Guy Clark

[fox69]

"Stuff That Works"

"Stuff That Works"


I got an ol' blue shirt
And it suits me just fine
I like the way it feels
So I wear it all the time
I got an old guitar
It won't ever stay in tune
I like the way it sounds
In a dark and empty room

I got an ol' pair of boots
And they fit just right
I can work all day
And I can dance all night
I got an ol' used car
And it runs just like a top
I get the feelin ' it ain't
Ever gonna stop

[Chorus]
Stuff that works, stuff that holds up
The kind of stuff you don't hang on the wall
Stuff that's real, stuff you feel
The kind of stuff you reach for when you fall

I got a pretty good friend
Who's seen me at my worst
He can't tell if I'm a blessing
Or a curse
But he always shows up
When the chips are down
That's the kind of stuff
I like to be around

[Chorus]

I got a woman I love
She's crazy and paints like God
She's got a playground sense of justice
She won't take odds
I got a tattoo with her name
Right through my soul
I think everything she touches
Turns to gold

[Chorus]

 

[fox69]

"Supply And Demand"

"Supply And Demand"


What is that sound what is that noise
I cannot figure it out for the life of me boys
Is it the coast guard or is it the wind
Is it the mother ship comin' again

Convicted on charges of supply and demand he was unloadin' the American Dream
Caught in the middle of a bigger plan it was a South American scheme
He is no smuggler he is a fisherman all of his debts they are owed to the sea
Some call it justice but it just ain't right this ain't live and let live and let be
He sing what is that sound...

Layin' in his cell and thinkin' bout Ulysses
How he picked up his oar and walked away from the sea
Until someone said you ain't from round here are you
And that's how far away he feels
He thinks of his wife and he thinks of his children
And thinks about 'em takin' his boat
He thinks about the killer in the bunk below
And he's tryin' to keep his hopes afloat
He sing what is that sound...
Singin' what is that sound...

 

[fox69]

"Tears"

"Tears"


Who ever said the hand is quicker than the eye
Has never tried to brush away a tear
Quicker than a wink there’ll be something inf your eye
You can’t beat a tear if you try

Tears of joy have graced us all
Tears of sorrow sometimes and all
Some tears betray you just before you know
Some tears don’t ever show

Some tears are harder than stone
Some tears are better left alone
I’ve seen them kept in bottles
I’ve seen ‘em left to dry
You can’t beat a tear if you try

 

[fox69]

"Texas - 1947"

"Texas - 1947"


Bein' six years old, I had seen some trains before
So it's hard to figure out what I'm at the depot for
Trains are big and black and smokin', steam screamin' at the wheels
Bigger than anything there is, at least that's the way she feels

Trains are big and black and smokin', louder'n July four
But everybody's actin' like this might be somethin' more
Than just pickin' up the mail, or the soldiers from the war
This is somethin' that even old man Wileman never seen before

And it's late afternoon on a hot Texas day
And somethin' strange is goin' on, and we's all in the way

Well there's fifty or sixty people, just sittin' on their cars
And the old men left their dominoes and come down from the bars
And everybody's checkin', old Jack Kittrel check his watch
And us kids put our ears to the rails to hear 'em pop.

So we already knowed it, when they finally said "train time"
You'd a-thought that Jesus Christ his-self was rollin' down the line
'Cause things got real quiet, mama jerked me back
But not before I'd got the chance to lay a nickel on the track

Look out, here she comes, she's comin'
Look out, there she goes, she's gone
Screamin' straight through Texas like a mad dog cyclone
Big and red and silver, she don't make no smoke
She's a fast-rollin' streamline, come to show the folks

I said, look out, here she comes, she's comin'
Look out, there she goes, she's gone
Screamin' straight through Texas like a mad dog cyclone

Lord, she never even stopped

But she left fifty, sixty people still sittin' on their cars
Wonderin' what it's comin' to and how it got this far
But me, I got a nickel smashed flatter than a dime
By a mad dog, runaway red-silver streamline train

Look out, here she comes, she's comin'
Look out, there she goes, she's gone
Screamin' straight through Texas like a mad dog cyclone
Big and red and silver, she don't make no smoke
She's a fast-rollin' streamline, come to show the folks

I said, look out, here she comes, she's comin'
Look out, there she goes, she's gone
Screamin' straight through Texas like a mad dog cyclone
Look out, here she comes, she's comin'
Look out, there she goes, she's gone
Screamin' straight through Texas like a mad dog cyclone
Look out, here she comes, she's comin'
Look out, there she goes, she's gone
Screamin' straight through Texas like a mad dog cyclone

 

[fox69]

"Texas Cookin'"

"Texas Cookin'"


Well I'm going down to Austin, Texas
I'm going down to save my soul
Get that barbeque and chili
Eat my fill then come back home

I'm gonna take my baby with me
We gonna have a high ol' time
We gonna eat till we get silly
Sho' do make a beer taste fine

Oh my, momma ain't that Texas cookin' something
Oh my, momma it'll stop yo' belly and backbone bumpin'
Oh my, momma ain't that Texas cookin' good
Oh my, momma eat it everyday if I could alright

I know a man that cook armadillo
Tastes so sweet he calls it pie
I know a woman makes pan Dulce
Tastes so good it gets you high

Get them enchiladas greasy
Get them steaks chicken fried
Sho' do make a man feel happy
To see white gravy on the side

Oh my, momma ain't that Texas cookin' something
Oh my, momma it'll stop yo' belly and backbone bumpin'
Oh my, momma ain't that Texas cookin' good
Oh my, momma eat it everyday if I could

I know a place that got fried okra
Beat anything I ever saw
I know a man that cook cabrito
It must be against the law

