Jim Croce

Well, the south side of Chicago
Is the baddest part of town
And if you go down there
You better just beware
Of a man name of Leroy Brown

Now Leroy more than trouble
You see he stand ‘bout six foot four
All those downtown ladies call him "Treetop Lover"
All the men just call him "Sir"

And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

Now Leroy he a gambler
And he like his fancy clothes
And he like to wave his diamond rings
Under everybody's nose

He got a custom Continental
He got an Eldorado too
He got a 32 gun in his pocket full a fun
He got a razor in his shoe

And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

Well Friday 'bout a week ago
Leroy shootin' dice
And at the edge of the bar
Sat a girl named Doris
And oh that girl looked nice

Well he cast his eyes upon her
And the trouble soon began
And Leroy Brown had learned a lesson
'Bout a-messin' with the wife of a jealous man

And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than a-old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

Well the two men took to fighting
And when they pulled them from the floor
Leroy looked like a jigsaw puzzle
With a couple of pieces gone

And it's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

Yeah he was badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog.

Lazy days in mid-July
Country Sunday mornin's
Dusty haze on summer highways
Sweet magnolia callin'

But now and then I find myself
Thinkin' of the days
That (when) we were walking in
The Alabama rain

Drive-in movies, Friday nights
Drinkin' beer and laughin'
Somehow things were always right
I just don't know what happened

We were only kids
But then I've never heard it said
That kids can't fall in love
And feel the same
I can still remember the first time
I told you "I love you"

On a dusty mid-July
Country summer's evenin's
Weepin' willows sang its lullaby
And shared our secret

Walking in the Alabama rain

Now the south side of Chicago
Is (It's) the baddest part of town
And if you (you're gonna) go down there, you better (just) beware
Of a man (cat) named Leroy Brown

Now Leroy (Brown) he's trouble
And he stands about six feet four
All the downtown ladies call him: "treetop lover"
The studs they call him: "Sir"

(Yeah) He's bad, bad Leroy Brown
Meanest (baddest) man (cat) in the whole damn town
Badder that old King Kong
(And( (He's) Meaner that a junkyard dog

Now Leroy he's a gambler
And he likes (digs) his (those) fancy clothes
He likes to wave his (that) (great big / big fat) (shinny) diamond ring(s)
Under (In front of) everybody's nose

He's got a custom Continental
He's got an Eldorado too
He's got a 22 (32) gun in his pocket for fun
He's got a razor in his (the razor in the) shoe

(Yeah) He's bad, bad Leroy Brown
Meanest (baddest) man (cat) in the whole damn town
Badder that old King Kong
(And( (He's) Meaner that a junkyard dog

Now Friday - 'bout a week ago
Leroy shootin' dice
And at the end (edge) of the bar, sat (was) a lady (chick) named Dorris (Morris)
Man she sure looked nice

And (Well/Then) he layed his eyes upon her
That's when the big scene (trouble soon) began
And Leroy Brown he learned a lesson 'bout messin'
With the wife of a jealous man

(Yeah) He's bad, bad Leroy Brown
Meanest (baddest) man (cat) in the whole damn town
Badder that old King Kong
(And) (He's) Meaner that a junkyard dog

Photographs and memories
Christmas cards you sent to me
All that I have are these to remember you
Memories that come at night
Take me to another time
Back to a happier day, when I called you mine

But we sure had a good time
When we started way back when
Morning walks and bedroom talks
Oh, how I loved you then

Summer skies and lullabies
Nights we couldn't say goodbye
And of all of the things that we knew
Not a dream survived

Photographs and memories
All the love you gave to me
Somehow it just can't be true
It's all I've left of you

But we sure had a good time
When we started way back when
Morning walks and bedroom talks
Oh, how I loved you then

Once we were lovers
But some how things have changed
Now we're just lonely people tryin' to forget eachother's names
Now we're just lonely people tryin' to forget eachother's names

What came between us?
Maybe we were just too young to know
But now and then I feel the same
And sometimes at night I think I hear you callin' my name
Mmm hmm hmm these dreams
They keep me goin' these days

Once we were lovers
But that was long ago
We lived together then
And now we do not even say hello
We lived together then
And now we do not even say hello

What came between us?
Maybe we were just too young to know
But now and then I feel the same
And sometimes at night I think I hear you callin' my name
Mmm hmm hmm these dreams
They keep me goin' these days

If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that I'd like to do
Is to save every day till eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you

If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I'd save every day like a treasure and then
Again, I would spend them with you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do, once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go through time with

If I had a box just for wishes
And dreams that had never come true
The box would be empty, except for the memory of how
They were answered by you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do, once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go through time with

Seems like such a long time ago,
I was walking on a lonely road.
Getting tired of dreaming alone,
like all the lonely people I had known.

Seems like such a long time ago,
there was no one who would share my song.
I was just a boy far from home,
but I became a man when you came along.

We spent the whole night talking.
You said you'd like to see the sun rise.
But in the gold of morning,
was nothing that I had not seen in your eyes.

