(Scroll down for lyrics to Boundary County)
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…