Robert Earl Keen

[fox69]

"Gravitational Forces"

"Gravitational Forces"


Gravitational forces
The time is 8:45
Fifteen minutes shy of competing the 4-hour sound check
It usually takes an hour and a half
The room reminds me of a putt putt golf course
A twenty foot crimson alien stands in the corner
An airstream flying saucer juts out of the wall
Plastic asteroids the size of oil drums rain down from the ceiling
Someone pointed out they look like giant turds
We are here to play music
Music I have a relentless passion for
We are hurtling through space at 66,000 miles an hour
We have traveled over 247,500 miles
Since we arrived here at five
Maybe this is the wrong galaxy
Maybe we have broken a time barrier
And time is slowed by the gravitational forces of two fellow spacemen
Two fellow spacemen who were on this planet when we arrived
Who have no passion for music
Or anything else
In this tasteless solar system
Or anything else
In this tasteless solar system

 

[fox69]

"Gringo Honeymoon"

"Gringo Honeymoon"


We were standing on a mountain top
where the cactus flowers grow
I was wishing that the world would stop
when you said we better go
We took a row boat across the Rio Grande
captain Pablo was our guide
For two dollars in a weathered hand
he rowed us to the other side

We were dreaming like
the end was not in sight
and we dreamed all afternoon
We asked the world to wait
so we can celebrate
a gringo honeymoon

We stepped out onto the golden sand
the sun was high and burning down
Rented donkeys from an old blind man
saddled up and rode to town
Tied our donkeys to an iron wood tree
by the stream where children play
We went in the first place we could see
serving cold beer in the shade

And we were drinking like
the end was not in sight
and we drank all afternoon
We asked the world to wait
so we can celebrate
a gringo honeymoon

Met a cowboy who said that he
was running from the D.E.A.
He left his home his wife and family
when he made his get away
We followed him on down a street at dusk
to his one room run down shack
He blew a smoke ring and he smiled at us
I ain't ever goin back

We were flying like
the end was not in sight
and we sold out that afternoon
We asked the world to wait
so we can celebrate
a gringo honeymoon

He said there's one last place that you should go
He took us to the town's best bar
He knew a crusty caballero
who played an old gut string guitar
and he sang like Marty Robbins could
Played like no one I've known
For a while we knew that life was good
and it was ours to take back home

And we were singing like
the end was not in sight
And we sang all afternoon
We asked the world to wait
so we can celebrate
a gringo honeymoon

We were standing on a mountain top
where the cactus flowers grow
I was wishing that the world would stop
when you said we better go

 

[fox69]

"Happy Holidays Y'all"

"Happy Holidays Y'all"


There is a Barbie doll in the gravy boat up on mom's TV set
An angel made of Styrofoam holds Rita's cigarette
Santa waves an empty beer in his plastic hand
Everyone is here again, it's Christmastime again

You know the kids are in their sleepin' bags with every kind of toy
And Ken and Kay have hit the hay in dad's new La-Z-Boy
Fran has got a cozy spot beneath the Christmas tree
Sittin' in his underwear, drunk as he can be

Last night we stuffed our stockings and hung the mistletoe
When Santa Claus came knocking, he looked like Uncle Joe
Someone put the coffee on and find the Tylenol
Merry Christmas everyone, Happy Holidays y'all

Of course old dad got mom a flannel robe and Ken a socket set
Mom got Kay a super value pack of Nicorette
And Kay got Ken a NordicTrack and a new guitar for me
Ken got sister Spanish speaking lessons on CD

Last night we all sang Jingle Bells and opened up our hearts
This morning our house looks like hell or possibly Wal-Mart
Someone clean the gravy boat and dress the Barbie doll
Merry Christmas everyone, Happy Holidays y'all

We're makin' mimosas on the deck and packin' the U-haul
Merry Christmas everyone, God bless us one and all

 

[fox69]

"Hello New Orleans"

"Hello New Orleans"


Standin' here beside this freeway wishing I was high
Wondering why she said she loved me then she said goodbye
I'm down to my last dollar in these faded old blue jeans
So adios to Amarillo, hello New Orleans

Her hair was made of summer sunlight the moon lit in her eyes
Her voice would ride the wind at midnight across the starry skies
Love is blind that's what they tell me in all those magazines
So adios to Amarillo, hello New Orleans

We talked about our lives together we talked about our plans
We walked through rain and windy weather across the shifting sands
She took the car that's how I know this ain't no crazy dream
So adios to Amarillo, hello New Orleans

I'll eat my fill of jambalaya and crawfish etouffe
I'll drink the Mississippi dry, laissez les bon temps rouler
I'll trade her memory in on one of those Cajun queens
So adios to Amarillo, hello New Orleans
So adios to Amarillo, hello New Orleans

 

[fox69]

"Here In Arkansas"

"Here In Arkansas"


The north wind blows a prairie fire across the open plain
A light shines on the granite stone where someone carved my name

Sister find the preacherman
Daddy call the law
Things have gotten out of hand
Here in Arkansas

An icy ring around the moon a fire across the sky
They buried me this afternoon and left me here to die

Sister find the preacherman
Daddy call the law
Things have gotten out of hand
Here in Arkansas

Sheriff Clark, Reverend Friend, Mrs. Worthington
Told my family that I'd be the end to all they've done

Sister find the preacherman
Daddy call the law
Things have gotten out of hand
Here in Arkansas

Mother raised the children and daddy worked the farm
I was born the seventh son of the seventh born

