Old97s Lyrics

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Old 97s Lyrics

Every Old 97s Song is listed here they are in alphabetical order.

ALONE SO FAR
I watch, as it stops for a girl,
A moment, elaborate and weak.
I am easy in her midst,
Why elaborate, when there's no need to?

But I do, all night,
My words ring like money off a bar.
But she's here, alseep now,
One can only go alone so far.

One can only go alone so far.

I dream of a deep dark grave,
Seven feet below Saint Augustine.
And she's so easy in her breathing,
Why fall in love, when there's no need to?

But we do all night,
Sleep like spoons, forget whom we are.
But she's here, and she's wound down now.
One can only go alone so far.

One can only go alone so far.

BARRIER REEF
The Empty Bottle was half empty, tide was low, and I was thirsty.
Saw her sitting at the bar, you know how some girls are,
Always making eyes, well she wasn't making eyes.

So I sidled up beside her, settled down and shouted, "Hi there."
"My name's Stewart Ransom Miller, I'm a serial lady-killer."
She said, "I'm already dead," that's exactly what she said.

So we tripped the lights fantastic, we was both made of elastic.
Midnight came and midnight went, and I though I was the President.
She said, "Do you have a car," and I said, "Do I have a car?"

What's so great about the Barrier Reef?
What's so fine about art?
What's so good about a Good Times Van,
When you're working on a broken,
Working on a broken,
Working on a broken man?

My heart wasn't in it, not for one single minute.
I went through the motions with her. Her on top, and me on liquor.
Didn't do no good, well I didn't think it would.

What's so great about the Barrier Reef?
What's so fine about art?
What's so good about a Good Times Van,
When you're working on a broken,
Working on a broken,
Working on a broken man?

When you're working on a broken,
Working on a broken,
Working on a broken man.

BEER CANS
(a.k.a. - Pickin' Up Beer Cans on the Highway)
by Phil "Homer Henderson" Bennison

I got laid off my job a week ago today
Now I just can't bring myself to apply for welfare pay
Now I'm walking down that big ol' interstate
I never thought that this would ever be my fate

CHorus:
I'm just picking up beer cans on the highway
It's the only thing I ever want to do
I'm just picking up beer cans on the highway
I gotta save my dough so I can marry you

Well you can drop me off on Highway 34
I hear they got some beer cans there, and I gotta get some more
Drive me into town so we can cash 'em in
Then we will never have to live in sin

In a ditch, I see a flashy shining thing
Well it's only a pop top, but it reminds me of a ring
The wedding ring you'd wear the day you marry me
And that's the day I'm gonna be in ecstasy

chorus 2x
I've gotta save my dough so I can marry you

BEL AIR
I've been lightin' matches in the boiler room,
Wearing sulphur perfume.
(Don't I smell nice?)

You come sniffin' around just like you own the joint,
You know it's rude to point.
(Don't make me tell you twice.)

Well I like the way you walk,
That's why I left my door unlocked.
I must be going off half-cocked. (I sometimes do.)

You think it's funny, but I know it ain't no joke.
There's nothing left to read in here, there's nothing left to smoke.
Before the band the band kicks in, I guess I'd better start.
(I'll stomp a mud hole in your heart.)

You poured whiskey in my Slurpee, swear to God you got me drunk,
Now I'm thinking that I'm sunk.
(And I can't swim.)

I'm drowning in the back seat of a '61 Bel Air,
I got a mouthful of your hair.
(A handful of skin.)

I ain't suffocating,
I'm just sick and tired of waiting.
Stop this pointless hesitating. (Pull me in.)

There's an awful lot of stars out here, an awful lot of sky.
I'm turning on the radio, they're playing "Let it Ride."
Before the band the band kicks in, I guess I'd better start.
(I'll stomp a mud hole in your heart.)

We could cruise the lake like psychos,
Scare the kids on motorcycles.
(There ain't nothing I would rather do.)

It's 3-D on the TV, but it's empty on the street.
If it weren't for me and you, the avenue would be incomplete.
And I should say this, before this whole thing even starts,
I'll stomp a mud hole in your heart.

BIG BROWN EYES
(click here for BIG BROWN EYES chords - Version 2)
Big brown eyes, and a gust of wind,
And the cherry burns the corner of the page that says "The end
Is coming soon," but not soon enough.
Restring all your guitars. Pack up all your stuff.

'Cause if Robert's dad is right,
We might not make it through the night,
And I'd hate to go alone.
Please pick up the phone.

Well a box of red, and a pill or three,
And I'm calling time and temperature just for some company.
I wish you were here. I wish I was too.
I'll drink myself to sleeplessness, I always do.

You don't want me anymore,
Since fame and fortune broke down our door.
You don't give me no respect.
What did I expect?

If that phone don't ring one more time,
I'm gonna lose what's left of my mind.
You made a big impression for a girl of your size,
Now I can't get by without you and your big brown eyes.