I was so afraid to touch you,
thought you were too young, you know.
So I just watched you sleeping.
Then you woke and said to me,
The night is cold, it frightens me.
I could sleep so easy next to you.

Wasn't very long ago,
you said that you would like to share my role.
Then you started singing my song.
Spent so many nights a-waiting,
Lets not spend a moments wasting time,
because we have very far to go.
I will go if you will take me,
I have never had a lover.
I am young but I am so alone.

We spent the whole night talking.
But in the gold of morning...

Lazy days in mid-July
Country Sunday mornin's
Dusty haze on summer highways
Sweet magnolia callin'

But now and then I find myself
Thinkin' of the days
That (when) we were walking in
The Alabama rain

Drive-in movies, Friday nights
Drinkin' beer and laughin'
Somehow things were always right
I just don't know what happened

We were only kids
But then I've never heard it said
That kids can't fall in love
And feel the same
I can still remember the first time
I told you "I love you"

On a dusty mid-July
Country summer's evenin's
Weepin' willows sang its lullaby
And shared our secret

Walking in the Alabama rain

Well, the south side of Chicago
Is the baddest part of town
And if you go down there
You better just beware
Of a man name of Leroy Brown

Now Leroy more than trouble
You see he stand ‘bout six foot four
All those downtown ladies call him "Treetop Lover"
All the men just call him "Sir"

And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

Now Leroy he a gambler
And he like his fancy clothes
And he like to wave his diamond rings
Under everybody's nose

He got a custom Continental
He got an Eldorado too
He got a 32 gun in his pocket full a fun
He got a razor in his shoe

And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

Well Friday 'bout a week ago
Leroy shootin' dice
And at the edge of the bar
Sat a girl named Doris
And oh that girl looked nice

Well he cast his eyes upon her
And the trouble soon began
And Leroy Brown had learned a lesson
'Bout a-messin' with the wife of a jealous man

And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than a-old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

Well the two men took to fighting
And when they pulled them from the floor
Leroy looked like a jigsaw puzzle
With a couple of pieces gone

And it's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

Yeah he was badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog.

Like the pine trees lining the winding road
I got a name, I got a name
Like the singing bird and the croaking toad
I got a name, I got a name
And I carry it with me like my daddy did
But I'm living the dream that he kept hid

Moving me down the highway
Rolling me down the highway
Moving ahead so life won't pass me by

Like the north wind whistling down the sky
I've got a song, I've got a song
Like the whippoorwill and the baby's cry
I've got a song, I've got a song
And I carry it with me and I sing it loud
If it gets me nowhere, I go there proud

Moving me down the highway
Rolling me down the highway
Moving ahead so life won't pass me by

And I'm gonna go there free

Like the fool I am and I'll always be
I've got a dream, I've got a dream
They can change their minds but they can't change me
I've got a dream, I've got a dream
Well, I know I can share it if you want me to
If you're going my way, I'll go with you

Moving me down the highway
Rolling me down the highway
Moving ahead so life won't pass me by
Moving me down the highway
Rolling me down the highway
Moving ahead so life won't pass me by

We've been runnin' away from somethin' we both know
We've long run out of things to say and I think I'd better go
So don't be gettin' excited oh-when you hear that slammin' door
Cause there'll be one less set of footsteps on your floor in the mornin'

And we've been hidin' from somethin' that should have never gone this far
But after all it's what we've done that makes us what we are
And you've been talkin' in silence well if it's silence you adore
Oh there'll be one less set of footprints on your floor in the mornin'

Oh there'll be one less set of footsteps on your floor
One less man to walk in
One less pair of jeans upon your door
One less voice a-talkin'

But tomorrow's a dream away and today has turned to dust
Your silver tongue has turned to clay and your golden rule to rust
If that's the way that you want it well that's the way I want it more
Cause there'll be one less set of footprints on your floor in the mornin'
Oh there'll be one less set of footsteps on you floor in the mornin'

Operator, well could you help me place this call
See, the number on the match book is old and faded
She's living in L.A
With my best old ex-friend Ray
A guy she said she knew well and sometimes hated

But isn't that the way they say it goes
Well let's forget all that
And give me the number if you can find it
So I can call just to tell 'em I'm fine, and to show
I've overcome the blow
I've learned to take it well
I only wish my words
Could just convince myself
That it just wasn't real
But that's not the way it feels

Operator, well could you help me place this call
'Cause I can't read the number that you just gave me
There's something in my eyes
You know it happens every time
I think about the love that I thought would save me

But isn't that the way they say it goes
Well let's forget all that
And give me the number if you can find it
So I can call just to tell 'em I'm fine, and to show
I've overcome the blow
I've learned to take it well
I only wish my words
Could just convince myself
That it just wasn't real
But that's not the way it feels
No, no, no, no
That's not the way it feels

Operator, well let's forget about this call
There's no one there I really wanted to talk to
Thank you for your time
Ah, you've been so much more then kind
You can keep the dime

