Operator, well could you help me place this call
See the number on the matchbook is old an faded
She's living in L.A
With my best old ex friend Ray
Guy she said she knew well and sometimes hated
(CHORUS)
But isn't that the way they say it goes
But let's forget all that
And give me the number if you can find it
So I can call just to tell them I'm fine and to show
I've overcome the blow
I've learned to take it well
I only wish my words could just convince myself
That it just wasn't real
But that's not the way it feels
Operator, well could you help me place this call
Cause I can't read the number that you just gave me
There's something in my eyes
You know it happens every time
I think about the love that I thought would save me
(REPEAT CHORUS)
No, no, no, no, that's not the way it feels
Operator, let's forget about this call
No one there I really wanted to talk to
Thank you for your time
Oh you've been so much more than kind
You can keep the dime
(REPEAT CHORUS)
Hey, tomorrow where are you goin'?
Do you have some room for me?
'Cause night is fallin' and the dawn is callin'
I'll have a new day if she'll have me
Hey, tomorrow I can't show you nothin'?
You've seen it all pass by your door
So many times I said I been changin'
Then slipped into patterns of what happened before
'Cause I've been wasted and I've over-tasted
All the things that life gave to me
And I've been trusted, abused and busted
And I've been taken by those close to me
Hey, tomorrow you've gotta believe
That I'm through wastin' what's left of me
'Cause night is fallin' and the dawn is callin'
I'll have a new day if she'll have me
'Cause I've been wasted and I've over-tasted
All the things that life gave to me
And I've been trusted, abused and busted
And I've been taken by those close to me
Hey, tomorrow where are you goin'?
Do you have some room for me?
'Cause night is fallin' and the dawn is callin'
I'll have a new day if she'll have me
Ol' man river, that ol' man river
He must know something but he don't say nothing
That ol' man river, he just keeps rollin' along
He don't plant 'taters, he don't plant cotton
'Cause them that plants them is soon forgotten
And ol' man river, he just keeps rollin' along
'Cause you and me, we sweat and strain
Body all achin' and wracked with pain
Tote that barge, lift that bale
Get a little drunk and you land in jail
But I get weary and sick of tryin' 'cause I'm tired of livin'
That ol' man river, he just keeps rollin' along
You and me, we sweat and strain
Body all achin' and wracked with pain
Tote that barge, lift that bale
Get a little drunk and you land in jail
But I get weary and sick of tryin'
Cause I'm tired of livin' but I'm scared of dyin'
Nobody loves a fat girl
But, oh, how a fat girl can love
Nobody seems to want me
I'm just a truck upon the highway of love
I'm all alone inside of my form
When ev'ry ounce of me is dyin' to keep somebody warm
Nobody loves a fat girl
But, oh, how a fat girl can love
Nobody loves a fat girl
But, oh, how a fat girl can love
Nobody seems to want me
I'm just a truck upon the highway of love
The only game I can get the boys to play
Is to have them sit around and try to guess how much I weigh
Nobody loves a fat girl
But, oh, how a fat girl can love, pretty mama
It's been too many years inside this prison
Too many years just for one little fight
He got what was comin' and I think
I served enough time, I'm goin' home tonight
That stone looks mighty cold and the guard
That walks that wall is just waitin' to get a convict
In his sights but if I can clear the top, you can bet
I'll never stop 'cause I'm goin' home tonight
Because stone walls do a prison, make iron bars a cage
Any man who says they don't, never been inside
'Cause in time the bars get closer and at night
The walls grow tighter, do you feel like
There's a shackle around your mind?
Now those guards are on my tail, I can hear those sirens wail
But I know that I'll get away and that I'll be alright
'Cause I'd rather live on the run, stand free in the morning sun
Then to spend another lonely prison night
Because stone walls do a prison, make iron bars a cage
Any man who says they don't, never been inside
'Cause in time the bars get closer and at night
The walls grow tighter, do you feel like
How come we can't talk the way we used to do?
Nothing seems to be the same
Have we forgotten all the things we knew
Was it you or I who changed?
