Steve Earle Album

Hey pretty baby are you ready for me?
It's your good rockin' daddy down from Tennessee
I'm just out of Austin bound for San Antone
With the radio blastin' and the bird dog on

There's a speed trap up ahead in Selma Town
But no local yokel gonna shut me down
'Cause me and my boys got this rig unwound
And we've come a thousand miles from a Guitar Town

Nothin' ever happened 'round my hometown
And I ain't the kind to just hang around
But I heard someone callin' my name one day
And I followed that voice down the lost highway

Everybody told me you can't get far
On thirty-seven dollars and a jap guitar
Now I'm smokin' into Texas with the hammer down
And a rockin' little combo from the Guitar Town

Hey pretty baby don't you know it ain't my fault
I love to hear the steel belts hummin' on the asphalt
Wake up in the middle of the night in a truck stop
Stumble in the restaurant, wonderin' why I don't stop

Gotta keep rockin' why I still can
I gotta two pack habit and a motel tan
But when my boots hit the boards I'm a brand new man
With my back to the riser I make my stand

And hey pretty baby won't you hold me tight
We're loadin' up and rollin' out of here tonight
One of these days I'm gonna settle down
And take you back with me to the Guitar Town

could tell it when I woke up this mornin'
'Cause I can smell it when a heartache's comin'
Not that I'm in such a hurry to lose you
I'd call you up but there's nothin' that I can do
Talkin' won't do any good anyway
'Cause goodbye's all we've got left to say
I don't think that it'll get any better
So maybe you could just write me a letter
And I could open it up when I'm stronger
Another ten or twelve years, maybe longer
Guess I just don't feel much like bad news today
Goodbye's all we've got left to say

Don't try to call me 'cause I'm takin' my phone out
'Cause if it rings, I'll know what it's about
And don't you worry 'bout me 'cause I'm alright
Maybe you'll run into me somewhere, some night
And if you do just keep goin' your way
Goodbye's all we've got left to say

My grandaddy was a miner, but he finally saw the light
He didn't have much, just a beat-up truck and a dream about a better life
Grandmama cried when she waved goodbye, never heard such a lonesome sound
Pretty soon the dirt road turned into blacktop, Detroit City bound
Down that hillbilly highway
That hillbilly highway
Hillbilly highway
Goes on and on

He worked and saved his money so that one day he might send
My old man off to college, to use his brains and not his hands
Grandmama cried when she waved goodbye, never heard such a lonesome sound
But daddy had himself a good job in Houston, one more rollin' down

Down that hillbilly highway
That hillbilly highway
Hillbilly highway
Goes on and on

Grandaddy rolled over in his grave the day that I quit school
I just sat around the house playin' my guitar, Daddy said I was a fool
My mama cried when I said goodbye, I never heard such a lonesome sound
Now I'm standin' on this highway and if you're going my way
You know where I'm bound

I got a job but it ain't nearly enough
A twenty thousand dollar pickup truck
Belongs to me and the bank and some funny talkin' man from Iran
I left the service and got a G.I. loan
I got married bought myself a home
Now I hang around this one horse town and do the best than I can
Gettin' tough
Just my luck
I was born in the land of plenty now there ain't enough
Gettin' cold
I've been told
Nowadays it just don't pay to be a good ol' boy

Been goin' nowhere down a one-way track
I'd kill to leave it but ain't no turnin' back
Got the wife and the kids and what would everybody say
My brother's standin' on a welfare line
And any minute now I might get mine
Meanwhile it's the I.R.S. and the devil to pay

I hit the beer joints every Friday night
Spend a little money lookin' for a fight
It don't matter if I lose or win
'Cause Monday I'm back on the losin' end again

Just when every ray of hope was gone
I should have known that you would come along
I can't believe I ever doubted you
My old friend the blues
Another lonely night, a nameless town
If sleep don't take me first, you'll come around
'Cause I know I can always count on you
My old friend the blues

Lovers leave and friends will let you down
But you're the only sure thing that I've found
No matter what I do I'll never lose
My old friend the blues

Just let me hide my weary heart in you
My old friend the blues

There ain't a lot that you can do in this town
You drive down to the lake and then you turn back around
You go to school and you learn to read and write
So you can walk into the county bank and sign away your life
I work at the fillin' station on the interstate
Pumpin' gasoline and countin' out of state plates
They ask me how far into Memphis son, and where's the nearest beer
And they don't even know that there's a town around here

Someday I'm finally gonna let go
'Cause I know there's a better way
And I wanna know what's over that rainbow
I'm gonna get out of here someday

Now my brother went to college cause he played football
I'm still hangin' round cause I'm a little bit small
I got me a 67 Chevy, she's low and sleek and black
Someday I'll put her on that interstate and never look back

You're here, you're gone
I'm still hangin' on
This game ain't nothin' new
You've changed your mind
So many times
But I'm still in love with you

I'll think it over when you're walkin' out the door
Why'd you go and leave me sad and blue
And if you knew
What I go through
You'd think it over too

I hope someday
I'll find a way
I'll walk right out on you
Til that day comes
I'm still the one
If you should need a fool

Don't you worry bout what you've been told
Cause honey I ain't even close to cold
It's kinda soon to fall in love again
But sometimes the best that you can do is just jump back in
I got me a fearless heart
Strong enough to get you through the scary part
It's been broken many times before
A fearless heart just comes back for more

Folks'll tell you that I'm just no good
But I wouldn't hurt you honey if I could
I can't promise this'll work out right
But it would kill me darlin' if we didn't even try

I admit I fall in love a lot
But I nearly always give it my best shot
I know you must think I'm the reckless kind
But I want a lady with a fearless heart just like mine

Hey little guy, I can't believe you answered the phone
I guess I didn't know you could do that, God help me, have I been gone that long
I'm in a truck stop somewhere on the Arkansas line
They got all the big trucks here, boy, you ought to hear the big diesels whine
No little guy, your daddy won't be home for a while
It's gonna be another couple weeks and another couple thousand miles

So got to sleep little rock 'n' roller
Your daddy's up there knockin' 'em dead tonight
One of these days when you're a little older
You can ride the big bus and everything will be alright
Until that day you got your mama to hold you
Don't be afraid when she turns out the light
Cause I know there's an angel just for rock 'n' rollers
Watchin' over you and your daddy tonight

No little guy, don't bother your mamma right now
'Cause I only got a minute and I called to talk to you anyhow
I Know you miss me, God knows I'm thinkin' 'bout you
I got your picture in my wallet, it cheers me up sometimes when I'm blue
Well little guy, I'm gonna have to let you go
You know it's way past your bedtime, and they're tellin' me we gotta roll

On the blue side of evenin'
When the darkness takes control
You start lookin' for a reason
To take your lonesome on down the road

'Cause the night is filled with strangers
All you need is one you know
And if she ain't the one you're after
Keep on lookin' on down the road

Though the miles lay long behind you
You have still got miles to go
How's love ever gonna find you
If it ain't here it's down the road

Keep on lookin' on down the road