Merle Haggard

Most of my lfe I've been runnin' around
Playin' and havin' a ball
And maybe I've been on a party too long
These mem'ries are fond to recall
You see we've got this thing
About women smokin' and good alcohol
Now I'm lookin' for a homelife
And clean smellin' sheets
And all the soft places to fall

The women we've known have been many
But they don't understand us at all
Though we've spent many a long hours
Hopin' some old love would call
Surely somebody somewhere still wants us
Or don't nobody wants us at all
We're lookin' for a homelife
And clean smellin' sheets
And all the soft places to fall

Most of our lives we've been outlaws
Slept with our backs to the wall
I'm a rambler I'm a seeker
And we're gettin' weaker
A whole lot more likely to fall
We're tired of the rocks and brambles
Those barbed wire fences and all
We're lookin' for a homelife
And clean smellin' sheets
And all the soft places to fall

[ guitar ]

Most of our lives we've been outlaws
Slept with our backs to the wall
I'm a rambler I'm a seeker
And we're gettin' weaker
A whole lot more likely to fall
We're tired of the rocks and brambles
Those barbed wire fences and all
We're lookin' for a homelife
And clean smellin' sheets
And all the soft places to fall

If I only had one arm to hold you
Well better yet if I had none at all
Then I wouldn't have two arms that ache
For you there'd be one less mem'ry to recall
If I only had one ear to listen to
The lies that you told to me
Then I more closely resemble
The half a man that you've made of me
If I only had one leg to stand on
Then how much how much truer picture you'd see
'Cause then I more closely resemble
The half a man that you've made of me

Well I might have gone fishin'
I got to thinkin' it over
The road to the river is a mighty long way
Well it must be the reason
No rhyme or no reason
I'm takin' it easy, it's my lazy day

I never mind callin' cause I ain't comin'
Just get you on by me
And stay out of my way stay out of my way
A little bit thinkin'
Drives me to drinkin'
Hey I'm a takin' it easy, it's my lazy day

[ piano - guitar ]

Well I might have gone fishin'
I got to thinkin' it over
The road to the river is a mighty long way
Well it must be the reason
No rhyme or no reason
I'm takin' it easy, it's my lazy day

I still love you as I did in yesterday
Many years have gone by though it seems just like a day
It's no wonder that I love you you have been so kind and true
There will never be another it will always be just you
We've come along the way together when you've proved your love is true
My life's been a pleasure and it's all because of you
And to me you'll always be just as sweet as flowers in May
And I'll still love you as I did in yesterday

[ guitar - violin ]

I still love you as I did in yesterday
Many years have gone by though it seems just like a day
And to me you'll always be just as sweet as flowers in May
And I'll still love you as I did in yesterday

I take a trip every evening
Scrolling down memory lane
I'm walkin' again those familiar paths
Dreaming those dreams again

And I can always see my sweetheart
Just as she used to be
Waiting for someone at the garden gate
And I know that someone is me

Big brown eyes and pearly hair
And you'd tell that's Mary
Rosy cheeks and ruby lips
Can't you tell that's Mary

Of times in the evenings we'd go scrolling
Hand in hand together beneath the pepper tree
And I can feel her hand in mine as I sit alone tonight
Dreaming of the times I spent with Mary

Ofttimes in the evenings
Oh, gee wouldn't it be wonderful to open up the doors of the past
And live again as yesterday
But you know no matter where I wander no matter where I roam

There'll always be a place in my heart boys
For a girl away back for a girl that I used to call Mary

There's a circle of people where I'm no longer welcome
I'm ashamed to say that I'm no longer fit
I could sober up tomorrow and face my friends again
But I've got no reason to quit

No I've got no reason for living right and there's no other way to forget
I could sober up tomorrow and face my friends again
But I've got no reason to quit

I've got no reason for living right and there's no other way to forget
I know down deep inside me I'm man enough to change
But I've got no reason to quit

Just watch the sunrise on the other side of town
Once more I've waited and once more you've let me down
This would be a perfect time for me to die
So I'd like to take this opportunity to cry

You gave your word now I return it to you
With this suggestion as to what you can do
Just exchange the words I love you for goodbye
While I take this opportunity to cry

I'd like to see you but I'm afraid
That I don't know wrong from right
And if I saw you would I kiss you
Or want to kill you out of sight

It's been a long night so I think I'll go home
And feed my nightmares they've been waiting all night long
They'll be the last ones to tell me goodbye
They'll give me many opportunities to cry

Well, I'd like to see you but I'm afraid

Living on the road my friend,
Was gonna keep you free and clean.
Now you wear your skin like iron,
Your breath as hard as kerosene.
You weren't your mama's only boy,
But her favorite one it seems.
She began to cry when you said goodbye,
And sank into your dreams.

Pancho was a bandit boy,
His horse was fast as polished steel.
He wore his gun outside his pants
For all the honest world to feel.
Pancho met his match you know
On the deserts down in Mexico,
Nobody heard his dying words,
Ah but that's the way it goes.

All the Federales say
They could have had him any day
They only let him slip away
Out of kindness, I suppose.

Lefty, he can't sing the blues
All night long like he used to.
The dust that Pancho bit down south
Ended up in Lefty's mouth.
The day they laid poor Pancho low,
Lefty split for Ohio.
Where he got the bread to go,
There ain't nobody knows.

All the Federales say
We could have had him any day.
We only let him slip away
Out of kindness, I suppose.

The poets tell how Pancho fell,
And Lefty's living in cheap hotels
The desert's quiet, Cleveland's cold,
And so the story ends we're told.
Pancho needs your prayers it's true,
But save a few for Lefty too.
He only did what he had to do,
And now he's growing old.

All the Federales say
We could have had him any day.
We only let him go so long
Out of kindness, I suppose.

A few gray Federales say
We could have had him any day
We only let him go so long
Out of kindness, I suppose.

Reasons to quit the smoke and booze don't do me like before
And I'm hardly ever sober and my old friends don't come around much anymore
Reasons to quit below it always lower than the high
And the reasons to quit don't out number all the reasons why
So we keep smokin' and we keep drinkin' havin' fun and never thinkin'
Laughin' at the price tags that we pay
And we keep rollin' down the fast lane like two young men feelin' no pain
And the reasons for quittin's gettin' bigger each day
Reasons to quit I can't afford the habit all the time
I need to be sober I need to write some new songs that will rhyme
Reasons to quit they have no rhyme or reason when you're high
And the reasons to quit don't out number all the reasons why

We keep smokin' and we keep drinkin'...
And the reasons for quittin's gettin' bigger each day

Still water runs the deepest
Like a love complete and through
So peaceful and dependable
I can't say the same about you

Your love is cold and selfish
And it never could be true
One time I loved you truly
I can't say the same about you

I'm leaving and I won't be back
I'm goin' to where I belong
Too long we've been together
And too long you've done me wrong

Still water runs the deepest
Like a love complete and through
So peaceful and dependable
I can't say the same about you

Well, I'm leaving and I won't be back
I'm goin' to where I belong
Too long we've been together
And too long you've done me wrong

Still water runs the deepest
Like a love complete and through
So peaceful and dependable
I can't say the same about you

I wish a buck was still silver and it was back when the country was strong.
Back before Elvis and before the Vietnam war came along.
Before the Beatles and yesterday when a man could still work and still would.
Is the best of the free life behind us now and are the good times really over for good ?

