kicked in his door at 5 AM "I've come for my bike" I told the repo man My 920's gonna take me far today You can travel for miles and never leave L.A.
I've come a long way I've come a long way I've gone 500 miles today I've come a long way I've come along way And never even left L.A.
I drive by the Plaza where the gay boys pose Stand in their windows wearing no clothes I heard the screams of the dying dark Through the sweet green icing of MacArthur Park And then I crossed the river into East L.A. Pescado mojado me encontre And I've given up on rock 'n roll And I'm saving up for norteno The river she runs by the railroad tracks I swear I'll never take it back A train, she cries on the midnight hour All along the Watts Tower Ohhhhhhhhhhh
I've come a long way I've come a long way I've gone 500 miles today I've come a long way I've come along way And never even left L.A.
I gunned it down to San Pedro Bay Watched my ship sail in, watched her sail away The sun was sinking into the sea But a ball of fire inside of me Was burning my motor and driving me hard Past the big hair on the Boulevard And up Mulholland where I made the scene Like the one that took little Jimmy Dean And then I shimmied up Wilshire like a little silk worm Past the rodeo and the pachyderm And then I stopped for coffee at an art cafe I saw the repo man and made my getaway Doing the Eagle Rock Heading for the hills Oh try to let my engines cool And it is not my fault that this town shakes I saw the falling rock and I hit my brakes
I've come a long way I've come a long way I've gone 500 miles today I've come a long way I've come along way And never even left L.A.
Now you tow it to the repo man's front door And you give him these keys, I don't need them no more You tow it to the repo man's front door And you give him these keys, I don't need them no more
I've come a long way I've come a long way I've gone 500 miles today I've come a long way I've come along way And never even left L.A. I've come a long way I've come a long way I've gone 500 miles today I've come a long way I've come along way And never even left L.A. And never even left L.A. And never even left L.A.
You had a little drink Your friends have all gone Leaving you to find your weaving way home What more can I do? There's a chance that I may Have to stand back and watch you find Your own weaving way It's not the way you talk That's making me grieve It's not the way you walk It's the way that you weave
It's eating you inside And tossed out like a bone Leaving you to find your weaving way home The sun on the horizon Was turning dawn to day By the time you finally found your own weaving way Oh, I love the way you laugh When I ask you to leave I swear that I don't love you for the way that you weave
Forgive me, my friend Did I forget to mention? The path that you have chosen Is paved with your intentions Touch a finger to your nose I wish you well Walk a straight line on the road to hell
Can you tell me what happened to the blossom The blackberry blossom when summertime came The blackberry blossom, well the last time I saw one Was down in the bramble where I rambled in the spring The bramble was wild, I was torn by the briers My love, he wooed me as I lie there With a flower in my hair and my cheeks aflush It was a blackberry blossom from the blackberry bush
When I picked a berry I didn't miss the blossom The blackberry blossom was white as the snow But the berry that it brings is sweeter than molasses And black as the wings of an Arkansas crow The Arkansas crow is a devil and a demon Known for his cackling and his screaming Driving away the swallow and the thrush From the blackberry blossom and the blackberry bush
I was picking berries when that crow flew above me Carrying my lover's soul far away Now each spring I lay a blackberry blossom By a cold gravestone on the Arkansas clay The Arkansas clay is rocky and hard With weeds grown over in the old graveyard And the day settles down to an evening hush Over the blackberry blossom and the blackberry bush
What's to be done with a prodigal son? Welcome him home with open arms Throw a big party, invite your friends Our boy's come back home
When a girl goes home with the oats he's sown It's draw your shades and your shutters She's bringing such shame to the family name The return of the prodigal daughter Singing, oh Cotton Eyed Joe
Went to see a doctor and I almost died When I told my mama, Lordy, how she cried Me and my daddy were never too close But he was there when I needed him most
Look, here comes a prodigal son Fetch him a tall drink of water But there's none in the cup 'cause he drank it all up Left for a prodigal daughter Singing, oh Cotton Eyed Joe
Oh Cotton Eyed Joe Oh Cotton Eyed Joe
Had not have been for the Cotton Eyed Joe I'd have been married a long time ago Oh, I'd have been married a long time ago
Out in the cornfield I stubbed my toe I called for the doctor, Cotton Eyed Joe I called for the doctor, Cotton Eyed Joe
Look, here comes a prodigal son Fetch him a tall drink of water But there's none in the cup 'cause he drank it all up Left for a prodigal daughter Singing, oh Cotton Eyed Joe Singing, oh Cotton Eyed Joe Singing, oh Cotton Eyed Joe
Saturday morning found me itching To get on over to my grandma's kitchen (And what you gonna do, honey) The sweetest little berries was cooking up right And then we'd put them in a canning jar and seal them up tight We were making jam (What kind?) Strawberry jam, that's what kind (Aw, the good kind) Yeah, if you want the best jam You gotta make your own
We have Smucker's, Welches, Knotts Berry Farm But a little homemade jam never did a body no harm A little local motion is all we need To close down these corporate jam factories We'll be making jam Strawberry jam, mmmm-mm If you want the best jam You gotta make your own (Make that jam Doc, show 'em how it's done)
Yeah, we have a little revolution sweeping the land Now once more everybody's making homemade jam So won't you call your friends up on the telephone You invite 'em on over, you make some jam of your own You'll be making jam Strawberry jam If you want the best jam You gotta make your own (Go on Jerry, let the jelly roll)
(Jerry's makin' jam)
(That's Mark O'Connor He likes jam too) [Aw yeah, as sweet as strawberry jam, honey] (Uh-ha)
Saturday morning found me itching To get on over to my grandma's kitchen Where the sweetest little berries were cooking up right And then we'd put them in a canning jar and seal them up tight We was making jam Strawberry jam, that's what kind If you want the best jam You gotta make your own Aw, one more time Oh, makin' that jam Yeah, Strawberry jam If you want the best jam You gotta make your own
Frankie was a good woman Everybody knows She gave her loving man Johnny a hundred dollar bill Just to buy one suit of clothes
Frankie went down to the barroom She ordered herself one glass of beer She asked that loving bartending man "C'mon, tell me, has my sweet Johnny been here?"
