Steve Earle

(Joseph Chambers, Willie Chambers)

Time has come today
Young hearts can go that way
Can't put it off another day
I don't care what others say
They say we don't listen anyway
Time has come today
The rules have changed today
I have no place to stay
Thinking about the subway
The love has flown away
My tears have come and gone
Oh my lord, I have to roam
I have no home
I have no home

Now the time has come
No place to run
I might get burned up by the sun
But I had my fun

I've been loved and put aside
I've been crushed by tumbling tide
And my soul has been psychedelicized

Now the time has come
There are things to realize
Time has come today
Time has come today
Time

About the time that
Daddy left to fight the big war
I saw my first pistol in the general store
In the general store, when I was thirteen

Thought it was the finest thing I ever had seen
So l asked if I could have
one someday when I grew up
Mama dropped a dozen eggs, she really blew up
She really blew up and I didn't understand
Mama said the pistol is the devil's right hand

The devil's right hand, the devil's right hand
Mama said the pistol is the devil's right hand
The devil's right hand, the devil's right hand
Mama said the pistol is the devil's right hand

My very first pistol was a cap and ball Colt
Shoot as fast as lightnin'
but it loads a mite slow
Loads a mite slow and soon I found out
It can get you into trouble
but it can't get you out
So then I went and bought myself a Colt 45
Called a peacemaker but I never knew why
Never knew why, I didn't understand
Cause Mama said the pistol is
the devil's right hand

The devil's right hand, the devil's right hand
Mama said the pistol is the devil's right hand
The devil's right hand, the devil's right hand
Mama said the pistol is the devil's right hand

Mama said the pistol is the devil's right hand

I was born my papa's son
A wanderin' eye and a smokin' gun
Now some of you would live through me
Lock me up and throw away the key
Or just find a place to hide away
Hope that I'll just go away
I feel alright -- I feel alright tonight

I'll bring you precious contraband
And ancient tales from distant lands
Of conquerors and concubines and
Conjurers from darker times
Betrayal and conspiracy
Sacrilege and heresy

I got every thing you wont or need
Your darkest fear, your fondest dream
I ask you questions, tell you lies
Criticize and sympathize
Be careful what you wish for friend
Because I've been to hell and now I'm back again

Girl, don't bother to lock your door
He's out there hollering, "Darlin' don't you love me no more?"
You always let him in before now didn't you
He's just singing the some old song
That he always sang before
He's the last of the hard-core troubadours
Girl, better figure out which is which
Wherefore art thou Romeo you son of a bitch
You'd just as soon fight as switch now wouldn't you
He's come to make love on your satin sheets
Wake up on your living room floor
He's the last of the hard-core troubadours
He's the lost of the all-night, do right
Stand beneath your window 'til daylight
He's the last of the hard-core troubadours
Baby, whet you waitin' for

Girl, figure out what you're gonna do
When he moves on again and he leaves you alone and blue
But you knew he is just passin' through now didn't you
And now you can't just say this is the last time baby
Like you always did before
He's the last of the hard-core troubadours

I'm trying hard to let you go
But it's more than I can do
And every day or two
I wind up right back where I started
I'm trying not to let you know
That I'm still in love with you
I can't just sit home blue
'Cause there ain't no rest for the brokenhearted

Just because you won't unlock your door
That don't mean you don't love me anymore
No matter what you do
Because you know it's more than I can do

You told me that I got to stop
But it's more than I can do
And that ain't nothing new
'Cause we both know that I'm crazy about you

You said you're gonna call the cops
But I ain't gonna run
Because you're the only one
There ain't no way I could live without you

You left me just when I needed you
So l ain't even close to through with you

Here I am, out in the rain
I know I can't ever wash out the pain
I never meant to be cruel or untrue
I'm just hurtin' me when I'm hurtin' you

Girl I won't say, I'm hurtin' more
I know that you've heard all that before
So go on believe what you wanna believe
But I'm hurtin' you then I'm hurtin' me

I know it's hard to keep hanging on
You think that I hold all of the cards; I know you're wrong
And girl just like me, you ain't got a clue
I'm just hurtin' me when I'm hurtin' you

You know I love you baby
God only knows that I do
I know I've been bad baby
I never, ever meant to be bad to you
I never meant to be cruel or untrue
I'm just hurtin' me when I'm hurtin' you

She was her daddy's little darlin'
Her mama's only child
They didn't understand at all when
She took to running wild

She left town one day and never said goodbye
Left a hole in daddy's lap and a tear in mama's eye
Where'd we go wrong and now she's gone
She met a boy up in Kentucky
Charlie was his name
Just when he thought he got lucky
She stole his watch and chain

She always kept on movin' and she never wasted time
And they said she left quite a string of broken hearts behind
Woke up alone and now she's gone

Me, I wasn't even trying
You could say I was content
She went through my life like lightning
Blew out the other end

I still taste her kisses, smell her perfume in the wind
And if I could you know that I would do it all again
She done me wrong, and now she's gone

I was born on the other side of town
Everybody over there just puts me down
I never thought about it much, ‘til the first time I saw you
Uh-oh, what's a poor boy gonna do
It's bad enough to love you from afar
Me down here and you up where you are
If you hadn't given me that look, that's all it took it's true
U-oh, what's a poor boy gonna do

Baby what's a poor boy got, not a heck of a lot
Just a heart that's true
One thing he sure doesn't need is a heart that bleeds
And these lovesick blues

I know o poor boy can't go far
Baby, maybe someday drive your car
I can look in my rearview, into those eyes of blue
Uh-oh what's a poor boy gonna do

I come to you with empty hands
I guess I just forgot again
I only got my love to send
On Valentine's Day

I ain't got a card to sign
Roses have been hard to find
I only hope that you'll be mine
On Valentine's Day
I know that I swore that I wouldn't forget
I wrote it all down: I lost it I guess
There's so much I want to say
But all the words just slip away

The way you love me every day
Is Valentine's Day

If I could I would deliver to you
Diamonds and gold; it's the least I can do
So if you'll take my IOU
I could make it up to you
Until then I hope my heart will do
For Valentine's Day

In the middle of the night
In the middle of a lonely night
Stands alone in the pale moonlight
Screams out in defiance
He's got no one to turn to
You could talk ‘til you turn blue
He'd just turn his back on you
Ain't no compromising
‘Cause he's totally untamed
No fear of the unnamed
But he'll take the blame
‘Cause someone's gotta do it

Now he's out on the highway
He's got the key and the right of way
His tank is full and his toll's paid
Hellbound and determined
He run a dangerous payload
When he comes to the crossroads
Ah, man it's all times to explode
You'll just see the sky burnin'

Now he's standin' at hell's door
With a bad attitude and a forty-four
The devil said, "What's up man
Now what you come here for?"
He said, "Man, let's just get to it"
He said, "I always heard that you were the bad one
There's a few places I ain't been, a few things I ain't done
You got your pitchfork and I got my gun"
Someone's gotta do it

Cocaine cannot kill my pain
Like a freight train through my vein
Cocaine cannot kill my pain
Whiskey got no hold on me
Left them chains in Tennessee
Whiskey got no hold on me

Don't come knockin' on my door
Even that won't work no more
Don't come knockin' on my door

Heroin is the only thing
The only gift the darkness brings
Heroin is the only thing

Guess you'd best leave me alone
At least until these blues have gone
Guess you'd best leave me alone

Billy was 17 and mean as hell
Bonnie said she was 30, it was hard to tell
Billy met Bonnie on a Saturday night
At the dirt track races, it was love at first sight
Bonnie was wilder than the west wind blows
Taught Billy every single thing he knows
But she never told billy what she left out
The part about the trouble when your times runs out
When the thrill is gone, when your deal goes south
It's all over when your time runs out

Bonnie said, "Billy, don't you think it's time
We moved on a little further down the line"
So they knocked off a Texaco south of town
Blew down the highway with the ragtop down
Billy woke Bonnie up about first light
Said, "You drive honey, I've been up all night"
Now Billy wasn't sweatin' no APB
‘Cause they didn't leave a single soul alive to see

The boy was just 16, made his mama proud
That don't mean nothin' when your time runs out

Bonnie kept pushin' that Cadillac
Billy passed out with the seat reared back
Slept through Louisiana, then just past dark
Bonnie pulled over in a roadside park
Left Billy sleeping and she called the cops
He never knew nothin' when the dime was dropped
Bonnie knew what she had to do
She called the sheriff and she cried on cue

And the state police rousted Billy out
He was dreaming about Bonnie when his time ran out

