photo by Akhtar Hussein

SUN CITY

I went down to Sun City
Down in Memphis town
I was so young and pretty
And boys I sure went down

Well I just wanted to sing
That's what I told the man
But when I picked up my guitar boys
Things just got out of hand

First came gold records
Then came Hollywood
A lot of long legged women
I done the best I could

Now I'm surrounded by fools
A manager with gambling debts
The money, the people they come and go
And I can't even get out of bed

Now I know God is waiting
Just outside my door
But I've seen the twelve gates of heaven boys
And I ain't afraid no more

I went down to Sun City
Down in Memphis town
I was so young and pretty
And boys I sure went down

ANGELOU

 There's An Ill Wind Blowing
Across The Plain
I Mean Somewhere Down Near Texas
Towards A Town With No Name
Where The Vultures Prey
Upon The Broken Wheel
Where The Terminally Ill
Come To Get Healed
Where The Graves Are Dug
With Names Already Marked
Where Jesus Christ
Waits Glowing In The Dark
Where They Take Dead Aim
When They Get You In Their Sights
Where They Drop You Like A Stone
In The Middle Of The Night

Angelou
Angelou

Them Good Ole Boys
In Their Pick Up Trucks
Drinking On Their Beer
And Pissing On Their Luck
While The Latest Mandate
Rolls Across The Land
Where The Science Of Control
Has Gotten Out Of Hand
Where The Air Is Rotten
Where The Kingsnakes Crawl
Where The Minimum Wage
Has Made Slaves Of Us All
Where A Kid Is Taught
Not To Think Too Much
Where A Girl Is Betrayed
By A Lovers Touch

Angelou
Angelou

I Was Standing In Line
When I Heard The News
A Girl Of Nineteen
With A Couple Of Tatoos
I Grabbed My Gun
I Hit The Interstate
I Drove All Night
But I Arrived Too Late
I Stood On The Hill
And Watched The Battle Below
While The Media Gathered
And The Souvenirs Sold
And I Watched With Horror
When The Flames Touched The Sky
Couldn't Believe My Ears
Couldn't Believe My Eyes

Angelou
Angelou

Now The Desert Is Cold
The Sun Has Set
I'm Stoned On Peyote
And There's Liquor On My Breath
Don't Know What I'm Saying
Barely Know What I'm Doing
Seems Like Everything Here
Has Fallen Down In Ruins
From The Lines On My Face
To All The Tears I've Cried
From A Few Lousy Good Deeds
To A Lifetime Of Lies
Never Felt So Helpless
Never Felt So Torn
Thinking About You Baby
And The Day You Were Born

Angelou
Angelou

WILD WIND BLOWING

Oh pretty baby
Don't do me no damage
You know I ain't looking
For no football scrimmage
Well I've come down the road
And my eyes are on fire
You know I've seen too much
To believe all these liars 

And there's a wild wind blowing
There's a wild wind blowing
There's a wild wind blowing
There's a wild wind blowing

Oh your boys in Washington
I don't know what they're doing
They're selling you out
There's trouble a brewing
From your New York island
To the San Francisco bay
This melting pot is melting
It's getting hotter everyday

Cause there's a wild wind blowing
There's a wild wind blowing
There's a wild wind blowing
There's a wild wind blowing

Oh pretty baby
Please open up your eyes
See the pollution at your feet
Hear your sick and homeless cry
Before it gets too late
Before they throw you in chains
Before your torch of freedom
Is left to die in this rain

Cause there's a wild wind blowing
There's a wild wind blowing
There's a wild wind blowing
There's a wild wind blowing

DANCE WITH ME GIRL

The Sun Is On The Highway
Moon Sitting Sideways
Dance With Me Girl
I've Been In The Headlines
Another Man Out Of Time
Dance With Me Girl

Don't Turn A Cold Shoulder
I Can't Get Much Older
Dance With Me Girl
Amuse Me For A While
I've Come A Ragged Mile
Dance With Me Girl

I Was Born Inland
Just Another Victim
Grew Up On The Back Streets
Running From The Heat
Hands On The Trigger
Til One Day I Pulled Her
Now I'm In The Bright Lights
Fighting For My Life 

I Know The Man Is Coming
But I'm Tired Of This Running
Dance With Me Girl
Just A Song On The Jukebox
Come On Let's Make It Rock
Dance With Me Girl

 BRAKEMAN'S BLUES

They're Fighting In The Middle East
Fighting In Ireland
Fighting On The Streets
Tomorrow They'll Be Fighting Again
You Know It Ain't Easy
To Be Somebody's Son
You Think I'm Guilty
You Can Shoot Me In The Morning Sun

