1. |
Blue End of the World
04:42
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Just outside of town, and just a little off the road
In an otherwise darkened field of corn
On a cloudy summer night, when the moon is just a sliver
And you can't see what's at the end of your arm
There's a giant neon cross, standing empty as a thought
Throwing neon blue all across a field
I don't remember how we found it but the moths would flutter 'round it
Just like ashes at the blue end of the world
Some farmer must have lit it up, a sign of hope for travelers
People far away from their home
But we used to park beneath it and lie cheek to cheek to cheek
It was you, me, and Jimmy out there on our own
It's the oldest tale there is: I loved you and so did Jim
And you loved both of us in different ways
I loved the blue glint in your eye as we lay and faced the sky
And the smell of your hair as it brushed my face
Well, that giant neon cross left an imprint when you closed your eyes
The way blueberry juice will stain your hand
It just burned so damn strong, kept burning the summer long
It burned much harder than my poor young heart could stand
So when Jim got the job cutting wood in Washington
I could hardly wait for him to go
And in my mind I bade my time and I burned the summer hours
Down to ashes at the blue end of the world
It was early in the morning when his Greyhound bus was leaving
And we drove him to the station in your car
And you know I could have died when you kissed him on the lips
'Cause I hated how he'd store that in his heart
And when we turned to leave I felt a blue wind in my jacket sleeve
And saw the sad expression on your face
It was the cast of someone grieving, unacquainted with the feeling
Of a love that's out of step and out of place
Outside a diner on I-80, I knelt and pulled a box out
And my words stuck in my throat just like a pearl
And then the snow started to fall, and it fluttered all around your face
Like ashes at the blue end of the world
You did not seem surprised; you just nodded and you closed your eyes
I stood and I delivered you a kiss
And from the taste still on your lips, and the neon blue inside my chest
I knew that part of you would still be his
Well, the intervening years have seen us dry behind the ears
And as we settled down the neon cross grew dim
But when we got the call from Jim's sister in the fall
To tell us that something had happened to him
You drove off in the car, the same one we used to park
And I knew that I had been shortsighted
To forget that time is elastic, fire stretches and contracts it
Yes, I knew that neon flame was still ignited
Some farmer must have lit it up, a sign of hope for travelers
As the road before their headlights unfurled
But we used to park beneath it and lie cheek to cheek to cheek
Drawn like moths to the blue end of the world
Yeah, we used to park beneath it and lie cheek to cheek to cheek
Drawn like moths to the blue end of the world
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2. |
A Town Called Hesitation
04:30
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In a town called Hesitation
In a state of giving in
I was standing at the station
I was going home again
And every star and constellation
Seemed to light the sky aflame
Calling out an invocation
They were calling out your name
Time will bind our hearts up together
Where we are and where we've been
I thought I felt you in the weather
Thought I heard you in the wind
In a time of deprivation
We would see each other through
There were songs of lamentation
There were ways of making do
Now the earth in its rotation
And the tide in its blue, abundant grace
Guide me to a destination
To that old, familiar place
Oh, the smell of that blooming heather
Oh, the moonlight on my skin
I thought I felt you in the weather
Thought I hear you in the wind
Time will bind our hearts up together
Where we are and where we've been
I thought I felt you in the weather
Thought I heard you in the wind
In a town called Hesitation
In a state of giving in
I was standing at the station
I was going home again
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3. |
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Ridin' on the train when we stop in San Antone
A dude walks down the aisle and he sees that I'm alone
And he stops next to my seat and asks me, "Can I join you, friend?"
If I had just said "no" then that is where this song would end
But he sat himself right down and told me that his name was John
I did not say my name but somehow knew that he'd go on
He said he'd finished doing time and was gonna see his girl
And when he's done with her he's gonna see this guy named Earl
Who had offered him a job a month or so ago
The job was probably gone but Earl owed him, did I know
Where he could get a prepaid card so he could make a couple calls?
