Guy Clark

[fox69]

"The Guitar"

"The Guitar"


Well, I was passing by a pawn shop
In an older part of town
Something caught my eye
And I stopped and turned around

I stepped inside and there I spied
In the middle of it all
Was a beat up old guitar
Hanging on the wall.

What do you want for that piece of junk
I asked the old man
He just smiled and took it down
and he put it in my hand

He said you tell me what it's worth
You're the one who wants it
Turn it up, play a song
And let's just see what haunts it

So I hit a couple of cords
In my old country way of strumming
And then my fingers turned to lightning
Man.. I never heard it coming

It was like I always knew it
I just don't know where I learned it
It wasn't nothin' but the truth
So I just reared back and burned it

Well I lost all track of time
There was nothing I couldn't pick
Up and down the neck
I never missed a lick

The guitar almost played itself
There was nothing I could do
It was getting hard to tell
Just who was playing who

When I finally put it down
I couldn't catch my breath
My hands were shaking
And I was scared to death

The old man finally got up
Said where in the Hell you been
I've been waiting all these years
For you to stumble in

Then he took down an old dusty case
Said go on and pack it up
You don't owe me nothing
And then he said good luck

There was something spooky in his voice
And something strange on his face
When he shut the lid

 

[fox69]

"The High Price Of Inspiration"

"The High Price Of Inspiration"


The mirror's stained with dirty looks;
At least it never lies.
The muse is calling down the hall,
Come on, let's get high.

The high price of inspiration
Always leaves me broken.
But I keep coming back for more,
Still I take no caution.

Inspiration with some wings
Is what I'm looking for.
Inspiration with no strings
I'd like that even more.

I'll fly me to a better place
Plan this safe and sound.
Don't you worry, I'll be back
If I ever become tense.

Pretty sure I'll make it,
If I get through today.
Or I'll see tomorrow,
There is always hell to pay.

Inspiration with some wings
Is what I'm looking for.
Inspiration with no strings
I'd like that even more.

Inspiration with some wings
Is what I'm looking for.
Inspiration with no strings
I'd like that even more.
I'd like that even more.
I'd like that even more.

 

[fox69]

"The Indian Cowboy"

"The Indian Cowboy"


If you ever go out to the circus
Where the Wallendas walk on the wire
I'll tell you a tale to remember
When the white horses leap rings of fire

It was a cold night in Oklahoma
The show was about to begin
The animals they were all restless
When the star horse she broke from her pen

She was a mare of high spirit
Just like a whore on Saturday night
She's kickin' and buckin' past the men who were brushin'
The elephants lyin' on their sides
Next to the tent sat some lanterns
They were dangerously close to the hay
That mare headed straight for those lanterns
Some fool had put there by mistake

Then up stepped some Indian Cowboy
His lasso went whirlin' throught the air
In the full dead middle of danger
He roped that runaway mare

Then the elephants raised up their trumpets
Two of them broke from their chains
Stampeded that Indian Cowboy
Who had saved the big top from flames
So if you ever go out to the circus
Where the Wallendas walk on the wire
You just remember that Indian Cowboy
When the white horses leap rings of fire

 

[fox69]

"The Last Gunfighter Ballad"

"The Last Gunfighter Ballad"


Now the old gunfighter on the porch stared into the sun
And he relived the days of living by the gun
When deadly games of pride were played
And living was mistakes not made

And oh the smell of the black powder smoke
And the stand in the street at the turn of a joke
Oh, the smell of the black powder smoke
And the stand in the street at the turn of a joke

Now he can almost feel the weight of the gun
Ad it's always keep your back to the sun
And it's faster than snakes or a blink of the eye
And it's a time for all slow men to die
His eyes get squinty and his fingers twitch
And he empties his gun at the son of a bitch

And he's hit by the smell of the black powder smoke
And the stand in the street at the turn of a joke
Oh hit by the smell of the black powder smoke
And the stand in the street at the turn of a joke

Now the burn of a bullet is only a scar
And he's back in his chair in front of the bar
And the streets are empty and the blood's all dried
And the dead are dust and the whiskey's inside
So buy him a drink and lend him an ear
He's nobody's fool and the only one here

