Steve Earle

[fox69]

"Dixieland"

"Dixieland"



I am Kilrain and I'm a fightin' man and I come from County Clare
And the Brits would hang me for a Fenian so I took me leave of there
And I crossed the ocean in the "Arrianne" the vilest tub afloat
And the captain's brother was a railroad man and he met us the boat
So I joined up with the 20th Maine like I said my friend I'm a fighting man
And we're marchin' south in the pouring rain and we're all goin' down to Dixieland

I am Kilrain of the 20th Maine and we fight for Chamberlain
'Cause he stood right with us when the Johnnies came like a banshee on the wind
When the smoke cleared out of Gettysburg many a mother wept
For many a good boy died there, sure, and the air smelted just like death

I am Kilrain of the 20th Maine and I'd march to hell and back again
For Colonel Joshua Chamberlain - we're all goin' down to Dixieland

I am Kilrain of the 20th Maine and I damn all gentlemen
Whose only worth is their father's name and the sweat of a workin' man
Well we come from the farms and the city streets and a hundred foreign lands
And we spilled our blood in the battle's heat
Now we're all Americans

I am Kilrain of the 20th Maine and did I tell you friend I'm a fightin' man
And I'll not be back this way again, 'cause we're all goin' down to Dixieland

 

[fox69]

"Don't Take It Too Bad"

"Don't Take It Too Bad"



Well, don't you take it too bad
If you're feelin' unlovin'
If you're feelin' unfeelin'
If you're feelin' alone
Don't take it too bad

'Cause it ain't you to blame, babe
Lord, it's some kind of game, babe
Out of all of this living
That we've got left to do

And if you go searching
For rhyme or for reason
Then you won't have the time
That it takes just for talkin'

About the places you've been, babe
About the faces you've seen, babe
And how soft the time flies
Past your window at night

And we just can't have that, girl
'Cause it's a sad, lonesome, cold world
And a man needs a woman
Just to stand by his side

And whisper sweet words in his ears about daydreams
And roses and playthings
And the sweetness of springtime
And the sound of the rain

 

[fox69]

"Don't Take Your Guns To Town"

"Don't Take Your Guns To Town"



A young cowboy named Billy Joe grew restless on the farm
A boy filled with wanderlust, who really meant no harm.
He changed his clothes and shined his boots,
And combed his dark hair down.
And his mother cried as he walked out
"Don't take your guns to town.
Son, leave your guns at home.
Bill, don't take your guns to town."

He laughed and kissed his mom and said "Your Billy Joe's a man.
I can shoot as quick and straight as anybody can.
But I wouldn't shoot without a cause, I'd gun nobody down."
But she cried again as he rode away,
"Don't take your guns to town.
Son, leave your guns at home.
Bill, don't take your guns to town."

He sang a song as on he rode, his guns hung at his hips.
He rode into a cattle town, a smile upon his lips.
He stopped and walked into a bar, and laid his money down.
But his mother's words echoed again,
"Don't take your guns to town.
Son, leave your guns at home.
Bill, don't take your guns to town."

He drank his first strong liquor then, to calm his shaking hand.
And tried to tell himself at last he had become a man.
A dusty cowpoke at his side began to laugh him down.
And he heard again his mother's words:
"Don't take your guns to town.
Son, leave your guns at home.
Bill, don't take your guns to town."

Filled with rage then, Billy Joe reached for his gun to draw.
But the stranger drew his gun and fired, before he even saw.
As Billy Joe fell to the floor, the crowd all gathered round.
And wondered at his final words,
"Don't take your guns to town.
Son, leave your guns at home.
Bill, Don't take your guns to town."

 

[fox69]

"Down Here Below"

"Down Here Below"



Pale male the famous redtail hawk performs wingstands high above midtown Manhattan
Circles around for one last pass over the park
Got his eye on a fat squirrel down there and a couple of pigeons
They got no place to run they got no place to hide

But pale male he's cool, see 'cause his breakfast ain't goin' nowhere
So he does a loop t loop for the tourists and the six o'clock news
Got him a penthouse view from the tip-top of the food chain, boys
He looks up and down on Fifth Ave and says "God I love this town"

But life goes on down here below
And all us mortals struggle so
We laugh and cry
And live and die
That's how it goes
For all we know
Down here below

I saw Joe Mitchell's ghost on a downtown 'A' train
He just rides on forever now that the Fulton fish market's shut down
He said 'they ain't never gonna get that smell out of the water
I don't give a damn how much of that new money they burn'

Now hell's kitchen's Clinton and the Bowery's Nolita
And the East Village's creepin' 'cross the Williamsburg Bridge
And hey, whatever happened to alphabet city?
Ain't no place left in this town that a poor boy can go

But life goes on down here below
And all us mortals struggle so
We laugh and cry
And live and die
That's how it goes
For all we know
Down here below

Pale male swimmin' in the air
Looks like he's in heaven up there
People sufferin' everywhere
But he don't care

But life goes on down here below
And all us mortals struggle so
We laugh and cry

 

[fox69]

"Down The Road"

"Down The Road"



