Steve Earle

[fox69]

"Over Yonder (Jonathan's Song)"

"Over Yonder (Jonathan's Song)"



The warden said he'd mail my letter
The chaplain's waitin' by the door
Tonight we'll cross the yard together
Then they can't hurt me anymore

I am going over yonder
Where no ghost can follow me
There's another place beyond here
Where I'll be free I believe

Give my radio to Johnson
Thibodeaux can have my fan
Send my Bible home to Mama
Call her every now and then

I suppose I got it comin'
I can't ever pay enough
All my rippin' and a runnin'
I hurt everyone I loved

The world'll turn around without me
The sun'll come up in the east
Shinin' down on all of them that hate me
I hope my goin' brings 'em peace

 

[fox69]

"Oxycontin Blues"

"Oxycontin Blues"



Well my daddy worked in the coal mine
Till the company shut it down
Then he sat around and drank hisself blind
Till we put him back underground
Now nothin' grows on this mountain
And what's a poor boy to do?
Except to wander these hills forgotten
With the oxycontin blues

Well I never cared much for whiskey
'Cause it only made daddy mean
Wrapped a little bit tight they tell me
For the methamphetamine
Then my cousin come up from Knoxville
And he taught me a thing or two
Now I'm headed nowhere but downhill
With the oxycontin blues

Got a dollar bill in my pocket
Got a half a tank in my truck
I'm gonna go and pawn grandma's locket
Hell, maybe it'll change my luck
Ain't nothin gonna be right no how
'Cause I know I can't ever lose
This devil that's draggin' me down
And the oxycontin blues

 

[fox69]

"Pancho And Lefty"

"Pancho And Lefty"



Livin' on the road, my friend
Was gonna keep you free and clean
And now you wear your skin like iron
And your breath as hard as kerosene

Weren't you mama's only boy
But her favorite one, it seems
She began to cry when you said, "Goodbye"
Sank into your dreams

Pancho was a bandit, boy
His horse was fast as polished steel
He wore his gun outside his pants
For all the honest world to feel

Pancho met his match, you know
On the deserts down in Mexico
Nobody heard his dyin' words
But that's the way it goes

All the federales say
"They could have had him any day"
They only let him slip away
Out of kindness, I suppose

Lefty he can't sing the blues
All night long like he used to
The dust that Pancho bit down south
Ended up in lefty's mouth

The day they laid poor Pancho low
Lefty split for Ohio
Where he got the bread to go
There ain't nobody knows

All the federales say
"They could have had him any day"
We only let him slip away
Out of kindness, I suppose

The poets tell how Pancho fell
And lefty's livin' in a cheap hotel
The desert's quiet and Cleveland's cold
And so the story ends, we're told

Pancho needs your prayers, it's true
But save a few for lefty, too
He only did what he had to do
And now he's growin' old

All the federales say
"We could have had him any day"
They only let him go so long
Out of kindness, I suppose

A few old gray federales say
"Could have had him any day"
We only let him go so long
Out of kindness, I suppose

 

[fox69]

"Pilgrim"

"Pilgrim"



I am just a pilgrim on this road, boys
This ain't never been my home
Sometimes the road was rocky 'long the way, boys
But I was never travelin' alone

We'll meet again on some bright highway
Songs to sing and tales to tell
But I am just a pilgrim on this road, boys
Until I see you fare thee well

Ain't no need to cry for me, boys
Somewhere down the road you'll understand
'Cause I expect to touch his hand, boys
Put a word in for you if I can

 

[fox69]

"Pocket Full Of Rain"

"Pocket Full Of Rain"



Boys out on the corner
The way they were before
But me I don’t go down there
With my money anymore
Yeah I can still remember when
It used to kill the pain
But I woke up every mornin’
With a pocketful of rain

Ain’t like it’s been easy
I been up and down
And lately I can’t seem to keep
My chin up off the ground
But I’d rather eat a pound of dirt than
Taste that taste again
And a world of hurt is better than
A pocket full of rain

Talk about the devil and up he jump
Down beside the levee on a hollow stump
Shakin’ like a window girl in Amsterdam
I don’t wanna be no closer than I am
To tell you he’s the devil
‘Cause I know all his names
And I know all his faces well
He’s the devil just the same
He’ll look you in the eye and lie
And promise anything
Leave you cold and empty as
A pocket full of rain

 

[fox69]

"Poison Lovers"

"Poison Lovers"


I was almost out of here
Nearly left this time
I saw you in my rearview mirror
And I pulled up on a dime
But nothin' ventured, nothin' lost
You can't say we didn't try
That is unless you weigh the cost
Of every tear we cried

