Merle Haggard - 20 Greatest Hits [compilation] (2002) by Merle Haggard (보컬) on maniadb.com

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.

It's a big job just gettin' by with nine kids and a wife
I been a workin' man dang near all my life
I'll be working long as my two hands are fit to use
I'll drink my beer in a tavern,
Sing a little bit of these working man blues

I keep my nose on the grindstone, I work hard every day
Might get a little tired on the weekend, after I draw my pay
But I'll go back workin, come Monday morning I'm right back with the crew
I'll drink a little beer that evening,
Sing a little bit of these working man blues

Hey hey, the working man, the working man like me
I ain't never been on welfare, that's one place I won't be
Cause I'll be working long as my two hands are fit to use
I drink a little beer in a tavern
Sing a little bit of these working man blues

Sometimes I think about leaving, do a little bummin around
I wanna throw my bills out the window catch a train to another town
But I go back working I gotta buy my kids a brand new pair of shoes
Yeah drink a little beer in a tavern,
Cry a little bit of these working man blues

Hey hey, the working man, the working man like me
I ain't never been on welfare, that's one place I won't be
Cause I'll be working long as my two hands are fit to use
I drink a little beer in a tavern
Sing a little bit of these working man blues
Yeah drink a little beer in a tavern,
Cry a little bit of these working man blues

Silver wings shinning in the sunlight,
roaring engines headed somewhere in flight.
Their taking you away, leaving me lonley,
silver wings slowly fading out of sight.
Don't leave me i cry, don't take that airplane ride.
But you locked me out of your mind. left me
standing here behind.
Silver wings shining in the sunlight,
roaring engines headed somewhere in flight.
Their taking you away, leaving me lonley.
silver wings slowley fading out of sight.
Silver wings shining in the sunlight,
roaring engines headed somewhere in flight,
their taking you away. Leaving me lonley.
Silver wings slowley fading out of sight.
Slowley fading out of sight.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

My house of memories, is all I own,
I live in misery, now that you're gone.
A constant reminder, of what used to be,
Is torturing me, in my house of memories.

My house is a prison, where memories surround me.
There's no place to hide where you're memory won't find me.
My house of memories, is all I own,
I'm all alone, in my house of memories.

My house is a prison, where memories surround me.
There's no place to hide where you're memory won't find me.
My house of memories, is all I own,
And I'm all alone, in my house of memories.
In my house of memories.

Today I started lovin' you again
And I'm right back to where I've really always been
I got over you just long enough to let my heartache mend
And then today I started loving you again

What a fool I was to think, I could get by
With only these few million tears I cried
I should have known the worst was yet to come
And the crying time for me had just begun

Today I started loving you again
And I'm right back to where I've really always been
I got over you just long enough to let my heartache mend
And then today I started loving you again

Today I started loving you again
And I'm right back to where I've really always been
I got over you just long enough to let my heartache mend
And then today I started loving you again

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.

I'm a honky tonk night time man I can't stand no light
I'm a honky tonk night time man I can't stand no light
I get my rest in the daytime I make my running round at night
I had the blues this morning I had the blues all day today
I had the blues this morning I had the blues all day today
But when the sun goes down I'm gonna tuck my blues away away

Lord my heart starts beatin' when the sun starts sinking low
Lord my heart starts beatin' when the sun starts sinking low
When the shadows fall I know it's time to go

I'm a honky tonk night time man...

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

It all started in 1929 me and Diana had gone to Alaska
To homestead some of that free government land
Forty miles from the nearest gravel road
we cut our life in the ponderosa pines
We sweated hard to beat the winter snow
But the cabin's up and we've got lots of times
What have you got planned tonight Diana
would you consider laying in my arms
I love you more than ever now Diana
I'm sure you're the reason I was born
Jim was born the first year we were here
look at him Diana he's almost grown
And the baby's in the cradle fast asleep
just think in no time they'll be up and gone
What have you got planned tonight Diana
would you consider laying in my arms
I love you more than ever now Diana
I'm sure you're the reason I was born
Well time sure does fly by doesn't it Diana
It's been almost two years now since you've been gone
Speaking of time
I guess mine's about up
Just another breath or two
And I'll be home
And by the way
What have you got planned tonight Diana
would you consider laying in my arms
I love you more than ever now Diana
I'm sure you're the reason I was born

Down every road there's always one more city
I'm on the run, the highway is my home
I raised a lot of cane back in my younger days
While Mama used to pray my crops would fail
I'm a hunted fugitive with just two ways,
Outrun the law or spend my life in jail

I'd like to settle down but they won't let me
A fugitive must be a rolling stone
Down every road there's always one more city
I'm on the run, the highway is my home

I'm lonely but I can't afford the luxury
Of having one I love to come along
She'd only slow me down and they'd catch up with me
For he who travels fastest goes alone

I'd like to settle down but they won't let me
A fugitive must be a rolling stone
Down every road there's always one more city
I'm on the run, the highway is my home

I'm on the run, the highway is my home

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.

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