Merle Haggard - 24 At No.1 (2005) by Merle Haggard (보컬) on maniadb.com

I'd like to hold my head up and be proud of who I am
But they won't let my secret go untold
I paid the debt I owed them,but they're still not satisfied
Now I'm a branded man out un the cold

When they let me out of prison,I held my head up high
Determined I would rise above the shame
But no matter where I'm living,the black mark follows me
I'm branded with a number on my name

Repeat verse 1

If I live to be a hundred,I guess I'll never clear my name
'Cause everybody knows I've been in jai
No matter where I'm living,I've got to tell them where I've been
Or they'll send me back to prison if I fail

Repeat verse 1

Now I'm a branded man out un the cold

The warden led a prisoner down the hallway to his doom
I stood up to say good-bye like all the rest
And I heard him tell the warden just before he reached my cell
'Let my guitar playing friend do my request.' (Let him...)

Sing me back home with a song I used to hear
Make my old memories come alive
Take me away and turn back the years
Sing Me Back Home before I die

I recall last Sunday morning a choir from 'cross the street
Came to sing a few old gospel songs
And I heard him tell the singers 'There's a song my mama sang.
Can I hear once before we move along?'

Sing me back home, the song my mama sang
Make my old memories come alive
Take me away and turn back the years
Sing Me Back Home before I die

Sing Me Back Home before I die

The first thing I remember knowing,
Was a lonesome whistle blowing,
And a young un's dream of growing up to ride;
On a freight train leaving town,
Not knowing where I'm bound,
No-one could change my mind but Mama tried.
One and only rebel child,
From a family, meek and mild:
My Mama seemed to know what lay in store.
Despite all my Sunday learning,
Towards the bad, I kept on turning.
'Til Mama couldn't hold me anymore.

And I turned twenty-one in prison doing life without parole.
No-one could steer me right but Mama tried, Mama tried.
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading, I denied.
That leaves only me to blame 'cos Mama tried.

Instrumental break.

Dear old Daddy, rest his soul,
Left my Mom a heavy load;
She tried so very hard to fill his shoes.
Working hours without rest,
Wanted me to have the best.
She tried to raise me right but I refused.

And I turned twenty-one in prison doing life without parole.
No-one could steer me right but Mama tried, Mama tried.
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading, I denied.
That leaves only me to blame 'cos Mama tried.

A canvas covered cabin in a crowded labour camp
Stand out in this memory I revived;
Cause my daddy raised a family there, with two hard working hands
And tried to feed my mama's hungry eyes.

He dreamed of something better, and my mama's faith was strong
And us kids were just to young to realize
That another class of people put us somewhere just below;
One more reason for my mama's hungry eyes.

Mama never had the luxuries she wanted
But it wasn't cause my daddy didn't try.
She only wanted things she really needed;
One more reason for my mama's hungry eyes.

I remember daddy praying for a better way of life
But I don't recall a change of any size;
Just a little loss of courage, as their age began to show
And more sadness in my mama's hungry eyes.

Mama never had the luxuries she wanted
But it wasn't cause my daddy didn't try.
She only wanted things she really needed;
One more reason for my mama's hungry eyes.

Oh, I still recall my mama's hungry eyes.

We don't smoke marijuana in Muskogee;
We don't take no trips on LSD
We don't burn no draft cards down on Main Street;
We like livin' right, and bein' free.

I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee,
A place where even squares can have a ball
We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse,
And white lightnin's still the biggest thrill of all

We don't make a party out of lovin';
We like holdin' hands and pitchin' woo;
We don't let our hair grow long and shaggy,
Like the hippies out in San Francisco do.

And I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee,
A place where even squares can have a ball.
We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse,
And white lightnin's still the biggest thrill of all.

Leather boots are still in style for manly footwear;
Beads and Roman sandals won't be seen.
Football's still the roughest thing on campus,
And the kids here still respect the college dean.

We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse,
In Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA.

Daddy Frank played the guitar and the french harp,
Sister played the ringing tambourine.
Mama couldn't hear our pretty music,
She read our lips and helped the family sing.

