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Queen of the Minor Key
Sea of tears Letters From Sinners and Strangers Boundary County ~ Queen of the Minor Key ~ I Remember You I remember you You were full of broken bones I tried to bring you cigarettes You said just leave me alone I remember you You were locked in a padded room I tried to teach you solitaire You just hollered at the moon I remember you I remember you I remember you We were Bonnie and Clyde We thought we’d go down in history I guess we changed our minds You’re a hundred worlds away now I’m sure it’s for the best You’re practically a stranger now But you stand out from the rest ‘Cause I remember you I remember you I remember you You told the stories of your scars We kept each other’s secrets And slept in empty cars I remember you I showed you how to kiss I let you shoot my hats off ‘Cause I knew you wouldn’t miss And I remember you I remember you I remember you We would’ve died intertwined We talked in tongues of a kinship We could only deny Now you think you’re anonymous, A masked face without a name But I know you’re one of us Underneath you’re still the same And I remember you I remember you Queen of the Minor Key The day I was born a gypsy looked at me She told my mama she could easily see Just how bright my future would be For I was gonna be royalty No crown will sit on her poor head A barstool will be her throne she said Instead of riches and finery She’ll have a wealth of sad songs and whiskey She’ll be the queen, the queen, the queen, The queen of the minor key And so you see I play the part Before empty glasses and broken hearts You’re in the right court if blue’s what you need But if it’s sunshine you’re after don’t bother me I’m the queen, the queen, the queen, The queen of the minor key I’m the queen of lonely tunes, The queen of the high shelf booze The queen of melancholy Queen of the minor key That’s Where I’m Going My baby waits by the river He says come on home When I’m done with my rambling That’s where I’m going All of the people in the city Wish they could take it slow Time stands still in the country That’s where I’m going Leave a light in the window I’ll find my way by its glow My heart is there by the river That’s where I’m going The city will go to your head Like a hundred dollar gin You can drink the water in the country That’s where I’m going That’s where I’m going That’s where I’m going Santa Fe You picked up a broken bottle In case anyone gave us any trouble And we walked all the way back to Cortez You sang help me dear doctor At the top of your lungs You’d been soaking up drink like a sponge Little boy down the street We all heard you mournfully Call again and again for Roberta Roberta… The mountain towns burned red Consumed by a sunset I’d be happy disappearing under colors like that And I fell in love with trains, Haunted by the old refrain You ride the Southern, I’ll ride the Santa Fe Santa Fe… It was wrong of me to leave ‘Cause I couldn’t stand a perfect thing But I was too young to know any better And I’d give the world if it were mine To let these memories slip my mind And wake up next to you one more time One more time… Warning Signs We wove a sticky web in a dirty little game And I was hypnotized All your bad juju and all your weird voodoo Made me go blind There was nothing there but the shell of the girl You left behind But I wasn’t seeing, I just wasn’t seeing Somehow I missed the warning signs They were warning signs, warning signs, warning signs They told me you were evil but I want you for mine Black widow spelled out your name That’s how I knew you lied And when the rattlesnake hissed it in my ear I knew you’d never get right The raven winked his beady eye Told me where you’d been last night Now I started seeing, slowly I was seeing I couldn’t miss the warning signs They were warning signs, warning signs, warning signs They told me you were evil, I don’t want you for mine Warning signs, warning signs, warning signs They told me you were evil, I don’t want you for mine Reckless You drive me wild Like a crazy child You leave me breathless You don’t pay me no mind It’s all you all the time You’re selfish My heart isn’t safe With you at the wheel You don’t care if it breaks You don’t care how I feel You better watch the next turn We’re gonna crash and burn You’re reckless You said you loved me the best Then you just up and left Darlin’ you’re senseless You’re a truck with no brakes A semi on skates Baby you’re restless My heart isn’t safe With you at the wheel You don’t care if it breaks You don’t care how I feel You better watch the next turn We’re gonna crash and burn You’re reckless Over Again I drive through that town sometimes Just to see if you still live there I think I see you once in a while I practice looking like I don’t care I see you parked out front And I slow way down Without thinking about it I check to see if you’re around But that’s just habit It’s a hard thing to break My heart’s mine you