John Prine

[fox69]

"Jesus, The Missing Years"

"Jesus, The Missing Years"


[Spoken:]
Jesus... the missing years

It was raining. It was cold
West Bethlehem was no place for a twelve year old
So he packed his bags and he headed out
To find out what the world's about
He went to France. He went to Spain
He found love. He found pain.
He found stores so he started to shop
But he had no money so he got in trouble with a cop
Kids in trouble with the cops
From Israel didn't have no home
So he cut his hair and moved to Rome
It was there he met his Irish bride
And they rented a flat on the lower east side of Rome...
Italy that is
Music publishers, book binders, Bible belters, Money Changers,
Spoon Benders and lots of pretty Italian chicks.

[Chorus:]
Charley bought some popcorn
Billy bought a car
Someone almost bought the farm
But they didn't go that far
Things shut down at midnight
At least around here they do
Cause we all reside down the block
Inside at....23 Skidoo.

Wine was flowing so were beers
So Jesus found his missing years
So He went to a dance and said "This don't move me"
He hiked up his pants and he went to a movie
On his thirteenth birthday he saw "Rebel without a Cause"
He went straight on home and invented Santa Claus
Who gave him a gift and he responded in kind
He gave the gift of love and went out of his mind
You see him and the wife wasn't getting along
So he took out his guitar and he wrote a song
Called "The Dove of Love Fell Off the Perch"
But he couldn't get divorced in the Catholic Church
At least not back then anyhow
Jesus was a good guy he didn't need this shit
So he took a pill with a bag of peanuts and
A Coca-Cola and he swallowed it.
He discovered the Beatles
And he recorded with the Stones
Once He even opened up a three-way package
In Southern California for old George Jones

[Chorus]

The years went by like sweet little days
With babies crying pork chops and beaujolais
When he woke up he was seventeen
The world was angry. The world was mean.
Why the man down the street and the kid on the stoop
All agreed that life stank. All the world smelled like poop
Baby poop that is..the worst kind
So he grew his hair long and threw away his comb
And headed back to Jerusalem to find Mom, Dad and home
But when he got there the cupboard was bare
Except for an old black man with a fishing rod
He said "Whatcha gonna be when you grow up?"
Jesus said "God"
Oh my God, what have I gotten myself into?
I'm a human corkscrew and all my wine is blood
They're gonna kill me Mama. They don't like me Bud.
So Jesus went to Heaven and he went there awful quick
All them people killed him and he wasn't even sick
So come and gather around me my contemporary peers
And I'll tell you all the story of
Jesus...The Missing Years

[Chorus]

We all reside down the block
Inside at... 23 Skidoo.

 

[fox69]

"Just The Other Side Of Nowhere"

"Just The Other Side Of Nowhere"



I've come from just the other side of no-where,
To this big time lonesome town.
They got a lotta ice an' snow here,
Half as cold as all the people I've found.
Every way I try to go here,
Seems to bring me down.
I seen about enough to know where I belong.

I've got a mind to see the headlights shinin',
On that old white line between my heart and home.
Sick of spendin' Sundays, wishin' they were Mondays,
Sittin' in a park alone.
So give my best to anyone who's left who ever done me,
Any lovin' way but wrong,
Tell them that the pride of just the other side of nowhere's goin' home.

Takin' nothing back to show there,
For these dues I have paid,
But the soul I almost sold here,
And the body I've been givin' away.
Fadin' from the neon nightime glow here,
Headin' for the light of day.
Just the other side of nowhere, goin' home.

I've got a mind to see the headlights shinin',
On that old white line between my heart and home.
Sick of spendin' Sundays, wishin' they were Mondays,
Sittin' in a park alone.
So give my best to anyone who's left who ever done me,
Any lovin' way but wrong,
Tell 'em that the pride of just the other side of nowhere's goin' home.

Takin' nothing back to show there,
For these dues I have paid,
But the soul I almost sold here,
And the body I've been givin away.
Fadin' from the neon nightime glow here,
Headin' for the light of day.
Just the other side of nowhere, goin' home.

Just the other side of no-where, goin' home.

