Guy Clark

[fox69]

"Heroes"

"Heroes"


He brought the war home with him.
Still got sand in his boots.
He's wrestling with the demons and the cold hard truth.
And something ain't right about him.
He came back different.
Something in his eyes said he'd seen too much,
Something in his leg said he'd had enough.

Heroes, everybody needs heroes.
Even heroes need a little help.
Heroes can't always be heroes.
Who's gonna save the hero from himself?

He had a picture from Baghdad, with him and hos buddies.
They're just horsin' around, gettin' ready.
One by one, he watched them die.
Just scared kids and he don't know why.
He's the only one to make it out alive.

Heroes, everybody needs heroes.
Even heroes need a little help.
Heroes can't always be heroes.
Who's gonna save the hero from himself?

Ten thousand clicks away in his head
He could smell the smoke, he could smell the dead
A silver star and a pistol in a drawer
Morphine just ain't working no more.

Heroes, everybody needs heroes.
Even heroes need a little help.
Heroes can't always be heroes.
Who's gonna save the hero from himself?

 

[fox69]

"Hollywood"

"Hollywood"


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"
Tune it up, play a song
And let's just see what haunts it

So, I hit a couple of chords
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
I saw my name was on the case

 

[fox69]

"Homegrown Tomatoes"

"Homegrown Tomatoes"


Ain't nothin' in the world that I like better
Than bacon & lettuce & homegrown tomatoes
Up in the mornin' out in the garden

Get you a ripe one don't get a hard one
Plant 'em in the spring eat 'em in the summer
All winter with out 'em's a culinary bummer
I forget all about the sweatin' & diggin'
Everytime I go out & pick me a big one

Homegrown tomatoes homegrown tomatoes
What'd life be without homegrown tomatoes
Only two things that money can't buy
That's true love & homegrown tomatoes

You can go out to eat & that's for sure
But it's nothin' a homegrown tomato won't cure
Put 'em in a salad, put 'em in a stew
You can make your very own tomato juice
Eat 'em with egss, eat 'em with gravy
Eat 'em with beans, pinto or navy
Put 'em on the site put 'em in the middle
Put a homegrown tomato on a hotcake griddle

If I's to change this life I lead
I'd be Johnny Tomato Seed
'Cause I know what this country needs
Homegrown tomatoes in every yard you see
When I die don't bury me
In a box in a cemetary
Out in the garden would be much better
I could be pushin' up homegrown tomatoes

 

[fox69]

"Homeless"

"Homeless"


Cardboard sign old and bent, says "Friend for Life 25¢"
When did this start makin' sense man it's really getting cold
Sometimes I forget things and I get confused
I could still be working but they refuse
Now I'm livin' with the bums, the whores and the abused
Man I hate gettin' old

Homeless...get away from here
Don't give 'em no money they just spend it on beer
Homeless...will work for food
You'll do anything that you gotta do when you're homeless

Betty sings a song that no one hears
The wind begins to freeze her tears
She says God it's been so many years
She's way past complainin'
She sings a heartfelt melody
One that begs for harmony
Yah it's not what she thought it'd be
But hey it could be rainin'

Homeless...get away from here
Don't give 'em no money they just spend it on beer
Homeless...will work for food
You'll do anything you gotta do when you're homeless

You know life ain't easy it takes work
It takes healin' cause you're going to get hurt
You can lose your faith you can lose your shirt
Lose your way some time
Ah, you never really have control
Sometimes you just gotta let it go
When the final line unfolds
It don't always rhyme

Homeless...get away from here
Don't give 'em no money they just spend it on beer
Homeless...will work for food
You'll do anything that you gotta do when you're homeless

Homeless...get away from here
Don't give 'em no money they just spend it on beer
Homeless...will work for food
You'll do anything that you gotta do when you're homeless

Cardboard sign old and bent, says "Friend for Life 25¢"

 

[fox69]

"Houston Kid"

"Houston Kid"


Now the Houston Kid’s got a new pair of jeans
But he’s got no soap, he got no washing machine
Now the Houston Kid he’s feelin’ tight and he’s mean
And he’s tryin’ to figure out how his pants got clean

Well, he’s doin’ his wash in a tub full of whiskey
Hangin’ his threads on a very thin line
Tryin’ to tell the man in charge of the dryers
What a great job he’s doin’ fakin’ sunshine

Now the Houston Kid he seems hard pressed
’Cause he hit the world naked, now he’s headed back dressed
As the Houston Kid, no more and no less
If your dice fit your pocket then your pants pass the test

Well, he’s doin’ his wash in a tub full of whiskey
Hangin’ his threads on a very thin line
Tryin’ to tell the man in charge of the dryers
What a great job he’s doin’ fakin’ sunshine

Now some say the Houston Kid is bent
But if you’ve got to do your wash
Then you’ve got to pay some rent
So the Houston Kid he just up and he went
And love could buy back the dimes that he’d spent

Well, he’s doin’ his wash in a tub full of whiskey
Hangin’ his threads on a very thin line
Tryin’ to tell the man in charge of the dryers
What a great job he’s doin’ fakin’ sunshine

 

[fox69]

"How'd You Get This Number"

"How'd You Get This Number"


Sorry 'bout your mama
Sorry 'bout your paa
Sorry 'bout the business
With your brother-in-law

Hard cheese about the money man
Hard cheese about the stock
Hard cheese about you bein'
Up to your ears in hock

Tough luck about your luggage
Tough luck about your socks
Tough luck about the way
That the other shoe drops

Too bad about your girlfriend
Too bad about your wife
Too bad about the thing
You call the rest of your life, hey

How'd you get this number man
Who do you think you're talkin' to
Now who do you think you’re kiddin'
What do you want me to do

How’d you get this number man
Please don't make me laugh
You know you oughta be on TV
With a line like that

Hey, I heard about the car wreck
I heard about the fight
I heard about the time
You’s in jail all night

I know you don't like trouble
And I know you don't like to fight
I know that you can argue
With a fence post all night

I heard about the lamp shade
I heard you had it on your head
I heard you told a joke
And knocked the whole room dead

No kiddin' 'bout the cough syrup
No kiddin' 'bout the junk
No kiddin' 'bout you been
In a deep blue funk

How'd you get this number man
Who do you think you're talkin' to
Now who do you think you’re kiddin'
What do you want me to do

And how’d you get this number man
Please don't make me laugh
You oughta be on TV
With a line like that, hey

 

[fox69]

"I Don't Love You Much Do I"

"I Don't Love You Much Do I"


Well, I don't love you much, do I
Just more than human tongue can tell and that's all
I don't love you much, do I
Remember how I kissed you in the hall

See how it sparkles in my eyes
I couldn't hide it if I tried, that's right
I don't love you much, do I
Just more than anything else in this whole world

Well, I don't love you much, do I
Just more than all the stars in the sky
I don't love you much, do I
I think you hung the moon and that's alright

See how it sparkles in my eyes
I couldn't hide it if I tried, that's right
I don't love you much, do I
Just more than anything else in this whole world

I don't love you much, do I
You can feel it all the way across the room
Well, I don't love you much, do I
Like spring doesn't make the flowers bloom

Well, I don't love you much, do I
I'd follow you to hell and back again
I don't love you much, do I
Just watch me light up when you walk in

See how it sparkles in my eyes
I couldn't hide it if I tried and that's right
I don't love you much, do I
Just more than anything else in this whole world

See how it sparkles in my eyes
I couldn't hide it if I tried, that's right
I don't love you much, do I
Just more than anything else in this whole world

Well, I don't love you much, do I

 

[fox69]

"If I Needed You"

"If I Needed You"


If I needed you would you come to me?
Would you come to me and ease my pain?
If you needed me I would come to you
I'd swim the seas for to ease your pain

In the night forlorn, oh, the morning's born
And the morning shines with the lights of love
You will miss sunrise if you close your eyes
That would break my heart in two

The lady's with me now since I showed her how
To lay her lily hand in mine
Loop and Lil agree she's a sight to see
And a treasure for the poor to find

If I needed you would you come to me?
Would you come to me and ease my pain?
If you needed me I would come to you
I'd swim the seas for to ease your pain

 

[fox69]

"Immigrant Eyes"

"Immigrant Eyes"


Oh Ellis Island was swarming
Like a scene from a costume hall
Decked out in the colors in Europe
And on fire with the hope of it all
There stood my father's own father stood huddled
With the tired and hungry and scared
Turn of the century pilgrims
Bound by the dream that they shared
They were standing in lines just like cattle
Poked and prodded and shoved
Some were one desk away from sweet freedom
Some were were torn from someone they love
Through this sprawling tower of babel
Came a young man confused and alone
Determined and bound for America
And carryin' everything that he owned

Sometimes when I look in my grandfather's Immigrant Eyes
I see that day reflected and I can't hold my feelings inside
I see starting with nothing and working hard all of his life
So don't take it for granted say grandfather's Immigrant Eyes

Now he rocks and stares out the window
But his eyes are still just as clear
As the day he sailed through the harbor
And come ashore on the island of tears
My grandfather's days are numbered
But I won' t let his memory die
'Cause he gave me the gift of this country
And the look in his Immigrant Eyes

 

[fox69]

"In The Jailhouse Now"

"In The Jailhouse Now"


I had a friend named Bill Campbell
He used to rob, steal and gamble
And on the side he'd beg
So he mopped up

Well, I told ol' Billy shouldn't do it
And ol' Bill said that he knew it
So he started beggin' with a bucket
Instead of a cup

He's in the jailhouse now
He's in the jailhouse now
Now ol' Bill fluffed his dove
When he wrote a tuxedo to the country club
He's in the jailhouse now

Now Bill had a gal named Sadie
And she said have you seen Billy lately
No I don't believe that he's about

But ol' Sadie went down to the jail
It was just to pay his bail
Then she whispered
Sheriff please don't let him out

He's in the jailhouse now
He's in the jailhouse now
It was while ol' Bill's away
Sadie's with the sheriff everyday
He's in the jailhouse now

Oh, you remember the last election, yeah
The prohibitionists was in action
Tryin' to elect themselves a president

And Bill Campbell and John Austin
They rode from New Orleans to Boston
[?] bottle in every settlement

They're in the jailhouse now
They're in the jailhouse now
Lord they caught them down by the railroad track
Stealin' a train to haul it back
They're in the jailhouse now