Her hands are cold, her breath is warm,
She's a port in a storm.
I'm worried now, but it won't be long.
It takes a worried man, you know, to sing a worried song.

I've got issues, yeah.
Like I miss you, yeah.
And I wish I weren't so thick.
I'm making myself sick.

If that phone don't ring one more time,
I'm gonna lose what's left of my mind.
You made a big impression for a girl of your size,
Now I can't get by without you and your big brown eyes.

BROADWAY
In a hotel room just off Times Square it's like a closet
I can watch the dancing class go round.
In a hotel room that costs as much as my apartment
I can watch the working class go down.

And it's enough to make a crooked man go straight -
Broadway, Broadway.

In a hotel room just off Times Square they made a monster
He was unaware of what went down.
Fattening him up just like a calf before a slaughter
He'd had his fill of hollow town.

And it's enough to make a stupid man think straight
Broadway, Broadway
And it's enough to make a crooked man go straight
Broadway, Broadway, Broadway, Broadway.

BUSTED AFTERNOON
There was a fine rain
There was a red wine
There was a long whistle
and it was a good sign

There was a band playin'
Somewhere upstream
There was a girl sayin'
"Come clean."

CHORUS
In a dream
On a busted afternoon
In a haze
On a busted afternoon
In a bad way
On a busted afternoon

There was a sad truth
There was a punchline
and there was a long whistle
and it was a good sign

And there was a long goodbye
There was a long goodbye

(Repeat Chorus)

CRASH ON THE BARRELHEAD
You're gonna crash on the barrelhead son
You'll regret the things that you done
One of these days you're gonna rue
All the messed up things you do

You're gonna die the way you live
And the way you drink you're like a ri-
ver bound for falls and not much fun
You're gonna crash on the barrelhead son

Chorus:
You're gonna wake up in your shoes
No one you love a'watching you
You'll hate you're face when the morning shines
On the mirror frame and you're guilty mind.

You're gonna crash on the barrelhead son
And do the walls know what you done?
And do they listen in on you?
Do the walls know what you do?

Chorus

CRYING DRUNK
Walker lives on an island
I'm still stuck in the south
Walker lives off his hands now
I still live off my mouth

The only difference is you've got integrity, I don't
Only difference is I'll do a lot of things you won't
You'd like to think I'm sleepin very peacefully, I'm not
I'm cryin' drunk, I'm cryin drunk, I'm cryin drunk

Walker says you're a cancer
I just say you're the flu
Oh but then I'm a virgo
I'm no match for you

Yeah the only difference is that I pretend that it's alright
So far I've pretended I can make it through the night
You'd like to thinkI'm sleepin very peacefully, I'm not
I'm cryin' drunk I'm cryin drunk I'm cryin drunk

You'd like to thinkI'm sleepin very peacefully, I'm not
I'm cryin' drunk, I'm cryin drunk, I'm cryin drunk

DESPERATE TIMES
alternate chording
Last night I dreamt of you, Abbie Hoffman peddling your books,
I gave five bucks to you, the other kids just gave you dirty looks.
I said "I'm sorry it didn't work out quite the way you planned."
You said, "That's silly boy, the revolution is at hand."

And if you got a ten spot brother, I got a dime,
These are desperate, desperate times.

Last night I dream to you, Pepe Lopez strung out on a stage,
It don't even look like you, smiling like sawed-off twenty gauge.
I still remember the Telecaster down around your knees,
It's late November and I think I smell tequila on the breeze.

And if you got the Cuervo honey, I got the lime,
These are desperate, desperate times.
And if you got the shotgun honey, I got the crime,
These are desperate, desperate times.

DOREEN
(Hitchhike to Rhome lyrics.
Minor variations found on Wreck Your Life.)
When I first met Doreen
She was barely seventeen.
She was drinking whiskey sours in the bar.

The way she tossed 'em back
I would've had a heart attack.
But as it is I let her drive my car.

We galloped through the boroughs
Like a pair of horny thoroughbreds,
Until I said, "Stop the car, Doreen."

Well you can roll your eyes and nod
But I swear that I saw God,
In the moonlight on a side street in the wreckage we call Queens.

Doreen, Doreen, Last night I had an awful dream.
You were laying in the arms of a man I'd never seen.
Come clean Doreen. Come clean Doreen.

Well I'm pulling into Cleveland
In a seven-seater tour van.
There's eight of us, so I'm sleeping on the floor.

The guy that plays the banjo
Keeps on handing me the Old Crow,
Which multiplies my sorrow, I can't take it anymore.

Doreen, Doreen, last night I had an awful dream.
You were laying in the arms of a man I'd never seen.
Come clean Doreen. Come clean Doreen.

Now I'm begging and I'm pleading,
"Well pull over guys, I'm bleeding.
There's a Fina off the highway with a phone."

