1. |
A Sign Of The Times
03:50
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I ride the cross town buses
down the alleys past the houses
where the watch dog watches out for
strangers on the loose
I’ll pick an address off the sidewalk
pick my way in past the pad lock
where the hot wire burglar alarm is
suckin’ up the juice
the dirty son of an LA DJ
hot rod racin’ down the LA freeway
wrong way down the one way right of way
right into a crash
they send out for an aid car
come up runnin’ with a crow bar
pry him out and work him over
so he don’t get whip lash
the street corner preacher
he’s an ex-karate teacher
black belt evangelist
doin’ god’s almighty will
while the hard core sinners
eat their pornographic dinners
go to church and bribe the minister
with a twenty dollar bill
old ladies with their nurses
carry pistols in their purses
to protect them from the children
who are out of control
adolescent alcoholics
pick pocket people’s wallets
to work their way through grade school
and make the honor roll
all the low down rounders
and the dug in undergrounders
hang around with out of towners
lookin’ for their chance
panhandle propositions
play upon your superstitions
sleight of hand pick the pockets
right out of your pants
the country singer from Tacoma
says he’s born in Oklahoma
learned to ride in Arizona
and he’s got the boots to prove it
and it’s sad and kinda funny
makin’ all that money
puts it up his nose ‘cause he don’t know
what else to do with it
yes these times they are confusin’
it’s enough to make you blow a fuse ‘n’
it’s enough to make you throw up your hands n say
“what’s the use”
when all the ships are sinkin’
and you can’t say what you’re thinkin’
‘cause that’ll just piss ‘em off
you gotta to keep it loose
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2. |
Landlord
03:36
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yonder come my landlord collecting his rent
with his greedy yellow eyes and his tongue all bent
with his padlocked pockets and his bad luck nose
sniffin’ ‘round my doorway and goin’ through my clothes
oh how could you treat me so cold
you got a mortgage on my body and a lien on my soul
I got a crackpot house with a two way roof
my neighbors are thieves but I got no proof
you like to take you don't want to give
i gotta make a lot of money just to have a place to live
oh how could you treat me so cold
you got a mortgage on my body and a lien on my soul
but hey you landlord I know you well
you run a rock and roll tavern and fancy hotel
you misuse a lot of people that you got at your command
I’ll put on a pair of gloves before I shake your hand
oh how could you treat me so cold
you got a mortgage on my body and a lien on my soul
you go watching through windows what you got no right to see
knocking on doors where you got no right to be
your legs are weak 'cause you been telling lies
and some day somebody’s gonna get wise
oh how could you treat me so cold
you got a mortgage on my body and a lien on my soul
you’re gonna get evicted out on the street
with no food in your belly no shoes on your feet
you’re gonna walk around from door to door
but nobody’s gonna want to see you anymore
oh how could you treat me so cold
you got a mortgage on my body and a lien on my soul
you’re gonna wake up in the helpless dawn
look around and find that your land is gone
you want to be cold just as cold as you please
well come next winter you're gonna freeze
oh how could you treat me so cold
you got a mortgage on my body and a lien on my soul
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3. |
Pig Alley
05:26
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down along Pig Alley everything is in a fog
there is nothing moving anywhere except a hobo dog
with its nose stuck in a boiler that been busted 30 years
when from around a darkened corner a young cowboy appears
just got into town, it’s the Pike Street Kid
and the dog and him go off together down along the skid
the professor, he’s out looking out of curiosity
he wants to find some real people for the university
he finds a couple underneath a bench, half buried in the lawn
when a policeman comes up and wants to know what street he’s on
the professor says he’ll tell him but first he needs a hand
and together they go digging in the Pig Alley sand
from out of nowhere Pagliacci, who is very well depressed
comes with all his shoes untied though he is otherwise very well dressed
juggling a load of empty boxes as he fumbles for his keys
but they slip right through his fingers, he falls cursing to his knees
a midget monk comes up running with a huge iron cross
screaming at the top of his lungs, “Jesus is the boss!”