The sheriff told Billy, "Boy, you're bound to die
‘Cause this young lady's gonna testify
That you done took her off against her will
And she told us about the robbery and the boy you killed"
The judge said, "Billy, what you got to say
Before I have the sheriff carry you away"
Billy looked Bonnie right in the eye
But he didn't even have to ask her why
But he turned around as they led him out

He said, "I'll see you down in hell when your time runs out"

I went downtown, it was just to ease my pain
I ended up out walkin' in the rain

I took my pistol and a hundred dollar bill
I had everything I needed to get me killed

Southside girls, they suit me just fine
As long as I got money they don't whine

The devil lives on Lewis Street I swear
I seen him rockin' in his rockin' chair

I start way up top of Lewis Street
And I walk down to the end
I start way up top and I walk down to the end
I go way down in the bottoms
And I come back up again

Now Mama told me, Papa too
They both talked til they turned blue
But I got them ol' South Nashville blues again
I won't be satisfied until they lock me up again

Well, I've spent my life following
Things I cannot see
But just when I catch up to them
They slip away from me
Now, I've been down a thousand trails
I've never walked before
I found out that, without fail
They lead me to your door

And the world keeps turning 'round and 'round
It leaves me hanging in the air
My heart keeps turning upside down
And you're still standin' there

Now lately I see all the signs
I feel it in the wind
And the same thing happens every time
That you come back again
Now I'll admit that there are nights
When I sit up and cry
But sometimes I turn out the lights
And pray you'll pass me by

And the world keeps turning 'round and 'round
It leaves me hanging in the air
My heart keeps turning upside down
And you're still standin' there

Now, since you're gone my empty arms
Got nothing left to hold
And your memory cannot keep me warm
But it never leaves me cold

And the world keeps turning 'round and 'round
It leaves me hanging in the air
My heart keeps turning upside down
And you're still standin' there

And the world keeps turning 'round and 'round
It leaves me hanging in the air
My heart keeps turning upside down
And you're still standin' there

There's a train a comin' There's a train a comin
Hear them tracks a hummin' There's a train a comin'
Can't you hear her blowin' Can't you hear her blowin'
Wonder where she's goin' Can't you hear her blowin'

Run down the station Run down to the station
Dread and fascination Run down to the station

Don't you want to ride her Don't you want to ride her
Wonder what's inside her Don't you want to ride her

She ain't bound for nowhere She ain't bound for nowhere
Engineer just don't care She ain't bound for nowhere

She run down the mountain She run down the mountain
She won't even slow down mmm down the mountain

There's a train a comin' There's a train a comin'
Hear them tracks a hummin' There's a train a comin'

I wish I'd never come back home
It don't feel right since I've been grown
I can't find any of my old friends hangin' 'round
Won't nothin' bring you down like your hometown
I spent some time in New Orleans
I had to live on rice and beans
I hitched through Texas when the sun was beatin' down
Won't nothin' bring you down like your hometown

CHORUS
Home is where the heart is
Ain't that what they always say
My heart lies in broken pieces
Scattered along the way

So don't think about me when I'm gone
I don't mind travelin' alone
You are the sweetest little thing I ever found
Won't nothin' bring you down like your hometown

If you see her out tonight
And she tells you it's just the lights
That bring her here and not her loneliness
That's what she says but sometimes she forgets
If she tells you she don't need a man
She's had all the comfort she can stand
You'd best believe every word she says
But don't give up 'cause sometimes she forgets

Sometimes she forgets that not too long ago she swore
She wasn't gonna let her heart be broken anymore

So now she keeps it locked away
It grows colder every day
And it won't warm to any man's caress
That's what she says but sometimes she forgets

Sometimes she forgets that not too long ago she swore
She wasn't gonna let her heart be broken anymore

Hey now don't give up 'cause sometimes she forgets

Me and Bill there we both come from Georgia
Met Hank out in New Mexico
We're bound for Duranqo to join Pancho Villa
We hear that he's payin' in gold
I guess a man's got to do what he's best at
Ain't found nothin' better so far
Been called mercenaries and men with no country
Just soldiers in search of a war

CHORUS
And we're bound for the border
We're soldiers of fortune
And we'll fight for no country but we'll die for good pay
Under the flag of of the greenback dollar
Or the peso down Mexico way

When this war is over might go back to Georgia
And settle down quiet some where
I'll most likely pack up and head south for Chile
Heard tell there's some trouble down there

I remember holdin on to you
All them long and lonely nights I put you through
Somewhere in there I'm sure I made you cry
But I can't remember if we said goodbye
CHORUS

But I recall all of them nights down in Mexico
One place I may never go in my life again
Was I just off somewhere just too high
But I can't remember if we said goodbye

I only miss you here every now and then
Like the soft breeze blowin; up from the Caribbean
Most Novembers I break down and cry
But I can't remember if we said goodbye

CHORUS

Everyone in Nacadoches knew Tom Ames would come to some bad end
Well the sheriff had cought him stealin' chickens and such
by the time that he was ten

And one day his daddy took a ten dollar bill
and he tucked it in his hand
He said I can tell you're headed for trouble son
and your momma wouldn't understand

So he took that money and his brothers old bay
and he left without a word of thanks
Fell in with a crowd in some border town
and took to robbin' banks

Outside the law your luck will run out fast
and a few years came and went
'Till he's trapped in an alley in Abilene
with all but four shells spent

And he realized prayin' was the only thing
that he hadn't ever tried
Well he wasn't sure he knew quite how
but he looked up to the sky

Said you don't owe me nothin' and as far as I know
Lord don't owe nothin' to you
And I ain't askin' for a miracle Lord
just a little bit of luck will do

And you know I ain't never prayed before
but it always seemed to me
If prayin' is the same as beggin' Lord
I don't take no charity

Yeah but right now Lord with my back to the wall
Can't help but recall
How they nearly hung me for stealin' a horse
in Fort Smith Arkansas

Judge Parker said guilty and the gavel came down
just like a cannon shot
And I went away quietly
and I began to file and plot

Well they sent the preacher down to my cell
He said the Lord is your only hope
He's the only friend that you gonna have
When you hit the end of Parker's rope

Well I guess he coulda' kept on preachin' 'till Christmas
but he

I'm the keeper of your heart
I keep the flame when we're apart
I'm the lover in your arms
Or a baby soft and warm

I'm a hero in your eyes
I'm a comfort when you cry
When you hurt me I'm your fool
But I'm nothin' without you

(CHORUS)

No I'm nothin' without you
It don't matter what I do
If I win or if I lose
Sweetheart I'm nothin' without you

I'm a beacon in the night
To show the way until it's light
I'm a stumbler in the dark
When I can't say what's in my heart

I'm a poet just the same
Every time I speak your name
I'm just a shadow when I'm blue
But I'm nothin' without you

(CHORUS)

Everybody call her angel
she's no stranger to the devil I know
His mark is on her body
His fire's burnin' in her soul
When we're makin' love
he's laughin' at us down below
she's the devil I know
CHORUS
She's the devil I know
She's the devil I know
Said she come from heaven
Angel is the devil I know
She's the devil I know

Now she's the kind a woman
keep you comin' back for more
Got the kind of face
you swear you seen someplace before
Coulda` been your mamma
Coulda' been a Mexican whore
She's the devil I know

Now she'd drag you straight to hell
I can tell and I think I'll just go
Yeah the devil sent her here
to deliver me body and soul
Yeah and every inch she drags me down
I'm closer to the glow
She`s the devil I know

I'm lookin' through you where did you go
I thought I knew you what did I know
You don't look different but you have changed
I'm Iooking through you you're not the same

Your lips are moving I cannot hear
Your voice is soothing but the words aren't clear
You don't sound different I've learned the game
I'm looking through you you're not the same

BRIDGE
Why tell me why did you not treat me right
Love has a nasty habit of disappearing over night

You're thinking of me the same old way
You were above me but not today
the only difference is you're down there
I'm looking through you and you're nowhere

By the rivers of Babylon
Where he sat down
And there he wept
When he remember Zion

It was the wicked

CHORUS
Carry us away captivity
Require from us a song
How can we sing King Alfa's song
In a strange land

The name she gave was Caroline
The daughter of a miner
And her ways were free and it seemed to me
The sunshine walked beside her
She come from Spencer 'coss the hill
She said her Pa had sent her
'Cause the coal was low and soon the snow
Would tuwn the skies to winter

Well she said she'd come to look for work
She was not seeking favors
For a dime a day and a place to stay
She'd turn those hands to labor