That remembers the smell of the black powder smoke
And the stand in the street at the turn of a joke
Oh remember the smell of the black powder smoke
And the stand in the street at the turn of a joke

He said I stood in that street before it was paved
I learned shoot or be shot before I could shave
And I did it all for the money and fame
And noble was nothing but feeling no shame
And nothing was sacred 'cept stayin' alive
And all that I learned from a Colt 45

Was to curse the smell of the black powder smoke
And the stand in the street at the turn of a joke
Oh curse the smell of the black powder smoke
And the stand in the street at the turn of a joke

Now he's just an old man that no one believes
And he says he's a gunfighter and the last of the breed
But there's ghosts in the street and they're seeking revenge
And they're calling him out to the lunatic fringe
Now he's out in the traffic and he's checking the sun
And he gets killed by a car as he goes for his gun

So much for the smell of the black powder smoke
And the stand in the street at the turn of a joke
So much for the smell of the black powder smoke
And the stand in the street at the turn of a joke

 

[fox69]

"The Partner Nobody Chose"

"The Partner Nobody Chose"


She’s a melody in search of the words I love you
She’s a rose with rose with no room to grow
She’s a light in the night with nowhere to shine
She’s the partner that nobody chose

She’s tried and she’s tried
And she’s tried to keep on lovin’
But every man she loved broke her heart

She’s a melody in search of the words I love you
She’s a rose with no room to grow
She’s a light in the night with nowhere to shine
She’s a refuge where nobody goes

She’s fallen and stumbled
And stumbled and fallen
And no one picked her up when she fell

She’s stood up with hope up
That someone would show up
Someday you never can tell

She’s a melody in search of the words I love you
She’s a rose with rose with no room to grow
She’s a light in the night with nowhere to shine
She’s the partner that nobody chose

She’s a melody in search of the words I love you
She’s a rose with no room to grow
She’s a light in the night with nowhere to shine
She’s a refuge where nobody goes

She’s lonesome and nobody knows

 

[fox69]

"The Randall Knife"

"The Randall Knife"


My father had a Randall knife
My mother gave it to him
When he went off to WWII
To save us all from ruin
If you've ever held a Randall knife
Then you know my father well
If a better blade was ever made
It was probably forged in hell

My father was a good man
A lawyer by his trade
And only once did I ever see
Him misuse the blade
It almost cut his thumb off
When he took it for a tool
The knife was made for darker things
And you could not bend the rules

He let me take it camping once
On a Boy Scout jamboree
And I broke a half an inch off
Trying to stick it in a tree
I hid it from him for a while
But the knife and he were one
He put it in his bottom drawer
Without a hard word one

There it slept and there it stayed
For twenty some odd years
Sort of like Excalibur
Except waiting for a tear

My father died when I was forty
And I couldn't find a way to cry
Not because I didn't love him
Not because he didn't try
I'd cried for every lesser thing
Whiskey, pain and beauty
But he deserved a better tear
And I was not quite ready

So we took his ashed out to sea
And poured 'em off the stern
And threw the roses in the wake
Of everything we'd learned
When we got back to the house
They asked me what I wanted
Not the lawbooks not the watch
I need the things he's haunted

My hand burned for the Randall knife
There in the bottom drawer
And I found a tear for my father's life
And all that it stood for

 

[fox69]

"To Live Is To Fly"

"To Live Is To Fly"


Won't say I love you babe
Won't say I need you babe
But, I'm gonna get you babe
And I will not do you wrong
Livin's mostly wastin' time
I waste my share of mine
But it never feels too good
So let's don't take too long
You're soft as glass
And I'm a gentle man
We got the sky to talk about
And the world to lie upon.