I'm calling you Doreen,
But it rings and rings and rings.
Where is it that you are, if you aren't in our bed at home.

Doreen, Doreen, last night I had an awful dream.
You were laying in the arms of a man I'd never seen.
Come clean Doreen. Come clean Doreen.

DROWNING IN THE DAYS
(Hitchhike to Rhome lyrics. Minor variations
found on The Old 97's cassette)

I've been reading books when no one's looking,
I've been listening to the sirens in the night.
Robert says I'm going straight to hell yeah,
If I hang around here I just might.

And I'd like to take some medicine,
I'd like to drink some wine,
I'd like to wake up numb like all my friends.

There's a road to where I came from,
It gets longer all the time,
There's a road to where I'm going it never ends.
And my moon - it always it always wains,
And my guitar always plays...

(Chorus)
Drowning in the days, uh oh, uh oh, uh oh
Drowning in the days, uh oh, uh oh, uh oh
Drowning in the days, uh oh, uh oh, uh oh
Drowning in the days, uh oh, uh oh, uh oh

I've been writing fairy tales and postcards,
Writing down the story of my life.
Cari says I make everything so hard,
Cari says I'm difficult - she's right.

And I'd like to take some medicine,
I'd like to take you home,
I'd like to get that woman off my mind.

Well I like your pouty lips,
I like your pretty little bones,
But I'm sleeping with the porcelain tonight.

And my cloud - it always rains,
Ken's feedback always fades...
(Repeat Chorus)

EYES FOR YOU
I've got eyes for you
And I keep them in a jar up in my room
When you walk in they open wide
Lids are gone, no place to hide
I've got eyes for you
I've got eyes for you

I've got lips for you
Some of what they say just might be true
Well it's a scary thought I must confess
You're an ice cream cone in a mini-dress
I've got lips for you
I've got lips for you

CHORUS
Oh well I think I'm going crazy
I'm feeling pretty good
This isn't love
It's just I think my body likes you
More than any body should
Your body likes me too
That's why I've only got eyes for you

I've got a nose for you
And the way you smell I wish that I had two
Ah well you always smell a bit like gin
You're gonna make me take to drinkin' again
I've got a nose for you
I've got a nose for you

REPEAT CHORUS

I've got eyes for you
And I keep them in a jar up in my room
When you walk in they open wide
Lids are gone, no place to hide
I've got eyes for you
I've got eyes for you
I've got eyes for you
I've got eyes for you

504
I was playing every Monday on Burgundy in some shitty little bar.
I was working on a novel called New Orleans Ain't No City - It's a Scar.
The heroine does heroin, the hero wears his hair just like The King.
He says, "It ain't my job to sweet talk you. My job's just to sing."

I was loved once by a woman, she don't love me anymore. 504. 504.
And I won't never know no woman like the one I'd known before. 504. 504.
And she don't love me anymore.

Well the hero wears a hair-net, from the outset he drinks Jax beer from a can.
He says, "There's something 'bout this city always gets me. I'm a sentimental man."
Well the heroine plays violin and reads her Elmore Leonard everyday.
She's the one that finds the body. He's the one that gets away.

I was loved once by a woman, she don't love me anymore. 504. 504.
And I won't never know no woman like the one I'd known before. 504. 504.
And she don't love me anymore.

I was loved once by a woman, she don't love me anymore. 504. 504.
And I won't never know no woman like the one I'd known before. 504. 504.
You know she had me singing gospel out in the kitchen on the floor. 504. 504.
And she don't love me anymore.

No she don't love me anymore. No she don't love me anymore. 504.

FOUR LEAF CLOVER
I got a four leaf clover.
It ain't done one single lick of good.
I'm still a drunk and I'm still a loser.
I'm living in a lousy neighborhood.

I got a real live horseshoe,
And I hung it upside-down above my door. <Picture>
But it don't do nothing to impress you,
So I don't know what the hell it's for.

Why don't you come over? I'll show you my four leaf clover.
Who'm I trying to kid? I'm not the kind of guy you'd go for.
I got a four leaf clover, but I ain't got no hope of getting you.

I got a lucky silver dollar.
My granddad gave it to me now he's dead.
At times like this I wish that I cound join him,
It might just stop this pounding in my head.

Why don't you come over? I'll show you my four leaf clover.
Who'm I trying to kid? I'm not the kind of guy you'd go for.
I got a four leaf clover, but I ain't got no hope of getting you.
I ain't got no hope of getting you.

HANDS OFF
Hands off.
I had a dream they took my hands off.
Although you probably think that I'm soft boiled,
I'm still in love with you.

Girlfriend, don't sit 'round waiting for the world to end.
I'll keep my distance but I won't pretend
I'm not in love with you.

(Chorus)
And it's all your fault. You spiked my malt.
You slipped a mickey in my heart.
And I can't shake free, although I'm shaking like a tree.
I should've never let it, I should've never let it start.