can’t have it And I’m over you anyway I’m over you anyway All over again You can’t reach me, can’t even begin I think you decided to write When I get something in the mail Maybe you’ve apologized But it’s just another bill You carved my initials on your truck Big bold letters on the grill I think you said it proved your love I wonder if they’re legible still But that’s just habit It’s a hard thing to break My heart’s mine you can’t have it And I’m over you anyway I’m over you anyway All over again You can’t reach me, never again So high over you, all over again You’ll never reach me Never again Bang Bang Bang That little cupid, he’s a real sharp shooter I don’t believe he’s got an arrow and bow People all think he just couldn’t be cuter But I saw him down at the gun show He appeared to be about two years of age A really freaky thing to see He was bragging about his sawed-off six gauge Hidden right up his tattered sleeve I asked him if the gun had a sight How can you hit your mark that way Little cupid, he just laughed outright He said I don’t take aim I just bang bang bang I don’t take aim I just bang bang bang He fired off a few hot rounds Right into the sorry crowd No blood, no gore, no one hit the ground They all just fell in love With whoever they happened to be around It’s funny, till it happens to you But be sure you stay well out of his way Love is careless, random and cruel He don’t take aim he just --- He don’t take aim he just bang bang bang He don’t take aim he just bang bang bang He don’t take aim he just bang. Bang. Bang Hooked I’m hooked On the way that you look A fever I never shook I’m hooked I’m caught Up in the way that you talk Like a high voltage shock I’m caught I’m stuck on you Like a new tattoo Like a duct tape suit I’m stuck on you I’m hooked Line, sinker, the whole works Don’t know exactly what I took But I’m hooked I’m hooked On the way that you look A fever I never shook I’m hooked Only One I wish I was holding you, My arms enfolding you Making you high as the summer sun You’re my only one Baby why am I missing you When I ought to be kissing you Tell me our love has just begun You’re my only one Only one Don’t make me the sad and lonely one Only one Ooohh I tell myself I’m good without you But there is no doubt about you I think of you and I come undone You’re my only one Only one Don’t make me the sad and lonely one Only one Ooohh Long Road I know it’s not easy To say goodbye But I’ll be back soon darlin’ And everything will be all right So keep your chin up And dry your eyes We’ll meet again Somewhere down the line Another day another highway An endless ribbon of blue My life is a long road Winding slowly back to you My bags are packed They’re waiting by the door It’s time for me to leave Though I hate to go Please try to believe I can’t stand leaving you I’d stay here if I could But I do what I have to do Another day another highway An endless ribbon of blue My life is a long road Winding slowly back to you My life is a long road Winding slowly back to you Home to Me Wind carries wildfire, wind carries the seeds Wind will carry my love home to me It drove him away on a southern breeze Wind will bring my love home to me The sun brings the daylight, sun brings the heat Sun will bring my love home to me It drove him away with a million degrees Sun will bring my love home to me The rain fills the oceans, rain fills the seas Rain will fill my love’s heart for me It drove him away with storms and sleet But rain will bring my love home to me Wind, sun and rain carry on endlessly Night upon night I see him in dreams I’ll walk alone if alone I must be Until my love returns home to me Kalimotxo Kalimotxo! Kalimotxo? Kalimotxo….. ~Letters From Sinners and Strangers~ Rich Man’s World (Jewell) Well it’s a rich man’s world, a rich man’s world And who am I in it Who am I in it Nothing but a lonely rambler girl A lonely rambler girl Misfit, mismatched, not a penny to my name Trying to get to someplace that doesn’t look the same Look the same Someplace that feels right Never mind any fortune or fame Well it’s up early in the morning trying to find some work to do Well it’s hard times now baby but there’s better coming soon Coming soon Or else I’ll hop the next train Yeah the next train will do Well they’ll get for rambling They’ll throw you in the bin Acting like rambling now is some kind of sin Some kind of sin Just watch your step baby Watch what crowd you end up in Dusty Boxcar Wall (E. Andersen) Well I’m going away my baby I’m gonna leave you honey now Well that train passed by when you lay sleeping I’m gonna write you a letter on a dusty boxcar wall The only two things a gambler needs Are a suitcase and a trunk And the only time that he’s satisfied Is when he’s on the drunk I once loved a boy in Cincinnati I loved a boy in sunny Tennessee Well a city boy will fill your heart with sadness But a country boy’s as good as he can be High Shelf Booze (Jewell) If my man asks ‘bout what I’ll do Now that he’s