Old Crow Medicine Show

Alabama high test....got me in a big mess
Higher than a wild cat....runnin from the wolfpack
They're gona put me in the slammer
If they catch me with that Alabama high test

69 southbound, cruisin with a half pound
Blue lights spinin round, better lay the hammer down
Dirt road Tennessee, Aint nobody stoppin me
Short run, state line, gotta keep makin time
Alabama high test...

Huff paint, cocaine, playin chicken with a train
Smack dab, Meth lab, mellow out, rehab
Percocet, cigarette, I dont need no more of that
Just gimmie some down home Dixie fried homegrown
Alabama high test...

Alabama high test....got me in a big mess
Higher than a wild cat....runnin from the wolfpack
They're gona put me in the slamer
If they catch me with that Alabama high test

Drug bust, disgust, plead with the cucuit judge
"Son dont be coy, send you up the river Boy"
Jump suit, chain gang, shackles on my feet and hand
Standin on I-65 wishin I was rolling by with
Alabama high test

Alabama high test....got me in a big mess
Higher than a wild cat....running from the wolf pack
They're gonna put me in the slammer
If they catch me with that Alabama high test

Driving rain,
Narrow shoulder,
Break down lane,
Marching forward,

Gone where I do not know,
One eye on the open road,
Stepping out in the great unknown,
With a highway halo.

Shaky faith,
lily kimble,
Patron saint,
Traveling minstrel,
Let her dusty wings unfold,
Forgive her bad luck soul,
Put her in a purple robe,
And a highway halo.

Passing train,
Sound like silver,
Broken chain,
Shine like gold,
Fortunes just a painted stone,
Going where those hobos roam,
Crown king of a jungle thrown,
With a highway halo.

Going where it suits my soul,
Can't you hear my big wheels roll,
You can light up the darkest road,
With a beam of eternal glow,
With a highway halo.

Well i met her on the corner of Broadway
said she'd seen me coming for a mile
guess i should of known she was troubled
By the hoodwink in her eye
she said now watch my hands real careful
but i should of been watching her feet
Cause before i knew it she stole my heart and my wallet
went runnin' on down the street

The greatest hustler of all
stands about four foot nine
made to be a moocher
low down hoochie coocher
her daddy made herwalk the line
hustles with the greatest of ease
fools any boy any time
greatest hustler in all of this world
hustled this heart of mine

Now Ive been hustled on the streets of chicago
and the Levees of New Orleans
but i never knew a woman to work so fast
shes what u call a
hustling queen
and i took her to the fair on friday
we stepped into the kissing booth
n i puckered my lips
to steal me a kiss
she went n stole my gold tooth

The greatest hustler of all
stand about four foot nine
made to be a moocher
low down hoochie coocher
her daddy made her walk the line
hustles with the greatest of ease
fool any boy any time
the greatest hustler of all of this world
hustled this heart of mine

Well if u see her coming this way
boy better take care
Cause she'll hustle your heart away
into the air
what happens if your down on the corner
shes not that hard to find
the greatest hustler in all of this world
stands about four foot nine

The greatest hustler of all
stands about four foot nine
made to be a moocher
low down hoochie coocher
her daddy made her walk the line
hustles with the greatest of ease
fools any boy any time
the greatest hustler of all of this world
hustled this heart of mine
and the greatest hustler
in all of this world
hustled this heart of mine

times, they ain't like nothing they used to be
from rocky mount' to northeast tennessee
where the river flows with a dusty, cold disease
and the babies whine cause they can't find nothing to eat

but, mama, she ain't hungry no more
she's waiting for a knock on the trailer door

it's gonna rock you like a hurricane
it's gonna rock you 'til you lose sleep
it's gonna rock you 'til you're out of a job
it's gonna rock you 'til you're out on the street
it's gonna rock you 'til you're down on your knees
it's gonna have you begging pretty please
it's gonna rock you like a hurricane
methamphetamine

don't need no phd for a hundred dollar card
just find a crooked cop and that doctor disregard
cause when it's either the mine or the kentucky national guard
um, i'd rather sell him a line than to be dying in the coal yard

now, papa, he ain't hungry no more
he's waiting for a knock on the trailer door

it's gonna rock you like a hurricane
it's gonna rock you 'til you lose sleep


it's gonna rock you 'til you're out of a job
it's gonna rock you 'til you're out on the street
it's gonna rock you 'til you're down on your knees
it's gonna have you begging pretty please
it's gonna rock you like a hurricane
methamphetamine