Deep end. I guess I'm going off the deep end.
It's only 'cause you've got a hand to lend
I'm still in love with you.

Crap shoot. You've got the snake eyes and lizard boots.
I like you better in your birthday suit, yeah
I'm in love with you.

2 x Chorus

Hands off. I shot another leaded star ;-P

IF MY HEART WAS A CAR
I remember the Alamo, I don't recall who won
They had swords, they had horses, I hear we had mighty guns
Like the ones from Navarone last night on Channel 21
It's a long way back to El Paso.

It was early Monday morning in the Central Standard Zone
You were quiet like the TV, hung up like the telephone
You were sleeping next to me, I might as well have been alone
It's a long way back to El Paso.

CHORUS
And if my heart was a car, you would have stripped it a long time ago.
And if my heart was a car, you would have stripped it a long time ago.
And if my heart was a car

You would have stripped it down and sold it off
To the greasy man in the salvage lot
As it is it's just a heart
No, no, it ain't worth nothin'.

I ain't talkin' bout tomorrow, I'm talkin 'bout tonight
You told me you were drunk already, that don't make it right
You want at me, well, have at it, 'cause I'm in the mood to fight
And it's a long way back to El Paso.

And if my heart was a car, you would have stripped it a long time ago.
And if my heart was a car, you would have stripped it a long time ago.

And if my heart was a car, you would have stripped it a long time ago.
And if my heart was a,
And if my heart was a,
And if my heart was a car,

(Repeat Chorus)

INDEFINITELY
Well the room was mediteranean and the meaning was two-fold
We got busted by your mother though you're 29 years old
And the pictures wrapped in cellophane like sandwiches or stamps
Burned holes in my pockets and in the inseam of my pants

And your graduation date is in absentia today
And you wished you was there with her, but you told her not to stay
And the redwoods and the oak trees and the double yellow lines
Although they're in perfect symmetry they keep imperfect time

I don't mean no, I don't mean maybe, I'm indefinitely, I'm indefinitely
I don't mean no, I don't mean maybe, I'm indefinitely, I'm indefinitely

And the car was Japanese perhaps or Hungarian and blue
And it followed you down highway one, kept almost out of view
And it symbolizes something although you don't know what it is
Like loneliness and longing for a future perfect kiss

I don't mean no, I don't mean maybe, I'm indefinitely, I'm indefinitely
I don't mean no, I don't mean maybe, I'm indefinitely, I'm indefinitely

And the second hand's the first thing that you see when you wake up
It rolls by in slow motion and you rub it for good luck
Time is gonna tell your little secrets to me
There's a frightened girl inside of you, I'm gonna set her free

I don't mean no, I don't mean maybe, I'm indefinitely, I'm indefinitely
I don't mean no, I don't mean maybe, I'm indefinitely, I'm indefinitely
I don't mean no, I don't mean maybe, I'm indefinitely, I'm indefinitely

JACK
Gimme a J
Gimme an A
Gimme a C
Gimme a K

What's that spell?
Jack, Jack
What's that spell?
Jack, Jack
What's that spell?
Jack, Jack
Jack, Jack, the necrophilac

Oh I saw her layin' there
She was dead, but I didn't care
So I rolled her on her back
And that's why I'm a necrophilac

CHORUS:
Oh Jack, Jack, the necrophiliac
Oh Jack, Jack, the necrophiliac
Oh Jack, Jack, the necrophiliac
Jack, Jack, the necrophiliac

She looked so good in her coffin
I got the urge to poke her often
I just love her pale white skin
Now it's starting to cave in

CHORUS
She don't moan, she don't spread
I still like her better dead
She used to be a cock teaser
Now I keep her in my freezer

CHORUS
Now my lovin' days are through
I did what I had to do
Take some advice from deal old Jack
When they're dead they don't fight back

CHORUS

LONELY HOLIDAY
It was a lonely holiday
I was alone -- you were away
In Fayetteville or in another state
There's so many towns I hate

When you leave me, it breaks me like a bone
But it's never as bad as when you come home
Thought so much about suicide
Parts of me have already died

CHORUS:
Lonely -- baby I'm not lonely
Baby I'm not -- I've got my imaginary friends
Happy -- baby I'm so happy
Baby I'm so -- I've got my imaginary friends
And if you don't love me, would you please pretend?

It was a lonely holiday
I was alone -- I was afraid
The bedroom walls were closing in
It must be closing time again

When you leave me, it breaks me like the note
That you said got stuck in your throat
Thought so much about suicide
Parts of me have already died CHORUS

MAMA TRIED
Merle Haggard, Bluebook Music (BMI)
First thing I remember knowin' was a lonesome whistle blowin'
And a young-on's dream of growing up to ride
On a freight train leaving town, not knowing where I'm bound
And no one could change my mind, but Mama tried

One and only rebel child, from a family meek and mild
Mama seemed to know what lay in store
'Spite of all my Sunday learnin', toward the bad I kept on turnin'
'Til Mama couldn't hold me anymore

CHORUS:
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, 'cause Mama tried

Dear old Daddy rest his soul, he left my mom a heavy load
She tried so very hard to fill his shoes
Working hours without rest, she wanted me to have the best
She tried to raise me right, but I refused

CHORUS

MELT SHOW
In the front row at the Melt show
I fell in love with you and that was three weeks ago.
We fooled around, you let me have it for free.