Are we rollin' downhill like a snowball headed for hell?
With no kind of chance for the flag or the liberty bell?
I wish a Ford or a Chevy would still last ten years like they should.
Is the best of the free life behind us now and are the good times really over for good?

I wish Coke was still cola and a joint was a bad place to be.
It was back before Nixon lied to us all on TV.
Before Microwave ovens when a girl could still cook, and still would.
Is the best of the free life behind us now and are the good times really over for good ?

Are we rollin' downhill like a snowball headed for hell?
With no kind of chance for the flag or the liberty bell?
I wish a Ford or a Chevy would still last ten years like they should.
Is the best of the free life behind us now and are the good times really over for good?

Stop rollin' downhill like a snowball headed for hell.
Standup for the flag, and let's all ring the liberty bell.
Let's make a Ford and a Chevy that'll still last ten years like they should...
The best of the free life is still yet to come and the good times ain't really

I'm tired of this dirty old city.
Entirely too much work and never enough play.
And I'm tired of these dirty old sidewalks.
Think I'll walk off my steady job today.

Turn me loose, set me free, somewhere in the middle of Montanna.
And gimme all I got comin' to me,
And keep your retirement and your so called social security.
Big City turn me loose and set me free.

Been working everyday since I was twenty.
Haven't got a thing to show for anything I've done.
There's folks who never work and they've got plenty.
Think it's time some guys like me had some fun.

Turn me loose, set me free, somewhere in the middle of Montanna.
And gimme all I got comin' to me,
And keep your retirement and your so called social security.
Big City turn me loose and set me free.

C.C.Waterback, one tequila sunrise
One's for my achin' head, the other's for my bloodshot eyes
And last night I let it all hang out, I guess that's how my head got sore
C.C. Waterback, I can't stand the pain no more

Last night we got invited to a party at the Jones' place
For fun and games and booze and things
I guess, I must've drank a case

But that lady of mine, she drank warm red wine
'Til she couldn't even find the door
She wound up in ol' Jones' bed
And I wound up on the floor, hang, I give you

C.C. Waterback, one tequila sunrise
One's for my achin' head the other's for my bloodshot eyes
Last night we let it all hang out, I guess that's how our heads got sore
C.C. Waterback, I can't stand the pain no more

And I said, C.C. Waterback, one tequila sunrise
One's for my achin' head the other's for my bloodshot eyes
Last night I let it all hang out, I guess that's how my head got sore
I said, C.C. Waterback, I can't stand the pain no more

Rollin with the flow
Going where the lonely go
Anywhere the lights are low
Going where the lonely go

Making up things to do
Not running in all directions
Trying to find you
I'm rollin with the flow
Going where the lonely go
I've got to keep rollin
I can't lay down

Sleep won't hardly come
When theres loneliness all around
I've got to keep goin
Travling down this lonesome road
I'm rollin with the flow
Goin where the lonely go

The first time we met is a favorite mem'ry of mine.
They say time changes all it pertains to
But your memory is stronger than time.
I guess everything does change except what you choose to recall.

There's a million good daydreams to dream on
But, baby, you are My Favorite Mem'ry of all.

Like the night we made love in the hallway,
Slept all night long on the floor.
Like the winter we spent at Lake Shasta alone, and closer than ever before.

And I remember that London vacation.
It was you who made the whole thing a ball.
There's a million good-times I could dwell on,

But, baby, you are My Favorite Mem'ry of all.
My Favorite Memory

Living on the road my friend,
Was gonna keep you free and clean.
Now you wear your skin like iron,
Your breath as hard as kerosene.
You weren't your mama's only boy,
But her favorite one it seems.
She began to cry when you said goodbye,
And sank into your dreams.

Pancho was a bandit boy,
His horse was fast as polished steel.
He wore his gun outside his pants
For all the honest world to feel.
Pancho met his match you know
On the deserts down in Mexico,
Nobody heard his dying words,
Ah but that's the way it goes.

All the Federales say
They could have had him any day
They only let him slip away
Out of kindness, I suppose.

Lefty, he can't sing the blues
All night long like he used to.
The dust that Pancho bit down south
Ended up in Lefty's mouth.
The day they laid poor Pancho low,
Lefty split for Ohio.
Where he got the bread to go,
There ain't nobody knows.

All the Federales say
We could have had him any day.
We only let him slip away
Out of kindness, I suppose.

The poets tell how Pancho fell,
And Lefty's living in cheap hotels
The desert's quiet, Cleveland's cold,
And so the story ends we're told.
Pancho needs your prayers it's true,
But save a few for Lefty too.
He only did what he had to do,
And now he's growing old.

All the Federales say
We could have had him any day.
We only let him go so long
Out of kindness, I suppose.

A few gray Federales say
We could have had him any day
We only let him go so long
Out of kindness, I suppose.

Reasons to quit the smoke and booze don't do me like before
And I'm hardly ever sober and my old friends don't come around much anymore
Reasons to quit below it always lower than the high
And the reasons to quit don't out number all the reasons why
So we keep smokin' and we keep drinkin' havin' fun and never thinkin'
Laughin' at the price tags that we pay
And we keep rollin' down the fast lane like two young men feelin' no pain
And the reasons for quittin's gettin' bigger each day
Reasons to quit I can't afford the habit all the time
I need to be sober I need to write some new songs that will rhyme
Reasons to quit they have no rhyme or reason when you're high
And the reasons to quit don't out number all the reasons why

We keep smokin' and we keep drinkin'...
And the reasons for quittin's gettin' bigger each day

Someday when things are good, I'm gonna leave you.
I can't seem to go when things are bad.
I'll be one more love that you can dream about,
And one more man that you can say you've had.

You'll always be the kind to dream of yesterday.
And a way of life I never understood.
And someday soon I'll be just one more memory.
And you'll call my name when things are not so good.

Someday when things are good, I'm gonna leave you.
I can't seem to go when things are bad.
I'll be one more love that you can dream about,
And one more man that you can say you've had.