well, it's a war out there, and it's fought by poor white men
from the Plateau to the falls of the Cumberland
you better watch your back, 'cause you just can't trust a friend
and the method man is going to get you in the end

so listen to the whispering wind
it sounds like a big storm rolling in

it's gonna rock you like a hurricane
it's gonna rock you 'til you lose sleep
it's gonna rock you 'til you're out of a job
it's gonna rock you 'til you're out on the street
it's gonna rock you 'til you're down on your knees
it's gonna have you begging pretty please
it's gonna rock you like a hurricane
methamphetamine

party of the century
no cops allowed
just me and seven hundred others
come on, join the crowd

we got wine, whiskey, women and guns
how can you afford to not be having any fun
if you got a gal, bring 'er
and we'll all have a humdinger

naked horseshoes without care
body surfing on a river of beer
all the neighbors are saying their prayers
we'll lift our glasses high in the air

we got wine, whiskey, women and guns
how can you afford to not be having any fun
if you're not a right-winger


then we'll all have a humdinger

making mardi gras look like work
the belly dancers have gone berserk
the morning's here, we're all still awake
just looking for some more drugs to take
passed out on a mound of fire ants
only lost a shoe and a pair of pants
went down hard, got up like a champ
to see a biker dancing on my amp

if you're not a folk singer
then we'll all have a humdinger
if you're not a folk singer
then we'll all have a humdinger

Were you there when the man from Atlanta was murdered in Memphis?
Did you see him laying at the Lorraine Motel?
Did you hear them say that the CIA is witness
To the murder of a man at a motel in Memphis

Motel in Memphis
Motel in Memphis
Run and tell somebody
There's blood on the riverside
Oh muddy water
Rollin' to Memphis
If you were there you'd swear
It was more than a man who died

Did you see Coretta she sobbing on the corner in her black viel?
Did you see Mr. Crump in a white coat grin?
Did you walk downriver where the cottonwoods are swinging with ghostly bodies of men?

Motel in Memphis
Motel in Memphis
Run and tell somebody


There's blood on the riverside
Oh muddy water
Rollin' to Memphis
If you were there you'd swear
It was more than a man who died

Were you there with Mahalia wailing at the funeral?
Did you watch them lower his casket in?
Did you tremble when you thought about the future and cry out for a martyred man?

Motel in Memphis
Motel in Memphis
Run and tell somebody
There's blood on the riverside
Oh muddy water
Rollin' to Memphis
If you were there you'd swear
It was more than a man who died

Well the alley dogs are barking
Chickens crowing down the lane
And I feel just like that hipster
With his mournful low refrain
With the sun down on my shoulders
Just a hanging around the yard
I'm leaving here tomorrow
Gonna catch an empty car

There's a thousand constellations
In that brilliant, beaming sky
But the Earth is just one station
On that lonesome, starry line
There's a distant whistle blowing
Down a rusty stretch of track
And i'm just an empty coal car
On that train not coming back

Well I hate to see that evening sun go down
Well it's lonesome coming down my trail
Well I know this train will take me where i'm bound
But I hate to see that evening sun go down

Well the sidewalks have their streetlamps
And the city has a glow
And the poor boy has the moonlight
Walking in his shadow
But the night time can't be trusted
To return the morning sun
And my eyes have not adjusted
To this black face I got on

Well I hate to see that evening sun go down
Well it's lonesome coming down my trail
Well I know this train will take me where i'm bound
But I hate to see that evening sun go down

Well the night time makes you lonesome
For that early morning sun
For the light upon the engine
Reaching towards the dawn
You can spend your whole life racing
Down rusty railroad lines
It's the setting sun you're chasing
In that dark and rolling sky

Yes I hate to see that evening sun go down
Well it's lonesome coming down my trail
Well I know this train will take me where i'm bound
But I hate to see that evening sun go down
Yes I hate to see that evening sun go down

I'm just a weary soul
I got no where to go
where I can ease my mind
no work and peace I find

I have a troubled mind
worried all the time
they call me crazy eyes
cuz' I cant keep from cryin'

I've walked the longest mile
for the darkest while
And it killed my heart
to see my people down

They call me crazy eyes
I have a troubled mind
and a cardboard sign
and a jug of wine

But I'll be alright
if I can make it through the night

Say can you spare some change
I'm not the dangerous type
just a hard hit friend
with an empty pipe



And when the morning comes
I struggle in the light
but I'll be alright
if I can just get high

