Steve Earle Album

Look at ya
Yeah, take a look in the mirror now tell me what you see
Another satisfied customer in the front of the line
For the American dream
I remember when we were both on the boulevard
Talkin' revolution and singin' the blues
Nowadays letters to the editor and cheatin' on our taxes
Is the best that we can do.

Look around
There's doctors down on Wall Street
Sharpenin' their scalpels and tryin' to cut a deal
Meanwhile, back at the hospital, we got accountants
Playin' God and countin' out the pills
Yeah, I know, that sucks - that your HMO
Ain't doin' what you thought it would do
But everybody's gotta die sometime
And we can't save everybody
That's the best that we can do.

Four score and a hundred and fifty years ago
Our forefathers made us equal as long as we can pay
Yeah, well maybe that wasn't exactly what they was thinkin'
Version six-point-o of the American way
But hey we can just build a great wall
Around the country club
To keep the riff-raff out until the slump is through
I realize that ain't exactly democratic
But it's either them or us
And it's the best we can do.
00:22, 14 April 2006 (PDT)00:22, 14 April 2006 (PDT)00:22, 14 April 2006 (PDT)00:22, 14 April 2006 (PDT)00:22, 14 April 2006 (PDT)00:22, 14 April 2006 (PDT)00:22, 14 April 2006 (PDT)ÜberBot 00:22, 14 April 2006 (PDT)

A long time ago before the ice and the snow
There were giants that walked this land
And with each step they took the mighty mountains shook
And the trees took a knee and the seas rolled in
Then one day they say the sky gave way
And death rained down it made a terrible sound
There was fire everywhere and nothin' was spared
That walked on the land or flew through the air
And when it all was over
The slate wiped clean with a touch
There God stood and he saw it was good
He said "ashes to ashes and dust to dust".

Then the sea gave birth and it crawled up on the dirt
Stood up and took a look around
Said "I'm the next big thing and the gift that I bring
Comes directly from God so there ain't no holdin' me down"
So he crowned himself king now no one remembers his name
But the seed that he sowed took the show on the road
There was blood on their hands and a plague on the land
They drew a line in the sand and made their last stand
They said "God made us in his image
And it's in God that we trust"
When asked about the man that had died by their hand
They said "ashes to ashes and dust to dust".

Nobody lives forever
Nothin' stands the test of time
You heard 'em say "never say never"
It's always best to keep it in mind
That every tower ever built tumbles
No matter how strong no matter how tall
Someday even great walls will crumble
And every idol ever raised falls
And someday every man's best laid plans
Will be twisted and covered in rust
When we've done all that we can
But it slipped through our hands
It's ashes to ashes and dust to dust.
00:22, 14 April 2006 (PDT)00:22, 14 April 2006 (PDT)00:22, 14 April 2006 (PDT)00:22, 14 April 2006 (PDT)00:22, 14 April 2006 (PDT)~~

[No lyrics]

What if I told you it was done with mirrors?
What if I showed you it was all a lie?
Better be careful someone might hear ya
The walls have ears and the sky has eyes
What if I said you were only dreamin'?
What you wanna bet that all you gotta do
Is open up your eyes and you will wake up screamin'
When you realize that it's all come true?

Hush, now, don't you believe it
Cover your head and close your eyes
Now, take it or leave it
Go back to bed now, don't you cry

Half a million soldiers fly across the water
One in ten are never comin' back again
Fifty thousand sons who never grew to fathers
Don't you ever wonder who they might have been
What if you could've been there on that day in Dallas?
What if you could wrestle back the hands of time?
Maybe somehtin' could've been done in Memphis
We wouldn't be livin' in a dream that's died

Go on and tell yourself again there are no secrets
Go on and tell yourself that you don't want to know
It's best that you believe that you don't hear the footsteps
That follow you around wherever you go
Maybe you were thinkin' that it didn't matter
Maybe you believed nobody else would care
But once you've added every little tile together
You finally find the truth was always waiting there.

