1. |
Party At Old Scratchy's
03:55
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Tie up yer old lady
and shacklacklackle yer guy
Chain up your neighbors
Take 'em for a ride!
There's a party at Old Scratchy's
but there's a cover charge
S'pose we'll find out who our real friends are...
Eat all her brains out
Gauge out his eyes
Crack all her teeth out
Rattle up them bones!
At the party at Old Scratchy's
we're all livin' large
Goin' big and hard 'cause no one's goin' home!
Round up yer misters
and put 'em on a leash
Lock up yer sisters
Call up all them freaks!
There's a party at Old Scratchy's
but there'll be hell to pay
So find a date that ain't so great and have a ball!
Cut up yer husband
and take off his skin
Tell him that you love him
Gal, and climb on in!
'Cause at the party at Old Scratchy's we're all about the love
Fill yer cup our wine it tastes like blood!
Tie up yer old lady
and shacklacklackle yer guy
Chain up your neighbors
Take 'em for a ride!
There's a party at Old Scratchy's
but there's a cover charge
S'pose we'll find out who our real friends are...
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2. |
Old Wild World
05:05
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A sultry summer night drips from an ice cream cone
a stampede of stilettos crawls across the cobble stone
it leaves a slew of chocolate moose and broken ankle bones
leadin' all the boys back home
And every gal in this town wears a corset
why any man on a corner's smokin' cigarettes
and everybody wants to be 'em see 'em laughin 'til they cry
ain't nobody knows goddamn why
ain't no coinkidink not neither do I
In my mind there's been a jailbreak
where all the wicked and the damned they come runnin' for the gates
I think I'd rather watch a guilty man walk...
than leave a decent man in a cage
Think it's time a good fella catch a break
you know, he's been short changed since his court date
That fella bought an umbrella
hella, someone musta telled ya....
in that old wild world it gonna rain
and on that old wild world it gonna reign
Kind of Blue's on cassette in a corvette
rollin' slow courtin' silhouettes sippin' rosette
and every sad old white man's got a dirty old mind
ain't nobody knows goddamn why
in the wrong place at all the wrong times
He wants to take you for a ride on a sex drive
why every lass out after sunset's in a cold sweat
I'm afraid that it's so, you've died more times than you know...
at least you wound up here
In my mind there's been a jailbreak
where all the wicked and the damned they come runnin' for the gates
I think I'd rather watch a guilty man walk...
than leave a decent man in a cage
Think it's time a good fella catch a break
you know, he's been short changed since his court date
That fella bought an umbrella
hella, someone musta telled ya....
in that old wild world it gonna rain
and on that old wild world it gonna reign
yeah, in that old wild world it gonna rain
on that old wild world...
It gonna reign
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3. |
I'm Goin' To Hell
04:10
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Just 'cause I look like I might be the one
it don't make it likely
Just 'cause I look like God's shinin' son
that don't mean he like me
Can't give you hope, but man I'll bum ya a smoke
I ain't got the answers, but I'll give you cancer
So damn me for the life that I'm livin'...
if I'm goin' to hell I ain't got no fucks for givin'
Well if the lord only knew I'm celebratin' with strangers
He'd cut my hair and have me hanged from a manger
It's a hot damn scandal can ya damn a man for tryin'?
Ain't tryin' to say I ain't no saint I ain't lyin'
Go on and call me freak Jesus or your savior
I'm not
I'm just a long hair hippie peace freak who oughta get shot
Well I'm afraid it's more than just your opinion...
if I'm goin' to hell I ain't got no fucks for givin'
So bring me your dead
lord, you can gimme your kids
I'll be sure to treat 'em even
Just 'cause I look nice on the day you been reckoned
that don't mean my advice ain't worth checkin'
You can't repeal me from humanity with the lord's holy water
You can appeal to my insanity with a preacher man's daughter
Don't give a damn about your wife or your family
Don't give a damn about them people upstairs
So damn me for the life that I'm livin'...
if I'm goin' to hell I ain't got no fucks for givin'
Yeah I'm your woulda been coulda been shoulda been woulda been coulda been better
or better yet a shoulda been has been
but don't you forget
I'm your oughta been used to be
Shucks, I'm certainly somethin'
and sure as hell I couldn't have been nothin' worse
A tip of the hat kinda guy
A hand shake and a smile
Yeah, I'm the nicest guy on the block
'Til I'm not...
Don't give a damn about your wife or your family
Don't give a damn about that man upstairs
So damn me for the life that I'm livin'...
but I'm goin' to heaven I ain't got no fucks for givin'
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4. |
Nothin' To Lose
03:35
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Lordy, ain't got much left but a buck left to my name
With a buck left to your name
you're right 'bout buckless much the same
Lordy, ain't got much left but a buck left to my name
With a buck left to your name 'bout every town it looks the same
But that world can't take much
from a man with nothin' to lose
A man with nothin' to lose
A man with nothin' to lose
The world can't take much
from a man with nothin' to do
with nothin' to lose
That's surely somethin'!
