John Prine Album

Her Father was a failure
Her Mother was a comfort
To a doctor and lawyer and Indian Chief.
The shirt ran out of buttons
He lost all his marbles at a baseball game
And they went on Relief.
The bank took away their diplomas
They locked them up inside of the chest
And she moved away to Oklahoma
And got a tattoo on the side of her breast
"God-Damn, My socks are still hard"
From lying on the sofa on the night she was over in my backyard
Yeah, We was shooting the breeze out amongst the trees
When a shot rang low
And left her standing down by the side of the road
Down by the side of the road

Father have mercy, Whoo Whoo
Get her a nurse please
She's almost alone
I saw her hand reaching out for the telephone
We rather see her locked up inside a home
Than see her standing down by the side of the road
Down by the side of the road
Headlights flashing on her skirt in the wind.
Yonder comes a truck it drove by two men.
Shotgun man leaned out and said do you want to take a ride?
Out in the pale moonlight Light. light Light Lie Lie Lie lie

Too long in the hot sun
She could've be Miss Wisconsin a long time ago
Spent to much time inside of the early show
We'd bought her a ticket but she didn't want to go
She was standing down by the side of the road
Down by the side of the road

Headlights flashing, caught a skirt in the wind.
Yonder comes a truck it drove by two men.
Shotgun man leaned out and said do you want to take a ride?
Out in through the pale moonlight

Her Father was a failure
Her Mother was a comfort
To a doctor and lawyer and Indian Chief.
The shirt made out of buttons
He lost all his marbles at a baseball game
And they went on Relief.
The bank took away their diplomas
They locked them up inside of the chest
And she moved away to Oklahoma
And got a tattoo on the side of her breast

God-Damn, My thoughts are still hard.
From lying on the sofa on the night she was overi n my backyard

Yeah, We was shooting the breeze out amongst the trees
When a shot rang low
And left her standing down by the side of the road
Down by the side of the road
Down by the side of the road
Down by the side of the road

We used to have good times together
But now I feel them slip away
It makes me cry to see love die
So sad to watch good love go bad

Remember how we used to feel dear
You said nothing could change you mind
It breaks my heart to see us part
So sad to watch good love go bad

Is it any wonder that I feel so blue
When I know for certain that I'm losing you

Remember how we used to feel dear
You said nothing could change your mind
It breaks my heart to see us part
So sad to watch good love go bad
So sad to watch good love go bad

I got the invitation that you sent me,
You wanted me to see you change your name
I couldn't stand to see you wed another
But dear I hope you're happy just the same

I planned a little cottage in the valley,
I even bought that little band of gold
I thought some day I'd place it on your finger,
But now the future looks so dark and cold

Wedding bells are ringing in the chapel
That should be ringing now for you and me
Down the aisle with someone else you're walking
Those wedding bells with never ring for me

Darling, let's turn back the years
And go back to yesterday
Let's pretend that time has stopped
And I didn't go away

We had our love to make us happy
Love wasn't meant to bring us tears
Love like ours should never die
So, darling, let's turn back the years

I fancy that I see a bunch of roses
A blossom from and orange tree in your hair
While the organ plays "I Love You Truly,"
Just let me pretend that I am there

Wedding bells are ringing in the chapel
That should be ringing now for you and me
Down the aisle with someone else you're walking
Those wedding bells with never ring for me
Those wedding bells with never ring for me

Your world was so different from mine, don't you see
And we couldn't be close, though we tried
We both reached for heavens, but ours weren't the same.
That's what happens when two worlds collide

Your world was made up of things sweet and good
My world could never fit in, I wish it could
Two hearts lie in shambles and oh, how they've cried
That's what happens when two worlds collide

Your world was made up of things sweet and good
My world could never fit in, I wish it could
Two hearts lie in shambles and oh, how they've cried
That's what happens when two worlds collide
That's what happens when two worlds collide

I fancy that I see a bunch of roses
A blossom from and orange tree in your hair
While the organ plays "I Love You Truly,"
Just let me pretend that I am there

Wedding bells are ringing in the chapel
That should be ringing now for you and me
Down the aisle with someone else you're walking
Those wedding bells with never ring for me
Those wedding bells with never ring for me

I'm gonna get on that old turnpike and I'm gonna ride
I'm gonna leave this town 'til you decide
Which one you want the most them Opry stars or me
Milwaukee here I come from Nashville, Tennessee

Milwaukee is where we were before we came here
Working in a brewery making the finest beer
You came to me on a payday night said let's go to Tennessee
So we drove to Nashville to the Grand Ole Opry

I'm gonna get on that old turpike and I'm gonna ride
I'm gonna leave this town 'til you decide
Which one you want the most those Opry stars or me
Milwaukee here I come from Nashville, Tennessee

We were watching TV Ernest Tubb was singing loud
I said that's the man for me I love him, there's no doubt
I'm leaving you and going now to find out where he's at
If I can't get him I'll settle for that bluegrass Lester Flatt.