The times were hard Lord the jobs were few
All through Tecumseh Valley
But she asked around and a job she found
Tending bar for Gypsy Sally

She saved enough to get back home
When spring replaced the winter
But her dreams were denied her Pa had died
The word came down from Spencer

She turned to whorin' out on the streets
With all the lust inside her
It was many a man returned again
To lay himself beside her

Well they found her down beneath the stairs
That led to Gypsy Sally's
In her hand when she died
Was a note that cried
Fare thee well Tecumseh Valley

It's Christmastime in Washington
The Democrats rehearsed
Gettin' into gear for four more years
Things not gettin' worse
The Republicans drink whiskey neat
And thanked their lucky stars
They said, 'He cannot seek another term
They'll be no more FDRs'
I sat home in Tennessee
Staring at the screen
With an uneasy feeling in my chest
And I'm wonderin' what it means

Chorus:
So come back Woody Guthrie
Come back to us now
Tear your eyes from paradise
And rise again somehow
If you run into Jesus
Maybe he can help you out
Come back Woody Guthrie to us now

I followed in your footsteps once
Back in my travelin' days
Somewhere I failed to find your trail
Now I'm stumblin' through the haze
But there's killers on the highway now
And a man can't get around
So I sold my soul for wheels that roll
Now I'm stuck here in this town

Chorus

There's foxes in the hen house
Cows out in the corn
The unions have been busted
Their proud red banners torn
To listen to the radio
You'd think that all was well
But you and me and Cisco know
It's going straight to hell

So come back, Emma Goldman
Rise up, old Joe Hill
The barracades are goin' up
They cannot break our will
Come back to us, Malcolm X
And Martin Luther King
We're marching into Selma
As the bells of freedom ring

Chorus

I went down to Taneytown
I went down to Taneytown
To see what I could see
My mama told me never go
But I'm almost 22 years old
Sometimes I fear this holler swollow me
She ran off to Gettysburg
Went off with that new beau of hers
I snuck off after dark
Long way down the county road
Stars were bright
The moon was low
Down to where the black top highway starts
Chorus:
I went down to Taneytown
I went down to Taneytown
I went down to see what I could see

I could see everybody stared at me
You'd think that they ain't never seen
A colored boy before
They chunked at me at me
Called me names
They'd have whipped me sure but the sheriff came
I slipped off through the dry goods store
I ran down Division Street
Some of them boys followed me
Down to the railroad track
Four of them and I cain't fight
But I had my old Randall knife
I cut that boy and I never did look back

Chorus

Cross the fields and woods I run
Like a bullet from a rabbit gun
Back home to my bed
Ma came in from Gettysburg
Her and that new beau of hers
"Boy you look like hell" was all she said

Month went by without a word
Somebody down the holler heard
About that boy they hung
He begged those men to spare his life
But I dropped my bloody Randall knife
He picked it up so they thought he was the one

I went down to Taneytown
I went down to Taneytown
I ain't goin' back there anymore

I saw you lookin' at that girl like that
I saw her too boy I know right where you're at
But you better be careful
'Cause she ain't the kind you're gonna forget
How much you wanna bet
Chorus:
If you fall in love
Nothin's gonna be the same
You walk around callin' out her name
Throw your heart down like a glove
Push comes to shove
You only end up lonely and blue
Whenever she's away from you If you fall in love

You gotta hear me talkin' to ya
'Cause I'm your best friend
And I'd hate to see you goin'
Where I've already been
'Cause I've been in love before
And I won't ever be the same again
You better listen to me, Jim

Chorus

There she is again
She sure looks fine
Boy, I know you're walkin'
On a very thin line
So I guess it's up to me
'Cause your heart's not as strong as mine
Well just this one time

Chorus

Sweetheart last night I dreamed of you
You loved me like you used to do
Mornin' come and I woke up and found
I still carry you around
Chorus:
I still carry you around
Everywhere I travel now
No matter how I try to put you down
I still carry you around

I still just can't believe you're gone
Your memory haunts me from now on
I walk the streets of this old lonely town
I still carry you around

Chorus

You're with me everywhere I go
In my heart and in my soul
Down every road, no matter where I'm bound
I still carry you around

Chorus

My brother Jimmy, my other brother Jack
Went off down to Houston and they never come back
Mama wasn't gonna let her baby go yet
But there ain't nobody hirin' back in Lafeyette
I'm workin' all week for the Texaco check
Sun beatin' down on the back of my neck
Tried to save my money but Jimmy says no
Says he's got a little honey on Telephone Road

Chorus:
Come on come on come on let's go
This ain't Louisianna
Your Mama won't know
Come on come on come on let's go
Everybody's rockin' out on Telephone Road

Telephone Road is ten miles long
Fifty car lots and a hundred honky-tonks
Jukebox blastin' and the beer bottles ring
Jimmy banging on a pinball machine

Chorus

Mama never told me about nothin' like this
I guess Houston's 'bout a big as a city can get
Sometimes I get lonesome for Lafeyette
Someday I'm goin' home but I ain't ready yet

Chorus

Somewhere out there in the world tonight
Just out of my reach
I hear your heart beat
Comin' in loud and clear tonight
Poundin' in my brain
Callin' out your name
In the darkness something binds you to me
So that I can find you
When you want me
I will be there
Waiting on you
Somewhere out there

In there in your heart tonight
Where I have never gone
You are not alone
It is tearing me all apart alright
But girl what can I do
When I'm so far from you

And when I lay me down to sleep
My one and only prayer is you'll keep
Safe from harm until I get
Wherever you are
Somewhere out there

If you're sad or if you're lonely
If you’re scared, if you're only
Tired of fightin'
Seekin' shelter
Just hold on I'm
Somewhere out there

Somewhere out there in the world tonight
Just out of your reach
You'll hear my heart beat

Moses went up to the mountain
To see what he could see
Well he come down talking 'bout a burning bush
Says 'This is how it's gonna be'
He's scared to death
You know the rest
Columbus went down to the ocean
In 1492
He said 'Boys, I'm looking for India
But America will do'
Sailed to the west
You know the rest

Davey Crockett went out to Texas
To fight at the Alamo
Old Will Travis never told him
Texas is in Mexico
It's a bloody mess
You know the rest

Robert Johnson went down to the crossroads
A guitar in his hands
Well, the devil had him a guitar, too
He says 'This is what you need man,
You can be the best'
You know the rest

Well this song ain't got no reason
Hell this song barely rhymes
Well it come to me when I was asleep
And it wakes me up sometimes
I can't get no rest
You know the rest

He was standing on the highway
Somewhere way out in the sticks
Guitar across his shoulder
Like a 30 ought six
He was staring in my headlights
When I come around the bend
Climbed up on my shotgun side
And told me with a grin
Chorus:
I'm going to New York City
I never really been there
Just like the way it sounds
I heard the girls are pretty
There must be something happening there
It's just too big a town

He was cold and wet and hungry
But he never did complain
Said he'd come a thousand miles
Through sleet and snow and rain
He had a hundred stories
About the places that he'd been
He'd hang around a little while
And hit the road again

Chorus

See I've been to New York City
Seems like it was yesterday
I was standing like a pilgrim
On the Great White Way
The girls were really pretty
But they wouldn't talk to me
I held out about a week
Went back to Tennessee

So, I thought I'd better warn him
As he climbed out of my car
Grabbed his battered suitcase
And shouldered his guitar
I knew I was just jealous
If I didn't wish him well
I slipped the kid a twenty
Said 'Billy give 'em hell'

Chorus x 2

I was almost out of here
Nearly left this time
I saw you in my rearview mirror
And I pulled up on a dime
But nothin' ventured, nothin' lost
You can't say we didn't try
That is unless you weigh the cost
Of every tear we cried
Chorus:
Why do we do this to each other
I guess we were always poison lovers

If you could look me in the eye
And tell me what you see
Maybe you can tell me why
I let you torture me
I know that your lips are soft
And they sing the sweetest songs
But I've been listenin' long enough
My heart has turned to stone

Chorus

Another time, another place
Another wind to blame
Cover every track and trace
I'll find you just the same
And even if we made our peace
And went our separate ways
You'd go west and I'd go east
And we'd meet here in this place

Chorus x 2

When I'm sad and blue
And I'm feeling all alone
There's a place that I go to
That no one knows
Where no matter what I do
Won't nobody put me down
That's why I'm going to
The other side of town
Chorus:
On the other side of town
Where the sun don't ever shine
Everybody walks around
With a shadow cross their minds
When that midnight train rolls by
And they hear that lonesome sound
They just hang their heads and cry
On the other side of town