He said, "Frankie, I ain't gonna tell you no stories, gal" He said, "Frankie, I ain't gonna tell you no lies" He said, "Frankie, I saw your man Johnny, just about one hour ago He was heading over, going to see Miss Nellie Bly"
She cried, "Hold me back! Hold me back, take away my gun Hold me back, hold me back Somebody won't you please hold me back Don't let me do what must be done"
Frankie went on over to that coke joint She stood outside, she rang that bell She said, "Alright, now, Johnny, you're my loving man And if I find you in here I'm gonna shoot you Hey I'm gonna shoot you sure as hell" Well, well looky here
Sure enough there Johnny was with Miss Nellie Bly He seen the gun in Frankie's hand, he say "Oh Frankie baby, I swear I won't treat you wrong no more" Ha! That's for sure, 'cause by the time she was done With that there gun her loving man Was not gonna treat her wrong no more Hold me back!
Hold me back! Hold me back, take away my gun Hold me back, hold me back Somebody won't you please hold me back Don't let me do what must be done Hold me back, somebody
Roll out your rubber tired carriages Roll out your rubber tired hacks There's twelve men going to that graveyard There's eleven men, oh, coming back Hold me back!
Hold me back! Hold me back, take away my gun Hold me back, hold me back Somebody please hold me back Don't let me do what must be done Hold me back
Hold me back! Hold me back, take away my gun Hold me back, hold me back Somebody won't you please hold me back Don't let me do what must be done Don't let me do what must be done Don't let me do what must be done
How do you, do you walk so slow Like a little red rooster with one trick leg Look like you the one laying the egg I don't know when but it'll be real soon Going down the road by the light of the moon Going to the city to see Zip Coon Going to the city to see Zip Coon
Hip Zip Coon you sure look slick How do you do that walking trick You got a woman on your left A woman on your right You all dressed up for Saturday night Strolling down the street, feeling fine Tipping your hat, saying "Howdy, Shine" If I knew your secret I would make it mine If I knew your secret I would make it mine
Tarbaby, Tarbaby, tell me true Who is really the jigaboo? Is it the white man, the white talking that jive Or the black man, the black trying to stay alive? You can't touch a tarbaby, everybody knows Smiling all the while wit de bone in de nose That's the way the story goes That's the way my story goes
Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Zip-A-Dee-Aye My, oh my, what a wonderful day Plenty of sunshine heading my way Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Zip-A-Dee-Aye
Shaking hands and fingers that do tremble Soldier's Joy has been a bitter pill Though in battle, a brave man I resemble Alone I am a coward without will
Pierce McGee from the great State of Missouri To the Show-Me-State militia I belong And to judge from the pride on the Confederate side I'd say five hundred thousand rebels can't be wrong
A rebel stand is no place for a traitor A loveless Union cannot bend us to her will Cannot command the soldiers who now hate her Nor demand the fealty of her generals
I took a rifle ball in my shoulder But my entire body filled with pain I pleaded with them all at the field hospital "Oh, God, another shot of morphine!"
