Old 97's

[fox69]

"Those Were The Days"

"Those Were The Days"


That was the best day of my life
I won't forget the time
We crashed the old folks' home
We were ballroom dancing

We ate some Jello, ate some Vicodin
And tap danced through the old folks
And they all thought
We were crazy

Pour a drink for the old
Pour a drink for the young
Anyway you can think of to have fun
We'll get it done
Those were the days
Those were the days

That was by far the weirdest day
I won't forget the time
We tripped in Central Park
The trees were breathing

By the time the evening came down
We had not
So we floated off the grass
Into the galaxy

Pour a drink for the moon
Pour a drink for the sun
Anyway you can think of to have fun
We'll get it done
Those were the days
Those were the days

Where were you?
Where were you?
Where were you?

And on the last day of my life
I will remember you
Dancin' all the while
My heart still beating

And as I run through all these scenes
I will feel confident
Drawing my last breath
Regretting nothing

Pour a drink for what's next
When the judgment has come
Anyway you can think of to have fun
We'll get it done
Those were the days
Those were the days
Those were the days
Those were the days

Those were the days

 

[fox69]

"Timebomb"

"Timebomb"


I got a timebomb in my mind, mom
I hear it ticking but I don't know why
I call the police, but they don't like me
I hear 'em whispering when I walk by, oh ooh

I got a landmine in my bloodline
I'm not immune to getting blown apart
She's like a claymore, that's what she's there for
She's waiting 'round here to get blown apart, oh ooh

Having her on my brain's like getting hit by a train
She's gonna kill me
Oh Celeste, oh Celeste
Oh Celeste, oh Celeste

I got a timebomb in my mind, mom
It's gonna go off, but I don't know when
I need a doctor to extract her
I got a feeling she'd get right back in again, oh ooh

I got a timebomb in my mind, mom
I got it badly for a stick-legged girl
She's gonna kill me and I don't mean softly
I got it badly for a stick-legged girl, oh

Having her on my brain's like getting hit by a train
She's gonna kill me
Oh Celeste, oh Celeste
Oh Celeste, oh Celeste
Oh Celeste

 

[fox69]

"Tupelo County Jail"

"Tupelo County Jail"


Come on and write, write, write me a letter
Send that letter by mail
Send that letter in care of
The Tupelo County Jail

Wish me the best of luck, dear
There's no one here to my bail
Never been a place so lonely
As the Tupelo County Jail

Fill that letter full a kisses
I'm gonna have me a ball
Baby, kisses on paper
Are better than no kisses at all

Come on and write, write, write me a letter
Send that letter by mail
Send that letter in care of
The Tupelo County Jail

(Take it Ken!)

Fill that letter full a kisses
I'm gonna have me a ball
Baby, kisses on paper
Are better than no kisses at all

Come on and write, write, write me a letter
Send that letter by mail
Send that letter in care of
The Tupelo County Jail
The Tupelo County Jail
The Tupelo County Jail
The Tupelo County Jail...

 

[fox69]

"Turns Out I'm Trouble"

"Turns Out I'm Trouble"


Less than three, less than two, less than one
Less than zero
If you're me, what you do when you're done is cry
Don't leave me alone with myself
Yeah, turns out I'm a troubled guy

More than this, I can't say at this time
Incrimination
Of myself and the way I'm designed
To deny
I can hardly live with myself
Yeah, turns out I'm a troubled guy

Turns out I'm trouble
My trashcan heart just rattles 'round
I promise you I'm nothing but trouble
You got to turn me down

We had days, we had weeks, we had months
We had lifetimes
In a way, we had peace, more than once
In a while
Oh, I can't barely care for myself
Yeah, it turns out I'm a troubled guy

Turns out I'm trouble
But I'll pick you up and drive you 'round
Oh, can't you see I'm nothing but trouble?
You got to turn me down
You got to turn me down

Ashtray on a nightstand by a bed engulfed in flames
I'm ain't kickin' ass, I'm only takin' names
Of all the decent-hearted women I made cry

Turns out I'm a troubled guy
Turns out I'm a troubled guy
You've got to turn me down
You've got to turn me down
Please don't turn me down

 

[fox69]

"Up The Devil's Pay"

"Up The Devil's Pay"


I'm gonna tend a bad fire until you come around
I'd sing you real live love songs
If I could get the feeling down
I want to make you happy but the devil's out my way
So I'll just pack up everything
Roll it out and up the devil's pay
I want to cause a bad scene but I gotta change my ways
I want to hear your sound again
I want to see you 'round someday
I want to make you happy but the devil's out my way
So I'll just pack up everything
Roll it out and up the devil's pay
And there seems no way to comfort me
To take me from this station where I'm at
'cause the things I love are leaving me
and it's taking every single piece
it's a grade-A mess and it's cutting teeth
it's a big black wind that's blowing back of me
I'm gonna roll up everything into a big red sun
boil til the room's insane
wave my rattles on and on
I want to make you happy but the devil's out my way
So I'll just pack up everything
Roll it out and up the devil's pay

 

[fox69]

"Valentine"

"Valentine"


Heartbreak, old friend, goodbye it's me again.
Of late, I've had some thought of movin' in.
Of all the many ways a man will lose his home,
Well, there ain't none better than the girl who's movin' on.

