STRAIGHT DOWN THE LINE

From the Chitlin’ Circuit to the Peppermint Lounge

Been run off more than once for goin’ underground

Where I met an old bluesman with a walking cane

He wore a stripe suit and used someone else’s name

 

He said son I’ve seen it all

And it’s not what you think

He said there’s some tough choices to be made

Then he took a little drink

And I heard him say

 

I do not play no rock and roll

Would not be moved to sell my soul

The demons are out tonight

Rock you sinners

The demons are out tonight

Roll you sinners

Straight down the line

 

Passed an old church on my way back East

Heard a gospel choir singing of war and peace

I was deeply moved so I stepped inside

I just stood in the back where I could easily hide

 

A woman in a black robe stood up

And pointed me out

She said Hallelu Hallelu

Then she began to shout

And I heard her say

 

I do not play no rock and roll

Would not be moved to sell my soul

The demons are out tonight

Rock you sinners

The demons are out tonight

Roll you sinners

Straight down the line

 

Now he could croon a tune as good as anyone

And if he sings a song then that song’s been sung

Some things have tradition some things shine like new

Some things you can’t change no matter what you do

 

He said my friend I’ve done it all

Either for love or money

And if I laugh at your jokes

Then that means your jokes are funny

And one more thing

 

I do not play no rock and roll

Would not be moved to sell my soul

The demons are out tonight

Rock you sinners

The demons are out tonight

Roll you sinners

Straight down the line

 

WHEN THE NIGHT WAS YOUNG

We headed straight south in a sundown light

On highway 61 through the delta night

We shared the backroads with cardsharks and grifters

Tent show evangelists and Luke the Drifter

 

What is lost what is missing

What’s been gone way too long

 

We had dreams when the night was young

We were believers when the night was young

We could change the world stop the war

Never seen nothing like this before

But that was back when the night was young

 

Sign reads God Bless America guns and ammo

I’m not sure that’s what He means

Sign reads repent the end is near

I’m not sure that’s what we need

 

Get your heart beating in the right direction

That’s when you make a real connection

 

We had dreams when the night was young

We were believers when the night was young

We could change the world stop the war

Never seen nothing like this before

But that was back when the night was young

 

Now Andy Warhol’s in the hotel lobby

He’s waiting for the late night muse

But she won’t be back before morning

She’s gone downtown to hear some blues

Like the sun rising out of the sea

It’s how you embrace the mystery

 

We had dreams when the night was young

We were believers when the night was young

We could change the world stop the war

Never seen nothing like this before

But that was way back when the night was young

 

HE DON’T LIVE HERE NO MORE

Got a ticket on the mainline

I was stranded on the fault line

I got wasted on the moonshine

Too far gone

 

I was walking in the sundown

I was heading for the breakdown

When you’re sleeping on the cold ground

Too far gone

 

There was a cloud hanging over me

Something just reached out and grabbed a hold of me

 

Inside of the belly of the whale

Outside they was beatin on the door

Somebody goin down tonight

I said boys he don’t live here no more

He don’t live here no more

 

I was riding on the night train

I been moving in the fast lane

I was only trying to kill the pain

Too far gone

 

I was running on a red light

Always looking for a street fight

I was higher than a lost kite

Too far gone

 

When you’re waiting for the axe to drop

When you’re hooked so bad you could not stop

 

Inside of the belly of the whale

Outside they was beatin on the door

Somebody goin down tonight

I said boys he don’t live here no more

He don’t live here no more

 

Got no one to blame but myself

They couldn’t hear my distant cry for help

 

Inside of the belly of the whale

Outside they was beatin on the door

Somebody’s goin down tonight

I said boys he don’t live here no more

He don’t live here no more

 

THE RIGHT MISTAKE

One man’s trash is another mans treasure

One mans pain is another mans pleasure
play too hard play too rough

And someday someone’s gonna call your bluff

 

Take a stroll off the deep end

On the boulevard of broken dreams

Took a stroll off the deep end

 

I was just trying to make

The right mistake the right mistake

I was only trying to make

The right mistake

 

Gotta change some old habits

Tryin to turn a new leaf

I gotta stop chasing rabbits

But I got hooked beyond belief

 

Let it go they told me

But I just couldn’t hear the plea

Let it go they warned me

 

And I’m just tryin a make

The right mistake the right mistake

I was only trying to make

The right mistake

 

You could be the perfect stranger

You could be from Illinois

Come around here courting danger

Making all that noise

 

And you know I’ll be there

Tell me when the deal goes down

And you know I’ll be there

 

Cause I’m just tryin a make

The right mistake the right mistake

I was only trying to make

The right mistake

For: Thelonious Monk

 

THIS IS WHERE I GET OFF

The earth keeps on shaking

But I’m standing still

The chances I’m taking

Against my will

 

When we made it to the top

We’d watch it fall couldn’t stop

Everything you leave behind

Catches up in another time

 

So just pull over

To the side of the road

This is where I get off

This is where I move on

I know where I went wrong

‘Long the way

 

Walking out on the boys

Was never the plan

We just drifted off course

Couldn’t strike up the band

 

