Guy Clark Album

Pack up all your dishes.
Make note of all good wishes.
Say goodbye to the landlord for me.
That son of a bitch has always bored me.
Throw out them LA papers
And that moldy box of vanilla wafers.
Adios to all this concrete.
Gonna get me some dirt road back street

If I can just get off of this LA freeway
Without getting killed or caught
I'd be down that road in a cloud of smoke
For some land that I ain't bought bought bought

Here's to you old skinny Dennis
Only one I think I will miss
I can hear that old bass singing
Sweet and low like a gift you're bringing
Play it for me just one more time now
Got to give it all we can now
I believe everything your saying
Just keep on, keep on playing

If I can just get off of this LA freeway
Without getting killed or caught
I'd be down that road in a cloud of smoke
For some land that I ain't bought bought bought

And you put the pink card in the mailbox
Leave the key in the old front door lock
They will find it likely as not
I'm sure there's something we have forgot
Oh Susanna, don't you cry, babe
Love's a gift that's surely handmade
We've got something to believe in
Don't you think it's time we're leaving

If I can just get off of this LA freeway
Without getting killed or caught
I'd be down that road in a cloud of smoke
For some land that I ain't bought bought bought.

Pack up all your dishes.
Make note of all good wishes.
Say goodbye to the landlord for me.
That son of a bitch has always bored me.

Bein' six years old, I had seen some trains before
So it's hard to figure out what I'm at the depot for
Trains are big and black and smokin', steam screamin' at the wheels
Bigger than anything there is, at least that's the way she feels

Trains are big and black and smokin', louder'n July four
But everybody's actin' like this might be somethin' more
Than just pickin' up the mail, or the soldiers from the war
This is somethin' that even old man Wileman never seen before

And it's late afternoon on a hot Texas day
And somethin' strange is goin' on, and we's all in the way

Well there's fifty or sixty people, just sittin' on their cars
And the old men left their dominoes and come down from the bars
And everybody's checkin', old Jack Kittrel check his watch
And us kids put our ears to the rails to hear 'em pop.

So we already knowed it, when they finally said "train time"
You'd a-thought that Jesus Christ his-self was rollin' down the line
'Cause things got real quiet, mama jerked me back
But not before I'd got the chance to lay a nickel on the track

Look out, here she comes, she's comin'
Look out, there she goes, she's gone
Screamin' straight through Texas like a mad dog cyclone
Big and red and silver, she don't make no smoke
She's a fast-rollin' streamline, come to show the folks

I said, look out, here she comes, she's comin'
Look out, there she goes, she's gone
Screamin' straight through Texas like a mad dog cyclone

Lord, she never even stopped

But she left fifty, sixty people still sittin' on their cars
Wonderin' what it's comin' to and how it got this far
But me, I got a nickel smashed flatter than a dime
By a mad dog, runaway red-silver streamline train

Look out, here she comes, she's comin'
Look out, there she goes, she's gone
Screamin' straight through Texas like a mad dog cyclone
Big and red and silver, she don't make no smoke
She's a fast-rollin' streamline, come to show the folks

I said, look out, here she comes, she's comin'
Look out, there she goes, she's gone
Screamin' straight through Texas like a mad dog cyclone
Look out, here she comes, she's comin'
Look out, there she goes, she's gone
Screamin' straight through Texas like a mad dog cyclone
Look out, here she comes, she's comin'
Look out, there she goes, she's gone
Screamin' straight through Texas like a mad dog cyclone

I found comfort and courage from bottles of whiskey.
I swear to you friends these old high times sure seem risky.
I have backed away gently from those who tried to burn me.
and blocked up my ears that no one should learn me.

