John Prine Album

Full blown silence in an empty room
A former bride and a former groom
A folding table and a folding chair
A folded hand of poker there
All new directions must go everywhere
Big round people in a cool little square
You can't cut it with a boat or a plane
Man it's gonna take a new train

You'll be leaving on a new train
Far away from this world of pain
And when you look out your window you'll see
Your home your baby and your family
No melted ice cube in a paper cup
Hell you'll be happy you'll be all shook up
The friends that greet you will be
Simple and plain
When you step down from that new train

Collected volumes of history say
Man makes mistakes most everyday
The half a pound of chopped ground round
Is still a burger when it goes downtown
No faded photographs of yesterdays
Are in the books that I read these days
To fly away from that memory town
You must keep both your feet on the ground

Cause you'll be leaving on a new train
Far away from this world of pain
And when you look out your window you'll see
Your home your baby and your family
No melted ice cube in a paper cup
Hell you'll be happy you'll be all shook up
The friends that greet you will be
Simple and plain
When you step down from that new train

I'll be leaving on a new train
Far away from this world of pain
The friends that greet me will be
Simple and plain
When I step down from that new train
New train, new train.

I'm a walkin' down the street like Lucky Larue
Got my hand in my pocket I'm thinkin' 'bout you
I ain't hurtin' nobody
I ain't hurtin' no one

There's three hundred men in the state of Tennessee
They're waiting to die, they won't never be free
I ain't hurtin' nobody
I ain't hurtin' no one

Six million seven hundred thousand and thirty-three lights on
You think someone could take the time to sit down
And listen to the words of my song

At the beach in Indiana I was nine years old
Heard Little Richard singing "Tutti Frutti"
From the top of a telephone pole
I wasn't hurtin' nobody
I wasn't hurtin' no one

There's roosters laying chickens and chickens layin' eggs
Farm machinery eating people's arms and legs
I wasn't hurtin' nobody
I wasn't hurtin' no one

Perfectly crafted popular hit songs never use the wrong rhyme
You'd think that waitress could get my order
Right the first time

She's sitting on the back steps just shucking that corn
That gal's been grinning since the day she was born
She ain't hurtin' nobody
She ain't hurtin' no one

I used to live in Chicago where the cold wind blows
I delivered more junk mail than the junkyard would hold
I wasn't hurtin' nobody
I wasn't hurtin' no one

You can fool some of the people part of the time
In a rock and roll song
Fifty million Elvis Presley fans
Can't be all wrong

Love gives
Love takes
It takes a lot of lucky breaks
Lucky strikes
Lucky stars
I don't know how I got this far
Who knows where it's coming from
Or where it's going to
Can I go all the way with you?

You have your way
You have your doubts
The falling in
The falling out
A bridge is built
A bridge is burned
Till you reach the point of no return
Don't know where we're coming from
Or where we're going to

Can I go all the way with you?
Heaven knows that this ain't nothing new
God knows how much I love you
Love comes
Love goes
Can I go all the way with you?
Can I go all the way with you?

Down the hall upstairs from me
There's a girl I swear I never see
I hear the ringing of her phone
She must live up there all alone
She hangs her clothes out on the line
They're hanging there right next to mine
And if the wind should blow just right
She could be in my arms tonight

We are the lonely all together
All together we're all alone
We are the lonely all together
All together we're all alone

The cashier at the pump & pay
Knows everything's gonna be okay
The all night all right rent-a-cop
Is across the street at the donut shop
The waitress waits with whiskey sour
At the single mingle happy hour
The one man band begins to sing
Accompanied by a drum machine

We are the lonely all together
All together we're all alone
We are the lonely all together
All together we're all alone

White divorced swinging male
Seeks company to no avail
Worthless ruthless toothless man
Wants wealthy woman with a plan
SWF with a PhD
Seeks TLC at the A&P
GWM nice and trim
Seeks s-e-x at the g-y-m
Ugly man treats girls like dirt
Wants buttons sewn upon his shirt
DUI at the b-a-r
Seeks m-a-n with c-a-r

We are the lonely all together
All together we're all alone
We are the lonely all together
All together we're all alone

We are the lonely all together
All together we're all alone
We are the lonely all together
All together we're all alone

Toothy gal with breasts so large
Takes Visa Amex Master Charge
Dial 1-900 girls for fun
You lonely little hot dog bun

Chorus:
We were standing
Standing by peaceful waters
Standing by peaceful waters
Whoa Wah Oh Wha Oh
Whoa Wah Oh Wha Oh

Many years ago along the Illinois-Wisconsin Border
There was this Indian tribe
They found two babies in the woods
White babies
One of them was named Elizabeth
She was the fairer of the two
While the smaller and more fragile one was named Marie
Having never seen white girls before
And living on the two lakes known as the Twin Lakes
They named the larger and more beautiful Lake, Lake Elizabeth
And thus the smaller lake that was hidden from the highway
Became known forever as Lake Marie

Repeat Chorus:

Many years later I found myself talking to this girl
Who was standing there with her back turned to Lake Marie
The wind was blowing especially through her hair
There was four italian sausages cooking on the outdoor grill
And Man, they was ssssssssizzlin'
Many years later we found ourselves in Canada
Trying to save our marriage and perhaps catch a few fish
Whatever seemed easier
That night she fell asleep in my arms
Humming the tune to "Louie Louie'
Aah baby, We gotta go now.

