Rodney Crowell

[fox69]

"Fever On The Bayou"

"Fever On The Bayou"


Jole blon
Louisiana queen
Brought up on the bayou
Bustin' at the seams
She moves me
She says I move her too
Once we get it started
Ain't nothing we won't do

Baby when she roll me
Fever on the bayou
When she gets a hold me
Mucho me-oh-my-oh
Louisiana moon glow
Way up in the sky-oh
I love to see her comin'
And hate to see her go

Creole belle
Dancing in the rain
I love to hear her laughin'
I love to hear her sing
I've got money
I've got lots of time
She makes me feel so funny
When she spends my dime

Baby when she roll me
Fever on the bayou
When she gets a hold me
Mucho me-oh-my-oh
Louisiana moon glow
Way up in the sky-oh
I love to see her comin'
And hate to see her go

She's a hurricane (hurricane)
On the Pontchartrain (Pontchartrain)
And ever since she hit here
Things just ain't the same

Elle est mon cher
Ma files d'amant
Je ne parle franglais
Je suis son bon vivant
Reville au tois
Avec l'amour
'Round the kitchen table
And on the cabin floor

Baby when she roll me
Fever on the bayou
When she gets a hold me
Mucho me-oh-my-oh
Louisiana moon glow
Way up in the sky-oh
I love to see her comin'
And hate to see her go

Baby when she roll me
Fever on the bayou
When she gets a hold me
Mucho me-oh-my-oh
Louisiana moon glow
Way up in the sky-oh
I love to see her comin'
And hate to see her go

 

[fox69]

"Forgive Me Annabelle"

"Forgive Me Annabelle"


Maybe I was out of line, but mostly I was out of touch
You lean on anger like a crutch, you're bound to take a fall
No doubt I was slow to learn, I just couldn't get the gist
So I doubled up my fist and I punched me the wall

When you walked out on me I took the hit in stride
I'm better off I lied
The truth may show I stood the blow
But we both know how far from grace I fell
Forgive me Annabelle

Who'd have thought that peace of mind would find me in the end
Nearly ten years on the mend and no getting over you
For now I'm resolute, I've seen evidence of change
At first I thought it strange and not worth clinging to

Let's set the record straight, I came around too late
Though I got there in the end, I never was your friend

When you walked out on me, it tore my heart in half
And I hid behind a laugh
As I became a slave to shame I cursed your name
God Damn you, rot in Hell
Can you forgive me Annabelle

 

[fox69]

"Forty Miles From Nowhere"

"Forty Miles From Nowhere"


It rained today, the clouds rolled up at dawn
All hell burst wide open and just like that was gone
Your little lap dog chased a fox tailed squirrel cross the main road through the wood
Some ninja on a dirt bike nearly ran him down for good
Right about now it gets quiet around here, what with nightfall in the wings
The floorboards creak and faucets leak, but it's the emptiness that sings
The wind grows chill and then lies still
Forty miles from nowhere
At the bottom of the world

November sky's a diamond-studded dome
A hundred billion points of light to guide my way back home
When the moon is hanging fat and full and all those jangly stars recede
A fold out couch on a midnight porch is where my footsteps lead
You always said I made my bed
Forty miles from nowhere
At the bottom of the world

Friends don't call like they used to for reasons not unkind
If there's anything that we can do rings hollow down a telephone line

There's a cedar grove in back of the house maybe halfway down the hill
A place to go and just lay low when there's precious time to fill
A few gravestones, a pre-civil war fence and the random arrowhead
Where the beehive swarmed three summers ago too wet the old men said
So it's me your, little lap dog and that old brindle cat trying to keep this place in line
And heading into town these days is the last thing on my mind

I weep for you
It's what I do
Forty miles from nowhere
At the bottom of the world

 

[fox69]

"Forty Winters"

"Forty Winters"


Forty winters, cold and dark
Surround you like a beauty mark

A tilt on the axises
That time of year
And the flesh of your cheekbones
Says no damage here

The first time I saw you
There was ice on the ground
And the girl in the greenhouse said
Paradise found

Forty winters, forty winters
Forty winters straight in line
Were you not my valentine?