We got to find the answer, let the secrets fly
Enough of telling stories and our well meaning lies
Things don't seem to be the same no matter how I tried
There's no rhythm to the rain
Wind still whispers through the leaves on high
But they no longer sing your name
We got to find the answer, let the secrets fly
Enough of telling stories and our well meaning lies
We got to try to build what we had in the past
Trying's half the battle if we lose it, we can't last
I heard myself just say the things, I could never say before
And listen to the rhythm of the rain
Wind just whispered through the leaves on high
And I thought, I heard them sing your name
We got to find the answer, let the secrets fly
Enough of telling stories and our well meaning lies
We got to try to build what we had in the past
Trying's half the battle if we lose it, we can't last
I heard myself just say the things I could never say before
And listen to the rhythm of the rain
Wind just whispered through the leaves on high
And I thought, I heard them sing your name
There's ice and snow on the northern roads
And the Jersey Pike is closed
Have to go and do some drivin' tonight
They say I'd be a fool if I would ride those icy roads
But a little storm ain't stoppin' me tonight
I'm gonna wear out the turnpike
Rack up those miles
Keep this rig a rollin', I'm in it every mile
'Cause she's in Oklahoma and I'm up in Maine
So diesel, sing a song that will bring me home again
Doodle doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Doodle doo doo doo
There's a red light turnin' behind me
There's a trooper on my tail
I can tell I won't get to New York town on time
If he decides to pull me over
And if he gets me on the scale
I'm gonna have to tell a tale or take a fine
I'm gonna wear out the turnpike
Rack up those miles
Keep this rig a rollin', I'm in it every mile
'Cause she's in Oklahoma and I'm up in Maine
So diesel, sing a song that will bring me home again
Doodle doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
Doodle doo doo doo
With the snow against my windshield
I will run on through the night
There's not stoppin' me once I hit the road
'Cause the turnpike's like my second home
And I know it like my hand
So diesel, sing a song that'll bring me home again
I'm gonna wear out the turnpike
Rack up those miles
Keep this rig a rollin', I'm in it every mile
'Cause she's in Oklahoma and I'm up in Maine
So diesel, sing a song that will bring me home again
Doodle doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo
If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that I'd like to do
Is to save every day 'til eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you
If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I'd save every day like a treasure and then
Again, I would spend them with you
But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go through time with
If I had a box just for wishes
And dreams that had never come true
The box would be empty except for the memory
Of how they were answered by you
But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go through time with
Pickin' wasn't easy
Kept you brown and thin
Been a child for every season
That the fruit was on the limb
Pack the truck Maria
Tell the kids, we're off again
Cross a dozen states or more
We'll teach 'em what we can
Teach 'em what we can
We can't do more
The land is good
But still the livin's poor
Harvest in September
Drought in mid July
January's peeking
Through a white lace gypsy sky
March rolls into April
Then plant and pray for rain
Sweat like hell in August
Run the circle once again
Run the circle once again
And then once more
The land is good
But still the livin's poor
Oregon in August
Michigan in May
Tryin' to make enough
To keep my family on its way
And buy the pickin' boss a drink
To keep working every day
You know it isn't honest
But you do it anyway
Do it anyway
To keep alive
I'd like to think about her and the way she used to love me
But I just can't live without her 'cause her arms are not around me
And the season's getting later and my body's getting colder
And the vespers ring and I'm all alone, without my love beside me
She'd call me in the evenin', ask me to come over
She'd be standing by the window, with her hair down around her shoulder
We'd talk a while and then she'd smile, then she'd lock the door
And she would sit beside me and we would talk no more
The bells would ring at six o'clock and she'd be in my arms
Her head upon my shoulder, gently resting
Then she'd wake and look at me not knowing I'd been watching
Kiss me softly, then drift off to sleep
She'd call me in the evenin' and ask me to come over
She'd be standing by the window, with her hair down around her shoulder
We'd talk a while and then she'd smile, then she'd lock the door
Gonna tell you a story that you won't believe
But I fell in love last Friday evenin'
With a girl I saw on a bar room T.V. screen
Well I was just gettin' ready to get my hat
When she caught my eye and I put it back
And I ordered myself a couple o' more shots and beers
The night that I fell in love with a Roller Derby Queen
Round and round, oh round and round
The meanest hunk o' woman
That anybody ever seen
Down in the arena
She was five foot six and two fifteen
A bleached-blonde mama
With a streak of mean
She knew how to knuckle
And she knew how to scuffle and fight
And the roller derby program said
That she was built like a 'fridgerator with a head
Her fans call her "Tuffy"
But all her buddies called her "Spike"
You know that I fell in love with a Roller Derby Queen
Round and round, oh round and round
The meanest hunk o' woman
That anybody ever seen
Down in the arena
Round and round, go round and round
Round and round, go round and round
Round and round
Well I could not help it
But to fall in love
With this heavy-duty woman
I been speakin' of
Things looked kind of bad
Until the day she skated into my life
Well she might be nasty
She might be fat
But I never met a person
Who would tell her that
She's my big blonde bomber
My heavy handed Hackensack mama
You know that I fell in love with a Roller Derby Queen
Round and round, oh round and round
The meanest hunk o' woman
That anybody ever seen
Down in the arena
Round and round, go round and round
Round and round, go round and round
Used to be that I could see
A reason to be happy 'cause I was free
But then, recently it seems
I?ve been lettin' your memory get to me
Used to be that I could pretend
That I wasn't really hurt back then
But then, recently it seems
I?ve been lettin' your memory get to me
'Cause memories can be friends
Or they can take you to a place
That you never thought you?d be again
And take you to a place
That you never ever thought
That you would see again
'Cause memories can be friends
Or they can take you to a face
That you never thought you?d be again
And take you to a face
That you never ever thought
That you would see again
Doesn?t matter now who was wrong
The future is tomorrow 'cause the past is gone