I've been throwing horseshoes
Over my left shoulder
I've spent most all my life
Looking for that four-leafed clover

But you ran with me,
Chasing all my rainbows
Honey I love you, too
And that's the way love goes.

That's the way love goes, babe
That's the music God made
For all the world to sing
It never gets old; it grows
Losing makes me sorry
You say,

My legs and my feet
Have walked 'till they can't hardly move from tryin' to please you
And my back is sore
From bendin' over backwards to just lay the world at your door.

I've tried so hard to keep a smile on a sad face while deep down
It's breakin' my heart
And as sure as the sunshines I'll be a lifetime
Not knowin' if I've done my part

'Cause You Take Me For Granted And it's breakin' my heart
As sure as the sunshines I'll be a lifetime
Not knowin' if I've done my part.

We don't smoke marijuana in Muskogee;
We don't take no trips on LSD
We don't burn no draft cards down on Main Street;
We like livin' right, and bein' free.

I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee,
A place where even squares can have a ball
We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse,
And white lightnin's still the biggest thrill of all

We don't make a party out of lovin';
We like holdin' hands and pitchin' woo;
We don't let our hair grow long and shaggy,
Like the hippies out in San Francisco do.

And I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee,
A place where even squares can have a ball.
We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse,
And white lightnin's still the biggest thrill of all.

Leather boots are still in style for manly footwear;
Beads and Roman sandals won't be seen.
Football's still the roughest thing on campus,
And the kids here still respect the college dean.

We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse,
In Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA.

I almost felt you touching me just now
I wish I knew which way to turn and go
I feel so good and then, then I feel so bad
I wonder what I ought to do

If I could only fly, if I could only fly
I'd bid this place goodbye to come and be with you
But I can hardly stand and I got no where to run
Another sinking sun and one more lonely night

The wind keeps blowing, somewhere, everyday
Tell me things get better, somewhere, up the way
Just dismal thinking on a dismal day
And sad songs for us to bare

If I could only fly
If we could only fly
If we could only fly
There'd be no more lonely nights

You know, sometimes, I write happy songs
Then some little thing goes wrong
I wish they all could make you smile

Coming home soon and I wanna stay
Maybe we can, somehow, get away
I wish you could come with me when I go again

If I could only fly, if I could only fly
I'd bid this place goodbye to come and be with you
But I can hardly stand and I got no where to run
Another sinking sun and one more lonely night

That mornin' a lady locked arms with a shotgun
And the pistol rode west with the sun
Now the outlaws of Tombstone and the outlaws forever
Know that death is the way of the gun

They fought side by side, undefeated each time
Speed of their guns were the same
From dark city Kansas to wild Arizon
All outlaws alike knew their name

A shotgun, a pistol, known the world over as
The two biggest guns in the west
But the whole town of Tombstone knew the friendship was shakin'
And they wondered which one was the best

Only a shootout could settle the question
That lay heavy on everyone's mind
Whiskey and loose talk and their love for a woman
Made the shoot out a matter of time

That mornin' a lady locked arms with a shotgun
And the pistol rode west with the sun
Now the outlaws of Tombstone and the outlaws forever
Know that death is the way of the gun

The day of the doom had been set by the town
That lived up to it's blood-thirsty name
Some said the pistol, some said the shotgun
Some said the town was to blame

But some outlaws named Clanton and the O.K Corral
Changed history and canceled the game
When the shootout was over and the outlaws lay dyin'
Old Tombstone the silent was shamed

That mornin' a lady locked arms with a shotgun
And a pistol rode west with the sun
Now the outlaws of Tombstone and the outlaws forever
Know death is the way of the gun

Silver wings shinning in the sunlight,
roaring engines headed somewhere in flight.
Their taking you away, leaving me lonley,
silver wings slowly fading out of sight.
Don't leave me i cry, don't take that airplane ride.
But you locked me out of your mind. left me
standing here behind.
Silver wings shining in the sunlight,
roaring engines headed somewhere in flight.
Their taking you away, leaving me lonley.
silver wings slowley fading out of sight.
Silver wings shining in the sunlight,
roaring engines headed somewhere in flight,
their taking you away. Leaving me lonley.
Silver wings slowley fading out of sight.
Slowley fading out of sight.

Why do I have to choose to see everybody lose
To walk around and sing the blues well darling I refuse
Love is hard to find love of any kind
And a love like yours and mine creates it's own design
So why do I have to choose see everybody lose
To walk around and sing the blues well darling I refuse

And when I think of her and then I think of you
The love is not the same but either love is true
Why do I have to choose to see everybody lose
To walk around and sing the blues well darling I refuse

A day with no sleep, a night with no love
And life without you on my side
If I had to lay down without you on my side
Nightmares would throw both my eyes open wide
And the bad dreams wouldn't leave me
And it would all start to greet me without you on my side

A day with no sleep, a night with no love
And life without you on my side
And if I had to lay down without you by my side
Nightmares would throw both my eyes open wide
And the bad dreams wouldn't leave me
And it would all start to greet me without you on my side
Without you on my side

(I'd like to do a song now that was recoded by a pretty pearly country group known as The Beatles I know you heard them many times from the Grand Ole Opry ha-ha...
But seriously this is the song that as a songwriter myself I appreciate very much and I'd like to do it for you and I hope you'll enjoy)

Yesterday all my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though they're here to stay oh I believe in yesterday
Suddenly I'm not half the man I used to be
There's a shadow hanging over me yesterday came suddenly

Why she had to go I don't know she wouldn't say
I said something wrong now I long for yesterday
Yesterday love was such an easy game to play
Now I need a place to hide away oh I believe in yesterday

Why she had to go...
I believe in yesterday

I'm tired of this dirty old city.
Entirely too much work and never enough play.
And I'm tired of these dirty old sidewalks.
Think I'll walk off my steady job today.

Turn me loose, set me free, somewhere in the middle of Montanna.
And gimme all I got comin' to me,
And keep your retirement and your so called social security.
Big City turn me loose and set me free.

Been working everyday since I was twenty.
Haven't got a thing to show for anything I've done.
There's folks who never work and they've got plenty.
Think it's time some guys like me had some fun.

Turn me loose, set me free, somewhere in the middle of Montanna.
And gimme all I got comin' to me,
And keep your retirement and your so called social security.
Big City turn me loose and set me free.

Rollin with the flow
Going where the lonely go
Anywhere the lights are low
Going where the lonely go

Making up things to do
Not running in all directions
Trying to find you
I'm rollin with the flow
Going where the lonely go
I've got to keep rollin
I can't lay down

Sleep won't hardly come
When theres loneliness all around
I've got to keep goin
Travling down this lonesome road
I'm rollin with the flow
Goin where the lonely go

The first time we met is a favorite mem'ry of mine.
They say time changes all it pertains to
But your memory is stronger than time.
I guess everything does change except what you choose to recall.

