Steve Earle

[fox69]

"Red Is The Color"

"Red Is The Color"



North wind blowin' like a hurricane house
Old man leanin' like he's pullin' a plow
Neck bowed, bendin' like a willow bough

Red sky color of the end of time
Bleeds dry runnin' down the center line
Wise guy pretends he doesn't see the signs

Bad news everybody talkin' 'bout
A short fuse a half an inch from burnin' out
All used up beyond a reasonable doubt

Make way for his majesty the prodigal king
Still taste the poison when you're kissin' the ring
Don't say he never gave you anything

Deep breath the calm before the storm begins
Cold sweat pretend that you ain't listenin'
Don't bet on gettin' by with that again

Short ride from here to where the beast resides
Fine line that separates the shadows inside
Make mine a double shot of cyanide

 

[fox69]

"Regular Guy"

"Regular Guy"



I'm just a regular guy
Never get rich, but I always get by
I got me a wife and a couple a kids
I done pretty much like my daddy did
He always did the best that he could
Took care of mama and us pretty good
He never got rich but he never did try
He was just a regular guy
Well the world goes around
I can't stop it
So I'll sit back and watch the sun go down
If it comes back up then this day's a good un
You know I wouldn't be that surprised
I'm just a regular guy
And I'll work until the day that I die
I'm too young to quit too old to hire
These days a man can't afford to retire
Didn't vote for nobody last time
Cause they wasn't worth a trickle down dime
But one man's promise is another man's lie
And I'm just a regular guy

 

[fox69]

"Remember Me"

"Remember Me"



Here we are sittin’ in the warm sunshine
I’m holdin’ your tiny hand in mine
And god know’s it ain’t gonna be any time
Before you’re grown
But I wasn’t young when you come along
And chances are long before that day comes
My time in this sweet ol’ world’ll be done
And I’ll be gone

You’re lookin’ at me I’m lookin’ at you
And it’s everything a grown man can do
Not to break down and cry like a fool
When you smile at me
I can only that hope I do my best
With whatever time that we got left
And when everything’s done and said
You’ll remember me

Remember me on some sunny day
When everything’s goin’ your way
‘Cause on the day you were born I prayed
That’s the way it would be
Remember me on a stormy night
When there’s no sign of shelter in sight
And you soldier on through to the light
‘Cause that’s all you see
Remember me

You got angels watchin’ over you
And your mama don’t suffer fools
And there ain’t nothin’ that she wouldn’t do for you
I don’t believe
But there’ll come a day when you’re all alone
And you’ll have to stand up on your own
And when it’s muscle and blood and bone
Remember me

 

[fox69]

"Rex's Blues"

"Rex's Blues"



Ride the blue wind high and free
She'll lead you down through misery
Leave you low, come time to go
Alone and low as low can be

If I had a nickel I'd find a game
If I won a dollar I'd make it rain
If it rained an ocean I'd drink it dry
And lay me down dissatisfied

Legs to walk and thoughts to fly
Eyes to laugh and lips to cry
A restless tongue to classify
All born to grow and grown to die

So tell my baby I said so long
Tell my mother I did no wrong
Tell my brother to watch his own
And tell my friends to mourn me none

I'm chained upon the face of time
Feelin' full of foolish rhyme
There ain't no dark till something shines
I'm bound to leave this dark behind

Ride the blue wind high and free
She'll lead you down through misery
Leave you low, come time to go
Alone and low as low can be

 

[fox69]

"Rich Man's War"

"Rich Man's War"



Jimmy joined the army 'cause he had no place to go
There ain't nobody hirin'
'round here since all the jobs went
Down to Mexico
Reckoned that he'd learn himself a trade maybe see the world
Move to the city someday and marry a black haired girl
Somebody somewhere had another plan
Now he's got a rifle in his hand
Rollin' into Baghdad wonderin' how he got this far
Just another poor boy off to fight a rich man's war

Bobby had an eagle and a flag tattooed on his arm
Red white and blue to the bone when he landed in Kandahar
Left behind a pretty young wife and a baby girl
A stack of overdue bills and went off to save the world
Been a year now and he's still there
Chasin' ghosts in the thin dry air
Meanwhile back at home the finance company took his car
Just another poor boy off to fight a rich man's war

When will we ever learn
When will we ever see
We stand up and take our turn
And keep tellin' ourselves we're free

Ali was the second son of a second son
Grew up in Gaza throwing bottles and rocks when the tanks would come
Ain't nothin' else to do around here just a game children play
Somethin' 'bout livin' in fear all your life makes you hard that way

