Drive-By Truckers

[fox69]

"Late For Church"

"Late For Church"


Late for church again
Never seem to be on time
Hear the bells as they peal through the holler
Doesn't sound like a friend of mine

A hundred eyes turn as I enter
Face burnin' as I walk past pews
I can tell they think I'm a sinner
Hear them whisper while I'm watching my shoes

Only seat left is right up front
I'm not a bit surprised
Back is soft but the seat is hard
Why can't they get it right?

Reverend Bob is pointin' his finger
Mom and Dad follow every last word
All this hollerin' makes me wonder
Does a whispered prayer get heard?

Reverend Bob is preachin' out thunder
Fire and brimstone pouring down
Me, I'm wondering what's for dinner
Waitin' for 12 o'clock to come round

Everybody's got their own Heaven
They all find it their own way

I am an angel

 

[fox69]

"Let There Be Rock"

"Let There Be Rock"


Dropped acid, Blue Oyster Cult concert, fourteen years old
And I thought them lasers were a spider chasing me.
On my way home, got pulled over in Rogersville Alabama, with a half-ounce of weed and a case of Sterling Big Mouth.
My buddy Gene was driving, he just barely turned sixteen.
And I'd like to say, "I'm sorry", but we lived to tell about it
And we lived to do a whole lot more crazy, stupid shit.

And I never saw Lynyrd Skynyrd but I sure saw Molly Hatchet
With .38 Special and the Johnny Van Zant Band.

One night when I was seventeen, I drank a fifth of vodka on an empty stomach, then drove over to a friend's house
And I backed my car between his parents' Cadillacs without a scratch.
Then crawled to the back door and slithered through the key hole, and sneaked up the stairs
And puked in the toilet.
I passed out and nearly drowned but his sister, DD, pulled me out.

And I never saw Lynyrd Skynyrd but I sure saw Molly Hatchet
And the band that I was in played "The Boys are Back in Town".

Skynyrd was set to play Huntsville, Alabama, in the spring of 77, I had a ticket but it got cancelled.
So, the show, it was rescheduled for the "Street Survivors Tour".
And the rest, as they say, is history.

So I never saw Lynyrd Skynyrd but I sure saw Ozzy Osbourne with Randy Rhoads in 82
Right before that plane crash.
And I never saw Lynyrd Skynyrd but I sure saw AC/DC
With Bon Scott singing,"Let There Be Rock Tour"

With Bon Scott singing, LET THERE BE ROCK!

 

[fox69]

"Life In The Factory"

"Life In The Factory"


Let me tell ya'll a story
So far fetched it must be true
Bout a bunch of fatherless boys from Florida and one who was man enough for two.
Practiced twelve hours a day in the Hell House
In the swamps outside of town.
100 degrees without no open windows
Heat radiating off the tin.

They named their band Lynyrd Skynyrd, after the coach who kicked them out of school.
Seven days a week cuz rock's the only thing to save them from life in the factory.

They spent years inside the Hell House
Then they opened for the Stones and The Who
90 degrees, outdoor summer festivals
Them boys wouldn't even break a sweat.
Played each show like their lives depended on it
300 a year will take its due
They kicked The Stones ass out at Knebworth
Ask anyone who was there and they'll tell you

They hit the road doing ninety
Leave them steel mills far behind.
Ain't no good life down at the Ford plant
Three guitars or a life of crime

Sold out shows and platinum records, New York critics and redneckers
Bunch of boys from Florida had them eating from their hands
They got the fame and all the glory
But folks, it's still a sad story when legend over shadows the songs and the band.

Let me tell y'all a story that more or less is the truth
From the swamps of Northern Florida to the swamps just north of Baton Rouge.

 

[fox69]

"Lisa's Birthday"

"Lisa's Birthday"


It's always Lisa's birthday when I get that call
She's got no money for a cab she's way to drunk to walk
Lisa's had more birthdays than there are sad country songs
About trying to love two women and only taking one girl home

It's a good thing that her dancing shoes don't run on gasoline
She could dry up Texas in one night the way she feels that beat
If I don't find them under the bed we make love on,
She's lighting Lisa's candles and they'll be burning all night long

So happy birthday Lisa Good evening Jim Beam
Goodnight all you socialites don't wait up for me
I'll be out way past the time the scenes' no sight to see
Ya'll don't live with Lisa
And she don't stay with me

It's always Lisa's birthday when I get that call
Her car's not where she parked it it's with her wallet and her phone
Lisa's had more birthdays than there are sad country songs
About trying to love two women and only taking one girl home

I get older and Lisa keeps on turning twenty-one

 

[fox69]

"Little Bonnie"

"Little Bonnie"


On the day that she was buried
Her Daddy stood out by the cemetery fence
Prayed to God for forgiveness
For surely all of this is punishment for my sins

They put her in the family garden
Said you could hear his heart breaking miles away
All the men pitched in and bought a marble angel
To mark the piece of land where little Bonnie lay

My Grandma said she would keep her in the mornings
So her Mama could sleep a bit and do the chores and such
She'd read her stories about little girls and magic powers
That would never let a pretty angel hurt

Her Mama's always been a beauty
She's still beautiful to this very day
But they say Bonnie's crystal eyes put the stars to shame
Maybe heaven needed Bonnie's face

My Grandma said she would keep her in the mornings
A swollen angel who never would complain
She'd read her stories about little girls and princesses
Whose Daddy's don't feel punished for what heaven takes away

Little Bonnie never married
Little Bonnie never even made it four
But I grew up in her presence
Even though she was gone before I'z born
Even though she was gone before I'z born

 

[fox69]

"Loaded Gun In The Closet"

"Loaded Gun In The Closet"


I got a loaded gun in the closet
And another one in the dresser drawer
Just in case the one in the closet didn't make a big enough hole.