When I'm walkin' these streets
And I'm countin' my steps
And I'm draggin' my feet
'Cause I ain't ready yet
To start all over again
'Cause every time that I do
I remember you

Well you broke my heart
And it healed alright
Now we're far apart
And I don't lie awake at night
But every once in a while
Right out of the blue
I remember you

Well, you never write, and I never call
And I don't miss you tonight, I'm just curios that's all
Do you still have dreams? Did they all come true?
Does it every seem like you'll never make it through?
And do you ever miss me the way that I do
When I remember you?

[No lyrics]

I wish I'd never come back home
It don't feel right since I've been grown
I can't find any of my old friends hangin' 'round
Won't nothin' bring you down like your hometown

I spent some time in New Orleans
I had to live on rice and beans
I hitched through Texas when the sun was beatin' down
Won't nothin' bring you down like your hometown

Home is where the heart is
Ain't that what they always say
My heart lies in broken pieces
Scattered along the way

So don't think about me when I'm gone
I don't mind travelin' alone
You are the sweetest little thing I ever found
Won't nothin' bring you down like your hometown

I was born on this mountain a long time ago
Before they knocked down the timber and strip-mined the coal
When you rose in the mornin' before it was light
To go down in that dark hole and come back up at night

I was born on this mountain, this mountain's my home
She holds me and keeps me from worry and woe
Well, they took everything that she gave, now they're gone
But I'll die on this mountain, this mountain's my home

I was young on this mountain but now I am old
And I knew every holler, every cool swimmin' hole
‘Til one night I lay down and woke up to find
That my childhood was over and I went down in the mine

There's a hole in this mountain and it's dark and it's deep
And God only knows all the secrets it keeps
There's a chill in the air only miners can feel
There're ghosts in the tunnels that the company sealed

[No lyrics]

I'm a Harlan Man
Went down in the mine when I was barely grown
It was easy then
‘Cause I didn't know what I know now
But I'm a family man
And it's the only life that I've ever known
But I'm a Harlan Man
Just as long as my luck and lungs hold out

I'm a mountain man
Born in east Kentucky and here I'll stay
And if it's the good Lord's plan
I'll wake up in the mornin' and find
I'm lookin' at the end
Of another long week and I can draw my pay
‘Cause I'm a Harlan Man
Never catch me whinin' cause I ain't that kind

I'm a union man
Just like my daddy and all my kin
I took a union stand
No matter what the company said
I got me two good hands
And just as long as I'm able I won't give in
‘Cause I'm a Harlan Man
A coal minin' mother ‘til the day I'm dead

Well my name's John Lee Pettimore

Same as my daddy and his daddy before

You hardly ever saw Grandaddy down here

He only come to town about twice a year

He'd buy a hundred pounds of yeast and some copper line

Everybody knew that he made moonshine

Now the revenue man wanted Grandaddy bad

He headed up the holler with everything he had

It's before my time but I've been told

He never come back from Copperhead Road



Now Daddy ran the whiskey in a big black Dodge

Bought it at an auction at the Mason's Lodge

Johnson County Sheriff painted on the side

Just shot a coat of primer then he looked inside

Well him and my uncle tore the engine down

I still remember that rumblin' sound

Well the sheriff came around in the middle of the night

Heard mama cryin', knew something wasn't right

He was headed down to Knoxville with the weekly load

You could smell the whiskey burnin' down Copperhead Road



I volunteered for the Army on my birthday

They draft the white trash , first round here anyway

I done two tours of duty in Vietnam

And I came home with a brand new plan

I take the seed from Columbia and Mexico

I just plant it up the holler down Copperhead Road

Now the D.E.A.'s got a chopper in the air

I wake up screaming like I'm back over there

I learned a thing or two from ol' Charlie don't you know

You better stay away from Copperhead Road

Copperhead Road

Copperhead Road

Hey pretty baby are you ready for me?
It's your good rockin' daddy down from Tennessee
I'm just out of Austin bound for San Antone
With the radio blastin' and the bird dog on

There's a speed trap up ahead in Selma Town
But no local yokel gonna shut me down
'Cause me and my boys got this rig unwound
And we've come a thousand miles from a Guitar Town

Nothin' ever happened 'round my hometown
And I ain't the kind to just hang around
But I heard someone callin' my name one day
And I followed that voice down the lost highway

