Guy Clark Album

Now down by the creek where the water goes slow
The green-backed heron and the moccasin know
All things come to him who waits
Yet he is lost who hesitates
Life and death just dancin' 'round in the mud

Well, The light comes down through the limbs and the leaves
And dapples the water between the reeds
The air tastes green, the bank gets soft
Right about then your shoes come off
You got to get it between your toes, the mud

Mud pie, mud in your eye
Mud on a snake bite don't you die
Take a little rain, take a little dirt
Make a little mud get it on your shirt

Now when I die please bury me down by this old muddy creek
Let the crawfish have their way
It's mud to mud and that's okay
We all just crawled out of the mud

Mud pie, mud in your eye
Mud on a snake bite don't you die
Take a little rain, take a little dirt
Make a little mud get it on your shirt

Mud pie, mud in your eye
Mud on a snake bite don't you die
Take a little rain, take a little dirt
Make a little mud get it on your shirt

Now, we're all just sloggin' through the mud

'Twas in the town of Nashville in the year of '75
This Arizona star she just fell out of the sky
She was shinin' like a diamond, she had tombstones in her eyes
She liked drinkin', she liked smokin', she liked dancin' in the aisle

She was a pre-Madonna primadonna, part time southern belle
Man she shoulda been an actress, oh she played the part so well
She might've been a singer, but you really couldn't tell
She was the Arizona star and she was born to give 'em hell

When you're cool, the sun shines all the time
So she always kept her shades on to keep from going blind
She was cool, she was out there so far
She was nothin' less and nothin' more than the Arizona star

She had a girlfriend named George, and George carried a sword
And wore purple tights and they hung out every night
Oh I'm talkin' 'bout a circus man, I'm talkin' 'bout three rings
And there was four or five clowns in a washing machine

But she never met a stranger as far as I could tell
She was the Arizona star and Jim McGuire he knew her well
She made real an oxymoron, she made mirrors, she made smoke
She had a curve ball that wouldn't quit, and a girlfriend for a joke.

When you're cool, the sun shines all the time
So she always kept her shades on to keep from going blind
She was cool, she was out there so far
She was nothin' less and nothin' more than the Arizona star

She was cool, she was out there so far
She was nothin' less and nothin' more than the Arizona star

I'd rather sleep in a box like a bum on the street
Than a fine feather bed without your little ol' cold feet
And I'd rather be deaf, dumb, and stone blind
Than to know that your mornings will never be mine

And I'd rather die young than to live without you
I'd rather go hungry than eat lonesome stew
You know it's once in a lifetime and it won't come again
It's here and it's gone on a magnolia wind

I'd rather not walk through the garden again
If I can't catch your scent on a magnolia wind

Well if it ever comes time that it comes time to go
Sis' pack up your fiddle, Sis' pack up your bow
If I can't dance with you then I won't dance at all
I'll just sit this one out with my back to the wall

I'd rather not hear pretty music again
If I can't hear your fiddle on a magnolia wind

If I can't catch your scent on a magnolia wind

Now first I thought a snake had got me, it happened dreadful quick
'Twas a bullet in my leg, right off I got sick
I came to in a wagonload of ten more wounded men
Five was dead by the time we reached that bloody tent

Gimme some of that Soldier's Joy, you know what I mean
I don't want to hurt no more my leg is turnin' green

Now the doctor came and looked at me and this is what he said
Your dancin' days are done, son, it's a good thing you ain't dead
Then he went to work with a carvin' knifed, sweat fell from his brow
'Bout killed me tryin' to save my life when he cut that lead ball out

Gimme some of that Soldier's Joy, ain't you got no more
Hand me down my walkin' cane I ain't cut out for war

Now the red blood run right through my veins, it run all over the floor
And it run right down his apron strings like a river out the door
He handed me a bottle said, son drink deep as you can
He turned away and he turned right back with a hacksaw in his hand