Repeat Chorus:

The dogs were barking as the cars were parking
The loan sharks were sharking the narcs were narcing
Practically everyone was there
In the parking lot by the forest preserve
The police had found two bodies
Nay, naked bodies
Their faces had been horribly disfigured by some sharp object
Saw it on the news On the TV news in a black and white video
You know what blood looks like in a black and white video?
Shadows, Shadows that's exactly what it looks like
All the love we shared between her and me was slammed
Slammed up against the banks of Old Lake Marie, Marie

We were standing
Standing by peaceful waters
Standing by peaceful waters
Whoa Wah Oh Wha Oh
Whoa Wah Oh Wha Oh
Whoa Wah Oh Wha Oh
Whoa Wah Oh Wha Oh
Standing by peaceful waters
Peaceful waters
Standing by peaceful waters
Peaceful waters
Standing by peaceful waters
Peaceful waters
Standing by peaceful waters
Peaceful waters
Aah baby, we gotta go now

Does he still think about her
Why there was never really any doubt
Every time he lights a candle
Or blows a candle out
The scientific nature of the ordinary man
Is to go on out and do the best you can

I don't think that you know
That I think you don't know
That old barometer goes crazy baby
Every time it starts to snow
You won't find me walking
Round your part of town
Humidity built the snowman
Sunshine brought him down

This world is full of people
They never seem to fall
Somebody said they seen you
You hadn't changed at all
The fundamental story
Of the contemporary man
Is to walk away and someday understand

I don't think that you know
That I think you don't know
That old barometer goes crazy baby
Every time it starts to snow
You won't find me walking
Round your part of town
Humidity built the snowman
Sunshine brought him down

The scientific nature of the ordinary man
Is to go on out and do the best you can

I don't think that you know
That I think you don't know
That old barometer goes crazy baby
Every time it starts to snow
You won't find me walking
Round your part of town
Humidity built the snowman
Sunshine brought him down

Humidity built the snowman
Sunshine brought him down
Brought him down

Do you like me?
Well I hope you do
Cause if you like me
Then I think I'm gonna to have to like you too

We'll share our things
And have some fun
Then we'll say goodbye
And go back home when the day is done

If you tell me
I'll tell you too
And we'll say the things
And do the things that lovers do

We'll keep it to ourselves
We won't hurt no one
Then we'll say goodbye
And go back home when the day is done

We'll carve our names
On a tree
Then we'll burn it down
So no one in the world will see

And we'll make love
While we watch the flame
Then we'll walk away
As if we never had no shame

Now we must hide
To be alone
And we can't say
Our sweet things on the telephone

If we can't stop
What we've begun
We should say goodbye
And go back home when the day is done

Do you still like me?
Well I hope you do
Cause if you still like me
Then I think I'm gonna have to still like you

We shared our things
And had some fun
Now we'll say goodbye
And go back home when the day is done

Yeah, we'll say goodbye
And go back home while
We still have one
Let's say goodbye and go back home
Now the day is done

I don't want your big French Fry
I don't want your car
I don't want to buy no soap
From no washed-up movie star
You are so much louder
Than the show I wanna hear
With your sugarless gum
Gee, but I'm dumb
Non-alcoholic beer
It's enough to make a grown man
Blow up his own TV
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me

I heard you the first time
I heard myself say
Seems like the little woman
Is getting bigger every day
You don't have to tell the neighbors
A little silence ain't no sin
They already think my name is
Where in the hell you been?
Louder, louder, louder, louder, louder
Constantly
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me
Whoa oh whoa oh
Sweet Serenity
Whoa oh whoa oh
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me

Ain't it great at the end of the day
When there ain't no sound around
Just me and the fence post
Staring each other down
Nothing but a big bunch of nothing
Driving me insane
Cause there ain't no voice that's louder
Than the one inside my brain
Hey you go on
Go on and let me be
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me
Whoa oh whoa oh
Sweet Serenity
Whoa oh whoa oh
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me

It started out when she was small
She was premature
She wasn't nothing at all
Two pounds six ounces
A little pumpkin seed
But she got more love
Than you ever gonna need
She got big fat love
She got big fat love
She don't eat enough
To keep her alive
When she bends over
She's a quarter to five
Skinny little thing
But she ain't afraid
To dance the Watusi
On a razorblade
She got big fat love
She got big fat love
Tiny little hands
Tiny little nose
Tiny little footsteps
Wherever she goes
Little bit don't leave
No bathtub ring
You pull the plug
She's down the drain
She got big fat love
She got big fat love
She got big fat love
Bigger than me
Bigger than you
Bigger than the hippo
Down at the zoo
Thin is in
Stout is out
Big fat love
Is what I'm talking about
She got big fat love
She got big fat love
She got big fat love
She got big fat love