But isn't that the way they say it goes
Well let's forget all that
And give me the number if you can find it
So I can call just to tell 'em I'm fine, and to show
I've overcome the blow
I've learned to take it well
I only wish my words
Could just convince myself
That it just wasn't real
But that's not the way it feels

Photographs and memories
Christmas cards you sent to me
All that I have are these to remember you
Memories that come at night
Take me to another time
Back to a happier day, when I called you mine

But we sure had a good time
When we started way back when
Morning walks and bedroom talks
Oh, how I loved you then

Summer skies and lullabies
Nights we couldn't say goodbye
And of all of the things that we knew
Not a dream survived

Photographs and memories
All the love you gave to me
Somehow it just can't be true
It's all I've left of you

But we sure had a good time
When we started way back when
Morning walks and bedroom talks
Oh, how I loved you then

Oh Rapid Roy that stock car boy
He too much too believe
You know he always got an extra pack of cigarettes
Rolled up in his t-shirt sleeve
He got a tattoo on his arm that say "baby"
He got another one that just say "hey"
But every sunday afternoon he is a dirt track demon
In a '57 Chevrolet

Oh Rapid Roy that stock car boy
He's the best driver in the land
He say that he learned to race a stock car
By runnin' shine outta Alabam'
Oh the demolition derby
And the figure eight
Is easy money in the bank
Compared to runnin' from the man
In Oklahoma City
With a 500 gallon tank

Oh Rapid Roy that stock car boy
He too much too believe
You know he always got an extra pack of cigarettes
Rolled up in his t-shirt sleeve
He got a tattoo on his arm that say "baby"
He got another one that just say "hey"
But every Sunday afternoon he is a dirt track demon
In a '57 Chevrolet

Yeah, Roy's so cool, that racin fool
He don't know what fear's about.
He do a hundred thirty mile an hour, smilin at the camera
With a tooth pick in his mouth.
He got a girl back home, name of Dixie Dawn
But he got honeys all along the way
And you oughta hear 'em screamin for that dirt track demon
in a '57 Chevrolet.

Oh Rapid Roy that stock car boy
He too much too believe
You know he always got an extra pack of cigarettes
Rolled up in his t-shirt sleeve
He got a tattoo on his arm that say "baby"
He got another one that just say "hey"
But every sunday afternoon he is a dirt track demon
In a '57 Chevrolet

Gonna tell you a story, that you won't believe
But I fell in love last Friday evening
With the girl I saw on a bar room TV screen
Well I was just getting ready to get my hat
When she caught my eye, and I put it back
And I ordered myself couple of more shots and beers

The night that I fell in love with a roller derby queen
around and round, a round and round
The meanest hunk of woman that anybody ever seen
Down in the arena

She was 5 foot 6, two fifteen
A beach blonde mama with a streak of mean
She knew how to knuckle and she knew how to scuffle and fight
And the roller derby program said
that she was built like a 'fridgerator with a head
Her fans called her Tuffy, but all her buddies called her Spike

The night that I fell in love with a roller derby queen
around and round, a round and round
The meanest hunk of woman that anybody ever seen
Down in the arena

Well I could not help it, but to fall in love
With this heavy duty woman I've been speaking of
Things were kinda bad, untill the day she skated into my life
Well she might be nasty, she might be fat
But I never met a person who would tell her that
She's my bleach blonde bomber, my heavy handed Hackensack sack mama

The night that I fell in love with a roller derby queen
around and round, a round and round
The meanest hunk of woman that anybody ever seen
Down in the arena

Sometimes I think about our good old high school days
You would always kid about my adolescent ways
Oh, Mary, Mary, good to see you too
Haven't seen to many of the old crew
The time just flew, and how are you?

Strange we should meet here
Seeing off our friends

It's hard to draw the line between
Beginnings and ends
Oh, Mary, Mary, must you go so soon?
We must be a sight to see
Salon and Saloon
I'll look you up soon
Maybe sing you a tune

Once we were lovers
But some how things have changed
Now we're just lonely people tryin' to forget eachother's names
Now we're just lonely people tryin' to forget eachother's names

What came between us?
Maybe we were just too young to know
But now and then I feel the same
And sometimes at night I think I hear you callin' my name
Mmm hmm hmm these dreams
They keep me goin' these days

Once we were lovers
But that was long ago
We lived together then
And now we do not even say hello
We lived together then
And now we do not even say hello

What came between us?
Maybe we were just too young to know
But now and then I feel the same
And sometimes at night I think I hear you callin' my name
Mmm hmm hmm these dreams
They keep me goin' these days

Well it started out just like a dream
And like a dream I knew that what we had,
Would have to end
Cuz I was lookin' for a,
Lifetime lover and,
You were lookin' for a friend
Someone to be there
After all your night time lovers had gone,
The way they came
Someone who knew the way
And helped to play your daytime game
It's not the same

Well I started out pretending that I'd,
Come to mean enough to you to make,
You want to change
Then I came to realize that
There was just too much of you you'd have,
To rearrange
And I couldn't bear to wait around
For all your night time lovers to go,
The way they came
And it came to hurt too much for me
To have to play your daytime games
No one's to blame