Well it isn't very far
And it's not that hard to find
You just follow all the other lonely souls
Take a walk down lonesome lane
'Til you see the dead end sign
And your broken heart will tell you where to go

To the other side of town
Where the sun don't ever shine
Everybody walks around
With a shadow cross their minds
When that midnight train rolls by
And they hear that lonesome sound
They just hang their heads and cry
On the other side of town

So if you've find someone
Who won't ever let you down
Hurry home before the sun goes down
No matter what you do
Don't let night fall like a shroud
And catch you on the other side of town

Chorus

Here I Am
On my way
Down another road I've have paved
With every good intention I've saved
And hearts that I broke
As for me I got scars
For every mile I've traveled so far
And some blood on my hands
Here I am
With a song in my heart
And an attitude from the start
I took everybody apart
To see how they work
I got friends that I owe
I ain't namin' names
Cuz they know where they stand
Here I am

Here I am
Here I am
Here I am

If I went back where I've been
And I knew what I know now then
Well I'd probably do it again
Cuz I'm just a man
At the end of the day
I ain't got nothing to say

Here I am
Here I am
Here I am

Here I am
Here I am
Here I am

In Ft. Worth all the neon's burnin' bright
Pretty lights red and blue
But they'd shut down all the honky tonks tonight
And say a prayer or two
If they only knew
You used to say the highway was your home
But we both know that ain't true
It's just the only place a man can go
When he don't know where he's travelin' to

But Colorado's always clean and healin'
And Tennessee in Spring is green and cool
It never really was your kind of town
But you went around with the Ft. Worth Blues

Somewhere up beyond the great divide
Where the sky is wide and the clouds are few
A man can see his way clear to the light
Just hold on tight
That's all you gotta do

And they say Texas weather's always changin'
And one thing change'll bring is somethin' new
And Houston really ain't that bad a town
So you hang around with the Ft. Worth Blues

There's a full moon over Galway Bay tonight
Silver light over green and blue
And every place I travel through, I find
Some kinda sign that you've been through

But Amsterdam was always good for grieving
And London never fails to leave me blue
Paris never was my kinda town
So I walked around with the Ft. Worth Blues

The eagle looked down on the river below
And he wrapped his wings round him and he fell like a stone
And the big salmon fought but the talons held true
And he shuddered as the world turned from silver to blue
I stood there in awe though I'd seen it before
I was born in these mountains and I'll die here for sure

I've traveled around I've seen city lights
But nothin' that shined like the big sky at night

CHORUS:
Some mornings will find me up above the timberline
Lonesome don't seem like much once you're this high
When it's all said and done I usually find
Me and the eagle are of the same mind

Now when I was young I took me a wife
But she never took to the high country life
So now I'm alone I don't really mind
But her name echoes down from the canyon sometimes

REPEAT CHORUS

In my dreams there's a horse, he stands eighteen hands high
He's as white as the snow and there's fire in his eyes
And he'll bare only me though others have tried
And together we'll travel up across the divide

REPEAT CHORUS

Ya hardly ever saw Grandaddy down here
He only come to town about twice a year
He'd buy a hundred pounds o'yeast
and some copperline
Everybody knew that he made moonshine

That revenue man wanted grandaddy bad
He headed up the holler with evrything he had
it was before my time but i've been told
He never came back from copperhead road

Now my daddy ran the whiskey in a big black dodge
he bought it at an auction at the mason's lodge
Johnson's county sherrif painted on the side
just shot a coat of primer then he looked inside
well him and my uncle tore that engine down
i still remember that rumblin' sound

Then the sherrif came around in the middle of the night
heard mama cryin' knew somethin wasnt right
he was headed down to knoxville with the weekly load
u could smell the whiskey burnin down copperhead road

I volonteered for the army on my birthday
they draft the white trash first 'round here anyway
i done two tours of duty in vietnam
i came home with a brand new plan
i take the seed from colombia to mexico
i plant it up the holler down copperhead road
well the DEA's got a chopper in the air
i wake up screamin like im back over there
i learned a thing or two from ol' charlie don't you know
you'd better stay away from copperhead road

copperhead road
copperhead road
copperhead road

Ladies and gentlemen, attention please
Come in close so everyone can see
I got a tale to tell
A listen don't cost a dime
And if you believe that we're gonna get along just fine
Now I've been travelin' all around
I heard trouble's come to your town
Well I've got a little somethin'
Guaranteed to ease your mind
It's call Snake Oil y'all
It's been around for a long, long time
Say, your crops'll burn if it don't rain soon
Ain't seen a drop since the tenth of June
Well I can open up the sky
People never fear
If you ain't impressed yet, just tell me what you wanna hear
Well you lost your farm so you moved to town
You get a job, they shut the factory down
Now you sit around all day long feelin' sad and blue
You need Snake Oil y'all, tell you what I'm gonna do
I can heal the sick, I can mend the lame
And the blind shall see again, it's all the same
Well ain't your President good to you
Knocked 'em dead in Libya, Grenada too
Now he's taking his show a little further down the line
Well, 'tween me and him people, you're gonna get along just fine

Well sometimes in the evenings I start to get that feeling
Like I'm empty inside
I know I'm doin' good now but tonight I'm headed downtown
Down by the riverside

I sit underneath the freeway with an old friend from the old days
And a bottle of wine
Well he used to call me ";Big Time";, and he knew someday that I'd shine
Said he'd seen all the signs
He said . .

";Keep yourself to yourself
Keep your bedroll dry
And boy you never can tell
What the shadows hide
Keep ene eve on the ground
Pick up whatever you find
'Cause you've got no place to fall
When your back's to the wall";

He's gettin' old and it's showin' when I asked him how it's goin'
He said ";I've seen better I guess
I've been rained on, I've been frozen, but this here's the life I've chosen
If it just wasn't for the loneliness";

Now this river suits me to a T. but if you're trying to raise a family
It ain't no place to be
There's a kid down by the dump there, ought to be in grade school somewhere
Now he hangs out with me
And I told him . . .";

Well we finished off the bottle and I told him,";Joe I think I ought to
Be headed uptown";
Well it was late, and I'd been drinkin', drivin' home I got to thinkin'
'Bout what's been going down

Cause they're nervous down on Wall Street, but they're trying to keep it upbeat
Or maybe they just don't care
But down at the river eyes are burnin' cause they feel the tables turnin'
So if you wind up down there . . .

About the time that Daddy left to fight the big war
I saw my first pistol in the general store
In the general store, when I was thirteen

Thought it was the finest thing I ever had seen
So l asked if I could have one someday when I grew up
Mama dropped a dozen eggs, she really blew up
She really blew up and I didn't understand
Mama said the pistol is the devil's right hand

The devil's right hand, the devil's right hand
Mama said the pistol is the devil's right hand

My very first pistol was a cap and ball Colt
Shoot as fast as lightnin' but it loads a mite slow
Loads a mite slow and soon I found out
It can get you into trouble but it can't get you out
So then I went and bought myself a Colt 45
Called a peacemaker but I never knew why
Never knew why, I didn't understand
Cause Mama said the pistol is the devil's right hand

Well I get into a card game in a company town
Caught a miner cheating I shot the dog down
Shot the dog down, watched the man fall
Never touched his holster, never had a chance to draw
The trial was in the morning and they drug me out of bed
Asked me how I pleaded, not guilty I said
Not guilty I said, you've got the wrong man
Nothing touched the trigger but the devil's right hand

I'm an American, boys, and I've come a long way
I was born and bred in the USA
So listen up close, I've get something to say
Boys, I'm buying this round
Well it took a Iittke while but we're in this fight
And we ain't going home 'til we've done what's right
We're gonna drink Camden Town dry tonight
If I have to spend my last pound
When I first got to London it was pourin' down rain
Met a Iittle girl in the field canteen
Painted her name on the nose of my plane
Six more missions I'm gene
Well I asked if I could stay and she said that I might
Then the warden came around yelling "turn out the lights"
Death rainin' out of the London night
We made love 'til dawn

But when Johnny Come Lately comes marching home
With a chest full of medals and a G.l. loan
They'll be waitin' at the station down in San Antone
When Johnny comes marching home

MY P-47 is a pretty good ship
And she took a round coming cross the Channel last trip
I was thinking 'bout my baby and letting her rip
Always got me through so far
Well they can ship me all over this great big world
But I'll never find nothing like my North End girl
I'm taking her home whh me one day, sir
Soon as we win this war

