1. |
Last Fair Deal Gone Down
02:10
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you are yourself at the center of the story
your fate falls through your hands
and at the heart of all this fated glory
scattered on the land
the deal was done on a bright blue morning
the how and why and when
so what a step as the forces behind you
were whipping up the dust bowl again
this jealously defended domestication
turns out to be a temporary situation
this little power
this precious quiet
gives way to a riot
work till your back is breaking
try to tell me your fate's not shaken
you have your reasons to believe in people
but people aren't all the same
they're not the same today
we lost a piece of the puzzle
we lost one of the team
who really knows who caused this trouble
turns us all around
last fair deal gone down (x4)
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2. |
Constanz
03:04
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you go to Norway
I go to Switzerland
let all the zombies come
and tear this place apart
I was looking forward to my life
and all the things I could be
can't you picture me sailing on the bolded sea
here's the face of truth
terrible truth beyond the imagination
they built hell on earth
and we knew it was happening
the country is not stupid
even though it's silent
it still has eyes and ears
it just can't find its mouth
a fail extended through the years
the fog rolls over Constanz
faces and figures like shadows merge
race to the surface then disappear
I die toddy
you die tomorrow
let all the zombies come
and tear this place apart
down by the harbor
there's a statue of a woman
fifty feet tall
a skirt split to her waist
in one hand there's a pope
in the other there's a key
revolving very slowly
above the mist
you wake up in the morning and see that huge reflection
snatch up a gun and fire twice into the mirror
the country is not stupid even though its silent
it still has eyes and ears
it just cant find its mouth
you go to London
and I'll go to Canada
let all the zombies come
and tear this place apart
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3. |
Sputnik 57
02:19
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born in 57
and somewhere in the heavens
a Sputnik started beeping night and day
a shiny little ball
that could never ever fall
passing slowly by the window where I lay
I went out there on the launch pads
up there with the Sputnik
stayed up all night when a man walked on the moon
I was born in the trip
of the rockets very trail
and I saw that brighter future coming soon
when the winners of the human race
floated weightless up in space
above the poor and the heavy and the doomed
just one small step for man
one giant leap from Vietnam
walking with the men up on the moon
yeah I was up there on the launch pads
up there with the Sputnik
stayed up all night when the men walked on the moon
I was born in the trip
that rockets find a trail
cause I saw that brighter future coming soon
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4. |
The Country is Young
02:51
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the country is young
just crawled to its feet
takes a step and collapses
all in a heap
resist the temptation
to slap the child down
try to remember its age
realize the potential
deflect all the rage
not too big on the sharing
the gentle or the caring
the country is young (x2)
lost like an orphan
the day it was found
drag down tot he river
but it just wouldn't drown
so big and so clumsy
never knew it was born
suddenly torn
in bright lights without noise
we gotta wipe its fat ass
and buy it some toys
not too big on the sharing
the gentle or the caring
the country is young (x2)
the country is young
its got bad growing pains
growing out of its clothes
stretching out on the planes
one day I know
before it's much older
it's gonna pick up the phone and call the cops on me
feed on itself to set us all free
not too big on the caring
the gentle or the sharing
but still so much fun
the country is young
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5. |
Hard Times
01:53
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I'm a hard act to follow
I'm hard as a rock
I'm a little hard to handle some men say
it's hard to get by
so wish me hard luck
cause things are getting harder every day
hard times hard times
movin down the line
hard and fast and rolling down the track
I'm hard on your heels
a hard nut to crack
I'm a hard road that always brings you back
I'm from a hard little town
where every thing's shut down
hard work get it while you can
hard liquor hard foot
on a honky tonk hardwood floor
I guess I'm just a hard living man
the harder I drink
the harder I fall
I hope that's not too hard to understand
so whatever you see
don't be too hard on me
I guess I'm just a hard living man
hard times hard times
moving down the line
hard and fast and rolling down the track
I'm hard on your heels
a hard nut to crack
I'm a hard road that always brings you back
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6. |
The Fame of Lofty Deeds
02:15
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close up the house
fit for a king
with everything
anybody needs
his worldly gains
up on display
all the fame of lofty deeds
he quit the band
went on his own
got his own show
the rest is history
made a few mistakes
but took all the breaks
charmed the snakes
and burst the seams
and anyone who had a taste
could cut his face
from magazines
for the winters suck
and sun to bleach
to fade and perish
like a dream
now all his fans
like grains of sand
will fall through glass
god truth and speed
and climb that hill
to kiss or kill
for all the fame of lofty deeds
when the candles snuffed
things get tough
your enemies
seek your company
when you're all alone
reach for the phone
I'm skull and bones
remember me
remember me
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7. |
Nashville Radio
03:26
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drink and pills and Nashville radio life will never be the same
chills and spills from Maine to Mexico
ridin on my funeral train
in every town there's the same tribulation
every state I wake up in
the night before was a dim recollection
