1. |
Go Anywhere
02:19
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Some folks got a job that they do
Where they go anywhere that they’re told to
Thing is that the time they spend
Belongs to the watch of another man
News at nine, bed by ten
Wake-up tomorrow and you do it again
I go anywhere, I go anywhere
I go anywhere, but I ain’t ever going back to there, no-no
Thing is that I don’t mind saying
What’s on my mind and how I been feeling
Oh Lord, why don’t you write me up
Bring me in, shut the door and tie me up
Come to find, who’s calling the tune
It’s a telephone, not a man in the room
I go anywhere, I go anywhere
I go anywhere, but I ain’t ever going back to there, no-no
Was it all just for satin sheets
What you got against cotton covers
Do you just not like a little dirt on your feet
When it’s quittin' time
I go anywhere, I go anywhere
I go anywhere, but I ain’t ever going back to there, no-no
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2. |
You Already Knew
03:56
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The prison's almost empty, the church is nearly full
Yesterday's tomorrow and the spring is the fall
Breakfast for supper, mortgage on a box
A hostage wanting ransom and your cards on the flop
Bikes without wheels, a bear on a leash
St. Francis in hell, honeymoon on repeat
Politicians in the draft, soup with a folk
Accidental glitterati, New York, New York
How you live, it's only on you
Gold-toe stiletto or duct tape shoes
Tan in California or St. Louis blue
The choices are the same, the directions are few
But that you already knew
Families at the table, money in a jar
Christopher Columbus, new smell in a used car
Liquor for our children, time-out for the press
A bed without a bounce, a cheap hotel without a mess
Seven-minute muscles, an honest surprise
Vultures killing meals and it's noon at night
We'll split the bill, you're good as your word
The prison's almost empty and the church is nearly full
How you live, it's only on you
Gold-toe stiletto or duct tape shoes
Tan in California or St. Louis blue
The choices are the same, the directions are few
But that you already knew
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3. |
If You're a Saint
04:47
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I saw Mrs. Hall's chalky hands rise to her face
As a tear, produced by a pupil, it fell
I heard that Billy's dad, he does cocaine
When he gambles down at the harbor
Oh, Lord, it's got to be true
Because if it ain't
I'd still be a boy back in school
Where they try to teach you that faith
It'll be your friend, if you're a saint
Didn't I see your brother, work a drive-thru stand
Is that where he trains to become the man of his dreams?
Didn't I see your mother driving off in a van
With a man your father calls, "How could you do this to me?"
Oh, Lord, it's got to be true
Because if it ain't
I'd still be a boy back in school
Where they try to teach you that faith
It'll be your friend, if you're a saint
I felt the breath off another lip
And I changed, ain't ever been the same
Oh, Lord, it's got to be true
Because if it ain't
I'd still be a boy back in school
Where they try to teach you that faith
It'll be your friend, if you're a saint
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4. |
Bound to Burn
04:30
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I ain't running, like a robber from a store
I don't say my prayers before bedtime anymore
I'm getting my sleep, with both eyes well shut
I know the law is coming, and I wish them luck
No field to plow, no savings to be found
Oh God, my mother, rest her soul, she is six feet underground
When I say, "I'm a rambler," you'll know that it's no bluff
I know the law is coming, and I wish them luck
I had a woman, she helped me to pour my gin
She drove the car that I got away in
That sweet gal, she was a match waiting to be struck
I know the law is coming, and I wish them luck
I ain't running, like a robber from a store
I don't say my prayers before bedtime anymore
I'm getting my sleep, with both eyes well shut
I know the law is coming, and I wish them luck
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5. |
Misery
04:10
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Everybody wants a dollar from me
Want to watch me make this stone bleed?
Oh, I know misery
I work all day for a family to feed
Get off the night shift and it's straight to sleep
Oh, I know misery
Ya, I know...
Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh, Ei-Ei-Ei-Ei
My boat ain't floating, it's the past tense of sink
I didn't know you had to pay for your dreams
Oh, I know misery
They turned my phone off, the water and heat
I had no idea these things could happen to me
Oh, I know misery
Ya, I know...
Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh, Ei-Ei-Ei-Ei
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6. |
Sewer Service
03:37
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I get off work everyday at five
I punch my timecard, headed straight down Highway 9
I'm coming to see your face, working in the cold, dark light
I park my car, have a smoke, I come inside
The walls are dirty with sorrow and pride
But you're a diamond ring, a sight for weathered, weary eyes
I write you a letter everyday, then I throw it away
I take the same seat every time that I come in
It is my looking post for impressions that you give
I'm just a little bit shy, but you know I've been dying for a win
Your momma gave you a name, but you don't use it now
It's not really gambling when you own the house
Feeling fine is history, you know I've been dying to be found
I write you a letter everyday, then I throw it away
You're turning-on when everybody's turning-in
You're sweating alcohol for paychecks and sin
If there's a better show, I ain't been pointed there yet
You're mixing vices with whiskey and Aspirin
Robitussin, Sudafed and grade school discipline
Oh, I'm coming for you, again and again and again and again and again
I write you a letter everyday, then I throw it away
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7. |
Jean Jacket Johnny
04:41
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I got off early
Had a shower, a shave
A love for her, my dear so true
But she wasn't lonely
Or very well behaved, making way
Through her dress for you
Sometimes, people are going to do bad
Sometimes, they will take all that you have
Jean Jacket Johnny
Regrets his picture arms
Sells for food, the VHS
His hair full money
Glasses old enough
Can't keep from falling down your breast
Sometimes, people are going to do bad
Sometimes, they will take all that you have
Johnny and I cut ourselves up good
Until I grabbed my 32-20
Now he's dead where he stood
Then there was Honey
The only gal for me, until she, too,
Stopped her breath
Jean Jacket Johnny
Lie dead at my feet, and my sweet's
Dress to my left
Sometimes, people are going to do bad
Sometimes, they will take all that you have
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8. |
Something Better
03:24
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Uncle Charlie holds a gun in his hand
Studying rotation at the bank
Granny lost her baby boy
He's been missing, with no reward to claim
I heard the stories when I was just a kid
Uncle C was the bagman of the state
His problems all came with a bottle of blame
He sees twelve colors, but you know there's only eight
Jesus Christ, died on a Tuesday
Lee Harvey shot from a windowpane
We all want something better
And bigger to blame
Uncle Charlie kept his dogs in the yard
Fearing one day they'd bite him back
They gave his job to a Mexican man
Don't you think he ever forgot that
Jesus Christ, died on a Tuesday
Lee Harvey shot from a windowpane
We all want something better
And bigger to blame
He was cursed from the start
A voodoo doll full of pins
Everything is free when it gets dark
At least it was, according to him
Jesus Christ, died on a Tuesday
Lee Harvey shot from a windowpane
We all want something better
And bigger to blame
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9. |
St. Louis Rag
03:04
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You have a number, a place in line
An undercover thought of mine
Everyday
You've been a stranger, a book that I read
A million words I can't forget
Can't say I ever heard,
"You're going to have to pay for tomorrow, today"
You'll lose some twinkle, as I age
But you know we had some good days
That follow you
You'll crack and crumble, and disappear
It'll be like I was never here
Can't say I ever heard,
"You're going to have to pay for tomorrow, today"
Sometimes I get glimpses, verify my convictions
Pine for a familiar hand
But rarely do I bother to let time take me under
It's really been an honest friend
Can't say I ever heard,
"You're going to have to pay for tomorrow, today"
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10. |
Yodel Waltz
06:20
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I never forget a face, I never forget a name
I remember every person that I've ever met
But you got to, to stay in the game
I sell teeth to the Baker's daughter, I sell bullets to his son
They're starting a war, but what the teeth are for
That ain't my business none
I see that you're tired and your eyes are red
I might have a little something to relax your head
I sell taste and sound, smell and feel
Perhaps you and I could make a deal
I'll pay you a fee for your knowledge and trouble
I'm always looking for things to put into my trunk
Hoping I'll sell just a couple
See, folks are always going to be just an inch from the ledge
I make it my job to have what they want
Do you get that I get what they get?
I see that you're tired and your eyes are red
I might have a little something to relax your head
I sell taste and sound, smell and feel
Perhaps you and I could make a deal
If there's something I can do for you
I'd be happy to oblige
Just call my name...
Yodel-Ay-Yodel-Ay-Yodel-y-Ee-Oooo
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Nicholas St. James St. Louis, Missouri
"If Bob Dylan and Tom Waits were the same person, they'd write songs like Nicholas St. James."
-Ed Danger, American Roots Magazine
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