Yeah it worked out real nice
I showed you how to and you showed me paradise.
Now you're killing time, and it's killing me.

Is this more than some old summer fling?
And this thing we have, will it mean anything?
When October rolls around will you sober up and let me down?
Will you sober up and let me?

There's a schoolyard out the back door.
I used to love it but I don't believe in school no more.
You don't learn anything, you're just waitin' around.

With your big brains and your know-how,
If there's a reason you'd have figured it out by now.
A little gettin' some's good, while you're waitin' around.

Is this more than some old summer fling?
And this thing we have, will it mean anything?
When October rolls around will you sober up and let me down?
Will you sober up and let me?

Now my bad dream is my best friend,
You were here last night but now you're gone again.
I'm getting tired of you getting tired of me.

Is this more than some old summer fling?
And this thing we have, will it mean anything?
When October rolls around will you sober up and let me down?
Will you sober up and let me down?

Will you sober up and let me?

MURDER (OR A HEART ATTACK)
And the hole
In the screen is barely big enough for you
And not near enough for me to go

And the whole damn complicated
Situation could've been
Avoided if I'd only shut the window

CHORUS:
And I may be leavin' myself open
To a murder or a heart attack
But I'm leavin' the back door open
'Til you come back, 'til you come back

And I may be movin' myself closer
To a real untimely end
But I'm leavin' the back door open
'Til you come home again, 'til you come home again

And I told
The neighbors, I put pictures up
And handed out some flyers at the show

And the whole town speculating
Situation could've been
Avoided if I'd only shut the window

CHORUS

REPEAT CHORUS

NINETEEN
Nineteen
Is not the age of reason.
I didn't have a reason
For setting you free.

I've seen
A lot of love go sour.
But that's not our love.
You see the problem was

I was only nineteen.

Yeah, I was only nineteen.
Finished up with high school.
Headed for a state school.
Wandered into you.

Big screen
Kissing in a movie.
God, you moved me around.
We got seriously down.

But I was only nineteen.

Chorus:
All I ever wanted to do
Was lie around in bed with you.
I was only nineteen. I was only nineteen.
I was only nineteen. I was only nineteen.

I've seen
A lot of love go bad now.
That's not how our affair
Would've wound up I swear.

But I was only nineteen.

Chorus

I was only nineteen.

NITECLUB
Eighteen-hundred miles from this old nightclub
A girl is turning 22 today.
How am I supposed to entertain you?
My fingertips are useless when my mind's so far away.

Eighteen-hundred miles from Manhattan
The nightclub yawns and opens up it's doors.
Thank god that I don't have to pay the cover,
'Cause every night I'm broker than I was the night before

Yeah this old nightclub stole my youth,
This old nightclub stole my true love,
It follows me around from town to town.
I just might get drunk tonight and burn the nightclub down,
I just might get drunk tonight and burn the nightclub down.

Telephones make strangers out of lovers,
Whiskey makes the strangers all look good.
Well my angel of the morning is in mourning.
My life was misspent, don't let me be misunderstood.

And this old nightclub stole my youth,
This old nightclub stole my true love,
It follows me around from town to town.
I just might get drunk tonight and burn the nightclub down,
I just might get drunk tonight and burn the nightclub down.

NORTHERN LINE
Opal, Salley Gardens Music (BMI)
I'm dreaming on a night train
It's only been a light rain, and a darkened sky and a starry night
I'm humming on a cold train
I'm singing about the wreck of the Old 97

CHORUS:
And I'm walking through this city
I'll tell my story to the rain
And I won't come back no matter what you say

I'm feeling no pain
I don't care if I ever see your face again
I'm riding on a Northern Line
I got my money - but I got a lot of time to spend

CHORUS:
And I'm walking through this city
I'll tell my secret to the sky
And I won't come back no matter what you say

And I'm walking through this city
Yeah I'll tell my story to the rain
And I won't come back no matter what you say
No I won't come back no matter what you say

OLD FAMILIAR STEAM
By the time you leave
I'll be saving all my green
For a homebound train to carry me
On old familiar steam.

I wish you'd hurry up,
And leave or come around.
Well the moon is waning hard tonight.
I 'm leaving my home town.

And the train rolls on with no pilot.
And the station's left me I know.
But if you should happen to find it,
Please bring it home, bring it home.

I traded all my stops
For a pillow made of rails.
In an empty room I listen to
The lonely whistle wails.

