Steve Earle

[fox69]

"Baby Let Me Follow You Down"

"Baby Let Me Follow You Down"



Baby, let me follow you down

Baby let me follow you down
Baby let me follow you down
Well I'll do anything in this God Almighty world
If you'll just let me follow you down

Can I come home with you?
I said can I come home with you?
Well I'll do anything in this God Almighty world
If you'll just let me follow you down.

I'll buy you a diamond ring.
I'll buy you a wedding gown
And I'll do anything in this God Almighty world
If you'll just let me follow you down.

 

[fox69]

"Baby's In Black"

"Baby's In Black"



Oh dear, what can I do?
Baby's in black and I'm feeling blue,
Tell me, oh what can I do?
She thinks of him and so she dresses in black,
And though he'll never come back, she's dressed in black.
Oh dear, what can I do?
Baby's in black and I'm feeling blue,
Tell me, oh what can I do?
I think of her, but she only thinks of him,
And though it's only a whim, she thinks of him.
Oh how long will it take,
Till she sees the mistake she has made?
Dear what can I do?
Baby's in black and I'm feeling blue,
Tell me, oh what can I do?
Oh how long it will take,
Till she sees the mistake she has made?
Dear what can I do?
Baby's in black and I'm feeling blue,
Tell me, oh what can I do?
She thinks of him and so she dresses in black,
And though he'll never come back, she's dressed in black.
Oh dear, what can I do?
Baby's in black and I'm feeling blue,
Tell me, oh what can I do?

 

[fox69]

"Baby's Just As Mean As Me"
(feat. Eleanor Whitmore)

"Baby's Just As Mean As Me"
(feat. Eleanor Whitmore)



Sometime my baby locks me out
Stomps her feet, screams and shouts
I know what that's all about
My baby's just as mean as me

Sometimes my man don't treat me right
Shame the way we fuss and fight
But I get as good as get alright
My baby's just as mean as me

He's kinda loud and rough
Drinks wine and all that stuff
Sometimes I've had enough, then he smiles
And I reckon I can stay for a while

They say that love is blind
Especially the passionate kind
I don't have to apologize
My baby's just as mean as me

Hard times they come and go
She's mine as I'm a boat

Heard them say that love is blind
Especially the passionate kind
I don't have to apologize
My baby's just as mean as me
My baby's just as mean as me

 

[fox69]

"Back To The Wall"

"Back To The Wall"



Well sometimes in the evenings I start to get that feeling
Like I'm empty inside
I know I'm doin' good now but tonight I'm headed downtown
Down by the riverside
I sit underneath the freeway with an old friend from the old days
And a bottle of wine
Well he used to call me "Big Time", and he knew someday that I'd shine
Said he'd seen all the signs
He said . .

"Keep yourself to yourself
Keep your bedroll dry
And boy you never can tell
What the shadows hide
Keep ene eve on the ground
Pick up whatever you find
'Cause you've got no place to fall
When your back's to the wall"

He's gettin' old and it's showin' when I asked him how it's goin'
He said "I've seen better I guess
I've been rained on, I've been frozen, but this here's the life I've chosen
If it just wasn't for the loneliness"

Now this river suits me to a T. but if you're trying to raise a family
It ain't no place to be
There's a kid down by the dump there, ought to be in grade school somewhere
Now he hangs out with me
And I told him . . ."

Well we finished off the bottle and I told him,"Joe I think I ought to
Be headed uptown"
Well it was late, and I'd been drinkin', drivin' home I got to thinkin'
'Bout what's been going down

Cause they're nervous down on Wall Street, but they're trying to keep it upbeat
Or maybe they just don't care
But down at the river eyes are burnin' cause they feel the tables turnin'
So if you wind up down there...

 

[fox69]

"Before They Make Me Run"

"Before They Make Me Run"



Worked the bars and sideshows along the twilight zone
Only a crowd can make you feel so alone
And it really hit home
Booze and pills and powders, you can choose your medicine
Well here's another goodbye to another good friend

After all is said and done
Gotta move while it's still fun
Let me walk before they make me run
After all is said and done
I Gotta move, it's still fun
I'm gonna walk before they make me run

Watched the taillights fading, there ain't a dry eye in the house
They're laughing and singing
Started dancing and drinking as I left town
Gonna find my way to heaven, 'cause I did my time in hell
I wasn't looking too good but I was feeling real well

After all is said and done
I gotta move I had my fun
Let us walk before they make me run

After all is said and done
I did alright, I had my fun
I will walk before they make me run

 

[fox69]

"Ben McCulloch"

"Ben McCulloch"


We signed up in San Antone my brother Paul and me
To fight with Ben McCulloch and the Texas infantry
Well the poster said we'd get a uniform and seven bucks a week
The best rations in the army and a rifle we could keep
When I first laid eyes on the general I knew he was a fightin' man
He was every inch a soldier every word was his command
Well his eyes were cold as the lead and steel forged into tools of war
He took the lives of many and the souls of many more

Well they marched us to Missouri and we hardly stopped for rest
Then he made this speech and said we're comin' to the test
Well we've got to take Saint Louie boys before the yankees do
If we control the Mississippi then the Federals are through