That little band was all a part of living,
And our only means of living at the time;
And it wasn't like no normal family combo,
Cause Daddy Frank the guitar man was blind.

Frank and mama counted on each other;
Their one and only weakness made them strong.
Mama did the driving for the family,
And Frank made a living with a song.

Home was just a camp along the highway;
A pick-up bed was where we bedded down.
Don't ever once remember going hungry,
But I remember mama cooking on the ground.

Don't remember how they got acquainted;
I can't recall just how it came to be.
There had to be some special help from someone,
And blessed be the one that let it be.

Fever caused my mama's loss of hearing.
Daddy Frank was born without his sight.
And mama needed someone she could lean on,
And I believe the guitar man was right.

Daddy Frank played the guitar and the french harp,
Sister played the ringing tambourine.
Mama couldn't hear our pretty music,
She read our lips and helped the family sing.

Carolyn let me tell you what I heard about a man today
He didn't come home from work and he went away
'Til he came to a city, bright in the night time like day
There they say he met with some women dressed in yellow and scarlet
Their warm lips like a honeycomb, dripped with honey
And somethin' about the smell of strange perfume
Made him feel warm, and not alone

Yes Carolyn a man will do that sometimes on his own
And sometimes when he's lonely
And I believe a man will do that sometimes out of spite
But Carolyn, a man will do that always
When he's treated bad at home

Yes Carolyn a man will do that sometimes on his own
And sometimes when he's lonely
And I believe a man will do that sometimes out of spite
But Carolyn, a man will do that always
When he's treated bad at home

Grandma's maiden name was Zona Villines
There's ninety years to tell about in a few short lines
Born in Newton County down in Arkansas
Then in nineteen-one she married Grandpa
We laid her soul to rest one Sunday mornin'
And everybody knew she'd done her part
Don't get set to hear no hidden family legend
Just a song about the life of Grandma Harp

(Spoken)
Just think about the times that she lived through
And think about the changing world she saw
Now somehow she reared a decent family out of poverty
And for seventy years she loved the same old Grandpa
To me, her passing brought a closing chapter
To a way of life that I love within my heart
I just mean to say I owe her something special
If just a song about the life of Grandma Harp

Grandma's maiden name was Zona Villines
There's ninety years to tell about in a few short lines
Born in Newton County down in Arkansas
Then in nineteen-one she married Grandpa
We laid her soul to rest one Sunday mornin'
And everybody knew she'd done her part
Don't get set to hear no hidden family legend
Just a song about the life of Grandma Harp

She was always there each time I needed you
Holding on to me like I held on to you
We still don't have what you and I once had
No, it's not love, but it's not bad

No, it's not love, not like ours was. It's not love
But it keeps love from driving me mad
And I don't have to wonder who she's had
No, it's not love, but it's not bad

I turn to her when you leave me alone
Sometimes even when you're here, and you're still gone
She's slowly changing what you leave so sad
No, it's not love, but it's not bad

No, it's not love, not like ours was. It's not love
But it keeps love from driving me mad
And I don't have to wonder who she's had
No, it's not love, but it's not bad

Everybody's had the blues sometimes and
Everybody knows the tune
And everybody knows the way I'm feelin' cause
Everybody's had the blues

A lonely, song someone is gone
A story old as time
Love, hate, or want and wait till misery fills your mind
But everybody knows the way I'm feelin' 'cause
Everybody's had the blues

If we make it through December
Everything's gonna be alright I know;
It's the coldest time of winter
And I shiver when I see the falling snow;
If we make it through December,
Got plans to be a warmer town come summer time;
Maybe even California,
If we make it through December, we'll be fine;
Got laid off down at the factory
And their timing's not the greatest in the world;
Heaven knows I been working hard,
Wanted Christmas to be right for daddy's girl;
I don't mean to hate December,
It's meant to be the happy time of year;
And my little girl don't understand
Why daddy can't afford no Christmas here;
If we make it through December
Everything's gonna be alright I know;
It's the coldest time of winter
And I shiver when I see the falling snow;
If we make it through December,
Got plans to be a warmer town come summer time;
Maybe even California,
If we make it through December, we'll be fine.