Well it started out just like a dream
And like a dream I knew that what we had,
Would have to end
Cuz I was lookin' for a,
Lifetime lover and,
You were lookin' for a friend
I was lookin' for a,
Lifetime lover and,
You were lookin' for a friend

If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that I'd like to do
Is to save every day till eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you

If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I'd save every day like a treasure and then
Again, I would spend them with you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do, once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go through time with

If I had a box just for wishes
And dreams that had never come true
The box would be empty, except for the memory of how
They were answered by you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do, once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go through time with

Lazy days in mid-July
Country Sunday mornin's
Dusty haze on summer highways
Sweet magnolia callin'

But now and then I find myself
Thinkin' of the days
That (when) we were walking in
The Alabama rain

Drive-in movies, Friday nights
Drinkin' beer and laughin'
Somehow things were always right
I just don't know what happened

We were only kids
But then I've never heard it said
That kids can't fall in love
And feel the same
I can still remember the first time
I told you "I love you"

On a dusty mid-July
Country summer's evenin's
Weepin' willows sang its lullaby
And shared our secret

Walking in the Alabama rain

Well, the south side of Chicago
Is the baddest part of town
And if you go down there
You better just beware
Of a man name of Leroy Brown

Now Leroy more than trouble
You see he stand ‘bout six foot four
All those downtown ladies call him "Treetop Lover"
All the men just call him "Sir"

And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

Now Leroy he a gambler
And he like his fancy clothes
And he like to wave his diamond rings
Under everybody's nose

He got a custom Continental
He got an Eldorado too
He got a 32 gun in his pocket full a fun
He got a razor in his shoe

And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

Well Friday 'bout a week ago
Leroy shootin' dice
And at the edge of the bar
Sat a girl named Doris
And oh that girl looked nice

Well he cast his eyes upon her
And the trouble soon began
And Leroy Brown had learned a lesson
'Bout a-messin' with the wife of a jealous man

And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than a-old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

Well the two men took to fighting
And when they pulled them from the floor
Leroy looked like a jigsaw puzzle
With a couple of pieces gone

And it's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

Yeah he was badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog.

Like the pine trees lining the winding road
I got a name, I got a name
Like the singing bird and the croaking toad
I got a name, I got a name
And I carry it with me like my daddy did
But I'm living the dream that he kept hid

Moving me down the highway
Rolling me down the highway
Moving ahead so life won't pass me by

Like the north wind whistling down the sky
I've got a song, I've got a song
Like the whippoorwill and the baby's cry
I've got a song, I've got a song
And I carry it with me and I sing it loud
If it gets me nowhere, I go there proud

Moving me down the highway
Rolling me down the highway
Moving ahead so life won't pass me by

And I'm gonna go there free

Like the fool I am and I'll always be
I've got a dream, I've got a dream
They can change their minds but they can't change me
I've got a dream, I've got a dream
Well, I know I can share it if you want me to
If you're going my way, I'll go with you

Moving me down the highway
Rolling me down the highway
Moving ahead so life won't pass me by
Moving me down the highway
Rolling me down the highway
Moving ahead so life won't pass me by

With just a sleeping bag
And an old guitar
I left the band in New Orleans
I did some time with the bottle
Some with the river queens
I never thought I would meet a girl
Who could turn my head around
'Til I met that Mississippi lady
In sleepy Gulfport town, she was a

Mississippi lady
My lovin' Gulfport gal
She taught me how to love
And she really loved me well
She took me up to heaven
Then she brought me down
That Mississippi lady
Sweet Cordelia Brown

Hot July in Gulfport
And I was working in the bars

And she was working on the street
With the rest of the evening stars
She said, "I never met a guy
Who could turn my head around"
And that's really sayin' something
For sweet Cordelia Brown, she was a

Now I'm back in New York City
Playin' in a band
But my mind's on Mississippi
Is it hard to understand
I never thought I would meet a girl
Who could bring me that far down
Like the girl I met in Gulfport
Sweet Cordelia Brown, she was a

That Mississippi lady
Sweet Cordelia Brown

That Mississippi lady
Sweet Cordelia Brown

Ol' man river.
That ol' man river.
He must know somethin'
But he don't say nothin'
That ol' man river he just keeps rollin' along

He don't plant tators
He don't plant cotton.
Them that plants 'em is soon forgotten.
But ol' man river
He just keeps rollin' along.

You and me
We sweat and strain.
Body all achin'
And wracked with pain.

Tote that barge.
Lift that bale.
Get a little drunk
And you land in jail.

But I get weary
Sick of tryin'
Cause I'm tired of livin'
But I'm scared of dyin'
And ol' man river
He just keeps rollin' along.

You and me
We sweat and strain.
Body all achin'
And wracked with pain.

Tote that barge.
Lift that bale.
Get a little drunk
And you land in jail.

