seen it all pass by your door
So many times I said I been changin'
Then slipped into patterns of what happened before

"Cause I've been wasted and I've over-tasted
All the things that life gave to me
And I've been trusted, abused and busted
And I've been taken by those close to me

Hey tomorrow you've gotta believe that
I'm through wastin' whats left of me
'Cause night is fallin' and the dawn is callin'
I'll have a new day if she'll have me

Well, she was standing by my dressing room after the show
Asking for my autograph and asked if she could go
Back to my motel room
But the rest is just a tragic tale
Because five short minutes of lovin'
Done brought me twenty long years in jail

Well, like a fool in a hurry I took her to my room
She casted me in plaster while I sang her a tune
Then I said, 'Ooh, ooee! Sure was a tragic tale
Because five short minutes of lovin'
Done brought me twenty long years in jail'

Well, then a judge and a jury sat me in a room
They say that robbin' the cradle is worse than robbin' the tomb

Then I said "Ooh, ooee! Sure was a tragic tale'
(Wasn't worth it, wasn't worth it!)
'Because five short minutes of lovin'
Done brought me twenty long years in jail'

And when I get out of this prison gonna be forty-five
I'll know I used to like to do it but I won't remember why
(Wasn't worth it, wasn't worth it!)
I'll say, 'Ooh, ooee! Sure was a tragic tale
Because five short minutes of lovin'
Done brought me twenty long years in jail'

'Because five short minutes of lovin'
Done brought me twenty long years in jail'

If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that I'd like to do
Is to save every day till eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you

If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I'd save every day like a treasure and then
Again, I would spend them with you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do, once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go through time with

If I had a box just for wishes
And dreams that had never come true
The box would be empty, except for the memory of how
They were answered by you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do, once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go through time with

Operator, well could you help me place this call
See, the number on the match book is old and faded
She's living in L.A
With my best old ex-friend Ray
A guy she said she knew well and sometimes hated

But isn't that the way they say it goes
Well let's forget all that
And give me the number if you can find it
So I can call just to tell 'em I'm fine, and to show
I've overcome the blow
I've learned to take it well
I only wish my words
Could just convince myself
That it just wasn't real
But that's not the way it feels

Operator, well could you help me place this call
'Cause I can't read the number that you just gave me
There's something in my eyes
You know it happens every time
I think about the love that I thought would save me

But isn't that the way they say it goes
Well let's forget all that
And give me the number if you can find it
So I can call just to tell 'em I'm fine, and to show
I've overcome the blow
I've learned to take it well
I only wish my words
Could just convince myself
That it just wasn't real
But that's not the way it feels
No, no, no, no
That's not the way it feels

Operator, well let's forget about this call
There's no one there I really wanted to talk to
Thank you for your time
Ah, you've been so much more then kind
You can keep the dime

But isn't that the way they say it goes
Well let's forget all that
And give me the number if you can find it
So I can call just to tell 'em I'm fine, and to show
I've overcome the blow
I've learned to take it well
I only wish my words
Could just convince myself
That it just wasn't real
But that's not the way it feels

Photographs and memories
Christmas cards you sent to me
All that I have are these to remember you
Memories that come at night
Take me to another time
Back to a happier day, when I called you mine

But we sure had a good time
When we started way back when
Morning walks and bedroom talks
Oh, how I loved you then

Summer skies and lullabies
Nights we couldn't say goodbye
And of all of the things that we knew
Not a dream survived

Photographs and memories
All the love you gave to me
Somehow it just can't be true
It's all I've left of you

But we sure had a good time
When we started way back when
Morning walks and bedroom talks
Oh, how I loved you then

I've been up and down and around and 'round and back again,
I've been so many places I can't remember where or when.
And my only boss was the clock on the wall and my only friend
Never really was a friend at all.

I've traded love for pennies, sold my soul for less,
Lost my ideals in that long tunnel of time.
I've turned inside out and around about and back and then
Found myself right back where I started again.

Once I had myself a million, now I've only got a dime,
The diff'rence don't seem quite as bad today.
With a nickel or a million, I was searching all the time
For something that I never lost or left behind.

I've traded love for pennies, sold my soul for less,
Lost my ideals in that long tunnel of time.
I've turned inside out and around about and back and then
Found myself right back where I started again.

And Now I'm in my second circle and I'm headin' for the top,
I've learned a lot of things along the way.
I'll be careful while I'm climbin' 'cause it hurts a lot to drop,
When you're down nobody gives a damn anyway.

I've traded love for pennies, sold my soul for less,
Lost my ideals in that long tunnel of time.
I've turned inside out and around about and back and then
Found myself right back where I started again.