they’re growing winos in the cellar, underneath the street
trained to wear tuxedos and politely how to eat
Prince Charming, the graduate, had just finished the course
and holding his diploma he rides away on a big white horse
and he marries the pretty country girl who dreams of being a queen
but winds up washing dishes in the Pig Alley canteen
on the beach below the pilings in a well pitched camp
there lives Gentleman Jim with his band of trusty tramps
living almost entirely on dumb luck
still the gentleman’s got enough put aside to buy them a pickup truck
and the sun is shining brightly as down the road they drive
some of the very few to ever get out alive
there are many who have come here just to spend the day
to walk along the boardwalk to explore the alleyways
but its only one of a thousand who is ever allowed to leave
the rest have grown to the pavement and been stapled down by their sleeves
you can see them on the curbings with their pockets full of glass
they will hook you by your heels as you try to walk past
so come on down take a look, have the time of your lives
you only live once, so says the Jack Of Knives
treat yourself, feed your eyes, enjoy it while you can
see if you can beat them at their own sleight of hand
everyone is very friendly, they will all take you home
and you will never again ever have to be alone
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4. |
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the news hit the streets and it spread like wild fire
lit up all the headlines and the teletype wires
calling out for fortune in the far off frozen cold
goin’ up to Alaska to mine the black pipeline gold
and they were loading up their cars
payin’ fare to take the trains
and it was black gold fever
that was burning in their brains
in the Great Alaska Oil Rush
poster print and hand bills pasted on the walls
of the job call stations and the union halls
promised high pay wages for those that ply the trade
and take a chance to make a killing where the big money’s made
and they were headed out of the highway
headed north to stake a claim
on the mighty pipeline fields
where they’re cut out across the plains
in the Great Alaska Oil Rush
stock investment brokers sold the fat fiscal shares
to the payroll gamblers and the landed millionaires
corporation kickbacks and side door deals
to pad the pockets of the profiteers and the big shot wheels
mouthpiece preachers
talking progress designs
with the future of the empire
laid out on the line
of the Great Alaska Oil Rush
the lucky ones who made it worked the twelve hour days
workin’ hard to beat the clock to get the payroll raise
while the unlucky others, cut off and stranded
turned away refused, unemployed and empty handed
huddled in the hotels
of the cold water freeze
to join the ranks of the thousand
new Alaskan refugees
of the Great Alaska Oil Rush
hard hated prospectors shoveled on the crews
wearing sub-zero jackets and insulation shoes
diggin’ with Caterpillar tractors muscled in the ditch
eating prime rib and lobster tails fit for the rich
with a maid to do their laundry
and a maid to clean their rooms
ten dollars an hour
scrubbin’ pots and pushin’ brooms
in the Great Alaska Oil Rush
across the high wild tundra, through the forest and the trees
through the valleys and the fields of a million mysteries
the mine field marauders swept through in a wave
dug a trench through the ground to make a junk yard grave
where the throw-away
machinery was thrown off in the blinders
in a garbage dump trail
that was to serve as a reminder
of the Great Alaska Oil Rush
environment protectors shouted their despair
hammered out their voices through the empty hollow air
for the rape and the plunder of the virgin native soil
torn up and gutted in the mighty name of oil
but it was progress for the future
and there was no time to stall
the importance of the project
was the most important thing of all
in the Great Alaska Oil Rush
it was an all out effort and a last chance try
a high stakes gamble at an all time high
to uphold the honor and the patriotic pride
of the two car family and the limousine ride
to the show the whole wide world
they could make it on their own
like the rugged individual
independent and alone
in the Great Alaska Oil Rush
all hail the future of conglomerated dreams
all power to the powerful who deal in gasoline
lo and behold the greatest sight yet to appear
the utmost wonder of the western hemisphere
like the poor fool’s folly
of fanatical need
a monumental overdose
of blind raging greed
in the Great Alaska Oil Rush
but like a joke that the world plays on those that try to trick it
those too big for their britches that they think that they can lick it
the greatest gasoline machine to ever make the fat man drool