Moonlight shining on the back of my hand
Cat fight rattlin' the garbage can
Looks like somethin' chased you up a tree
Same thing, same thing happened to me

Wild wind blowing down the neck of my shirt
Old men sitting on a bench in the dirt
Seems that another ship has gone out to sea
Same thing, same thing happened to me

Shoe shine someone's got to tell ya the news
A fine line separates a boy from the blues
Looks like you could use some company
Same thing, same thing happened to me

Runnin', runnin' just as fast as I can
Someone, someone take a hold of my hand
Looks like somethin' chased you up a tree
Same thing, same thing happened to me
Same thing, same thing happened to me.

I can taste your lipstick in the wine
I can feel your heartbeat close to mine
With your love wrapped around me
I'm silent and still
I know that this love is real

I have tasted other lips I thought were true
I have looked into the eyes I thought were you
Now touching just to touch
And feeling just to feel
I know that this love is real

Someone should tell our dreams when love is gone
While still in slumber memories linger one
Sometimes I lie awake in bed till dawn
Thinking of you
Now you're gone

Tender is the heart that sleeps in rest
Tender is the hope of tenderness
Love thy neighbor as thyself
And thou shall not steal
I know that this love is real
Love thy neighbor as thyself
And thou shall not steal
I know that this love is real

Feeling kind of bony
On the telephoney
Talking to Marconi
Eating Rice-a-Roni
Nominated for a Tony
For acting like a phoney
Watching Twilight Zoney
On my forty-two inch Sony
This is just a long song
It ain't no poem
Leave the lights on till your baby gets home

It's like sitting in the kitchen
When the music's really bitchin'
Your nose it starts to itchin'
As you count your old age pension
Did I forget to mention
The ride that I was hitchin'
To the Aluminum convention
I had such good intention
Keep your cotton pickin' fingers off
My song poem
And leave the lights on till your baby gets home

Leave the lights on till your baby gets home
Leave the lights on till your baby gets home
Don't forget your toothbrush
Your hairbrush and your comb
Leave the lights on till your baby gets home
Got a big ol' dog
A chrome crowbar
I keep that mother humper in the back seat of my car

Me and Billy Shakespeare
Stepped out to get a root beer
We sat together so near
People thought we were queer
Punctuated by the big scare
We joined the Air Force right there
To defend our country first class
Who couldn't give a rat's ass
Don't you tell me that the White House is my home
Leave the lights on till your baby gets home
Leave the lights on till your baby gets home
Leave the lights on till your baby gets home
Don't forget your toothbrush
Your hairbrush and your comb
Leave the lights on till your baby gets home
Got a big ol' dog
A big iron bar
I keep that mother humper in the back seat of my car
It's like kissing Greta Garbo with a mouth full of marbles
Like trying to cash a paycheck in the middle of a train wreck
Leave the lights on
Leave the lights on

Like trying to get aroundo in a carmade of bondo
Like speaking German lingo to a dog named Dingo - Plotz!!
Leave the lights on
Leave the lights on

Like a French fried quesadilla
In a franchised pizzeria
Leave the lights on
Leave the lights on

A big iron bar
I keep that mother humper in the back seat of my car.

The motel lights were blinkin'
On my chartreuse four door Lincoln
On the dock the fish were stinkin'
I simply didn't have a care

And the old men sit 'round the cracker barrels
The children hum their Christmas carols
The train tracks all run parallel
But they'll all meet up one day

On a dusty pew in a vestibule
Sits the Devil playing pocket pool
He's waiting for the next poor fool
Who forgot that it was Sunday

We used to tell each other lies
With our orange plastic button eyes
In a former life on a motel chair
I was Charlie Parker's teddy bear

Yeah, me and Bird we'd stay up late
I used to watch him contemplate
While his horn would sit by the window and
Wait till it was time for him to blow it

On a dusty pew in a vestibule
Sits the Devil playing pocket pool
He's waiting for the next poor fool
Who forgot that it was Sunday

The only song I ever knew
Was "Moonlight Bay on the Avenue"
These are the tales from the Devil's chin
Charlie I could've been a contender

And the old men sit round the cracker barrels
The children hum their Christmas carols
The train tracks all run parallel
But they'll all meet up one day

On a dusty pew in a vestibule
Sits the Devil playing pocket pool
He's waiting for the next poor fool
Who forgot that it was Sunday
Who forgot that it was Sunday.

I love you so much it hurts me
Darlin' that's why I'm so blue
I'm so afraid to go to bed at night
Afraid of losing you
I love you so much it hurts me
And there's nothing I can do
I want to hold you my dear
Forever and ever

I love you so much it hurts me so

I love you so much it hurts me
And there's nothing I can do
I want to hold you my dear
Forever and ever

I want to hold you my dear
Forever and ever

I love you so much it hurts me so