Lordy, ain't got much left of that petrol in my tank
I ain't got no money in the bank
for to put petrol in my tank
Lordy, ain't got much left of that cash stashed in the bank
I ain't got no petrol in my tank
Yeah, I need that dough re mi
That world can't take much
from a man with nothin' to lose
A man with nothin' to lose
A man with nothin' to lose
The world can't take much
from a man with nothin' to do
with nothin' to lose
That's good for nothin'!
Lordy, hate to tell ya I think somebody took my honey
Think somebody put my honey in their car and took my darlin'
Lordy, hate to tell ya I think some yuppie took my honey
Think some yuppie and his money took my honey
I don't think it's funny...
I think that the world can't take much
from a man with nothin' to lose
A man with nothin' to lose
A man with nothin' to lose
The world can't take much
from a man with nothin' to do
with nothin' to lose
That's surely somethin'!
World can't take much
from a man with nothin' to lose
A man with nothin' to lose
A man with nothin' to lose
The world can't take much
from a man with nothin' to do
with nothin' to lose
That's good for nothin'!
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5. |
Heart On Layaway
04:07
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Well, my mind has gone a missin'
Left a note - said it gone fishin'
and I'm wishin' that's the way it's gonna stay
That lord, he made my mind for losin'
gave me drugs there for abusin'
Honey, you can put my heart on layaway...
And in my blood I'm full of doubt
and I don't know what that's about
so I give it at the clinic twice a day
I got a dog now it's December
there's a job I can't remember
Honey, you can put my heart on layaway
Yeah, I'd swear ya it's a dangerous mindset
but honey, I'm a changed man!
Yeah, I took all the right steps...
I got a fool proof plan
No, and I don't wanna be reminded
there of all that I've been given
I don't wantcha to know...
Where I come from
Oh, so gimme a drag
honey, whatcha smokin'?
Yeah, front me a bag
nah, I ain't jokin'
Forever broke
ain't never broken
I'll be sober
when I'm dead
There's too much I haven't not seen or not said yet
too many people I haven't screwed over
too many bills I haven't not paid
got too many friends I haven't not made
Gimme a toke
Mama, whatcha rippin'?
Bum me a smoke
Goddamn I'm trippin'!
Gimme that kickdown
Gimme a buck
Yeah, I'm down on my luck...
But I'm on the up!
Now I'm a born again drifter
and it ain't that I don't miss her
I just see that picture bigger than the frame
If there ain't a damn thing I could do
to make you think I'm true to you
honey, up and leave and put my heart on layaway
And I don't know just what I'm doin'
I swear that liquor do the choosin'
But I've had more places to stay than bills I've paid...
Them rich'll spend their scratch on rags
if my money buys your right to brag
then honey, go on and put my heart on layaway
Yes, I'd swear ya it's a dangerous mindset
But honey, I'm a changed man!
Yeah, I took all the right steps...
I got a fool proof plan
No, and I don't wanna be reminded
there of all that I've been given
I don't wantcha to know...
Where I come from
Oh, so gimme a drag
honey, whatcha smokin'?
Yeah, front me a bag
nah, I ain't jokin'
Forever broke
ain't never broken
I'll be sober
when I'm dead
There's too much I haven't not seen or not said yet
too many people I haven't screwed over
too many bills I haven't not paid
got too many friends I haven't not made
House me up
Honey, jump my bones
Buy me a beer
I ain't got no home!
Gimme that kickdown
Gimme a buck
Yeah, I'm down on my luck...
But I'm on the up!
That's right...
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6. |
Black Rose
04:23
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My dear,
I fear you fail to see
that's why they call 'em fail-I-see's
There is evil in this world, girl
like it or not
The brave will live to save themselves
and the lost will lose their way
and sure as hell
some of them couldn't have been nothin' worse...
I used to think I was a better man
Come to know I was wrong
I understand and I will level
That ain't no man
but it ain't no devil...
Black Rose
Tellin' ya, "If you don't marry me you're gonna have to bury me"
'Cause all it wants to chain you
All it wants to change you
Oh, I won't...
They'll sick their sickness in your head
and turn you into livin' dead
There is evil in this world, girl
but it ain't me...
So weary traveler beware
them cats with million mile stares
Yer goddamn right...
they've seent some shit
but ain't we all?
I used to think I was a better man
Come to know I was wrong
I understand and I will level
That ain't no man
but it ain't no devil...
Black Rose
Tellin' ya, "If you don't marry me you're gonna have to bury me"
'Cause all it wants to chain you
All it wants to change you
Oh, I won't...
They say good men can talk for hours...
well, psychopaths can buy you flowers
Seems mighty lonesome husslin' roses
down the avenues of the dead
You don't respect the sights that you see
you won't respect humanity
Go on and shut your mouth, boy
Them who's busy speakin' can't get fed
I used to think I was a better man
Come to know I was wrong
I understand and I will level
That ain't no man
but it ain't no devil...
