Guy Clark

[fox69]

"Cinco De Mayo In Memphis"

"Cinco De Mayo In Memphis"



Meanwhile down on Beale Street
Drinking in a Beale Street bar
There's a fog rolling off the Mississippi
Has anybody seen Arkansas?
And the deckhands from the towboats
Come ashore wearing Mexican shoes
Headed strait for Graceland
It Was the first thing they wanted to do

Cinco de Mayo in Memphis
Mariachi's singing the blues
Soul Sisters huggin Senoritas
All sportin' Blue suede shoes

Porkpie hats and sombreros
Hangin on a downtown street
Swingin pool cues at pinatas
Don't that river smell sweet?
And they all come to get'm some Memphis
A little somethin' for their souls
Lowriders lined up with limousines Hey
They all came to rock and roll

Cinco de Mayo in Memphis
Mariachi's singing the blues
Southern belles and Senoritas
All sportin Blue suede shoes

Cinco de Mayo in Memphis
Mariachi's singing the blues

 

[fox69]

"Cold Dog Soup"

"Cold Dog Soup"



William Butler Yeats in jeans
Got up to play guitar and sing
In some join in Mission Beach last night

At the door sat Tom Waits
In a pork pie hat and silver skates
Jugglin' three collection plates Jesus Christ

Townes Van Zandt standin' at the bar
Skinnin' a Hollywood movie star
Can't remember where he parked his car
Or to whom he lost the keys

Full of angst and hillbilly haiku
What's a poor Ft. Worth boy to do
Go on rhyme somethin' for 'em, man
Show him how you really feel

Ain't no money in poetry
That's what sets the poet free
I've had all the freedom I can stand

Cold dog soup and rainbow pie
Is all it takes to get me by
Fool my belly till the day I die
Cold dog soup and rainbow pie

Ginsberg and Kerouac
Shootin' dice and playin' Ramblin' Jack's guitar
With the cowboy paintin' pickguard on it

And they sat in the back and drank for free
And rhymed orange with Rosalie
Now there's a pride of lions to draw to

Ain't no money in poetry
That's what sets the poet free
I've had all the freedom I can stand

Cold dog soup and rainbow pie
Is all it takes to get me by
Fool my belly till the day I die
Cold dog soup and rainbow pie

 

[fox69]

"Come From The Heart"

"Come From The Heart"


When I was a young man my daddy told me
A lesson he learned, it was a long time ago
If you want to have someone to hold onto
You're gonna have to learn to let go

[Chorus]
You got to sing like you don't need the money
Love like you'll never get hurt
You got to dance like nobody's watchin'
It's gotta come from the heart if you want it to work

Now here is the one thing that I keep forgetting
When everything is falling apart
In life as in love, what I need to remember
There's such a thing as trying too hard

[Chorus]

 

[fox69]

"Comfort And Crazy"

"Comfort And Crazy"



Now you have got the best years of my life and I got yours
Who else could you trust to hold your own
"No one" is the answer to that question I’m quite sure
So treat ‘em nice and easy to the bone

Comfort and crazy’s a smooth combination
And that’s how it feels lovin’ you
Using stumbling blocks for stepping stones
And anything that works as long
As we are bound to split this life in two

So when it’s lookin’ like cartoon time down in Texas
And you’re feelin’ like some shot-up old tin can
Hell, I’ll be the one who’ll come runnin’ to get you
I think you got me last so I’m your man

Comfort and crazy’s a smooth combination
And that’s how it feels lovin’ you
Using stumbling blocks for stepping stones
And anything that works as long
As we are bound to split this life in two

Comfort and crazy’s a smooth combination
And that’s how it feels lovin’ you
Using stumbling blocks for stepping stones
And anything that works as long
As we are bound to split this life in two

 

[fox69]

"Cornmeal Waltz"

"Cornmeal Waltz"



There's nothin' like cornmeal on a dance-hall floor for dancin' the night away,
Slippin' and slidin', effortlessly glidin' in the arms of my sweet Lillie Mae,
So I shined up my boots and ironed my shirt, and pulled on some new blue jeans.
Oh, I brushed off my hat, slicked back my hair; I'll beat all that she's ever seen.

There's nothin' like listenin' to the fiddles play
While doin' the cornmeal waltz.
There's nothin' to keep you from driftin' away,
Doin' the cornmeal waltz.

Way out on Ranch Road 17 there's a dance hall in the live-oak trees,
Yellow lights strung up all around, so all the little kids can see.
Pickups are parked near to the road; the beer is so cold it might freeze.
Stars are all out, the band's in tune, and it smells like a barbecue breeze.

There's nothin' like listenin' to the fiddles play
While doin' the cornmeal waltz.
There's nothin' to keep you from driftin' away,
Doin' the cornmeal waltz.

Beat-up old Stetsons, beehive hair, belt buckles bumpin' in time.
There's little girls dancin' on their daddies' toes, spinnin' around on a dime.
Grandma and Grandpa are out on the floor, dancin' like they've lost their minds.
There's old maids and bachelors and sweethearts alike, all movin' in three-quarter time.

There's nothin' like listenin' to the fiddles play
While doin' the cornmeal waltz.
There's nothin' to keep you from driftin' away,
Just doin' the cornmeal waltz.