But I get weary
Sick of tryin'
Cause I'm tired of livin'
But I'm scared of dyin'
And ol' man river
He just keeps rollin' along.

If you get to feelin' all alone
When your good time friends have all got up and gone
Don't come knockin' around my door
Because I've heard your lines before

And there ain't gonna be a next time this time
'Cause woman startin' right now
I'm gonna forget you name and your pretty face, girl
And write you off as a bad mistake
You know that some women, they are lovers
And some just got no sense
But a woman like you oughta be ashamed
Of the things that you do to men

If you get to feeling all alone
When you find that you can't make it on your own
Don't come knockin' around my door
You see I've seen your act before

If you get to feelin' you were wrong
Don't go wastin' your good money on the phone
'Cause I can hang up as fast as you can call
And that ain't all

And there ain't gonna be a next time this time
'Cause woman startin' right now
I'm gonna forget you name and your pretty face, girl
And write you off as a complete disgrace
You know that some women they are liars
And some just got no sense
But a woman like you oughta be ashamed
Of the things that you do to men

Yeah a woman like you oughta be ashamed
Of the things that you do to men

Operator, well could you help me place this call
See, the number on the match book is old and faded
She's living in L.A
With my best old ex-friend Ray
A guy she said she knew well and sometimes hated

But isn't that the way they say it goes
Well let's forget all that
And give me the number if you can find it
So I can call just to tell 'em I'm fine, and to show
I've overcome the blow
I've learned to take it well
I only wish my words
Could just convince myself
That it just wasn't real
But that's not the way it feels

Operator, well could you help me place this call
'Cause I can't read the number that you just gave me
There's something in my eyes
You know it happens every time
I think about the love that I thought would save me

But isn't that the way they say it goes
Well let's forget all that
And give me the number if you can find it
So I can call just to tell 'em I'm fine, and to show
I've overcome the blow
I've learned to take it well
I only wish my words
Could just convince myself
That it just wasn't real
But that's not the way it feels
No, no, no, no
That's not the way it feels

Operator, well let's forget about this call
There's no one there I really wanted to talk to
Thank you for your time
Ah, you've been so much more then kind
You can keep the dime

But isn't that the way they say it goes
Well let's forget all that
And give me the number if you can find it
So I can call just to tell 'em I'm fine, and to show
I've overcome the blow
I've learned to take it well
I only wish my words
Could just convince myself
That it just wasn't real
But that's not the way it feels

Gonna tell you a story, that you won't believe
But I fell in love last Friday evening
With the girl I saw on a bar room TV screen
Well I was just getting ready to get my hat
When she caught my eye, and I put it back
And I ordered myself couple of more shots and beers

The night that I fell in love with a roller derby queen
around and round, a round and round
The meanest hunk of woman that anybody ever seen
Down in the arena

She was 5 foot 6, two fifteen
A beach blonde mama with a streak of mean
She knew how to knuckle and she knew how to scuffle and fight
And the roller derby program said
that she was built like a 'fridgerator with a head
Her fans called her Tuffy, but all her buddies called her Spike

The night that I fell in love with a roller derby queen
around and round, a round and round
The meanest hunk of woman that anybody ever seen
Down in the arena

Well I could not help it, but to fall in love
With this heavy duty woman I've been speaking of
Things were kinda bad, untill the day she skated into my life
Well she might be nasty, she might be fat
But I never met a person who would tell her that
She's my bleach blonde bomber, my heavy handed Hackensack sack mama

The night that I fell in love with a roller derby queen
around and round, a round and round
The meanest hunk of woman that anybody ever seen
Down in the arena

Gonna tell you a story, that you won't believe
But I fell in love last Friday evening
With the girl I saw on a bar room TV screen
Well I was just getting ready to get my hat
When she caught my eye, and I put it back
And I ordered myself couple of more shots and beers

The night that I fell in love with a roller derby queen
around and round, a round and round
The meanest hunk of woman that anybody ever seen
Down in the arena

She was 5 foot 6, two fifteen
A beach blonde mama with a streak of mean
She knew how to knuckle and she knew how to scuffle and fight
And the roller derby program said
that she was built like a 'fridgerator with a head
Her fans called her Tuffy, but all her buddies called her Spike

The night that I fell in love with a roller derby queen
around and round, a round and round
The meanest hunk of woman that anybody ever seen
Down in the arena

Well I could not help it, but to fall in love
With this heavy duty woman I've been speaking of
Things were kinda bad, untill the day she skated into my life
Well she might be nasty, she might be fat
But I never met a person who would tell her that
She's my bleach blonde bomber, my heavy handed Hackensack sack mama

The night that I fell in love with a roller derby queen
around and round, a round and round
The meanest hunk of woman that anybody ever seen
Down in the arena

Once we were lovers
But some how things have changed
Now we're just lonely people tryin' to forget eachother's names
Now we're just lonely people tryin' to forget eachother's names

What came between us?
Maybe we were just too young to know
But now and then I feel the same
And sometimes at night I think I hear you callin' my name
Mmm hmm hmm these dreams
They keep me goin' these days

