John Prine

[fox69]

"Take The Star Out Of The Window"

"Take The Star Out Of The Window"


Robert was a sailor
For the best years of his life
His captain was his mother
And the ocean was his wife
Only fresh out of the cradle
Life's one and only spring
He was sworn to do his duty
And got blood on his high school ring

[Chorus:]
And it's hello California
Hello Dad and Mom
Ship ahoy
Your baby boy
Is home from Vietnam
Don't you ask me any questions
'Bout the medals on my chest
Take the star out of the window
And let my conscience take a rest

Now he sailed across the ocean
To the old far eastern war
And it was foreign to his body
It was foreign to his shore
So he traded in the present
For the better times he'd seen
And made an oriental waitress
His own home comin' queen

[Chorus]

 

[fox69]

"Taking A Walk"

"Taking A Walk"



A man came to our house
I believe it was yesterday
I would have invited him in
But I didn't have a lot to say

His anticipation of me opening the door
Outweighed my apprehension as it never had before
And drove my concentration
Right through that hardwood floor

I'm taking a walk
I'm going outside
I'm taking a walk
I'm just getting by

There's a girl in the white house
I don't even know her name
Her disheveled appearance
Speaks volumes of shame

It's an embarrassing situation
But a situation just the same
The way she walks on others
And never takes the blame
Upsets my constitution
Beyond its mortal frame

Oo-oo a-ha

I'm taking a walk
I'm going outside
I'm watching the birds
I'm just getting by

Found a card in the pocket
Of my worn out overalls
From a girl in Cedar Rapids
Now residing in Idaho Falls

I wish you could have been there
When she opened up the door
And looked me in the face
Like she never did before
I felt about as welcome
As a Wal-Mart Superstore

0o-oo - a-ha

I'm taking a walk
I'm going outside
I'm taking a walk
I don't need a ride

I'm watching the birds
Flying so high

 

[fox69]

"That Close To You"

"That Close To You"



Like a bolt of lightning
Like a bolt of thunder
Like a cloudy day
Down at the Zoo
Like a drowning man
That will never go under
That close to you
Yeah, that close to you

In the middle of the night
You'd ask me to make you smile
You'd come on like a one armed child
With a hole in its shoe
Poor you
Everybody oughtta know
It only hurts ya for a little while
So stop putting yourself on trial
For something you didn't do
Not you
To me
Can't we
Be
Just like
Lovers and mothers and brothers
And sorrow
Can I find a little something
With a nicer view
I'm hating to plead
But I'm begging to borrow
Just to be
That close to you
Yeah, that close to you

 

[fox69]

"That's The Way That The World Goes 'Round"

"That's The Way That The World Goes 'Round"



I know a guy that's got a lot to lose.
He's a pretty nice fellow but he's kind of confused.
He's got muscles in his head that ain't never been used.
Thinks he own half of this town.

Starts drinking heavy, gets a big red nose.
Beats his old lady with a rubber hose,
Then he takes her out to dinner and buys her new clothes.
That's the way that the world goes 'round.

That's the way that the world goes 'round.
You're up one day and the next you're down.
It's half an inch of water and you think you're gonna drown.
That's the way that the world goes 'round.

I was sitting in the bathtub counting my toes,
When the radiator broke, water all froze.
I got stuck in the ice without my clothes,
Naked as the eyes of a clown.
I was crying ice cubes hoping I'd croak,
When the sun come through the window, the ice all broke.
I stood up and laughed thought it was a joke
That's the way that the world goes 'round.

 

[fox69]

"The Accident (Things Could Be Worse)"

"The Accident (Things Could Be Worse)"


Last night I saw an accident
On the corner of Third and Green
Two cars collided and I got excited
Just being part of that scene

It was Mrs. Tom Walker and her beautiful daughter
Pamela, was driving the car
They got hit by a man in a light blue sedan
Who had obviously been to a bar.

[Chorus:]
They don't know how lucky they are
They could have run into that tree
Got struck by a bolt of lightning
And raped by a minority.

It was a four way dilemma
We all arrived the same time
I yielded to the man to the right of me
And he yielded it right back to mine
Well, the yield went around and around and around
Till Pamela finally tried
Just then the man in the light blue sedan
Hit Pamela's passenger side.

[Chorus]

Pamela hit her head on the mirror
Mrs. Walker got a bump on the knee
The man hit himself in the face and said
"Why does this happen to me?"
The neighbors came out
And they gathered about
Saying "Hey! who hit who anyway?"
And the police arrived at a quarter to five
And pronounced all the victims "Okay".