 

[fox69]

"Just Wanna Be With You"

"Just Wanna Be With You"


I got an airplane ticket
And my shirt is stickin' out of my jeans
You got me painted in the corner
Where I'm livin' way beyond my means
Outside my window
A bird once flew
Now I don't even care
What kind of gum I chew
And oh baby
I just wanna be with you

Well I don't wanna wash the dishes
But I'm wishin' I could wash my hair
You been on my mind so long
You must livin' up there
Well it's up to the circus
And down to the zoo
The monkey's lookin' at me
Like I'm lookin' at you
And oh baby
I just wanna be with you

I don't wanna go to London
To visit the Queen
She don't like my English
If you know what I mean
Don't wanna walk around
Like I got nothin' to do
Uh uh baby wanna be with you
Uh uh baby wanna be with you

Well I was cleaning out my wallet
While I'm sittin' on my livin' room rug
I was lookin' at the numbers of the women
That I thought I dug
There was one that begged
One that teased
One God blessed me
Every time I sneezed
But oh baby
I just wanna be with you

[Bridge:]
I wanna be with you
When there ain't no love
When the banks all close
With the stars above
Lonely won't be lonesome
When we get through
And uh uh baby wanna be with you
Uh uh baby wanna be with you

 

[fox69]

"Killing The Blues"

"Killing The Blues"


Leaves were falling..Just like embers
In colors red and gold they set us on fire
Burning just like a moonbeam...in our eyes

[Chorus:]
Somebody said they saw me
Swinging the world by the tail
Bouncing over a white cloud.
Killing the Blues

I am guilty of something
I hope you never do because there is nothing
Sadder than losing.. yourself in love

[Chorus 2x]

Now, you ask me Just to leave you
To go out on my own and get what I need to
You want me to find..what I've already had

[Chorus 4x]

 

[fox69]

"Kokomo"

"Kokomo"



"Mmmmmmm"
In a small fishing village
Northeast of Guam
Sits a fine young chap
Holding hands with his mom
As the fish swim by
So does Joe
For his body is in Guam
But his mind is in Kokomo

"Kokomo, Indiana
Kokomo, Indiana"

"mmmmmmmm"
I long to be
Inside my home
Where the rafters are thick
With men's cologne
"men's cologne"
For if I were a tree
I know where I would grow
But my body is in Guam

My mind is in Kokomo

"Kokomo, Indiana
Kokomo, Indiana"

"mmmmmmmm"
It's a large swimming pool
That will light up at night
With cigarette girl
And groom dressed in white
"dressed in white"
As the organ plays a song
The crowd doesn't know
For their bodies are in Guam
But their minds are in Kokomo.

"Kokomo, Indiana
Kokomo, Indiana"

 

[fox69]

"Lake Marie"

"Lake Marie"


[Chorus:]
We were standing
Standing by peaceful waters
Standing by peaceful waters
Whoa Wah Oh Wha Oh
Whoa Wah Oh Wha Oh

Many years ago along the Illinois-Wisconsin Border
There was this Indian tribe
They found two babies in the woods
White babies
One of them was named Elizabeth
She was the fairer of the two
While the smaller and more fragile one was named Marie
Having never seen white girls before
And living on the two lakes known as the Twin Lakes
They named the larger and more beautiful Lake, Lake Elizabeth
And thus the smaller lake that was hidden from the highway
Became known forever as Lake Marie

[Chorus]

Many years later I found myself talking to this girl
Who was standing there with her back turned to Lake Marie
The wind was blowing especially through her hair
There was four Italian sausages cooking on the outdoor grill
And Man, they was ssssssssizzlin'
Many years later we found ourselves in Canada
Trying to save our marriage and perhaps catch a few fish
Whatever seemed easier
That night she fell asleep in my arms
Humming the tune to 'Louie Louie'
Aah baby, We gotta go now.

[Chorus]

The dogs were barking as the cars were parking
The loan sharks were sharking the narcs were narcing
Practically everyone was there
In the parking lot by the forest preserve
The police had found two bodies
Nay, naked bodies
Their faces had been horribly disfigured by some sharp object
Saw it on the news
On the TV news
In a black and white video
You know what blood looks like in a black and white video?
Shadows, Shadows that's exactly what it looks like
All the love we shared between her and me was slammed
Slammed up against the banks of Old Lake Marie, Marie

We were standing
Standing by peaceful waters
Standing by peaceful waters
Whoa Wah Oh Wha Oh
Whoa Wah Oh Wha Oh
Whoa Wah Oh Wha Oh
Whoa Wah Oh Wha Oh
Standing by peaceful waters
Peaceful waters
Standing by peaceful waters
Peaceful waters
Standing by peaceful waters
Peaceful waters
Standing by peaceful waters
Peaceful waters
Ahh baby, we gotta go now

 

[fox69]

"Leave The Lights On"

"Leave The Lights On"



Feeling kind of bony
On the telephoney
Talking to Marconi
Eating Rice-a-Roni
Nominated for a Tony
For acting like a phoney
Watching Twilight Zoney
On my forty-two inch Sony
This is just a long song
It ain't no poem
Leave the lights on till your baby gets home