Well They Crucified Jesus
Shot Joe Hill
Murdered King, Kennedy
Now Look At Poor Phil
You Know It Ain't Easy
To Be Somebody's Son
You Think I'm Guilty
You Can Shoot Me In The Morning Sun

Little Girls And Little Needles
Big Men In Big Suits
People Ducking Around
Trying To Get A Piece Of The Loot
You Know It Ain't Easy
To Be Somebody's Son
You Think I'm Guilty
You Can Shoot Me In The Morning Sun

Well I Got Myself A Job
On A Bankrupt Railroad Line
At Night I Chase The Women
And I'm Drunk All The Time
You Know It Ain't Easy
To Be Somebody's Son
You Think I'm Guilty
You Can Shoot Me In The Morning Sun

Out Here On the Farm

Wake up sleepy head
Sun's coming 'round the world
Pull your body out of bed
Quit dreaming about them girls

Ah here I am
Just hanging on
Just a kid going on 65
Out here on the farm

Grandpa's at the breakfast table
Eating up a thing or two
Talking about some UFO
He'd seen back in '52

Ah here I am
Just hanging on
Just a kid going on 65
Out here on the farm

Got a sister went away got married
Got a sister come home divorced
Got my Ma praying and my Pa cursing
And I don't know which is worst

Ah here I am
Just hanging on
Just a kid going on 65
Out here on the farm

Got a tractor that blows some oil
Got a big old hog named Hank
Got crops a growing and prices falling
And a mortgage due at the bank

Ah here I am
Just hanging on
Just a kid going on 65
Out here on the farm

Well Pa says let's go son
We got lots of work to do
And talking don't mean a dam thing
Except to women and fools

Ah here I am
Just hanging on
Just a kid going on 65
Out here on the farm

Now we'll see you later ma
Hey Sis' don't you be crying again
Hey Grandpa you stay away from those chickens you hear
Don't worry Pa everything's going to be alright
At least the sun is coming up

HONEY, HONEY, HONEY
(HOW WE NEED SOME MONEY)

Waking in the morning
Another day is dawning
Perking up with coffee
Flipping on the TV
Trouble in the government
Denials from the president
Honey, honey, honey
How we need some money

You've been out there working
I've been out there working
But we're getting nowhere
Just getting poorer
Guess it's time we face it
We'll never be rich kids
Honey, honey, honey
How we need some money

Well where did all the time go
Where did all our futures go
Seems like only yesterday
We were the ones who had it made
Now take a look at us
Driving around in buckets of rust
Honey, honey, honey
How we need some money

It's getting late we better go
Off to work to make some dough
So we can pay our bills
So we keep our bellies filled
Another day, another night
What a way to spend a life
Honey, honey, honey
How we need some money

RITA, MEMPHIS AND THE BLUES

Hanging on the corner working for the man
Running these numbers, pushing cocaine
Going up to Memphis to sing me some blues
Oh pretty baby I'm tired of being used
Rita, where you been so long
Rita, where you been so long

Down by that river in the middle of the night
Tumbled them dice right into a fight
When the smoke cleared now I'm telling you the truth
You pull a gun on someone you just better shoot
Rita, where you been so long
Rita, where you been so long

Shackles on my feet, hounds on my trail
Made it all the way from that county jail
Then I took a wrong turn in the wrong part of town
Now I'm coughing blood up man I'm going down
Rita, where you been so long
Rita, where you been so long

Well listen up friend don't say another word
You ain't seen me why you ain't even heard
Go tell my mother, my poor sister too
I'm still up in Memphis, still singing them blues
Rita, where you been so long
Rita, where you been so long

JAMES DEAN COMING OVER THE HILL

The sky is blue the sky is black
John Train he ain't ever coming back

Papa was a rolling stone
Now he ain't nothing but a coughing bag of bones

Hang around this old town
They'll build you up just to cut you back down

Going down to New Orleans
Gonna make a deal gonna get myself clean

Hey babe got my eye on you
A rambling girl knows all about these blues

Jesus saves Jesus kills
James Dean coming over the hill

REPUTATION

Sister have you seen him
They say it won't be long 'til his coming
Dry your eyes brush back your curls
They say he's going to bring a change to this world

They say he's bad
Don't get him mad
They say beware of the man
With the big reputation

Brother you better watch it
All you're double deals and double crosses
For reasons we don't understand
We'll be murdering each other all in his name

They say he's bad
Don't get him mad
They say beware of the man
With the big reputation

People get ready
That train around the bend is rocking steady
For no power on this earth
Can save a thing he declares has no worth