His boys would want to know that he had climbed over the wall
And then he laughed and said just kidding he had paid all of his dues
He had served his time in full, and then he pointed at his shoes
And asked me would I mind too much if he aired out his toes?
I had to answer no and try not to breathe through my noise
His favorite food was pancakes and his favorite color green
His favorite cleaning product was not Tide but Mr. Clean
He used to play the guitar in a rockabilly band
But he had sold the instrument and later trashed his hand
He looked at the appendage, which he rolled into a fist
He said if anyone could play it was definitely his kid
He could play a house on fire, I have never seen the like
That boy had the blues before he could even ride a bike
Then he opened up his backpack, and he opened up a beer
He said it was his birthday, then he pulled out something clear
And he poured into cups and said, "I propose a toast"
Then he forgot what he was saying
To another year gone by and another year ahead
Make a past and future sandwich out of past and future bread
We drank and started laughing, and it turned into a fit
Then John got real quiet and he told me what he did
I will leave out all the details, but say it involved a gun
And when the deed was over, John no longer had a son
He opened up a knife, and while he spoke he carved his name
Into the seatback and he asked if I had lived life on the blade
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4. |
What You Tried to Hold
04:19
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With the way that people look at you at midnight
And the way the sidewalk smells in rain
I start thinking I might walk back to Nebraska
Got a wildfire burning in my brain
I wonder if your brother still hates me
If your family would know me by my face
I heard that your sister has a baby
I tried to write but threw the card away
'Cause something always happens in a story
Where I can't tell the middle from the end
Something always happens after midnight
Where you can't tell a lover from a friend
You have a tongue in silver tones a-ringin'
And a back that bends like it was liquid gold
After midnight when wake from what you're dreamin'
Your hands just slip through what they tried to hold
Got a car on blocks at George and Ruby's
I can come and get it anytime I like
Ruby makes my favorite cup of coffee
With cream and sugar and a cube of ice
The ice is so the coffee's cool for drinkin'
So the bitter juice does not burn your tongue
Cream and sugar keep you in my thinkin'
Keep the midnight out of my song
You have a tongue in silver tones a-ringin'
And a back that bends like it was liquid gold
After midnight when wake from what you're dreamin'
Your hands just slip through what they tried to hold
You have a tongue in silver tones a-ringin'
And a back that bends like it was liquid gold
After midnight when wake from what you're dreamin'
Your hands just slip through what they tried to hold
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5. |
Dry Gulch Blues
03:52
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Looking out my back door
With dirt on my heels
There's a fire on the back road
And dust in the fields
Lightning going sideways
I was on the straight
I was following the path
That was pointed at the gate
The gate was shut against me
The wall too high to climb
I heard somebody laughing
And forgot to wonder why
Walked along a riverbank
Never stopped to rest
We were like pioneers, baby
We were headed west
Come upon a shade tree
Beside a crystal lake
And we ran into some trouble
With an apple and a snake
The snake said, "Hello,
"and how do you do?
"I have a little knowledge
"I would like to lay on you."