I woke up to feet,
That I took to be your shoes,
And the train lay tracks that deafened me,
Shook my insides loose.

And the train rolls on with no pilot,
And the station's left me I know.
But if you should happen to find it,
Please bring it home, bring it home.

And the point of all this living,
Is the dying still to come.
And I could be forgiven,
But I just won't, I just won't.
(Cool Don Walser yodel & fade out)

THE ONE
I've got a check for nothing,
All made out to someone,
Well, I truly love myself.

Murry says we're gonna take the money sometime,
It might as well be this time,
We're gonna spend it all on ourselves.

Ken, he picks this bank at random,
I say, "Do we shoot them?"
He says, "Either way's alright."

Whistling boy that's Philip, he's our drummer,
He knows the theme to "Endless Summer,"
He's waiting out in our ride.

Throw the money in the van,
It all went down just like we planned.
Now the good times have begun,
That's not a fire it's just the sun,

It's like the old man said,
"Take the money and run."
But what's the rush,
Let's take the 1.

Love, it's so touchy and so feely,
Well, I'm hangin on to mine.
I like you California, although I feel obliged to warn you,
We're gonna rob you blind.

CHORUS:
I've got a check for nothing,
All made out to someone,
Well, I truly love myself

Well, I truly love myself
Well, I truly love myself
Well, I truly love myself

THE OTHER SHOE
One old brown shoe falls in slow motion,
And the bedsprings hover right above your head,
As bed springs do, when you're beneath them.
Someone else just climbed into your bed.

By the time she thought you'd probably got to Phoenix,
She'd arranged for your shoes to be filled.
Well you've got your pride, and a blue-steel '45,
And you're waiting for the other shoe to fall.

You'll dig a double grave out in the meadow,
And you'll curse the rain that turns the dirt to mud.
You'll take I-35 south towards Laredo,
Then you'll try to find a doctor who can prescribe an elixir
That'll make everything better, except your late wife and her lover.

By the time she thought you'd probably got to Phoenix,
She'd sealed her fate and gotten herself killed.
Well you've got your pride, and a blue-steel '45,
And you're waiting for the other shoe to fall.

POR FAVOR
What will you say to say to St. Peter
When you meet him in the by-and-by?
Will you grease your way into heaven?
Can you even look St. Peter in the eye?

Will you tell him all your details of your sinnin'?
Will you tell him all the loved ones you done lost?
Will you name off all the broken hearted women?
Or the one who double-crossed you, and got herself double-crossed?

CHORUS
I said Dear Lord, por favor, I need a favor.
Can you help me get back that what is no more?
See I double-crossed the woman who was two-timin' me.
She gave me one good reason, and I gave her what for.

Por Favor, Por Favor, Por Favor, ah Por Favor

What will you say to your savior
When you meet him in the promised land?
Will you walk with him through the valley?
Will you let your savior lead you by the hand?

Will you tell him all the details of your sinnin'?
Will you tell him all the loved ones you done hurt?
Will you name off all the broken hearted women?
Or the one you buried three feet deep in wet East Texas dirt?

CHORUS x 2

ST. IGNATIUS
Outside St. Ignatius, outside of the law,
You walk by so gracefully, I just stand in awe.
You're a goddess. You're the hottest oddity I've found.
We can go swimmin' in our skin and hope that we don't drown.

I could save the water just by drinking it tonight. I
can't find the words to make it right, to make it right.

Tanked up out on Elm Street, looking for a ride.
Stretched out on concrete, running out of pride.
You need help dear, and I'm sincere. Let me be the one.
I'm not a big star, but I've got a big car. You're too weak to run.

You could save the highway if you'd crash with me tonight.
I can't find the words to make it right, to make it right.
I could save the water just by drinking it tonight.
I can't find the words to make it right, to make it right.

Someday when we're older, deep in loneliness,
Things we said today won't matter, no one could care less.
We're just shadows, just ask Plato. It was all a dream.
I've had it with Dallas, let's burn down the Palace. I'll bring the kerosene.

I could save this song if I'd just sing real loud tonight.
I can't find the words to make it right, to make it right.

SALOME
alternate chording
Salome, uncross your heart.
I know what goes on inside, it's over before it starts.
Well I'll stay all night, I'll wait right here.
The full moon might work magic girl, but I won't disappear.

And I'm tired of making friends, and I'm tired of making time,
And I'm sick to death of love, and I'm sick to death of trying.
And it's easier for you, yeah it's easier for you.
And it's easier for you, yeah it's easier for you.

Salome, untie my hands.
Well I'll find another lady, and you'll wreck another man.
It's over now, yeah and so are we.
My blood's turned to dirt girl, you broke every part of me.

(Repeat)

STONED
Well I must have been stoned when this whole started,
'Cause I just can't seem to think straight anymore.

Can't figure out where I'm at, maybe Memphis, maybe Mexico.
I think you're swell but I ain't gonna tell you so.
I think you're great but it's late and I'd better go.