And I?m findin' that I?m not as strong
As I thought that I used to be
'Cause recently it seems
I drive a broke down rig on 'May-Pop' tires
Forty foot of overload
A lot of people say that I'm crazy
Because I don't know how to take it slow
I got a broomstick on the throttle
I got her opened up and head right down
Nonstop back to Dallas
Poppin' them West Coast turn-arounds
And they call me Speedball
Speedball Tucker
Terror of the highways
And all them other truckers
Will tell you that the boy is mad
To be drivin' in a rig like that
You know the rain may blow
The snow may snow
And the turnpikes, they may freeze
But they don't bother ol' Speedball
He goin' any damn way he please
He got a broomstick on the throttle
To keep his throttle foot a-dancin' 'round
With a cupful of cold black coffee
And a pocketful of West Coast turn-arounds
And they call me Speedball
Speedball Tucker
Terror of the highways
And all them other truckers
Will tell you that the boy is mad
To be drivin' in a rig like that
One day I looked into my rear view mirror
And a-comin' up from behind
There was a Georgia State policeman
And a hundred dollar fine
Well, he looked me in the eye as he was writin' me up
And said, "Driver, you've been flyin'
And ninety five was the route you were on
It was not the speed limit sign"
And they call me Speedball
Speedball Tucker
Terror of the highways
And all them other truckers
Will tell you that the boy is mad
To be drivin' in a rig like that
Yeah, they call me Speedball
Speedball Tucker
Terror of the highways
And all them other truckers
Will tell you that the boy is mad
Ol' man river, that ol' man river
He must know something, but he don't say nothing
That ol' man river, he just keep rollin' along
He don't plant 'taters, he don't plant cotton
'Cause them that plants them is soon forgotten
And ol' man river, he just keeps rollin' along
'Cause you and me, we sweat and strain
Body all achin' and wracked with pain
Tote that barge, lift that bale
Get a little drunk and you land in jail
But I get weary and sick of tryin'
'Cause I'm tired of livin' but I'm scared of dyin'
That ol' man river, he just keeps rollin' along
You and me, we sweat and strain
Body all achin' and wracked with pain
Tote that barge, lift that bale
Get a little drunk and you land in jail
But I get weary and sick of tryin'
'Cause I'm tired of livin' but I'm scared of dyin'
Well things were spinnin' round me
And all my thoughts were cloudy
And I had begun to doubt
all the things that were me
Been in so many places
You know I've run so many races
And looked into the empty faces
of the people of the night
And something is just not right
'Cause I know that
I gotta get out of here
I'm so alone
Don't you know that
I gotta get out of here
'Cause New York's not my home
Though all the streets are crowded
There's somethin' strange about it
I lived there bout a year
and I never once felt at home
I thought I'd make the big time
I learned a lot of lessons awful quick
And now I'm tellin' you
that they were not the nice kind
And it's been so long since
I have felt fine
That's the reason that
I gotta get out of here
I'm so alone
Don't you know that
I gotta get out of here
Well, she was standing by my dressing room after the show
Asking for my autograph and asked if she could go
Back to my motel room but the rest is just a tragic tale
Because five short minutes of lovin'
Done brought me twenty long years in jail
Well, like a fool in a hurry, I took her to my room
She casted me in plaster while I sang her a tune
Then I said, ooh wee, sure was a tragic tale
Because five short minutes of lovin'
Done brought me twenty long years in jail
Well, then a judge and a jury sat me in a room
They say that robbin' the cradle is worse than robbin' the tomb
Then I said, ooh wee, sure was a tragic tale
Wasn't worth it, wasn't worth it
Because five short minutes of lovin'
Done brought me twenty long years in jail
And when I get out of this prison, gonna be forty-five
I'll know, I used to like to do it but I won't remember why
I said, ooh wee, sure was a tragic tale
Wasn't worth it, wasn't worth it
Because five short minutes of lovin'
Done brought me twenty long years in jail
Because five short minutes of lovin'
If it were just another day
You know I might have stayed
But I couldn't hang around
To be beaten to the ground
You asked me for something
You know I couldn't lend
You tried to make me break
But it hurt too much to bend
And the more I see of what used to be our love, I find
That we've just been going nowhere
And we're never gonna get there
And we're wastin' our time
If I were just another guy
You know I might have tried
To fit into you schemes
And to have a plastic dream
You asked me for something
You know I couldn't lend
You tried to make me break
But it hurt too much to bend
And the more I see of what used to be our love, I find
That we've just been going nowhere
And we're never gonna get there
And we're wastin' our time
It was just another lie
I couldn't swallow when I tried
Just enough to realize
I'd been pretendin' all the time
You asked me for something
You know I couldn't lend
You tried to make me break
But it hurt too much to bend
And the more I see of what used to be our love, I find
That we've just been going nowhere
And we're never gonna get there
And we're wastin' our time
You asked me for something
You know I couldn't lend
You tried to make me break
But it hurt too much to bend
And the more I see of what used to be our love, I find
That we've just been going nowhere
And we're never gonna get there
And we're wastin' our time
And the more I see of what used to be our love, I find
That we've just been going nowhere
And we're never gonna get there
And we're wastin' our time
And the more I see of what used to be our love, I find
That we've just been going nowhere
And we're never gonna get there
And we're wastin' our time
And the more I see of what used to be our love, I find
That we've just been going nowhere
And we're never gonna get there
Well I know it's kind of late
I hope I didn't wake you
But what I got to say can't wait
I know you'd understand
Every time I tried to tell you
the words just came out wrong
So I'll have to say I love you in a song
Yeah I know it's kind of strange
But every time I'm near you
I just run out of things to say
I know you'd understand
Every time I tried to tell you
the words just came out wrong
So I'll have to say I love you in a song
(Instrumental)
Every time the time was right
all the words just came out wrong
So I'll have to say I love you in a song
Yeah I know it's kind of late
(kind of late)
I hope I didn't wake you
But there's something that I just got to say
(I know you'd understand)
I know you'd understand
Every time I tried to tell you
the words just came out wrong
Smoke another cigarette
Have another drink or two
Sit by the telephone 'til morning
She never tells me where she's goin'
But I think it's mighty plain
Maybe tomorrow she'll be back home again
She wasn't like this when I met her
Whatever made her change?
