John Hiatt |
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Riding with the king
I dreamed I did a good job and I got well paid
Blew it all at the penny arcade
A hundred dollars on a kewpie doll
I guess no white chick is gonna make me crawl
On a TWA, to the promised land
Every woman, child and man
Gets a cadillac and a diamond ring
Dont you know we're riding with the king?
Hes on a mission of mercy to the new frontier
Hes gonna check us all on out of here
Up to that mansion on a hill
Where you can get your prescription filled
On a TWA to the promised land
Everybody come on and clap your hands
Dont you just love the way he sings
Dont you know we're riding with the king?
A red cape and shiny cold 45
I never saw his face but I saw the light
Tonight everybody's getting their angel wings
Dont you know we're riding with the king?
Well I stepped out of a mirror at ten years old
With a suit cut sharp, as a razor and a heart of gold
I had a guitar hanging just about waist high
I'm gonna play that thing until the day I die
Cry love
A moment of steel
A dry-eyed house
Did he say goodbye to you
Or did you kick him out
I know you're not afraid
To go alone
But this was a marriage of spirit, flesh, and bone
Now whatcha gonna do
When the planet shifts
Whatcha gonna do
Gonna slit your wrists
Bleed all over the milky way
The stars in your eyes look red today
CHORUS:
Cry love, Cry love
The tears of an angel
The tears of a dove
Spilling all over, your heart from above
Cry Love, Cry Love
The trust of a woman in his hand
But he was a little boy, not a man
You loved him stronger than he could feel
Yeah he was wrapped up in himself like an orange peel
Now whatcha gonna do
With the booze and the blush
Whatcha gonna do
When there's no rush
Cop a little misery
At the corner store
Well' one day that train of pain won't stop no more
REPEAT CHORUS
Throwning up ashes on the floor
If this is a lesson in love
Well what's it for?
The heart will remember
The burning fire
The next time you feel the flame
Of desire
REPEAT CHORUS
REPEAT CHORUS
Cry love, cry love, cry love
Slow Turning
When I was a boy,
I thought it just came to ya'
But I never could tell what's mine
So it didn't matter anyway
My only pride and joy
Was this racket down here
Bangin' on an old guitar
And singin' what I had to say
I always thought our house was haunted
But nobody said boo to me
I never did get what I wanted
Now I get what I need
CHORUS:
It's been a slow turnin'
From the inside out
A slow turnin'
But you come about
Slow learnin'
But you learn to sway
A slow turnin' baby
Not fade away
Now I'm in my car
I got the radio on
I'm yellin' at the kids in the back seat
'Cause they're bangin' like Charlie Watts
You think you've come so far
In this one horse town
Then she's laughin' that crazy laugh
'Cause you haven't left the parkin' lot
Time is short and here's the damn thing about it
You're gonna die, gonna die for sure
And you can learn to live with love or without it
But there ain't no cure
There's just a...
REPEAT CHORUS
The Way We Make a Broken Heart
Just a one more kiss
He'll have to miss
This night with you
Now you're guilty of this secret love, I am too
You'll get used to telling lies
And feeling sorry when he cries
Now that the strings are attached
You catch on, we've done our part
Oh, and this is the way we make a broken heart
Lesson number one
We've just begun
To Hurt him so
And with lesson two
I'll long for you
When nights are long
And we get to lesson three
When he gets down on his knees
Begs me to stop at the door
Oh, and this is the way we make a broken heart
Well we layed a trail of tears
For him to follow
And we've thought of every line
That he might swollow
And with lesson four
There'll be no more
for him to bear
And on some dark night
We'll dim the lights
On this affair
And he'll find someone new
And she'll likely hurt him too
'Cause there most be millions just like you and me
Practiced in the art
Oh, and this is the way we make a broken heart
Oh, and this is the way we make a broken heart
Oh, and this is the way we make a broken heart
Oh, and this is the way we make a broken heart
Memphis in the Meantime
I got something to say little girl
You might not like my style
But we've been hanging around this town
Just a little too long a while
You say you're gonna get your act together
Gonna take it out on the road
But if I dont get outta here pretty soon
My head's going to explode
Sure I like country music
I like mandolins
But right now I need a telecaster
Through a vibro-lux turned up to ten
CHORUS:
Lets go to Memphis in the meantime baby
Memphis in the meantime girl
I need a little shot of that rhythm baby
Mixed up with these country blues
I wanna trade in these ol country boots
For some fine Italian shoes
Forget the mousse and the hairspray sugar
We dont need none of that
Just a little dab'll do ya girl
Underneath a pork pie hat
Until hell freezes over
Maybe you can wait that long
But I dont think Ronnie Milsap's gonna ever
Record this song
REPEAT CHORUS TWO TIMES
BRIDGE:
Maybe there's nothin' happenin' there
Maybe there's somethin' in the air
Before our upper lips get stiff
Maybe we need us a big ol whiff
If we could just get off-a that beat little girl
Maybe we could find the groove
At least we can get a decent meal
Down at the Rendez-vous
'Cause one more heartfelt steel guitar chord
Girl, it's gonna do me in
I need to hear some trumpet and saxophone
You know sound as sweet as sin
And after we get good and greasy
Baby we can come back home
Put the cowhorns back on the cadillac
And change the message on the cord-a-phone
But...