Now my granddaddy sang me this song
Told me about Londen when the Blitz was on
How he married Grandma and brought her back home
A hero throughout his land
Now I'm standing on a runway in San Diego
A couple Purple Hearts and I move a little slow
There's nobody here, maybe nobody knows
About a place called Vietnam

I've always heard that love is blind
But I know that there's another kind
Shines like a beacon in the night
And holds up in the morning light

Cause in mv dreams she travels with me when I run
And in my dreams she takes my hand
When I make my stand but morning always comes
And I know it's too good to be true
She loves me even when I'm blue

No one can say that I ain't tried
I keep on searching far and wide
And I know she's out there somewhere now
I'm gonna track her down somehow

Lately I've been feeling a little uneasy so I run straight home to you
It's been cold as hell and you just can't tell what a girl might do
I made a whole lot of promises baby, but none of my dreams came true
And it's you that paid and I'm so afraid that I'm losing you
But you belong to me
You belong to me
you beleng to me, me, baby, me

Now your mama said you could do better than me, baby I know that's true
But you believed me instead. every word I said, and I did too

But every day's a Iittle bit harder out there no matter what I do
Well I could carry the world on my shoulders girl long as I got you

But you belong to me
You belong to me
you beleng to me, me, baby, me

But you belong to me
You belong to me
you beleng to me, me, baby, me

Well my shining armour is rusted and worn
There's a heart inside here entrusted and sworn to you
Just tell me baby what I need to do
I can win you over again if you want me to

But you belong to me
You beleng to me, me, baby, me

Here comes the night, day brings no light
For wrong or right I'm here waiting on you
Words cut too deep, old ghosts won't sleep
But they'll never keep me from waiting on you
Breathing out, breathing in
Holding out, giving in
Doing with or without
For a lifetime, just a lifetime

I can't let go, I wait for you
Till hell goes cold, I'll wait for you
You're all I know and I wait for you

Breathing out, breathing in
Holding out, giving in
Doing with or without waiting on you

Don't show it all, walk on, walk tall
Behind this wall I'm still waiting on you

A long time ago there lived a man
He had the world in the palm of his hand
Sultans and kings beat a path to his door
He had everything but he still wanted more
One day in spring came a lady so fair
He'd never looked on a beauty so rare
But he didn't trust her so he locked her away
And his gold lost its luster when love died that day
Once you love, once you trust it
Once you give your soul is bare
One false move and you know you're busted
Once you love you care

I knew an old man who lived all alone
In a sad Iittle house at the end of the road
He sat on the front porch in an old rocking chair
And everyone swore he'd gone crazy down there
But no one comes near so how could they know
He lost someone dear to him once long ago
He remembers the laughter and he still tastes the tears
And he still calls her name out after all of these years

You can keep it all inside
You can run but you can't hide
When you think it's safe outside
Look behind you, love will find you

Once upon a time in a far off land
Wise men saw a sign and set out aross the sand
Songs of praise to sing, they travelled day and night
Precious gifts to bring, guided by the light
They chased a brand new star, ever towards the west
Across the mountains far, but when it came to rest
They scarce believed their eyes, they'd come so many miles
And the miracle they prized was nothing but a child
Nothing but a child could wash these tears away
Or guide a weary world into the light of day
And nothing but a child could help erase these miles
So once again we all can be children for awhile

Now all around the world, in every Iittle town
Everyday is heard a precious little sound
And every mother kind and every father proud
Looks down in awe to find another chance allowed

Hey pretty baby are you ready for me
It's your good rockin' daddy down from Tennessee
I'm just out of Austin bound for San Antone
With the radio blastin' and the bird dog on
There's a speed trap up ahead in Selma Town
But no local yokel gonna shut me down
'Cause me and my boys got this rig unwound
And we've come a thousand miles from a Guitar Town
Nothin' ever happened 'round my hometown
And I ain't the kind to just hang around
But I heard someone callin' my name one day
And I followed that voice down the lost highway
Everybody told me you can't get far
On thirty-seven dollars and a jap guitar
Now I'm smokin' into Texas with the hammer down
And a rockin' little combo from the Guitar Town

Hey pretty baby don't you know it ain't my fault
I love to hear the steel belts hummin' on the asphalt
Wake up in the middle of the night in a truck stop
Stumble in the restaurant wonderin' why I don't stop

Gotta keep rockin' why I still can
I gotta two pack habit and a motel tan
But when my boots hit the boards I'm a brand new man
With my back to the riser I make my stand
And hey pretty baby won't you hold me tight
We're loadin' up and rollin' out of here tonight
One of these days I'm gonna settle down
And take you back with me to the Guitar Town

My grandaddy was a miner, but he finally saw the light
He didn't have much, just a beat-up truck and a dream about a better life
Grandmama cried when she waved goodbye, never heard such a lonesome sound
Pretty soon the dirt road turned into blacktop, Detroit City bound
Down that hillbilly highway
That hillbilly highway
Hillbilly highway
Goes on and on

He worked and saved his money so that one day he might send
My old man off to college, to use his brains and not his hands
Grandmama cried when she waved goodbye, never heard such a lonesome sound
But daddy had himself a good job in Houston, one more rollin' down

Down that hillbilly highway
That hillbilly highway
Hillbilly highway
Goes on and on

Grandaddy rolled over in his grave the day that I quit school
I just sat around the house playin' my guitar, Daddy said I was a fool
My mama cried when I said goodbye, I never heard such a lonesome sound
Now I'm standin' on this highway and if you're going my way
You know where I'm bound

I got a job but it ain't nearly enough
A twenty thousand dollar pickup truck
Belongs to me and the bank and some funny talkin' man from Iran
I left the service and got a G.I. loan
I got married bought myself a home
Now I hang around this one horse town and do the best than I can
Gettin' tough
Just my luck
I was born in the land of plenty now there ain't enough
Gettin' cold
I've been told
Nowadays it just don't pay to be a good ol' boy

Been goin' nowhere down a one-way track
I'd kill to leave it but ain't no turnin' back
Got the wife and the kids and what would everybody say
My brother's standin' on a welfare line
And any minute now I might get mine
Meanwhile it's the I.R.S. and the devil to pay

I hit the beer joints every Friday night
Spend a little money lookin' for a fight
It don't matter if I lose or win
'Cause Monday I'm back on the losin' end again

Just when every ray of hope was gone
I should have known that you would come along
I can't believe I ever doubted you
My old friend the blues
Another lonely night, a nameless town
If sleep don't take me first, you'll come around
'Cause I know I can always count on you
My old friend the blues

Lovers leave and friends will let you down
But you're the only sure thing that I've found
No matter what I do I'll never lose
My old friend the blues

Just let me hide my weary heart in you
My old friend the blues

There ain't a lot that you can do in this town

You drive down to the lake and then you turn back around

You go to school and you learn to read and write

So you can walk into the county bank and sign away your life

I work at the fillin' station on the interstate

Pumpin' gasoline and countin' out of state plates

They ask me how far into Memphis son, and where's the nearest beer

And they don't even know that there's a town around here

Someday I'm finally gonna let go
'Cause I know there's a better way
And I wanna know what's over that rainbow
I'm gonna get out of here someday

Now my brother went to college cause he played football

I'm still hangin' round cause I'm a little bit small

I got me a 67 Chevy, she's low and sleek and black

Someday I'll put her on that interstate and never look back

Someday I'm finally gonna let go
'Cause I know there's a better way
And I wanna know what's over that rainbow
I'm gonna get out of here someday
I'm gonna get out of here someday

someday~~~someday~~

You're here, you're gone
I'm still hangin' on
This game ain't nothin' new
You've changed your mind
So many times
But I'm still in love with you

I'll think it over when you're walkin' out the door
Why'd you go and leave me sad and blue
And if you knew
What I go through
You'd think it over too

I hope someday
I'll find a way
I'll walk right out on you
Til that day comes
I'm still the one
If you should need a fool

Don't you worry bout what you've been told
Cause honey I ain't even close to cold
It's kinda soon to fall in love again
But sometimes the best that you can do is just jump back in
I got me a fearless heart
Strong enough to get you through the scary part
It's been broken many times before
A fearless heart just comes back for more

Folks'll tell you that I'm just no good
But I wouldn't hurt you honey if I could
I can't promise this'll work out right
But it would kill me darlin' if we didn't even try

I admit I fall in love a lot
But I nearly always give it my best shot
I know you must think I'm the reckless kind
But I want a lady with a fearless heart just like mine

On the blue side of evenin'
When the darkness takes control
You start lookin' for a reason
To take your lonesome on down the road
'Cause the night is filled with strangers
All you need is one you know
And if she ain't the one you're after
Keep on lookin' on down the road

Though the miles lay long behind you
You have still got miles to go
How's love ever gonna find you
If it ain't here it's down the road

Keep on lookin' on down the road

New jersey turnpike ridin' on a wet night
'neath the refinery's glow, out where the great black rivers flow
License, registration, I ain't got none, but I got a clear conscience
'bout the things that I done
Mister state trooper please don't stop me...