He answered when he got the call
Wrapped himself in death and praised Allah
A fat man in a new Mercedes drove him to the door
Just another poor boy off to fight a rich man's war

 

[fox69]

"Rivers Of Babylon"

"Rivers Of Babylon"


[Adaptation of Psalm 137]

By the rivers of Babylon
Where he sat down
And there he wept
When he remember Zion

It was the wicked

[Chorus:]
Carry us away captivity
Require from us a song
How can we sing King Alfa's song
In a strange land

 

[fox69]

"San Antonio Girl"

"San Antonio Girl"



Since I first saw you I've been thinkin' about you
And now I'm out here on the highway goin' crazy without you
I can't help but want you girl, you're young and you're pretty
But somehow I can't see you up in New York City
I'm gonna leave you alone in your own little world
But won't you be my San Antonio girl
Be my San Antonio girl
Be my, be my, be my, San Antonio girl

Now I know you've heard the stories bout life in the fast lane
What they didn't tell you is you come home on a slow train
I'd just as soon remember you the way that I found you
Dancin' by yourself with the stars all around you

 

[fox69]

"Satellite Radio"

"Satellite Radio"



Top of my shift-frog in my throat-sleep in my eyes
Startin' to drift, cuppa hot joe, checkin' the sky
Never can tell, makin' my list, checkin' it twice
Fasten my belt, flippin' my switch, checkin' my mic

Is there anybody out there? One-two-three on the satellite radio?
Big daddy on the air, are you listenin' to me? On the satellite radio
At the galaxy's end where the stars burn bright are you tunin' in and turnin' on?
Is there anybody listenin' to earth tonight on the satellite radio?

Listen to the radio
Listen to the radio

Turn it on
Turn it up

What if they're right? What if I'm wrong? What if we're kings?
One of these nights-play the right song-telephone rings
Stone in the sea, shot in the dark, splittin' the air
Listen to me, kindle the spark, answer my prayer

Is there anybody out there? One-two-three on the satellite radio?
Does anybody care, are you listenin' to me? On the satellite radio
At the galaxy's end where the stars burn bright, are you tunin' in and turnin' on?
Is there anybody listenin' to us tonight on the satellite radio?

Listen to the radio
Listen to the radio

Turn it on

Is there anybody out there? One-two-three on the satellite radio?
Big daddy on the air, are you listenin' to me? On the satellite radio
At the galaxy's end where the stars burn bright, are you tunin' in and turnin' on?
Is there anybody listenin' to earth tonight on the satellite radio?

Is there anybody out there? One-two-three on the satellite radio?
Big daddy on the air, are you listenin' to me? On the satellite radio
At the galaxy's end where the stars burn bright, are you tunin' in and turnin' on?
Is there anybody listenin' to earth tonight on the satellite radio?

Listen to the radio

 

[fox69]

"Saturday Night And Sunday Morning"

"Saturday Night And Sunday Morning"



If I was Saturday night
And you were Sunday morning
For a fleeting moment we could touch at midnight
And in that moment, could you really know me?
But I am looking 'cross the river
Longing to be near
The water is too wide, I can not reach you
I'm as close as I can ever hope to be

And if I was Winter dying
And you the virgin Spring
Gladly to your warmth I would surrender
To melt the snows and set the rivers free
But I am standing on the mountain
Longing to be near
Heaven is too high, I can not reach you
I'm as close as I can ever hope to be

And if you were the water that He turned into wine
And you could satisfy a drunkard's thirst
Well, I'd surely drink until I could not see
But I am lost in the Devil's storm
Longing to be near
The wind, it blows too hard, I can not reach you
I'm as close as I can ever hope to be

And if I was Saturday night
And you were Sunday morning
For a fleeting moment we could touch at midnight
And in that moment, could you really know me?

 

[fox69]

"Shadowland"

"Shadowland"


Way out yonder, where the wild wind blows
There's a place there lonely fools can go
Where if you hold your money, it'll burn your hand
So you buy you a ticket to the shadowland

[Chorus:]
Down the highway, down the road I'm bound
And my heart keeps poundin' and the wheels go 'round
And it's a hard place for a mortal man
And a heartbroke pilgrim in the shadowland

Yeah, when I was younger I could hold my own
My right hand was thunder and my left was stone
Now I ain't as handsome as I was back then
So I'm takin' my chances in the shadowland

[Chorus]

Been down a thousand highways and they're all the same
Another empty place where I can hide my shame
And there's a heartache waitin' up around the bend
For a lonesome stranger in the shadowland

[Chorus]