Chorus
But the lady beside me is the one I have chosen
to walk through life with me
like a coat from the cold

I have flown like a bird from every cage that confined me
and broken every one of the ties that bind me
I have danced me around some sad ol' sad ol situatioons
and taken my share of those sweet invitations

Chorus

Who wouldn't notic the fire in your eyes
Or the bitter direction of impending goodbyes
I'm fallen and folded and wilted in place
At the sight of you standing with streaks down your face

Chorus
Heartbroke and runnin' from the reason
Heartbroke Don't give up on believin' in me
Heartbroke Who kept me from leavin' with my
Heartbroke
Pride is a bitch and a bore when your lonely
Sheer madness prevails upon reason to yield
But all is not lost it is only mistaken
That's small consolation but I know just how you feel

Chorus

Nobody said it was goin' to be easy
We all have feelings that need a softer touch
But nobody said that it would not be worth it
The human condition continues as such

Chorus

The old gunfighter on the porch
stared into the sun
and relived the days of living by the gun
when deadly games of pride were played
and living was mistakes not made

and the thought of the smell of the black powder smoke
and the stand in the street at the turn of a joke
Ah, the smell of the black powder smoke
and the stand in the street at the turn of a joke

It's always keep your back to the sun
and he can almost feel the weight of the gun
it's faster than snakes or the blink of an eye
and it's a time for all slow men to die
and his eyes get squinty and his fingers twitch
and he empties the gun at the son of a bitch

and he's hit by the smell of the black powder smoke
and the stand in the street at the turn of a joke
hit by the smell of the black powder smoke
and the stand in the street at the turn of a joke

Now the burn of a bullet is only a scar
he's back in his chair in front of the bar
and the streets are empty and the blood's all dried
and the dead are dust and the whiskey's inside
so buy him a drink and lend him an ear
he's nobody's fool and the only one here

who remembers the smell of the black powder smoke
and the stand in the street at the turn of a joke
remember the smell of the black powder smoke
and the stand in the street at the turn of a joke

He said I stood in that street before it was paved
learned shoot or be shot before I could shave
and I did it all for the money and fame
noble was nothing but feeling no shame
and nothing was sacred but stayin' alive
and all that I learned from a Colt 45

was to curse the smell of the black powder smoke
and the stand in the street at the turn of a joke
curse the smell of the black powder smoke
and the stand in the street at the turn of a joke

Now he's just an old man that no one believes
says he's a gunfighter, the last of the breed
and there are ghosts in the street seeking revenge
calling him out to the lunatic fringe
now he's out in the traffic checking the sun
and he's killed by a car as he goes for his gun

So much for the smell of the black powder smoke
and the stand in the street at the turn of a joke
so much for the smell of the black powder smoke
and the stand in the street at the turn of a joke

Standing at the window her face to the glass
As far as she can see the time has come to pass
As far as she can see the sky is all ablaze
And this looks like the first of better days

She's takin' charge of her life for a change
She's takin' it back that she's lost
It's just as clear as the window pane
She'll survive at all cost

See the wings unfolding that weren't there just before
On a ray of sunshine she dances out the door
Out into the morning light where the sky is all ablaze
This looks like the first of better days

Ain't nothin' in the world that I like better
Than bacon & lettuce & homegrown tomatoes
Up in the mornin' out in the garden

Get you a ripe one don't get a hard one
Plant 'em in the spring eat 'em in the summer
All winter with out 'em's a culinary bummer
I forget all about the sweatin' & diggin'
Everytime I go out & pick me a big one

Homegrown tomatoes homegrown tomatoes
What'd life be without homegrown tomatoes
Only two things that money can't buy
That's true love & homegrown tomatoes

You can go out to eat & that's for sure
But it's nothin' a homegrown tomato won't cure
Put 'em in a salad, put 'em in a stew
You can make your very own tomato juice
Eat 'em with egss, eat 'em with gravy
Eat 'em with beans, pinto or navy
Put 'em on the site put 'em in the middle
Put a homegrown tomato on a hotcake griddle

If I's to change this life I lead
I'd be Johnny Tomato Seed
'Cause I know what this country needs
Homegrown tomatoes in every yard you see
When I die don't bury me
In a box in a cemetary
Out in the garden would be much better
I could be pushin' up homegrown tomatoes

Standin' on the gone side of leavin'
She found a thumb and stuck it in the breeze
She'll take anything that's goin' close to somewhere
She can lay it down and live it like she'd please

But she ain't goin' nowhere, she's just leavin'
And she ain't goin' nowhere she can't breathe in
And she ain't goin' home and that's for sure

She's not sittin' down and cryin' on her suitcase
She has no second thoughts by the road
But she's got feelings than need some reparin'
And she did not give a damn that it showed