Said I'll be alright
if I can just get high

Take a look at crazy eyes
Mama see if I'll be alright
Oh oh oh

Take a look at my crazy eyes
(mama see if I'll be alright)
Hey hey hey

I'm just a weary soul
I got no where to go
where I can ease my mind
no work and peace I find

I have a troubled mind
worried all the time
they call me crazy eyes
cuz' I cant keep from cryin'

Out on the lonely highway
I'm riding your way
Tell your momma to bar the cabin door

Heading out on a short run
Just looking for someone
Who doesn't love me anymore

Tennessee pusher, Tennessee pusher, Tennessee pusher


Last night in the hollar
I made a thousand dollars
But I couldn't believe just what I saw

You were out in the moonlight
Until the break of daylight
Giving your love to the law

Tennessee pusher, Tennessee pusher, Tennessee pusher




Climbing up on the mountain
Heartbeat pounding
Reckless as a cyclone

You're the one that am after
But I am a wanted man for
Bringing it all back home


Now there's gunsmoke in the valley
Blood like jelly
As three crows circle a dead tree

One for the lover
One for the pusher
One for the deputy

Tennessee, Tennessee, Tennessee pusher
Tennessee pusher, Tennessee pusher, Tennessee pusher

When a man has got the blues and feels discouraged
And has nothing else but trouble all his life
But he's just an honest man like any other
Living in a world that's tearing at his mind
If he's sick and tired of life and takes to drinking
Do not pass him by don't greet him with a frown
Do not fail to lend your hand and try to help him
Always lift him up and never knock him down


If he stays out late at night because he's troubled
Or because his home is not what it should be
Have a smile for him wherever you might meet him
It will help him find the right way don't you see
If he gambles when he's in the town or city
Tell him what he ought to do to win the round


Do not fail to lend your hand to show him pity
Always lift him up and never knock him down


If he has no friends and everything's against him
If he's failed in everything he has tried
Try to lift his load and help him bear his burden
Let him know that you are walking by his side
If he feels that all is lost and he has fallen
Help to place this poor man's feet on solid ground
And when this world has turned its back against him
Always lift him up and never knock him down

They say you were born in St. Clare's Hospital
I say you were born up in the sky
You come floatin' down over New Orleans
To the sweet green levee on the riverside
And your voice chirped like old squeaky shoes
And mama always said we had nothin' to lose
And so we danced on the street corner
Oh Caroline
Heartbroken hard times, they never got us down
Walkin' the same line through every single southern town
Hand-in-hand, your arm 'round mine
Oh Caroline
Oh Caroline
Seen it all changin', watch it change some more
Seen hard times standin' right outside your door
Tell me gal, what's on your mind
Oh Caroline
We were the Cardinals' biggest fans
Turnin' flips like Ozzy Smith all through the night
Till we got traded away
To the red clay southern league up on the Georgia line
You'd be the pitcher and the catcher too
I'm the homerun king for his muscles grew
Gonna knock the cover off this time
Oh Caroline
Heartbroken hard times, they never got us down
Walkin' the same line through every single southern town
Hand-in-hand, your arm 'round mine
Oh Caroline


Oh Caroline
Seen it all changin', and watch it change some more
Seen hard times standin' right outside your door
Tell me gal what's on your mind
Oh Caroline
These are different days
And the pace of the world has us thinkin' there's no time
To turn the other way
Take my hand, we'll walk on down the line
Though we may be a thousand miles apart
A brother and a sister have a single heart
And the beat don't stop for nothin'
Oh Caroline
Heartbroken hard times, they never got us down
Walkin' the same line through every single southern town
Hand-in-hand, your arm round mine
Oh Caroline
Oh Caroline
I seen it all changin', watch it change some more
Seen hard times standin' right outside your door
Tell me gal what's on your mind
Oh Caroline
Oh Caroline, Oh Caroline
Oh Caroline, Oh Caroline
Oh Caroline, Oh Caroline

Well I swear your perfume babe is made out of turnip greens
Every time I kiss you girl it tastes like pork and beans
Even though you're wearing those uptown high heels
I can tell from your giant step you've been walking through the cotton fields

Ohhhhh you're sooooo down home girl

Every time you monkey child takes my breath away
Well every time you move like that girl I got to get down and pray
Girl you know that dress you're wearing is made out of fiber glass
Every time you move like that girl I got to go to Sunday Mass

Ohhhhh you're sooooo down home girl

I'm gonna to take you to the muddy river and push you in
So I can watch the water roll on down your velvet skin
I'm gonna take you down to New Orleans down in Dixie land
So I can watch you do the second line with an umbrella in your hand

Ohhhhh you're sooooo down home girl

James River blues
I just heard the awful news
I could steer around the rocks
But they're bustin' down the docks

James River blues
That train came on through
And the work's gotten slow
So where's a boat man to go?