Now she never even says I love you
She just comes a-rollin' in
Never wanting to explain
Maybe tomorrow she'll be back home again
Wish that I could meet him
Just to tell him who I am
I would like to find out what he has that I don't have
She never says a thing about him but it's plain as day
She's going somewhere every evening
Can't take it too much longer, I think I'm goin' insane
Maybe tomorrow she'll be back home again
Wish that I could meet him
Just to tell him who I am
I would like to find out what he has that I don't have
She never says a thing about him but it's plain as day
She's going somewhere every evening
Can't take it too much longer, I think I'm goin' insane
She stood by the window and let down her hair
Asked if I knew that I shouldn't be there
Her lips said goodbye but her body said stay
I knew I should go but I stayed anyway
And they called her Child of Midnight
And they say she'd love whomever she'd find
But when morning came, I loved her
And she stayed there in my mind
She stood by the window and let down her hair
Asked if I thought that it was right
That she'd give her body and I'd give my mind
Looked for an answer all the night
And they called her Child of Midnight
And they say she'd love whomever she'd find
But when morning came I loved her
And she stayed there in my mind
She stood by the window and tied up her hair
Acted as if I had never been there
Her lips said goodbye and her body said stay
Knew I should go but I stayed anyway
And they called her Child of Midnight
And they say she'd love whomever she'd find
But when morning came I loved her
I don't gamble, I don't fight
I don't be hangin' in the bars at night
Yeah, I used to be a fighter
But now I am a wiser man
I don't drink much, I don't smoke
I don't be hardly mess around with no dope
Yeah, I used to be a problem
But now I am a careful man
But if you used to want to see a commotion
You shoulda seen the man that I used to be
I was trouble in perpetual motion
Trouble with a capital "T"
Stayin' out late, havin' fun
And shot off every single shot in my gun
Yeah, I used to be a lover
But now I'm an older man
But if you used to want to see a commotion
You shoulda seen the man that I used to be
I was trouble in perpetual motion
Trouble with a capital "T"
Stayin' out late, havin' fun
And shot off every single shot in my gun
Yeah, I used to be a terror
But now I am a tired man
Yeah, I used to be a terror
Big wheel, don't you roll?
Big diesel, don't you whine
Through the night as I'm runnin' down the road?
Big semi, don't you stop
'Cause if you do I'm not gonna make it back
To Baltimore with my load?
Well, the truck stop's warm and friendly
And the coffee keeps me up
And the waitress there would like to waste my time
But I'll have to pass it by
As it's down the road I fly
Just a racin' with that pocket watch of mine
An' big wheel, don't you roll?
Big diesel, don't you whine
Through the night as I'm runnin' down the road?
Big semi, don't you stop
'Cause if you do I'm not gonna make it back
To Baltimore with my load?
Smoke a-puffin', tires a-hummin'
Burnin' up the road
Countin' road signs and the miles to Baltimore
One eye out for weighin' stations
One for radar traps
They can't stop me 'cause my plans don't call for that
An' big wheel, don't you roll?
Big diesel, don't you whine
Through the night as I'm runnin' down the road?