We’d been working the graveyard shift

I wonder do you catch my drift

This was trouble in the making

But it’s a risk well worth taking

 

So just pull over

To the side of the road

This is where I get off

This is where I move on

I know where I went wrong

‘Long the way

This where I get off

This ain’t where I belong

Somebody done me wrong

‘Long the way

 

FEAR OF FALLING

I wonder where it all began

Was it in a place or in the heart

Was it outside in the pouring rain

In the darkness where the dreaming starts

 

If I end up begging like a dog

Does it make me any less than you

Should I stand here and be judged

When we already know the truth

 

There was a time when I was lost

Couldn’t see the woods for the trees

How could I know how much it costs

Til I was on my knees

 

Fear of falling

Fear of falling

Fear of falling

Down in love again

 

Why don’t we take it from the bottom

See what rises to the top

Sometimes you have to cut the cards

Just to find out what you got

 

She has a certain kind of thing

It’s called the mystery of desire

Keeps pulling on my heartstring

I’m like a man on a wire

 

What does it mean to want so much

The way that I’m wanting you

Am I just setting myself up

To play the fool

 

Fear of falling

Fear of falling

Fear of falling

Down in love again

 

SHE’S NOT MINE

I come to town my work is done

Well I just got off the road

It’s a long time since I been with someone

I called this lady so divine

I asked her and I asked her

If she’d like to come out sometime

 

We talked about some movie

And we laughed at ourselves

She had a way about her

Like no one else

 

But I could see clouds

When I looked in her eyes

And if she’s somebody else’s

She’s not mine

 

When I left town my heart was on fire

I was New York bound

She left me so inspired

I wanted to reach her and I made a choice

But talking on the phone

I heard the distance in her voice

 

I want to take her over

Way across the Sea

I want to bring her over

To visit me

 

But maybe she thinks

I’m the fugitive kind

And if she’s somebody else’s

She’s not mine

 

I wanted to hold her

One more time

But if she’s somebody else’s

She’s not mine

 

 

AXMAN

They say the axman’s coming

In a long black car

They said the axman’s coming

He plays a mean guitar

 

 

Well he come across the border

With a hatchet in his hand

They said who’s that stranger

The one they call the axman

 

You got Duane and Stevie Ray

Brothers of the blade

Jimi James and RJ

All brothers of the blade

 

Now when he goes from town to town

He picks em up and lays em down

People come from miles around

Just to dig that crazy sound

 

I heard a guitar wailing

Til the break of dawn

They said the axman was here

Oh but now he’s gone

 

You got T Bone and Link Wray

Brothers of the blade

Then there’s Django and Elmore James

All brothers of the blade

 

Now when he goes from town to town

He picks em up and lays em down

People come from miles around

Just to dig that crazy sound

 

Play so low so sweet

Bring a tear to your eye

Chills run down to your feet

Make a grown man cry

 

One-eyed jacks King with the axe

Like Albert or Freddy

One-eyed jacks King with the axe

And of course BB was born ready

 

Now when he goes from town to town

He picks em up and lays em down

People come from miles around

Just to dig that crazy sound

 

WON’T BE BACK

The letter that I sent to you

Was it lost in the mail

Then tell me why

There’s no reply

 

Where can she be tonight

As I lay here in the dark

I reach for you

I long for you

 

But you’ve gone

Like the wind

And I know

That you won’t be back again

 

Pictures of days gone by

That you painted as a child

You gave to me

You saved for me

 

Where does she sleep tonight

Is she underneath a star

The healing grace

The secret place

 

That you’ve gone

Like the wind

And I know

That you won’t be back again

 

Look down from your ivory tower

That’s me standing in the mist

And I tried to hide

My broken pride

 

But you’ve gone

Like the wind

And I know

That you won’t be back again

 

HOW TO BECOME CLAIRVOYANT

Benedictine, sister to Isis and the black Madonna

Mistress of magic, goddess of the Nile

She could read the stars knew the secrets of the dead

And could see what kind of madness

Was stirring round in your head

 

She said my birth sign is Scorpio

We eat ourselves up and burn ourselves out

So could somebody show me

 

How to become clairvoyant

To be one of the ones

Who can see around corners

And knows what’s to come

How to become clairvoyant

That’s what I want to know

So just tell me where to sign

And point me where to go

 

As it turns out Miss Muffett wasn’t afraid of spiders at all

She slipped across the dance floor at the masquerade ball

They say she collects hearts the way Nero collected tears

And she don’t get no older down through the years

 

Her lips are moving but she’s not talking

Her hips are moving but she’s not dancing

She just wants to know

 

How to become clairvoyant

To be one of the ones

Who can see around corners

And knows what’s to come

How to become clairvoyant

That’s what I want to know

Just tell me where to sign

And point me where to go

 

King poet the holy fool

Apostle of self-destruction

I tried it your way but I couldn’t sleep

There was too much construction

 

In these strange times you wonder

What tomorrow might bring

If the fat lady sings

 

How to become clairvoyant

To be one of the ones

Who can see around corners

And knows what’s to come

How to become clairvoyant

That’s what I want to know

Just tell me where to sign

And point me where to go

 

Now that would be a revelation

And I also enjoy levitation