REPEAT CHORUS
Child of the Wild Blue Yonder
She has the wind as a witness
She has feelings that fly by night
She believes in forgiveness
But it's not love if it holds too tight
And you can fly beside her
But you gotta go where your heart says go
She lets the bright lights guide her
Through the rain and the drivin' snow
Where she comes from she don't know
CHORUS:
She's a child of the wild blue yonder
Flying out of here
She's a child of the wild blue yonder
Born in an angel's wing
If you see her falling
That's just a little trick she does
She makes a dive for the pain that's calling
Then heads for the clouds like a little dove
She can't help her laughing
She can't stop your crying days
Sometimes it hurts to be having
To hold on a love that surely must fly away
REPEAT CHORUS
Medicine woman raised her
Spirit father praised her
Through their love she was set free
From a baby kicking and screaming
To a full blood woman dreaming
With the power just to be
REPEAT CHORUS TWICE
Drive South
I didn't say we wouldn't hurt anymore
That's how you learn, you just get burned
But we don't have to feel like dirt anymore
Though love's not earned, Baby it's our turn
We were always looking for true north
With our heads in the clouds, just a little off course
I left the motor running, now if you're feeling down and out
CHORUS:
Come on Baby drive south, with the one you love
Come on Baby drive south, with the one you love
I'm not talkin' 'bout retreatin' little girl
Gonna take our stand, in this Chevy van
Windows open on the rest of the world
Holdin' hands, all the way to Dixieland
We've been tryin' to turn our lives around
Since we were little kids, it's been wearin' us down
Don't turn away now Darlin' lets fire it up and wind it out
REPEAT CHORUS
BRIDGE:
I heard your mama callin', I think she was just stallin'
Don't know who she was talkin' to, baby me and you
We could go down with a smile on, don't bother to pack your nylons
Just keep them pretty legs showin', it gets hot down where we're goin'
We were always looking for true north
With our heads in the clouds, just a little off course
I left the motor running, now if you're feeling down and out
Come on baby drive, come on baby drive south, come on baby drive south
REPEAT CHORUS
Angel Eyes
Girl, you're looking fine tonight
And every fella's got you in his sights
What you're doing with a clown like me
Is surely one of life's little mysteries
So tonight I'll ask the stars above
How did I ever win your love?
What did I do, what did I say
To turn your angel eyes my way?
And I'm the guy who never learned to dance
I never even got one second glance
Across the crowded room, that was close enough
I could look, but I could never touch
So tonight I'll ask...
Don't anybody wake me if this is a dream
'Cause she is the best thing that's ever happened to me
All you fellas you can but look all you like
But this girl you see, she's leaving with me tonight
And there's just one more thing I need to know
If this is love then why does it scare me so
Must be something only you can see
But girl, I feel it when you look at me
So tonight I'll ask...
What did I do, what did I say
To turn your angel eyes my way?
Buffalo River Home
I've been taking off and landing but this airport's closed
And how much thicker this fog is gonna get god only knows
Just when you think that you've got a grip
Reality sneaks off it gives you the slip
As if you ever knew what it was taking you down the line
CHORUS:
Tearing through the cottonfields and bus shelters
of the south running helter skelter
down through the mississippI delta
with no place to call your own
mixing up drinks with mixed feelings
all along the paint was peeling
down to an indian blanket on a pony
with no rider in the flesh and bone
looking for his buffalo river home
I've been circling the wagons down at times square
Trying to fill up this hole in my soul but nothing fits there
Hust when you think you can let it rip
you're pounding the pavement in your daddy's wingtips
as if you had some place better to go
or a better way to get there
REPEAT CHORUS:
Now there's only two things in life but I forget what they are
it seems we're either hanging on a moonbeams coat tails
or wishing on stars
just when you think that you've been gyped
the bearded lady comes and does a double back flip
and you run off and join the circus
yeah, you just let that pony ride
Feels Like Rain
Down here the river meets the sea
And in the sticky heat I feel ya' open up to me
Love comes out of nowhere baby, like a hurricane
And it feels like rain
Underneath the stars lying next to you
Wondering who you are baby
How do you do?
When the clouds blow in across the moon
And the wind howls out your name
Feels like rain
We'll never make that bridge tonight
Across lake Ponchartrain
Feel like rain
Batten down the hatches
But keep your heart out on your sleeve
A little bit of stormy weather, that's no cause for us to leave
Just stay here baby, in my arms
Let it wash away the pain
Feels like rain
Love in Flames
One and one,
and one makes three,
baby you know that.
It ain't no big mystery
just where you're at.
You never had these feelings to burn
You took my love and baby you turned.