We used to laugh a lot
We never cried
But things are all different now
Since your sweet love has died
Seems we've lost the way to find
All the good times we found before
Yeah, we used to laugh a lot
Things aren't funny anymore

If I knew how to change your mind
Maybe things could be right again
If I could turn back one page of time
Before love came to an end
I'll just know where to turn
To turn it all on once more
Maybe we laughed too soon
Things aren't funny anymore

I'll know just where to turn
To turn it all on once more
Maybe we laughed too soon
Things aren't funny anymore

Comin' home, home, home
Thought I'd better warn you
So I called you on the phone
Get rid of Joe the grinder
You better be there alone
'Cause the old man from the mountain's
Comin' home

I've been a-workin' in the sawmill
I'm all up-tight and tense
And I got word that someone's
Been diggin' under my back fence
Thought I'd better call you
Let you know today
That the old man from the mountain's
On his way

Been workin' my dang fool head off
All for a dollar bill
Now I need a bunch of good lovin'
So I'm comin' down the hill
Don't want no friendly Henry's
Warmin' up my bed
And the old man from the mountain
Means what he said

I wanted more from life, than four kids and a wife
And a job in a dark Kentucky mine.
A twenty acre farm, with a shackey house and barn
Thats all I had and all I left behind

But at gambling, I was lucky, and so I left Kentucky
And left behind my woman and my kids
Into the gay casinos, of Nevada's town of Reno
This Kentucky Gambler planned to get rich quick

Kentucky gambler who's going to love your woman in Kentucky
Yeah - and who's going to be the one to give her all she needs
Kentucky gambler, who's going to raise your children in Kentucky
And who's going to keep them fed and keep them shoes on their feet

There at the gambler's Paradise, Lady luck was on my side
and this Kentucky gambler played just right
Yeah I won at everything I played - I really thought I had it made
But I should have quit and gone on home that night

But when you love the green backed dollar, sorrow always bound to follow


and Reno's dreams fade into neon amber
And Lady Luck, she'll lead you on
She'll stay a while, and then she's gone
You better go on home, Kentucky gambler

But a gambler never seems to stop, till he loses all he's got
and with a money - hungry fever, I played on
I played till I'd lost all I'd won, I was right back where I'd started from
Then I started wanting - to go home

Kentucky gambler, there ain't nobody, waiting in Kentucky
When I ran out, somebody else walked in
Kentucky gambler, looks like you ain't really very lucky
And it seems to me a gambler loses much more than he wins
much more than he wins.

Always wanting you, but never having you,
Makes it hard to face tomorrow 'cause I
Know I'll be wanting you again.
Always loving you, but never touching you,
Sometimes hurts me almost more than I can stand.

I'd been better off if I'd turned away and never
Looked at you the second time.
Cause I really had my life all together till your eyes met mine.

And there I say a yearning and a feeling 'cross
The room that you felt for me.
Wish I'd had a way of knowing that the things we had in
Mind could never be.

Always wanting you, but never having you,
Makes it hard to face tomorrow 'cause I
Know I'll be wanting you again.
Always loving you, but never touching you,
Sometimes hurts me almost more than I can stand.

Big wheels rollin', big wheels rollin'
Movin' on.

Big wheels rollin', gotta keep 'em goin',
Big wheels rollin',
Movin' on.

The white line is the life line to a nation.
And men like Will and Sonny make it move.
Livin' like a gypsy, always on the go
Doin' what they best know how to do.

Jammin' gears has got to be a fever,
'Cause men become addicted to the grind.
It takes a special breed to be a truck drivin' man,
And a steady hand to pull that load behind.

Big wheels rollin', big wheels rollin'
Movin' on.

One night when the moon was bright o'er a moonlight glade
That is where I found my little Cherokee maid
The me'mry of that night of love is lingering yet and I know I never will forget
My little Cherokee maiden I love her so and though we're far apart
I know I'll never be tradin' my love for her for anybody else's heart
Someday I'll make a trip back to the Cherokee strip
And I'll carry her away with me
And straight as an arrow flies we'll live to paradise
My sweet little chickadee my little Cherokee maiden and me
[ sax ]
My little Cherokee maiden I love her so...