[Chorus]

 

[fox69]

"The Blue Side Of Lonesome"

"The Blue Side Of Lonesome"


I'm Calling To Tell You It's Over
Yes Darling You're Now Free To Go
You're Saying You're Sorry You Hurt Me
But You Hurt Me Much More Than You Know
You're Asking Me Where This Call Comes From
Oh I Hope That You Won't End Up Here
If Your New Romance Turns Out A Failure
Here's Where To Find Me My Dear

[Chorus:]
I'm Just On The Blue Side Of Lonesome
Right Next To The Heartbreak Ho-tel
In A Tavern That's Known As Three Tear Drops
On A Bar Stool Not Doin' So Well

The Floor Has A Carpet Of Sorrow
But No One Can Weep In The Aisle
And They Say Someone Broke The Bar Mirror
With Only The Ghost Of A Smile
The Hands On The Clock Never Alter
For Things Never Change In This Place
There's No Present, No Past, No Future
We're The Ones Who Have Lost In Loves Race

[Chorus]

 

[fox69]

"The Bottomless Lake"

"The Bottomless Lake"


Here's the story of a man and his family
And a big trip that they took
Well, I heard all about in a restaurant
And I read it in a history book
They rented a car at the Erie Canal
But the car didn't have no brake
Said Ma to Pa "My God this car"
"Is gonna fall into the Bottomless Lake"

Well, Mama turned to Daddy with a pale face
Said "I've done something horribly wrong"
"Well, the waters still runnin' in the bathtub"
And I think I left the kitchen light on"
Then I heard a crash the car when splash
And the compass rolled around and around
Oh, for Heaven's Sake! We fell in a lake
And I think we're all gonna drown

[Chorus:]
We are falling down
Down to the bottom of a hole in the ground
Smoke 'em if you got 'em
I'm so scared I can hardly breathe
I may never see my sweetheart again
Play once after first verse

There was plenty of food in the backseat
And the windows were rolled up tight
So we all nibbled on a chicken leg
Told stories 'way thru' the night
Well, Pa told one that he told before
And the baby got a bellyache
Said Ma to Pa "My God this car"
"Falling down a Bottomless Lake"

[Chorus]

Poppa played the music on the radio
Mama rocked the baby to sleep
He said he would've taken the other road
But he didn't think the lake was that deep
Well, if the ferry been there at the end of the pier
We'd be half way to Uncle Jake's
Instead of looking at fish out the window I wish
We'd hit the bottom of the Bottomless Lake
'Stead of looking at fish out the window I wish
We'd hit the bottom of the Bottomless Lake

So if you're ever goin' on a big trip
Ya better be careful out there
Start everything on you good foot
And wear clean underwear
Take along a Bible in the backseat
Read of David and Solomon
For if you make a mistake in the Bottomless Lake
You may never see your sweetheart again
If you should make a mistake in the Bottomless Lake
You may never see your sweetheart again
If you should make a mistake in the Bottomless Lake
You may never see your sweetheart again

 

[fox69]

"The Frying Pan"

"The Frying Pan"


I come home from work this evening
There was a note in the frying pan
It said fix your own supper babe
I run off with the Fuller brush man

[Chorus:]
And I miss the way she used to yell at me
The way she used to cuss and moan
And if I ever go out and get married again
I'll never leave my wife at home

Sat down at the table
Screamed, and I hollered and cried
And I commenced a carryin' on
Till I almost lost my mind

[Chorus]

If I ever see another salesman
Come a knockin' at my door
I'm gonna pick up a rock and hit him on the head
And knock him down on the floor

[Chorus]

 

[fox69]

"The Great Compromise"

"The Great Compromise"


I knew a girl who was almost a lady
She had a way with all the men in her life
Every inch of her blossomed in beauty
And she was born on the fourth of July
Well she lived in an aluminum house trailer
And she worked in a juke box saloon
And she spent all the money I give her
Just to see the old man in the moon

[Chorus:]
I used to sleep at the foot of Old Glory
And awake in the dawn's early light
But much to my surprise
When I opened my eyes
I was a victim of the great compromise

Well we'd go out on Saturday evenings
To the drive-in on Route 41
And it was there that I first suspected
That she was doin' what she'd already done
She said "Johnny won't you get me some popcorn"
And she knew I had to walk pretty far
And as soon as I passed through the moonlight
She hopped into a foreign sports car

[Chorus]

Well you know I could have beat up that fellow
But it was her that had hopped into his car
Many times I'd fought to protect her
But this time she was goin' too far
Now some folks they call me a coward
'Cause I left her at the drive-in that night
But I'd druther have names thrown at me
Than to fight for a thing that ain't right

[Chorus]

Now she writes all the fellows love letters
Saying "Greetings, come and see me real soon"
And they go and line up in the barroom
And spend the night in that sick woman's room
But sometimes I get awful lonesome
And I wish she was my girl instead
But she won't let me live with her
And she makes me live in my head

[Chorus]

 

[fox69]

"The Hobo Song"

"The Hobo Song"



There was a time
When lonely men would wander
Thru this land
Rolling aimlessly along
So many times
I've heard of their sad story
Written in the words
Of dead men's songs.

Down through the years
Many men have yearned
For freedom
Some found it
Only on the open road
So many tears of blood
Have fell around us
'cause you can't always do what you are told.

Please tell me where
Have all the hobos gone to
I see no fire burning down
By the rusty railroad track
Could it be that time
Has gone and left them
Tied up in life's eternal traveling sack.

Last Sunday night
I wrote a letter
To my loved one
I signed my name
And knew I'd stayed away
Too long
There was a time
When my heart was free to wander
And I remember as I sing
This hobo song.