They say he's bad
Don't get him mad
They say beware of the man
With the big reputation

LITTLE CHILD

You've seen the fighting
You've seen the fires
You've seen the soldiers
Killers for hire
Little child

Little child
Little child
Little child
Don't forget to smile little child

They shot your father
Tortured your mother
They raped your sister
Took away your brother
Little child

Little child
Little child
Little child
Don't forget to smile little child

I would give anything
To dry your tears
I would give anything
To stop this fear
Little child

Little child
Little child
Little child
Don't forget to smile little child

THESE DAYS

Standing alone on the edge of town
My old car finally broken down
Watching the sun sink over this old highway
Headlights passing by my thumb
Folks don't seem to stop for anyone
Guess I can't blame them any these days

Strange how the years just roll on by
So much gone in a wink of an eye
Looking back it seems like only yesterday
When I settled down to start a life
With my kid and with my wife
But those memories just make me sad these days

These days back out on the road
Cast adrift with no place to go
These days I don't even know what I'm searching for
These days when lovers meet in the dark
Only to break each other's hearts
These days when nothing matters much anymore

Truck driver finally picks me up
Throws it into gear as my door shuts
Says I'm headed for Salt Lake City I said that's okay
As we ride on through the night
I hear about a troubled life
I guess I ain't the only one these days

 BACK ROAD BLUES

Had a woman in New York one down in Tennessee
Had a woman in New York one down in Tennessee
One call me a rebel one call me a damn Yankee

Never needed nobody to tell me what to do
Never needed nobody to tell me what to do
Don't care if he's a king or some hobo passing through 

If the river was whiskey you know I'd drink it dry
If the river was whiskey you know I'd drink it dry
If I had me some wings straight from this hell I'd fly

When it rains now baby are you afraid to get wet
When it rains now baby are you afraid to get wet
When I'm in trouble will my name you forget

Skull and crossbones nightmares around my head
Skull and crossbones demons around my head
Well, I'm dying with the living
And I'm living with the dead

Well I'm going to the wall gonna sing my song
Going to the wall gonna sing my song
Well don't wait for me baby
I hear that wall is pretty long 

Well the night is dark night is getting cold
Well the night is dark night is getting cold
Well just thank your lucky stars you're not on this road 

Had a woman in New York one down in Tennessee
Had a woman in New York one down in Tennessee
Well sometimes I wonder if they still remember me

NEW YORK CITY

Well I'm standing waiting on a bus
I'm at the station thinking about us
I got my suitcase in my hand
I got my ticket but I don't give a damn

I don't know what to say no more
I don't know what to do
I love you more than ever before
With a love that's true 

I see the cities drifting by
I feel so empty I could cry
Well there goes Denver, Kansas City
Here comes Chicago, New York City

I don't know what to say no more
I don't know what to do
I love you more than ever before
With a love that's true  

Well I'm back here on the avenue
I'm back here to start a new
Well here I am can't you see
Here I am if you want me

I don't know what to say no more
I don't know what to do
I love you more than ever before
With a love that's true 

KILLING ME 

Train whistle blowing over the hill
Sun going down but the day is still
Walk that line, dig that ditch
Do everything to keep the rich man rich 

Gabriel, Gabriel blow your horn
I ain't alive I ain't even been born
Jesus, Jesus where you be
In the name of Christ you're killing me 

I ain't a kid you know I've been around
I've seen lots of good men cut down
I've been soaked in oil, I've been washed in blood
I've been through the fires, I've been through the floods 

Gabriel, Gabriel blow your horn
I ain't alive I ain't even been born
Jesus, Jesus where you be
In the name of Christ you're killing me 

Well I'm going south, I'm going deep
I'm going where nobody sleeps
I'll pop these pills, I'll take a drink
I don't care what nobody thinks 

Gabriel, Gabriel blow you horn
I ain't alive I ain't even been born
Jesus, Jesus where you be
In the name of Christ you're killing me

RIVER GIRL

I've been down the Mississippi
The Missouri and Ohio too
I've seen a lot of pretty women
But I've never seen the likes of you

Oh river girl
Standing on the shore
Don't let this rolling river
Roll me away anymore

I'd give to you this diamond
To wear upon your hand
I'd quit my rambling gambling ways
If only to be your man

Oh river girl
Standing on the shore
Don't let this rolling river
Roll me away anymore 

They say love makes a heart shine on
Like the stars above so high
Well that's where mine be falling from
If you ever say good bye

Oh river girl
Standing on the shore
Don't let this rolling river
Roll me away anymore