Once we were lovers
But that was long ago
We lived together then
And now we do not even say hello
We lived together then
And now we do not even say hello

What came between us?
Maybe we were just too young to know
But now and then I feel the same
And sometimes at night I think I hear you callin' my name
Mmm hmm hmm these dreams
They keep me goin' these days

Like the pine trees lining the winding road
I got a name, I got a name
Like the singing bird and the croaking toad
I got a name, I got a name
And I carry it with me like my daddy did
But I'm living the dream that he kept hid

Moving me down the highway
Rolling me down the highway
Moving ahead so life won't pass me by

Like the north wind whistling down the sky
I've got a song, I've got a song
Like the whippoorwill and the baby's cry
I've got a song, I've got a song
And I carry it with me and I sing it loud
If it gets me nowhere, I go there proud

Moving me down the highway
Rolling me down the highway
Moving ahead so life won't pass me by

And I'm gonna go there free

Like the fool I am and I'll always be
I've got a dream, I've got a dream
They can change their minds but they can't change me
I've got a dream, I've got a dream
Well, I know I can share it if you want me to
If you're going my way, I'll go with you

Moving me down the highway
Rolling me down the highway
Moving ahead so life won't pass me by
Moving me down the highway
Rolling me down the highway
Moving ahead so life won't pass me by

If I could save time
in a bottle
the first thing that
I'd like to do
is to save every day
'til eternity passes away
just to spend them with you
if I could make days
last forever
if words could make wishes
come true
I'd save every day like a
treasure and then
again I would spend them
with you
But there never seems to be
enough time to do the
things you want
once you find them

I've looked around enough
to know that
you're the one I want to go
through time with

If I had a box
just for wishes
and dreams that had never
come true
the box would be empty
except for the memories
of how they were answered
by you
But there never seems to be
enough time to do the
things you want
once you find them

I've looked around
enough to know
that you're the one
I want to go
through time with

Seems like such a long time ago,
I was walking on a lonely road.
Getting tired of dreaming alone,
like all the lonely people I had known.

Seems like such a long time ago,
there was no one who would share my song.
I was just a boy far from home,
but I became a man when you came along.

We spent the whole night talking.
You said you'd like to see the sun rise.
But in the gold of morning,
was nothing that I had not seen in your eyes.

I was so afraid to touch you,
thought you were too young, you know.
So I just watched you sleeping.
Then you woke and said to me,
The night is cold, it frightens me.
I could sleep so easy next to you.

Wasn't very long ago,
you said that you would like to share my role.
Then you started singing my song.
Spent so many nights a-waiting,
Lets not spend a moments wasting time,
because we have very far to go.
I will go if you will take me,
I have never had a lover.
I am young but I am so alone.

We spent the whole night talking.
But in the gold of morning...

Lazy days in mid-July
Country Sunday mornin's
Dusty haze on summer highways
Sweet magnolia callin'

But now and then I find myself
Thinkin' of the days
That (when) we were walking in
The Alabama rain

Drive-in movies, Friday nights
Drinkin' beer and laughin'
Somehow things were always right
I just don't know what happened

We were only kids
But then I've never heard it said
That kids can't fall in love
And feel the same
I can still remember the first time
I told you "I love you"

On a dusty mid-July
Country summer's evenin's
Weepin' willows sang its lullaby
And shared our secret

Walking in the Alabama rain

Well, the south side of Chicago
Is the baddest part of town
And if you go down there
You better just beware
Of a man name of Leroy Brown

Now Leroy more than trouble
You see he stand ‘bout six foot four
All those downtown ladies call him "Treetop Lover"
All the men just call him "Sir"

And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

Now Leroy he a gambler
And he like his fancy clothes
And he like to wave his diamond rings
Under everybody's nose

He got a custom Continental
He got an Eldorado too
He got a 32 gun in his pocket full a fun
He got a razor in his shoe

And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

Well Friday 'bout a week ago
Leroy shootin' dice
And at the edge of the bar
Sat a girl named Doris
And oh that girl looked nice

Well he cast his eyes upon her
And the trouble soon began
And Leroy Brown had learned a lesson
'Bout a-messin' with the wife of a jealous man

And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than a-old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

Well the two men took to fighting
And when they pulled them from the floor
Leroy looked like a jigsaw puzzle
With a couple of pieces gone

And it's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

Yeah he was badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog.

Well, out of Southern Illinois
Come a down home country boy.
He's gonna make it in the city
Playin' guitar in the studio.

Well he hadn't been there an hour,
When he met a Broadway flower,
You know she took him for his money
And she left him in a cheap hotel.

Oh, well, it's easy for you to see
That that country boy is me
Saying "And how am I gonna ever
break the news to the folks back home?"

Well, I was gonna be a great success,
Things sure ended up a mess,
But in the process I got messed up too.

"Hello Mamma and Dad I had to call collect
'Cause I ain't got a cent to my name.
Well I'm sleepin' in the hotel doorway,
And tonight they say it's gonna rain.
And if you'd only send me some money
I'll be back on my feet again,
Send it in care of the Sunday Mission
Box number ten."

