White Cadillac

I had a dream that my time was near

They were reaching for the paddles as the doctor yelled “Clear!”

Then he looked at me with concern in his eye

And said “I hate to have to tell you this, but, boy, you’re gonna die.

Before you go on to your place of rest,

You’d better speak up if you have a last request.”

Well if that’s the truth, there’s one thing I gotta say

If I’m gotta go, I’m gonna go my own way.

Don’t put me in the back of a pickup truck

Take me to the edge of town and cover me up.

Don’t cram my ever-loving body in the tiny tiny trunk

Of some cheap-ass imported semi-compact piece of junk

I want a White Cadillac, spaghetti style wheels and fins on the back

I want a White Cadillac to carry me away after my last gasp

Now poor old Gram Parsons he was having too much fun

He didn’t realize what it was that he had done

He was mixing the tequila and the morphine and the speed

Then he was in his hour of darkness, he was in his time of need

His friends thought back to something they once heard

And when it came time to take him to his great reward

They had a White Cadillac, spaghetti style wheels and fins on the back

It was a White Cadillac, and they were driving through the desert with Gram Parsons in the back…

(Whoo-hoo!)

I was watching some old movie on the TV late at night

It was an old spaghetti western that was filmed in black-and-white

Bad guys sneaking round, dressed from head to toe in black

From their boots to their shirts, and from their horses to their hats

When the Sheriff came to town, you could tell him right away

Cause the good guys always understand just what I’m trying to say

He drove a White Cadillac, chrome tailpipes and fins on the back

It was a White Cadillac – he cleaned up that town and he never went back

(Whoo-hoo!)

Make mine a White Cadillac, with whitewall tires and fins on the back

I want a White Cadillac when my ride is up and it’s time for my nap…

November

Sweet black smoke, November air

A wisp of cloud just like a strand of hair

A flock of geese on their way somewhere up in the sky

A Persian carpet made of falling leaves

Beneath the skeletons of the frozen trees

A turkey vulture circles in the breeze

Soon the cold will claim the winter sky

And we’ll shiver as we’re walking by

Each of us lost in our own song

The music’s brief and the night is long

I don’t know why I never say goodbye

I hope you understand my reasons why

I could not explain it to you even if I tried again and again

Going away is just a part of this life

Still somehow we never get it right

Going gently into that good night

But the sky will always be blue

And the stars will shine tomorrow too

Spring and fall will change the ground

Back and forth from green to brown

Again and again.

Forever.

Forever…

Sex, Drugs and Rock n’ Roll

If you want to meet girls

You should learn to dance

Don’t waste your money

On a rock and roll band

Dancing makes people happy;

Music just makes them dream.

And I never meet any girls at all.

All my friends used to love the Dead

Now they don’t remember

What was in their heads.

And they sing along, and I write the songs

But I never did any drugs at all.

Everybody’s cool playing rock and roll

They never get ugly and they never grow old

Just like on TV, but that’s not me

I can’t play that rock and roll.

Why Do You Run

Don’t apologize – if you have to go, just go

No one will criticize and no one will ever know

Don’t let me hold you up – don’t come back for me

If I want to, bad enough, I may follow eventually

Why do you run? Are you tired from too much fun?

Do you believe that there’s a price you’ll have to pay?

What’s driving you away?

Don’t pack up and leave town – don’t simply disappear

Even when you’re not around it’s more fun to know you’re near

Do you think you’re in a rut and the world’s driving you down?

Does the pressure get too much with everybody else around?

Why do you run? Is it something that you’ve done?

Do think you’re living in some rainy day?

What’s driving you away?

Is it something that you said that you can’t get out of your head?

Can you live with the mistakes or are they keeping you awake?

Why do you run? Is it either all or none?

You know that you can come back anytime you say

What’s driving you away?

Forever’s Been and Gone

I ought to stop myself right now and turn this car around

Except the voice inside my head says it’s too late now

The next exit is the freeway, but it’s no escape at all

I turn the car and continue south just like I’m in free fall

It was supposed to last forever, just like our favorite song

But now the sky has turned to black and forever’s been and gone

The exit signs watch over me – I count them as I pass

Rolling through the darkness, my foot hard on the gas

Billboard signs and neon lights are shining on the road

Promising endless delights, but all the stores are closed

It was supposed to last forever, just like our favorite song

But now the sky has turned to black, forever’s been and gone

“Neon Stars” and “Used Guitars”

“Cheap Perfume” and roadside bars

Vacant lots with rusted cars all parked out on the lawn

Pawn shops full of wedding rings

And turntables that do not spin

No one knows the mess we’re in

Forever’s been and gone

The trees along the highway have the moon in their embrace

And I’m running away from something that I can’t even place

With each and every mile I drive through this quickening dark

I’m adding to the distance that lies between our hearts

It was supposed to last forever, just like our favorite song

But now the sky has turned to black, forever’s been and gone.

Hello Blues

Hello, blues, never thought I’d ever see you again.

Hello, blues. Welcome back, my one true friend.

I thought that you were gone for good

But you came back again, like I always knew you would.

I thought she’d driven you away

Now I realize she’s brought you home to stay.

Hello, blues, never thought I’d ever see you again

Hello, blues. Welcome back, my one true friend.

I thought that we had said goodbye

With each and every salty tear I cried.

