Think it was a dark and broken, graveyard night The fog was thick, and the moon was bright I was running for my life to save my hide
Feeling half drunk, and barely alive A barbed wire fence wound on my side And my heart it was pounding, right outta my chest
But I ran and ran, and jumped and rolled I could feel the blood, I could feel the cold I was all alone and on the run I was waiting on the morning sun It was nearly there
Saw a distant light in a cattle barn Ripped the cotton sleeve right off my arm And tied it ‘round the bullet wound on my leg I hollered at the moon and stars- “I cannot reside behind bars, I’ll leave this world before I leave in cuffs.”
I could see the lanterns, I could hear the hounds Trespassing on a burial ground Then a ghost rose up and scared my captors, I fell to the ground with maniacal laughter I was home free!
Then I got up and kept on running, I could hear that Plymouth Sunbeam hummin’ Let’s go darlin’
And before I got in the passenger’s seat I had a moment of clarity right there standing on my feet That all of this will be alright some day
Somewhere Between India & Idaho
Hey there, have you seen my girl? I hear she’s been sleeping around A doctor, a lawyer, a cobbler, a clerk The milkman, a painter, and an eagle scout
And I get up in the evening And I’m drunk to work in the morning She lives with me in the house I built And now I feel like it’s burning
I sing on the back porch, I sleep in the barn I’ve tattooed over her name on my arm I’ve done all the things that I think I should do And I can’t help feeling that it’s all ‘cause of you
And believe it or not, I’ve had a few myself Samantha, Rosalita, Marguerite, and Michelle They were fun while they lasted, but now I can’t tell Why I feel more at home in a cheap hotel
We grow older and older and older each year How we haven’t killed each other yet, that still ain’t clear She put a gun to my head, I said go ahead and pull I heard the trigger click, in an empty chamber, Now here I go, bus ticket, I’m leavin’ town
So I’m going where the streets are gold It rains cocaine and cherry coke There’s a beach where the fishes speak Navajo Somewhere between India & Idaho
The Way Of The Wind
I’ve got a spirit, but I ain’t holy Got a hole in my heart There’s a train, I think I hear it A song of love in the dark
The dawn is coming, birds are ringing Bells are singing in the church Ford Rancheros, and Plymouth Dusters Can barely muster horsepower up the hill
But they all go, dressed in white, some in grey And there I sit, in the farthest row, Smelling of booze, and sex, and smoke
And the best of everything you know Is how to numb your head Stiff drinks, and lipsticked Winston cigarettes Deaf to all the daily things, Longing for the one, short moment In the garden and the sun
I’ll leave that morning, with no goodbyes Ten dollars in my coat And as the sun shines through leaves I’ll stop roadside and have a smoke
Like night a fallin’ Or years a passin’ I will not grow younger or grow old I’ll keep you with me In the sun and in the cold
My Favorite Haunts
It was a cold night, dark as anthracite And the streetlights were shot out one by one So I walked down to the real dead dive And ordered Dewar’s on ice
The barkeep told me, a little story About a place on the hill not far from there Where you can get your kicks, or get real sick Lose your money but feel good in the morning
I said it’s alright, by the bar light Saw her coming in, she’d been gone so long I wondered, did she find herself, Or just find someone else Man, I can’t escape this one
She sat down by me, and said real slyly Do you love me, do you still love me? I replied, I’m not so so sure, It might be your memory that I’m infatuated with Not who you are now
That’s when she hit me with a broken bottle I fell to the floor in a pool of shame My friends and neighbors came to my resuce Said Jack, what are you doing here with Jane? I said I’m leaving, and she’s coming with me I’m gonna give her that ring, she’ll take my name
Aren’t we all so damn crazy? The heart wants what it wants, wants what it wants If love’s a fire, then I’m still burning I’m just a ghost, she’s one of my favorite haunts
Until The Cows Come Home
I told all my friends, That I was never coming back, back again And all these short comings And reasons for running Were directly related to the way that I felt in the city
So I’m going to the country, I’m going to the farm I’m living off of rye and beans, Working my hands and my arms to the bone
Until the cows come home, Until the water runs clean I’ll discover the good, And find out what it means to breathe
Oh it’s been ten long years since I left It’s been life, it’s been death I’ve fallen down, I brought my guns to town And they already think that I’m strange I’ll be singing home, home on the range
And I’m not that city man, I was raised in a barn Broke loose from a life I was shackled, The future wasn’t bright An explosive I dared to disarm
Until it feels right to leave I’ll stay lost and alone When the time is right for fighting Even my tracks will be gone
Hello, Good Morning
Hello, good morning, the night-time is gone Passed is the darkness, high up is the sun Sold are the acres, bulldozed are the homes Sick are the children, dull are the hoes
Dry is the river, picked clean are the bones Baled like the cotton, before it is sewn Sent are the letters, thrown are the stones Hello, good morning, the night time has come
Closed are the curtains, closed are the doors Scared are the women, the men just look bored Don’t need a reason, don’t need a fight Tomorrow means leaving, and now means tonight