Wait for rain
And listen for your name
It's a long, long time
Dry gulch blues
I am not an angel
I do the best I can
If I tell the truth
At least I'll die an honest man
No forward or behind me
I guess I'm stuck between
The past with all its daggers
And the future with its teeth
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6. |
Drive
06:15
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Headlights flashing on a highway sign
Just a few more miles to Valentine
And a quiet voice inside my mind
Says, "Go ahead and close your eyes and drive"
Susie's passed out, she can't stay up
She's been drinking muddy waters from a plastic cup
Miles ahead and miles behind
Go ahead and close your eyes and drive
Let go your worry, let go your pain
It's all a silent movie rollin' through your brain
Stay between the painted lines
Go ahead and close your eyes and drive
Go ahead and give your eyes a rest
Ease back and throttle back your pounding chest
Keep it on the right-hand side
Go ahead and close your eyes and drive
Let go your worry, let go your pain
It's a brokedown get-around highway dream
Stay between the painted lines
Go ahead and close your eyes and drive
If I die, won't you bury me deep
Someplace I can get some sleep
And dream I'm doin' 55
Go ahead and close your eyes and drive
Let go your worry, let go your pain
There's a rumble strip before you hit the breakdown lane
Stay between the painted lines
Go ahead and close your eyes and drive
Go ahead and close your eyes and drive
Go ahead and close your eyes and drive
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7. |
Iron Bell
05:02
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First thing in the morning, I open up my eyes
Stirring up my coffee and I hear to my surprise
It is that iron bell, I mean that iron bell
High up in the tower, way down in the street
That iron bell keeps ringing and it interrupts my sleep
It is that iron, I mean that iron bell
Iron bell, alive and well, buy or sell, one to the other
Ain't no tellin' what the time will tell
Except that iron bell
Aristotle, Vincent Price, the Avon lady and Jesus Christ
Even old Goliath when he fell all heard that iron bell
Iron bell, alive and well, buy or sell, one to the other
Ain't no tellin' what the time will tell
Except that iron bell
Iron bell, alive and well, buy or sell, one to the other
Ain't no tellin' what the time will tell
Except that iron bell
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8. |
Hallelujah, Amen
04:19
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I was born with my mouth wide open
I was born with a hundred teeth
Chewed up everything in the kitchen
Started looking over and underneath
Can't you taste that good fried chicken
Can't you smell that deep blue sea
Haven't you heard that it's been written
Do re him and do re mi
When I was young my daddy told me
I believe he said it true
Nothing in the world's as holy
as a little bit of road in front of you
Mama died with cookies in the oven
Elvis died with his pants undone
Jesus died in the back of a barroom
Didn't lift a finger for anyone
I can shout hallelujah!
I can shout amen!
If I shine my light from under a bucket
Can a poor boy get to heaven
Can a poor boy get to heaven
Salt for salt and sugar for sugar
So I've heard the story told
I just hope I get to heaven
If I die before I'm old
If I had money and time to spend it
I'd light out for some western town
The grass is green and the girls are women
They're taller than they are around
I'd drive until the sun gets heavy
I'm out of breath and out of range
The signal's strong and the beat is steady
The tune's familiar but the words are strange
There's a house on the river Jordan
I believe it's not that far
Might be all the beds are taken
But I hear they got a big backyard
I can shout hallelujah!
I can shout amen!
If I shine my light from under a bucket
Can a poor boy get to heaven
Can a poor boy get to heaven
I can shout hallelujah!
I can shout amen!
If I shine my light from under a bucket
Can a poor boy get to heaven
Can a poor boy get to heaven
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9. |
Clay Pigeons
03:35
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I'm goin' down to the Greyhound station
Gonna get a ticket to ride
Gonna find that lady with two or three kids
And sit down by her side
And ride 'til the sun comes up and down around me
'Bout two or three times
Smokin' cigarettes in the last seat
Try to hide my sorrow from the people I meet
And get along with it all
Go down where people say y'all
Sing a song with a friend
Change the shape that I'm in
And get back in the game
And start playin' again
I'd like to stay, but I might have to go
To start over again
Might go back down to Texas
Might go to someplace I've never been
Get up in the morning and go out at night
And I won't have to go home
Get used to being alone
Change the words to this song
And start singing again
I'm tired of runnin' 'round lookin' for answers to questions
That I already know
I could build me a castle of memories