Hitchhike to Rhome. Take the Greyhound to Fredericksburg.
Well I'm flat broke, I've been smoking butts for days.

You say, "Maybe you can stay with me." I say, "Lady, that's a dangerous plan."
You're quite a woman, but I don't wanna be your man.
You're quite a kisser, but listen close and understand.

Take a letter to God. "Dear Sir: I'm dissatisfied.
Well it ain't your fault they keep pouring salt on my heart.

All I need is a brief reprieve. I keep leaving. I ain't gettin' nowhere."
Won't you linger, let me run my fingers through your hair?
Won't you stay? I can't play like I don't care.
I think you're dope, and I hope I'm making myself clear.
I think you're fly and that's why I'm getting out of here.

Well, I must have been stoned.
Good Lord, I wish I'd been stoned.

STREETS OF WHERE I'M FROM
I've been down, I've been down too far to care -
I keep getting in my car but I'm not going anywhere.
And I've been had, well at least that's how it looks -
And it's not funny like on TV and it's not smart like ti is in books.

And I wonder yeah I wonder how the world keeps spinnin' 'round.
Where's a boy with bad intentions gonna settle down?
And I don't know what you've been told,
The streets of where I'm from are paved with hearts instead of gold.
Yeah the streets of where I'm from are paved with hearts instead of gold.

I recall, when I was twenty-three -
Wondering how anyone could fall in love with me.
But now I'm old, hell I'm well past twent-five -
And I can't seem to fall in love no matter how I try.

And I wonder where I'll wind up but I'm headed west I know.
Wind my way through Texas and into New Mexico,
And I don't know what you've been told,
The streets of where I'm from are paved with hearts instead of gold.
Yeah the streets of where I'm from are paved with hearts instead of gold.

And I don't know what you've been told,
The streets of where I'm from are paved with hearts instead of gold.
Yeah the streets of where I'm from are paved with hearts instead of gold.
Yeah the streets of where I'm from are paved with hearts instead of gold.

TIMEBOMB
I got a timebomb, in my mind Mom.
I hear it ticking but I don't know why.
I call the police, but they don't like me.
I hear 'em whispering when I walk by.

I got a landmine in my bloodline.
I'm not immune to getting blown apart.
She's like a claymore, that's what she's there for.
She's waiting 'round here to get blown apart.

Having her on my brain's like getting hit by a train,
She's gonna kill me. Oh Celeste, oh Celeste.

I got a timebemb, in my mind Mom,
It's gonna go off, but I don't know when.
I need a doctor to extract her.
I got a feeling she'd get right back in again

I got a timebemb, in my mind Mom,
I got it badly for a stick-legged girl
She's gonna kill me, and I don't mean softly.
I got it badly for a stick-legged girl

Having her on my brain's like getting hit by a train,
She's gonna kill me. Oh Celeste, oh Celeste, oh Celeste.

VALENTINE
Heartbreak, old friend, goodbye it's me again.
Of late, I've had some thought of movin' in.
Of all the many ways a man will lose his home,
Well, there ain't none better than the girl who's movin' on.

True love, I knew some thought of, some thought of leavin' you.
Bad thoughts I had, when valentines were due.
Of all the many ways a man will break his heart,
Well there ain't none meaner than he pulls his own apart

CHORUS:
Valentine, the destroyer, Valentine, you belong
In the stars, where you are, always rollin' on.
Cried, I've cried till I couldn't carry on.
It's a lonely, lonely feelin' when your Valentine is wrong.
It's a lonely, lonely feelin' when your Valentine is wrong.

Of all the many things that you were countin' on,
Well, there ain't none better than the girl who's movin' on.
No, there ain't none better than the girl who's movin' on.
(Repeat).

VALIUM WALTZ
Let's drink as if lovers
Of the ultra-familiar
To hover above her
As she's checking you out

To wander around her
But never sleep with her
To watch her through windows
As she pours herself out

Scoring her shipwreck
With fiddles and DoBros
You'll laugh at the plainclothes
Who police the crowd

And carry her under
Like water or ether
And spirit her off
When the music's too loud

CHORUS
And it's written all over
The face of the daughter
Of the mayor of
Marble Falls

When she winds up in Denton town
Doin' the Valium Waltz
When she winds up In Denton town
Doin' the Valium Waltz

Dream of the day when
Your memory is fickle
You long for a time when
Your mind is made up

Wonder how long 'fore
You're pear-shaped and wrinkled
Wound up on windowsills
All knotted up

REPEAT CHORUS
When she winds up in Denton town
Doin' the Valium Waltz

VICTORIA(a.k.a. Victoria Lee)
This is the story of Victoria Lee,
She started off on Percodan and ended up with me.
She lived in Berkeley 'til the earthquake shook her loose.
She lives in Texas now where nothin' ever moves.