Black Rose
Well, if you wanna marry me you're gonna have to bury me
'Cause I won't chain you
I won't change you
Oh, I won't chain you
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7. |
Road Sweet Home
05:07
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Well, here we is...
But there...
We was...
Yeah, I was sittin' in the back of a pickup
lookin' dirty as a dog
but I was feelin' mighty fine
'cause I was thinkin' of a differnt time...
And we was goin' to the Texaco
where I was stakin' out the place for a stick-up
And no, it ain't my style to bust a cap for attention
but when I get on the whickey I got the hands of a henchman
Been a minute since my first taste of crimson
We'd made some miles since the exit to heaven
but I ain't goin' back
Surely my temple is tapped
I'll take a shake for the road
I'll make a home on the go
Home on the Road Sweet Home
Hagglers to stragglers
Riches to rags
Road Sweet Home
One day I'll hang up my rags
but it ain't today
Road Sweet Home
There ain't a bucket of ruckus I'd known...
Not like Road Sweet Home
Only road that I ever known!
We flipped some bastard by the bar fer a profit
They say the water don't fall far from the faucet
and as he let his last holler he just wept for his dollars
I saw his soul fall through the holes in his pockets
When we stopped for a quick sip of poison
That's when my ramblin' feet started hurtin'
and I got the know where to nowhere
wherever that may be
and I ain't seen my baby since she last seen me
Just runnin' rampant - I'm a ne'er-do-well
She tried to tell me take that highway to hell
Well, I took your advice
Darlin', it was lousy and tragic
Halfway to the havoc, honey, I got stuck in traffic
On that Road Sweet Home
Eatin' all them white lines
Blowin' every stop sign
Road Sweet Home
Stop lights are just fer suckers
and it ain't my bag
Road Sweet Home
There ain't a bucket of ruckus I'd known...
Not like Road Sweet Home
Only road that I ever known!
It's been a long day
but not a lonely mile
You won't catch me in the back, babe
Spangin' for smiles
Sit back, relax
and enjoy the driftin'
Ya'll ain't never gonna get
where you think yer goin'
On that Road Sweet Home
Hagglers to stragglers
Riches to rags
Road Sweet Home
One day I'll hang up my rags
but it ain't today
Road Sweet Home
There ain't a bucket of ruckus I'd known...
Not like Road Sweet Home
Only road that I ever known
Sweet Home
Hagglers to stragglers
Tweakers to dreamers
Road Sweet Home
One place, now I'm in the other
and I'm on my way
to that Road Sweet Home
There ain't a bucket of ruckus I'd known...
Not like Road Sweet Home
Only road that I ever known!
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8. |
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Lordy, I did every... thing you told me
I tied my heart up with my sleeve
and I tried to find it way down deep
Truth is, the quest it made me question my beliefs
I'd say it's time I take it up
with underneath
I set the cross at my feet
I settled all my debts with Jesus
Stoked the fire with treason
Why won't the devil kiss me?
I'll take one for the team
if you want my blood
Then you can watch me bleed
Why won't the devil kiss me?
I let her into my home
I left the door wide open
I swear I let her go
Why won't the devil kiss me?
I'll save a shwill for the lord
of that dusty bottle of whiskey
for next time we meet
Why won't the devil kiss me?
A shot for you to show
and two for if you don't
I crucify my peace
Why won't the devil kiss me?
I'm cryin' out like a child
I let desire run me wild
Not even in my dreams?
Why won't the devil kiss me?
Just my luck...
Stuck in the waitin' room
in line behind a good ol' good for nothin'
And I seen this movie before
Chances are the store is closed
So I'm laughin' at the sky...
And honey,
If that ain't the pertiest sunset I ever done willin' did see without ya again...
Then we can't be friends
Cheers
to the end
I set the cross at my feet
I settled all my debts with Jesus
Stoked the fire with treason
Why won't the devil kiss me?
I'll take one for the team
if you want my blood
Then you can watch me bleed
Why won't the devil kiss me?
I let her into my home
I left the door wide open
I swear I let her go
Why won't the devil kiss me?
I saved a shwill for the lord
of that dusty bottle of whickey
for next time we meet
Why won't the devil kiss me?
A shot for you to show
and two for when you don't
I crucified my peace
Why won't the devil kiss me?
If he makes the grey skies settle
and makes the darkness tremble
Think he could make her weak?
Why won't the devil kiss me?
Why won't the devil kiss me?
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Eli Elkus Northampton, Massachusetts
Eli Elkus is a traveling musical storyteller, songmaker, and folk activist. He began sculpting his craft as a young
troubadour fishin' for songs by the riversides and busking in the streets. And so it went... The lazy-eyed dreamer and his familiar Bronco the hound wonder wander the US byways bringing folk music to the folks, freewheelin' in their road sweet home - 'JeBus'.
elielkus@gmail.com
... more
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