Rodney Crowell

[fox69]

"The Man In Me"

"The Man In Me"


There's a man in me
He's cold and he's hard
He's got an eye for deception
He's always on guard
He's swimming in concrete
And drowning in fear
And he keeps it all locked in his heart

This man is a tyrant, a fault findin' hack
You can't tell him nothing
There's no turnin' back
He leaves blood on the highway and scattered debris
He crawls from the wreckage but he still doesn't see
He's alive
The man is jive

There's a man in the mirror
I don't like his looks
His teeth they are crooked
His hands are like hooks
He speaks 4 letter language
'Cause his mind is so small
His voice is like venom
I don't like him at all
God, I gotta get away from the man in me

She says
Now what are you afraid of?
There's no need to judge
You know I can help you
But you won't even budge
Pretty flowers surround you but all you can smell is a rat
She says
Now why you insist on your head in the sand
Building walls all around you, you don't understand
That these ways are outmoded, but all you can change is your hat
The man in me don't wanna know nothing about that

There's a man in the closet
He wants to come out
He wants to be noticed
But he's so full of doubt
He wants to be well known and famous
But he's so filled with pride
The keys to his fortune stay locked up inside
Can it be the man in me?

She says
Now what are you afraid of?
There's nothing to fear
You want me to help
But you won't let me near
In your heart you can hear me
But all you believe are your eyes
Tell me why you're convinced
That a fist in your face is all you deserve
From love you've misplaced
The truth is salvation
But all you believe in are lies
The man in me wants to believe, but he won't even try

There's man in me, and he's so full of hate
He's so misdirected
He thinks it's too late
He pours salt on the wounds
Only Time wants to heal
He's dyin' inside
And he don't wanna feel
Anything
The man is strange
Man

 

[fox69]

"The Night's Just Right"

"The Night's Just Right"


I don't mind the thought of growing old
But I don't wanna lose my sense of humor
I'm okay as long as I can laugh
I don't care if everything goes wrong
Even if it's only for a while
I'm alright if I can see you smile

You're an old-fashioned girl
At home, in a modern world
The night is just right, my love

If somewhere down the line the wheels come off
You may find me broke down by the highway
I'm alright as long as I can walk
And if it comes to pass I'm losing touch
As long as I can feel you close to me
I'll know I am where I'm supposed to be

You're an old-fashioned girl
At home, in a modern world
The night is just right, my love

Maybe I'm crazy, maybe I'm not
Maybe this moment is all we have got
Well, I don't think that I'm afraid to die
Still in all I'd rather live forever
See a million full moons rising in the sky
The morning sunlight shining in your eyes

You're an old-fashioned girl
At home, in a modern world
The night is just right, my love
The night is just right, my love

 

[fox69]

"The Obscenity Prayer (Give It To Me)"

"The Obscenity Prayer (Give It To Me)"


Give to me my time and money
Give to me my milk and honey
Give to me my self respect
Golden chains around my neck

Give to me my super model
Corporate jet and champagne bottle
Get me out there on the town
Let me spread my wealth around

I could learn to love this life I lead
But just don't take away the things I need

I feel rosy in the pink
So just don't make me stop and think
All those dark thoughts in my head
Seem like better left unsaid

Give it to me
(Give it, give it, give it, give it)
Give it to me
(Give it, give it, give it, give it)
Give it to me
(Give it, give it, give it, give it)
(Give it, give it, give it, give it)

Give to me my latest fashion
Make my lover burn with passion
Give to me my charm and wit
Keep my body young and fit

Give to me my haute couture
Give the world a cancer cure
Serve my breakfast au frescoe
Let the wine and liquor flow

I can search for truth some other time
But right now I just wanna get what's mine

Let the gangsters rule the street
While teachers try to make ends meet
I despise all bleeding hearts
I don't patronize the arts

Give it to me
(Give it, give it, give it, give it)
Give it to me
(Give it, give it, give it, give it)
Give it to me
(Give it, give it, give it, give it)
Right now

I don't understand what it is you're trying to sell
Or what it is you're trying to tell me
You're tryin' to get me to show some compassion
Man, that's so outta fashion

Give to me my Aspen winter
Sorry 'bout the World Trade Center
I can't help the ones in need
I've got my own mouth to feed

Give to me my Playboy Channel
Killer weed and sheets of flannel
Lay me down upon my bed
With pleasant dreams to fill my head

Just look at what this world is coming to
And there ain't one damn thing that I can do