Big semi, don't you stop
'Cause if you do I'm not gonna make it back
Lazy days in mid July
Country Sunday mornin'
Dusty haze on summer highways
Sweet magnolia callin'
But now and then I find myself
Thinkin' of the days
When we were walkin' in the Alabama Rain
Drive in movies, Friday nights
Drinkin' beer and laughin'
Somehow things were always right
I just don't know what happened
But now and then I find myself
Thinkin' of the days
When we were walkin' in the Alabama Rain
We were only kids but then
I never heard it said
That kids can't fall in love and feel the same
I can still remember the first time I told you I loved you
On a dusty mid July
Country summer's evenin'
A weepin' willow sang its lullabies
And shared its secrets
But now and then I find myself
Thinkin' of the days
When we were walkin' in the Alabama Rain
But now and then I find myself
Thinkin' of the days
When we were walkin' in the Alabama Rain
I've been up and down and around and round and back again
Been so many places I can't remember where or when
And my only boss was the clock on the wall and my only friend
Never really was a friend at all
(CHORUS)
I've traded love for pennies
Sold my soul for less
Lost my ideas in that long tunnel of time
And I've turned inside out and around about and back and then
Found myself right back where I started again
Once I had myself a million, now I only got a dime
Difference don't seem quite as bad today
With a nickle or a million I was searching all the time
For something that I'd never lost or left behind
(REPEAT CHORUS)
Well now I'm in my second circle and I'm heading for the top
I learned alot of things along the way
I'll be careful while I'm climbing cuz it hurts alot to drop
When your down nobody gives a damn anyway
Uptown got its' hustlers
The bowry got its' bums
And 42nd street got a big Jim Walker
He a pool-shootin' son of gun
Yeah he big and dumb
as a man can come
But he's stronger
than a country hoss
And when the bad folks
all get together at night
you know they all call
big Jim "boss"
Just because
(chorus 1)
And they say
You don't tug on Superman's cape
You don't spit into the wind
You don't pull the mask off
the ol' Lone Ranger
and you don't mess around with Jim
Well, out o' south Alabama
come a country boy
He said "I'm lookin'
for a man named Jim
I am a pool shootin' boy
My name is Willie McCoy
but down home they call me Slim"
"Yeah, I'm lookin' for the king of 42nd Street
He drivin' a drop-top Cadillac
And last week he took all my money and it may sound funny
but I come to get my money back"
And everybody say "Jack"
(Chorus 1)
Well, a hush fell over
the pool room as Jimmy come
boppin' in off the street
And when the cuttin' was done
the only part that wasn't bloody
was the soles of
the big man's feet
Yeah he was cut in 'bout
a hundred places and
he was shot in a couple more
And you better believe
they sung a different kind of story
when Big Jim hit the floor
(chorus 2)
And they say
You don't tug on Superman's cape
You don't spit into the wind
You don't pull the mask off
the ol' Lone Ranger
and you don't mess around with Slim
Operator
Oh could you help me
place this call?
You see the number
on the matchbook
is old and faded
She's livin' in L.A.
With my best old ex-friend Ray
A guy she said she knew well
and sometimes hated
(chorus)
Isn't that the way
they say it goes?
But let's forget all that
And give me the number
if you can find it
So I can call just
to tell 'em I'm fine and to show
I've overcome the blow
I've learned to take it well
I only wish my words
could just convince myself
that it just wasn't real
But that's not the way it feels
Operator
Oh could you help me
place this call?
'Cause I can't read the number
that you just gave me
There's something in my eyes
You know it happens every time
I think about the love
That I thought would save me
(chorus)
No, no, no, no
That's not the way it feels
Operator
Oh let's forget
about this call
There's no one there
I really wanted to talk to
Thank you for your time
Oh you've been so much
more than kind
You can keep the dime
Well, I just got out
of the county prison doin'
90 days for nonsupport
Tried to find me
an executive position
but no matter how smooth I talk
They wouldn't listen to the fact
that I was a genius
the man said we got
all that we can use
Now I got them steadily depressin'
low-down mind-messin'
workin' at the carwash blues
Well, I should be sittin'
in an air-conditioned
office in a swivel chair
Talkin' some trash to
the secratary sayin'
(spoken) "Hey now, Mama
come on over here"
But still I'm stuck here rubbin'
these fenders with a rag
and walkin' home in soggy old shoes
With them steadily depressin'
low-down mind-messin'
workin' at the car wash blues
You know a man of my ability
he should be smokin'
on a big cigar
But till I get myself straight
I guess I'll just have to wait
in my rubber suit rubbin' these cars
Well all I can do is shake my head
you might not believe that it's true
but workin' at this
indoor Niagara falls is
an undiscovered Howard Hughes
So baby, don't 'spect to see me
with no double martini in
any high-brow society news
'Cause I got them steadily depressin'
low-down mind-messin'
I'm walkin' back to Georgia
And I hope, she will take me back
Nothin' in my pockets
And all I own is upon my back
But she's the girl who said she loved me
On that hot dusty Macon road
And if she's still around, I'm gonna settle down
With that hard lovin' Georgia girl
I'm walkin' back to Georgia
She's the only one who knows
How it feels when you lose a dream
And how it feels when you dream alone
But she's the girl who said she loved me
On that hot dusty Macon road
And if she's still around, I'm gonna settle down