turned me loose Tell him I’ve gone to meet all the girls And drink all that high shelf booze The high shelf booze, the high shelf booze You won’t catch me dead with no blues The high shelf booze, the high shelf booze You won’t catch me dead with no blues I always said I’d be his slave Before I would be his dog But it looks like he’s got me rambling ‘round And sleeping in a hollow log A hollow log, a hollow log Sleeping in a hollow log A hollow log, a hollow log Sleeping in a hollow log Well it’s one man on Sunday, another on Monday Two on Tuesday afternoon Easy come, easy go You won’t hear me sing no lonesome tune Easy come, easy go You won’t hear me sing no lonesome tune Easy come, easy go You won’t hear me sing no lonesome tune Thanks a Lot (C. Rich) You’re telling everyone in town that I don’t treat you right You even say I stay away and don’t come home at night I’m losing you and you are all I’ve got Thanks a lot, thanks a lot It seems you like to hurt me even though I’m good to you I’d give you everything I own, do anything you want me to Now you’ve really got me on the spot Thanks a lot, thanks a lot Still I would forgive you if you’d let me I’d be glad if we could try again But it seems that you’re just out to get me And it looks as if you’re just about to win No matter what you do I always will love you And you will never know how it hurts to see you go After calling me those things you know I’m not Thanks a lot, thanks a lot Heartache Boulevard (Jewell) The echo of his footsteps in the street And the drip-drop of tears on my cheeks Were the only sounds on that sad dark night When my loving baby said goodbye We used to stay home every night We lived a quiet, happy life But now if you’re looking to find me ain’t so hard I’ll be right here on Heartache Boulevard Come on over and see me sometime The jukebox plays on and the losers are fine Oh how the whiskey flows and it works like a charm Here on Heartache Boulevard So pour me a round at the bar And turn up that steel guitar Cause I ain’t going home and I ain’t going far I moved down to Heartache Boulevard Too Hot to Sleep (Jewell) Moon is high, shining down on the flowers You and I while away the hours Walk me down the sweltering street I want to feel the city’s summer heat They’re gonna play those old records till dawn Let the music go on and on and on It’s too hot to sleep anyway So we might as well stay It’s getting late, they’re closing their doors Let’s go upstairs and dance some more The words left unsaid can be told in time You’ve gone to my head like sweet moonshine Let’s play those old records till dawn Let the music go on and on and on It’s too hot to sleep anyway So you might as well stay Where They Never Say Your Name (Jewell) I rode sixteen wheels all the way Sixteen nights and lonely days I’m going back, I wish I never came I’m going someplace where they never say your name You kept me up all night with your coke and gin Left me next morning and turned me in And that’s evil, baby you’re no good Well I’d forget you baby if I could Well you show me the well but you don’t let me drink You threw my heart right in just to watch it sink And it went down, it went down, it went all the way down And I’m going there too, over the edge and drown I’m gonna lay my head on some railroad line Last thing I’ll hear is that engine cry I’m going back, I wish I never came I’m going someplace where they never say your name How Long (Jewell, inspired by the words of MLK) The darkness is deep, but night will end ‘Cause truth crushed to earth will rise again How long will it take, you want to know How long, not long because you reap just what you sow How long, not long because no lie lives forever How long, not long because we’ll turn aside never How long, not long because we’ve sounded all the trumpets How long, not long because the great arc follows justice How long, not long because the truth is marching on How long, not long because this hour will soon be gone Though our aching legs are weary the truth is marching on The truth is marching on, The truth is marching on and on and on and on How long How long In the End (Jewell) Somewhere out west a freighter rides by You used to watch them pass with their grit in your eye And the wild dogs under darkening sky Still listen for your lonesome lullaby Way out in the desert you felt so free How you loved those hills of Joshua Tree Now there’s a dusty path missing two dusty feet Is this really how you wanted it to be Everybody said you won’t make it Everybody said you’re no good But did you listen to them, in the end Even though you swore you never would The patch of ground where they found you that day Is godforsaken, a barren place Why did you have to go this way Why did you go this way If You Catch Me Stealing (Trad.) If you catch me stealing you know I don’t mean no harm If you catch me stealing you know I don’t mean no harm It’s the mark of my family and it must be carried on I got nineteen men, and I want one more I