[Chorus:]
Why do we do this to each other
I guess we were always poison lovers

If you could look me in the eye
And tell me what you see
Maybe you can tell me why
I let you torture me
I know that your lips are soft
And they sing the sweetest songs
But I've been listenin' long enough
My heart has turned to stone

[Chorus]

Another time, another place
Another wind to blame
Cover every track and trace
I'll find you just the same
And even if we made our peace
And went our separate ways
You'd go west and I'd go east
And we'd meet here in this place

[Chorus 2x]

 

[fox69]

"Poor Boy"

"Poor Boy"



I was born on the other side of town
Everybody over there just puts me down
I never thought about it much, 'til the first time I saw you
Uh-oh, what's a poor boy gonna do
It's bad enough to love you from afar
Me down here and you up where you are
If you hadn't given me that look, that's all it took it's true
U-oh, what's a poor boy gonna do

Baby what's a poor boy got, not a heck of a lot
Just a heart that's true
One thing he sure doesn't need is a heart that bleeds
And these lovesick blues

I know o poor boy can't go far
Baby, maybe someday drive your car
I can look in my rearview, into those eyes of blue
Uh-oh what's a poor boy gonna do

 

[fox69]

"Promise You Anything"

"Promise You Anything"



No curtains on my window
Outside the sun is sinking low
I feel you letting go
I will promise you anything
Wind whispering in your ear
I'll tell you what you want to hear
If you'll only let me near
I will promise you anything

Well, I don't have to prove my intentions are golden
I don't have to tell you where we're goin'
Feel somethin' wild baby out there blowin'
If you follow me

Run with me if you dare
Hold on I'm gonna take you there
Solemn as a prayer
I will promise you anything

No curtains on my window
Outside the moon is hangin' low
True colors start to show
I will promise you anything

 

[fox69]

"Racing In The Street"

"Racing In The Street"



I got a sixty-nine Chevy with a 396
Fuelie heads and a Hurst on the floor
She's waiting tonight down in the parking lot
Outside the Seven-Eleven store
Me and my partner Sonny built her straight out of scratch
And he rides with me from town to town
We only run for the money got no strings attached
We shut 'em up and then we shut 'em down

Tonight tonight the strip's just right
I wanna blow 'em off in my first heat
Summer's here and the time is right
We're goin' racin' in the street

We take all the action we can meet
And we cover all the northeast state
When the strip shuts down we run 'em in the street
From the fire roads to the interstate
Some guys they just give up living
And start dying little by little piece by piece
Some guys come home from work and wash up
Then go racin' in the street

Tonight tonight the strip's just right
I wanna blow 'em all out of their seats
Calling out around the world
We're going racin' in the street

I met her on the strip three years ago
In a Camaro with this dude from L.A.
I blew that Camaro off my back and drove that little girl away
But now there's wrinkles around my baby's eyes
And she cries herself to sleep at night
When I come home the house is dark
She sighs "Baby did you make it all right"
She sits on the porch of her daddy's house
But all her pretty dreams are torn
She stares off alone into the night
With the eyes of one who hates for just being born

For all the shut-down strangers and hot rod angels
Rumbling through this promised land
Tonight my baby and me we're gonna ride to the sea
And wash these sins off our hands

Tonight tonight the highway's bright
Out of our way mister you best keep
'Cause summer's here and the time is right
We're goin' racin' in the street

 

[fox69]

"Rake"

"Rake"



I used to wake and run with the moon
I lived like a rake and a young man
I covered my lovers with flowers and wounds
My laughter, the Devil would frighten

The sun, she would come and beat me back down
But every cruel day had its nightfall
I'd welcome the stars with wine and guitars
Full of fire and forgetful

My body was sharp, the dark air clean
And outrage my joyful companion
Whisperin' women, how sweet did they seem
Kneelin' for me to command them

And time was like water but I was the sea
I'd have never noticed it passin'
Except for the turnin' of night into day
And the turnin' of day into cursin'

You look at me now and don't think I don't know
What all your eyes are a sayin'
Does he want us to believe these ravings and lies
They're just tricks that his brains been a playin'?

A lover of women, he can't hardly stand
He trembles, he's bent and he's broken
I've fallen it's true but I say unto you
Hold your tongues until after I've spoken

I was takin' my pride in the pleasures I'd known
I laughed and thought I'd be forgiven
But my laughter turned 'round eyes blazing and
Said my friend, we're holdin' a wedding

I buried my face but it spoke once again
The night to the day we're a bindin'
And now the dark air is like fire on my skin
And even the moonlight is blinding