It's like sitting in the kitchen
When the music's really bitchin'
Your nose it starts to itchin'
As you count your old age pension
Did I forget to mention
The ride that I was hitchin'
To the Aluminum convention
I had such good intention
Keep your cotton pickin' fingers off
My song poem
And leave the lights on till your baby gets home

Leave the lights on till your baby gets home
Leave the lights on till your baby gets home
Don't forget your toothbrush
Your hairbrush and your comb
Leave the lights on till your baby gets home
Got a big ol' dog
A chrome crowbar
I keep that mother humper in the back seat of my car

Me and Billy Shakespeare
Stepped out to get a root beer
We sat together so near
People thought we were queer
Punctuated by the big scare
We joined the Air Force right there
To defend our country first class
Who couldn't give a rat's ass
Don't you tell me that the White House is my home
Leave the lights on till your baby gets home
Leave the lights on till your baby gets home
Leave the lights on till your baby gets home
Don't forget your toothbrush
Your hairbrush and your comb
Leave the lights on till your baby gets home
Got a big ol' dog
A big iron bar
I keep that mother humper in the back seat of my car
It's like kissing Greta Garbo with a mouth full of marbles
Like trying to cash a paycheck in the middle of a train wreck
Leave the lights on
Leave the lights on

Like trying to get aroundo in a car made of bondo
Like speaking German lingo to a dog named Dingo - Plotz!!
Leave the lights on
Leave the lights on

Like a French fried quesadilla
In a franchised pizzeria
Leave the lights on
Leave the lights on

A big iron bar
I keep that mother humper in the back seat of my car.

 

[fox69]

"Let's Invite Them Over"

"Let's Invite Them Over"



I know why you're lonely
And I know why you're blue
You're lonesome to see him
And you long to see her too
We're not in love with each other
We're in love with our best friends
So let's invite them over again

We've talked it over and over
And we know it's not right
We should stay away forever
But we're lonesome each night
Yes we stay away for a while
But we know in the end
We'll invite them over again

We've talked it over and over
And we know it's not right
We should stay away forever
But we're lonesome each night
Yes we stay away for a while
But we know in the end
We'll invite them over again
Let's invite them over again

 

[fox69]

"Let's Talk Dirty In Hawaiian"

"Let's Talk Dirty In Hawaiian"


Well, I packed my bags and bought myself a ticket
For the land of the tall palm tree
Aloha Old Milwaukee, Hello Waikiki
I just stepped down from the airplane
When I heard her say,
"Waka waka nuka licka, waka waka nuka licka
Would you like a lei? Eh?"

[Chorus:]
Let's talk dirty in Hawaiian
Whisper in my ear
Kicka pooka mok a wa wahini
Are the words I long to hear
Lay your coconut on my tiki
What the hecka mooka mooka dear
Let's talk dirty in Hawaiian
Say the words I long to hear

It's a ukulele Honolulu sunset
Listen to the grass skirts sway
Drinking rum from a pineapple
Out on Honolulu Bay
The steel guitars all playing
While she's talking with her hands
Gimme gimme oka doka make a wish and wanta polka
Words I understand Hey!

[Chorus]

Well, I boughta lota junka with my moolah
And sent it to the folks back home
I never had the chance to dance the hula
Well, I guess I should have known
When you start talking to the sweet wahini
Walking in the pale moonlight
Ohka noka whatta setta knocka-rocka-sis-boom-boccas
Hope I said it right Oh!

[Chorus]

Let's talk dirty in Hawaiian
Say the words I long to hear
[Spoken:] Aloha

 

[fox69]

"Linda Goes To Mars"

"Linda Goes To Mars"


I just found out yesterday that Linda goes to Mars
Every time I sit and look at pictures of used cars
She'll turn on her radio and sit down in her chair
And look at me across the room, as if I wasn't there

[Chorus:]
Oh My stars! My Linda's gone to Mars
Well I wish she wouldn't leave me here alone
Oh My stars! My Linda's gone to Mars
Well, I wonder if she'd bring me something home.

Something, somewhere, somehow took my Linda by the hand
And secretly decoded our sacred wedding band
For when the moon shines down up on our happy, humble home
Her inner space gets tortured by some outer space unknown.

[Chorus]

Now I ain't seen no saucers 'cept the ones upon the shelf
And if I ever seen one I'd keep it to myself
For if there's life out there somewhere beyond this life on earth
Then Linda must have gone out there and got her money's worth.

[Chorus]

Yeah, I wonder if she'd bring me something home.