Well, back in Southern Illinois
They're still worryin' 'bout their boy.
But this boy's goin' home soon's he get's the fare.

Because as soon as I got my bread
I got a pipe upside my head.
You know they left me in an alley,
Took my money and my guitar, too.

"Hello Mamma and Dad I had to call collect
'Cause I ain't got a cent to my name.
Well I'm sleepin' in the hotel doorway,
And tonight they say it's gonna rain.
And if you'd only send me some money
I'll be back on my feet again,
Send it in care of the Sunday Mission
Box number ten."

Hey tomorrow, where are you goin'
Do you have some room for me
'Cause night is fallin' and the dawn is callin'
I'll have a new day if she'll have me

Hey tomorrow, I can't show you nothin'
You've seen it all pass by your door
So many times I said I been changin'
Then slipped into patterns of what happened before

"Cause I've been wasted and I've over-tasted
All the things that life gave to me
And I've been trusted, abused and busted
And I've been taken by those close to me

Hey tomorrow you've gotta believe that
I'm through wastin' whats left of me
'Cause night is fallin' and the dawn is callin'
I'll have a new day if she'll have me

Like the pine trees lining the winding road
I got a name, I got a name
Like the singing bird and the croaking toad
I got a name, I got a name
And I carry it with me like my daddy did
But I'm living the dream that he kept hid

Moving me down the highway
Rolling me down the highway
Moving ahead so life won't pass me by

Like the north wind whistling down the sky
I've got a song, I've got a song
Like the whippoorwill and the baby's cry
I've got a song, I've got a song
And I carry it with me and I sing it loud
If it gets me nowhere, I go there proud

Moving me down the highway
Rolling me down the highway
Moving ahead so life won't pass me by

And I'm gonna go there free

Like the fool I am and I'll always be
I've got a dream, I've got a dream
They can change their minds but they can't change me
I've got a dream, I've got a dream
Well, I know I can share it if you want me to
If you're going my way, I'll go with you

Moving me down the highway
Rolling me down the highway
Moving ahead so life won't pass me by
Moving me down the highway
Rolling me down the highway
Moving ahead so life won't pass me by

With just a sleeping bag
And an old guitar
I left the band in New Orleans
I did some time with the bottle
Some with the river queens
I never thought I would meet a girl
Who could turn my head around
'Til I met that Mississippi lady
In sleepy Gulfport town, she was a

Mississippi lady
My lovin' Gulfport gal
She taught me how to love
And she really loved me well
She took me up to heaven
Then she brought me down
That Mississippi lady
Sweet Cordelia Brown

Hot July in Gulfport
And I was working in the bars

And she was working on the street
With the rest of the evening stars
She said, "I never met a guy
Who could turn my head around"
And that's really sayin' something
For sweet Cordelia Brown, she was a

Now I'm back in New York City
Playin' in a band
But my mind's on Mississippi
Is it hard to understand
I never thought I would meet a girl
Who could bring me that far down
Like the girl I met in Gulfport
Sweet Cordelia Brown, she was a

That Mississippi lady
Sweet Cordelia Brown

That Mississippi lady
Sweet Cordelia Brown

If you get to feelin' all alone
When your good time friends have all got up and gone
Don't come knockin' around my door
Because I've heard your lines before

And there ain't gonna be a next time this time
'Cause woman startin' right now
I'm gonna forget you name and your pretty face, girl
And write you off as a bad mistake
You know that some women, they are lovers
And some just got no sense
But a woman like you oughta be ashamed
Of the things that you do to men

If you get to feeling all alone
When you find that you can't make it on your own
Don't come knockin' around my door
You see I've seen your act before

If you get to feelin' you were wrong
Don't go wastin' your good money on the phone
'Cause I can hang up as fast as you can call
And that ain't all

And there ain't gonna be a next time this time
'Cause woman startin' right now
I'm gonna forget you name and your pretty face, girl
And write you off as a complete disgrace
You know that some women they are liars
And some just got no sense
But a woman like you oughta be ashamed
Of the things that you do to men

Yeah a woman like you oughta be ashamed
Of the things that you do to men

We've been runnin' away from somethin' we both know
We've long run out of things to say and I think I'd better go
So don't be gettin' excited oh-when you hear that slammin' door
Cause there'll be one less set of footsteps on your floor in the mornin'

And we've been hidin' from somethin' that should have never gone this far
But after all it's what we've done that makes us what we are
And you've been talkin' in silence well if it's silence you adore
Oh there'll be one less set of footprints on your floor in the mornin'

Oh there'll be one less set of footsteps on your floor
One less man to walk in
One less pair of jeans upon your door
One less voice a-talkin'

But tomorrow's a dream away and today has turned to dust
Your silver tongue has turned to clay and your golden rule to rust
If that's the way that you want it well that's the way I want it more
Cause there'll be one less set of footprints on your floor in the mornin'
Oh there'll be one less set of footsteps on you floor in the mornin'