On the blue side of evenin'
When the darkness takes control
You start lookin' for a reason
To take your lonesome on down the road
'Cause the night is filled with strangers
All you need is one you know
And if she ain't the one you're after
Keep on lookin' on down the road

Though the miles lay long behind you
You have still got miles to go
How's love ever gonna find you
If it ain't here it's down the road

Keep on lookin' on down the road

 

[fox69]

"Down The Road Part II"

"Down The Road Part II"



Woke up in the mornin’ with the middle of nowhere blues
Nothin’ in my pocket but a ticket that I can’t use
Been hangin’ around this town and it’s startin’ to show
Down the road I go

Standin’ on the highway with the road burnin’ through my shoes
Roll over Kerouac and tell Woody Guthrie the news
Heard it said there ain’t nothin’ ahead but I don’t know
Down the road I go

Blowin’ in the wind and flyin’ like a cannonball
Never seen a city where I couldn’t find a place to fall
But it’s only a matter of time before I’m feelin’ low
Down the road I go
Daddy was a Chevy mama was a Cadillac
I was gone as soon as I was born and I ain’t been back
I’m a rounder and a friend to any old wind that blows
Down the road I go

 

[fox69]

"Elijah's Church"

"Elijah's Church"


Elijah came to Texas
To build his family a home
With his wife and new baby
And what little goods that they owned
Had a good yoke of oxen
And hand tools for clearing the land
And he built him a church
'Cause he was a God fearin' man

All of his children when there
Worshiped here through the years
On down to my granddad
He's buried 'bout 40 yards from here
It's where I was baptized
And where I took me a wife
And if I have my say so
That's where I'll rest when it's time

[Chorus:]
When I'm dead and I'm gone
Won't you carry me home
To that little white church
In my daddy's home town

'Cause Lord knows I'm some kind of sinner
But I've done come this far
And it's too late for changin'
When this race has been run
Take me back where I came from
And let me return what I took from the ground
When this body won't carry me no further
Take me back
And lay me down

This east Texas red dirt
Won't grow much of nothin' they say
'Cept tomatoes and peaches
They mostly drill for oil nowadays
And a hired hand named Regan
First made me understand
And he told me the red was the blood of my kin in the land

[Chorus]

 

[fox69]

"Ellis Unit One"

"Ellis Unit One"



I was fresh out of the service
It was back in '82
I raised some Cain when I come back to town
I left to be all I could be
Come home without a clue
Now, I married Dawn and had to settle down

So I hired on at the prison
Guess I always knew I would
Just like my dad and both my uncles done
And I worked on every cell block
Now, things're goin' good
But then they transferred me to Ellis Unit One

Swing low
Swing low
Swing low and carry me home

Well, my daddy used to talk about them long nights at the walls
And how they used to strap 'em in the chair
The kids down from the college and they'd bring their beer 'n all
'N when the lights went out, a cheer rose in the air

Well, folks just got too civilized
Sparky's gatherin' dust
'Cause no one wants to touch a smokin' gun
And since they got the injection
They don't mind as much, I guess
They just put 'em down at Ellis Unit One

Swing low
Swing low
Swing low and carry me home

Well, I've seen 'em fight like lions, boys
I've seen 'em go like lambs
And I've helped to drag 'em when they could not stand
And I've heard their mamas cryin' when they heard that big door slam
And I've seen the victim's family holdin' hands

Last night I dreamed that I woke up with straps across my chest
And something cold and black pullin' through my lungs
'N even Jesus couldn't save me though I know he did his best
But he don't live on Ellis Unit One

Swing low
Swing low
Swing low and carry me home
Swing low
Don't let go
Swing low and carry me home

 

[fox69]

"Esmeralda's Hollywood"

"Esmeralda's Hollywood"



Nights fall hard on Hollywood
The stars don't come out like they should
Up above the world so high tonight
They can't outshine the neon lights
Now the golden days are gone for good
In Esmeralda's Hollywood
She comes out when the sun is gone
But she don't have to walk alone
Cause once the darkness takes this town
She ain't the only ghost around
Waitin' by the public phone
If it don't ring she heads back home
Esmeralda, Esmeralda girl, what are you waitin' for
Esmeralda, Esmeralda, can't hang around this place no more
Searchlights rip the L.A. sky
When you look in Esmeralda's eyes
The people come from miles around
To see the kings and queens they crowned
Behind the barricades they stood
In Esmeralda's Hollywood
Aw, wait until the sun goes down
Listen for the lonely sound
Esmeralda's hanging round
No one shed a tear that day
When Esmeralda passed away
All up and down the strip they say
It was just like any other day
The evil struggled with the good
Down in Esmeralda's Hollywood

 

[fox69]

"Even When I'm Blue"

"Even When I'm Blue"



I've always heard that love is blind
But I know that there's another kind
Shines like a beacon in the night
And holds up in the morning light
Cause in mv dreams she travels with me when I run
And in my dreams she takes my hand
When I make my stand but morning always comes
And I know it's too good to be true
She loves me even when I'm blue

No one can say that I ain't tried
I keep on searching far and wide
And I know she's out there somewhere now
I'm gonna track her down somehow