Cowboy Junkies

[fox69]

"One Soul Now"

"One Soul Now"


Abandon all those precious things.
One soul now
Carry only what twilight brings.
One soul now
Watch the colour drain from the sky.
One soul now
Stillness settles, glides on by.
One soul now

I don't understand how these things
Move the way they do.
Collide the way they do.
Feel the way they do.
When we touch the way we do.

Fireflies drift on a midnight fog.
One soul now
Twinkling gifts from a puzzling god.
One soul now
Journey out into the fields.
One soul now
Crane our necks and watch us wheel.
On soul now

I don't understand how these things
Move the way they do.
Collide the way they do.
Feel the way they do.
When we touch the way we do.

Feel the weight of all those slings
One soul now
Carrying only what twilight brings
One soul now

 

[fox69]

"Ooh Las Vegas"

"Ooh Las Vegas"


Ooh, Las Vegas
Ain't no place for a poor girl like me
Ooh, Las Vegas
Ain't no place for a poor girl like me
Every time I hit your crystal city you know
You're gonna make a wreck outta me
Well, the first time I lose I drink whiskey
Second time I lose I drink gin
Third time I lose I drink anything
'cause I think I'm gonna win
Ooh, Las Vegas
Ain't no place for a poor girl like me, no
Ooh, Las Vegas
Ain't no place for a poor girl like me
Every time I hit your Crystal City you know
You're gonna make a wreck outta me
Well, the Queen of Spades is a friend of mine
The Queen of Hearts, she's a bitch
Someday when I clean up my mind
I'll find out which is which
Ooh, Las Vegas
Ain't no place for a poor girl like me
Ooh, Las Vegas
Ain't no place for a poor girl like me
Every time I hit your Crystal City you know
You're gonna make a wreck outta me
Well, I spend all night with the dealer
Tryin' to get ahead
Spend all day at the Holiday Inn
Tryin' to get out of bed
Ooh, Las Vegas
Ain't no place for a poor girl like me
Ooh, Las Vegas
Ain't no place for a poor girl like me
Every time I hit your Crystal City you know
You're gonna make a wreck outta me
[Margo obviously changes the original "boy" for "girl"]

 

[fox69]

"Oregon Hill"

"Oregon Hill"


The hoods are up on Pine Street,
rear ends lifted too
The great-grandsons of General Robert E. Lee
are making love with a little help from STP
Their women on the porches comparing alibis
Greasy eggs and bacon,
bumper stickers aimed to start a fight,
full gun racks, Confederate caps,
if you want some 'shine
well, you can always find some more,
but what I remember most is the colour of Suzy's door
And Suzy says she's up there
cutting carrots still
And Suzy says she's missing me
so I'm missing Oregon Hill
A river to the south
to wash away all sins
A college to the east of us
to learn where sin begins
A graveyard to the west of it all
which I may soon be lying in
'Cause to the north there is a prison
which I've come to call my home,
but some Monday morning no country song
will sing me home again
And Suzy says she's up there
cutting carrots still
And Suzy says she's missing me
so I'm missing Oregon Hill
Sunday morning, eight A.M.,
sirens fill the air
Sounds like someone made the river
Sounds like someone being born again
Me, I'm just lying here in Suzy's bed
Baptists celebrating with praises to the Lord,
rednecks doing it with gin
Me and Suzy, we're celebrating
the joy of sleeping in
because tomorrow I'll be home again
But Suzy says she'll wait there
cutting carrots by the window sill
And Suzy says, 'Always think of me
when you think of Oregon Hill'

 

[fox69]

"Pale Sun"

"Pale Sun"


Fifty miles from Dakota territory
Cheyenne scalp hangs from his belt
Found him alone washing in the Bighorn
a steady aim and he bagged his game

Pale sun falls without contest
Here is obedient darkness
He will not return

White Cadillac, white man at the wheel,
white faces on the mountain,
wounds that will never heal
Black clouds overhead, old man says
looks like rain
Thieves' Road winds to the Black Hills sign
says South Dakota, U.S.A.

Grass plains stretch to the horizon,
not a soul can be found on them
They will not return

Old rusted pickup and a mad dog in the yard,
purple paint peels but fails to reveal
the bitterness that grows inside
Cloud of dust in the distance,
strange knock beneath my hood
Is it better to have words left unsaid
than to have words misunderstood?

Pale sun falls without contest
Here is obedient darkness
It will return
I know it will return
It will return

 

[fox69]

"Parkland"

"Parkland"


Sun through the window like a boogey man
Unfinished curtains on the nightstand
Alarm clock bounces off my head
Phone is ringing beside my bed
My son is dressed and waiting on the step
It’s the head nurse calling from Parkland
I got a kid. His name’s John-John
Born the same day as the President’s son
Today is the day of the big parade
But they’re short at work and it’s double pay
That means a new scooter on your birthday
But the President will have to wait…
Take Public Transit 109
Bounce out at the Parkland sign
Bring him to work and show him ‘round
Grab that bucket, mop, and gown
Towels, bed sheets, blankets and diapers
Wheel him ‘round in the laundry hamper
John was the Prez, a mop was Jackie K.
We were a two-man motorcade
A girl stopped skipping to watch us shoot past
He blew her a kiss and then through the glass
Of the emergency doors we turned to see
Blood and roses, guns and grief
Bring him in and lay him down
John, bring the surgeons gloves and gowns!
Through the black suits darting to and fro
I could see her shaking and alone
“John-John put that bullet back
And offer Mrs. Kennedy your hand
Hold it tight ‘till her cryin’s done
And don’t look back, I won’t be long…”
I brought fresh linen for the President
I watched the doctors pronounce him dead
Then a light voice said, “Is this your son?
He held my hand and my cryin’s done.”
Then John-John said, “You better get along,
You’ve got a birthday to plan when you get home…”
She bent down and kissed my John-John’s face
Smoothed her bloody dress into place
And with her son’s love as her staff
She lifted a nation upon her back
She turned and nodded, we nodded back
As they carried her husband from Parkland… John-John put that bullet back!