of powders and bottles and sin
there's a bald little stranger heading out the door
just about half my age
blood on the walls glass on the floor
I don't think I even made it on stage
I said doctor doctor
sign my prescription
I'm in trouble again
ever since I was a tiny little baby
I couldn't get rid of the pain
I shake my hips but I walk like a cripple
and my body is getting too thin
I can count every one of my bones in the mirror
pokin through my cold white skin
there's a shiny star on the dressing room door
but I'll be out in the back of my car
cause I don't know a soul I can trust with the money
or to tune up my guitar
drink and pills and Nashville radio life will never be the same
chills and spills from Maine to Mexico
ridin on my funeral train
I can't sleep without the engine humming
and the wheels rolling night and day
well I can't sleep without the Nashville radio
slipping through my chemical haze
play some song but I don't remember
with the DJ calling my name
if they play my songs on the Nashville radio
my life will never be the same
I said doctor doctor
sign my prescription
I'm in trouble again
ever since I was a tiny little baby
I couldn't get rid of the pain
ever since I was a tiny little baby
I couldn't get to sleep at night
be listening to that Nashville radio
hours before day light
they threw me off the Grand Ole Opry
cause I couldn't behave
I never knew how many friends I had
till I was lying in a cold dark grave
I gave my life to country music
I took my pills and lost
now they don't play my songs on the radio
it's like I never was
that's sweaty cop in an Alabama lockup
looked at me and he laughed
he'd heard my songs on the Nashville radio
he asked me for my autograph
he said doctor doctor
sign my prescription
I'm in trouble again
ever since I was a tiny little baby
I couldn't get rid of the pain
drink and pills and Nashville radio life will never be the same
chills and spills from Maine to Mexico
ridin on my funeral train
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8. |
Living a Lie
01:49
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there's not a man here in this place
could look that Cyclops in the face
turning back the hands of time
there's nothing but perfect and the perfect crime
thank you we're all doing well
then the taxis and the axis fell
and you'll believe it's for the best
oh you can leave like all the rest
livin a lie you've been living a lie
kicking that dust up in your eye
livin a lie you've been livin a lie
decoy duck is on the air
reading his lines to the people there
in their houses made of sticks
eating dirt and getting sick
there's chicken smiling on the can
happy fish in the pan
there's pretty words
that scatter by
but cheating signs of these cheating times
livin a lie you've been living a lie
kicking that dust up in your eye
alligator shoes and crocodile eye
livin a lie you've been living a lie
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9. |
Homburg
03:07
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your multi lingual
business friend
has packed her bags and fled
leaving only ash filled ashtrays
and a lipstick unmade bed
the mirror on reflection
has climbed back upon the wall
for the floor she found descended
and the ceiling was toot all
the trouser cuffs are dirty
shoes are laced are brown
you better take off your Homburg
cause your overcoat is too long
the town clock in the market square
stands waiting for the hour
and it's hands they both turn backwards
and on meeting will devour
both themselves and also any fools
who dare to tell a time
and the southern moon will shatter
and the sign posts cease to sign
well your trouser cuffs are dirty
your shoes are laced are brown
you better take off your Homburg
cause your overcoat is too long
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10. |
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well I worked hard and I've got lots of money
and I tried hard but I don't want to stay
I seen too much trouble
felt to much pressure bubble
I know there had to be a better way
I wouldn't mind if you thought I was worth it
or you'd slap me down when I misbehave
but everybody knows
I've got funky here in tow
to clean up all the messes that I've made
and I'm goin over the cliff
yeah I'm goin over the cliff
it's hard to tell if life is a burden or a gift
I'm goin over the cliff
so forgive me or forget me everybody
I guess I always had this on a streak
sick of all the yawning
the bitchin and the ballin
sick of feeling powerless and weak
please don't call me cool just call me asshole
cause I would be a beggar not a king
but the devil don't care if
you're chip or you're a fish
and I'm going over the cliff
I'm going over the cliff
yeah I'm going over the cliff
success on someone else's terms
don't mean a fucking thing
I'm going over the cliff
New York and LA they send me faxes
so the company can wash their hands of this
there was no one there
to look after me or care
so I'm going over the cliff
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11. |
Trouble in Mind
04:37
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well trouble in mind
and I'm blue
but I won't be blue always
cause the sun's gonna shine in
my backdoor someday
I'm gon lay my head
on some lonesome railroad line
let the 219 train pacify my mind
trouble in mind
and I'm blue
I have almost lost my mind
when you see me laughing
I'm laughing to keep from crying
I bought you a diamond
and a fur coat made of seal
I bought you a home
you tried to take my automobile
with trouble in mind
I'm blue
the road is rocky all the way
but the sun's gonna shine
in my backdoor someday
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Jon Langford Chicago, Illinois
The L'homme de Renaissance of indie rock. The prolific Welshman-cum-Chicagoan has done it all in his time. Founded the Ground Zero UK art/punk collective The Mekons. He's also the guiding force in the Waco Brothers, the rarely convened collective of the Pine Valley Cosmonauts, the Skull Orchard and Wee Hairy Beasties. As nice as he is prolific--take a dive into his many musical endeavors. ... more
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