We've been runnin' away from somethin' we both know
We've long run out of things to say and I think I'd better go
So don't be gettin' excited oh-when you hear that slammin' door
Cause there'll be one less set of footsteps on your floor in the mornin'

And we've been hidin' from somethin' that should have never gone this far
But after all it's what we've done that makes us what we are
And you've been talkin' in silence well if it's silence you adore
Oh there'll be one less set of footprints on your floor in the mornin'

Oh there'll be one less set of footsteps on your floor
One less man to walk in
One less pair of jeans upon your door
One less voice a-talkin'

But tomorrow's a dream away and today has turned to dust
Your silver tongue has turned to clay and your golden rule to rust
If that's the way that you want it well that's the way I want it more
Cause there'll be one less set of footprints on your floor in the mornin'
Oh there'll be one less set of footsteps on you floor in the mornin'

If you get to feelin' all alone
When your good time friends have all got up and gone
Don't come knockin' around my door
Because I've heard your lines before

And there ain't gonna be a next time this time
'Cause woman startin' right now
I'm gonna forget you name and your pretty face, girl
And write you off as a bad mistake
You know that some women, they are lovers
And some just got no sense
But a woman like you oughta be ashamed
Of the things that you do to men

If you get to feeling all alone
When you find that you can't make it on your own
Don't come knockin' around my door
You see I've seen your act before

If you get to feelin' you were wrong
Don't go wastin' your good money on the phone
'Cause I can hang up as fast as you can call
And that ain't all

And there ain't gonna be a next time this time
'Cause woman startin' right now
I'm gonna forget you name and your pretty face, girl
And write you off as a complete disgrace
You know that some women they are liars
And some just got no sense
But a woman like you oughta be ashamed
Of the things that you do to men

Yeah a woman like you oughta be ashamed
Of the things that you do to men

Lazy days in mid-July
Country Sunday mornin's
Dusty haze on summer highways
Sweet magnolia callin'

But now and then I find myself
Thinkin' of the days
That (when) we were walking in
The Alabama rain

Drive-in movies, Friday nights
Drinkin' beer and laughin'
Somehow things were always right
I just don't know what happened

We were only kids
But then I've never heard it said
That kids can't fall in love
And feel the same
I can still remember the first time
I told you "I love you"

On a dusty mid-July
Country summer's evenin's
Weepin' willows sang its lullaby
And shared our secret

Walking in the Alabama rain

Like the pine trees lining the winding road
I got a name, I got a name
Like the singing bird and the croaking toad
I got a name, I got a name
And I carry it with me like my daddy did
But I'm living the dream that he kept hid

Moving me down the highway
Rolling me down the highway
Moving ahead so life won't pass me by

Like the north wind whistling down the sky
I've got a song, I've got a song
Like the whippoorwill and the baby's cry
I've got a song, I've got a song
And I carry it with me and I sing it loud
If it gets me nowhere, I go there proud

Moving me down the highway
Rolling me down the highway
Moving ahead so life won't pass me by

And I'm gonna go there free

Like the fool I am and I'll always be
I've got a dream, I've got a dream
They can change their minds but they can't change me
I've got a dream, I've got a dream
Well, I know I can share it if you want me to
If you're going my way, I'll go with you

Moving me down the highway
Rolling me down the highway
Moving ahead so life won't pass me by
Moving me down the highway
Rolling me down the highway
Moving ahead so life won't pass me by

I don't gamble, I don't fight,
I don't be hangin' in the bars at night,
Yeah, I used to be a fighter but
Now I am a wiser man.

I don't drink much, I don't smoke,
I don't be hardly mess around with no dope.
Yeah, I used to be a problem but
Now I am a careful man.

But if you used to want to see a commotion,
You shoulda seen the man that I used to be,
I was trouble in perpetual motion,
Trouble with a capital "T".

Stayin' out late, havin' fun
And shot off every single shot in my gun.
Yeah, I used to be a lover but
Now I'm an older man.

But if you used to want to see a commotion,
You shoulda seen the man that I used to be,
I was trouble in perpetual motion,
Trouble with a capital "T".

Stayin' out late, havin' fun
And shot off every single shot in my gun.
Yeah I used to be a terror but
Now I am a tired old man.
Yeah I used to be a terror but
Now I am a tired old man.

Used to be that I could see
A reason to be happy
'Cause I was free
But then, recently it seems
I've been lettin' your mem'ry get to me

Used to be that I could pretend
That I wasn't really hurt back then
But then, recently it seems
I've been lettin' your mem'ry get to me
'Cause

Mem'ries can be friends
Mem'ries can be friends

Or they can take you to a place
That you never thought you'd be again
And take you to a place
That you never ever thought
That you would see again

Doesn't matter now who was wrong
The future is tomorrow
'Cause the past is gone
And I'm findin' that I'm not as strong
As I thought that I used to be
'Cause, recently it seems
I've been lettin' your mem'ry get to me

Yeah, I've had my share of broken dreams
And more than a couple of falls
And in chasin' what I thought were moonbeams
I have run into a couple of walls
But in looking back at the places I've been
The changes that I've left behind
I just look at myself to find
I've learned the hard way every time

'Cause I've had my share of good intentions
And I've made my share of mistakes
And I've learned at times it's best to bend
'Cause if you don't well those are the breaks
Should have listened to all the things I was told
But I was young and too proud at the time
Now I look at myself to find
I learn the hard way ev'ry time

But in looking back at the lessons I've learned
And the mountains I wanted to climb
I just look at myself to find
I've learned the hard way ev'ry time

'Cause I've had my share of broken dreams
And more than a couple of falls
And in chasin' what I thought were moonbeams
I have run into a couple of walls
But in looking back at the faces I've been
I would sure be the first one to say
When I look at myself today
Wouldn'ta done it any other way