John Prine

[fox69]

"Don't Be Ashamed Of Your Age"

"Don't Be Ashamed Of Your Age"



Don't be ashamed of your age.
Don't let the years get you down.
That old gang you knew, they still think of you
As a rounder in your old hometown.

Don't mind the grey in your hair.
Just think of all the fun you've had puttin' it there.
As for that old book of time, you've never skipped a page.
So don't be ashamed of your age, brother.
Don't be ashamed of your age.

Listen, Mr. Smith, Mr. Brown,
Don't let your age get you down.
Life ain't begun until you're 40, son.
That's when you really start to go to town.

Don't wish that you were a lad.
Why, boy, you've lost more gals than they've ever had.
And, listen, you've graduated from that ol' sucker stage,
So don't be ashamed of your age, brother.
Don't be ashamed of your age.

 

[fox69]

"Donald And Lydia"

"Donald And Lydia"


Small town, bright lights, Saturday night,
Pinballs and pool halls flashing their lights.
Making change behind the counter in a penny arcade
Sat the fat girl daughter of Virginia and Ray

[Spoken:]
Lydia
Lydia hid her thoughts like a cat
Behind her small eyes sunk deep in her fat.
She read romance magazines up in her room
And felt just like Sunday on Saturday afternoon.

[Chorus:]
But dreaming just comes natural
Like the first breath from a baby,
Like sunshine feeding daisies,
Like the love hidden deep in your heart.

Bunk beds, shaved heads, Saturday night,
A warehouse of strangers with sixty watt lights.
Staring through the ceiling, just wanting to be
Lay one of too many, a young PFC:

[Spoken:]
Donald
There were spaces between Donald and whatever he said.
Strangers had forced him to live in his head.
He envisioned the details of romantic scenes
After midnight in the stillness of the barracks latrine.

[Chorus]

Hot love, cold love, no love at all.
A portrait of guilt is hung on the wall.
Nothing is wrong, nothing is right.
Donald and Lydia made love that night.

[Spoken:]
Love
The made love in the mountains, they made love in the streams,
They made love in the valleys, they made love in their dreams.
But when they were finished there was nothing to say,
'Cause mostly they made love from ten miles away.

[Chorus]

 

[fox69]

"Down By The Side Of The Road"

"Down By The Side Of The Road"



Her Father was a failure
Her Mother was a comfort
To a doctor and lawyer and Indian Chief.
The shirt ran out of buttons
He lost all his marbles at a baseball game
And they went on Relief.
The bank took away their diplomas
They locked them up inside of the chest
And she moved away to Oklahoma
And got a tattoo on the side of her breast
"God-Damn, My socks are still hard"
From lying on the sofa on the night she was over in my backyard
Yeah, We was shooting the breeze out amongst the trees
When a shot rang low
And left her standing down by the side of the road
Down by the side of the road

Father have mercy, Whoo Whoo
Get her a nurse please
She's almost alone
I saw her hand reaching out for the telephone
We rather see her locked up inside a home
Than see her standing down by the side of the road
Down by the side of the road
Headlights flashing on her skirt in the wind.
Yonder comes a truck it drove by two men.
Shotgun man leaned out and said do you want to take a ride?
Out in the pale moonlight Light light Light Lie Lie Lie lie

Too long in the hot sun
She could've be Miss Wisconsin a long time ago
Spent to much time inside of the early show
We'd bought her a ticket but she didn't want to go
She was standing down by the side of the road
Down by the side of the road

Headlights flashing, caught a skirt in the wind.
Yonder comes a truck it drove by two men.
Shotgun man leaned out and said do you want to take a ride?
Out in through the pale moonlight

Her Father was a failure
Her Mother was a comfort
To a doctor and lawyer and Indian Chief.
The shirt made out of buttons
He lost all his marbles at a baseball game
And they went on Relief.
The bank took away their diplomas
They locked them up inside of the chest
And she moved away to Oklahoma
And got a tattoo on the side of her breast

God-Damn, My thoughts are still hard.
From lying on the sofa on the night she was over in my backyard

Yeah, We was shooting the breeze out amongst the trees
When a shot rang low
And left her standing down by the side of the road
Down by the side of the road
Down by the side of the road
Down by the side of the road

 

[fox69]

"Everybody"

"Everybody"


While out sailing on the ocean
While out sailing on the sea
I bumped into the Savior
And He said pardon me
I said "Jesus you look tired"
He said "Jesus so do you,
Sit down son
'Cause I got some fat to chew"

[Chorus:]
Everybody needs somebody that they can talk to
Someone to open up their ears
And let that trouble through
Now you don't have to sympathize
Or care what they may do
But everybody needs somebody that they can talk to

Well he spoke to me of morality
Starvation, pain and sin
Matter of fact the whole dang time
I only got a few words in
But I won't squawk
Let 'em talk
Hell it's been a long long time
And any friend that's been turned down
Is bound to be a friend of mine

[Chorus]

Now we sat there for an hour or two
Just eatin' that Gospel pie
When around the bend come a terrible wind
And lightning lit the sky
He said so long son I gotta run
Appreciate you listening to me
And I believe I heard him sing these words
As he skipped out across the sea

[Chorus]

 

[fox69]

"Everybody Wants To Feel Like You"

"Everybody Wants To Feel Like You"



I wake up to a clock that's ringing
Birds are singing on my telephone line
I work all day and I chase my woman
Why don't she chase me sometime?
Everybody wants to be wanted
I mean I ain't no scarecrow cop
I don't need no transalazation
I don't need no diddiley bop

Next time tell me that you want me
Put your little foot inside of my shoe
Next time tell me that you need me
Everybody wants to feel like you
I used to love you so hard in the morning
I'd make you stutter and roll your eyes
I put your mind on a brief vacation
To the land of the lost surprise

You got a heart that beats like mine love
You got a bell that rings so true
I get this feeling that I got to tiptoe
Round every little thing you do.