 

[fox69]

"Crystelle"

"Crystelle"



That Crystelle, you temptress, you creature of back booths
So accomplished at dancin' when walkin' would do
There's a neon fire in your eyes reflecting off a rhinestone tear
Fixed upon your cheek to see who cares
And that's way too much for a country boy who stares

"Our life is just a private joke", she said it like that was the punch line
Me, I fell in love now, wouldn't you?
And here's a fine madness in the air it comes and goes like honeysuckle
Sent to you free from what to do
Oh, me I fell in love now, wouldn't you?

Oh that Crystelle, she's barely a woman
Oh that Crystelle, she's hardly a child
Oh that Crystelle, I know she saw me comin'
But doesn't Crystelle have a beautiful smile

She's a reason to be reckless, she's the right to Rock 'n' Roll
She's exactly what they meant when they told you not to go
And her breath's as sweet as chewing gum
And her heart's a gold as kingdom come
She's heaven sent and hell bent to run
Oh, me I fell in love now, wouldn't you?

Oh that Crystelle, she's barely a woman
Oh that Crystelle, she's hardly a child
Oh that Crystelle, I know she saw me comin'
But doesn't Crystelle have a beautiful smile

Oh that Crystelle, she's barely a woman
Oh that Crystelle, she's hardly a child
Oh that Crystelle, I know she saw me comin'
But doesn't Crystelle have a beautiful smile

Oh me, I fell in love now, wouldn't you?

 

[fox69]

"Dancin' Days"

"Dancin' Days"



Some of her dancin' days are over
Some of her dancin' days are done
But she's still got a couple of two steps
She ain't shown no one

Time will tell if she needs you
Time will tell if she don't
What'll you do if she believes you
What'll you do if she won't

You can't fence her in with wire
You can't fence her in with words
Bet your life she's on fire
She's got a pistol in her purse

Don't sell her short if she leaves you
Don't sell her short if she stays
She's got cards up her sleeve still
That she never got to play

It ain't like she she's tryin' to lose you
She's just thinkin' for herself
She said come on if it moves you
Don't just stay here by yourself

You can't fence her in with wire
You can't fence her in with words
Bet your life she's on fire
She's got a pistol in her purse

You can't fence her in with wire
You can't fence her in with words
Bet your life she's on fire
She's got a pistol in her purse

Some of her dancin' days are over
Some of her dancin' days are done

 

[fox69]

"Desperados Waiting For The Train"

"Desperados Waiting For The Train"


And I played the Red River Valley
And he'd sit in the kitchen and cry
Run his fingers through seventy years of livin'
And wonder, "Lord, has every well I've drilled gone dry?"
We was friends, me and this old man
Was like desperados waitin' for a train
Like desperados waitin' for a train

Well, he's a drifter and a driller of oil wells
And an old school man of the world
He taught me how to drive his car when he was too drunk to
And he'd wink and give me money for the girls
And our lives was like some old western movie
Like desperados waitin' for a train
Like desperados waitin' for a train

From the time that I could walk, he'd take me with him
To a bar called the Green Frog Cafe
And there was old men with beer guts and dominoes
Lying 'bout their lives while they played
And I was just a kid, but they all called me "sidekick"
Was like desperados waitin' for a train
Like desperados waitin' for a train

And one day I looked up and he's pushin' eighty
And has brown tobacco stains all down his chin
Well, to me, he's one of the heroes of this country
So why's he all dressed up like them old men
Drinkin' beer and playin' Moon and Forty-two
Just like a desperado waitin' for a train
Like a desperado waitin' for a train

And then the day before he died I went to see him
I was grown and he was almost gone
So we just closed our eyes and dreamed us up a kitchen
And sang another verse to that old song
Come on, Jack, that son-of-a-bitch is comin'
We're desperados waitin' for a train
Was like desperados waitin' for a train
Like desperados waitin' for a train
Like desperados waitin' for a train

 

[fox69]

"Diamond Joe"

"Diamond Joe"


Now There's a man you'll hear about
Most anywhere you go,
And his holdings are in Texas
And his name is Diamond Joe.

And he carries all his money
In a diamond-studded jar.
He never took much trouble
With the process of the law.

I hired out to Diamond Joe, boys,
Did offer him my hand,
He gave a string of horses
So old they could not stand.

And I nearly starved to death, boys,
He did mistreat me so,
And I never saved a dollar
In the pay of Diamond Joe.

Now his bread it was corn dodger
And his meat you couldn't chaw,
Nearly drove me crazy
With the waggin' of his jaw.

And the tellin' of his story,
Mean to let you know
That there never was a rounder
That could lie like Diamond Joe.

Now, I tried three times to quit him,
But he did argue so
I'm still punchin' cattle
In the pay of Diamond Joe.

And when I'm called up yonder
And it's my time to go,
Give my blankets to my buddies

 

[fox69]

"Die Tryin'"

"Die Tryin'"


Don't be a stranger
If you're looking for a friend
If you want an even break
You've got to learn to bend

You don't have a song
If you don't know how to sing
You don't have a prayer
If you don't know how to dream

What's the use in dyin' if you don't die tryin'
If you don't die tryin', what's the use?
What's the use in flyin' if you don't die flyin'
If you don't die flyin', what's the use?

If you're gonna roll the dice
You gotta take a chance
Gotta get out on the floor
If you want to do the dance

If you don't know how to laugh
You'll never learn to cry
If you don't know how to fall
You'll never learn how to fly

What's the use in dyin' if you don't die tryin'
If you don't die tryin', what's the use?
What's the use in flyin' if you don't die flyin'
If you don't die flyin', what's the use?