got nineteen men, and I want one more If I get that one more I’m gonna let that nineteen go Have you ever seen peaches growing wild on a vine Have you ever seen peaches growing wild on a vine Well just climb in my orchard and get a taste of mine Well I got a man in Atlanta, two in Alabama, Three in Chattanooga, four in Cincinnata Five in Mississippi, six in Memphis, Tennessee If you don’t like my peaches just let my orchard be Walking Down the Line (B. Dylan) Well I’m walking down the line, Walking down the line Well I’m walking down the line, my feet’ll be flying I can tell you by my troubled mind I seen the morning light, Seen the morning light, Well it’s not because I’m an early riser I didn’t get to sleep last night My money comes and goes, My money comes and goes My money comes and goes and rolls and flows Through the holes in the pockets of my clothes Blue Highway (Jewell) Endless nights of one eye open and one ear to the ground You promised me eternity but you never even come around Well all my worries came flooding in the day you said hello If you care to know what I think of that, honey step outside your door You’ll see me roll down this blue highway I’m gonna roll, roll, roll, roll I don’t need you to help me lose my way I’m gonna roll, roll, roll, roll One fine day I’m gonna meet my God and tell him how you made me feel But the only thing I can do down here is put miles behind these wheels You’ll see me roll down this blue highway I’m gonna roll, roll, roll, roll I don’t need you to help me lose my way I’m gonna roll, roll, roll, roll I’m gonna roll, roll, roll, roll ~ Boundary County ~ All songs by E. Jewell Boundary County Say hello to Boundary County If you make it up that way I don’t get around as much As I did in my younger days I was raised in that country So pure and so fair But I took too hard to the whiskey And I wandered away from there. I miss the barbed wire and the sage On that wild northern range The giant, staring sky Like a bright, tragic blue eye Why I left I can’t say why I can’t say why Say hello to Boundary County for me She’s prettier than dreams If you’ve been someplace so far away Then you’ve really seen some things Those miles and miles of steel rails Are a one-way track And no matter how hard I try I never make it back I never make it back I miss those violet hills And the sweet smell of the fields Reach their arms out so wide Like heaven’s only bride Why I left I can’t say why I can’t say why Every man serves his time I know I’ve done my share And when that old roll is called You will find me there In Boundary County, If you make it up that way I don’t get around as much As I did in my younger days Till You Lay Down Your Heavy Load It’s a hard, and it’s a rough road It’s a hard, and it’s a rough road It’s a long, long ways to go Till you lay down your heavy load You will walk it all alone, You will walk it all alone None will save your weary soul Till you lay down your heavy load Seasons come and seasons go Seasons come and seasons go Still so little any will know Till we lay down our heavy load Angels calling soft and low Angels calling soft and low They will guide me safely home Till I lay down my heavy load Hey Hey Hey Everything’s empty in this lonesome old town If I could find the river I’d follow it down To someplace with some life still left Go out dancing in my Sunday best I need to forget Shake off this regret What I need’s a grand piano to do things right Cool my fingers in its pools of black and white I need time, clear to eternity Half of it to set it straight and the other just to sleep I need to forget Sleep off this regret I never seem to catch things as they’re coming my way I go chasing them down crying hey come back hey Hey what were you hey Hey hey hey Fourth Degree Once upon a starry night I had a little boy was the light of my life And I know that I never can stay away Oh my god I pray Well I follow you down, I follow you down I won’t do nothing till I follow you down And I go so far astray That it takes years to find my way The first degree, the second degree I can’t stop baby till the fourth degree And I go all outta my way Just to chase all my blues away Mess Around Feel like messing up, cutting my teeth On stolen candy, chewing on something sweet I don’t know what, what I came here for Stumbling down these streets, trying to find your door Take the long way ‘round, long walk across this town If I was any good at painting, I’d paint it up and down But I’m not, I’m just trying not to make a sound Whistling to myself the Fourth Street Mess Around Mess around, mess around, mess around… Wanna tell it like it is from heaven’s point of view But I would not have lived in vain if I could utter one thing true Or not build this life so artificially Not go about it all so goddam superficially Lay myself down, quit running so ragged Blaze me a trail just a little less jagged But for now I’m just stuck here in this town Singing to myself the Fourth Street Mess Around