But she ain't goin' nowhere, she's just leavin'
And she ain't goin' nowhere she can't breathe in
And she ain't goin' home and that's for sure

And the wind had it's way with her hair
And the blues have a way with her smile
And she had a way of her own
Like prisoners have a way with a file

She ain't goin' nowhere, she's just leavin'
And she ain't goin' nowhere she can't breathe in
And she ain't goin' home and that's for sure

She ain't goin' nowhere, she's just leavin'
She ain't goin' nowhere she can't breathe in
She ain't goin' home and that's for sure
And she ain't goin' home and that's for sure

The south coast of Texas is a thin slice of life
It' s salty and hard it it stern as a knife
Where the wind is for blwon' up hurricanes for showin'
The snakes how to swim and the trees how to lean

Chorus
The shrimpers and their ladies are out in the beer joints
Drinkin' em down for they sail with the dawn
They're bound for the Mexican Bay of Campche
And the deck hands are singin' adios Jole Blon

There's snowbirds in search of that sunshine and night life
And fond of greasin' palms down the beach as they're goin'
This livin' on the edge of the waters of the world
Demands the dignity of whooping cranes and
The likes of Gilbert Roland

Chorus
In the cars of my youth how I tore thru those sand dunes
Cut up my tires on them oyster shell roads
But nothin' is forever say the old men in the shipyards
Turnin' trees into shrimp oats Hell I guess they ought to know

Chorus

And that old time feeling goes sneakin' down the hall
Like an old gray cat in winter, keepin' close to the wall
And that old time feeling comes stumblin' up the street
Like an old salesman kickin' the papers from his feet

And that old time feeling draws circles around the block
Like old women with no children, holdin' hands with the clock
And that old time feeling falls on its face in the park
Like an old wino prayin' he can make it till it's dark

And that old time feeling comes and goes in the rain
Like an old man with his checkers, dyin' to find a game
And that old time feeling plays for beer in bars
Like an old blues-time picker who don't recall who you are

And that old time feeling limps through the night on a crutch
Like an old soldier wonderin' if he's paid too much
And that old time feeling rocks and spits and cries
Like an old lover rememberin' the girl with the clear blue eyes

And that old time feeling goes sneakin' down the hall
Like an old gray cat in winter, keepin' close to the wall

I like drinking whiskey
I like being straight
I like a voodoo spinners
And I like live bait

I like a hundred miles an hour
I like Sunday driving too
I like being alone with me
I like being alone with you

Chorus

Give me a bowl of chili
Give me milk and toast
As long as you're dishing it out Lord
I'll take a little of both

I could do with someone
But I could do without
Sometimes you feel like dancing
Sometimes like sitting it out

I like staying at home
And I like going to town

(in actual song it's: "And I can't help going to town")
As long as I got a choice
I can't turn nothing down

Chorus

(Spoken) Put a little gravy on everything for me

Solo

Somtimes I like to fly
Sometimes I have to crawl,
Sometimes I'm cool as ice
Sometimes I'm climbin' the wall

Sometimes it's just the money
Sometimes it's just a game
Six of one and half-a-dozen
Of another is all the same

Chorus Twice

. . ."antithesis of the 'Boot Scootin Boogie'. Right up my alley."

I was sittin' on the fender of someone else's truck
Drinking Old Crow whisky, hot 7-up
Out in the parking lot

You can hear the band a playin right through the wall
Ain't no cover charge, there ain't no last call
Out in the parking lot

Now there's a couple of cowpokes puttin' up there dukes
Wasn't much to it after both of 慹m puked
Out in the parking lot

Now someone called the police and the police finally came
And they wrote 慹m a couple of tickets and they took a couple of names
Out in the parking lot

Chorus

I love to see the neon dancin' on the gravel
I love to hear the pickup trucks come unraveled
Some have given up, some have given in
Looks like everybody's looking for a friend
Out in the parking lot

Oops there's a couple who could not wait to get home
They're probably in love so let's leave them alone
Out in the parking lot

The band is on the bus, they're all loaded up to leave
But the drummer's got a girlfriend and she's tuggin at his sleeve
Out in the parking lot

Chorus

Everybody's gone, they've shut out all the lights
The dust begins to settle and it's never been so quiet
Out in the parking lot

He's a wino, tried and true.
Done about everything there is to do.
He worked on freighters, he worked in bars.
He worked on farms, 'n he worked on cars.