Orange blossoms and sandal woods
Oaken moss and musk
Will fragrance your senses
From daylight till dusk

You made the simple life
Fit for a king
An oaten meal by candle light
A beautiful thing

Forty winters, forty winters
Forty winters, forty winters

Why can't I break the spell
Shake you and make you well?
What is it blinding me
That keeps you from finding me?

I know you're in there
You haven't gone somewhere
That God only knows about
Leaving me frozen out

Darling, I promise you this
I won't let you drown in the mist

Forty winters, dark and drear
Could not age you one short year

It's like I'm trapped beneath the bell jar
As big as the earth
And I'm running to reach you
For all that I'm worth

I'll bathe you and feed you
And I'll tend to your grace
But don't make me leave you
In such a dark place

I'm drunk on the bitterness
That sorrow demands
And I know that tomorrow
Is out of my hands

Until we're together
I'll sleep in the snow
And I'll love you forever
'Cause that all I know

Forty winters, forty winters
Forty winters, forty winters
Forty winters, forty winters

 

[fox69]

"Frankie Please"

"Frankie Please"


You tore through my life like a tornado looking for a trailer park
And your white trash mishmash short of cash culture clash hit the mark
We met on a Monday, here it is Sunday
It happened so fast, they said it wouldn't last
Yeah, but what do they know?
Why can't they say so now?

I was rackin' up points in the dives and the joints on the edge of town
Shooting pool, playing cool, trying to get some other fool to buy another round
Yeah, you rattle my brain like a runaway train
You scattered my past like a dynamite blast
You're some kind of woman, Frankie
Stand up and take a bow

Frankie, please don't ever give me the deep freeze
And your P's and Q's and don'ts and do's are all the news to light my fuse
Don't change nothing
Not on a dare
Ever since you hit here I've been walking on air
I didn't see you coming, Frankie
Now I can't let you go

And you stole into my heart like a thief with the cutting torch, did you not?
And your can't miss, first kiss told me this, don't resist what you got
All out of nowhere, I'm caught in your crosshair
Shagged, fragged, bagged, tagged, it's like I lost every battle
But still I won the war

Frankie, please don't ever give me the deep freeze
In the time we've got let's tie the knot and fire the shot that hits the spot
Lord, have mercy, hallowed be
It ain't a pretty picture, but it's working on me
I'm a fool for you, Frankie, don't let me let you go
Ah, you're one in a million, Frankie
That's all I need you to know

 

[fox69]

"Funky And The Farm-Boy"

"Funky And The Farm-Boy"


Funky 'bout charm, funky 'bout wit
Funky 'bout funky, funky 'bout grit
Funky 'bout sparkle, funky 'bout shine
Funky 'bout farm boy walkin' that line

She's got tattoo hugging her hip-bone, y'all
Barefoot Jerry bangin' them headphones squall
Black mascara framin' them big green eyes
Funky got farm boy long about hypnotized

Funky 'bout sweet, funky 'bout low
Funky 'bout hustle, funky 'bout flow
Funky 'bout Memphis, funky 'bout trains
Funky 'bout farm boy takin' them reins

Platform flip-flop's making them legs look good
Close-cropped tank top destined for Hollywood
Hip-chick lipstick flaming like a red taillight
Funky got farm boy bringing it home tonight

Funky 'bout style, funky 'bout class
Funky 'bout street, y'all, funky 'bout sass
Funky 'bout long, funky 'bout lean
Funky 'bout farm boy slinging that green

No-tell motel screaming like day-glow paint
Bonsoir boudoir making Versailles look quaint
Cartoon full moon shinin' like a disco ball
Funky got farm boy walkin' round ten feet tall
Funky got farm boy walkin' round ten feet tall

 

[fox69]

"Give My Heart A Rest"

"Give My Heart A Rest"


I've tried to make the most out of a hopeless situation
But turning something wrong into something right
But everything I do brings out the worst in you
Seems we always wind up gettin' in a fight
I tell our friends again it's just a phase we're going through
It's the kind of trouble you know that won't ever last
But the farther down I go and the more I think I know
We've headed down a rough and rocky path

So if you love me like you say you really love me
Why you wanna put me to the test
Yeah if you don't want me it won't disappoint me
I just wanna give my heart a rest