Everybody told me you can't get far
On thirty-seven dollars and a jap guitar
Now I'm smokin' into Texas with the hammer down
And a rockin' little combo from the Guitar Town

Hey pretty baby don't you know it ain't my fault
I love to hear the steel belts hummin' on the asphalt
Wake up in the middle of the night in a truck stop
Stumble in the restaurant, wonderin' why I don't stop

Gotta keep rockin' why I still can
I gotta two pack habit and a motel tan
But when my boots hit the boards I'm a brand new man
With my back to the riser I make my stand

And hey pretty baby won't you hold me tight
We're loadin' up and rollin' out of here tonight
One of these days I'm gonna settle down
And take you back with me to the Guitar Town

[No lyrics]

The warden said he'd mail my letter
The chaplain's waitin' by the door
Tonight we'll cross the yard together
Then they can't hurt me anymore.

I am going over yonder
Where no ghost can follow me
There's another place beyond here
Where I'll be free I believe.

Give my radio to Johnson
Thibodeaux can have my fan
Send my Bible home to Mama
Call her every now and then.

I suppose I got it comin'
I can't ever pay enough
All my rippin' and a runnin'
I hurt everyone I loved.

The world'll turn around without me
The sun'll come up in the east
Shinin' down on all of them that hate me
I hope my goin' brings 'em peace.
00:23, 14 April 2006 (PDT)00:23, 14 April 2006 (PDT)00:23, 14 April 2006 (PDT)00:23, 14 April 2006 (PDT)00:23, 14 April 2006 (PDT)~

My name is Billy Austin
I'm Twenty-Nine years old
I was born in Oklahoma
Quarter Cherokee I'm told
Don't remember Oklahoma
Been so long since I left home
Seems like I've always been in prison
Like I've always been alone
Didn't mean to hurt nobody
Never thought I'd cross that line
I held up a filling station
Like I'd done a hundred times
The kid done like I told him
He lay face down on the floor
guess I'll never know what made me
Turn and walk back through that door
The shot rang out like thunder
My ears rang like a bell
No one came runnin'
So I called the cops myself
Took their time to get there
And I guess I could'a run
I knew I should be feeling something
But I never shed tear one
I didn't even make the papers
'Cause I only killed one man
but my trial was over quickly
And then the long hard wait began
Court appointed lawyer
Couldn't look me in the eye
He just stood up and closed his briefcase
When they sentenced me to die
Now my waitin's over
As the final hour drags by
I ain't about to tell you
That I don't deserve to die
But there's twenty-seven men here
Mostly black, brown and poor
Most of em are guilty
Who are you to say for sure?
So when the preacher comes to get me
And they shave off all my hair
Could you take that long walk with me
Knowing hell is waitin' there
Could you pull that switch yourself sir
With a sure and steady hand
Could you still tell youself
That you're better than I am
My name is Billy Austin
I'm twenty-nine years old
I was born in Oklahoma
Quarter Cherokee I'm told

[No lyrics]

I went downtown, it was just to ease my pain
I ended up out walkin' in the rain

I took my pistol and a hundred dollar bill
I had everything i needed to get me killed

Southside girls, they suit me just fine
As long as i got money they don't whine

The devil lives on lewis street i swear
I seen him rockin' in his rockin' chair

I start way up top of lewis street
And i walk down to the end
I start way up top and i walk down to the end
I go way down in the bottoms
And i come back up again

Now mama told me, papa too
They both talked ¡®til they turned blue
But i got them ol' south nashville blues again
I won't be satisfied until they lock me up again

(townes van zandt)
Ride the blue wind high and freeShe'll lead you down through miseryLeave you low, come time to goAlone and low as low can be
If I had a nickel I'd find a gameIf I won a dollar I'd make it rainIf it rained an ocean I'd drink it dryAnd lay me down dissatisfied
Legs to walk and thoughts to flyEyes to laugh and lips to cryA restless tongue to classifyAll born to grow and grown to die