Soldier's Joy, oh what's the point in pleasure When it's only meant to kill the pain Lay down my arms and take the coffin's measure Or take up arms and send me out to fight again
Shaking hands...was I a coward, was I brave? With shaking hands... I took the bitter pill Tell the story on my grave, my soul they could not save What the bullet would not kill, the needle will
Sybil sits in a rocking chair Chewing tobacco and spitting out cares Sound of a fiddle floating thru the air From the Jones boy across the holler From the Jones boy across the way
Backwoods folks take sides from the middle Backwoods folks is old and brittle But they sway like a tree to the sound of a fiddle From the Jones boy across the holler From the Jones boy across the way
You can hear him late at night You can hear him in the first light of the day There's a contest coming and a ticket to Nashville And the Jones boy aims to play A contest coming and a ticket to Nashville And the Jones boy aims to play
Sybil sits in a rocking chair Chewing tobacco and spitting out cares Sound of a fiddle floating thru the air From the Jones boy across the holler From the Jones boy across the way
You can hear him late at night You can hear him in the first light of the day There's a contest coming and a ticket to Nashville And the Jones boy aims to play A contest coming and a ticket to Nashville And the Jones boy aims to win
Billy Barlow was a poor boy That's why he robbed the Union Grove Bank He was a sweet talking ladies man That's what he'd have ladies all to think
Oh the secret to a long life's knowing when it's time to go Oh the secret to a long life's knowing when it's time to go
So when the posse came riding Billy went hiding down south Holed up in a shack with Maria With the black hair and the ruby red mouth
Oh the secret to a long life's knowing when it's time to go Oh the secret to a long life's knowing when it's time to go
So when the news reached her lover Billy ran for cover, don't you know And when the bullets started ringing Billy started singing "Time to go..."
Oh the secret to a long life's knowing when it's time to go Oh the secret to a long life's knowing when it's time to go Ohhhh, time to go now!
Billy headed north where the sands of the Badlands blow But in his dreams he's south He's still kissing that ruby red mouth
Oh the secret to a long life's knowing when it's time to go Oh the secret to a long life's knowing when it's time to go Ohhhhhhhhhh, ohhhhhhhhhh, ohhhhhhhhhh
The secret to a long life's knowing when it's time to go The secret to a long life's knowing when it's time to go The secret to a long life's knowing when it's time to go
All you hypocrites and liars In the temple seeking gain All you senators and lawyers With your motives to explain All you victims and you heroes Your petitions to complain All you murderers and martyrs On the fields where you lay slain On the just and unjust Alike it doth rain And the quality of mercy is not strained
Yes vengeance and revenge Are just two words for pain And the quality of mercy is not strained
Did not I crucify my Lord? Did not I bind Him in chains? Did not I three times betray Him? Three times deny His name? Did not I cast the first stone? Then justify the blame? Did not He die for my sins But never would I do the same?
Oh I've been three times a sinner And two times a saint And the quality of mercy is not strained
Yes for Love if it's Love Is changing but unchanged And the quality of mercy is not strained
Hypocrites and liars Senators and lawyers Victims and heroes Murderers and martyrs Crucify my Lord Bind Him in chains Three times betray Him Justify the blame On the just and unjust Alike it doth rain And the quality of mercy is not strained
Me and my friend and this boy named Eddy We were bored one afternoon We was sitting in the hay It was a hot Texas day And we was playing with matches Like some kids do
We would throw our matches in the high dry grass Close our eyes and count to ten And then race the burning field Doin' the toe and heel We'd die laughing, we'd do it All over again
I'm singin: Where there's smoke there's sure to be a fire Ready steady go it was Down to the wire We was racing Inevitability We was making trouble for the V.F.D. That's the Volunteer Fire Department now
I'm sure you know how this story goes Our little fire ran out of control Somebody called for the V.F.D. It was not me (It weren't me, Jack)
Ah they drive from fifteen miles away So when they arrive, I'm sorry to say That the field was black And the sky was grey And you know those barns they store hay in?...
The volunteers all shook their heads And I recall one of them said This fire was no accident, no This fire started with a match
I slowly backed into the crowd Me and Eddy we looked at each other We never mention it to this day But my friend, she went and Told her mother ah Jesus! Can you believe that
She said: Where there's smoke there's sure to be a fire Ready steady go it was Down to the wire We was racing Inevitability, ma We was making trouble for the V.F.D., ma We was raising insurance premiums, ma We was spreading fear of arson We was spreading fear of arson All around Kelsey
I took time out to write to my old friend I walked across that burning bridge Mailed my letter off to Dallas But her reply came from Anchorage, Alaska
She said: "Hey girl, it's about time you wrote It's been over two years you know, my old friend Take me back to the days of the foreign telegrams And the all-night rock and rollin'... hey Shell We was wild then
Hey Shell, you know it's kind of funny Texas always seemed so big But you know you're in the largest state in the union When you're anchored down in Anchorage
Hey Girl, I think the last time I saw you Was on me and Leroy's wedding day What was the name of that love song they played? I forgot how it goes I don't recall how it goes
Anchorage Anchored down in Anchorage
Leroy got a better job so we moved Kevin lost a tooth now he's started school I got a brand new eight month old baby girl I sound like a housewife Hey Shell, I think I'm a housewife
Hey Girl, what's it like to be in New York? New York City - imagine that! Tell me, what's it like to be a skateboard punk rocker?
Leroy says "Send a picture" Leroy says "Hello" Leroy says "Oh, keep on rocking, girl" "yeah, keep on rocking"
Hey Shell, you know it's kind of funny Texas always seemed so big But you know you're in the largest state in the union When you're anchored down in Anchorage Oh, Anchorage Anchored down in Anchorage Oh, Anchorage