Gimme some of that Soldier's Joy you know what I like
Bear down on that fiddle boys just like Saturday night

Gimme some of that Soldier's Joy you know what I crave
I'll be hittin' that Soldier's Joy 'til I'm in my grave

Some of her dancin' days are over
Some of her dancin' days are done
But she's still got a couple of two steps
She ain't shown no one

Time will tell if she needs you
Time will tell if she don't
What'll you do if she believes you
What'll you do if she won't

You can't fence her in with wire
You can't fence her in with words
Bet your life she's on fire
She's got a pistol in her purse

Don't sell her short if she leaves you
Don't sell her short if she stays
She's got cards up her sleeve still
That she never got to play

It ain't like she she's tryin' to lose you
She's just thinkin' for herself
She said come on if it moves you
Don'tjust stay here by yourself

You can't fence her in with wire
You can't fence her in with words
Bet your life she's on fire
She's got a pistol in her purse

You can't fence her in with wire
You can't fence her in with words
Bet your life she's on fire
She's got a pistol in her purse

Some of her dancin' days are over
Some of her dancin' days are done

Cardboard sign old and bent, says "Friend for Life 25¢"
When did this start makin' sense man it's really getting cold
Sometimes I forget things and I get confused
I could still be working but they refuse
Now I'm livin' with the bums, the whores and the abused
Man I hate gettin' old

Homeless...get away from here
Don't give 'em no money they just spend it on beer
Homeless...will work for food
You'll do anything that you gotta do when you're homeless

Betty sings a song that no one hears
The wind begins to freeze her tears
She says God it's been so many years
She's way past complainin'
She sings a heartfelt melody
One that begs for harmony
Yah it's not what she thought it'd be
But hey it could be rainin'

Homeless...get away from here
Don't give 'em no money they just spend it on beer
Homeless...will work for food
You'll do anything you gotta do when you're homeless

You know life ain't easy it takes work
It takes healin' cause you're going to get hurt
You can lose your faith you can lose your shirt
Lose your way some time
Ah, you never really have control
Sometimes you just gotta let it go
When the final line unfolds
It don't always rhyme

Homeless...get away from here
Don't give 'em no money they just spend it on beer
Homeless...will work for food
You'll do anything that you gotta do when you're homeless

Homeless...get away from here
Don't give 'em no money they just spend it on beer
Homeless...will work for food
You'll do anything that you gotta do when you're homeless

Cardboard sign old and bent, says "Friend for Life 25¢"

He's down a dead end road
And he don't know where
The right front tire
Is gonna need some air
Up around the bend
Just a two pump place
So he pulls in
To get his bearings straight

And he thumbs back
Through his life
The pages cut
Just like a knife
One by one
He tears them out
How he got this lost
He don't know how

In a nowhere town
With a nowhere name
He's nowhere closer to where he came from
Dead sure no one's to blame
He's just off the map again

Well it starts to rain
He's gonna wait it out
Gonna rest his eyes
Gonna face his doubts
And he pours a drink
In a paper cup
He goes to sleep
And he don't wake up

In a nowhere town
With a nowhere name
He's nowhere closer to where he came from
Dead sure no one's to blame
He's just off the map

In a nowhere town
With a nowhere name
He's nowhere closer to where he came from
Dead sure no one's to blame
He's just off the map

He said his hip talks to him when it's ready to rain
He's had a little nip and he's feelin' no pain
When he gets like this he feels like talkin'
He said he took some shrapnel at the Bay of Pigs
He lost two fingers on a gulf oil rig
Oh, you gotta watch him he'll take off walkin'
Some folks say he's lost his mind, but he's just runnin' out of time

He said this ol' Bag of Bones ain't really me
There's a lot more standin' here than what you see
He said my back is bendin' low but my spirit's flyin' free
This ol' Bag of Bones ain't really me

He said I live each day like its my last
Time won't keep it goes so fast
You better do the best you can do
He said life's a tune you whistle in the dark
When you get it right you get a little spark
And the sun comes up and it all dawns on you