 

[fox69]

"Postcard Blues"

"Postcard Blues"


Especially with my head pounding
and lying helpless in my bed
I long for you and your expert hands
To ease this white heat from my head

And you would boast that you knew
All the pressure points inside
And you could just as easily kill me
Beneath the desire that I hide

But as your patient I knew
That your healing powers had grown
From a sore that's far far deeper
Than this heart where the pain was born

With my head again clear
I think of words to send to you
To coax you back to my side
But always leave out "I love you"

And then through my front door
A picture of a faraway land
And ?? to love along the back
And once again I reach for my pen

 

[fox69]

"Powderfinger"

"Powderfinger"


Look out, Mama, there's a white boat coming up the river,
with a big red beacon and a flag and a man on the rail
I think you'd better call John
'cause it don't look like they're here to deliver the mail
And it's less than a mile away
I hope they didn't come to stay
It's got numbers on the side and a gun,
and it's making big waves
Daddy's gone, my brother's out hunting in the mountains
Big John's been drinking since the river took Emmy Lou
So the powers that be left me here to do all the thinking
And I just turned twenty-two
I was wondering what to do
And the closer they got,
The more those feelings grew
Daddy's rifle in my hand felt reassuring
He told me, 'Red means run, Son, numbers add up to nothing'
But when that first shot hit the dock, I saw it coming
Raised the rifle to my eye
Never stopped to wonder why
Then I saw black and my face flash in the sky
Shelter me from the powder and the finger
Cover me with the thought that pulled the trigger
Just think of me as one you never figured,
to fade away so young
with so much left undone
Remember me to my love
I know I'll miss her

 

[fox69]

"Prologue: Original Peace Corps Mischief Makers"

"Prologue: Original Peace Corps Mischief Makers"


We’ve got our hearts made of paper
The winds of change are gonna take us
Up above the ashes and the glitter
The torch has passed and we’re purging
From the Delta to the Moon
Freedom’s raging
Roast your wienies over the joint chief’s smarting asses
All you Origami Peace Corps Mischief Makers
Register your vote you freedom riders
Move to the front of the bus, bind with your brother
Though they beat us, hose us down and bomb our churches
Throw us in your swamps, hang us from your trees
We’ll be ornaments of your cowardice, lights for more to see
Send us off to war and try to kill us
We’re still Origami Peace Corps Mischief Makers
Ask not want your country can do, ask what its done [2x]
Come up to the dime-store counter, sit down and eat
March into the colleges, take any seat
If you want to put us in our place
Slash black batons across our faces
If you want to lock us out or in
You’ve gotta tie us to your cotton gin and make us!
Make us!
Make us!
Mischief Makers!

 

[fox69]

"Reliquary"

"Reliquary"


Out of the brilliant sky in Dealy Plaza
Like a spinning taco chip of fate
Into the salsa bowl of cosmic wonder
Dropped a fragment of the head of state
Caught it bare-handed in full extension
Like Willie Mays at the Polo Grounds
Except I didn’t hit the cut off man
I kept it for myself
Now it’s…
In the center of my reliquary
In the basement of my bungalow
Behind the picket fence that leans like crooked teeth
In my scale model of the grassy knoll
Tourists coming through may find me creepy
But fees just love me, this I know
I see bags & bags of money floating in
The formaldehyde of my eyes
I kept the bottom jaw of Ruby’s dog
As a clip for my bolo tie
The paws I had sold at auction
Built the extension on my garage
Where in the rafters curled in 12-gauge plastic
With a red pen behind her ear
Lee Harvey Oswald’s fourth grade teacher
Every fall I give her legs a stretch
In the center of my reliquary
We do a loosy-goosy Skip-To-My-Lou
In my tux with the magic bullet cufflinks
And a blood shot boutineer
Dosey-doe, pop your partner in a limousine
Let their back brace keep them in your sights
Look, there’s bags & bags of money floating in
The cross-hares of your eyes
Sometimes I think, let him rest in peace
Like a collector’s commemorative plate
When I think that I’m really thinkin’
Rest in peace, ya pieces of eight!
Rest in peace, ya pieces of eight!
Rest in peace? Ya, pieces of eight!
‘Cause I have bits of Jack and Jackie floating in
The formaldehyde of my eyes
I see Caroline and John-John floating in
The formaldehyde of my eyes
I see placemats, coffee mugs floating in
The formaldehyde of my eyes
I see t-shirts, hit records floating in
The formaldehyde of my eyes…
In the middle of my reliquary
Got the American Dream in a jar

 

[fox69]

"Renmin Park"

"Renmin Park"


Meet me on the banks of the Yangtze, Suzie
Beneath the glare of the New-West Yard
We’ll watch the barges cart away the waste of another day
We’ll watch the barges cart away the waste of another day
Meet me in the middle of Renmin Park
Where the stone bridge meets the pond
We’ll watch the ducklings gobbling bread
And the stealth of the approaching swan
We’ll watch the ducklings gobbling bread
And the stealth of the approaching swan
Listen for the song of the propane seller
Bouncing off the walls
His morning cry a promise to you from me
His morning song a blessing on you and me
Meet me on the banks of the Yangtze, Suzie
Beside the gate of the New-West Yard
We’ll watch the darkness leach away into the haze of another day
We’ll watch the darkness leach away into the haze of another day