We gonna get a big ol' sausage
A big ol' plate of ranch style beans
I could eat the heart of Texas
We gonna need some brand new jeans

Oh my, momma ain't that Texas cookin' something
Oh my, momma it'll stop yo' belly and backbone bumpin'
Oh my, momma ain't that Texas cookin' good
Oh my, momma eat it everyday if I could

Oh my, momma ain't that Texas cookin' something
Oh my, momma it'll stop yo' belly and backbone bumpin'
Oh my, momma ain't that Texas cookin' good
Oh my, momma eat it everyday if I could alright

 

[fox69]

"That Old Time Feeling"

"That Old Time Feeling"


And that old time feeling goes sneakin' down the hall
Like an old gray cat in winter, keepin' close to the wall
And that old time feeling comes stumblin' up the street
Like an old salesman kickin' the papers from his feet

And that old time feeling draws circles around the block
Like old women with no children, holdin' hands with the clock
And that old time feeling falls on its face in the park
Like an old wino prayin' he can make it till it's dark

And that old time feeling comes and goes in the rain
Like an old man with his checkers, dyin' to find a game
And that old time feeling plays for beer in bars
Like an old blues-time picker who don't recall who you are

And that old time feeling limps through the night on a crutch
Like an old soldier wonderin' if he's paid too much
And that old time feeling rocks and spits and cries
Like an old lover rememberin' the girl with the clear blue eyes

And that old time feeling goes sneakin' down the hall
Like an old gray cat in winter, keepin' close to the wall

 

[fox69]

"The Ballad Of Laverne And Captain Flint"

"The Ballad Of Laverne And Captain Flint"


Here comes Martha runnin' down the pier
looks like Captain Flint is here
You get the bow and I get the stern
Lord would you look at that Laverne
Old Flint's got shrimp from the deep blue sea
and buckets of fish for you and me

Old Flint's boat is fine and she's called the Miss-Inclined
and there's no home port painted on her stern
and they say she's like a ghost up and down that Texas coast
but you saw him didn't you Laverne

Daddy says Flint is a weird old bird
and what's more I have heard
that his nets are charmed by a woman who knew
how to work that Louisiana voo-doo
Laverne get away from that boat you hear
your mama don't want you hangin' round here

Old Flint's boat is fine and she's called the Miss-Inclined
and there's no home port painted on her stern
and they say she's like a ghost up and down that Texas coast
but you saw him didn't you Laverne

Martha, Martha won't you tell me please
that it's not Laverne that I see
there on the deck of the Miss-Inclined
with Captain Flint I must be blind
Laverne girl what's the matter with you
old Captain Flint put a spell on you

Old Flint's boat is fine and she's called the Miss-Inclined
and there's no home port painted on her stern
and they say she's like a ghost up and down that Texas coast
but you saw him didn't you Laverne

 

[fox69]

"The Cape"

"The Cape"


Eight years old with a flour sack cape tied all around his neck
He climbed up on the garage, he's figurin' what the heck, well
He screwed his courage up so tight that the whole thing come unwound
He got a runnin' start and bless his heart, he's headed for the ground

Well, he's one of those who knows that life is just a leap of faith
Spread your arms and hold your breath and always trust your cape

Now, he's all grown up with a flour sack cape tied all around his dream
And he's full of spit and vinegar and he's bustin' at the seam
Well, he licked his finger and he checked the wind, it's gonna be do or die
And he wasn't scared of nothin', boys, he was pretty sure he could fly

Well, he's one of those who knows that life is just a leap of faith
Spread your arms and hold your breath and always trust your cape

Now, he's old and gray with a flour sack cape tied all around his head
And he's still jumpin' off the garage and will be till he's dead
All these years the people said, he was actin' like a kid
He did not know he could not fly and so he did

Well, he's one of those who knows that life is just a leap of faith
Spread your arms and hold your breath and always trust your cape
Yes, he's one of those who knows that life is just a leap of faith
Spread your arms and hold your breath and always trust your cape

 

[fox69]

"The Carpenter"

"The Carpenter"


Let us now praise a carpenter and the things that he made
And the way that he lived by the tools of his trade
I can still hear his hammer singing ten penny time
Working by the hour till the day he died

Oh he was tough as a crowbar quick as a chisel
Fair as a plane and true as a level
He was straight as a chalkline and right as a rule
He was square with the world he took good care of his tools

Oh he worked his hands in wood from the crib to the coffin
With a care and a love you don't see too often
He built boats out of wood big boats working in a shipyard
Mansions on the hill and a birdhouse in the backyard
He was tough as a crowbar...

He said anything that's worth cuttin' down a tree for
Is worth doin' right don't the Lord love a two by four
Well they asked him how to do some he'd say just like Noah built the ark
You got to hold your mouth right son and never miss your mark
To be tough as a crowbar...

 

[fox69]

"The Dark"

"The Dark"


In The Dark you can sometimes hear your own heart beat
Or the heart of the one next to you
The house settles down after holding itself up all day
Shoulder slumps, gives a big sigh
You hear no one's foot fall in the hall
That drip in the kitchen sink markin' time
June bug on the window screen can't get in but he keeps on tryin'
One way or another we're all in The Dark

Fireflies, sparks, lightning, stars
Campfires, the moon, headlights on cars
The Northern Lights and The Milky Way
You can't see that stuff in the day

When the earth turns its back on the sun
The stars come out and the planets start to run around
Now they call that day is done
But really it's just getting started
Some folks take comfort in that

And how dark is it
It's too dark for goblins
And how dark is it
It's so dark you can smell the moon
How dark is it
It's so dark the wind gets lost
How dark is it
It's so dark the sky's on fire
How dark is it
It's so dark you can see Ft. Worth from here