With that hard lovin' Georgia girl
Georgia can you hear me callin'
Oh, I'll be home in just a while
And if I had to I'd be crawlin'
Just to share another mornin' smile
You're the girl who said you loved me
On that hot dusty long ago
And if you're still around, I'm gonna settle down
With you my hard lovin' Georgia girl, because
Because I'm walkin' back to Georgia
And I hope she will take me back
Nothin' in my pockets
And all I own is upon my back
But she's the girl who said she loved me
On that hot dusty Macon road
And if she's still around, I'm gonna settle down
Well, I'm sorry for the things that I told you
But words only go so far and if I had my way
I would reach into heaven
And I'd pull down a star for a present
And I'd make you a chain out of diamonds
And pearls from a summer sea
But all I can give you is a kiss in the morning
And a sweet apology
Well, I know that it hasn't been easy
And I haven't always been around
To say the right words or to hold you in the mornin'
Or to help you when you're down
I know I never showed you much of a good time
But baby things are gonna change
I'm gonna make up for all of the hurt I brought
I'm gonna love away all your pain
And tomorrow's gonna be a brighter day
There's gonna be some changes
Tomorrow's gonna be a brighter day
This time you can believe me
No more cryin' in your lonely room
And no more empty nights
'Cause tomorrow mornin'
Everything will turn out right
Well, there's something that I've got to tell you
Yes I've got something on my mind
But words come hard when your lying in my arms
And when I'm looking deep into your eyes
But there's truth and consolation
And what I'm trying to say
Is that nobody ever had a rainbow baby
Until he had the rain
And tomorrow's gonna be a brighter day
There's gonna be some changes
Tomorrow's gonna be a brighter day
This time you can believe me
No more cryin' in your lonely room
And no more empty nights
'Cause tomorrow mornin'
Everything will turn out right
It's gonna, it's gonna
It's gonna be a brighter day
It's gonna, it's gonna
It's gonna be a brighter day
It's gonna, it's gonna
It's gonna be a brighter day
It's gonna be, it's gonna be
It's gonna be a brighter day
It's gonna be, it's gonna be
It's gonna be a brighter day
Come on tomorrow, come on tomorrow
Once we were lovers
But somehow things have changed
Now we're just lonely people
Tryin' to forget each other's names
Now we're just lonely people
Tryin' to forget each other's names
What came between us?
Maybe we were just too young to know
But now and then
I feel the same,
And sometimes at night I think
I hear you calling my name
Mmm-hmm-mmm these dreams
They keep me going these days
Once we were lovers
But that was long ago
We lived together then
And now we do not even say hello
We lived together then
And now we do not even say hello
What came between us?
Maybe we were just too young to know
But now and then
I feel the same,
And sometimes at night I think
I hear you calling my name
Mmm-hmm-mmm these dreams
Sun come up in the morning
Blues 'round my head
I've got a troubled mind
And plenty of time to roam
As I walk this crooked highway
Never knowin' where to go
You know the only life I know
Is bein' on the road
I've got holes in my shoes that I fill with paper
When the sun's out they dry
And when it rains
Well, they get wet but I don't cry
Because the sun don't know no difference
Between a rich man and a bum
And the only life I know
Is movin' 'round the sky
See him grin down at you people
I guess you don't know what his laughter's from
But if you spend enough time on the road
Maybe you'd find out
Because the sun goes 'round in an endless circle
Never knowin' the reason why
Still there's something in the path
That it traces 'round the sky
It's like a circle with no ending
But it's a race we all must run
And it's the same bein'
Spin, spin, spin
Spin around, spin around
The harlequin dances
In a costume of green
Spin around
But under his makeup
His age can't be seen
Spin around
But where are you spinnin'
When will you know
That life is for livin'
That it isn't a show?
Spin, spin, spin
Spin around, spin around
You look out on the city
From your penthouse so high
Spin around
But your pedestal's your
Prison and so is your high
Spin around
But where are you spinnin'
When will you know
That life is for livin'
That it isn't a show?
Spin, spin, spin
Spin around, spin around
Your pills are you conscience
They make everything seem all right
Spin around
Take a white one go to sleep
Take a red one to stay up all night
To spin around
But where are you spinnin'
When will you know
That life is for livin'
That it isn't a show?
Spin, spin, spin
Spin around, spin around
Spin, spin, spin
Spin away, spin away
Spin, spin, spin
"Rapid Roy(The Stock Car Boy)"
(Refrain)
Oh Rapid Roy, that stock car boy
He too much too believe!
You know he always got an extra pack of cigarettes
rolled up in his t-shirt sleeve.
He got a tattoo on his arm that say "Baby"
He got another one that just say "Hey"
But every Sunday afternoon
he is a dirt track demon
in a '57 Chevrolet.
(Chorus)
Oh Rapid Roy, that stock car boy
He's the best driver in the land.
He say that he learned to race a stock car
by runnin' shine outta Alabam.'
Oh, the demolition derby and the figure eight
is easy money in the bank.
Compared to runnin' from the man in Oklahoma City (hahahaha)
with a 500 gallon tank.
(Refrain)
Oh Rapid Roy, that stock car boy
He too much too believe!
You know he always got an extra pack of cigarettes
rolled up in his t-shirt sleeve.
He got a tattoo on his arm that say "Baby"
He got another one that just say "Hey"
And Sunday afternoon he is a dirt track demon
in a '57 Chevrolet
(Chorus)
Yeah, Roy so cool, that racin' fool.