I'm gonna get on that old turnpike and I'm gonna ride
I'm gonna leave this town 'til you decide
Which one you want the most
Me or Jerry Lee
Milwaukee here I come from Nashville, Tennessee
Milwaukee here I come from Nashville, Tennessee

When all your loves have ended
When all your friends have flown
Who'll be around to want you
When all your loves have gone
Only a fool would do it
After the way you've done
But how many fools would have you I know one

This fool keeps wonderin' why
He fell in love at all
But you might need this fool
Around in case you fall

After the party's over
And you've had your fill of fun
If you need a fool to forgive you I know one

You never know, you might be lonely
When all your loves have missed
It wouldn't hurt to keep an extra
Fool on your list.

After your heart's been broken
And you need a place to run
If you'll take a fool who loves you
I know one
I know one
I know one

It's a cheating situation
A stealing invitation
To take what's not really ours
To make it through the midnight hours
It's a cheating situation Just a cheap imitation
Doing what we have to do
When there's no love at home

There's no use in pretending
There'll be a happy ending
Where our love's concerned
Sweetheart, we both know
We'll take love where we find it
Love and try to hide it
It's all we got
For we know they're not
Gonna let us go

It's a cheating situation
A stealing invitation
To take what's not really ours
To make it through the midnight hours
It's a cheating situation
Just a cheap imitation
Doing what we have to do
When there's no love at home

It's a cheating situation
When there's no love at home

You didn't know I wasn't free
When you fell in love with me
And with all your young heart you learned to care
It brought you shame and disgrace
The world has tumbled in your face
'Cause they call our love a back street affair

They say I wrecked your home,
You're a husband that's gone wrong
They don't know the sorrow that we had to bear
For the one I'm tied to
was the first to prove untrue
Now they call our love a back street affair

We have each other now,
That's all that matters anyhow
For the judgment of gossip's never fair
We'll just be brave and strong
Then someday they'll see they're wrong
Let 'em call our love a back street affair

We'll be free to love someday
When all the talk has died away
and the happiness we hoped for then we'll share
We'll climb a mountain high,
then the world will hear us cry
That our love was not a back street affair
No, our love was not a back street affair

So long we've been married
Life's burdens we carried
Though faith kept us humble and made our love true
But plans that we make up
Someone seems to break up
Oh, darlin', what else can we do?

We may have to leave here
To find peace of mind, dear
Someplace where we can live a life of our own
I know you love me And happy we could be
If some folks would leave us alone

When I go out walkin'
There's lots of loose talkin'
They say we're unhappy, and we'll drift apart
But darlin' it's not true
Because I still love you
And I do with all of my heart

They say you are leavin'
That you are deceivin'
But you tell me they say the same about me
Oh, but we'll show them they're wrong
That loose talk can do harm
And hope that the truth they will see

We may have to leave here
To find peace of mind, dear
Someplace where we can live a life of our own
I know you love me
And happy we could be
If some folks would leave us alone
If some folks would leave us alone

I know why you're lonely
And I know why you're blue
You're lonesome to see him
And you long to see her too
We're not in love with each other
We're in love with our best friends
So let's invite them over again

We've talked it over and over
And we know it's not right
We should stay away forever
But we're lonesome each night
Yes we stay away for a while
But we know in the end
We'll invite them over again

We've talked it over and over
And we know it's not right
We should stay away forever
But we're lonesome each night
Yes we stay away for a while
But we know in the end
We'll invite them over again
Let's invite them over again

Darling, I can see the clouds around you
And in your heart I know a sorrow grows
But if you weep I'll be right here to hold you
'Til each tear you cry becomes a rose

Dearest love, I know your heart been shattered
And all my words can offer no relief
But my love will heal the pain you've suffered
And I'll be here if you should turn to me

I deepest night when memories tend to gather
Lay with me and put your fears to sleep
'Cause there's no pain no dream can put asunder
All the love that binds us you and me

