Steve Earle Album

Sunset in my mirror, pedal on the floor
Bound for New York City and I won't be back no more
Won't be back no more, boys, won't see me around
Goodbye, Guitar Town

Ghosts out on the highway, voices on the wind
Telling me we may never pass this way again
Voices on the highway, angels beckoning
Like a long lost friend

Fare thee well, I'm bound to roam
This ain't never been my home

Stranger in my mirror, lines around my eyes
String around my finger, but I don't remember why
Don't remember why, boys, don't remember how
Goodbye, Guitar Town

Fare thee well, I'm bound to roam
This ain't never been my home

Blue dog on my floorboard, redhead by my side
Cross the mighty Hudson River to the New York City side
Redhead by my side, boys, sweetest thing I've found
Goodbye, Guitar Town

SPOKEN:
Pale Male, the famous red-tail hawk, performs wingstands high above midtown Manhattan
Circles around for one last pass over the park
Got his eye on a fat squirrel down there and a couple of pigeons
They got no place to run, no place to hide
But Pale Male, he's cool, see, 'cause his breakfast ain't going nowhere
So he does a loop t'loop for the tourists and the six o'clock news
Got him a penthouse view from the tip-top of the food chain, boys
He looks up and down Fifth Avenue and says, "God, I love this town"

SUNG:
But life goes on, down here below
And all us mortals struggle so
We laugh and cry
And live and die
That's how it goes
For all we know
Down here below

SPOKEN:
I saw Joe Mitchell's ghost on a downtown A train
He just rides on forever, now that the Fulton Fish Market's shut down
He said, "They ain't never gonna get that smell out of the water
I don't give a damn how much of that new money they burn"
Now Hell's Kitchen's "Clinton" and The Bowery's "Nolita"
And The East Village is creeping across the Williamsburg Bridge
Hey, whatever happened to Alphabet City?
Ain't no place left in this town that a poor boy can go

SUNG:
But life goes on down here below
And all us mortals struggle so
We laugh and cry
And live and die
That's how it goes
For all we know
Down here below

Pale Male swimming in the air
Looks like he's in heaven up there
People suffering everywhere
But he don't care

But life goes on down here below
And all us mortals struggle so

Turn it on

Top of my shift - frog in my throat - sleep in my eyes
Starting to drift - cuppa hot joe - checking the sky
Never can tell - making my list - checking it twice
Fasten my belt - flipping my switch - checking my mic

Is there anybody out there? One-two-three on the satellite radio?
Big Daddy on the air, are you listening to me on the satellite radio?
At the galaxy's end, where the stars burn white, are you tuning in and turning on?
Is there anybody listening to earth tonight on the satellite radio?

Listen to the radio

Listen to the radio

Turn it on
Turn it up

What if they're right? What if I'm wrong? What if we're kings?
One of these nights - play the right song - the telephone rings
Stone in the sea - shot in the dark - splitting the air
Listen to me - kindle the spark - answer my prayer

Is there anybody out there? One-two-three on the satellite radio?
Does anybody care? Are you listening to me on the satellite radio?
At the galaxy's end, where the stars burn white, are you tuning in and turning on?
Is there anybody listening to us tonight on the satellite radio?

Listen to the radio

Listen to the radio

Turn it on

Is there anybody out there? One-two-three on the satellite radio?
Big Daddy on the air, are you listening to me on the satellite radio?
At the galaxy's end, where the stars burn white, are you tuning in and turning on?
Is there anybody listening to earth tonight on the satellite radio?

Is there anybody out there? One-two-three on the satellite radio?
Big Daddy on the air, are you listening to me on the satellite radio?
At the galaxy's end, where the stars burn white, are you tuning in and turning on?
Is there anybody listening to earth tonight on the satellite radio?

Listen to the radio

Living in a city of immigrants
I don't need to go traveling
Open my door and the world walks in
Living in a city of immigrants

Living in a city that never sleeps
My heart keeping time to a thousand beats
Singing in languages I don't speak
Living in a city of immigrants

City of black
City of white
City of light
City of innocents

City of sweat
City of tears
City of prayers
City of immigrants

Living in a city where the dreams of men
Reach up to touch the sky and then
Tumble back down to earth again
Living in a city that never quits

Living in a city where the streets are paved
With good intentions and a people's faith
In the sacred promise a statue made
Living in a city of immigrants

City of stone
City of steel
City of wheels
Constantly spinning

City of bone
City of skin
City of pain
City of immigrants

All of us are immigrants
Every daughter, every son
Everyone is everyone
All of us are immigrants, everyone

Living in a city of immigrants
River flows out, and the sea rolls in
Washing away nearly all of my sins
Living in a city of immigrants

City of black
City of white
City of light
I'm living in a city of immigrants

City of sweat
City of tears
City of prayers
Living in a city of immigrants

City of stone
City of steel
City of wheels
Living in a city of immigrants

City of bone
City of skin
City of pain
City of immigrants

All of us are immigrants
All of us are immigrants

My baby sparkle and shine
Sparkle and shine
Sparkle and shine
My baby sparkle and shine
And everyone knows she's fine

She blesses all that she sees
A toss of her hair and a kiss in the breeze
But she don't love no one but me
And I can't believe she's mine

Shimmering she moves
Sunlight all around her
Even when she's blue
Silver clouds surround her

My baby sparkle and shine
Sparkle and shine
Sparkle and shine
My baby sparkle and shine
And I can't believe she's mine

My baby swings down the street
Big, tall, high heel shoes on her feet
Walks by and my heart skips a beat
And I'm stumbling like a fool