Sister find the preacherman
Daddy call the law
Things have gotten out of hand
Here in Arkansas

All the elders did decree my soul to be unclean
They strapped me to a gurney and gave me morphine

Sister find the preacherman
Daddy call the law
Things have gotten out of hand
Here in Arkansas

Sister walks into the night and prays my soul to save
And underneath the cold moonlight she finds my open grave

Sister find the preacherman
Daddy call the law
Things have gotten out of hand
Here in Arkansas

The north wind blows a prairie fire
Here in Arkansas

 

[fox69]

"High Plains Jamboree"
(originally by Terry Allen)

"High Plains Jamboree"
(originally by Terry Allen)



She was a honkytonker and he was a family man
And she showed him her gold teeth when he'd hold her little hand
And they met out on the highway at the Paradise Motel lounge
On Saturday nights when things weren't right between him and his wife in town

They're just another couple on a high plains jamboree
Playin' out those sad songs they understand
Just another couple makin' juke box memories
Walkin' into troubles hand in hand

She weren't no maid of cotton and he weren't no hell of a man
So they must have loved each other like only the lonely can
'Cause they slow-danced through the neon like a sorrow through a song
Then they carried the tune to the motel room and they played it all night long

They're just another couple on a high plains jamboree
Playin' out those sad songs they understand
Just another couple makin' juke box memories
Walkin' into troubles hand in hand

 

[fox69]

"Hot Corn, Cold Corn"

"Hot Corn, Cold Corn"


Hot corn cold corn bring along the demijohn
Hot corn cold corn bring along the demijohn
Hot corn cold corn bring along the demijohn
Fare thee well Uncle Bill see you in the morning yes sir

Well it's upstairs downstairs out in the kitchen
Well it's upstairs downstairs out in the kitchen
Well it's upstairs downstairs out in the kitchen
See you Uncle Bill just a raring and a pitching yes sir

Hot corn cold corn bring along the demijohn
Hot corn cold corn bring along the demijohn
Hot corn cold corn bring along the demijohn
Fare thee well Uncle Bill see you in the morning yes sir

Well it's old Aunt Peggy won't you fill 'em up again
Well it's old Aunt Peggy won't you fill 'em up again
Well it's old Aunt Peggy won't you fill 'em up again
Ain't had a drink since the lord knows when yes sir

Hot corn cold corn bring along the demijohn
Hot corn cold corn bring along the demijohn
Hot corn cold corn bring along the demijohn
Fare thee well Uncle Bill see you in the morning yes sir

Well yonder comes the preacher and the children are a crying
Well yonder comes the preacher and the children are a crying
Well yonder comes the preacher and the children are a crying
Chickens a running and the toenails a flying yes sir

Hot corn cold corn bring along the demijohn
Hot corn cold corn bring along the demijohn
Hot corn cold corn bring along the demijohn
Fare thee well Uncle Bill see you in the morning yes sir
[x2]

 

[fox69]

"I Gotta Go"

"I Gotta Go"


Ain't got time to shoot the breeze, got no time to blow
Excuse me mister if you please, I gotta go
Born one mornin' on the day of the dead in a bombed out bungalow
My momma kissed my cheek and said, I gotta go

[Chorus:]
I gotta go somewhere
I gotta go
Waistin' time standin' here
I gotta go

They put me in an orphanage west of Tupelo
I told 'em when I burnt that bridge, I gotta go
Stole a car, got a gun robbed the Hidey-Ho
I left Memphis on the run, I gotta go

[Chorus]

Five card stud duces wild, three kings in a row
I turned that diamond duce and smiled, I gotta go
They tracked my down, took my take, brother don't you know
I told 'em boys, there's some mistake, I gotta go

[Chorus]

Cold steel up against my head, they turned the lights down low
In case you didn't hear I said, I gotta go
These are your very last words sir, say 'em nice and slow
My last words on this planet were...

[Chorus x2]

 

[fox69]

"I Still Miss Someone"
(originally by Johnny Cash)

"I Still Miss Someone"
(originally by Johnny Cash)



Out my door the leaves are falling
The cold wild wind will come
Sweethearts walk by together
But I still miss someone
I go out on a party
To look for a little fun
But I find a darkened corner
'Cause I still miss someone

Oh, I never got over those blue eyes
I see them everywhere
I miss those arms that held me
When all the love was there

I wonder if she's sorry
For leavin' what we'd begun
There's someone for me somewhere
But I still miss someone

Oh, I never got over those blue eyes
I see them everywhere
I miss those arms that held me
When all the love was there

 

[fox69]

"I Wanna Know"

"I Wanna Know"


Have you got a minute?
A little time that we can spend
Open up and let me in
Share some memories
People in a hurry
Every day goes by so fast
No one takes the time to ask how it used to be

I wanna know
Did your father own an automobile or a two horse carriage with wood spoke wheels?
I hear you used to walk to school seven miles a day
Did you ever ride a railroad train and the very first time you saw a plane
Did you think the world had gone insane? Tell me what you've got to say
I want to know.

Words can paint a picture
Sharper than a photograph
I know you can take me back
To times I'll never see
Got a lot of questions
There's so much I want to learn
You can make the pages turn in living history

I wanna know
Did your father own an automobile or a two horse carriage with wood spoke wheels?
I hear you used to walk to school seven miles a day
Did you ever ride a railroad train and the very first time you saw a plane
Did you think the world had gone insane? Tell me what you've got to say
I want to know.

Have you got a minute?
A little time that we could spend
Open up and let me in
Share some memories