Steve Earle

"Amerika v. 6.0 (The Best We Can Do)"

"Amerika v. 6.0 (The Best We Can Do)"



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 was both out on the boulevard
Talkin' revolution and singin' the blues
Nowadays it's letters to the editor and cheatin' on our taxes
Is the best that we can do
Come on

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
It'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-oh 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
Yeah, I realize that ain't exactly democratic, but it's either them or us and
And it's the best we can do

Yeah, passionely conservative
It's the best we can do

Conservatively passionate
It's the best we can do

Meanwhile, still thinkin'
Hey, let's wage a war on drugs
It's the best we can do
Well, I don't know about you, but I kinda dig this global warming thing...

"Angel Is The Devil"

"Angel Is The Devil"


Everybody call her angel
She's no stranger to the devil I know
His mark is on her body
His fire's burnin' in her soul
When we're makin' love
He's laughin' at us down below
She's the devil I know

[Chorus:]
She's the devil I know
She's the devil I know
Said she come from heaven
Angel is the devil I know
She's the devil I know

Now she's the kind a woman
Keep you comin' back for more
Got the kind of face
You swear you seen someplace before
Coulda been your mamma
Coulda been a Mexican whore
She's the devil I know

Now she'd drag you straight to hell
I can tell and I think I'll just go
Yeah the devil sent her here
To deliver me body and soul
Yeah and every inch she drags me down
I'm closer to the glow
She`s the devil I know

"Angry Young Man"

"Angry Young Man"



Got a lot of memories tied up in this place
So much time spent in so little space
What looked like the world through the eyes of a child
Kind of closes in on you after awhile
It's a place to grow up and a place to grow old
You keep your mouth shut and you do what you're told
I told mama the day that I ran
This ain't no place for an angry young man
Mama if you could see me right now
You'd be so sure you failed me somehow
Mama you never could understand
There ain't no peace for an angry young man

A cheap hotel a long way from my home
So many people make you feel so alone
Dreams die easy out here in these streets
And hearts grow cold in the city heat
I ain't never been the patient kind
I got to live like I please or die tryin'
At a filling station with a gun in my hand
The only way for an angry young man

Got a lot of memories tied up in this place
Tonight they're starin' me right in the face
A lonely grave on the outskirts of town
It's three in the morning, ain't no one around
Just like a ghost I come out of the night
But I'll be gone before the morning light
Mama I hope that you understand

This ain't no place for an angry young man

"Annie, Is Tonight The Night"

"Annie, Is Tonight The Night"



Here I am again, now, acting like a crazy fool
Every time I get to rockin', I always run into you
I never did understand why you want to be so cruel

Well, Annie, is tonight the night?
Do you think the moon is right?
You don't have to tell me you will
Just say that you might

I know you told me once
I guess you coulda told me twice
I guess I keep hopin' some day you're gonna treat me nice
I'm tryin' to get next to you
Cold as ice

Well, Annie, is tonight the night?
Do you think the moon is right?
You don't have to tell me you will
Just say that you might

Now I'm not fool enough thinkin' I'm the only one
Got me comin' and a-goin' 'till I'm about to come undone
Not tryin' to find love
I'm lookin' for a little fun

Well, Annie, is tonight the night?
Do you think the moon is right?
You don't have to tell me you will
Just say that you might

Well, Annie, is tonight the night?
Do you think the moon is right?
You don't have to tell me you will
Just say that you might

"Another Town"

"Another Town"



One of these days when my minds made up
And I'm sick and tired of hangin' around
I'll be on my way in a cloud of dust
On the road to another town
Once upon a time I loved this house
Now I'm thinkin' 'bout burnin' it down
And I'll be long gone when the fire burns out
On the way to another town
To see another city in another light
With my past behind me and my future bright

One of these days when I've had enough
Buddy, you ain't gonna see me around
Just as soon as I get my courage up
Gonna take it to another town

I used to walk these streets with my head held high
Now I'm always lookin' down at the ground
But I see my feet on the outbound side
Of a road to another town

And I'm gonna tell everybody I know
Yeah I'm gonna spread it around
That there's a great big world out there where I go
On the road to another town
To see another city in another light
With my past behind me and my future bright

One of these days when my mind's made up
And I'm sick and tired of hangin' around
I'll be down that road in a cloud of dust
On the way to another town

"Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?"

"Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?"



It's the same old tune,fiddle and guitar
Where do we take it from here
Rhinestone suits and new shiney cars
We've been the same way for years
We need to change

Somebody told me when I got to Nashville
Son you finally got it made
Old Hank made it here, we're sure that you will
But i don't think Hank done it this way
I don't think Hank done it this way

Ten years down the road, making one night stands
Speeding my young life away
Tell me one more time just so i understand
Are you sure Hank done it this way
Did Ol' Hank really do it this way?

I've seen the world with a five piece band
Looking at the back side of me
Singing my songs and one of his now and then
But I don't think Hank done it this way
No I don't think Hank done it this way.

"Arianne"

"Arianne"



It's getting light, it's getting late
And I've looked everywhere and called her name
Her dad the doctor's down
The sheriff's standing 'round
Arianne

We sat by the river's edge
I slipped in and she slipped off her dress
She stepped cautiously
Into that shining stream
Arianne

There's a place that I can go
Where her memory still flows
It cuts a deeper path
With every season past
Arianne

I can see her as she sleeps
A face as still as that river is deep
Leaves are turning 'round
White arms, hair of brown
Arianne

There's a place that I can go
Where her memory still flows
It cuts a deeper path
With every season past
Arianne

"Ashes To Ashes"

"Ashes To Ashes"


[Chorus:]
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust

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
And He said "ashes to ashes and dust to dust"

[Chorus]

Then the sea gave birth and it crawled up on the dirt
And 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 men that had died by their hands
They said "ashes to ashes and dust to dust"

[Chorus]

Now, nobody lives forever
Nothin' stands the test of time
Oh, you heard 'em say "never say never"
But 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 even man's best laid plans
Will lie twisted and covered in rust
When we've done all that we can but it slipped through our hands
And it's ashes to ashes and dust to dust

[Chorus 2x]

"Baby Baby Baby (Baby)"

"Baby Baby Baby (Baby)"



Baby I got a gold deal way out South
A little town that I call shut my mouth
I thousand miles we don't need no plane
Call her on the phone and it's ringing like you see
Baby, baby, baby, baby
Baby, baby, baby, baby
Baby, baby, baby, baby
Baby, baby, baby, baby
Baby, baby, baby, baby

I wanna hold her but I know I can't
I'm on the field when the sky is blue
Call her on the phone and tell her what I wanna do
She says

Baby, baby, baby, baby
Baby, baby, baby, baby
Baby, baby, baby, baby
Baby, baby, baby, baby
Baby, baby, baby, baby

Baby, baby, baby, baby I'll find you
You got me hanging on the telephone line
Walkin' up the ceiling
And bouncing on the walls
Baby, baby, baby, baby
Can'tyou answer to my call?

Baby, baby, baby, baby
Baby, baby, baby, baby
Baby, baby, baby, baby
Baby, baby, baby, baby

Baby, baby, baby, baby
Baby, baby, baby, baby
Baby, baby, baby, baby
Baby, baby, baby, baby