1. |
Goodbye
04:31
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It's been nearly fifteen years gone
And it looks like I'm still on the run.
Running from the past or from my obligations
Or running after some new sensation.
Everybody asks me when I'll settle down,
Change my ways, stop wandering around.
I wish I knew what kept me on the road.
Why every time I turn around, it's time to go.
All I seem to do is say goodbye.
I never set out to be this way.
Hand to mouth, day by day.
Living on the kindness of friends and strangers.
The only thing that I can rely on is changes.
I got family out west and friends back in the east.
My true love's up north in the cold rain and sleet.
I make the rounds and see them now and then
But it's never too long before I'm out the door again.
All I seem to do is say goodbye.
It's been so long since I stood still
I can't help but wonder if I've got the will.
Maybe I'm scared of what I would show
If I stayed somewhere enough to be known.
Or maybe I'm just born to roam
With no strong roots and no place to call home.
Not all our lives are supposed to wind up the same
And not all our troubles got obvious blame.
All I seem to do is say goodbye.
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2. |
He Was a Friend of Mine
03:27
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He, he was a friend of mine
He, he was a friend of mine
Poison in his blood stream, it drove him over the line
But he was a friend of mine, now he’s dead and gone
He never did fit in
He was like my shadow twin
Where I was weak and striving for light, he was pure and drawn into sin
But he was a friend of mine, now he’s dead and gone
He was a shattered soul
He’d be the first to let you know
Smart enough to know better, but lost and out of control
But he was a friend of mine, now he’s dead and gone
He never left my mind
No he wasn’t the forgettable kind
For years I looked into every stranger’s face, but he wasn’t anywhere to find
But he was a friend of mine, now he’s dead and gone
He was living on borrowed time
Maybe I could’ve helped him if I really tried
Don’t matter if it was accident or if it was suicide
He was a friend of mine, now he’s dead and gone
He will ever be eighteen
He won’t be remembered as the dying man that I seen
I say it out of love, it ain’t judgment that I mean
But he was a friend of mine, now he’s dead and gone
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3. |
The Ballad of Fannie P.
04:18
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Well nobody knows how this story really goes
But some people say that it happened this way:
I don't know if it’s true or it's not
But after what I've been through, it's all that I've got.
There was a gal and Fannie was her name.
She come from the land of the cold snow and rain.
She had blue eyes like ice and dirty blond hair.
Lovely to look upon and a voice so fair.
But don't you be deceived by the sweetness of her looks.
Remember what they say about judging them books.
She could plug a nickel from thirty yards back.
And she could draw a six-gun at the dropping of a hat.
Well nobody knows why she done what she done.
Maybe money or passion, or just plain old fun.
But one day something just gripped Fannie P.
And she wound up going on a killing spree.
Fannie, Fannie P.
Please don't murder me.
Take all I got to give,
But just let me live
Please don't murder me.
She stood nearly 6 feet with a smile in her eye,
But if that smile faded, you knew you're gonna die.
A knife in her boot, two colts at her waist,
She hid a shotgun in an old accordion case.
She rode a beat-up old mare through the wind in the night
And when she came to town all the men took flight.
She never harmed a woman or a child.
Some swore her temperament was patient and mild.
Fannie, Fannie P.
Please don't murder me.
If you let me live long,
I'll put you in song.
Please don't murder me.
I was tending bar one night when Fannie wandered in.
She ordered a whiskey, then she ordered one again.
Everyone else in the place cleared like flies,
But I just stood there hypnotized.
Never before had I seen such a sight.
Her hair was spun gold, and her eyes were pure light.
I told her I loved her right there on the spot.
She said, "Boy you're nice, but baby I'm not."
Oh Fannie, Fannie P.
Please don't murder me.
If you take me along.
I’ll never do you wrong
Please don't murder me.
Well she took me up and she got what she wanted.
And to this very day, my heart is still haunted.
But when I awoke to the rooster's sad song,
Sweet Fannie P. was long gone.
I know I should just be glad I'm still here
When so many men live in so much fear.
But sometimes I think I'd a rather have died
Than to live knowing what it's like to lay by her side.
Fannie, Fannie P.
You went and murdered me.
If you come back round the bend,
I’m yours ‘til the end
I love you Fannie P.