Well they told us that our enemy would all be dressed in blue
They forgot about the winter's cold and the cursed fever too
My brother died at Wilson's creek and Lord I seen him fall
We fell back to the Boston Mountains in the North of Arkansas

[Chorus:]
Goddamn you Ben McCulloch
I hate you more than any other man alive
And when you die you'll be a foot soldier just like me
In the devil's infantry

And on the way to Fayetteville we cursed McCulloch`s name
And mourned the dead that we'd left behind and we was carrying the lame
I killed a boy the other night who'd never even shaved
I don't even know what I'm fightin' for I ain't never owned a slave

So I snuck out of camp and then I heard the news next night
The Yankees won the battle and McCulloch lost his life

 

[fox69]

"Better Off Alone"

"Better Off Alone"



If you want to there’s the door
Can’t imagine what you’re waiting for
‘Cause I know you ain’t the kind to ever change your mind

And though
I taught you everything you know
I learned a thing or two myself and so I’m gonna miss you when you’re gone but I’m better off alone

I
Can’t say that I’m surprised
‘Cause that leavin’ look was in your eyes for some time now and I knew
I was losing you

You
Ain’t never anything but blue
And now you say you found somebody new you can lay that burden on
Guess I’m better off alone

Say what you think you gotta say
Just don’t tell me you changed your mind and you’re gonna stay I can’t tell you what I’d do then
‘Cause I just cant go through that

Again
‘Cause it almost killed me then and I guess I shoulda known that I’m better off alone
And it’s clear the story’s shown I’m better off alone

 

[fox69]

"Billy And Bonnie"

"Billy And Bonnie"



Billy was 17 and mean as hell
Bonnie said she was 30, it was hard to tell
Billy met Bonnie on a Saturday night
At the dirt track races, it was love at first sight
Bonnie was wilder than the west wind blows
Taught Billy every single thing he knows
But she never told billy what she left out
The part about the trouble when your times runs out
When the thrill is gone, when your deal goes south
It's all over when your time runs out

Bonnie said, "Billy, don't you think it's time
We moved on a little further down the line"
So they knocked off a Texaco south of town
Blew down the highway with the ragtop down
Billy woke Bonnie up about first light
Said, "You drive honey, I've been up all night"
Now Billy wasn't sweatin' no APB
'Cause they didn't leave a single soul alive to see

The boy was just 16, made his mama proud
That don't mean nothin' when your time runs out

Bonnie kept pushin' that Cadillac
Billy passed out with the seat reared back
Slept through Louisiana, then just past dark
Bonnie pulled over in a roadside park
Left Billy sleeping and she called the cops
He never knew nothin' when the dime was dropped
Bonnie knew what she had to do
She called the sheriff and she cried on cue

And the state police rousted Billy out
He was dreaming about Bonnie when his time ran out

The sheriff told Billy, "Boy, you're bound to die
'Cause this young lady's gonna testify
That you done took her off against her will
And she told us about the robbery and the boy you killed"
The judge said, "Billy, what you got to say
Before I have the sheriff carry you away"
Billy looked Bonnie right in the eye
But he didn't even have to ask her why
But he turned around as they led him out

He said, "I'll see you down in hell when your time runs out"

 

[fox69]

"Billy Austin"

"Billy Austin"



My name is Billy Austin
I'm Twenty-Nine years old
I was born in Oklahoma
Quarter Cherokee I'm told
Don't remember Oklahoma
Been so long since I left home
Seems like I've always been in prison
Like I've always been alone
Didn't mean to hurt nobody
Never thought I'd cross that line
I held up a filling station
Like I'd done a hundred times
The kid done like I told him
He lay face down on the floor
Guess I'll never know what made me
Turn and walk back through that door
The shot rang out like thunder
My ears rang like a bell
No one came runnin'
So I called the cops myself
Took their time to get there
And I guess I could'a run
I knew I should be feeling something
But I never shed tear one
I didn't even make the papers
'Cause I only killed one man
But my trial was over quickly
And then the long hard wait began
Court appointed lawyer
Couldn't look me in the eye
He just stood up and closed his briefcase
When they sentenced me to die
Now my waitin's over
As the final hour drags by
I ain't about to tell you
That I don't deserve to die
But there's twenty-seven men here
Mostly black, brown and poor
Most of em are guilty
Who are you to say for sure?
So when the preacher comes to get me
And they shave off all my hair
Could you take that long walk with me
Knowing hell is waitin' there
Could you pull that switch yourself sir
With a sure and steady hand
Could you still tell youself
That you're better than I am
My name is Billy Austin
I'm twenty-nine years old
I was born in Oklahoma
Quarter Cherokee I'm told

 

[fox69]

"Blue Yodel #9"

"Blue Yodel #9"



Standing on the corner
I didn't mean no harm
When a big policeman
Grabbed me by the arm
Now, it was down in Memphis
On the corner of Beale and Main
He said "Now, hey big boy
I'm gonna have to know your name"

Now, you can find my name
On the tail of my shirt
I'm a Tennessee hustler
And I never have to work
But I'm telling all you rounders
You best leave my women alone
I'll take my .38 Special
And I'll run you rounders home