Maybe you got a kid maybe you got a pretty wife, the only thing that I got's been botherin' me my whole life
Mister state trooper please don't stop me

In the wee, wee hours your mind get hazy, radio relay towers lead me to my baby


Radio's jammed up with talk show stations
It's just talk, talk till you lose your patience
Mister state trooper please don't stop me

Hey somebody out there, listen to my last prayer
Hi ho silver-o deliver me from nowhere

I was fresh out of the service
It was back in 82
I raised some Cain when I come back to town
I left to be all I could be
Come home without a clue
Now, I married Dawn and had to settle down

So I hired on at the prison
Guess I always knew I would
Just like my dad and both my uncles done
And I worked on every cell block
Now, things're goin' good
But then they transferred me to Ellis Unit One

Swing low
Swing low
Swing low and carry me home

Well, my daddy used to talk about them long nights at the walls
And how they used to strap em in the chair
The kids down from the college and they'd bring their beer n all
N when the lights went out, a cheer rose in the air

Well, folks just got too civilized
Sparky's gatherin' dust
Cause no one wants to touch a smokin' gun
And since they got the injection
They don't mind as much, I guess
They just put em down at Ellis Unit One

Swing low
Swing low
Swing low and carry me home

Well, I've seen em fight like lions, boys
I've seen 'em go like lambs
And I've helped to drag em when they could not stand
And I've heard their mamas cryin' when they heard that big door slam
And I've seen the victim's family holdin' hands

Last night I dreamed that I woke up with straps across my chest
And something cold and black pullin' through my lungs
N even Jesus couldn't save me though I know he did his best
But he don't live on Ellis Unit One

Swing low
Swing low
Swing low and carry me home
Swing low
Don't let go
Swing low and carry me home

Darlin', I could tell we're through
That leavin' look's all over you
I'll be waitin' here no matter what you do
Call me if you need a fool

Go and find another guy
And if he don't believe your lies
You know there's someone who'll swear every word is true
Call me if you need a fool

They're just not makin' fools the way that they used to
They don't come back for more the way I always do
So if you ever change your mind
I'm not very hard to find
You can find me in the phone book under "Blue"
Call me if you need a fool

They're just not makin' fools the way that they used to
They don't come back for more the way I always do
So if you ever change your mind
I'm not very hard to find
You can find me in the phone book under "Blue"
Call me if you need a fool
Call me if you need a fool

The following lines were written specially for the Del McCoury Band's 1992 recording of the song for their Blue Side of Time album... click here to read Steve's liner notes comments for the DMB album Cold Hard Facts concerning this...

Girl, it won't cost you a dime
To break my heart just one last time
Call collect and I'll just tell 'em "put her through"
Call me if you need a fool

Well, sittin' in the depot long before the break of day
I just bought my ticket, Lord I hope the bus ain't late
I'll have a cup of coffee and a sandwich from the microwave

Now I'm gonna see my baby if it's the last thing I ever do
Got this sittin' in the station sick and tired of waitin'
Continental Trailways blues

Well rollin' out for Houston, man we're finally rollin' now
Try to get some sleep and listen to that highway sound
I guess we must have stopped in every single little town
Now I've bought myself a copy of the Natchez Mississippi News
With the just pulled out of Lake Charles rollin' into Sulphur
Continental Trailways blues

Now, we're rollin' into Houston, don't them city lights look fine
Headed for the pay phone, hangin' onto my last dime
Well, she says she's got a new man, Son, it's been a long, long time

Now I was standin' by the highway with the rain runnin' through my shoes
With the sittin' by the road side wishin' I was inside Continental Trailways blues
I got the wishin' I was downtown waitin' on a Greyhound
Continental Trailways blues

Here I am sittin' on your porch, dear
Beggin' you darlin', let me in
In total submission I have come here
Oh sweetheart, I know how bad I've been

I won't let my dog sleep in your hallway
I won't spit my tobacco on your floor
I'll come runnin' when you call me
If you just opened up your door

If you tell me you still love me
I won't drink or cuss no more
I won't call your mama ugly
And I won't chase women like before

I won't let my dog sleep in your hallway
I won't spit my tobacco on your floor
I'll come runnin' when you call me
If you just opened up your door

I won't let my dog sleep in your hallway
I won't spit my tobacco on your floor
I'll come runnin' when you call me
If you just opened up your door
If you just opened up your door

Baby, last night I was watchin' my headlights flashin' on the guard rail
Now it's early in the mornin' and I'm still runnin' like the devil was on my trail

Well, say why why why would a man treat a woman that way?
I say cry cry cry, she's never gonna make me stay

Now I'm ridin' on the wheels of fortune
I'm spinnin' like a weather vane
I feel my shotgun when I see my shadow
It's headed down the breakdown lane
Headed down the breakdown lane

Now I've heard all the songs about the endless highway
Sung a couple of ‘em myself
But the road ain't nothin' but a place to go
When you ain't got anyplace else

Why why why would a man treat a woman that way?
I say cry cry cry, she's never gonna make me stay

Now I'm ridin' on the wheels of fortune
I'm spinnin' like a weather vane
I feel my shotgun when I can see my shadow
It's headed down the breakdown lane
Headed down the breakdown lane

You know that it's been such a long time, honey
Since I've been ridin' next to you
I ain't a-waitin' in no long line, honey
You know I'm only passin' through

Well, I got here without warning
Well, I'm leavin' in the mornin'
You won't find me hangin' ‘round your door tomorrow like your other men
Hey darlin', squeeze me in

I've been sleepin' by the road side, honey
Holdin' my suitcase next to me
You can't ignore me ‘cause it's been tried, honey
I'm gonna get you, wait and see

Well, I got here without warning
Well, I'm leavin' in the mornin'
You won't find me hangin' ‘round your door tomorrow like your other men
Hey darlin', squeeze me in
Darlin', squeeze me in

Here I am again, now, acting like a crazy fool
Every time I get to rockin', I always run into you
I never did understand why you want to be so cruel

Well, Annie, is tonight the night?
Do you think the moon is right?
You don't have to tell me you will
Just say that you might

I know you told me once
I guess you coulda told me twice
I guess I keep hopin' some day you're gonna treat me nice
I'm tryin' to get next to you
Cold as ice

Well, Annie, is tonight the night?
Do you think the moon is right?
You don't have to tell me you will
Just say that you might

Now I'm not fool enough thinkin' I'm the only one
Got me comin' and a-goin' ‘till I'm about to come undone
Not tryin' to find love
I'm lookin' for a little fun

Well, Annie, is tonight the night?
Do you think the moon is right?
You don't have to tell me you will
Just say that you might

Well, Annie, is tonight the night?
Do you think the moon is right?
You don't have to tell me you will
Just say that you might

Let me tell you ‘bout the girl of mine
Got her walkin' down th'assembly line
She bring the paycheck home to me
My baby, she worships me

She like the way I walk
She like the way I talk
That woman can't let me be
My baby, she worships me

Go tell her, she pays the bill
She make the payment on my Coupe de Ville
She leave a 20 for me every day
My baby, she pays my way

She like the way I walk
She like the way I talk
That woman can't let me be
My baby, she worships me

My baby, she treat me right
We ain't never been in a fight
Once she caught me with her best friend Sue
She just giggled, say "Ain't he cute?"