She had his breakfast ready every morning
And his lunch in a box sitting there by the kitchen door.
She'd make sure he had everything he needed
And hug his neck and tell him how much she loved him
And it was beautiful.
You should have seen it.

Then she'd make herself a pot of coffee,
Just the way she liked it
And sit down and enjoy the quiet of the house all alone,
But, by two-o-clock or so every afternoon
The quiet would start getting to her and she'd watch
The clock until he came back home.

And she understood just what he needed
When he came home every evening
Was a couple of beers and a couple of minutes
To cuss about his day.
So she'd fix him a nice hot supper
While he ranted and raved about one thing or the other.
And she never once told him what he was going on about
Didn't add up to a thing.
And she never touched that gun in the closet.
It was his and it was there just because he wanted it to be.
She didn't get out much, so she never knew just what it was
That made him so afraid.

Most women today would say she was a disgrace.
Most men would say she wasn't much to look at.
And they all would say she'd be a lot better off
If she cared a little more about what they all think.
She could have a life of her own if she had a little pride,
Some silicone implants, and another man on the side.
But she's got a loaded gun in the closet.
And it's there anytime she wants it.
And her one and only man knows it and
That's why he put it there in the first place.

 

[fox69]

"Lookout Mountain"

"Lookout Mountain"


If I throw myself off Lookout Mountain
No more for my soul to keep
I wonder who will drive my car
I wonder if my Mom will weep

If I throw myself off Lookout Mountain
No more pain my soul to bare
No more worries about paying taxes
What to eat, what to wear
Who will end up with my records?
Who will end up with my tapes?
Who will pay my credit card bills?
Who's gonna pay for my mistakes?

If I throw myself off Lookout Mountain who will ever hear my songs?
Who's gonna mow the cemetery when all of my family's gone?
Who will Mom and Daddy find to continue the family name?
Who will stand there taking credit, who will lay there passing blame?

Who will lay there passing blame?

 

[fox69]

"Love Like This"

"Love Like This"


Coming home with a bottle, trying not to break the seal.
This Friday evening traffic's about enough to break a man's will.
And I can't wait to see you and see how your week has gone,
and tear into Old No.7 and make love till dawn.
But your Mama she'll be calling, if she ain't knocking on the door.
And it won't take me long to remember what I brought that bottle home for.
And we'll all get to fighting, just like we always do.
And by Saturday morning, I'll be singing these blues.
Last night I slept with my boots on again,
one cut on my forehead and one my chin,
on the hard old floor with nothin to cover up with.
You got me real good, girl, and I must admit,
you pack purty mean punch for such a pretty little dish.
And it's a shame to know most folks don't ever know love like this.
Come Monday morning, I'll be sore to a fare-thee-well.
Cussin' God and America, wishing them both just to send me off to hell.
But the boss man don't want no excuses when it comes time to get on the clock.
And without that paycheck, I'd lose the rest of what sweet love I got.
Last night I slept with my boots on again,
one cut on my forehead and one my chin,
on the hard old floor with nothin to cover up with.
You got me real good, girl, and I must admit,
you pack purty mean punch for such a pretty little dish.
And it's a shame to know most folks don't ever know love like this.

 

[fox69]

"Made Up English Oceans"

"Made Up English Oceans"


6x9 and counting down in one after the other
they'll go running up and down the road, angry as their mothers
over senseless acts of selfishness on made up English oceans
and made up English stomach contents tied to senseless notions

Once you grab them by the pride their hearts are bound to follow,
their natural fear of anything less manly or less natural,
like gunless sheriffs caught on lonesome roads and live to tell it
How hard it is for meaner men without the lead to sell it

Only simple men can see the logic in whatever
smarter men can whittle down till you can fit it on a sticker
Get it stuck like mud and bugs to names that set the standard,
They'll live it like it's gospel and they'll quote it like it's scripture

Its no matter if they dress real nice and sit up straight and stupid
and say their prayers in quiet ancient tongues
They're no different that the ones who close their eyes
and fall down to the ground
and twitch just like their nerves have come undone

So be it if they come to find out feeling good's
as easy as denying that there's day or night at all
til what it takes to feel a thing seems so far out of reach
they just claw their skin and grind their teeth and bawl

 

[fox69]

"Margo And Harold"

"Margo And Harold"


I don't want to go to dinner with Margo and Harold.
I don't like the way he looks at you, and the way she looks at me,
way they look at each other, like we're just part of some private joke.

I don't want to go dinner with Margo and Harold,
no matter how good the food.
I don't want to make small talk, innuendo,
or go for a ride in Harold's Corvette.

I'm scared of the basement of Harold's Pawn Shop,
I've heard tales of what goes down there.
Mid-life crises, high on Dilauded, Valium, and crystal meth.
Harold and Margo, feeling no pain
Fifty and crazy, big hair and cocaine.

If they call on the phone, tell them I'm not home.
That night with Margo was a long time ago.
It makes me nervous how much Harold knows,
and the way that he looks at you.

I don't want to see why Harold's now skinny.
I don't want to see Margo's bikini.
So if they call, tell them you ain't seen me or that I'm in too much pain.
Harold and Margo, taking aim.
Horny and loaded, big-hair and cocaine.