left half unconstructed when the trucks ran out of fuel
and like the bones of the dinosaur
plowed under in the plains
the scraps of the skeleton
are all that remain
of the Great Alaska Oil Rush
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5. |
An Old Pair Of Shoes
03:12
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I met a young girl who sat on a step
I saw her quite clearly quite early one night
I spoke the first words that came to my head
she sealed my fate when she answered "alright"
she looked quite old though she was younger than I
and I asked her how many like me she had seen
"I never counted" she said with a grin
I looked at my hand said "I see what you mean"
I hear her say as the night was wearing thin
and she printed my name on the bottom of her shoes
"all those who pass by they can never win
but those who come in they can never lose"
there are many fine seas to part with your hand
and many fine roads if you know how to choose
to some it's a chance ta the axe of the queen
but to one it's a name on an old pair of shoes
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6. |
The Hour Is Getting Late
04:11
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everybody just watches while the clock unwinds
makin’ long term payments, buying time on time
change hits so hard
it’s laid out in the cards
either you get with it or it leaves you behind
and you ain’t got long to choose now
the hour is getting late
the wild eyed savior holds the passport to hope
with direct communications to the angels of the pope
while the cross hanger broods
in a righteous ugly mood
he’d like to find a disbeliever he can fit with his rope
god is on the rampage
but the hour is getting late
Madam Linda, the fat man wants your address please
the new rich hip wants to paint your knees
it’s so unfair
they follow you everywhere
they offer you their clothes so you won’t freeze
and so far you’ve refused
but the hour is getting late
psychopathic nurses with their knife happy crew
convince the unwilling behind the doors of Harborview
antiseptic voyeurs
special bred by their employers
go if you need somebody to look at you
they’re all eyes now
but the hour is getting late
the uniform superman makes his pass
in a law and order limousine with bullet proof glass
and he thinks about his kids
as he goes sneaking up on manhole lids
if his partners don’t shoot him first he could make second class
he’s getting stronger all the time
but the hour is getting late
the good will soldiers outside in the hall
they’re out to save everybody from everything an all
and they love to hear you complain
they look for people in chains
they will help you to your knees if you want to crawl
and a lot of people do
but the hour is getting late
temptation grows on you after a while
you elevate yourself and you do it in style
and the logical greed
buys you everything you need
pay a man to fix your face so you die with a smile
you’re really riding high
but the hour is getting late
gold fever killed Al Capone
and built New York City on pawnbroker loans
you beg, buy, and borrow
like there ain’t no tomorrow
when you’re dead they’ll send someone out to repossess your bones
you are up to your neck
and the hour is getting late
so take a good look at everything you’ve make
and count up all the costs of every trick you’ve ever played
weigh it out and find
was it really worth the time
for everything you get somebody must be paid
and they’re coming to collect now
the hour is getting late
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7. |
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let me tell you the story about Poor Marcel
how he lived and how he died
how the point of his own hand
did cut him in his stride
I knew him well from mornings
when I watched him rob the shoes
of old men asleep with wine
with only shoes to lose
he never said a word
and he never made a sound
he never left a footprint
when he walked upon the ground
with a black patch eye
and a face of solid stone
he came and went just like a ghost
and always went alone
it was in the middle of the afternoon
the day was hot and bright
when two small boys
came into his sight
“who are you” they said to him
“and tell us what you have”
Marcel, he just turned his back
I never saw him laugh
the oldest was eleven
and the youngest he was eight
Marcel pulled a knife
and he flashed it in their face
“get out of here” he said to them
“or I’ll cut you to the bone”
they ran off away in fright
and left him there alone
it was on the very next morning
as the sky was growing gray
that two men pulled the knives
that were to take his life away
someone cried “isn’t anybody here
a man could bleed to death
oh my god
what kind of place is this?”