Victoria you talk so low that no one else can hear,
Unless you point your megaphone directly at their ear.
This is the story of Victoria Lee,
She started on Rohypinol and ended up with me.

You'd like to think they're your friends, but they're not your friends,
And in the end a friend's the one you'll never know, oh don't you know?
You'd like to think you're groovy, it's your movie, you see through me, but it's true,
And in the end you'll know, Victoria don't go. Victoria, Victoria don't go.

This is the story of Victoria's heart,
You might think it's stupid, but I still think it's art.
She lost her lover to an accident at sea.
She pushed him overboard and ended up with me.

Victoria, you dance so fast that no one else can see.
Victoria I hope you use just one more dance for me.
This is the story of Victoria's heart.
It's a really big one, and I don't know where to start.
(Occasionally used on early versions of "Victoria Lee")

WEIGHTLESS
I reckon Heaven is a place
Where time is nonexistent, yeah
And the things that are important, yeah
Don't take any time at all

An awful lot like like outer space
Where everything is weightless, yeah
Even heavy things are weightless, yeah
Don't take up any space at all

CHORUS
Right on, right on
Oh yeah it's so clear
All the bad things are gone
All the good things are here

Right on, right on
Oh yeah it's so clear
All the bad things are gone
All the good things are here

Almost exactly like this place
Where people talk forever, yeah
And it's always stormy weather, yeah
Stormy weather's the best kind

REPEAT CHORUS

All the bad things are gone
All the good things are here

I reckon Heaven is a place
Where everything is weightless, yeah
Even heavy things are weightless, yeah
Up there we'll never find it all

W. TX TEARDROPS
Well the roadmaps of west Texas never gave me good advice.
The trains all roll where the roads don't go, now I lay awake at night,
Just wondering where the rest is so I hit that iron gate,
And I yelled good-bye to that wife of mine, I may be running late.

I'm a-rolling on, I'm a-rolling on,
Rolling out past El Paso Texas, where I might have had a home.
I made my bed, so here I lie.
I'm rolling west Texas teardrops in my eye.

Though I felt a lonesome feeling in Dulce New Mexico,
I was happier than I'd ever been in my El Paso home.
But I thought about the woman whom I left to roam the land,
And I cried so much it dug a rut they call the Rio Grande.

I'm a-rolling on, I'm a-rolling on,
Rolling out past El Paso Texas, where I might have had a home.
I made my bed, so here I lie.
I'm rolling west Texas teardrops in my eye.

And my destination is written upon my feet,
And the stars above are about the only company I keep.
I raise my pass and take my seat.
I'm rolling fast with a teardrop on my cheek.

So I guess there'll be no family, so I guess there'll be no wife.
Gonna roll away on an old steel dray, it's gonna be my life.
And the roadmaps I been reading, I never came to figure out.
All I know is I'd explode by any other route.

I'm a-rolling on, I'm a-rolling on,
Rolling out past El Paso Texas, where I might have had a home.
I made my bed, so here I lie.
I'm rolling west Texas teardrops in my eye.

WIFE
I've got my wife, the other women, and the whiskey killing me.
The first two make it so that I see red. The third one makes it so that I can't see.
If I had half a brain left after my debauchery,
I'd give up the other women, and the W-I-F-E.

Wedding vows weren't made to be broken.
These here lips weren't made to tell no lies.
Somewhere along the way, I guess I must have gone astray,
'Cause I'm drinking here, and wishing for to die.

I've got my wife, the other women, and the whiskey killing me.
The first two make it so that I see red. The third one makes it so that I can't see.
If I had half a brain left after my debauchery,
I'd give up the other women, and the W-I-F-E.

It's just like my lttle sister (dear old momma) told me,
In the end, you reap what you sow.
I've been sowing seeds from Mexico to Tennessee,
And I'm reaping now an awful lot of woe.

I'd give up the other women, and the W-I-F-E.

WISH THE WORST
Why aren't you here? It's almost 4 am.
I finished up all of your beer, Now I'm startin' on your gin.
I went through your diary, flipped through your phone book -called all your friends.
I just wanna know where you been, I just wanna know where you been.

I pulled back your sheets, Now I'm crawlin' in your bed.
Every drink's one more defeat, And every footstep hurts my head.
I don't want excuses. I don't wanna hear that you were out with your friends.
I just wanna know where you been, I just wanna know where you been.

CHORUS
I hope you crash your momma's car.
I hope you pass out in some bar.
I hope you catch some kinda flu.
Let's say I wish the worst for you.

I hope you're happy with yourself.
I hope you found somebody else, cause I ain't askin' you again.
I just wanna know where you been, I just wanna know where you been.

Why am I here? I've got better things to do.
I could hang out on the pier, down by the Hudson, sniffin' glue.
I guess I'm a loser, but I like being miserable, swimming in sin.
I just wanna know where you been, I just wanna know where you been.

CHORUS