I think I'll float on down
To Richmond town
They don't need us anymore
Hauling freight from shore to shore
That big iron hauls much more
Than we ever could before

I've seen good men going wrong
I've seen bad ones get it right
As that river rolls along
I'll be steppin' out tonight

On the cool flow
Floatin' down, down below
The bridge till the waters edge
From the ridge to the ledge

From the hills to the sea
I'll become a memory
James River blues
James River blues
James River blues

You told me one
You told me two
You told me ten thousand lies, little girl
You told me ten thousand lies
Well you told me more lies
Than stars in the sky
You'll never get to heaven when you die, little girl
You'll never get to heaven when you die

Chorus:

I'm fallin' on my knees
And I'm beggin' you please
Won't you come along and stand by me, little girl
Won't you come along and stand by me

I wished to the Lord
That I never had been born
That I'd died when I was young, little girl
That I'd died when I was young
I never would have kissed
Your red rosy lips

Never heard your lying tongue, little girl
No never heard your lying tongue



(Chorus)

I'm going down that road

That long lonesome road
So won't you hang down head and cry little girl
Oh hang down your little head and cry
I give you all my money
I give you all my time
But you give me the back of your head, little girl
Oh you give me the back of your head

(Chorus)

You'll never never

Never never
Never never
Never never

Never get to heaven when you die, little girl
No you'll never get to heaven when you die

They say you were born in St. Clare's Hospital
I say you were born up in the sky
You come floatin' down over New Orleans
To the sweet green levee on the riverside
And your voice chirped like old squeaky shoes
And mama always said we had nothin' to lose
And so we danced on the street corner
Oh Caroline
Heartbroken hard times, they never got us down
Walkin' the same line through every single southern town
Hand-in-hand, your arm 'round mine
Oh Caroline
Oh Caroline
Seen it all changin', watch it change some more
Seen hard times standin' right outside your door
Tell me gal, what's on your mind
Oh Caroline
We were the Cardinals' biggest fans
Turnin' flips like Ozzy Smith all through the night
Till we got traded away
To the red clay southern league up on the Georgia line
You'd be the pitcher and the catcher too
I'm the homerun king for his muscles grew
Gonna knock the cover off this time
Oh Caroline
Heartbroken hard times, they never got us down
Walkin' the same line through every single southern town
Hand-in-hand, your arm 'round mine
Oh Caroline


Oh Caroline
Seen it all changin', and watch it change some more
Seen hard times standin' right outside your door
Tell me gal what's on your mind
Oh Caroline
These are different days
And the pace of the world has us thinkin' there's no time
To turn the other way
Take my hand, we'll walk on down the line
Though we may be a thousand miles apart
A brother and a sister have a single heart
And the beat don't stop for nothin'
Oh Caroline
Heartbroken hard times, they never got us down
Walkin' the same line through every single southern town
Hand-in-hand, your arm round mine
Oh Caroline
Oh Caroline
I seen it all changin', watch it change some more
Seen hard times standin' right outside your door
Tell me gal what's on your mind
Oh Caroline
Oh Caroline, Oh Caroline
Oh Caroline, Oh Caroline
Oh Caroline, Oh Caroline

When the summer is come and gone
As the leaves fall on the lawn
I think about pleasures pass me bye
And I am thinking of my old home
And the love I left behind
No I couldn't I go back there if I try

On my next go round
I'm gonna keep it to
The dreams we new
Before I broke them down
Gonna take your hand
Wanna be the man
Who pulls you from the ground
I won't let you down
On my next go round

We were standing on the edges
Of a thousand burning bridges
Sifting through the ashes every day
What we thought would never end
Now is nothing more than a memory
The way things were before
I lost my way

On my next go round
I'm gonna keep it to
The dreams we new
Before I broke them down
Gonna take your hand
Wanna be the man
Who pulls you from the ground
I won't let you down
On my next go round

Now the winds are blowing steady
My bags are awful heavy
I wish that I could stop and turn around
But there are no second chances
In a world of circumstances
Oh in this life you don't get no next round

On my next go round
Gonna start again
Gonna let you in
Gonna lay our burdens down
Gonna be the one to never turn and run
I'll always be around
I won't let you down
On the next go round

I won't let you down
On the next go round