Just to have somewhere to go
Count the days and the nights that it takes to get back
In the saddle again
Feed the pigeons some clay
Turn the night into day
And start talkin' again
When I know what to say
I'm goin' down to the Greyhound station
Gonna get a ticket to ride
Gonna find that lady with two or three kids
And sit down by her side
And ride 'til the sun comes up and down around me
'Bout two or three times
Smokin' cigarettes in the last seat
Try to hard my sorrow from the people I meet
And get along with it all
Go down where people say y'all
Feed the pigeons some clay
Turn the night into day
And start talkin' again
When I know what to say
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10. |
Cocaine Blues
02:56
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Come on, mama, don't you play me for no fool
I wouldn't quit you, woman, while the weather's cool
Around your back door, honey, I will make my creep
As long as you're earnin' your two and a half a week
I know a gal who lives in the rich folks' yard
She brings me meat and she brings me lard
She brings me meat and she brings me lard
She brings me anything that she can steal
I hear you mama, hey, hey
Here come Sally with her nose all tore
Doctor says she can't smell no more
Come on, doctor, keep ringin' the bell
There's women in the alley
I'm simply wild about my good cocaine
Furniture man come to my door last Sunday morn
He asked me, is my wife at home
I said no, she's been long gone
Then he backed his truck up to my door
Took everything I had
And took it on back to the furniture store
I declare I did feel sad
What in the world's anybody got to do
With the furniture man
If you got no dough, he'll put on a show
He'll take everything he can
He'll take everything from the ugly plant
The skillet to the frying pan
If there ever was a devil without any horns
I swear it was the furniture man
I hear you mama, hey, hey
Here come Sally with her nose all tore
Doctor says she can't smell no more
Coke's for horses, not for women or men
They say it's gonna kill you but they can't say when
I'm simply wild about my good cocaine
Simply wild about that good cocaine
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11. |
Helicopter Seeds
04:04
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Powder blue, paint the baby's room
And line the empty bottles on the floor
Emerald green, a touch of tangerine
We don't even live here anymore
Tape the trim, keep the bad thoughts in
Tell me, is there something on your mind?
You only see what you choose to see
I thought I told you everything was fine
Listen close, I thought I heard a ghost
The voice resounds across the house
The message is not clear
Keep my hand wrapped around your hand
The other one is cupped around my ear
Oh, my soul, where does good love go
And why don't I believe it when it comes
And oh, my sin, where do I begin
In the valley that is cleft between my tongue
Listen close, I thought I heard a ghost
The voice resounds across the house
The message is not clear
Keep my hand wrapped around your hand
The other one is cupped around my ear
Paint the walls and doors around you
Pace the halls and floors without you
Someone calls to ask about you
I don't know what to say
Buy an old canoe and paint it powder blue
And set it drifting slow across the sound
In the breeze, the helicopter seeds
Free themselves and flutter to the ground
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12. |
Too Long Away
04:35
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I hope you won't think less of me
Or consider me unkind
But the less I speak your name
The less you seem to cross my mind
When your mother handed you to me
I could hardly understand
You were seconds old and small enough
To balance in my hand
Oh, my daughter, darling one
Don't be too long away
I hope the water spirits you
Back home again to stay
You can see out to the edge of things
On an afternoon so clear
When the sun sets on the aging day
It appears to disappear
Oh, my daughter, darling one
Don't be too long away
I hope the water spirits you
Back home again to stay
Now and then a happy moment comes
And it takes me by surprise
And I hope that years of laughter show
In the corners of your eyes
Oh, my daughter, darling one
Don't be too long away
I hope the water spirits you
Back home again to stay
Oh, my daughter, darling one
Don't settle for a thing
Bear a flag fit for a conqueror
Wear a coat fit for a king
Bear a flag fit for a conqueror
Wear a coat fit for a king
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Jack Hotel Lincoln, Nebraska
Jack Hotel contains multitudes. A listen to their discography reveals a range that encompasses Ry Cooder and Leo Kottke, Gillian Welch and Townes Van Zandt, Mississippi John Hurt and Etta Baker — but this band is no mere product of its influences. Since their start in 2012, Jack Hotel has proven itself one of the best, and most original, folk acts in the midwest. ... more
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