It was white port, that put that look in his eye
That grown men get when they need to cry
And he sat down on the curb to rest
And his head just fell down on his chest

He said "Every single day it gets
A little bit harder to handle and yet. . ."
And he lost the thread and his mind got cluttered
And the words just rolled off down in the gutter

Well he was elevator man in a cheap hotel
In exchange for the rent on a one room cell
He's old in years beyond his time
Thanks to the world, and the white Port wine

So he says "Son," he always called me son
He said, "Life for you has just begun"
And he told me a story that I heard before
How he fell in love with a Dallas whore

Well he could cut through the years to the very night
When it ended, in a whore house fight
And she turned his last proposal down
In favor of being a girl about town

Now it's been seventeen years right in line
And he ain't been straight none of the time
Too many days of fightin' the weather
And too many nights of not being together

So he died. . .

Well when they went through his personal affects
In among the stubs from the welfare checks
Was a crumblin' picture of a girl in a door
An address in Dallas, and nothin' more

The welfare people provided the priest
A couple from the mission down the street
Sang Amazing Grace, and no one cried
'Cept some woman in black, way off to the side

We all left and she was standing there
Black veil covering her silver hair
And 'ol One-Eyed John said her name was Alice
And she used to be a whore in Dallas

Let him roar, Lord let him roll
Bet he's gone to Dallas Rest his soul
Lord, let him roll, Lord let him roar
He always said that heaven
Was just a Dallas whore.

I'm going down to Austin, Texas
I'm going down to save my soul
Get that bar-b-que and chili
Eat my fill then come back home
I'm gonna take my baby with me
We gonna have a high ol' time
We gonna eat till we get silly
Sho' do make a beer taste fine

Chorus
Oh my, momma ain't that Texas Cookin' something
Oh my, momma it'll stop yo' belly and backbone bumpin'
Oh my, momma ain't that Texas Cookin' good
Oh my, momma eat it everyday if I could

I know a man that cook armadillo
tastes so sweet he calls it pie
I know a woman makes pan dulce
tastes so good it gets you high

Get them enchiladas greasy
get them steaks chicken fried
Sho' do make a man feel happy
to see white gravy on the side

Chorus

I know a place that got fried okra
beat anything I ever saw
I know a man that cook cabrito
it must be against the law

We gonna get a big ol' sausage
a big ol' plate of ranch style beans
I could eat the heart of Texas
we gonna need some brand new jeans

Chorus

And I played the Red River Valley
And he'd sit in the kitchen and cry
Run his fingers through seventy years of livin'
And wonder, "Lord, has every well I've drilled gone dry?"
We was friends, me and this old man
Was like desperados waitin' for a train
Like desperados waitin' for a train

Well, he's a drifter and a driller of oil wells
And an old school man of the world
He taught me how to drive his car when he was too drunk to
And he'd wink and give me money for the girls
And our lives was like some old western movie
Like desperados waitin' for a train
Like desperados waitin' for a train

From the time that I could walk, he'd take me with him
To a bar called the Green Frog Cafe
And there was old men with beer guts and dominoes
Lying 'bout their lives while they played
And I was just a kid, but they all called me "sidekick"
Was like desperados waitin' for a train
Like desperados waitin' for a train

And one day I looked up and he's pushin' eighty
And has brown tobacco stains all down his chin
Well, to me, he's one of the heroes of this country
So why's he all dressed up like them old men
Drinkin' beer and playin' Moon and Forty-two
Just like a desperado waitin' for a train
Like a desperado waitin' for a train

And then the day before he died I went to see him
I was grown and he was almost gone
So we just closed our eyes and dreamed us up a kitchen
And sang another verse to that old song
Come on, Jack, that son-of-a-bitch is comin'
We're desperados waitin' for a train
Was like desperados waitin' for a train
Like desperados waitin' for a train
Like desperados waitin' for a train