He don't know what fear's about.
He do a hundred thirty mile an hour,
smilin' at the camera with a toothpick in his mouth!
He got a girl back home
name of Dixie Dawn,
but he got honeys all along the way.
And you oughta hear 'em screamin'
for that dirt track demon
in a '57 Chevrolet
(Refrain)
Oh Rapid Roy, that stock car boy
He too much too believe!
You know he always got an extra pack of cigarettes,
rolled up in his t-shirt sleeve.
He got a tattoo on his arm that say "Baby"
He got another one that just say "Hey"
But every Sunday afternoon
he is a dirt track demon
Photographs and memories
Christmas cards you sent to me
All that I have are these
To remember you
Memories that come at night
Take me to another time
Back to a happier day
When I called you mine
But we sure had a good time
When we started way back when
Morning walks and bedroom talks
Oh, how I loved you then
Summer skies and lullabies
Nights we couldn't say goodbye
And of all of the things that we knew
Not a dream survived
Photographs and memories
All the love you gave to me
Somehow it just can't be true
That's all I've left of you
But we sure had a good time
When we started way back when
Morning walks and bedroom talks
We been runnin' away from
Somethin' we both know
We've long run out of things to say
And I think I better go
So don't be getting excited
Oh when you hear that slammin' door
Cause there'll be one less set of footsteps
On your floor in the mornin'
And we've been hidin' from somethin'
That should have never gone this far
But after all it's what we've done
That makes us what we are
And you been talkin' in silence
But if it's silence you adore
There'll be one less set of footsteps
On your floor in the mornin'
Well baby one less set of footsteps on your floor
One less man to walk in
One less pair of jeans on your door
One less voice a-talkin'
But tomorrow's a dream away
Today has turned to dust
Your silver tongue has turned to clay
And your golden rule to rust
If that's the way that you want it
Oh that's the way I want it more
Well they'll be one less set of footsteps
On your floor in the mornin'
Well there'll be one less set of footsteps on your floor
One less man to walk in
One less pair of jeans on your door
One less voice a-talkin'
But tomorrow's a dream away
And today has turned to dust
Your silver tongue has turned to clay
And your golden rule to rust
If that's the way that you want it
Oh that's the way I want it more
Cause baby one less set of footsteps
On your floor in the mornin'
Oh baby one less set of footsteps
With just a sleeping bag and an old guitar, I left the band in New Orleans
I did some time with the bottle, some with the river queens
I never thought I would meet a girl who could turn my head around
Till I met that Mississippi Lady in sleepy Gulfport town
She was a Mississippi Lady, my lovin' Gulfport gal
She taught me how to love and she really loved me well
She took me up to heaven then she brought me down
That Mississippi Lady, Sweet Cordelia Brown
Hot July in Gulfport and I was working in the bars
And she was working on the street with the rest of the evening stars
She said, "I never met a guy who could turn my head around"
And that's really sayin' something for Sweet Cordelia Brown
She was a Mississippi Lady, my lovin' Gulfport gal
She taught me how to love and she really loved me well
She took me up to heaven then she brought me down
That Mississippi Lady, Sweet Cordelia Brown
Now I'm back in New York City playin' in a band
But my mind's on Mississippi, is it hard to understand?
I never thought I would meet a girl who could bring me that far down
Like the girl I met in Gulfport, Sweet Cordelia Brown
She was a Mississippi Lady, my lovin' Gulfport gal
She taught me how to love and she really loved me well
She took me up to heaven then she brought me down
That Mississippi Lady, Sweet Cordelia Brown
Guess that it was bound to happen
Was just a matter of time
But now I've come to my decision
And it's one of the painful kind
'Cause now it seems that you wanted a martyr
Just a regular guy wouldn't do
But baby I can't hang upon no lover's cross for you
I really got to hand it to ya
'Cause girl you really tried
But for every time that we spent laughin'
There were two times that I cried
And you were tryin' to make me your martyr
And that's the one thing I just couldn't do
'Cause baby, I can't hang upon no lover's cross for you
'Cause tables are meant for turnin'
And people are bound to change
And bridges are meant for burnin'
When the people and memories they join aren't the same
Still I hope that you can find
Another who can take what I could not
He'll have to be a super guy
Or maybe a super god
'Cause I never was much of a martyr before
And I ain't bout to start nothin' new
Like the pine trees linin' the windin' road
I've got a name, I've got a name
Like the singin' bird and the croakin' toad
I've got a name, I've got a name
And I carry it with me like my daddy did
But I'm livin' the dream that he kept hid
Movin' me down the highway
Rollin' me down the highway
Movin' ahead so life won't pass me by
Like the north wind whistlin' down the sky
I've got a song, I've got a song
Like the whippoorwill and the baby's cry
I've got a song, I've got a song
And I carry it with me and I sing it loud
If it gets me nowhere, I'll go there proud
Movin' me down the highway
Rollin' me down the highway
Movin' ahead so life won't pass me by
And I'm gonna go there free
Like the fool I am and I'll always be
I've got a dream, I've got a dream
They can change their minds but they can't change me
I've got a dream, I've got a dream
Oh, I know I could share it if you want me to
If you're going my way, I'll go with you
Movin' me down the highway
Rollin' me down the highway
Movin' ahead so life won't pass me by
Movin' me down the highway
Rollin' me down the highway
Don't you know, I had a dream last night
That you were here with me?