There's a million good daydreams to dream on
But, baby, you are My Favorite Mem'ry of all.

Like the night we made love in the hallway,
Slept all night long on the floor.
Like the winter we spent at Lake Shasta alone, and closer than ever before.

And I remember that London vacation.
It was you who made the whole thing a ball.
There's a million good-times I could dwell on,

But, baby, you are My Favorite Mem'ry of all.
My Favorite Memory

I wish a buck was still silver and it was back when the country was strong.
Back before Elvis and before the Vietnam war came along.
Before the Beatles and yesterday when a man could still work and still would.
Is the best of the free life behind us now and are the good times really over for good ?

Are we rollin' downhill like a snowball headed for hell?
With no kind of chance for the flag or the liberty bell?
I wish a Ford or a Chevy would still last ten years like they should.
Is the best of the free life behind us now and are the good times really over for good?

I wish Coke was still cola and a joint was a bad place to be.
It was back before Nixon lied to us all on TV.
Before Microwave ovens when a girl could still cook, and still would.
Is the best of the free life behind us now and are the good times really over for good ?

Are we rollin' downhill like a snowball headed for hell?
With no kind of chance for the flag or the liberty bell?
I wish a Ford or a Chevy would still last ten years like they should.
Is the best of the free life behind us now and are the good times really over for good?

Stop rollin' downhill like a snowball headed for hell.
Standup for the flag, and let's all ring the liberty bell.
Let's make a Ford and a Chevy that'll still last ten years like they should...
The best of the free life is still yet to come and the good times ain't really

Oh, the love you promised would be mine forever
I would have bet my bottom dollar on

Well, it sure turned out to be a short forever
Just once I turned my back and you were gone
From now on all my friends are gonna be strangers
I'm all through ever trusting anyone

The only thing I can count on now is my fingers
I was a fool believing in you, now you are gone
It amazes me, not knowing any better

Than to think I had a love who would be true
Why, I should be taken out, tarred and feathered
To have let myself be taken in by you

Daddy Frank played the guitar and the french harp,
Sister played the ringing tambourine.
Mama couldn't hear our pretty music,
She read our lips and helped the family sing.

That little band was all a part of living,
And our only means of living at the time;
And it wasn't like no normal family combo,
Cause Daddy Frank the guitar man was blind.

Frank and mama counted on each other;
Their one and only weakness made them strong.
Mama did the driving for the family,
And Frank made a living with a song.

Home was just a camp along the highway;
A pick-up bed was where we bedded down.
Don't ever once remember going hungry,
But I remember mama cooking on the ground.

Don't remember how they got acquainted;
I can't recall just how it came to be.
There had to be some special help from someone,
And blessed be the one that let it be.

Fever caused my mama's loss of hearing.
Daddy Frank was born without his sight.
And mama needed someone she could lean on,
And I believe the guitar man was right.

Daddy Frank played the guitar and the french harp,
Sister played the ringing tambourine.
Mama couldn't hear our pretty music,
She read our lips and helped the family sing.

Could be holding you tonight
Could be doing wrong or doing right
You don't care about what I think
I think I'll just stay here and drink

Hey, putting you down won't square the deal
A least you'll know what I feel
Hey, take all the money in the bank
I think I'll just stay here and drink

Hey, listen close and you can hear
That loud jukebox playing in my ear
Ain't no woman gonna change the way I think
I think I'll just stay here and drink

Hey, hurtin' me know don't mean a thing
Since love ain't here I don't feel a thing
My mind ain't nothing but a total blank
I think I'll just stay here and drink

Down every road there's always one more city
I'm on the run, the highway is my home
I raised a lot of cane back in my younger days
While Mama used to pray my crops would fail
I'm a hunted fugitive with just two ways,
Outrun the law or spend my life in jail

I'd like to settle down but they won't let me
A fugitive must be a rolling stone
Down every road there's always one more city
I'm on the run, the highway is my home

I'm lonely but I can't afford the luxury
Of having one I love to come along
She'd only slow me down and they'd catch up with me
For he who travels fastest goes alone

I'd like to settle down but they won't let me
A fugitive must be a rolling stone
Down every road there's always one more city
I'm on the run, the highway is my home

I'm on the run, the highway is my home

The first thing I remember knowing,
Was a lonesome whistle blowing,
And a young un's dream of growing up to ride;
On a freight train leaving town,
Not knowing where I'm bound,
No-one could change my mind but Mama tried.
One and only rebel child,
From a family, meek and mild:
My Mama seemed to know what lay in store.
Despite all my Sunday learning,
Towards the bad, I kept on turning.
'Til Mama couldn't hold me anymore.

And I turned twenty-one in prison doing life without parole.
No-one could steer me right but Mama tried, Mama tried.
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading, I denied.
That leaves only me to blame 'cos Mama tried.

Instrumental break.

Dear old Daddy, rest his soul,
Left my Mom a heavy load;
She tried so very hard to fill his shoes.
Working hours without rest,
Wanted me to have the best.
She tried to raise me right but I refused.

And I turned twenty-one in prison doing life without parole.
No-one could steer me right but Mama tried, Mama tried.
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading, I denied.
That leaves only me to blame 'cos Mama tried.

We don't smoke marijuana in Muskogee;
We don't take no trips on LSD
We don't burn no draft cards down on Main Street;
We like livin' right, and bein' free.

I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee,
A place where even squares can have a ball
We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse,
And white lightnin's still the biggest thrill of all

We don't make a party out of lovin';
We like holdin' hands and pitchin' woo;
We don't let our hair grow long and shaggy,
Like the hippies out in San Francisco do.

And I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee,
A place where even squares can have a ball.
We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse,
And white lightnin's still the biggest thrill of all.

Leather boots are still in style for manly footwear;
Beads and Roman sandals won't be seen.
Football's still the roughest thing on campus,
And the kids here still respect the college dean.

We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse,
In Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA.

This old smoke filled bar is something I'm not used to
But if gave up my home to see you satisfied
And I just called to let you know where I'll be living
It's not much but I feel welcome here inside

And I've got swinging doors a jukebox and a barstool
And my new home has got a flashing neon sign
Stop by and see me anytime you want to
Cause I'm always here at home till closing time

I've got everything I need to drive me crazy
I've got everything it takes to lose my mind
And in here the atmosphere's just right for heartaches
And thanks to you I'm always here till closing time

And I've got swinging doors a jukebox and a barstool
And my new home has got a flashing neon sign
Stop by and see me anytime you want to
Cause I'm always here at home till closing time

Yeah, I'm always here at home till closing time

Each night I leave the barroom when it over
Not feeling any pain at closing time
But tonight you memory found me much to sober
Couldn drink enough to keep you off my mind

Tonight the bottle let down
And let you memory come around
The one true friend I thought I found
Tonight the bottle let down

I always had a bottle I could turn to
And lately I been turning everyday
But the wind don take effect the way it used to
And I hurting in an old familiar way

Tonight the bottle let down
And let you memory come around
The one true friend I thought I found
Tonight the bottle let down

I hear people talkin' bad,
About the way we have to live here in this country,
Harpin' on the wars we fight,
An' gripin' 'bout the way things oughta be.
An' I don't mind 'em switchin' sides,
An' standin' up for things they believe in.
When they're runnin' down my country, man,
They're walkin' on the fightin' side of me.

Yeah, walkin' on the fightin' side of me.
Runnin' down the way of life,
Our fightin' men have fought and died to keep.
If you don't love it, leave it:
Let this song I'm singin' be a warnin'.
If you're runnin' down my country, man,
You're walkin' on the fightin' side of me.

I read about some squirrely guy,
Who claims, he just don't believe in fightin'.
An' I wonder just how long,
The rest of us can count on bein' free.
They love our milk an' honey,
But they preach about some other way of livin'.
When they're runnin' down my country, hoss,
They're walkin' on the fightin' side of me.

Yeah, walkin' on the fightin' side of me.
Runnin' down the way of life,
Our fightin' men have fought and died to keep.
If you don't love it, leave it:
Let this song I'm singin' be a warnin'.
If you're runnin' down my country, man,
You're walkin' on the fightin' side of me.

Yeah, walkin' on the fightin' side of me.
Runnin' down the way of life,
Our fightin' men have fought and died to keep.
If you don't love it, leave it:
Let this song I'm singin' be a warnin'.
If you're runnin' down my country, man,
You're walkin' on the fightin' side of me.

Today I started lovin' you again
And I'm right back to where I've really always been
I got over you just long enough to let my heartache mend
And then today I started loving you again

What a fool I was to think, I could get by
With only these few million tears I cried
I should have known the worst was yet to come
And the crying time for me had just begun

Today I started loving you again
And I'm right back to where I've really always been
I got over you just long enough to let my heartache mend
And then today I started loving you again

Today I started loving you again
And I'm right back to where I've really always been
I got over you just long enough to let my heartache mend
And then today I started loving you again

I'm tired of this dirty old city.
Entirely too much work and never enough play.
And I'm tired of these dirty old sidewalks.
Think I'll walk off my steady job today.

Turn me loose, set me free, somewhere in the middle of Montanna.
And gimme all I got comin' to me,
And keep your retirement and your so called social security.
Big City turn me loose and set me free.

Been working everyday since I was twenty.
Haven't got a thing to show for anything I've done.
There's folks who never work and they've got plenty.
Think it's time some guys like me had some fun.

Turn me loose, set me free, somewhere in the middle of Montanna.
And gimme all I got comin' to me,
And keep your retirement and your so called social security.
Big City turn me loose and set me free.

I'd like to hold my head up and be proud of who I am
But they won't let my secret go untold
I paid the debt I owed them,but they're still not satisfied
Now I'm a branded man out un the cold

When they let me out of prison,I held my head up high
Determined I would rise above the shame
But no matter where I'm living,the black mark follows me
I'm branded with a number on my name

Repeat verse 1

If I live to be a hundred,I guess I'll never clear my name
'Cause everybody knows I've been in jai
No matter where I'm living,I've got to tell them where I've been
Or they'll send me back to prison if I fail

Repeat verse 1

Now I'm a branded man out un the cold

Carolyn let me tell you what I heard about a man today
He didn't come home from work and he went away
'Til he came to a city, bright in the night time like day
There they say he met with some women dressed in yellow and scarlet
Their warm lips like a honeycomb, dripped with honey
And somethin' about the smell of strange perfume
Made him feel warm, and not alone

Yes Carolyn a man will do that sometimes on his own
And sometimes when he's lonely
And I believe a man will do that sometimes out of spite
But Carolyn, a man will do that always
When he's treated bad at home

Yes Carolyn a man will do that sometimes on his own
And sometimes when he's lonely
And I believe a man will do that sometimes out of spite
But Carolyn, a man will do that always
When he's treated bad at home

Seems like every November
When the weather gets bad
I start to remember
All the good times we had
The long nights get longer
I Wish an friend would come by
The forecast is zero
And the chill factors high

You know the chill factors higher
On a cold windy day
But there's no wind this morning
And no wind on the way
There's a snowstorm inside me
With record high wind
And I'm colder this morning
Than I've ever been

Seems like every November
When the weather gets bad
I start to remember
The good love we had
And the long nights get longer
Wish an old friend would drop by
The forecast is zero
And the chill factors high

I lost a woman
I believe to be perfect for me
You could replace her
But you're so much younger than me

Our lives are so different
Our music is not the same kind
It's like we're just out of focus
With no way to bring us in line

I'm like a man from another time
I'm old fashion music, I'm old fashion wine
Pilgrim like Jesus with no way to find
I'm like a man from another time

I may be a reincarnated
From a soldier who died in some war
With our thirty year difference
It's like I was born in some lifetime before

I'm old fashion music, I'm old fashion wine
I'm like a man from another time

Maybe reincarnated
From a soldier who died in some war
With our thirty year difference
I'm like born in some lifetime before

I'm old fashion music, I'm old fashion wine
I'm like a man from another time
I'm like a man from another time

The warden led a prisoner down the hallway to his doom
I stood up to say good-bye like all the rest
And I heard him tell the warden just before he reached my cell
'Let my guitar playing friend do my request.' (Let him...)

Sing me back home with a song I used to hear
Make my old memories come alive
Take me away and turn back the years
Sing Me Back Home before I die

I recall last Sunday morning a choir from 'cross the street
Came to sing a few old gospel songs
And I heard him tell the singers 'There's a song my mama sang.
Can I hear once before we move along?'

Sing me back home, the song my mama sang
Make my old memories come alive
Take me away and turn back the years
Sing Me Back Home before I die

Sing Me Back Home before I die

Someday when our dream world finds us
And these hard times are gone
We'll laugh and count our blessings
In a mansion all our own
If we both pull together tomorrow's sure to come
Someday we'll look back and say it was fun

We live on love and pennies
And the day dream out of sight
And I'm amazed the way you smile
When things don't turn out right
We climb each hill together each step one by one
And someday we'll look back and say it was fun

Someday when our dream world finds us
And these hard times are gone
We'll laugh and count our blessings
In a mansion all our own
If we both pull together tomorrow's sure to come
Someday we'll look back and say it was fun
And someday we'll look back and say it was fun

Twinkle, twinkle lucky star,
Can you send me luck from where you are?
Can you make a rainbow shine that far?
Twinkle, twinkle lucky star.
Can you really make a wish come true?
Do you shine on just a chosen few?
Is it over? Have I gone to far?
Twinkle, twinkle lucky star.

Like two ships on the ocean, we drifted apart,
And you found an island at sea.
Now I'm still driftin' with this pain in my heart.
Won't you send her sweet love back to me?

Twinkle, twinkle lucky star,
Can you send me luck from where you are?
Can you make a rainbow shine that far?
Twinkle, twinkle lucky star.

Instrumental.

Like two ships on the ocean, we drifted apart,
And you found an island at sea.
Now I'm still driftin' with this pain in my heart.
Won't you send her sweet love back to me?

Twinkle, twinkle lucky star,
Can you send me luck from where you are?
Can you make a rainbow shine that far?
Twinkle, twinkle lucky star.

We're caught in a trap like prisoners in a cage
Growing old from hate not from age
The runnin' love we had is down to crawl
We hardly ever talk and we never touch at all

You go out with someone else while I'm out with someone too
Yet we come back to prison when we're through
Why don't we just stay out? But we still can climb the wall
We hardly ever talk and we never touch at all

Are we afraid that we'll wind up along?
Is this the tide that keeps us hanging on?
Why don't we just stay out while we still can climb the wall?
We hardly ever talk and we never touch at all

Are we afraid that we'll wind up along?
Is this the tide that keeps us hanging on?
Why don't we just stay out while we still can climb the wall?
We hardly ever talk and we never touch at all
We hardly ever talk and we never touch at all, at all

It's a big job just gettin' by with nine kids and a wife
I been a workin' man dang near all my life
I'll be working long as my two hands are fit to use
I'll drink my beer in a tavern,
Sing a little bit of these working man blues

I keep my nose on the grindstone, I work hard every day
Might get a little tired on the weekend, after I draw my pay
But I'll go back workin, come Monday morning I'm right back with the crew
I'll drink a little beer that evening,
Sing a little bit of these working man blues

Hey hey, the working man, the working man like me
I ain't never been on welfare, that's one place I won't be
Cause I'll be working long as my two hands are fit to use
I drink a little beer in a tavern
Sing a little bit of these working man blues

Sometimes I think about leaving, do a little bummin around
I wanna throw my bills out the window catch a train to another town
But I go back working I gotta buy my kids a brand new pair of shoes
Yeah drink a little beer in a tavern,
Cry a little bit of these working man blues

Hey hey, the working man, the working man like me
I ain't never been on welfare, that's one place I won't be
Cause I'll be working long as my two hands are fit to use
I drink a little beer in a tavern
Sing a little bit of these working man blues
Yeah drink a little beer in a tavern,
Cry a little bit of these working man blues

I wish a buck was still silver and it was back when the country was strong.
Back before Elvis and before the Vietnam war came along.
Before the Beatles and yesterday when a man could still work and still would.
Is the best of the free life behind us now and are the good times really over for good ?

Are we rollin' downhill like a snowball headed for hell?
With no kind of chance for the flag or the liberty bell?
I wish a Ford or a Chevy would still last ten years like they should.
Is the best of the free life behind us now and are the good times really over for good?

I wish Coke was still cola and a joint was a bad place to be.
It was back before Nixon lied to us all on TV.
Before Microwave ovens when a girl could still cook, and still would.
Is the best of the free life behind us now and are the good times really over for good ?

Are we rollin' downhill like a snowball headed for hell?
With no kind of chance for the flag or the liberty bell?
I wish a Ford or a Chevy would still last ten years like they should.
Is the best of the free life behind us now and are the good times really over for good?

Stop rollin' downhill like a snowball headed for hell.
Standup for the flag, and let's all ring the liberty bell.
Let's make a Ford and a Chevy that'll still last ten years like they should...
The best of the free life is still yet to come and the good times ain't really

Living on the road my friend,
Was gonna keep you free and clean.
Now you wear your skin like iron,
Your breath as hard as kerosene.
You weren't your mama's only boy,
But her favorite one it seems.
She began to cry when you said goodbye,
And sank into your dreams.

Pancho was a bandit boy,
His horse was fast as polished steel.
He wore his gun outside his pants
For all the honest world to feel.
Pancho met his match you know
On the deserts down in Mexico,
Nobody heard his dying words,
Ah but that's the way it goes.

All the Federales say
They could have had him any day
They only let him slip away
Out of kindness, I suppose.

Lefty, he can't sing the blues
All night long like he used to.
The dust that Pancho bit down south
Ended up in Lefty's mouth.
The day they laid poor Pancho low,
Lefty split for Ohio.
Where he got the bread to go,
There ain't nobody knows.

All the Federales say
We could have had him any day.
We only let him slip away
Out of kindness, I suppose.

The poets tell how Pancho fell,
And Lefty's living in cheap hotels
The desert's quiet, Cleveland's cold,
And so the story ends we're told.
Pancho needs your prayers it's true,
But save a few for Lefty too.
He only did what he had to do,
And now he's growing old.

All the Federales say
We could have had him any day.
We only let him go so long
Out of kindness, I suppose.

A few gray Federales say
We could have had him any day
We only let him go so long
Out of kindness, I suppose.

All of me belongs to you all the time
You're the only one that's ever on my mind
There's no way that I would ever be untrue
There's not one single part of me
That don't miss you through and through
'Cause all of me belongs to you

Eyes are worthless 'cause you're not here to see
My lips are so forgotten since you forgotten me
My arms ached from reaching out to you the way they do
There's not one single part of me
That don't miss you through and through
'Cause all of me belongs to you

Fingers claw the darkness in my dreams
Searching for a love I lost but can't redeem
Hey, I'm yours and I can't give my heart to someone new
There's not one single part of me
My heart don't inclue
'Cause all of me belongs to you

Fingers claw the darkness in my dreams
Searching for a love I lost but can't redeem
Hey, I'm yours and I can't give my heart to someone new
There's not one single part of me
My heart don't inclue
'Cause all of me belongs to you
All of me belongs to you

Always wanting you, but never having you,
Makes it hard to face tomorrow 'cause I
Know I'll be wanting you again.
Always loving you, but never touching you,
Sometimes hurts me almost more than I can stand.

I'd been better off if I'd turned away and never
Looked at you the second time.
Cause I really had my life all together till your eyes met mine.

And there I say a yearning and a feeling 'cross
The room that you felt for me.
Wish I'd had a way of knowing that the things we had in
Mind could never be.

Always wanting you, but never having you,
Makes it hard to face tomorrow 'cause I
Know I'll be wanting you again.
Always loving you, but never touching you,
Sometimes hurts me almost more than I can stand.

I wish a buck was still silver and it was back when the country was strong.
Back before Elvis and before the Vietnam war came along.
Before the Beatles and yesterday when a man could still work and still would.
Is the best of the free life behind us now and are the good times really over for good ?

Are we rollin' downhill like a snowball headed for hell?
With no kind of chance for the flag or the liberty bell?
I wish a Ford or a Chevy would still last ten years like they should.
Is the best of the free life behind us now and are the good times really over for good?

I wish Coke was still cola and a joint was a bad place to be.
It was back before Nixon lied to us all on TV.
Before Microwave ovens when a girl could still cook, and still would.
Is the best of the free life behind us now and are the good times really over for good ?

Are we rollin' downhill like a snowball headed for hell?
With no kind of chance for the flag or the liberty bell?
I wish a Ford or a Chevy would still last ten years like they should.
Is the best of the free life behind us now and are the good times really over for good?

Stop rollin' downhill like a snowball headed for hell.
Standup for the flag, and let's all ring the liberty bell.
Let's make a Ford and a Chevy that'll still last ten years like they should...
The best of the free life is still yet to come and the good times ain't really

I'm tired of this dirty old city.
Entirely too much work and never enough play.
And I'm tired of these dirty old sidewalks.
Think I'll walk off my steady job today.

Turn me loose, set me free, somewhere in the middle of Montanna.
And gimme all I got comin' to me,
And keep your retirement and your so called social security.
Big City turn me loose and set me free.

Been working everyday since I was twenty.
Haven't got a thing to show for anything I've done.
There's folks who never work and they've got plenty.
Think it's time some guys like me had some fun.

Turn me loose, set me free, somewhere in the middle of Montanna.
And gimme all I got comin' to me,
And keep your retirement and your so called social security.
Big City turn me loose and set me free.

I'd like to hold my head up and be proud of who I am
But they won't let my secret go untold
I paid the debt I owed them,but they're still not satisfied
Now I'm a branded man out un the cold

When they let me out of prison,I held my head up high
Determined I would rise above the shame
But no matter where I'm living,the black mark follows me
I'm branded with a number on my name

Repeat verse 1

If I live to be a hundred,I guess I'll never clear my name
'Cause everybody knows I've been in jai
No matter where I'm living,I've got to tell them where I've been
Or they'll send me back to prison if I fail

Repeat verse 1

Now I'm a branded man out un the cold

Well I'm goin' to California
Where they sleep out every night
I'm goin' to California
Where they sleep out every night
I'm leaving you, mama
'Cause you know you don't treat me right

Let me tell you somethin'
Mama, that you don't know
Let me tell you somethin'
Good gal, that you don't know
Well, I'm a do right papa
And got a home everywhere I go

Yeah
I got the California blues and I'm
Sure gonna leave you here
Lord, Lord
I got the California blues and I'm
Sure gonna leave you here
I may ride the blind
I aint got no railroad fare

Listen to me, mama
While I sing this song
Listen to your daddy
Sing you this lonesome song
You got me wearied now
But I won't be wearied long

I got the California blues and I'm
Sure gonna leave you here
Hey, hey, hey
I got the California blues and I'm
Sure gonna leave you here
I may ride the blind
I aint got no railroad fare

My driftin' memory goes back to the spring of '43,
When I was just a child in momma's arms.
My daddy plowed the ground and promised someday we would leave
This run-down mortgaged Oklahoma farm.
Then one night I heard my daddy sayin' to my momma
That he'd finally saved enough to go.
California was his dream, a paradise, for he had seen
Pictures in magazines that told him so.

California Cottonfields,
Where labor camps were filled with weary men with broken dreams.
California Cottonfields,
As close to wealth as daddy ever came.

Nearly everything we had was sold or left behind,
From my daddy's plow to the soup that momma canned.
Some folks came to say farewell or see what all we had to sell;
Some just came to shake my daddy's hand.
That model A was loaded down and California bound;
A change of luck was just 4 days away.
But the only change that I remember seeing in my daddy
Was when his dark hair turned to silver grey.

California Cottonfields,
Where labor camps were filled with weary men with broken dreams.
California Cottonfields,
As close to wealth as daddy ever came.

Carolyn let me tell you what I heard about a man today
He didn't come home from work and he went away
'Til he came to a city, bright in the night time like day
There they say he met with some women dressed in yellow and scarlet
Their warm lips like a honeycomb, dripped with honey
And somethin' about the smell of strange perfume
Made him feel warm, and not alone

Yes Carolyn a man will do that sometimes on his own
And sometimes when he's lonely
And I believe a man will do that sometimes out of spite
But Carolyn, a man will do that always
When he's treated bad at home

Yes Carolyn a man will do that sometimes on his own
And sometimes when he's lonely
And I believe a man will do that sometimes out of spite
But Carolyn, a man will do that always
When he's treated bad at home

Daddy Frank played the guitar and the french harp,
Sister played the ringing tambourine.
Mama couldn't hear our pretty music,
She read our lips and helped the family sing.

That little band was all a part of living,
And our only means of living at the time;
And it wasn't like no normal family combo,
Cause Daddy Frank the guitar man was blind.

Frank and mama counted on each other;
Their one and only weakness made them strong.
Mama did the driving for the family,
And Frank made a living with a song.

Home was just a camp along the highway;
A pick-up bed was where we bedded down.
Don't ever once remember going hungry,
But I remember mama cooking on the ground.

Don't remember how they got acquainted;
I can't recall just how it came to be.
There had to be some special help from someone,
And blessed be the one that let it be.

Fever caused my mama's loss of hearing.
Daddy Frank was born without his sight.
And mama needed someone she could lean on,
And I believe the guitar man was right.

Daddy Frank played the guitar and the french harp,
Sister played the ringing tambourine.
Mama couldn't hear our pretty music,
She read our lips and helped the family sing.

Everybody's had the blues sometimes and
Everybody knows the tune
And everybody knows the way I'm feelin' cause
Everybody's had the blues

A lonely, song someone is gone
A story old as time
Love, hate, or want and wait till misery fills your mind
But everybody knows the way I'm feelin' 'cause
Everybody's had the blues

I live the kinda life most men only dream of
I make my livin' writin' songs and singin' them
But I'm forty-one years old and I ain't got no place to go
When it's over
So I hide my age and make the stage and
Try to kick the footlights out again

I throw my old guitar across the stage and
Then my bassman takes the ball
And the crowd goes nearly wild to see
My guitar nearly fall
After twenty years of pickin' we're still alive
And kickin' and kickin' down the wall
Tonight we'll kick the footlights out
And walk away without a curtain call

Tonight we'll kick the footlights out again
And try to hide the mood we're really in
Might not put on our old Instamatic grin
Tonight we'll kick the footlights out again

I live the kinda life most men only dream of
And I make my livin' writin' songs and singin' them
But I'm fortysome years old and I ain't got no place to go
When it's over
So I hide my age and make the stage and
Try to kick the footlights out again

In old Padres Nadres Old Mexico
Once in my travel I happened to go
I met Maria and we fell in love
It seemed like heaven came down from above

Dark skin and dark eyes and dark wavy hair
All kept me spellbound as love filled the air
I held her tightly then to my surpise
She whispered soft words with tears in her eyes

Go home go home your people would not understand
Go home go home go back to your own homeland

With gentle persuasion I changed her mind
I said they'd love her and treat her so kind
So we went together to my old hometown
I wanted to show my old friends what I'd found

But hate made my sweet dream a nightmare
One day I came home and she was not there
A note on the table tore my world apart
My old friends has been there and told my sweetheart

Go home go home your place is not with this man
Go home go home go back to your own homeland

Grandma's maiden name was Zona Villines
There's ninety years to tell about in a few short lines
Born in Newton County down in Arkansas
Then in nineteen-one she married Grandpa
We laid her soul to rest one Sunday mornin'
And everybody knew she'd done her part
Don't get set to hear no hidden family legend
Just a song about the life of Grandma Harp

(Spoken)
Just think about the times that she lived through
And think about the changing world she saw
Now somehow she reared a decent family out of poverty
And for seventy years she loved the same old Grandpa
To me, her passing brought a closing chapter
To a way of life that I love within my heart
I just mean to say I owe her something special
If just a song about the life of Grandma Harp

Grandma's maiden name was Zona Villines
There's ninety years to tell about in a few short lines
Born in Newton County down in Arkansas
Then in nineteen-one she married Grandpa
We laid her soul to rest one Sunday mornin'
And everybody knew she'd done her part
Don't get set to hear no hidden family legend
Just a song about the life of Grandma Harp

It's four a.m. in New York City three a.m. in Dallas
The night is still early here in Frisco
Market street's still going the same old shows are showing
And I'm still all alone here in Frisco

They say it's raining in Chicago and it's cold and clear in Denver
Been windy all night long here in Frisco
Troley cars are clinging the big Bay Town's swinging
And I'm still all alone here in Frisco

The way I feel tonight I won't be staying long
But when I leave I leave my heart just like in a famous song
Troley cars are clinging the big Bay Town's swinging
And I'm still all alone here in Frisco

And I'm still all alone here in Frisco
And I'm still all alone here in Frisco

High on a hilltop overlooking a city
I can see the bright lights as they gleam
And somewhere you're dancing in some dingy bar room
And the lure of the gay life takes the place of our dream

High on a hilltop my heart cries, Oh Lord
Forgive her she knows not the way
And give me the power to believe and some day
High on a hilltop together we'll pray

I can vision a rounder with a line so smooth
And a promise of riches for you
But you see not the danger cause you're silly with booze
And high on a hilltop I see a devil in you

Holding things together
Ain't no easy thing to do
When it comes to raisin' children
It's a job - meant for two
Alice please believe me
I can't go on and on
Holding things together
With you gone.

Today was Angie's birthday
I guess it slipped your mind
I tried twice to call you
But no answer either time
But the postman brought a present
I mailed some days ago
I just signed it love from mama
So Angie wouldn't know.

Holding things together
Ain't no easy thing to do
When it comes to raisin' children
It's a job - meant for two
Alice please believe me
I can't go on and on
Holding things together
With you gone.

Alice please believe me
I can't go on and on
Holding things together
With you gone.

I'm a honky tonk night time man I can't stand no light
I'm a honky tonk night time man I can't stand no light
I get my rest in the daytime I make my running round at night
I had the blues this morning I had the blues all day today
I had the blues this morning I had the blues all day today
But when the sun goes down I'm gonna tuck my blues away away

Lord my heart starts beatin' when the sun starts sinking low
Lord my heart starts beatin' when the sun starts sinking low
When the shadows fall I know it's time to go

I'm a honky tonk night time man...

My house of memories, is all I own,
I live in misery, now that you're gone.
A constant reminder, of what used to be,
Is torturing me, in my house of memories.

My house is a prison, where memories surround me.
There's no place to hide where you're memory won't find me.
My house of memories, is all I own,
I'm all alone, in my house of memories.

My house is a prison, where memories surround me.
There's no place to hide where you're memory won't find me.
My house of memories, is all I own,
And I'm all alone, in my house of memories.
In my house of memories.

A canvas covered cabin in a crowded labour camp
Stand out in this memory I revived;
Cause my daddy raised a family there, with two hard working hands
And tried to feed my mama's hungry eyes.

He dreamed of something better, and my mama's faith was strong
And us kids were just to young to realize
That another class of people put us somewhere just below;
One more reason for my mama's hungry eyes.

Mama never had the luxuries she wanted
But it wasn't cause my daddy didn't try.
She only wanted things she really needed;
One more reason for my mama's hungry eyes.

I remember daddy praying for a better way of life
But I don't recall a change of any size;
Just a little loss of courage, as their age began to show
And more sadness in my mama's hungry eyes.

Mama never had the luxuries she wanted
But it wasn't cause my daddy didn't try.
She only wanted things she really needed;
One more reason for my mama's hungry eyes.

Oh, I still recall my mama's hungry eyes.

That old white haired judge in Dallas
Didn't pay my story no mind
They're takin' me down to Huntsville
I'm bringin' in a load of time

They caught me on a caper that I planned for days
And proved everything I done
I'm on my way to Huntsville
But I'm looking for a chance to run

My hands don't fit no choppin' pile
And cotton was never my beg
They better keep both eyes on me
Or they're gonna lose old Hag

Hey there ain't so far to Mexico
There I can find my way
They're takin' me down to Huntsville
But I'm not gonna stay

They got me chain and leg irons
I guess they got a good excuse
They know I'm gonna run the first chance
I get cause they never gonna cut me loose

And I don't care if they shoot me down
I'll never be free again
I've got two long life turns to do
Both runnin' in the end

Hey there ain't so far to Mexico
There I can find my way
They're takin' me down to Huntsville
But I'm not gonna stay

I'm going off of the deep end
And I'm slowly losing my mind
And I disagree with the way (ha-ha) I'm living
But I can't hold myself in line

You give me no reason for my drinkin'
But I can't stand myself at times
And you're better off to just leave and forget me
Cause I can't hold myself in line

Hey, my weakness is stronger than I am
Guess I've always been the losin' kind
Now I'm full speed ahead down the wrong road of life
And I can't hold myself in line

Yeah, and I'm going off of the deep end
Hey, I'm slowly losing my mind
And I disagree with the way I've been living
But I can't hold myself in line