Operator, well could you help me place this call
See, the number on the match book is old and faded
She's living in L.A
With my best old ex-friend Ray
A guy she said she knew well and sometimes hated

But isn't that the way they say it goes
Well let's forget all that
And give me the number if you can find it
So I can call just to tell 'em I'm fine, and to show
I've overcome the blow
I've learned to take it well
I only wish my words
Could just convince myself
That it just wasn't real
But that's not the way it feels

Operator, well could you help me place this call
'Cause I can't read the number that you just gave me
There's something in my eyes
You know it happens every time
I think about the love that I thought would save me

But isn't that the way they say it goes
Well let's forget all that
And give me the number if you can find it
So I can call just to tell 'em I'm fine, and to show
I've overcome the blow
I've learned to take it well
I only wish my words
Could just convince myself
That it just wasn't real
But that's not the way it feels
No, no, no, no
That's not the way it feels

Operator, well let's forget about this call
There's no one there I really wanted to talk to
Thank you for your time
Ah, you've been so much more then kind
You can keep the dime

But isn't that the way they say it goes
Well let's forget all that
And give me the number if you can find it
So I can call just to tell 'em I'm fine, and to show
I've overcome the blow
I've learned to take it well
I only wish my words
Could just convince myself
That it just wasn't real
But that's not the way it feels

Photographs and memories
Christmas cards you sent to me
All that I have are these to remember you
Memories that come at night
Take me to another time
Back to a happier day, when I called you mine

But we sure had a good time
When we started way back when
Morning walks and bedroom talks
Oh, how I loved you then

Summer skies and lullabies
Nights we couldn't say goodbye
And of all of the things that we knew
Not a dream survived

Photographs and memories
All the love you gave to me
Somehow it just can't be true
It's all I've left of you

But we sure had a good time
When we started way back when
Morning walks and bedroom talks
Oh, how I loved you then

Gonna tell you a story, that you won't believe
But I fell in love last Friday evening
With the girl I saw on a bar room TV screen
Well I was just getting ready to get my hat
When she caught my eye, and I put it back
And I ordered myself couple of more shots and beers

The night that I fell in love with a roller derby queen
around and round, a round and round
The meanest hunk of woman that anybody ever seen
Down in the arena

She was 5 foot 6, two fifteen
A beach blonde mama with a streak of mean
She knew how to knuckle and she knew how to scuffle and fight
And the roller derby program said
that she was built like a 'fridgerator with a head
Her fans called her Tuffy, but all her buddies called her Spike

The night that I fell in love with a roller derby queen
around and round, a round and round
The meanest hunk of woman that anybody ever seen
Down in the arena

Well I could not help it, but to fall in love
With this heavy duty woman I've been speaking of
Things were kinda bad, untill the day she skated into my life
Well she might be nasty, she might be fat
But I never met a person who would tell her that
She's my bleach blonde bomber, my heavy handed Hackensack sack mama

The night that I fell in love with a roller derby queen
around and round, a round and round
The meanest hunk of woman that anybody ever seen
Down in the arena

Once we were lovers
But some how things have changed
Now we're just lonely people tryin' to forget eachother's names
Now we're just lonely people tryin' to forget eachother's names

What came between us?
Maybe we were just too young to know
But now and then I feel the same
And sometimes at night I think I hear you callin' my name
Mmm hmm hmm these dreams
They keep me goin' these days

Once we were lovers
But that was long ago
We lived together then
And now we do not even say hello
We lived together then
And now we do not even say hello

What came between us?
Maybe we were just too young to know
But now and then I feel the same
And sometimes at night I think I hear you callin' my name
Mmm hmm hmm these dreams
They keep me goin' these days

If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that I'd like to do
Is to save every day till eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you

If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I'd save every day like a treasure and then
Again, I would spend them with you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do, once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go through time with

If I had a box just for wishes
And dreams that had never come true
The box would be empty, except for the memory of how
They were answered by you

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do, once you find them
I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I want to go through time with

Well, the south side of Chicago
Is the baddest part of town
And if you go down there
You better just beware
Of a man name of Leroy Brown

Now Leroy more than trouble
You see he stand ‘bout six foot four
All those downtown ladies call him "Treetop Lover"
All the men just call him "Sir"

And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

Now Leroy he a gambler
And he like his fancy clothes
And he like to wave his diamond rings
Under everybody's nose

He got a custom Continental
He got an Eldorado too
He got a 32 gun in his pocket full a fun
He got a razor in his shoe

And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

Well Friday 'bout a week ago
Leroy shootin' dice
And at the edge of the bar
Sat a girl named Doris
And oh that girl looked nice

Well he cast his eyes upon her
And the trouble soon began
And Leroy Brown had learned a lesson
'Bout a-messin' with the wife of a jealous man

And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than a-old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

Well the two men took to fighting
And when they pulled them from the floor
Leroy looked like a jigsaw puzzle
With a couple of pieces gone

And it's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

And he's bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog

Yeah he was badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog.