John Prine

[fox69]

"Quiet Man"

"Quiet Man"


Strolling down the highway with my shoes in my hand
I don't talk much I'm a quiet man
Beauty and silence both run deep
And running like crazy while you are asleep

[Chorus:]
You got news for me, I got nothing for you
Don't pin your blues on me
Just go ahead and do whatever you wish to

Last Monday night I saw a fight
Between Wednesday and Thursday over Saturday night
Tuesday asked me what was going on I said,
"Sunday's in the meadow and Friday's in the corn."

[Chorus]

Hocus-pocus, Maladjusted
Don't you think my tears get rusted
Steady losing means you ain't using
What you really think is right

[Chorus]

Oodles of light what a beautiful sight
Both of God's eyes are shining tonight
Rays and beams of incredible dreams
And I am a quiet man.

Oodles of light what a beautiful sight
Both of God's eyes are shining tonight
Rays and beams of incredible dreams
And I am a quiet man.

Oodles of light what a beautiful sight
Both of God's eyes are shining tonight
Rays and beams of incredible dreams
And I am a quiet man.

 

[fox69]

"Quit Hollerin' At Me"

"Quit Hollerin' At Me"



I don't want your big French Fry
I don't want your car
I don't want to buy no soap
From no washed-up movie star
You are so much louder
Than the show I wanna hear
With your sugarless gum
Gee, but I'm dumb
Non-alcoholic beer
It's enough to make a grown man
Blow up his own TV
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me

I heard you the first time
I heard myself say
Seems like the little woman
Is getting bigger every day
You don't have to tell the neighbors
A little silence ain't no sin
They already think my name is
Where in the hell you been?
Louder, louder, louder, louder, louder
Constantly
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me
Whoa oh whoa oh
Sweet Serenity
Whoa oh whoa oh
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me

Ain't it great at the end of the day
When there ain't no sound around
Just me and the fence post
Staring each other down
Nothing but a big bunch of nothing
Driving me insane
Cause there ain't no voice that's louder
Than the one inside my brain
Hey you go on
Go on and let me be
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me
Whoa oh whoa oh
Sweet Serenity
Whoa oh whoa oh
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me

 

[fox69]

"Rocky Mountain Time"

"Rocky Mountain Time"


The station was empty
The trains were all gone
I reached in my pocket
And I wanted for dawn

[Chorus:]
The clock played drums
And I hummed the sax
And the wind whistled down
The railroad tracks
Hey three for a quarter
One for a dime
I'll bet it's tomorrow
By Rocky Mountain time

I walked in the restaurant
For something to do
The waitress yelled at me
And so did the food
And the water taste funny
When you're far from your home
But it's only the thirsty
That hunger to roam

[Chorus]

We'll build us a castle on Main Street
And pretend that we're down on the farm
Hell, we'll hold out as long as we have to
Then we'll twist off each other's arm

Christ I'm so mixed up and lonely
I can't even make friends with my brain
I'm too young to be where I'm going
But I'm too old to go back again

The station was empty
The trains were all gone
I reached in my pocket
And I wanted for dawn

[Chorus]

 

[fox69]

"Sabu Visits The Twin Cities Alone"

"Sabu Visits The Twin Cities Alone"



The movie wasn't really doing so hot
Said the new producer to the old big shot
Its dying on the edge of the great Midwest
Sabu must tour or forever rest.

Hey look ma
Here comes the elephant boy
Bundled all up in his corduroy
Headed down south towards Illinois
From the jungles of East St. Paul.

His manager sat in the office alone
Staring at the numbers on the telephone
Wondering how a man could send a child actor
To visit in the land of the wind chill factor.
Sabu was sad the whole tour stunk
The airlines lost the elephant's trunk
The roadie got the rabies and the scabies and the flu
They was low on morale but they was high on...

 

[fox69]

"Saddle In The Rain"

"Saddle In The Rain"



I wish, I hope, I wonder
Where you're at sometimes
Is your back against the wall?
Or just across the line
Have you been standing in the rain
Reciting nursery rhymes?
Trying to recall
Some long lost kind of peace of mind
Peace of mind
Try spending the night sometime
All alone in a frozen room
Afterneath you've lain
Your Saddle in the rain

I dreamed they locked God up
Down in my basement
And he waited there for me
To have this accident
So he could drink my wine
And eat me like a sacrament
And I just stood there like I do
Then I came and went
I came and went
Like a bird in a foreign sky
Couldn't even say good bye
Or come and share the pain
My Saddle's in the rain

I saw a friend who doesn't know
If I'm his friend just yet
His eyes and mouth were widely open
And his jaw was set
Like he'd fell off a cliff
And hadn't hit the bottom yet
I wish he wouldn't pull those things on me
Without a net
Without a net
I had him up to the house one time
And we was having a real good time
Then he went and lain
His Saddle in the rain

In a laundromat not too far
From the Alamo
Sits a girl who stole my records
Very long ago
And she wishes, wants and washes
Out those dirty clothes
As she shuts her eyes and dreams
About her one eyed Joe
One eyed Joe
Car parked on a dirty road
Heaven knows the load she pulled
Couldn't take the strain
A Saddle in the rain

 

[fox69]

"Safety Joe"

"Safety Joe"


Well, he never got too lonely
And he never got too sad
But he never got too happy
And that's what's just too bad
He never reached much further
Than his lonely arms would go
He wore a seatbelt around his heart
And they called him Safety Joe

[Chorus:]
Safety Joe
Safety Joe
What do you say?
What do you know?
If you don't loosen up the buckle
On your heart heart and start to chuckle
You're gonna die of boredom
Safety Joe

Now Joe he lived in Baltimore
'Cause New York was too darn fast
He sometimes went down to Washington
Just to view our nation's past
He never ate his vegetables
'Cause they were just too darn chewy
And he never climbed much higher
Than the arch in old St. Louis

[Chorus]

Joe gradually grew meaner
By not changin' his demeanor
But he never did nothin'
Too much for too long
Therefore his life never got much richer
Than the day they took that picture
In his birthday suit on the day that he was born.

