Jim Kweskin

Lewis-Noah

I was born in the desert, raised in a lion's den
I was born in the desert, raised in a lion's den
My number one occupation, stealin' women from their monkey men.

If you're ever in Memphis, better stop by Minglewood
If you're ever in Memphis, better stop by Minglewood
The women down there, they don't mean a man no good.

I was born in the desert, raised in a lion's den
I was born in the desert, raised in a lion's den
My number one occupation, stealin' women from their monkey men

Eaton-Mills-Bigard

You ain't been blue; no, no, no.
You ain't been blue,
Till you've had that mood indigo.
That feelin' goes stealin' down to my shoes
While I sit and sigh, 'Go 'long blues'.

Always get that mood indigo,
Since my baby said goodbye.
In the evenin' when lights are low,
I'm so lonesome I could cry.

'Cause there's nobody who cares about me,
I'm just a soul who's
Bluer than blue can be.
When I get that mood indigo,
I could lay me down and die.

Martin

I ain't going to marry, I ain't going to settle down,
Because the man I love is Alabama bound.
He broke my heart to pass the time away,
Now he wants it back again, but it's too late!
He promised to be faithful until the end,
But I caught him making love to my best friend,
You know that kind of loving won't never do!
So friends of mine, take my advice,
If you've been stung once, don't get stung twice;
Married life is mighty sweet,
But a single life personally is hard to beat;
It's nice to say that you are man and wife,
It's hard to find a pal who will stick through life;
So if the right one ain't easy found,
I ain't gonna marry or settle down.
So friends of mine, take my advice,
If you've been stung once, don't get stung twice;
Married life is mighty sweet,
But a single life personally is hard to beat;
It's nice to say that you are man and wife,
It's hard to find a pal who will stick through life;
If the right one ain't easy found,
I ain't gonna marry or settle down.

Traditional

Come on and take some heed
Be sworn by the death of Ella Speed
Come on and take some heed
Be sworn by the death of Ella Speed.

Now Ella Speed was downtown and she was having a lot of fun
And here's the deed Bill Martin done
Now Ella Speed was downtown and she was having a lot of fun
And here's the deed Bill Martin done.

The deed that old Bill Martin done
Was commit murder with a Colt 41
Oh, the deed that old Bill Martin done
Was commit murder with a Colt 41.

Oh, Bill Martin he was tall and slender
Better known as him being a bar tender
Oh, Bill Martin he was tall and slender
Better known as him being a bar tender, hey.

When w've been heard that Ella Speed was dead
Yeah, they were really red and red
When w've been heard that Ella Speed was dead
Yeah, they were really red and red.

Now Ella Speed was downtown and she was having a lot of fun
And here's the deed Bill Martin done
Now Ella Speed was downtown and she was having a lot of fun
And here's the deed Bill Martin done.

Autry-Whitley

I'm back in the saddle again
Out where a friend is a friend
Where the longhorn cattle feed
On the lowly gypsum weed
Back in the saddle again

Ridin' the range once more
Totin' my old .44
Where you sleep out every night
And the only law is right
Back in the saddle again

Whoopi-ty-aye-oh
Rockin' to and fro
Back in the saddle again
Whoopi-ty-aye-yay
I go my way
Back in the saddle again

I'm back in the saddle again
Out where a friend is a friend
Where the longhorn cattle feed
On the lowly gypsum weed
Back in the saddle again

Ridin' the range once more
Totin' my old .44
Where you sleep out every night
And the only law is right
Back in the saddle again

Whoopi-ty-aye-oh
Rockin' to and fro
Back in the saddle again
Whoopi-ty-aye-yay
I go my way
Back in the saddle againI'm back in the saddle again
Out where a friend is a friend
Where the longhorn cattle feed
On the lowly gypsum weed
Back in the saddle again

Ridin' the range once more
Totin' my old .44
Where you sleep out every night
And the only law is right
Back in the saddle again

Whoopi-ty-aye-oh
Rockin' to and fro
Back in the saddle again
Whoopi-ty-aye-yay
I go my way
Back in the saddle again

I'm back in the saddle again
Out where a friend is a friend
Where the longhorn cattle feed
On the lowly gypsum weed
Back in the saddle again

Ridin' the range once more
Totin' my old .44
Where you sleep out every night
And the only law is right
Back in the saddle again

Whoopi-ty-aye-oh
Rockin' to and fro
Back in the saddle again
Whoopi-ty-aye-yay
I go my way
Back in the saddle again

Lipscomb

Sugar babe, I'm tired of you,
Ain't your honey but the way you do
Sugar babe, it's all over now
All I want my babe to do,
Make five dollars and give me two
Sugar babe, it's all over now
Went downtown and bought me a rope
Whupped my baby till she Buzzard Lope
Sugar babe, it's all over now
Sugar babe, what's the matter with you?
You don't treat me like you used to do
Sugar babe, it's all over now
Went to town and bought me a line
Whupped my baby till she changed her mind
Sugar babe, sugar babe, it's all over now
Sugar babe, I'm tired of you
Ain't your honey but the way you do
Sugar babe, it's all over now

Haggard-Burris

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.

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
In Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA.

Daniels

Bring me my pistol, three rounds of ball
I'm gonna kill everybody, won't leave this poor boy alone
Poor boy alone, poor boy alone, poor boy alone, poor boy alone.

On Monday I arrested, Tuesday I was tried
The jury found me guilty and I hung my head and cried
Head and cried, head and cried, Lord and cried, Lord and cried.

Then I asked the judge what would be my fine,
Says a pick and a shovel way down Joe Brown's coal mine
Coal mine, coal mine, coal mine, coal mine. (Coal mine...)

Be light on me judge, I ain't been here before
Give me 99 years, don't come back here no more
No more, no more, no more, no more, my Lord

Be light on me judge, I ain't been here before
Give me 99 years, don't come back here no more
No more, no more, my Lord.

McEnery

Just a ship out on the ocean, just a speck against the sky
Amelia Earhart flying out that day
With her partner Captain Noonan on the first day of July
She fell into the ocean far away.

And there's a beautiful, beautiful field
Far away in a land that is fair
Happy landings to you, Amelia Earhart
Farewell, first lady of the air.

Twenty minutes later an SOS was heard
The voice that came was weak but sounded brave
In the shark infested waters plane came down that day
And our heroes fell into a watery grave.

And there's a beautiful, beautiful field
Far away in a land that is fair
Happy landings to you, Amelia Earhart
Farewell, first lady of the air.

Now you've heard the story of this awful tragedy
We pray that she may fly home safe again
And in years to come though others blaze a trail across the sea
We'll never forget Amelia and her plane.

And there's a beautiful, beautiful field
Far away in a land that is fair
Happy landings to you, Amelia Earhart
Farewell, first lady of the air.

Memphis Jug Band

Walked up Ellum and I come down Main
Tryin' to bum a nickle, just to buy cocaine
Ho, ho, honey take a whiff on me.

Chorus: Take a whiff on me, take a whiff on me
And everybody, take a whiff on me.
Ho, ho, honey take a whiff on me.

Went to Mr. Lehman's on a lope
Sign in the window said: "No more coke".
Ho, ho, honey take a whiff on me.

(...chorus...)

Goin' up State Street, commin' down Main
Lookin' for the woman that uses cocaine.
Ho, ho, honey take a whiff on me.

(...chorus...)

I'se got a nickle, you'se got a dime...
You buy the coke and I'll buy the wine.
Ho, ho, honey take a whiff on me.

(...chorus...)

The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
Takes a brown-skin woman, for my particular use.
Ho, ho, honey take a whiff on me.

(...chorus...)

I chew my tobacco, and I spit my juice
I love my baby 'till it aint no use
Ho, ho, honey take a whiff on me.

(...chorus...)

Cocaine's for horses and not for men
Doctors say t'will kill you but they don't say when.
Ho, ho, honey take a whiff on me.

(...chorus...)

Whiff-a-ree and whiff-a-rye
Gonna keep on a whiffin', boys, 'till I die.
Ho, ho, honey take a whiff on me.

Bennard

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross
The emblem of suffering and shame
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross
Till my trophies at last I lay down
I will cling to the old rugged cross
And exchange it someday for a crown

O that old rugged cross so despised by the world
Has a wondrous attraction for me
For the dear lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it on dark Calvary

Repeat #2

Travis

I never will forget one time when I was on a little visit down home in Ebenezer, Kentucky. I was a-talkin' to an old man that had known me ever since the day I was born, and an old friend of the family. He says, "Son, you don't know how lucky you are to have a nice job like you've got and don't have to dig out a livin' from under these old hills and hollers like me and your pappy used to." When I asked him why he never had left and tried some other kind of work, he says, "Nawsir, you just won't do that. If ever you get this old coal dust in your blood, you're just gonna be a plain old coal miner as long as you live." He went on to say, "It's a habit [CHUCKLE] sorta like chewin' tobaccer."
Come and listen you fellows, so young and so fine,
And seek not your fortune in the dark, dreary mines.
It will form as a habit and seep in your soul,
'Till the stream of your blood is as black as the coal.
CHORUS:
It's dark as a dungeon and damp as the dew,
Where danger is double and pleasures are few,
Where the rain never falls and the sun never shines
It's dark as a dungeon way down in the mine.
It's a-many a man I have seen in my day,
Who lived just to labor his whole life away.
Like a fiend with his dope and a drunkard his wine,
A man will have lust for the lure of the mines.
I hope when I'm gone and the ages shall roll,
My body will blacken and turn into coal.
Then I'll look from the door of my heavenly home,
And pity the miner a-diggin' my bones.

Foster

Gone are the days
When my heart was young and gay
Gone are toils
Of the cotton fields away
Gone to the fields
Of a better land, I know
I hear those gentle voices callin' me
Old Black Joe

I'm comin', I'm comin'
Though my head is bendin' low
I hear those gentle voices calling
Old Black Joe

I'm comin' home (I'm comin' home)
Well, I'm comin' home (I'm comin' home)
Though my head (my head, my head is bendin' low)
I hear those gentle voices calling
Old Black Joe

Gone are the days
When my heart was young and gay
Gone are the toils of the cotton fields, away
Gone to the fields of a better land I know
I hear those gentle voices calling
Old Black Joe

I'm comin' home (I'm comin' home)
Oh, an' I'm comin' home (I'm comin' home)
Well oh well, my head (my head) is bendin' low
I hear those gentle voices calling
Old Black Joe

I'm comin' home (I'm comin' home)
Oh, an' I'm comin' home (I'm comin' home)
Can ya see my head (my head) is bendin' low
I hear those gentle voices calling
Old Black Joe

I’m still at the door, and I’m chilled to the core
Hannah, darling baby, take me back once more
Out in the snow, I’m shivering so
My strings are rattling in the breezes that blow
Hannah be nice, ‘cause I done not twice
Let me in there child, you know I’m cold as ice
From there too, I smell a chicken stew
Hannah I love only you

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh, Hannah, Hannah
Hannah won’t you open that door
Hannah, Hannah won’t you change your manner
This is old Bill Johnson, don’t you love me no more
I plead, ‘cause I need,
That place behind the stove that I used to have before
Now, Hannah! (knocks on guitar body)
Oh, Hannah! (knocks on microphone)
Why the Devil don’t you open that door

Let me in please, honest I’ll freeze
I’ll catch the grip again and I’m starting to freeze
I’m gonna start crying, it’s a low down crime
She’s singing a song about the Old Summertime
Frostbit feet, my nose is like a beet
Let me in there Hannah, you know I need some heat
I love you still, and I always will
Hannah, Oh Hannah, this is Bill

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Hannah, Hannah
Hannah won’t you open that door
Hannah, Hannah won’t you change your manner
This is old Bill Johnson, don’t you love me no more
I plead, ‘cause I need,
That place behind the stove that I used to have before
Now, Hannah! (knocks on guitar body)
Oh, Hannah! (knocks on microphone)
Why the Devil don’t you open that door

Well, bye and bye when the mornin' come
All the saints got to gather at home
Tell a story of how we'll overcome
We'll understand it better bye and bye

Now, tossed, and I were driven on the restless sea of time
Tossed was causing howling winds all succeed a bright sunshine
In the land of perfect days, when the mists have rolled away
We will understand it better bye and bye

Well, bye and bye when the mornin' come
All the saints got to gather at home
Tell a story of how we'll overcome
We'll understand it better bye and bye

Dark trials on every hand and we cannot understand
All the ways that God will lead us to that distant promised land
But he guides us with his eyes and we'll follow till we die
And we'll understand it better bye and bye

I'm singin' now, bye and bye when the mornin' come
All the saints got to gather at home
Tell a story of how we'll overcome
We'll understand it better bye and bye

Temptation's hidden snares often takes us unawares
And our hearts are made to bleed for a thoughtless word deed
We wonder why it's a test when we try to do our best
But we'll understand it better bye and bye

Now, bye and bye when the mornin' come
All the saints got to gather at home
Tell a story of how we'll overcome
We'll understand it better bye and bye

[Chorus]
Well, the cuckoo, she's a fine bird
And she warbles as she flys
And she never hollers, "Cuckoo"
Till the fourth day of July

Well, I've played cards in England
And I've played cards up in Spain
And I'll bet you ten dollars
That I'll beat you, very next game

Jack a'Diamonds, Jack a'Diamonds
Well, I know you of old
Well, you rob my poor pocket
Of my silver and my gold

Sometimes I wonder
What makes women love men
And sometimes I wonder
What makes men love them

Gonna build me a castle
On the mountain so high
So I can, see my Marilyn
As she goes on by

Chorus

I've traveled 'round this country wide seekin' fortune fair
Up and down the two coastlines, I've been most everywhere
From Portland east, to Portland west, and back along the line
I'm goin' back to the place that's best, that old hometown of mine

Chorus
Eight more miles to Louisville, we're comin' to my view
Eight more miles on this old road and I'll never more be blue
I knew someday that I'd come back, I knew it from the start
Eight more miles to Louisville that's the hometown of my heart

There's bound to be a gal somewhere that you love best of all
Well, mine lives down in Louisville, she's long and she is tall
She's the kind that you can't find ramblin' through the land
I'm on my way this very day to win her heart and hand

Chorus

I can picture in my mind a place we'll call our home
It's a humble little shack for two, and we never more will roam
The place that's right is in my sight, it's in them bluegrass hills
Where gently flows the O-hi-o by place called Louisville

Chorus

Well, I went down to a big crap game
Certainly was against my will
I lost every doggone nickel I had
But a greenback dollar bill
The boys had a bet layin' on the floor
And my buddy's point were nine
When the police come they got all a'them
But I got mine

I got mine, lemme tell ya, I got mine
I grabbed that money and out the backdoor, I went flyin'
Ever since that big crap game, I been livin' on chicken and wine
I'm a leader in high society, yeah, since I got mine

Now I went down to a turkey feast
And that dinner certainly was fine
Fifteen minutes 'fore the table was set
All the jitterbugs fell in line
When they brought them carboys in
Uncle Joe, how his eyes did shine
I mean, talk about wrestlin' and grabbin'
Now I got mine

Whoa, I got mine, lemme tell ya, I got mine
I grabbed that turkey and out the backdoor, I went flyin'
I tried to make it to a hidin' place
But I didn't get there in time
Some rascal grabbed me by my coat
And I got mine

Well, I went down to my best gal's house last night
And the hour was just about nine
I wasn't dressed up like Henry Ford
But I was feelin' just as fine
I caught her sitting on another rascal's lap
I didn't like that sign
I told that joker what I thought of him
And I got mine.

Yeah, I got mine, lemme tell ya, I got mine
I grabbed my coat and out the backdoor, I went flyin'
That joker grabbed a big shotgun
And he used it mighty fine
I mean, talk about a rascal runnin', yeah
Now I got mine

Say, I know a barbershop, down in town, it's over on North Fall Street
It's the only place on a Saturday night that we gamblers can all meet
Some come in for haircut, some come in for a scrap
When they see my buddy and me down there, we mean to shoot some crap
Holler "Seven, eleven, won't you come, come, come"
If you don't seven-eleven dice, I'm done, done, done
If I see the police 'fore he sees me, I'm gonna run, run, run
I'm a leader in high society, yeah, since I got mine

It was in the town of Jacksboro, in the year of '33
When a man by the name of Crego, come steppin' up to me
Sayin' "How do you do young fella, and how would you like to go
And spend the summer pleasant on the range of the buffalo?"

Well, it's me bein' out of employment to old Crego I did say
"This goin' out on the buffalo range depends upon the pay
But if you pay good wages, transportation to and fro
I think, sir, I might go with you to the range of the buffalo"

"Oh, yes I pay good wages, transportation to and fro
If you'll spend the season through on the range of the buffalo
If you do become homesick, and to your sweetheart you must go
I'll not pay transportation from the range of the buffalo"

Well our outfit bein' ready, boys, seventy whole-bodied men
With many a six and needle gun, our travels did begin
The way it was a pleasant one, the way we had to go
Until we crossed Pease River, boys, in the range of the buffalo

Well, now we've crossed Pease River, boys, and our troubles have begun
First damn tail I went to rip, that's how I cut my thumb
The water's salty as Hell's fire, and the beef we could not go
And the Indians waited to pick us off, in the range of the buffalo

Well our hearts were cased with buffalo hocks, and our souls were cased with steel
The hardships of that summer would like to make us reel
While skinnin' the damned old stinkers, our lives they had no show
But the Indians waited to pick us off, from the plains of Mexico

Well, the season bein' near over, boys, old Crego he did say
That the boys had been extravagant, and were in debt to him that day
We begged him and we pleaded, but still it was no go
So we left old Crego's bones to bleach, on the range of the buffalo

Well now we've crossed Pease River, boys, and homeward we are bound
No more in that Hellfire country, will ever we be found
Go home to our wives and sweethearts, and tell others not to go
For God's forsaken the buffalo range, and the damned old buffalo

NOTE: Pease River is a tributary of the Red River in west Texas.

I know that I'd be satisfied
If I could hop that train and ride
If I make Atlanta with no place to go
Make me one pallet on your floor

Make me a pallet on your floor
Make it right down by the door
Make it long, make it low
So my good gal won't never know
Make me a pallet on your floor

Give everybody my regards
I'm goin' if I have to ride the rods
And if I make Atlanta with no place to go
Make me a pallet on your floor

You hear me now, make me a pallet on your floor
Make it right down by the door
Make it long, make it low
So my good gal won't never know
Make me a little pallet right down on your floor
Make it down on the floor for me (spoken)

I'm said I'm tired and I can't work no more
You know I'm tired and I can't work no more
Well, I'm tired, lonesome, weary, and I can't work no more
Pretty baby now, make me a little pallet right down on your floor

Yeah now, make me a pallet on your floor
Well make it right down by the door
Make it long, make it low
So my good gal won't never know
Make me a pallet on your one more time now

Make me a pallet on your floor
Yeah make it right down by the door
Make it long, make it low
So my good gal won't never know
Make me one pallet on your floor, floor, floor, whoa whoa

My Creole belle, I love her well
My darlin' baby, my Creole belle
My Creole belle, I love her well
My darlin' baby, my Creole belle

When stars shine, I'll call her mine
My darlin' baby, my Creole belle
My Creole belle, I love her well
My darlin' baby, my Creole belle

[Instrumental break]
One verse of "My Creole Belle"
"Play it again, you only played it once" (spoken)
Followed by one verse of "This Land Is Your Land" (chord progression is the same)

My Creole belle, I love her well
My darlin' baby, my Creole belle
My Creole belle, I love her well
My darlin' baby, my Creole belle

Chorus
Relax your mind, relax your mind
Make you feel so fine sometime
Sometime you got to relax your mind

When the light turns green
Put your foot down on the gasoline
Sometime you got to relax your mind

Chorus

When the light turns red
Put your foot down on the brake instead
Sometime you got to relax your mind

Chorus

When the light turns blue
What in the world are you gonna do
Sometime you got to relax your mind

Chorus