Is it all in my mind,
or is it a cruel game?
ls love in flames
Well I was up so high, where eagles fly,
I just never looked down.
While you were down there, with the wind in your hair,
and your feet on the ground.
We might have had the stars in the sky.
You never had the courage to try.
Now is it all in my mind, or is it a cruel game?
Is love in flames
Love in flames,
is it the same, as passion burning in the name of love,
or is it the fear of pain,
when love comes crashing down from above (aah-ooh-aahs here)
Tonight I lay, me down to sleep, on your side of the bed.
And I pray so hard for somebody to keep,
keep you out of my head
But it's no use, the sheets take your form,
Into the dawn the ash is still warm.
Is it all in my mind
or is it a cruel game?
Is love in flames
Is love in flames
flame, flame, flame, (fading out)
burning, burning, burning (fading out)
burning for your love
Perfectly Good Guitar
Well he threw one down form the top of the stairs
Beautiful women were standing everywhere
They all got wet when he smahed that thing
But off in the dark you could hear somebody sing
CHORUS:
Oh it breaks my heart to see those stars
Smashing a perfectly good guitar
I don't know who they think they are
Smashing a perfectly good guitar
It started back in 1963
His momma wouldn't buy him
That new red harmony
He settled fgor a sunburt with a crack
But he's still trying to break his momma's back
REPEAT CHORUS
He loved that guitar just like a girlfriend
But ever good thing comes to an end
Now he just sits in his room all day
Whistling every note he used to play
There out to be a law with no bail
Smash a guitar and you go to jail
With no chance for early parole
You don't get out till you get some soul
REPEAT CHORUS
Late at night the end of the road
He wished he still had the old guitar to hold
He'd rock it like a baby in his arms
Never let it come ot any harm
REPEAT CHORUS
Tennessee Plates
I woke up in a hotel and I didn't know what to do
I turned the TV on and wrote a letter to you
The news was talkin' 'bout a dragnet up on the interstate
Said they were lookin' for a Cadillac with Tennessee plates
Since I left California baby, things have gotten worse
Seems the land of opportunity for me is just a curse
Tell that judge in Bakersfield that my trial will have to wait
Down here they're lookin' for a Cadillac with Tennessee plates
It was somewhere in Nevada, it was cold outside
She was shiverin' in the dark, so I offered her a ride
Three bank jobs later, four cars hot wired
We crossed the Mississippi like an oil slick fire
If they'd known what we was up to they wouldn't 'a let us in
When we landed in Memphis like original sin
Up Elvis Presley Boulevard to the Graceland gates
See we were lookin' for a Cadillac with Tennessee plates
Well, there must have been a dozen of them parked in that garage
And there wasn't one Lincoln and there wasn't one Dodge
And there wasn't one Japanese model or make
Just pretty, pretty Cadillacs with Tennessee plates
She saw him singing once when she was seventeen
And ever since that day she's been living in between
I was never king of nothin' but this wild weekend
Anyway he wouldn't care, hell he gave them to his friends
Well this ain't no hotel I'm writin' you from
It's the Tennessee prison up at Brushy Mountain
Where yours sincerely's doin' five to eight
Stampin' out my time makin' Tennessee plates
Take Off Your Uniform
You've been a good girl,
You've been a bad girl
You're not a girl anymore
Deep in a picture show
Unbuttoned in the last row
You watched the grown-ups win the war
Now that they've got you where they want you
You're just combin' your hair
The alteration's done,but you're havin' way too much fun
They want to touch you but you just don't care
Take off your uniform
They see what they want to see
You should have never been born
You'd better stay with me
Your replacement
Waits in the basement
They've got her down to your smile
She writes those letters too
She thinks she's better than you
She says you're just a foolish child
They got her smilin' while she's dialing
She's such a clever machine
She'd fit in anywhere, now that her vision's impaired
She listens up, but she don't know what they mean
Take off your uniform
They see what they want to see
You should have never been born
You'd better stay with me
Everyone's happy with your daily activities
They like that tone in your voice
Now that you're finally an adult in America
You're too dumb to have a choice
Take off your uniform
They see what they want to see
You should have never been born
Take off your uniform
They see what they want to see
You should have never been born
You'd better stay with me
Don't Know Much About Love
Baby can you teach me - how to
Baby can you reach me
I'm calling out for you
Underneath your window tonight
I am no Juliet, so help me make it right
If I can get this message
Through to your heart
It would be more than I can understand
No beginner ever skip the start
And I wanna learn more
Than I possibly can
Cause I don't know much
Don't know much, much about love
I'm out of touch
I don't know much
Much about love
Baby when I kiss you
Will I hear
Little words of yes
You've been keeping from me
I'm rushing like a fool babe
Cause I know
If taught you this in school
You must have made the honour roll
If I can get this message
Through to your heart
It would be more than I can understand
No beginner ever skip the start
And I wanna learn more
Than I possibly can
Cause I don't know much
Don't know much, much about love
I'm out of touch
I don't know much
Much about love