 

[fox69]

"Everything Is Cool"

"Everything Is Cool"



Everything is cool
Everything's okay
Why just before last Christmas
My baby went away

Across the sea to an island
While the bridges brightly burn
So far away from my land
The valley of the unconcerned

I was walking down the road, man
Just looking at my shoes
When God sent me an angel
Just to chase away my blues

I saw a hundred thousand blackbirds
Just flying thru the sky
And they seemed to form a teardrop
From a black haired angel's eye

That tear fell all around me
And it washed my sins away
Now everything is cool
Everything's okay

Everything is cool
Everything's okay
Why just before last Christmas
My baby went away

And I find it real surprising
For myself to hear me say
That everything is cool
Everything's okay
Everything is cool
Everything's okay

Why just before last Christmas
My baby went away.

 

[fox69]

"Far From Me"

"Far From Me"


As the cafe was closing
On a warm summer night
And Cathy was cleaning the spoons
The radio played the "Hit Parade"
And I hummed a long with the tune
She asked me to change the station
Said the song just drove her insane
But it weren't just the music playing
It was me that she was trying to blame.

[Chorus:]
And the sky is black and still now
On the hill where the angels sing
Ain't it funny how an old broken bottle
Looks just like a diamond ring
But it's far, far from me

Well, I leaned on my left leg
In the parking lot dirt
And Cathy was closing the lights
A June bug flew from the warmth he once knew
And I wished for once I weren't right
Why we used to laugh together
And we'd dance to any old song.
Well, ya know, she still laughs with me
But she waits just a second too long.

[Chorus]

Well, I started the engine
And I gave it some gas
And Cathy was closing her purse
Well, we hadn't gone far in my beat old car
And I was prepared for the worst.
"Will you still see me tomorrow?"
"No, I got too much to do."
Well, a question ain't really a question
If you know the answer too.

[Chorus]

 

[fox69]

"Fish And Whistle"

"Fish And Whistle"



I been thinking lately about the people I meet
The carwash on the corner and the hole in the street
The way my ankles hurt with shoes on my feet
And I'm wondering if I'm gonna see tomorrow.

Father forgive us for what we must do
You forgive us we'll forgive you
We'll forgive each other till we both turn blue
Then we'll whistle and go fishing in heaven.

I was in the army but I never dug a trench
I used to bust my knuckles on a monkey wrench
Then I'd go to town and drink and give the girls a pinch
But I don't think they ever even noticed me.

Fish and whistle, whistle and fish
Eat everything that they put on your dish
And when we get through we'll make a big wish
That we never have to do this again again? again?

On my very first job I said thank you and please
They made me scrub a parking lot down on my knees
Then I got fired for being scared of bees
And they only give me fifty cents an hour.

 

[fox69]

"Flashback Blues"

"Flashback Blues"



While window shopping through the past
I ran across a looking glass
Reflecting moments remaining in a burned out light
Tragic magic prayers of passion
Stay the same through changing fashions
They freeze my mind like water on a winter's night

Spent most of my youth
Out hobo cruising
And all I got for proof
Is rocks in my pockets and dirt in my shoes
So goodbye nonbeliever
Don't you know that I hate to leave here
So long babe, I got the flashback blues.

Photographs show the laughs
Recorded in between the bad times
Happy sailors dancing on a sinking ship
Cloudy skies and dead fruit flies
Waving goodbye with tears in my eyes
Well, sure I made it but ya know it was as hell of a trip.

Spent most of my youth
Out hobo cruising
And all I got for proof
Is rocks in my pockets and dirt in my shoes
And ten times what it grieves you
That's how much more I hate to leave you now
So long babe, I got the flashback blues.

Spent most of my youth
Out hobo cruising
And all I got for proof
Is rocks in my pockets and dirt in my shoes
So goodbye nonbeliever
Don't you know that I hate to leave here
So long babe, I got the flashback blues.

 

[fox69]

"Forbidden Jimmy"

"Forbidden Jimmy"


Forbidden Jimmy
Has got a mighty sore tooth
From biting too many dimes
In a telephone booth
He's got half of his bootlace
Tied to the dial
Thank you operator
For getting Jimmy to smile

"Call out the Coast Guard"
Screamed the Police
Forbidden Jimmy
He's got three water skis
He put two on his wavelength
And gave one to his girl
She's a mighty fine person
It's a mighty fine world

[Chorus:]
I'm gonna make all your sorrows bright
Set your soul free
I'll see you tomorrow night
If I can still see

Ginger Caputo
And Dorian Gray
Oughtta stay out of pictures
If they got nothin' to say
Stack 'em back on the rack Jack
Ya know, you're hurting my eye
Forbidden Jimmy
He's getting ready to fly

[Chorus]

I got caught cooking popcorn
And calling it hail
They wanna stick my head
Inside a water pail
Ya know, they're gonna be sorry
They're gonna pay for it too
Forbidden Jimmy
He's coming straight at you