True love, I knew some thought of, some thought of leavin' you.
Bad thoughts I had, when valentines were due.
Of all the many ways a man will break his heart,
Well there ain't none meaner than he pulls his own apart

Valentine, the destroyer, Valentine, you belong
In the stars, where you are, always rollin' on.
Cried, I've cried till I couldn't carry on.
It's a lonely, lonely feelin' when your Valentine is wrong.
It's a lonely, lonely feelin' when your Valentine is wrong.

Heartbreak, old friend, goodbye it's me again.
Of late, I've had some thought of movin' in.
Of all the many ways a man will lose his home,
Well, there ain't none better than the girl who's movin' on.

Valentine, the destroyer, Valentine, you belong
In the stars, where you are, always rollin' on.
Cried, I've cried till I couldn't carry on.
It's a lonely, lonely feelin' when your Valentine is wrong.
It's a lonely, lonely feelin' when your Valentine is wrong.

Of all the many things that you were countin' on,
Well, there ain't none better than the girl who's movin' on.
No, there ain't none better than the girl who's movin' on.
No, there ain't none better than the girl who's movin' on.

 

[fox69]

"Valium Waltz"

"Valium Waltz"


To dream as if lovers of the ultra-familiar
Hover above her as she's checking you out
Wander around her but never sleep with her
Watch her though windows as she pours herself out

You're scoring her shipwrecks with fiddles and dobros
Laugh at the plainclothes police the crowd
Carry her under like water or ether
Spirit her off when the music's too loud

And it's written all over the face of the daughter
Of the mayor of Marble Falls
When she winds up in Denton town doing the Valium waltz

Dream of the day when your memory is fickle
Pine for a time when your mind is made up
Wonder how long ‘fore you're pear-shaped and wrinkled
Wind up on window-sills all knotted up

 

[fox69]

"Victoria"

"Victoria"


This is the story of Victoria Lee,
She started off on Percodan and ended up with me.
She lived in Berkeley 'til the earthquake shook her loose.
She lives in Texas now where nothin' ever moves.

Victoria you talk so low that no one else can hear,
Unless you point your megaphone directly at their ear.
This is the story of Victoria Lee,
She started on Rohypinol and ended up with me.

You'd like to think they're your friends, but they're not your friends,
And in the end a friend's the one you'll never know, oh don't you know?
You'd like to think you're groovy, it's your movie, you see through me, but it's true,
And in the end you'll know, Victoria don't go. Victoria, Victoria don't go.

This is the story of Victoria's heart,
You might think it's stupid, but I still think it's art.
She lost her lover to an accident at sea.
She pushed him overboard and ended up with me.

Victoria, you dance so fast that no one else can see.
Victoria I hope you use just one more dance for me.
This is the story of Victoria's heart.
It's a really big one, and I don't know where to start.

You'd like to think they're your friends, but they're not your friends,
And in the end a friend's the one you'll never know, oh don't you know?
You'd like to think you're groovy, it's your movie, you see through me, but it's true,
And in the end you'll know, Victoria don't go. Victoria, Victoria don't go.

 

[fox69]

"Visiting Hours"

"Visiting Hours"


There's a half a million drunks out
And there's hundred thousand thugs
And I'm selling booze to kids now
Wearing my kid sister's gloves

I don't know what I'm doing anymore
I don't know what I started out for

At first it looked so easy
It was a cake walk in the park
When I started it was daylight
How quickly it got dark

I don't know what I'm drinking anymore
I don't know what I started drinking for

Happy hour is almost over
Hope I can walk on my own power
Find your house
Break your window
Crash your bedroom
These are the visiting hours

Happy hour is almost over
Hope I can walk on my own power
Find your house
Break your window
Crash your bedroom
These are the visiting hours

The wind across your window
The white noise in the walls
The short leg on the table
The dead trees in the fall

I don't know where I'm living anymore
I don't know what I came here for

Happy hour is almost over
Hope I can walk on my own power
Find your house
I'll break your window
And I'll crash your bedroom
These are the visiting hours
These are the visiting hours
These are the visiting hours

 

[fox69]

"W-I-F-E"

"W-I-F-E"


I've got my wife, the other women, and the whiskey killing me.
The first two make it so that I see red. The third one makes it so that I can't see.
If I had half a brain left after my debauchery,
I'd give up the other women, and the W-I-F-E.

Wedding vows weren't made to be broken.
These here lips weren't made to tell no lies.
Somewhere along the way, I guess I must have gone astray,
'Cause I'm drinking here, and wishing for to die.

I've got my wife, the other women, and the whiskey killing me.
The first two make it so that I see red. The third one makes it so that I can't see.
If I had half a brain left after my debauchery,
I'd give up the other women, and the W-I-F-E.

It's just like my little sister (dear old momma) told me,
In the end, you reap what you sow.
I've been sowing seeds from Mexico to Tennessee,
And I'm reaping now an awful lot of woe.

I've got my wife, the other women, and the whiskey killing me.
The first two make it so that I see red. The third one makes it so that I can't see.
If I had half a brain left after my debauchery,
I'd give up the other women, and the W-I-F-E.

I'd give up the other women, and the W-I-F-E.