So tell my baby I said so longTell my mother I did no wrongTell my brother to watch his ownAnd tell my friends to mourn me none
I'm chained upon the face of timeFeelin' full of foolish rhymeThere ain't no dark till something shinesI'm bound to leave this dark behind
Ride the blue wind high and freeShe'll lead you down through miseryLeave you low, come time to goAlone and low as low can be

I'm just an American boy raised on MTV
And I've seen all those kids in the soda pop ads
But none of 'em looked like me
So I started lookin' around for a light out of the dim
And the first thing I heard that made sense was the word
Of Mohammed, peace be upon him

A shadu la ilaha illa Allah
There is no God but God
If my daddy could see me now âЂ” chains around my feet
He don't understand that sometimes a man
Has to fight for what he believes
And I believe God is great all praise due to him
And if I should die I'll rise up to the sky
Just like Jesus, peace be upon him

We came to fight the Jihad and our hearts were pure and strong
As death filled the air we all offered up prayers
And prepared for our martyrdom
But Allah had some other plan some secret not revealed
Now they're draggin' me back with my head in a sack
To the land of the infidel

I woke up this morning, and none of the news was good
Death machines were rumblin' 'cross the ground where Jesus stood
And the man on my TV told me that it had always been that way
And there was nothing anyone could do or say

And I almost listened to him
Yeah, I almost lost my mind
And I regained my senses again
Looked into my heart to find

That I believe that one fine day all the children of Abraham
Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem

Well maybe I'm only dreamin' and maybe I'm just a fool
But I don't remember learnin' how to hate in Sunday school
Somewhere along the way I strayed and I never looked back again
But I still find some comfort now and then

Then the storm comes rumblin' in
And I can't lay me down
And the drums are drummin' again
And I can't stand the sound

But I believe there'll come a day when the lion and the lamb
Will lie down in peace together in Jerusalem

And there'll be no barricades then
There'll be no wire or walls
And we can wash all this blood from our hands
And all this hatred from our souls

And I believe that on that day all the children of Abraham
Will lay down their swords forever in Jerusalem

In the middle of the night
In the middle of a lonely night
Stands alone in the pale moonlight
Screams out in defiance
He's got no one to turn to
You could talk until you turn blue
He'd just turn his back on you
Ain't no compromising

Bercause he's totally untamed
No fear of the unnamed
But he'll take the blame
¡rcause someone's gotta do it

Now he's out on the highway
He's got the key and the right of way
His tank is full and his toll's paid
Hellbound and determined
He run a dangerous payload
When he comes to the crossroads
Ah, man it's all times to explode
You'll just see the sky burnin'

Now he's standin' at hell's door
With a bad attitude and a forty-four
The devil said, "what's up man
Now what you come here for?"
He said, "man, let's just get to it"
He said, "i always heard that you were the bad one
There's a few places i ain't been, a few things i ain't done
You got your pitchfork and i got my gun"
Someone's gotta do it

It's Christmastime in Washington
The Democrats rehearsed
Gettin' into gear for four more years
Things not gettin' worse
The Republicans drink whiskey neat
And thanked their lucky stars
They said, 'He cannot seek another term
They'll be no more FDRs'
I sat home in Tennessee
Staring at the screen
With an uneasy feeling in my chest
And I'm wonderin' what it means

Chorus:
So come back Woody Guthrie
Come back to us now
Tear your eyes from paradise
And rise again somehow
If you run into Jesus
Maybe he can help you out
Come back Woody Guthrie to us now

I followed in your footsteps once
Back in my travelin' days
Somewhere I failed to find your trail
Now I'm stumblin' through the haze
But there's killers on the highway now
And a man can't get around
So I sold my soul for wheels that roll
Now I'm stuck here in this town

Chorus

There's foxes in the hen house
Cows out in the corn
The unions have been busted
Their proud red banners torn
To listen to the radio
You'd think that all was well
But you and me and Cisco know
It's going straight to hell

So come back, Emma Goldman
Rise up, old Joe Hill
The barracades are goin' up
They cannot break our will
Come back to us, Malcolm X
And Martin Luther King
We're marching into Selma
As the bells of freedom ring

Chorus

[No lyrics]

[No lyrics]

[No lyrics]