She like the way I walk
She like the way I talk
That woman can't let me be
My baby, she worships me

My baby, she worships me

Everybody's out to get me
See it in their eyes
Hardly see the way they look at me
When I go cruisin' by

Cadillac, Cadillac
I'm a Coupe de Ville built for thrill
Cadillac

I got chrome everywhere I need it
Rolled and pleated front to back
If you don't think I got it made
You ought to see me dressed in black

Cadillac, Cadillac
I'm a Coupe de Ville built for thrill
Cadillac

Now, if you've got a woman
There's one thing for sure
If you want to keep her
You best keep her from my door

Cadillac, Cadillac
I'm a Coupe de Ville built for thrill
Cadillac

Cadillac

Oh, Cadillac

(steve earle's version)
The first time I laid eyes on you
I checked myself right out of this world
One thing will bring me back from this heart attack
And that's your sweet lovin', girl

Ooh, your huggin' and kissin'
Mmm, made my lights come on
You put the crush on me
Little girl, can't you see I'm gone

And now I ain't gonna listen to reason
There's no excuse for the way that I feel
Before one word was spoke
I knew it was no joke
Baby, this love is real

They say you gotta take time to know her
But I can't wait that long
You put the crush on me
Little girl, can't you see I'm gone

You put the crush, crush


My mouth turns to mush
I can't begin to speak of all of your charms
You put the crush, crush
Ooh, what a rush
Now, I can't be satisfied until I'm wrapped up in your arms

Ain't that some kind of love, babe
You know I'm not puttin' you on
You put the crush on me
Little girl, can't you see I'm gone

You put the crush, crush
My mouth turns to mush
I can't begin to speak of all of your charms
You put the crush, crush
Ooh, what a rush
Now, I can't be satisfied until I'm wrapped up in your arms

Ain't that some kind of love, babe
You know I'm not puttin' you on
You put the crush on me
Little girl, can't you see I'm gone

I cried so hard
You know I can't do more
It's a turn of the card
It's a close of the door
The lies you told
You know they hurt so deep
So I go home and cry myself to sleep

Day after day
You been treatin' me bad
My friends'll come up and say
Why do you take all of that?
And it's makin' me moan
And it's makin' me weep
So I go home and cry myself to sleep

You play at love like a child plays games
One day I'm in and then I'm out again
You change the rules


I can't win
You've broken me, now, so I'll give in

You play at love like a child plays games
One day I'm in and then I'm out again
You change the rules
I can't win
You've broken me, now, so I'll give in

Well, I've been through worse
But I don't know what
Joy is just the reverse
Of what I've got
So take this heart
Or what's left to keep
And I go home and cry myself to sleep
I just go home and cry myself to sleep
I go home and cry myself to sleep

Now I'm a pretty big man around this town
I got me the hottest little Chevy around
My sweet little '66
She got a yellow front fender and a gray one on the back
But my income tax is comin' and I'm gonna paint her black
Sweet little '66

She got the 396, she got the four on the floor
And those stickers in the window ain't just for show
My sweet little '66

Now old Bubba and me built her back in '79
Then he went into the army so now she's all mine
Sweet little '66
I used to run her down on River Road and make a little dough
Can't afford another ticket so I'm laying kinda low
Me and my '66

Now she ain't too good on gasoline, she burns a little oil
But she was built by union labor on American soil
Sweet little '66
So when your Subaru is over and your Honda's history
I'll be blastin' down some back road with my baby next to me
In my sweet little 66

I could tell it when I woke up this mornin'
'Cause I can smell it when a heartache's comin'
Not that I'm in such a hurry to lose you
I'd call you up but there's nothin' that I can do
Talkin' won't do any good anyway
'Cause goodbye's all we've got left to say

I don't think that it'll get any better
So maybe you could just write me a letter
And I could open it up when I'm stronger
Another ten or twelve years, maybe longer
Guess I just don't feel much like bad news today
Goodbye's all we've got left to say

Don't try to call me 'cause I'm takin' my phone out
'Cause if it rings, I'll know what it's about
And don't you worry 'bout me 'cause I'm alright
Maybe you'll run into me somewhere, some night
And if you do just keep goin' your way
Goodbye's all we've got left to say

Hey pretty baby are you ready for me
It's your good rockin' daddy down from Tennessee
I'm just out of Austin bound for San Antone
With the radio blastin' and the bird dog on
There's a speed trap up ahead in Selma Town
But no local yokel gonna shut me down
'Cause me and my boys got this rig unwound
And we've come a thousand miles from a Guitar Town
Nothin' ever happened 'round my hometown
And I ain't the kind to just hang around
But I heard someone callin' my name one day
And I followed that voice down the lost highway
Everybody told me you can't get far
On thirty-seven dollars and a jap guitar
Now I'm smokin' into Texas with the hammer down
And a rockin' little combo from the Guitar Town

Hey pretty baby don't you know it ain't my fault
I love to hear the steel belts hummin' on the asphalt
Wake up in the middle of the night in a truck stop
Stumble in the restaurant wonderin' why I don't stop

Gotta keep rockin' why I still can
I gotta two pack habit and a motel tan
But when my boots hit the boards I'm a brand new man
With my back to the riser I make my stand
And hey pretty baby won't you hold me tight
We're loadin' up and rollin' out of here tonight
One of these days I'm gonna settle down
And take you back with me to the Guitar Town

My grandaddy was a miner, but he finally saw the light
He didn't have much, just a beat-up truck and a dream about a better life
Grandmama cried when she waved goodbye, never heard such a lonesome sound
Pretty soon the dirt road turned into blacktop, Detroit City bound
Down that hillbilly highway
That hillbilly highway
Hillbilly highway
Goes on and on

He worked and saved his money so that one day he might send
My old man off to college, to use his brains and not his hands
Grandmama cried when she waved goodbye, never heard such a lonesome sound
But daddy had himself a good job in Houston, one more rollin' down

Down that hillbilly highway
That hillbilly highway
Hillbilly highway
Goes on and on

Grandaddy rolled over in his grave the day that I quit school
I just sat around the house playin' my guitar, Daddy said I was a fool
My mama cried when I said goodbye, I never heard such a lonesome sound
Now I'm standin' on this highway and if you're going my way
You know where I'm bound

I got a job but it ain't nearly enough
A twenty thousand dollar pickup truck
Belongs to me and the bank and some funny talkin' man from Iran
I left the service and got a G.I. loan
I got married bought myself a home
Now I hang around this one horse town and do the best than I can
Gettin' tough
Just my luck
I was born in the land of plenty now there ain't enough
Gettin' cold
I've been told
Nowadays it just don't pay to be a good ol' boy

Been goin' nowhere down a one-way track
I'd kill to leave it but ain't no turnin' back
Got the wife and the kids and what would everybody say
My brother's standin' on a welfare line
And any minute now I might get mine
Meanwhile it's the I.R.S. and the devil to pay

I hit the beer joints every Friday night
Spend a little money lookin' for a fight
It don't matter if I lose or win
'Cause Monday I'm back on the losin' end again

Just when every ray of hope was gone
I should have known that you would come along
I can't believe I ever doubted you
My old friend the blues
Another lonely night, a nameless town
If sleep don't take me first, you'll come around
'Cause I know I can always count on you
My old friend the blues

Lovers leave and friends will let you down
But you're the only sure thing that I've found
No matter what I do I'll never lose
My old friend the blues

Just let me hide my weary heart in you
My old friend the blues

You're here, you're gone
I'm still hangin' on
This game ain't nothin' new
You've changed your mind
So many times
But I'm still in love with you

I'll think it over when you're walkin' out the door
Why'd you go and leave me sad and blue
And if you knew
What I go through
You'd think it over too

I hope someday
I'll find a way
I'll walk right out on you
Til that day comes
I'm still the one
If you should need a fool

Hey little guy, I can't believe you answered the phone
I guess I didn't know you could do that, God help me, have I been gone that long
I'm in a truck stop somewhere on the Arkansas line
They got all the big trucks here, boy, you ought to hear the big diesels whine
No little guy, your daddy won't be home for a while
It's gonna be another couple weeks and another couple thousand miles

So got to sleep little rock 'n' roller
Your daddy's up there knockin' 'em dead tonight
One of these days when you're a little older
You can ride the big bus and everything will be alright
Until that day you got your mama to hold you
Don't be afraid when she turns out the light
Cause I know there's an angel just for rock 'n' rollers
Watchin' over you and your daddy tonight

No little guy, don't bother your mamma right now
'Cause I only got a minute and I called to talk to you anyhow
I Know you miss me, God knows I'm thinkin' 'bout you
I got your picture in my wallet, it cheers me up sometimes when I'm blue
Well little guy, I'm gonna have to let you go
You know it's way past your bedtime, and they're tellin' me we gotta roll

New jersey turnpike ridin' on a wet night
'neath the refinery's glow, out where the great black rivers flow
License, registration, I ain't got none, but I got a clear conscience
'bout the things that I done
Mister state trooper please don't stop me...