I try to rise above the petty gossip of this town
I try to keep my nose clean and my eyes open wide
But people talk so much it's hard to stay in touch
With the way you really feel down deep inside
Oh the sound of rolling thunder keeps on calling out to me
Way out on the highway is the place I wanna be
It's hard to make it work when I feel just like a jerk
And the past's the only future that I see

So if you love me like you say you really love me
Why you wanna put me to the test
Yeah if you don't want me it won't disappoint me
I just wanna give my heart a rest
Yeah, I just wanna give my heart a rest
Yeah, I just wanna give my heart a rest

 

[fox69]

"Glasgow Girl"

"Glasgow Girl"


I'm stuck out on the Ring Road, tonight the stars are crossed
If I don't find my way around soon, I'm sure to end up lost
Sheffield has that certain mix of danger and despair
I need to roll these windows down and breathe the cold night air

I said goodbye to Camden Town as night was falling fast
In a borrowed, beat up step van and a tank of petrol gas
And I'm riding on the wrong side like some blue Yank flyboy clown
I'm trying to read these road signs while I'm staring headlights down

Glasgow Girl, skin like milk, hair black silk
And eye's like cobalt pearl

The Glasgow Girl assured me she liked my Texas drawl
And if I ever passed that way again I should be sure to call
I tracked her down to Aberdeen, and I'm trying to get up north
Across the Scottish lowlands far beyond the Firth of Forth

Glasgow Girl, skin like milk, hair black silk
And eye's like cobalt pearl

The Roman's built these roads to last another thousand years
And I'm riding around in circles like it starts and ends right here
The raindrops on my windshield now have turned to ice and snow
I'm stuck out on the Ring Road with a million miles to go

Glasgow Girl, skin like milk, hair black silk
And eye's like cobalt pearl
Skin like milk, hair black silk
And eye's like cobalt pearl

 

[fox69]

"God I'm Missing You"

"God I'm Missing You"


I heard a siren and you came to mind
You were the pretty part of us
I'm what's left behind
The equation's remainder
The last standing sign
God, I'm missing you

Your mouth's still so soft
Your countenance fair
Time stretches to shape you
Right out of thin air
But it can't hold the image
If I blink you're not there
God, I'm missing you

Are you gone forever?
Are you gone for good?
Or have I gone crazy
Wishing you would?
Come around the next corner
Step off of that train
Your old black umbrella
Face half in the rain
God, I'm missing you

You're every curled rose bud
Enchanting my eye
Each turned-up coat collar
And your gaze slides by
There's a sanded-down moon
In a tarpaper sky
God, I'm missing you

The night's down to nothing
The stars have withdrawn
The horizon splits open
That silvery dawn
But the ghost of your breathing
Won't leave me alone
God, I'm missing you

Are you gone forever?
Are you gone for good?
Or have I gone crazy
Wishing you would?
Come around the next corner
Step off of that train
Your old black umbrella
Face half in the rain
God, I'm missing you

God, I'm missing you
God, I'm missing you
God, I'm missing you

 

[fox69]

"Grandma Loved That Old Man"

"Grandma Loved That Old Man"


My grandfather wore big suspenders
A grey fedora hat, a shine on his shoes
Tobacco stains on his chin, gin on his breath
And starch in his shirt

He always had change in his pockets
A watch in his vest, tie-tacked to his chest
His was crap-shootin' crazy
A hungover, lazy, wrestling match fan
I'll never forget how my grandma loved that old man

He was a night watchman down on Canal Street
A salty old bird, a man a few words
He was Friday night vain, he walked with a cane
Smoked Prince Albert in a can
I'll never forget how my grandma loved that old man

She was strong in her spirit, strong in her heart
Loved that old man right from the start
Sometimes I did wonder how much she could take
She was pushed to the limit but she never did break
Her life followed one simple plan, grandma loved that old man

His tree trunks were whitewashed, sidewalks were clean
Beer joints were crawling with Merchant Marines
He went to his grave with a barber shop shave and his dice in his hand

I'll never forget how my grandma loved that old man
I'll never forget how my grandma loved that old man
I'll never forget how much grandma loved that old man