Music World
 
Find Artists:
 
 
 
Russian versionSwitch to Russian 
John Hiatt
John Hiatt


Background information
Born August 20, 1952
Born place Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Genre(s) Americana
Folk-Rock
Country
Blues
Heartland Rock
Years active 1972—present
Label(s) Geffen Records
Vanguard Records
MCA Records
Website Website



Music World  →  Lyrics  →  J  →  John Hiatt  →  Albums  →  Slug Line

John Hiatt Album


Slug Line (1979)
1979
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
. . .


I see you singing like a camera
I see you staring from your mouth
I see you spittin' out your algebra
You think you've got it figured out

I saw you on American Bandstand
I saw you on the Mickey Mouse Club
I see your wife has a trash compactor
I see you holdin' two ticket stubs

I see you pushin' out your politics
I see you rifling the machine
I see you dressin' up your party chicks
Lipstick like convertible scenes

I didn't think that you were so much better
You just predicted all the fate in the world
But now you're sitting home knitting sweaters
Tellin' stories to a three year old

CHORUS:
Ya used ta kiss the girls and make 'em cry
Ya used ta be too young to die
Ya used ta kiss the girls and make 'em cry
Ya used ta kiss the girls, ya used to kiss the girls

Now you've got one wife, two kids, three cars
Four eyes, five suits, six mortage, seven midnight deals
Lotsa time lotsa cash, feed your son take out the trash
Do what you're told, you're gettin' old, we did not think you'd last

She only told you that the party was over
She didn't tell you that the bedroom was locked
And when she took your key and started up your motor
You should have taken that spin around the block

CHORUS

Ya used ta kiss the girls and make 'em cry
Ya used ta be too young to die
Ya used ta kiss the girls and make 'em cry
Ya used ta be too young to die

. . .


Little lover sittin' in the corner with a former member of the jets
He would write a letter to the editor about the little holes in her dress
She said Oh, I'm so bored
He said Oh, tell me more

She popped him on the dick until he got a little bigger then she just blew up
She grabbed him by the liver put his hands on her hips, said push my luck
He said Oh, I'm so scared
She said Oh, I don't care

CHORUS:
Just then the negros were dancing
Just then backup singers backed up
Just then the beat was entrancin'
Just then the negros were dancin'

A former member lit a cigarette said I bet you never get too much
Little lover hit him on the shoulder, said you caught him that's ???? I touch
He said Oh, I confess
She said Oh, I'm not impressed

They gathered up all the fingerprints and put splints on all the broken bones
A former member lover to discover seven more overtones
He said Oh, my dear
She said Oh, touch me here

CHORUS TWICE

. . .



I went to the marketplace
They said they liked my face
Better than a digital watch
You got it, we're pros and we can spot it
So I thought it was some disease
But they were all on their knees
Shakin' hands with my picture
First we sterilize it
Then we merchandise it
Everybody tries
Everybody buys it

Well that's fine
Put me on the slug line
Punch a pretty hole in my mind
Show me where to sign
And put me on the slug line

They told me how to behave
Like any other public slave
Keep a smile on the face of the consumer
Or you'll become a rumor
So I got a band of angry sons
Now we're havin' so much fun
Tearin' up the nation
Weapons out of mic stands
Bitin' on the glad hand
They still don't understand
That they were marketing a madman

And that's fine
Put me on the slug line
Punch a pretty hole in my mind
Show me where to sign
And put me on the slug-
Well that's fine
Put me on the slug line
Punch a pretty hole in my mind
Show me where to sign
And put me on the slug line

You made one mistake
You made me wait

That's fine
Put me on the slug line
Punch a pretty hole in my mind
Show me where to sign
And put me on the slug-
Well that's fine
Put me on the slug line
Couldn't lay a glove on my mind
So show me where to sign
And put me on the slug line


. . .