[Chorus]

Well, you're gonna die of boredom
Safety Joe

That's golden

 

[fox69]

"Saginaw Michigan"

"Saginaw Michigan"



I was born in Saginaw Michigan I grew up in a house on Saginaw bay
My dad was a poor hard working Saginaw fisherman
Too many times he came home with too little pay
I loved a girl in Saginaw Michigan the daughter of a wealthy wealthy man
But he called me that son of a Saginaw fisherman
And not good enough to claim his daughter's hand
Now I'm up here in Alaska looking around for gold
Like a crazy fool I'm a digging in this frozen ground so cold
But with each new day I pray I'll strike it rich and then
I'll go back home and claim my love in Saginaw Michigan

I wrote my love in Saginaw Michigan
I said honey I'm a coming home please wait for me
And you can tell your dad I'm coming home a richer man
I've hit the biggest strike in Klondyke history
Her dad met me in Saginaw Michigan he gave me a great big party with champagne
Then he said son you're wise young ambitious man
Will you sell your father-in-law your Klondyke claim
Now he's up there in Alaska digging in the cold cold ground
The greedy fool is a looking for the gold I never found
It serves him right and no one here is missing him
Least of all the newly weds of Saginaw Michigan
We're the happiest man and wife in Saginaw Michigan
He's ashamed to show his face in Saginaw Michigan

 

[fox69]

"Saigon"

"Saigon"



You got everything that a girl should grow
I'm so afraid to kiss you I might lose control
You can hold me tighter but turn loose of my gun
It's a sentimental present all the way from Saigon
Honey, Honey, Honey, please call me
You don't need no money we can do it for free
I got a friend in Phoenix with a two-way radio
All the static in my attic getting ready to blow

Saigon, Honey, Honey, Honey
Saigon, Honey, Honey, Honey
Saigon, Honey, Honey, Honey
All the static in my attic getting ready to blow

I was talking to the mailman late last week
He had a letter in his sweater from Stuttering Don
He said things are getting better in Sa, Sa, Sa, Sa, Sa

Saigon, Honey, Honey, Honey
Saigon, Honey, Honey, Honey
Saigon, Honey, Honey, Honey
Things are getting better back in Saigon

Saigon, Honey, Honey, Honey
Saigon, Honey, Honey, Honey
Things are getting better back in Saigon

Saigon, Honey, Honey, Honey
Saigon, Honey, Honey, Honey
Saigon, Honey, Honey, Honey
Things are getting better back in Saigon

Saigon, Honey, Honey, Honey
Saigon, Honey, Honey, Honey
Saigon, Honey, Honey, Honey
Things are getting better back in Saigon

 

[fox69]

"Sailin' Around"

"Sailin' Around"


Sailin' around, Sailin' around, Sailin' around,
I've been out sailin' around again
I've been sailin' around
But I can't get back to you.

Hangin' around, Hangin' around, Hangin' around
I've been out hangin' around again
I've been hangin' around
But I can't get back to you.

[Chorus:]
So tell where you been so long (sailin' around)
What have I done so wrong? (sailin' around)
Well, I'm so glad I finally found you
I can't wait to put my arms around you
Sailin' around, but I can't get back to you

Shoppin' around, Shoppin' around, Shoppin' around,
I've been shoppin' around again
I've been shoppin' around
But I can't get back to you.

[Chorus]

Sailin' around, Sailin' around, Sailin' around,
I've been sailin' around again
I've been sailin' around but I can't get back to you.
I've been sailin' around but I can't get back to you.
I've been sailin' around but I can't get back to you.

 

[fox69]

"Sam Stone"

"Sam Stone"


Sam Stone came home,
To his wife and family
After serving in the conflict overseas.
And the time that he served,
Had shattered all his nerves,
And left a little shrapnel in his knee.
But the morphine eased the pain,
And the grass grew round his brain,
And gave him all the confidence he lacked,
With a Purple Heart and a monkey on his back.

[Chorus:]
There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes,
Jesus Christ died for nothin' I suppose.
Little pitchers have big ears,
Don't stop to count the years,
Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios.
Mmm....

Sam Stone's welcome home
Didn't last too long.
He went to work when he'd spent his last dime
And Sammy took to stealing
When he got that empty feeling
For a hundred dollar habit without overtime.
And the gold rolled through his veins
Like a thousand railroad trains,
And eased his mind in the hours that he chose,
While the kids ran around wearin' other peoples' clothes...

[Chorus]

Sam Stone was alone
When he popped his last balloon
Climbing walls while sitting in a chair
Well, he played his last request
While the room smelled just like death
With an overdose hovering in the air
But life had lost its fun
And there was nothing to be done
But trade his house that he bought on the G. I. Bill
For a flag draped casket on a local heroes' hill.

[Chorus]