Mess around, mess around, mess around… Back to Dallas Lay around the shack all day Bootlegging for your sorry pay I don’t care what your mama say You’re going back to Dallas Ain’t worth a gunny sack of beans Worst case a girl ‘bout ever seen You love me like a bulldog baby just as mean Now you’re going back to Dallas Hello central information please Give me all the numbers I need I got some money for the driving fee Cause he’s going back to Dallas Tom cats never made so many goddam rounds You just can’t ignore that old howling sound Honey you done let that deal go down Now you’re going back to Dallas No Place to Go It’s so hard to find your way In these streets from day to day So easy to disappear When the night conceals you here In the gloom of a vacant road You’ll know that you’re alone Like a pain you’ve never known When you got no place to go When you got no place to go… When the icy winds they blow You’ll hang your head down low You’ll be wishing for that home That sweet home you used to know When you wander all the time With a ragged and a worried mind When you walk a crooked line Then your troubles will be like mine Then your troubles will be like mine… So Long Blues I’ve been waiting forever now I’ve been waiting so long Guess I’ll wait my whole life out And honey it just seems wrong It’s been so long since your kissing So long since holding you All your loving I’ve been missing I’ve got the so long blues You can’t make up your mind about me It’s been taking you so long First it’s yes, then maybe And then you’re up and gone Since the day that we first met My life’s got no reason or rhyme Ain’t no telling what to expect Well so long peace of mind But some fine day I’ll get my senses back Someday I’ll dust my broom I’ll tip my hat, head down the tracks And say so long blues Gotta Get Right Hear you talking, Hear you talking, babe. Don’t believe a word you say Jug of whiskey Jug of gin Repent and do it all again You gotta get right You gotta get right, babe… You gotta get right one of these days Want your motor running Want it every night Oil when the wheel’s too tight The Flood Poisoned streets Full of blood The people can do nothing To hold back the flood The water takes them Not one life line Everyone just standing Ringing their hands and crying Can anyone among us please explain What went down on the banks of the Ponchartrain? No sir I don’t believe it was the hurricane That lay New Orleans out to waste Blown-out windows, Rooftops gone Every soul Singing a funeral song Look at the pictures All black faces Our leaders call themselves distracted I call them racists Can anyone among you please explain What went down on the banks of the Ponchartrain? It’s you our leader who’s to blame You lay sweet New Orleans out to waste And if I had Had my way I’d pull them all outta there And I’d make you stay For a storm All your own And I’d be that old hurricane And I’d wash away all your gold Your wife and children Would have no home You’d be left there in those waters Naked and alone In the streets Of poisoned blood Now what you gonna do To hold back the flood? Blow It All Away Let’s just keep driving you and me I like your soft voice and your pleasant company We can pull each other out of this dusty little town Make a new start somewhere maybe settle down I wanna get me a mean little bike Black and chrome or anything you like You can teach me how to ride it in style Put it on the pike and head south a million miles I asked the wind as it blew on by What we should do and it replied Blow it all away All these burdens needn’t stay I wanna fix up a row boat for you We could row it out at sunset and you know what we could do Doesn’t it feel like this is how it should be These stars, these dreams, and you and me Sometimes I feel like the world’s on my back Like there’s so much to lose and so much I lack But the truth is the world’s at my command The way you love me it’s all in my hands A breath and a wish, and we’re gone Someone's Arms Snow blankets the city in a cover of white I wish someone’s arms were holding me as tight But the devil wind blows harder on me, cold and bare And someone’s arms won’t be reaching for there’s nobody there. I guess there are some who love long and true Who never go wanting for loving to do But others try always in vain just to find Someone’s arms to hold them and ease their mind Love is a raven, feathers dark and long She perches by moonlight and is gone before dawn The lover is a babe in the woods full of harm To be laid down or gathered by someone’s arms You Can't Take My Song Away My strings how they’ll jangle My voice how it will rise In a feathery tangle And meet the truth above this world, among the skies More powerful than riches More precious than your gold Holier than your churches Bewildering as desert cold You can lock me in jail Cheat me of all I own Tie me to the rails Leave me forsaken and alone But you can’t take my song away… |
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