Maybe you got a kid maybe you got a pretty wife, the only thing that I got's been botherin' me my whole life
Mister state trooper please don't stop me

In the wee, wee hours your mind get hazy, radio relay towers lead me to my baby


Radio's jammed up with talk show stations
It's just talk, talk till you lose your patience
Mister state trooper please don't stop me

Hey somebody out there, listen to my last prayer
Hi ho silver-o deliver me from nowhere

There's a road, in Oklahoma
Straighter than a preacher
Longer than a memory
And it goes, forever onward
Been a good teacher
For a lot of country boys like me
I push that load from here to someday
I'll push as long as I'm alive, but I don't know how long I'll last
'Cause it's just a road, it ain't no highway
I'm blowin' by the double five
I know I'm going way too fast

I been down this road just searching' for the end
It don't go nowhere, it just brings you back again
Leaves you lonely and cold, standin' on the shoulder
But you've come too far to go back home
So you're walkin' on a nowhere road

Some folks say, if you keep rollin'
And keep it on the yellow line
It'll take you on the big highway
But there's a toll to pay, if you're going
The keeper of the gate is blind
So you better be prepared to pay

I got out of work and I headed for the neighborhood beer joint
I sat around and had a beer with the boys like I always do
Well I didn't have nothin' to say anyway there ain't no point
There's just something 'bout a Monday that always makes me blue

Well it was well after dark so I knew my wife and kids were waitin'
And I guess I took a left where I generally take a right
Well I filled her up with gas, checked the oil at the Texaco station
I threw the car seat in the dumpster and headed off into the night

Woo-ohh-ooh-ooh-ooh
There's somethin' 'bout a Monday that always makes me blue

Well I headed south on 35 hell bent for vinyl
I hadn't never had her up past 55 before
Well somethin' 'bout that little red line always looked so final
Buddy you'd be surprised how fast a Chevrolet truck can go

* Now, down in Mexico they've got a little place called Boystown
Where a man's still a man if you know what I'm talkin' about
Well, I walked into the Cadillac bar and I laid my cash down
I said "there's plenty more where that came from" and the lights went out

* (this verse is not included on the official lyrics sheet, but is included on the recording)

Well I woke up in a county jail 'cross the line in Laredo
With a headache and a deputy staring at me through the door
Well he said "Now how you got across that river alive, I don't know
But your wife just made your bail so now you're really dead for sure"

Now my wife, she called my boss and cried so I got my job back
And the boys down at the plant, they whisper and stare at me
Yea well my wife can find a lot of little jobs to keep me on the right track
Well, but that's a small price to pay for a week of living dangerously

Yeah-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-wee
That's a small price to pay for a week of living dangerously

Got a lot of memories tied up in this place
So much time spent in so little space
What looked like the world through the eyes of a child
Kind of closes in on you after awhile
It's a place to grow up and a place to grow old
You keep your mouth shut and you do what you're told
I told mama the day that I ran
This ain't no place for an angry young man

Mama if you could see me right now
You'd be so sure you failed me somehow
Mama you never could understand
There ain't no peace for an angry young man

A cheap hotel a long way from my home
So many people make you feel so alone
Dreams die easy out here in these streets
And hearts grow cold in the city heat
I ain't never been the patient kind
I got to live like I please or die trying
At a filling station with a gun in my hand
The only way for an angry young man

Got a lot of memories tied up in this place
Tonight they're staring me right in the face
A lonely grave on the outskirts of town
It's three in the morning, ain't no one around
Just like a ghost I come out of the night
But I'll be gone before the morning light
Mama I hope that you understand

This ain't no place for an angry young man

Don't you worry bout what you've been told
Cause honey I ain't even close to cold
It's kinda soon to fall in love again
But sometimes the best that you can do is just jump back in
I got me a fearless heart
Strong enough to get you through the scary part
It's been broken many times before
A fearless heart just comes back for more

Folks'll tell you that I'm just no good
But I wouldn't hurt you honey if I could
I can't promise this'll work out right
But it would kill me darlin' if we didn't even try

I admit I fall in love a lot
But I nearly always give it my best shot
I know you must think I'm the reckless kind
But I want a lady with a fearless heart just like mine

Ooh pretty baby, what you doin' to me?
The way your kisses burn right through me
I don't think I can last much longer
I get weaker and my love gets stronger

I don't think that my heart can take it
One little slip of a word might break it
Well, believe me, baby, this ain't no crush
I think maybe I love you too much

Baby, baby, baby, oh baby, ooh baby
Baby, I love you too much
Baby, baby, baby, oh baby, ooh baby
Baby, I love you too much

I tell myself that it ain't no big thing
Then you give another little tug on that heart string
Well, you cut me, girl, and I'm still bleedin'
Well, just touch me, baby, that's all I'm needin'

You must think that I'm easy, don't ya?
But I got scars that I've never shown ya
Well, every inch of me burns for your touch
I think maybe I love you too much

Since I first saw you I've been thinkin about you
And now I'm out here on the highway goin' crazy without you
I can't help but want you girl, you're young and you're pretty
But somehow I can't see you up in New York City.

I'm gonna leave you alone in your own little world
But won't you be my San Antonio girl
Be my San Antonio girl
Be my, be my, be my, San Antonio girl.

Now I know you've heard the stories 'bout life in the fast lane
What they didn't tell you is you come home on a slow train
I'd just as soon remember you the way that I found you
Dancin' by yourself with the stars all around you.

(repeat chorus)

00:23, 14 April 2006 (PDT)00:23, 14 April 2006 (PDT)00:23, 14 April 2006 (PDT)00:23, 14 April 2006 (PDT)00:23, 14 April 2006 (PDT)00:23, 14 April 2006 (PDT)00:23, 14 April 2006 (PDT)00:23, 14 April 2006 (PDT)

About the time that
Daddy left to fight the big war
I saw my first pistol in the general store
In the general store, when I was thirteen

Thought it was the finest thing I ever had seen
So l asked if I could have
one someday when I grew up
Mama dropped a dozen eggs, she really blew up
She really blew up and I didn't understand
Mama said the pistol is the devil's right hand

The devil's right hand, the devil's right hand
Mama said the pistol is the devil's right hand
The devil's right hand, the devil's right hand
Mama said the pistol is the devil's right hand

My very first pistol was a cap and ball Colt
Shoot as fast as lightnin'
but it loads a mite slow
Loads a mite slow and soon I found out
It can get you into trouble
but it can't get you out
So then I went and bought myself a Colt 45
Called a peacemaker but I never knew why
Never knew why, I didn't understand
Cause Mama said the pistol is
the devil's right hand

The devil's right hand, the devil's right hand
Mama said the pistol is the devil's right hand
The devil's right hand, the devil's right hand
Mama said the pistol is the devil's right hand

Mama said the pistol is the devil's right hand

On the blue side of evenin'
When the darkness takes control
You start lookin' for a reason
To take your lonesome on down the road
'Cause the night is filled with strangers
All you need is one you know
And if she ain't the one you're after
Keep on lookin' on down the road

Though the miles lay long behind you
You have still got miles to go
How's love ever gonna find you
If it ain't here it's down the road

Keep on lookin' on down the road

I woke up this mornin' and none of the news was good
And death machines were rumblin' 'cross the ground where Jesus stood
And the man on my TV told me that it had always been that way
And there was nothin' anyone could do or say

And I almost listened to him
Yeah, I almost lost my mind
Then I regained my senses again
And looked into my heart to find
That I believe that one fine day all the children of Abraham
Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem

Well maybe I'm only dreamin' and maybe I'm just a fool
But I don't remember learnin' how to hate in Sunday school
But somewhere along the way I strayed and I never looked back again
But I still find some comfort now and then



Then the storm comes rumblin' in
And I can't lay me down
And the drums are drummin' again
And I can't stand the sound
But I believe there'll come a day when the lion and the lamb
Will lie down in peace together in Jerusalem

And there'll be no barricades then
There'll be no wire or walls
And we can wash all this blood from our hands
And all this hatred from our souls
And I believe that on that day all the children of Abraham
Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem

(Steve Earle)

When I was a little guy
My daddy told me "Mister,
Don't ever try to climb too high
'Cause it's the fall that gets ya
And some dreams can never come true
They'll never come true"

Well, I heard every word he said
But I don't guess I listened
But every time I banged my head
Against the wall or system
Yeah, some dreams don't ever come true
Don't ever come true
But some dreams do
If you just hang on
And your heart is true
And your hope is strong

Well, just because you've been around
And had your poor heart broken
That's no excuse for lyin' there
Before the last word's spoken
'Cause some dreams don't ever come true
Don't ever come true
Aw, but some dreams do

When you're feelin' low
And you think you're through
That's when you will know

Yeah, when you wish upon a star
Buddy, don't you miss it
Catch it 'fore it falls too far
Keep it with your secrets
'Cause some dreams don't ever come true
Don't ever come true
Don't ever come true
But some dreams do