1. |
Red Corn, Yellow Corn
06:35
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Red corn, yellow corn
Red corn, yellow corn
Golden grain, summer storm
See the summer storm
Red corn, yellow corn
Red corn, yellow corn
Tractor wheel, bramble thorn
Behold the bramble thorn
The eye, the heart, the hand
At last, the lay of the land
Red corn, yellow corn
Red corn, yellow corn
Purple light, a child is born
Finally, a child is born
Red corn, yellow corn
Red corn, yellow corn
Coonskin cap, bugle horn
Hear the bugle horn
The eye, the heart, the hand
At last, the lay of the land
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2. |
Skinny Arms
02:56
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I feel good
I like the houses
In my quiet neighborhood
Winter’s ghost
People in their gloves
And scarves and coats
Your skinny arms
Matchbook dreams
The comfort of
The pool hall serene
Cigarettes
Cum on your chin
And your dress
Your skinny arms
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3. |
Bang the Drum Slowly
06:31
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Silos stand like chapels
Chapels stand like graves
Graves stand like corn
Corn stands like waves
Blue heron in my mind’s eye
Stray dogs in my dreams
Hard rust in my lifeline
Sawdust in my seams
O prairie passion!
O country comedy!
Bang the drum slowly!
Til glory rings!
Factories stand like monuments
Monuments stand like trees
Trees stand like ghosts
Ghosts stand like me
Crawdads in the creekbed
Spiders in the cane
God’s harvest slowly
On a Norfolk Southern train
O prairie passion!
O country comedy!
Bang the drum slowly!
Til glory rings!
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4. |
If Love Blues
04:40
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Eighteen wheels
Crooked cross on the county line
The days are dark
The dogs are hungry all the time
River roll
Like a monster on its path
Past the steel
And concrete aftermath
Some live hard and fast
Some live light and loose
If love conquers all
Then show me the proof
Blood moon
Bleeds upon the birds of prey
The icy night
Reflected in the huntsman’s gaze
Fever dream
Life lived on the run
Sorrow abounds
For your first born and seventh son
There is honor among the righteous
There is honor among thieves
If love is blind
Then let me see
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5. |
Monument Song
05:43
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The final words of winter
The first whispers of spring
The blues from start to finish
Life on silent wings
The strong eyes of a brother
The soft voice of a friend
The sweet song of the sirens
Where the wild waters bend
Make your life a testament
Make your word a sacrament
Make your love a monument
And rise, with everything to show
Strong and comely as a colt
If that water’s perfect
I’m never getting out
Gonna live with the frogs
And the rainbow trout
Somewhere there is a city
In a valley full of peace
With a window in the tower
And a hill with wild geese
Make your life a testament
Make your word a sacrament
Make your love a monument
And rise, with everything to show
Strong and comely as a colt
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6. |
Red Corn Raga
03:03
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7. |
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I could live as a drunkard
I could live as a saint
In a house disheveled
In a house so quaint
With riches flowing
And statues built
A house of brick
A house on stilts
No thirst
Beauty ringing
Flowers burst
Forever singing
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8. |
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Camel lights and whiskey sours
I’m always early for happy hour
Three down, one more to burn
Staring at the wall for the clock to turn
Life is good, life is sweet
Gotta woman in Brooklyn, got one in Santa Fe
Gotta woman in Dayton, she left today
New Orleans is where Winonna lives
I tried to visit but my car wouldn’t make the trip
Life is good, life is sweet
Bacon grease, egg in a hole
Bread and butter can be good for the soul
The day is done, the twilight’s died
—I’m satisfied
Life is good, life is sweet
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9. |
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He rode through fields
Of red and yellow corn
Followed by hellish dreams
And the coming summer storm
He wore a silk bandana
And a rose on his lapel
And slept by wild brambles
And the singing river’s spell
O the wild blue yonder
Son of the song
The river’s wide
And the road is long
She rode side saddle
With the medicine woman’s map
She rode side saddle
With a dulcimer in her lap
She wore a scarlet dress
Draped with feathers and furs
With perfume on her breasts
And crystals on her spurs
O the wild blue yonder
Daughter of spring
Follow earth’s wonder
Listen to it sing
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10. |
Fugitive
03:55
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Arizona, in the summer
Searching for my children’s mother
Gin & tonics, turquoise rings
What I’d do to hear you sing
Fugitive, fugitive
Oh, my green-eyed fugitive
Warm hand, inner thigh
Honeybabe, sweetie pie
Baby, shut up—would you please
Be quiet, please be quiet please
Fugitive, fugitive
Oh, my green-eyed fugitive