Darling, I can see the clouds around you
And in your heart I know a sorrow grows
But if you weep I'll be right here to hold you
'Til each tear you cry becomes a rose
'Til each tear you cry becomes a rose

In a town this size, there's no place to hide
Everywhere you go you meet someone you know
You can't steal a kiss in a place like this
How the rumors do fly in a town this size
In a smokey bar in the backseat of your car
In your own little house someone's sure to find you out
What you do and what you think
What you eat and what you drink
If you smoke a cigarette they'll be talkin' about your breath

In a town this size, there's no place to hide
Everywhere you go you meet someone you know
You can't steal a kiss in a place like this
How the rumors do fly in a town this size

Oh, I had a fight with my girlfriend last night
Before the moon went down it was all over town
How he made me cry how I said goodbye
If it's true or not doesn't seem to count alot

In a town this size, there's no place to hide
Everywhere you go you meet someone you know
You can't steal a kiss in a place like this
How the rumors do fly in a town this size
In a town this size In a town this size

If anyone could find the joy
That true love brings a girl and boy
We could
We could you and I

If anyone could ever say
Their true love was here to stay
We could
We could you and I

When you're in my arms
I know you're happy to be there
And just as long as I'm with you
I'm happy anywhere

If anyone could pray each night
To thank the Lord that all is right
We could
We could you and I

When you're in my arms
I know you're happy to be there
And just as long as I'm with you
I'm happy anywhere

If anyone could pray each night
To thank the Lord that all is right
We could
We could you and I
We could
We could you and I

We said our goodbyes long ago
Never thinking we'd miss each other so
All the memories we can't leave behind
Oh, we must have been out of our minds

I thought I loved another, not you
How foolish I thought the same, too
They both turned out to be the wrong kind
Oh, we must have been out of our minds

Let's forgive and forget the past we've known
And reap together the wild seeds we've sown
Surely they can forgive us and find
That we must have been out of our minds

I thought I loved another, not you
How foolish I thought the same, too
They both turned out to be the wrong kind
Oh, we must have been out of our minds
Yes, we must have been out of our minds

She don't like her eggs all runny
She thinks crossin' her legs is funny
She looks down her nose at money
She gets it on like the Easter Bunny
She's my baby I'm her honey
I'm never gonna let her go

He ain't got laid in a month of Sundays
I caught him once and he was sniffin' my undies
He ain't too sharp but he gets things done
Drinks his beer like it's oxygen
He's my baby
And I'm his honey
Never gonna let him go

In spite of ourselves
We'll end up a'sittin' on a rainbow
Against all odds
Honey, we're the big door prize
We're gonna spite our noses
Right off of our faces
There won't be nothin' but big old hearts
Dancin' in our eyes.

She thinks all my jokes are corny
Convict movies make her horny
She likes ketchup on her scrambled eggs
Swears like a sailor when shaves her legs
She takes a lickin'
And keeps on tickin'
I'm never gonna let her go.

He's got more balls than a big brass monkey
He's a wacked out werido and a lovebug junkie
Sly as a fox and crazy as a loon
Payday comes and he's howlin' at the moon
He's my baby I don't mean maybe
Never gonna let him go

In spite of ourselves
We'll end up a'sittin' on a rainbow
Against all odds
Honey, we're the big door prize
We're gonna spite our noses
Right off of our faces
There won't be nothin' but big old hearts
Dancin' in our eyes.
There won't be nothin' but big old hearts
Dancin' in our eyes.

(spoken) In spite of ourselves

(vocals by John Prine)

When I woke up this morning
There was a note upon my door
Saying " Don't make me no coffee, Babe
Cause I won't be back no more"

And that's all she wrote
"Dear John", I sent your saddle home"

Now Jonah got along in the belly of a whale
Daniel in the lion's den
I know a guy that didn't try to get along
And he won't get a chance again

That's all she wrote
"Dear John", I sent your saddle home"

She didn't forward no address
No she never said goodbye
All she said was "If you get blue
Just hang your little head and cry"

That's all she wrote
"Dear John", I sent your saddle home"

Now my gal's short and stubby
She's mean as she can be
If that little old gal of mine
Ever gets a hold of me

That's all she wrote
"Dear John", I fetched your saddle home"

Went down to the bank this morning
The cashier said with a grin
I'm sorry for you Little John
But your wife has done been in

That's all she wrote
"Dear John", I sent your saddle home"

That's all she wrote
"Dear John", I sent your saddle home"