Days up and down they come
Like rain on a conga drum
Forget most, remember some
But don't turn none away
Everything is not enough
Nothin' is to much to bear
Where you been is good and gone
All you keep is the gettin' there
To live is to fly
Low and high
So shake the dust off of your wings
And the sleep out of your eyes

It's goodbye to all my friends
It's time to go again
Think on all the poetry
And the pickin' down the line
I'll miss the system here
The bottom's low and the treble's clear
But it don't pay to think to much
On things you leave behind
I may be gone
But it won't be long
I will be a-bringin' back the melody
And the rhythm that I find

We all got holes to fill
Them holes are all that's real
Some fall on you like a storm
Sometimes you dig your own
But choice is yours to make
And time is yours to take
Some dive into the sea
Some toil upon the stone
To live is to fly
Low and high,
So shake the dust off of your wings
And the sleep out of your eyes
So shake the dust off of your wings
And the tears out of your eyes

 

[fox69]

"Too Much"

"Too Much"


Too much workin'll make your back ache
Too much trouble'll bring you a heartbreak
Too much gravy'll make you fat
Too much rain'll ruin your hat
Too much coffee'll race your heart tick
Too much road'll make you homesick
Too much money'll make you lazy
Too much whiskey'll drive you crazy

[Chorus]
Too much just ain't enough
Too much ain't near enough
Breathin' bout the only thing
I do too much of ain't enough

Too much limo'll stretch your budget
Too much diet'll make you fudge it
Too much fluff'll make you show it
Too much pressure'll make you blow it
Too much onion'll make you weepy
Too much preachin'll make you sleepy
Too much Mexican food'll fill you
Too much honky tonk'll kill you

[Chorus]

Too much hot rod'll get you a ticket
Too much dog'll make you kick it
Too much hidin' out'll find you
Too much you-know-what'll blind you
Too much wrist watch'll make you hurry
Too much waitin'll make you worry
Too much smokin'll give you cancer
Too much cocaine ain't the answer

[Chorus]

Too much walkin'll wear your shoes out
Too much juice'll blow your fuse out
Too much time'll fill your hands up
Too much speed'll wire the band up
Too much chip'll bruise your shoulder
Too much birthday'll make you older
Too much map has always lost me
Too much fun has always cost me

[Chorus]

 

[fox69]

"Tornado Time In Texas"

"Tornado Time In Texas"


Well the sky was blacker than a funeral suit
Hotter than a depot stove
Hide in the cellar
Here comes amarillo
Blowin down the road

Ya got yer hail stones big as hen eggs boy
Yer clouds as green can be
Old mother natures raisin hell
She parked a pickup in a tree

Tornado time in texas
Take the paint right off of your barn
Tornado time in texas
Blow the tattoo off your arm

Well when pigs fly, no I mean really fly
You can bet that it's blowin hard
Uncle clarence was sittin in the outhouse
Now he's sitting in the yard
Granny's got the barn cat under her arm
She's got a dish pan over her head
Daddy's countin kids four five six
Better bring a loaf of bread

Tornado time in texas
Take the paint right off of your barn
Tornado time in texas
Blow the tattoo off your arm

Hidin in the cellar with the cannin jars
Sounds like a train up top
Hold your breath and peek outside
To see what we ain't got
It'll take your wheat, it'll take your corn
Even take your cotton balls
Suck red river just as dry as a bone
Dump it on wichitaw falls

Tornado time in texas
Take the paint right off of your barn
Tornado time in texas

 

[fox69]

"Tryin' To Try"

"Tryin' To Try"


I threw a rock through your window
Just to let you know I love you
Just to let you know I care and I ain't scared
To have you see how I feel

I blew a kiss through your keyhole
Just to let you know I'm breathin'
Just to try and smack you in the heart,
if I was smart
I'd give up and go back home

[Chorus]
I'm not tryin' to say I'm sorry
I'm trying to say I love you
I'm not tryin' to make excuses
Nor set myself above you
I'm not tryin' to rearrange it
I'm not sayin' I can change it
The only thing I'm tryin' to do is try

I was hidin' by the back porch
Just to try and catch you leavin'
Just to try and catch you unaware
I don't care
If that ain't fair, I ain't proud

[Chorus]

I leaned on your doorbell
Just to see if you would answer
Just to see if you would open up,
no such luck
I'll come back when you calm down

[Chorus Twice]