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4. |
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There’s gaming all night long, and an open bar ‘til dawn, down at the State Line Junction Riverboat
They’ve got Russian Spin and Trust, Californ-I-A or Bust, Treasure Chess and Lucky Penny Slots
For a buck they’ll tie real gold to your arms and legs and throat, throw you overboard just to see how long you’ll float
But the best is when lock you in a pitch black room and shock you, then leave you with a saber and knot
Jack of diamonds come on home, let me hear you roll those laughing bones
Jack of diamonds, I need an inside straight, or a maybe aces and eights
But if I know you, you’re gonna make me wait
Had my own business on my mind, tangled up Lollaberry wine, when the pit boss called me up to see my card
He asked if I was twenty-one, if I’d ever held a gun, then he deputized me with an unceremonious sweep
The dress code made me mean and the pay was anything but clean, but the work itself was never very hard
Just look for shifty little men scratchin’ their noses with a hotel pen and you could spot a cheater in your sleep
Jack of diamonds, wild deuces/stabled studs, cross-eyed kings and Texas nooses
Jack of diamonds, let the games begin/this time I’m going all in
But if I know you, you’re gonna raise the rate
Ah but winning, winning’s for losers.
Big deal, you get to hold the girl and the gold for a while.
But losing, losing’s forever
As far as I can tell it ain’t never going out of style.
The moral of this fable, all you gamblers at the table, all you one-eyed Jakes and whistle-wetting thieves
With your false oblivion, nightmares obsidian, and palpitative hearts like bowling pins
You might think for one cold breath, that you can cheat the sudden death with that ace I see tucked awkward up your sleeve
You can hit or you can stay, you can draw a flush today, but at the end of the night, the house will always win.
Jack of diamonds, tonight we’re gonna bust the bank/you wear your suit of armor, I’m finally gonna show my rank
Jack of diamonds, deal the final blow/this time I’m aiming low
But if you know me, you know I’m gonna take the bait
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5. |
Laurel Lee
05:29
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Her brown eyes were muddied by the silt in the river
The sky was the color of sand
The water cut a path that wound past her door
Her long arms were lanky and tan.
Her hands were as strong as her father’s before her
Her hair folded back in a braid
Her voice was a bell that rang low and clear
No man ever called her his maid.
She lived on her own in a home that she built
A mansion of only one room
Her bed it was narrow, her possessions were few
The table topped with flowers in bloom.
The sun it bore down and dwelt in her dreams
Dreams of a future gone past
That burning bright eye never wavered its gaze
As her days were approaching the last.
Oh Laurel, Laurel-Lee
I’ll always remember your name
Oh Laurel, Laurel-Lee
I wonder if you do the same
Was in the spring of her 21st year
Love wandered into her life
In the form of a man who was willing to give
And willing to take her for a wife.
But sweet Laurel-Lee wasn’t known to be taken
She still had some living to do
She let this man go, though it cut her to the bone
She wasn’t ready and that’s all that she knew.
Oh Laurel, Laurel-Lee
I’ll always remember your name
Oh Laurel, Laurel-Lee
I wonder if you do the same
The man he was lost, he was battered and broken
A greater love he’d never come to know
But in the bottom of his heart it’d always been clear
One day she would up and she’d go
Years have washed by and lives have been led
Many things they have been forgot
Many things have faded and lost all their sense
But there’s a few things that have not.
Oh Laurel, Laurel-Lee
I’ll always remember your name
Oh Laurel, Laurel-Lee
I wonder if you do the same
Oh Laurel, Laurel-Lee
I carry you here in my heart.
Oh Laurel, Laurel-Lee
I count the days we’ve been apart.
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6. |
Applejack
05:49
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20 miles out of blind man’s bluff
Spent the morning casing liquor stores
Neighborhood was looking kinda rough
I guess that’s what her little .38’s for
I met her out on the cold west coast
I’d been off the wagon since I got divorced
I’d worn out the welcome of the heavenly host
I guess you could’ve said that my hand was forced
She looked to me like an easy mark
Slurring words in an empty bar
The talk was light but her eyes were dark
The line above her cheek wasn’t her only scar
Wasn’t long before she took me home
That should’a been a dead giveaway
I was tired, my defenses blown
But I prob’ly would’ve done it anyway
So I dream about Applejack
Silver hair rolling down her back
6 years doing county time, 4 of them hers and 2 of them mine
No one can see her. She’s a devil, a deceiver
If you let her take you for a ride
We killed a few hours with a bottle of rye
Waitin’ ‘til the desert sun dropped low
Burst of red blooming across the sky
She finally asked if I was ready to go
I said “give me that gun so nobody gets hurt”
She handed it to me like she was doing a favor
I covered it up with the back of my shirt
Promised myself I’d only use it to save her
So I dream about Applejack
Silver hair rolling down her back
6 years doing county time, 4 of them hers and 2 of them mine
No one can see her. She’s a devil, a deceiver
If you let her take you for a ride
When the clerk started screaming I nearly got sick
She was barking orders like I’d been demoted
The kid reached down and I drew hot and quick
That’s when I learned that the gun wasn’t loaded
Bullet in the gut, a bullet in the knee
I’m lucky to be alive is what they said
Now I’m serving time, Applejack copped a plea
I’d been better with a bullet to the head
So I dream about Applejack
Tattoo tear for every year burned black
6 years doing county time, 4 of them hers and 2 of them mine
No one can see her. She’s a devil, a deceiver
If you let her take you for a ride
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7. |
Jack Andrews
04:57
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Here's the story of a man I once knew
A lonesome rider, but a friend so true.