Ohs, yeahs, and ai ya yas

Verse 1:
Oh girl, yeah, yeah, yeah
He says you almost need a bodyguard
Just to go walking down the boulevard
Little girl with their club feet
You try to be so neat but they're messy when you eat
When they gobble up the street
Those picture-perfect images
Pop another flash bulb and give a kiss
But it's a clear absurdity, what's a person supposed to say
Sorry about yesterday, guess that things are just that way

CHORUS:
Whoa, Madonna Road
Boys with broken bones out in the night
With secret messages to frightening to decode
Whoa, Madonna Road

Verse 2:
Pump a little gas into the cylinder
All these movie lights they must be killin' her
She's been livin' on the take
Waitin for a bigger break
And I've seen you on the make
What d' you think about the earthquake?
Well I don't wanna shake it up
But move that camera quick before I break it up
You've been standin' in that pose
Now there's a wound that just been closed
From an apartment of the host
Anybody got a No-Doz

REPEAT CHORUS TWICE

REPEAT VERSE 2

REPEAT CHORUS

I said whoa, Madonna Road
I said whoa, Madonna Road
I said whoa, Madonna Road
Ai yi yi yis


. . .



Out in the street
They're tryin' to arrest my friend
They put him on ice now twice
But he's back again

Well he did that dance in Harlem
All across the USA
From the Tappan Zee
To the Golden Gate
He was an animal all the way

But now there's no more dancin'
No more dancin' in the street
Now there's no more dancin'
No more dancin' in the street

Martha and the Vandellas
Told you how to do as you please
Now all of you idiots
Are dancin' with the Bee Gees

When they introduce their latest record
You're as thrilled as a rat in a maze
You used to do your stuff?
Now you're sexless and dull
What ever happened to the latest craze?

Now that there's no more dancin'
No more dancin' in the street
Now there's no more dancin'
No more dancin' in the street

And it's 1, 2, 3, 4
Don't imagine any more
And it's 5, 6, 7, 8
Have another empty plate

Aww, just when things were gettin' funny
You had to reconsider all of the rules
Now consumer affairs
Has got you dancin' in pairs
Dressed up like a bunch of fools

Now that there's no more dancin'
No more dancin' in the street
Now there's no more dancin'
No more dancin' in the street

Now there's no more dancin'
No more dancin' in the street

Now there's no more dancin'
No more dancin' in the street

Now there's no more dancin'
No more dancin' in the street

Now there's no more dancin'
No more dancin' in the street


. . .



3 on a fever, down in the dumps
the 1st one hollers, the 2nd one jumps
the 3rd writes a letter to his family
says I'd kill everyone if it was up to me

Early in the bathroom, looking for a drain
passing at the misery, just to ease the pain
Scared at the turbid, looking for a light
anything at all to get through the long night

long night, long night
well everybody's got the fever and relief is not in sight
long night, long night
lord the darkest hours, please relieve this appetite

up against the window and up against the wall
and up against religion and up against it all
no place to run to and no place to hide
you know the night will fall and you will crawl inside

well I get up in the morning, it's the same old news
Somebody's been wearing someone else's shoes.
I cripple to his crutches, I'm off to the light
Well one and all, we run from the long night.

long night, long night
Well everybody's got the fever and relief is not in sight
long night, long night
lord the darkest hours, please relieve this appetite

I don't wanna do that jive
too late... it's too late

3 on a fever, down in the dumps
the 1st one hollers, the 2nd one jumps
the 3rd writes a letter to his family
I said I'd kill everyone if it was up to me

long night, long night
Well everybody's got the fever and relief is not in sight
long night, long night
lord the darkest hours, please relieve this appetite


. . .



He was the kind of kid you did not want to sit by
He kept his boogers in his desk he wore a neck tie
And he never washed his hair
You wished he wasn't there

But everybody cried
The night that Kenny died
Everybody cried
The night that Kenny died

It was so touching all the girls that would not touch him
He drew their pictures in his books I used to watch him
And then he'd pick his nose
And wipe it on his clothes

But everybody cried
The night that Kenny died
Everybody cried
The night that Kenny died

Died on a motorcycle
We never understood
That he was holdin' on tight
Through the middle of the night
Starin' at a [?] one Mercury hood

It seemed so spooky that the nerd we all detested
Would die so gloriously and so unexpected
A wonderful guy God knows
They kept the casket closed

And everybody cried
The night that Kenny died
Everybody cried
The night that Kenny died


. . .