Lyin' by my side, so soft and warm
And we talked a while and shared a smile
And then we shared the dawn
But when I woke up, oh, my dream it was gone
Don't you know, I had a dream last night
And you were here with me?
Lyin' by my side, so soft and warm
And you said, you'd thought it over
You said that you were comin' home
But when I woke up, oh, my dream it was gone
I'm not the same, can you blame me?
Is it hard to understand?
I can't forget, you can't change me
I am not that kind of man
Don't you know, I had a dream last night
And everything was still?
And you were by my side, so soft and warm
And I dreamed that we were lovers
In the lemon-scented rain
But when I woke up, oh, I found that again
I had been dreamin'
Dreamin' again
I had been dreamin'
She was just a country girl
Didn't have those New York City ways
When she hopped a bus in Ohio
Headin' for the crowded streets where no one says a word
She was just a country girl living in the lonely city
Met a man who learned her name
She became a woman on a rainy New York night
There's a new day dawnin' in the city
She calls her Mama collect
Sayin', "Mama send bus fare back to Ohio
Have somebody meet me at the depot"
She was just a country girl
Spent some time in New York City
Now she tells her friends about lonely New York City
And her lonely New York night
There's a new day dawnin' in the city
She calls her Mama collect
Sayin', "Mama send bus fare back to Ohio
Have somebody meet me at the depot"
She was just a country girl
Well, I know that I shouldn't have done it
I know that it just wasn't right
'Cause they got me back up to the Cotton Mouth River
And I can't cross late at night
I hear there's lots of stories told about the Cotton Mouth River
They tell them time and again
About the men who tried to cross that river by moonlight
And never were heard from again
If I had my live to live over
I'd have gone to work that day
Instead of going into town and shooting him down
For a thing I never heard him say
I hear there's lots of stories told about the Cotton Mouth River
They tell them time and again
About the men who tried to cross that river by moonlight
And never was heard from again
Well, I just made it through the cane break
And I got one foot in the mud
I can hear the hounds obeying but the snake around my ankles
Telling me my running days are done
I hear there's lots of stories told about the Cotton Mouth River
They tell them time and again
About the men who tried to cross that river by moonlight
And never were heard from again
I hear there's lots of stories told about the Cotton Mouth River
They tell them time and again
About the men who tried to cross that river by moonlight
Cigarettes, whiskey and wild, wild women
They'll drive you crazy, they'll drive you insane
Cigarettes, whiskey and wild wild women
They'll drive you crazy, they'll drive you insane
Once I was happy and had a good wife
I had enough money to last me for life
I met with a girl and we went on a spree
She taught me to smoke and drink whiskey
Cigarettes, whiskey and wild, wild women
They'll drive you crazy, they'll drive you insane
Cigarettes, whiskey and wild wild women
They'll drive you crazy, they'll drive you insane
And now I'm feeble and broken with age
The lines on my face make a well written page
I'm leaving this story, how sad but how true
On women and whiskey and what they will do
Cigarettes, whiskey and wild, wild women
They'll drive you crazy, they'll drive you insane
Cigarettes, whiskey and wild wild women
They'll drive you crazy, they'll drive you insane
Write on the cross at the head of my grave
'For women and whiskey, here lies a poor slave
Take warning, dear stranger, take warning, dear friend'
Then write in big letters these words at the end
Cigarettes, whiskey and wild, wild women
They'll drive you crazy, they'll drive you insane
Cigarettes, whiskey and wild wild women
Well the South side of Chicago
Is the baddest part of town
And if you go down there
You better just beware of a man named Leroy Brown
Now Leroy, more than trouble
You see he stand 'bout six foot four
All the downtown ladies call him Treetop Lover
All the men just call him Sir
And it's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damned town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog
Now Leroy, he a gambler
And he like his fancy clothes
And he like to wave his diamond rings
In front of everybody's nose
He got a custom Continental
He got an Eldorado too
He got a .32 gun in his pocket for fun
He got a razor in his shoe
And it's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damned town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog
Well, Friday 'bout a week ago
Leroy shootin' dice
And at the edge of the bar
Sat a girl named Doris and ooh, that girl looked nice
Well, he cast his eyes upon her
And the trouble soon began
'Cause Leroy Brown learned a lesson
'Bout messin' with the wife of a jealous man
And it's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damned town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog
Well, the two men took to fighting
And when they pulled them from the floor
Leroy looked like a jigsaw puzzle
With a couple of pieces gone
And it's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damned town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog
And it's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damned town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog
Yeah, badder than old King Kong