I don't have a leg to stand on
I don't have a net to land on
I don't have the base of power
I don't have the extra hour

Give it to me
(Give it, give it, give it, give it)
Give it to me
(Give it, give it, give it, give it)
Give it to me right now
(Give it, give it, give it, give it, give it, give it)

Give to me my tax cut outsource
Build me my own private golf course
The Dixie Chicks can kiss my ass
But I still need that backstage pass

Give to me my Nasdaq numbers
Intel shares and E-trade blunders
Soldiers to defend my freedom
And a script for Valium if I need em'

And give it to me
(Give it, give it, give it, give it)
Give it to me
(Give it, give it, give it, give it)
Give it to me right now
(Give it, give it, give it, give it)

 

[fox69]

"The Outsider"

"The Outsider"


You don't have to be rich, I don't have to be drunk in a ditch
You don't have to be the top of your class, I don't have to have huevos of brass
You don't have to be cute, I don't have to look good in a suit
You don't have to have a dog in this race
I don't have to have an egg on my face

The outsider is watching your back
The outsider cut me some slack
The outsider just a little off keel
The outsider is something you feel

I don't have to be straight, you don't have to be something I hate
I don't have to be white as a ghost, you don't have to be dumb as a post
I don't have to be hip, you don't have to start losing your grip
I don't have to be right if you're wrong
You don't have to be weak if I'm strong

The outsider like a coat when you're cold
The outsider like a friend when you're old
The outsider a little devil may care
The outsider is just something that's there

You don't wanna be a saint, I don't wanna be something I ain't
First you get a little long in the tooth, next you try to find a fountain of youth
It's a pain in the butt, that's the trouble when you're stuck in a rut
We don't have to find a permanent bliss, but we've gotta do better than this

The outsider like a stone you don't throw
The outsider like a bomb you don't blow
The outsider like a mountain don't move
The outsider's got nothing to prove

 

[fox69]

"The Rise And Fall Of Intelligent Design"

"The Rise And Fall Of Intelligent Design"


If I could have just one wish
Maybe for an hour
I wanna be a woman
And feel that phantom power

Maybe I'd wanna stick around for a while
Until my heart got broke
Maybe then I could find out if I'm a half decent man
Or if I'm just a joke

If I could be the first woman president
I'd take on air pollution
I'd walk the streets of Baghdad at dawn
To find the real solution

I'd bear my soul for the people to read
I'd make my secrets known
I'd rather really be assassinated first day in office
Or die somewhere alone

It's no excuse to be obtuse
It's no excuse to be deaf, dumb and blind
When evolution is a thing of no use
It likes to call itself intelligent design

So here's the world in the palm of my hand
How come I'm feeling so tender
It's a man's world, I've heard it since birth
I'm out of touch with my gender

I wanna feed the hungry, I wanna heal the sick
I wanna stifle the causes of suffering and hate
I wanna know my enemy by the look in its eyes
I wanna stop on this madness before it's too late

I don't care if you think I've gone crazy
Messianic delusion is a back breaking crime
I've got a dog and a gold fish and a friend in the navy
Don't know nothing about intelligent design

It's no excuse to be brutal
It's no excuse to be vile
It's no excuse to wanna die for religion
I harm an innocent child

It's no excuse to be a slick politician
When the whole New Orleans is drowning in brine
I'm not mistaken, it was Darwin's position
That the whole new evidence is caused by intelligent design

 

[fox69]

"The Rock Of My Soul"

"The Rock Of My Soul"


The rock of my soul went to church on Sunday
The rock of my soul went to work on Monday
Clean across the levee by the railroad tracks
The other side of Houston in a two-room shack
Sweepin' out confetti from a third grade classroom
The rock of my soul pushed a dust mop broom
The rock of my soul didn't have much luck
He came to town a-grinnin' on a flat bed truck
The rock of my soul didn't have much charm
Ah with the lack of education on a red dirt farm
And he was fond of disappearing on an eight day drunk
Coming home smelling like a lowdown skunk
And he said...