He said this ol' Bag of Bones ain't really me
There's a lot more standin' here than what you see
He said my back is bendin' low but my spirit's flyin' free
This ol' Bag of Bones ain't really me

My back is bendin' low but my spirit's flyin' free
Well this ol' Bag of Bones ain't really me

Ah, this ol' Bag of Bones ain't really me

Two shots of Wild Turkey puts the wind in her hair
Bound and determined in the cold mornin' air
If you don't like horses I'd suggest you stay home
She don't ride double get a horse of your own

She loves to ride horses, she doesn't care
How long it'll take her or if she ever gets there
She ain't got no reason and she don't need no rhyme
She loves to ride horses in 3/4 time

Ah, you can't tell her nothing she don't want to know
You can't take here nowhere she don't want to go
She might not show up, she might not call
She loves to ride horses and that's about all

She loves to ride horses, she doesn't care
How long it'll take her or if she ever gets there
She ain't got no reason, ah she don't need no rhyme
She just loves to ride horses in 3/4 time

She loves to ride horses, she doesn't care
How long it'll take her or if she ever gets there
She ain't got no reason, ah she don't need no rhyme
She just loves to ride horses in 3/4 time

Ride the blue wind high and free
She'll lead you down through misery
Leave you low come time to go
Alone and low as low can be

If I had a nickel I'd find a game
If I won a dollar I would make it rain
If it rained an ocean I'd drink it dry
And lay me down dissatisified

Legs to walk and thoughts to fly
Eyes to laugh and lips to cry
A restless tongue to classify
All born to grow and grown to die

Tell my baby I said so long
Tell my mother I did no wrong
Tell my brother to watch his own
Tell my friends to mourn me none

Chained upon the face of time
Feeling full of foolish rhyme
There ain't no dark 'til something shines
I'm bound to leave this dark behind

Ride the blue wind high and free
She'll lead you down through misery
Leave you low come time to go
Alone and low as low can be

Some S.O.B. shot my dog
I found her under a tree
If I hadn't loved that dog so much
It wouldn't mean nothin' to me

You son-of-a-bitch I'll tell you what, I will not be deterred
I'll find you out and track you down
On that you got my word

Queenie's getting buried
It's time to dig the hole
New years day in Santa Fe
Broke mean and it broke cold

I don't predict the world will end
And I don't presume it won't
And I don't pretend to give a damn
If it do or if it don't

And I bet you got a gun for Christmas
That don't make it right
What in the hell were you thinkin'
With little Queenie in your sights

Queenie's getting buried
It's time to dig the hole
New years day in Santa Fe
Broke mean and it broke cold

Now brother death and father time
Are almost loaded up
And they're headed for the border line
In a stolen pick-up truck

For old acquaintance not forgot
For old dogs left behind
I won't forgive and I can't forget
The year of '99

Screamin' Auld Lang Syne

Queenie's getting buried
It's time to dig the hole
New years day in Santa Fe
Broke mean and it broke cold

In The Dark you can sometimes hear your own heart beat
Or the heart of the one next to you
The house settles down after holding itself up all day
Shoulder slumps, gives a big sigh
You hear no one's foot fall in the hall
That drip in the kitchen sink markin' time
June bug on the window screen can't get in but he keeps on tryin'
One way or another we're all in The Dark

Fireflies, sparks, lightning, stars
Campfires, the moon, headlights on cars
The Northern Lights and The Milky Way
You can't see that stuff in the day

When the earth turns its back on the sun
The stars come out and the planets start to run around
Now they call that day is done
But really it's just getting started
Some folks take comfort in that

And how dark is it
It's too dark for goblins
And how dark is it
It's so dark you can smell the moon
How dark is it
It's so dark the wind gets lost
How dark is it
It's so dark the sky's on fire
How dark is it
It's so dark you can see Ft. Worth from here