As an outlaw and a rambler he gained his fame
With his guitar and his pistols, Jack Andrews was his name.
One day he rode into my little town
Talking about his travels, lord and how he'd been around.
He'd crossed the oceans and seen foreign skies.
You knew he wasn't lying by the look in his eyes.
Well Jack Andrews
You're living on the road.
Where you'll wind up
Nobody knows.
We got to talking and we came to see
What we had in common was the need to be free.
Women and music and drinking all night
Were the only things in this world that ever felt right.
We quick decided I'd join him on the road
So I packed my bags and I readied to go.
Kissed goodbye to mama, shook papa's hand
And we headed off to some unknown land.
Well Jack Andrews
I hold you to blame.
You came into my life
And it'll never be the same.
Well me and Jack Andrews rode off into the night
With seven gold coins and our guns at our side.
The minute we left papa's dusty old shack
I knew in my gut I would never go back.
We traveled high and we traveled low
And old Jack was known wherever we'd go.
His kindness and warmth opened many arms,
But his past as an outlaw threatened us with harm.
Old Jack Andrews
Your story's unknown
But I'll always be grateful
For the things that you've shown.
Late one night, I believe it was the fall,
We were in the middle of nowhere at all.
A crowd it did gather and demanded old Jack.
We drew our six guns and stood back to back.
I don't know who fired first
But the crowd was riled, for blood they were thirsting.
Me and Jack we never had a hope.
We had come to the end of our rope.
Oh Jack Andrews
A rambler at play
I don't regret
One single day.
As we were drowning in a pool of red blood
I turned and saw your eyes were a'flood.
You said you were sorry and you reached in your pocket,
You smiled as you offered me your old silver locket.
Oh Jack Andrews
A hero to me.
You came into my life
And you set me free.
Oh Jack Andrews
You lived by your code.
Were you wound up
Nobody knows.
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8. |
Dixie Weed
03:20
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9. |
Cigarettes and Whiskey
05:02
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Cigarettes and whiskey,
How I will miss thee,
When I am dead and gone.
In case they forget you,
I thought I would set you,
In everlasting, immortal song.
Cigarettes and whiskey,
Never disappoint me,
No, they never let me down.
They've stayed up til dawn with me,
Travelled far and long with me,
Been a friend when none could be found.
Cigarettes and whiskey,
Whiskey and cigarettes
That burning red ember,
Helps me remember,
And the burning drink
Helps me forget.
Cigarettes and whiskey,
Is all I need to set me free,
All I need to get me through the night.
No doctor can heal me,
No lover can feel me,
Nothing else can make me alright.
Cigarettes and whiskey
That's all there is, just you and me,
A bottle and an unfiltered pack.
My only true friends,
Here til the end,
Never stab me in the back.
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10. |
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Here comes the night
Laying her tail across the back of the sky
And draining it of light.
Saying in her own way, "you know we all gotta fly."
And who is there to blame
When everything goes down just the way it should?
If you saw everything the same
You'd never wonder what to do, you just would.
I see it in your thoughts,
You're wear it there, written on your chest.
You say you don't want to get caught,
But if that's true, you gotta give it a rest.
Now buried in the black,
A reflection of time's the only thing you see.
You could turn the big clock back
But I can tell you right now, that’ll never set you free.
So heed when the countess calls,
And if she asks, remember me to her well.
May you never have to choose
Between a pauper's heaven and his majesty's living hell.
So I bid thee on your way.
Do anything you like, just keep to the path.
Travel only by the day
And guard yourself against the dark night's ever loving wrath.
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Scott Pinkmountain California
Scott Pinkmountain (aka Scott Rosenberg) is an American musician and a writer. Over the past 20 years, he has recorded and performed extensively in the U.S. and Europe with many excellent musicians including Anthony Braxton, Jacopo Andreini, Gino Robair, Sam Coomes, Arrington Di Dionyso, Phil Minton, Jaap Blonk, Pauline Oliveros, Tim Daisy, Nate Wooley, and others. ... more
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