Thought you’d found somebody else,

Gone and left me here, all by myself.

Hello, blues, never thought I’d ever see you again

Hello, blues. Welcome back, my one true friend.

You’d think by now that I’d have learned

Even when you go away, it’s only to return.

You’d think by now that I would see

When all is said and done you’re the only one for me.

Hello, blues, never thought I’d ever see you again

Hello, blues. Welcome back, my one true friend.

Welcome back, my one true friend.

Open Mic Nights

In the afternoon at the local bars

The pretenders all line up with their guitars

Out of tune chords and misplaced beats

Are waiting there to accompany me

I think of you in the hours that pass

And I look for you in each empty glass

If anyone asks you what happened to us

There’s two broken hearts sitting gathering dust

No Bach or Beethoven, no Brahms or Mozart

Describe how I feel since we’ve been apart

No symphony written could sum up my life

Like the bad drinks and bad music at these open mic nights

In every small town and at every sad bar

Some loser’s running through their repertoire

Singing sad songs about lovelorn fools

Some of them are me. Some of them are you.

No Bach or Beethoven, no Brahms or Mozart

Describe how I feel since we’ve been apart

No symphony written could sum up my life

Like the bad drinks and bad music at these open mic nights

Some things fall apart in the most predictable ways

And when you broke my heart it was only another cliché

And the sordid details of our decline and fall

Can be found on every bathroom wall

As I sit and listen to this music that sucks

I think about you ‘til my heart fills up

And when the liquor crests over my head

It’s then that I go home and go back to bed.

No Bach or Beethoven, no Brahms or Mozart

Describe how I feel since we’ve been apart

No symphony written could sum up my life

Like the bad drinks and bad music at these open mic nights

Could Have Been Your Darling

Could have been your darling

If I wasn’t such a mess of a man

If I’d been less hard to handle

Maybe I’d fit into your plans

Could have been your darling

But I can’t turn down a fight

Could have learned to love you,

Maybe kept you warm at night

Could have gotten married in some big old church somewhere

With everybody smiling and all our friends are there

Could have been your darling

And you could have been my wife

Might have started something

And made something of my life

Could have been your darling

And you could have been my girl

Could have been your darling

Another time, another world

Hard Luck Stories

The car won’t start and your phone won’t ring

And my keys will not stay put

I think that I could explain everything

But it’d be better if I keep my mouth shut

Cause I can open an umbrella and make it rain

Try and try, but I can’t explain

It’s just hard luck stories again and again

‘Til you let me win.

I’ve been waiting in the place where I thought we’d meet

For about an hour or more

And the suspicion that this is no accident

Is something that I’m trying to ignore

Cause I can open an umbrella and make it rain

Try and try, but I can’t explain

It’s just hard luck stories again and again

‘Til you let me win.

Keep thinking that tomorrow will be better than today

But as long you’re by my side, well, either one would be okay

There’s a force of nature running through this world

Conspiring to keep us apart

This isn’t to say I don’t love you, girl

It only means I’m not so smart

Cause I can open an umbrella and make it rain

Try and try, but I can’t explain

It’s just hard luck stories again and again

‘Til you let me win.

Will you let me win?

Always Be My Baby

I’m going to go get drunk again

Just like I did last night

Everything you’ve tried to tell me

I still can’t see the light

And it almost breaks my heart

The way you try to stop me

Cause I know how much you care

And how you want to help me

That why you’ll always be my baby

Keep on believing that your love will save me.

There’s nothing in the freezer

So no more liquid lunch

No Scotch and no Tequila

Well honey, thanks a bunch.

I guess I’ll have to go downtown

If I want to quench my thirst

Or else, I’ll just sit here and cry

Whichever one comes first.

Because you’ll always be my baby.

Keep on believing that your love will save me.

Save me… Please?

I’m gonna go destroy myself

And paint the whole town black

If you want to, you can find me

And try to bring me back

I’m your biggest disappointment

And your greatest waste of time

I bet your friends all tell you that

You must be out of your mind

Because you’ll always be my baby.

Keep on believing that your love will save me.

Nobody Knows You

You don’t like sugar

Take honey with your tea

Nobody knows you

Better than me

I know all your favorite songs

I hum them constantly

Nobody knows you

Better than me

Better than the other boys

Better than yourself

Deep inside I’m sure you know

We’re no good for no one else

Right about this time of night

You’re probably falling asleep

Nobody knows you

Better than me

In the arms of some other guy

You’re probably falling asleep

And nobody knows you

Better than me

Nobody knows you better than me.

(Scherzetto)

Here’s your record, you can have it back.

No credit slip, just give me cash.

What you’re offering just is not true.

Not for me. Maybe for you.

I sang the song, but I lost the girl.

I played guitar, but never rocked the world.

The party’s over every night by one or two.

The love I send does not get through.

The judge and jury all agree. Rock and Roll has been lying to me.

Now it’s over, what’s done is done.

No regrets – I’ve had my fun.

All the money that I spent and the songs that I’ve sung

Couldn’t keep me forever young.

So this is it, and we say goodbye.

Don’t look back, and please don’t cry.

Farewell to the dreams of my teenage years

And to guitars that hurt my ears.

The judge and jury all agree. Rock and Roll has been lying to me.

They reached a verdict, unanimously. Rock and Roll has been lying to me.