Do like I say, not like I do and you might make me proud
Another Houston kid on a downhill skid for crying out loud

I'm a first hand witness to an age-old crime
A man who hits a woman isn't worth a dime
5, 6, 7, 8, 9 years old
That's what I remember 'bout the rock of my soul

I told him I would kill him if he did not stop it
But the rock of my soul just would not drop it
I learned to lie like dirt I could steal your shirt and talk with a gun
Another Houston kid on a downhill skid like father like son

Now I got out of prison 'bout a year ago
Seven long years really went by slow
I didn't kill my daddy but my momma tried
Ah she shot him with a pistol and he like to a-died
I'm on probation living straight and true
And there's every indication that the past is through
That's all I know about the rock of my soul

 

[fox69]

"The Rose Of Memphis"

"The Rose Of Memphis"


I drove all the way from Storyville on a midnight Memphis run
From Bourbon Street to Beale Street straight up Highway 61
I was tuned in on radio maybe ten miles out of town
When I heard the rose of Memphis boys that's when I left the ground
I can't go back to Storyville way down there by the sea
Till I can say I got the rose of Memphis coming home with me

She wrapped her song around my heart just like the Kudzu vine
That keeps on growing after dark straight up some lonesome pine
I've got to find that woman now cause my life ain't complete
Man there ain't nobody out there got the rose of Memphis beat
I can't go back to New Orleans that ol' crescent city town
Till I can say I got the rose of Memphis coming on the rounds

Rose of Memphis I love the rose of Memphis
Rose of Memphis I love the rose of Memphis

I love the rose of Memphis man she sings just like a bird
I swear she makes the sweetest sound I think I ever heard
She was born down by the river that ol' river's in her soul
Man they can't nobody touch her when the rose is on a roll
I can't get go back to Louisiana by the Gulf of Mexico
Till I can say I've got the rose of Memphis coming home to show

Rose of Memphis I love the rose of Memphis
Rose of Memphis I love the rose of Memphis

 

[fox69]

"The Traveling Kind"

"The Traveling Kind"


We don't all die young to save our spark
From the ravages of time
But the first and last to leave their mark
Someday become the traveling kind

In the wind are names of poets past
Some were friends of yours and mine
And to those unsung, we lift our glass
May their songs become the traveling kind

We were born to brave this tilted world
With our hearts laid on the line
Be it way-crossed boy or red dirt girl
The song becomes the traveling kind

There are mountains worth their weight in gold
Mere mortals dare not climb
Come ye tipsy, sainted, sinners both
And claim them for the traveling kind

When the music slowly starts to fade
Into the light's last soft decline
Let us lie down in that evening shade
And rest among the traveling kind

And the song goes on for the traveling kind

 

[fox69]

"The Weight Of The World"

"The Weight Of The World"


Smoking down the track
I'm a fireball mill
Lord, coal's so black
Can't even see the rail
Followin' tongues of steel
Behind, I drive the wheel
Pulls the weight of the world

Coming up the road
Another rubber tire four
They got us hooked on oil
'Til the pipeline blow
Such a shame to see
Adding World War Three
To the weight of the world
Yeah, the weight of the world

Up the top of a mountain
Well I ne'er should
Poisonous as the river
With the devils's own sludge
It's the American dream
But if you live downstream
Here comes the weight of the world

Ton of plastic bottles
Headed out to sea
Bound to build an island
Thanks to you and me
Another man-made pearl
For the junk we hurl
Top the weight of the world
Yeah, the weight of the world

I got to feed the baby
Recompense the rent
For the way I think I?
Where all the money went
Well there's a piper to pay
Can't get away
From the weight of the world

Look up in the sky
Is it a bird or a plane?
Taking love to delight?
Drove us all insane
Since it send us reeling
The only thing with feeling
Is the weight of the world

First we get so numb
Then we all succumb
To the weight of the world
Yeah the weight of the world

(Let me get my guitar in there one more time)

 

[fox69]

"Things I Wish I'd Said"

"Things I Wish I'd Said"


You lay there fighting for each breath
While angels hovered 'round your bed
With open arms like God' s own smile
They led you to the light

What a battle you have won
And now your journey has begun
To the land where spirits fly
And your soul will never die

So travel lightly in my heart
You and I will never part
And far beyond this world we see
There's a place for you and me

And I thank my lucky stars
We had a chance to heal our scars
Now I don't have to hang my head
Over things I wish I'd said

So here am I your only son
I'm thinking back on work we've done
You were strong and I was young
Man we had our fights

And everything I felt for you
Has been turned to something new
And this is love I feel today
It will never go away

So travel lightly in my heart
You and I will never part
Far beyond this world we see
There's a place for you and me

And I thank the moon and stars
We had a chance to heal our scars
Now I don't have to hang my head
Over things I wish I'd said

I don't have to hide my tears
I don't have to drown my fears
And I don't have to hang my head
Over things I wish I'd said

No, I don't have to live in dread
Over things I wish I'd said