Get in your car and go
Dependin' on how you feel
Turn up your radio
DJ says the love is real
He thinks it's the latest sensation
And you just keep changin' the station
(believe me baby) Do you know what love is about
Heard it on your stereo
Ev'rybody does without
Brokenhearted comic book hero
Don't worry your pretty little head now honey
It's only top twenty

CHORUS:
Whoah oh oh
Radio girl
Radio girl
Livin' for that three minute song
Welcome to the real world
Transistor sister
That's right mister
The Radio Girl

And ev'rybody's waiting for
Fairy godmother to show
You ain't holdin' your breath anymore
Turn up the radio
Here's a song just came in from left field
And you're goin' rite thru the windshield

REPEAT CHORUS

They wanna know
What's wrong with you
They want you to
Come out and play
You're gonna push in all the buttons
Blow them all away
They got their whole lives to tell you
How much stuff they can sell you

REPEAT CHORUS


. . .


Your hair is brown
Your eyes are brown
Your skin is white
Two out of three
OK with me
Come over here tonight
I believe, I believe
I believe in you
I see your body, I see your body
And I know what to do-

Cause you're my love interest
You're my love interest
You're my love interest
You're my love interest

Your mouth works
Your mind works
You're a real suprise
You tell me this
With just one kiss
You're the actual size
I say some words
They are heard
You move in closer to me
Bip, bip, bip, bip, bip bip bip, bip
Baby one two three
You're my love interest
You're my love interest
You're my love interest
You're my love interest

BRIDGE:
My heart is beating
Your heart is beating
There is no one around
I'll make a sign
You read my mind
We are safe and sound
I believe, I believe, I believe in you
I see your body, I see your body
And I know what to do

Cause you're my love interest
You're my love interest
You're my love interest
You're my love interest

. . .



You've been a good girl,
You've been a bad girl
You're not a girl anymore
Deep in a picture show
Unbuttoned in the last row
You watched the grown-ups win the war
Now that they've got you where they want you
You're just combin' your hair
The alteration's done,but you're havin' way too much fun
They want to touch you but you just don't care

Take off your uniform
They see what they want to see
You should have never been born
You'd better stay with me

Your replacement
Waits in the basement
They've got her down to your smile
She writes those letters too
She thinks she's better than you
She says you're just a foolish child
They got her smilin' while she's dialing
She's such a clever machine
She'd fit in anywhere, now that her vision's impaired
She listens up, but she don't know what they mean

Take off your uniform
They see what they want to see
You should have never been born
You'd better stay with me

Everyone's happy with your daily activities
They like that tone in your voice
Now that you're finally an adult in America
You're too dumb to have a choice

Take off your uniform
They see what they want to see
You should have never been born
Take off your uniform
They see what they want to see
You should have never been born
You'd better stay with me


. . .


Sharon's got a drugstore, in her bathroom
She loves you all right, she loves you all right
Get between the false eyelashes
Better kiss her before she crashes
She cannot hold you tight, she cannot hold you tight
All right!

Sharon's got a drugstore in her bathroom
She loves you all right, she loves you all right
Little trick that she learned from her mother
She took one with her cold ghost lover
Oh please another night, Oh please another night
All right!

She grew out of those Catholic dances
Now she's into those modern trances
She's dancing really slow, she's dancing really slow

Sharon's got a drugstore in her bathroom
She loves you all right, she loves you all right
Hold her up and she'll say you made her
Put it in and she'll love you later
She cannot hold you tight
She cannot hold you tight
She cannot hold you tight
She cannot hold you tight

Sharon's got a drugstore
Sharon's got a drugstore
Sharon's got a drugstore
Sharon's got a drugstore
Sharon's got a drugstore
Sharon's got a drugstore
Sharon's got a drugstore

. . .



Little girl playin' with the moonlight
Shine it on me, shine it on me
There's a cloud over my light and its troubling me, troubling me
Such a world, such an invitation
Come as you are, come as you are
Subject to change, but we'll try not to leave any scars

CHORUS:
Washable ink, if you think it stinks you can cry it away
They dont want to hear your sad story today
Everybody's busy whoever they are
Washable ink, put it in the sink if you've had enough
But if you're on the brink of the usual stuff
Wait 'til it rains and give it away

Little girl, they just want to train you
To keep them amused, to keep them amused
They dont know, you got your match to the end of that fuse
Such a life, such a long vacation
A tourist parade, man its a tourist parade
Im going to sleep, wake me up when you've got it made

REPEAT CHORUS


. . .


blog comments powered by Disqus



© 2011 Music World. All rights reserved.