Hello, good morning, down is the feeling Blue’s the horizon, and time we are stealing Hands they’re a tremblin’ and knees they’re hurtin’ Thoughts they’re assembling, And eyes, they’re a burnin’
Head for the high ground Or die in the low ground Hello, good morning The night time is gone
When I'm Low
I’ve been bad, I’ve been best I’ve been north, I’ve been west When I’m high
Don’t you fret darlin’ Don’t you cry Don’t forget when I go passing by I won’t lie, I won’t lie
When you’re high, it’s alright There’s no reason to cry Don’t you know
Well I hope that in the end I can count you as a friend To help me up when I’m feeling low
Baby please, have a heart Let it beat, don’t tear mine apart When I’m dry Oh Lord, when I’m dry
‘Cause I need that smoke, and I need that drink I need your love like a dish needs a sink When I’m alone, when I’m alone
Well I got me a few dollars I spent all my dimes Gonna get me a bus ticket on Concord Coach Lines Gonna be red eyed, for the ride
Oh, I’m rolling home, got my suit and my case Can’t wait to see that look on your pretty face When I get home I can see the golden lights of home
Backsliding Reprobate Blues
Got a red rooster, got a red rose Dirt on my fingernails, and on my toes I’ll keep on digging until Mexico Hold my breath, cover my nose
I’ll have me a drink, right there on the beach Beautiful women within my reach I’ll toast to lonely, I’ll toast to night I’ll drink to dying, and cheers to life
Go down to Dublin, have me a pint Steal me a car, or maybe a bike Before they catch me, I’ll have some fun There ain’t nothing like a life out on the run
They’ll tack my picture on every wall Of every post office, and police hall But I’ll be moving on into the sun I’ll change my name and where I’m from
Hello, I’m Jack, last name Joe By the moonlight, is when I’ll go Maybe I will turn myself in Probably not, I don’t mind living with sin
It’s that old backsliding, reprobate blues Ain’t no use in hiding, it’s that old backsliding, reprobate blues
I’ll find me a woman, and settle down In some breezy land, in some southern town We’ll buy us a dog, name him Jed Say our prayers each night in bed Oh, please don’t strike me, down ‘O Lord ‘Cause I ain’t running anymore
Two Dumb Lovers
Try so hard, but can’t get back home Lost somewhere, down by Arkansas Like a chain link fence, on a moonlit night in town Almost like there’s no one at all around
Day and night she draws her veil Imagining and picturing the nail That she would drive through his head In the picture she hung over the bed
And It’s such a strange simple dream Two dumb lovers in a brown Plymouth Sunbeam With Omaha plates, in some southern state They’d rather not say Turn down the road marked the way
A sound in the near, sent him to turn to stone Like the sound of a bullet, right down to the bone And his father and his mother hit the road And abandoned him with a friend in Muscle Shoals
Far away from everyone Broken down, misguided son Couldn’t lie, couldn’t steal Couldn’t love, couldn’t feel
Dreams & Fire
It was a three alarm, or maybe four They ran for the door Heard the struggle and commotion outside Packed a bag in the smoke, Couldn’t help but cry in the confusion
He wet a rag, held it over her nose And he just held his breath Felt the door with his palm, It was satanically warm Man, this is a fiery mess
His reasoning became increasingly ruined Had no idea what his hands they were doing But he smashed a window with a chair Told her to jump for a tree branch And just wait there, he would follow
And just as he got halfway over the threshold He turned and saw a picture of them And thought about a time when the world was quiet And everything wasn’t literally burning
When he jumped he believed he could fly Grabbed the branch and looked into her eyes And right as the place collapsed, they let go They fell and landed coughing on the grass
And as the flames were fought, they so playfully thought This is our best excuse for moving on So with the silence so loud, they inched through the crowd Got in a car and waved so long
Running Free
Faithful friend, you were there for me I know I will see you on the other side On the other high, side of the road
Steady as she goes, don’t rock the boat Bail out the water, and warn the crew ‘Cause this ship ain’t going down without you
Run on my friend, I hope you arrive To where you’re going to Where the sky is always blue And the leaves are always green Run on, into the morning mist and the sheen
My old pal, running free today Sniffing the air somewhere, way up high You and I, we had some good times So here’s to all those good times
Cinching Up The Rope
Deal your last hand You’ve got nowhere to go now you’re gone There’s a flashlight beam, atop a small city mountain There’s some people partying up there
And you’re just a lonesome viewer Watching from the greatest distance Never reaching for the missing The pieces that turned to dust They’re all just flying in the wind And your family and your kin Keep cinching up the rope around your neck
And that time that you ran, You probably should have never come back Things have only gotten weirder And the way you feel is mirrored By every sad soul that you pass by on the street
So don’t over-do it, there’s lots of life to live, So just plow through it If a door slams, just open another Don’t blame the sister for the faults of the mother Think I read that in the bible, Or maybe on the side of a bus So when there’s no one left but us We’ll be all we have to trust