Diet Coke & Nicorette
Let me remember
Let me forget
Fugitive, fugitive
Oh, my green-eyed fugitive
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11. |
Wound
04:14
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I got old so fast
I didn’t even see it coming
Twenty years of work
Fifteen of cheap living
Oh, to be young
Full of vinegar and piss
With a vision of the country
And a good woman’s kiss
But life gives the wound
And life rubs the salt
Life beats you to a pulp
All of my past lives
Exposed in a highlight reel
The traveling troubadour’s ballad
The silver salesman’s deal
I never wanted nothing
‘Cept a nice and quiet life
A home in the country
With a baby and a wife
But life gives the wound
And life rubs the salt
Life beats you to a pulp
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12. |
Overworked, Underslept
04:40
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Brother, when your boots fill up with rain
You take em off and put em on again
A hole, a hole don’t dig itself
You ask the world for one thing
And it gives you something else
A hole can turn into a pit
Despair is a devil chomping at the bit
Where to next, where to now
Standing at the crossroads
And wiping at your brow
Overworked, underslept
We’re all pushing back the blues
With all that we got left
Overworked, underslept
You can’t even pay your dues
With an unemployment check
Brother, now you walk a country mile
No bread or water, no woman or child
Heart of stone, heart of steel
The world on your back
The hounds on your heels
Now that the dogs have been loosed
Now that the chicken’s come to roost
Kingdom come, kingdom fall
The road to Damascus
The road to Arkansas
Overworked, underslept
We’re all pushing back the blues
With all that we got left
Overworked, underslept
You can’t even pay your dues
With an unemployment check
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13. |
One Among the Many
02:57
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I’m Jesus
I’m Cain
I’m a station
I’m a train
I am a song
I am unsung
I am one among the many
I am many among the one
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14. |
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Here in this dank and dirty kitchen
I study my old man’s face
The eyes give him away
Denim shirt and rusty Ford
Crooked hat and muddy bootlace
The eyes give him away
Half drunk on butchershop beer
My father at twenty-two years
He said, “Buddy, bum me a smoke”
Forty years before the stroke
Here in this dank and dirty kitchen
I study my old man’s face
The eyes give him away
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15. |
Arkansas
03:52
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We were married by winter, divorced by spring
She caught me in the casino betting my ring
It was a hell of a wakeup call
“Come back, baby, to Arkansas”
I had a decent paying job, even that went south
I couldn’t keep my head down and shut my mouth
Hired on the spot, let go that fall
They don’t treat you kindly in Arkansas
I had only had a few on Saturday night
I got disorderly conduct and a DUI
They said, “Strip down, son—lift your balls”
They don’t let you off easy in Arkansas
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16. |
Anything You Please
04:50
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Gonna buy a rhinestone suit
Gonna buy some snakeskin boots
Gonna be a sight to see
Gonna buy the top shelf stuff
Gonna call your Ozark bluff
The good life is waiting for me
You can call me the breeze
You can call me cowboy
You can call me daddy
Call me anything
Anything you please
Gonna lay Arkansas to waste
Gonna give you folks a taste
Of a man newly freed
Gonna ride that gravy train
Gonna jingle like a wallet chain
The good life is waiting for me
You can call me the breeze
You can call me cowboy
You can call me daddy
Call me anything
Anything you please
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17. |
Wanda
04:46
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Wanda, I am looking out a window
Today with nothing to do
Wanda, I am drinking Coca-Cola
Wanda, I am thinking of you
Wanda, there’s a fur coat waiting
New shoes and a Navajo ring
Wanda there’s a warm meal cooking
Wanda, do not worry about a thing
If the cops come
If your husband comes
Run
Wanda, dear, when I finally meet you
I’ll roll down my sleeves and take off my hat
Forget the men who have failed to love you
Wanda, I won’t treat you like that
If the cops come
If your husband comes
Run
Wanda, I am looking out a window
Today with nothing to do
Wanda, I am drinking Coca-Cola
Wanda, I am thinking of you
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18. |
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Sun tea in the summer
Silent in the shade
Stuck in the sweet dream
Of evening’s cascade
Tomatoes on the vine
Dishes on the rack
Thinking of your sleepy eyes
And the tattoo on your back
Born today, ride tomorrow
I will go, I will follow
Where the blues fade away
Fireflies light the street
Stray cats walk the lawn
Kisses on your shoulder
Laughter at dawn
Love like a shadow
Time like a wheel
Freedom like a hymn
All mystery revealed
Born today, ride tomorrow
I will go, I will follow
Where the blues fade away
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