She give me something so sweet
I can't sleep, y'all, and I can't eat
Sparks fly whenever we meet
I'm breathless 'cause she's so cool

Anywhere she goes
I can only follow
She'll be there, I know
When I awake tomorrow

My baby sparkle and shine
Sparkle and shine
Sparkle and shine
My baby sparkle and shine
And everyone knows she's fine

My baby sparkle and shine
Sparkle and shine
Sparkle and shine
My baby sparkle and shine
And everyone knows she's fine

And everyone knows she's mine

Yellow moon, amber light
Baby, baby, baby, please, come home to me
Another blue and lonesome night
Baby, baby, baby, please, come home to me

I knew I'd cry when you were gone
Baby, baby, baby, please, come home to me
Thought I'd survive, but I was wrong
Baby, baby, baby, please

Just as soon as you were out that door
I remembered what my life was like before
Now nothing's gonna be the same again
'Cause I'm lonelier than I was then
And I can't ever let this feeling go
'Cause now I know

I stay up late, wake up alone
Baby, baby, baby, please, come home to me

No matter what I say or do
I know I'll never get over losing you
So I'm crossing my heart and promising
If I get you in my arms again
I'm not ever gonna let you go
'Cause now I know

The door's unlocked, the light is on
Baby, baby, baby, please, come home to me
Baby, baby, baby, please

I was walking, walking down the Jericho Road
And every mile that I traveled showed
And I'm walking down the Jericho Road

I just kept on walking, walking down the Jericho Road
And the sun set red over fields of gold
And I'm walking down the Jericho Road

Well Joshua fit the battle, that's how the story goes
And the walls come a-tumbling down, I know
But I'm still walking, walking down the Jericho Road

I met my mother walking down the Jericho Road
Tears in her eyes and her head hung low
And she was walking down the Jericho Road

I met my father walking down the Jericho Road
His back bent over from a heavy load
And he was walking down the Jericho Road

I said, "Papa, don't you know me? Won't you lay your burden down?"
He just shook his head and told me, "Son, you better turn around"
And he kept on walking, walkin' down the Jericho Road

I met my brother walking down the Jericho Road
And his hands were bloody but his face was clean
And he was walking down the Jericho Road

I met my sister walking down the Jericho Road
With a babe in her arms that I'd never seen
And she was walking down the Jericho Road

She said, "It's just a little orphan child I found along the way
I'll raise him as my own, and he'll forgive us all someday"
And she kept on walking, walking down the Jericho Road

I met my mother
I met my father
I met my brother
I met my sister

Well, my daddy worked in the coal mine
Til the company shut it down
Then he sat around and drank hisself blind
Til we put him back underground

Now nothing grows on this mountain
And what's a poor boy to do?
Except to wander these hills, forgotten
With the oxycontin blues

Well I never cared much for whiskey
'Cause it only made daddy mean
Wrapped a little bit tight, they tell me
For the methamphetamine

Then my cousin come up from Knoxville
And he taught me a thing or two
Now I'm headed nowhere but downhill
With the oxycontin blues

Got a dollar bill in my pocket
Got a half a tank in my truck
Gonna go and pawn grandma's locket
Hell, maybe it'll change my luck

Ain't nothing gonna be right no how
'Cause I know I can't ever lose
This devil that's dragging me down
And the oxycontin blues

North wind blowing like a hurricane house
Old man leaning like he's pulling a plow
Neck bowed, bending like a willow bough

Red sky, color of the end of time
Bleeds dry running down the center line
Wise guy pretends he doesn't see the signs

Bad news everybody talking about
A short fuse a half an inch from burning out
All used up beyond a reasonable doubt

Make way for his majesty, the prodigal king
Still taste the poison when you're kissing the ring
Don't say he never gave you anything

Deep breath, the calm before the storm begins
Cold sweat, pretend that you ain't listening
Don't bet on getting by with that again

Short ride from here to where the beast resides
Fine line that separates the shadows inside
Make mine a double shot of cyanide

One of these days, I'm gonna lay this hammer down
I won't have to drag this weight around
When there ain't no hunger and there ain't no pain
I won't have to swing this thing
One of these days, I'm gonna lay this hammer down

One of these nights, I'm gonna sing a different tune
All night long, beneath the silvery moon
When the war is over and the union's strong
Won't sing no more angry songs
One of these nights, I'm gonna sing a different tune

Someday, when my struggle's through
I won't have to strive
Until then, all I can do
Is let my hammer fly

One of these days, I'm gonna lay this hammer down
Leave my burden resting on the ground
When the air don't choke ya and the ocean's clean
And kids don't die for gasoline
One of these days, I'm gonna lay this hammer down

John Henry was a mighty man
Worked his whole life long
When he made that hammer ring
He always sang this song

One of these days, I'm gonna lay this hammer down
And I won't have to drag this weight around
When there ain't no hunger and there ain't no pain
I won't have to swing this thing
One of these days, I'm gonna lay this hammer down

Yeah, one of these days, I'm gonna lay this hammer down

Another year has come and gone
Another circle 'round the sun
Another thousand tears have fallen
I don't ever count 'em 'cause
I'm surrounded by your love
And days are never long enough

Four more seasons on parade
Show their colors then they fade
But that won't happen to us, darling
We'll remember how it was
Then begin again because
Days are never long enough

Time's never late
Isn't bound by our fate
Try as we may
Love might never be found if we wait
Until the sun comes up
On another day my love
Days are never long enough

Time's never late
Isn't bound by our fate
Try as we may
Love might never be found if we wait
Until the sun comes up
On another day my love
Days are never long enough

[No lyrics]