then someone come a-runnin’
but by then it was too late
for Poor Marcel had already met his fate
the air hung hot
there was running on the ground
and all you could hear
was that park murder sound
on the blanket where the preacher slept
Marcel’s blood did flow
“I’m afraid that your time has come
I think you’d better know”
and seven hours later
as the police shook their heads
seven hours later
Poor Marcel was dead
I think about these things
as I go along my way
how we may never understand
the world and all its ways
but I just told the story
call it truth or call it lie
it’s just about Poor Marcel
how he lived and how he died
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8. |
Grandfather Cobbler
02:13
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9. |
Take A Shot Of The Usual
06:12
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it was pretty near cold, it was eighteen degrees
the door done froze, hope the pipes don’t freeze
lonesome coyote growled way off on a rise
where the iceberg winter hit me right between the eyes
and the old timers told
that it wasn’t all that cold
as they stoked the coal stove worth its weight in solid gold
they do what they do and it’s all so very strange
take a shot of the usual if you’re lookin’ for a change
the cannibal troop ships docked up real slow
to the long shore dock that belonged to Brother Joe
while in the fat black limousine the banker and the toad
made plans for the future as they watched the ships unload
and the watch tower spies
with their telescopic eyes
made sure everything was legal so that no one would get wise
they do what they do and it’s all so very strange
take a shot of the usual if you’re lookin’ for a change
Ramblin’ Dave got busted and they throwed him in jail
where they spent all his money and they opened all his mail
and the flatfoot partners on the downtown beat
carved another notch and went off down the street
and the stool pigeon swore
as he crawled across the floor
“you may think it’s over but I think there’s more”
they do what they do and it’s all so very strange
take a shot of the usual if you’re lookin’ for a change
in the lobotomy factory on the midnight shift
there sat Sylvia by the dead weight lift
staring holes through the plaster of the company walls
while all the old vultures made up stories in the hall
and the roll caller came
calling everyone by name
rearranging faces till they all turned out the same
they do what they do and it’s all so very strange
take a shot of the usual if you’re lookin’ for a change
Blanche and Rita, very frightened for their lives
watched Matt, the up and coming, practice throwing knives
at a sullen-eyed motorcycle heavy with a beard
who rolled over sideways and then just disappeared
and the radio moaned
like a dog without no bone
as the slow smoke rose around the no smokin’ zone
they do what they do and it’s all so very strange
take a shot of the usual if you’re lookin’ for a change
the lynch mob posse played a dangerous game
with their bloodhound noses on the trail of Jesse James
who came and went like a vanishing ghost
slipping in and out of handcuffs all up and down the coast
and the victims all got wise
how to be better victimized
painting bulls eye targets right between their eyes
they do what they do and it’s all so very strange
take a shot of the usual if you’re lookin’ for a change
in the family reunion hall where hangs the family creed
no one said a word and no one disagreed
and the mother and the father with the baby in their arms
saw only what they wanted to see so they would not be alarmed
and the time ran dry
at the twelve o’clock high
they knotted up their collars and they left without their ties
they do what they do and it’s all so very strange
take a shot of the usual if you’re lookin’ for a change
lonesome hobo felt his feet begin to drag
through the freight yard dust where he collected paper bags
he thought about himself like a dog without a tail
as he bed down in the cinders, put his head up on the rail
and the four-0-nine
way behind time
never knew a thing until they read the headlines
they do what they do and it’s all so very strange
take a shot of the usual if you’re lookin’ for a change
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Jim Page Seattle, Washington
Named by Seattle Metropolitan Magazine as “One Of The 50 Most Influential Musicians In Seattle History.” Originally from California Page has called Seattle and the Pacific Northwest “home” since 1971. Songs covered by The Doobie Brothers, Christy Moore, Dick Gaughan, Michael Hedges, and Roy Bailey. Utah Phillips: “If you’re ever going to get the message, this is the messenger to get it from.” ... more
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