Danny O'Keefe

Keep your back to the wall A man without friends Must always be careful When the trouble begins Keep your back to the wall Like you always say This ain't a game of chance No, not the way you play Keep your back to the wall Keep travellin' on Every...

3:10 Smokey Thursday A cop directing traffic Just collapsed and later died Very dissatisfied He didn't know it was the air He didn't care 3:10 Smokey Thursday The people on the freeways Left their castles built on wheels To find the fields They were...

You're my brother, I didn't think so For a long, long time I hated you For being. Who you are was what I didn't want to be I lived in fear and anger Of your hatred and your violence There were times your scorn And laughter, your laughter Really drove m...

No matter who is dealing It's pretty much the same Even when you're losing You're still playing the game And some will call your bluff Some will call themselves friends Some who don't need you Never call you again They tell me all my friends are goin...

Where is the center, in the beating of the heart? In the point of balance, the point of no returning? In the soul's releasing in strips of silence Slowly torn apart Last night I dreamed of wealth and fame I dreamt so hard I felt the pain Slowly running...

On a pale afternoon painting scenes in the air Climbing stares in between the rain It was then that I thought Of the ones who had fought And left us with nothing but sorrow On a mirror of rain the grey army parades Marching forever in Time And I call t...

Prisoners of the heart in search of love and peace Hung in desperation, longing for release I'm just a traveler, angel, you're my ride Take me past the place I've passed the last time that I died Angel spread your wings, I want to fly away with you Take...

Atlas shrugged his shoulders and the whole world moved He didn't care he thought he was alone The new electric gypsies learn to play the blues When you care too much you'll know you're on your own The whole world's runnin' downtown just to buy a gun Fear...

Canary sings a song she learned waiting for the night Standing on the corner always asking for a light Or change, or maybe just a moment Hey, baby, just a moment Say, buddy, can you spare the time Her father was a banker but his interest was in rum Her...

Sittin' by the water Starin' at the stream Tell me, honey, are there any Catfish in your dreams Catfish ain't expensive Neither is it free Some folks crazy 'bout it Others have to leave it be Suckers and bullheads Never will do But a catfish'll sho...

Baby come and play with me And stay with me a while We'll take a subtle journey To the Continent of Smile We'll dance together (Come with me) We'll dance together (Can't you see) It's so warm I know you're no fool But it's so warm that it's cool W...

Get the lead out, mama Pack up everything we own The smog's about to get me And I've got a mind to roam In my covered wagon Baby, down the road we'll go I've got an itch to ramble And I got no place to be And the people in the city Ain't got no use...

The harlot hounded harlequin As he eyed her with mistrust I still call it love, he said You don't even call it lust They calmly talked it over And agreed to disagree He maintained her love was priceless She maintained her love was free She asked him,...

Too much rainy Sunday Left me somewhere in between The words I didn't mean And you come back to haunt me I was just a child You told me so yourself Oh, you were something else I always will remember But I didn't even cry When they told me how you'd...

Blow the dust off of the old Victrola Come on mother, once more just for me Show us how you got the coke out of the cola And how you had'em clammorin' for more Time has swept the color from your smile, dear Memories gone by hang from the wall Show us ho...

"Rob Hall breaks up on the satellite phone Near the highest point on Earth. His life will soon be over, He knows now what it's worth. To the woman who carries his unborn child, He speaks with the softest touch. "I love you. Sleep well, my sweetheart. P...

Everybody's goin' away Said they're movin' to LA There's not a soul I know around Everybody's leavin' town Some caught a freight, some caught a plane Find the sunshine, leave the rain They said this town's a waste of time I guess they're right, it's wa...

A man with a big cigar And a big ol’ diamond ring Said he’d make me a superstar Who cares if you can’t sing You just cut me in for a little piece He’d say, it’s easy You just need plenty of grease A hustler from New York City Said he had the deal for...

An angel on my doorstep Says the time has come Pack up your family Get ready to run Death, plague, and famine Will howl to a roar And the hard times will drive you From door to door Hard times will drive you From door to door Cain said to Adam...

When you are sad and lonely and have no place to go Call me up, sweet baby, and bring along some dough And we’ll go honky tonkin’, honky tonkin’ Honky tonkin’, honey baby We’ll go honky tonkin’ ’round this town. When you and your baby have a fallin’ out...

Andy came home late last night And Flo was at the door She told him where to put it ‘Cause she’d heard it all before As Flo began to holler Words I can’t repeat Andy simply smiled and sang In a voice so sweet: When you whisper sweet nothings It’s re...

You took my little heart And ran it round this town Now you’re gonna find your circus Needs a brand new clown And I don’t mind playin’ anytime You all can get me drunk But, Baby, I’m sober now Remember I cheated Don’t forget I lied What you don’t kn...

What's that sound? It's funky and old Don't knock it, buddy, 'cause it's solid gold If you can't boogie woogie If you can't boogie woogie If you can't boogie woogie You sure can't rock and roll Ask your mama, I know what she'll say She used to boogie...

It was closin' time tryin' to beat the clock Waitin' for a woman as fast as her talk When up limped a crippled woman Lookin' just a little too slick She said, There's only two kinds in the end of it The dead, of course, and the quick And the dead, of cou...

Islands, we are all alone Islands, we are on our own Islands, in a sea of holes Searching for each others' souls Just like sailors We have gone to see Who in the world We could really be Along the way To an island Two ships passing In the dead of...

It was good to see you I'm glad you came To waste this fire Would have been a shame The fire can't match The glow in your eye The wind can't catch The sound of your sigh It's been a good day And I'm doin' fine It's been a good day Let's stir the...

Through my dreams of darkness The sunshine brings visions so sweet To my window I go running To a voice I hear calling in the street There's a man on the corner With some goods to sell Sellin' minutes in heaven For a lifetime in hell Street corner ped...

The voice is a marvelous instrument So is the heart and the brain So's the fire and so's the wind And especially the rain Especially the rain After all we've been through Jones Look at you lying there Trying to stare the ceiling down Trying too hard n...

Found the blues at the curb on Broadway Lost in a pearly grin She said, Ain't it hard to make a comeback When you don't know who you've been? Livin' in the Modern Age She said, Yes, sir, we're livin' in the Modern Age Ain't it hard to go beggin' When y...

Some of my friends got down to Jesus And some got down to God He wasn't dead yet He was just on the nod Louie the Hook had a hunger way down in his soul He'd hit his destination if hell had been his goal He'd bruises and he'd ulcers in places you can't...

One day I was thinkin' 'bout the Babe And the memories he left behind of the Old Ball Game Shame of it is, they're almost gone But there're still a few pieces I can recall The catcher says to Ruth You know it's just a game You win you lose But it's al...

Magdalena sits in her chair speaking of the mass She talks in splice and splinters, she laughs like breaking glass She says that she would have me, spirit her away Stealing all my images, till there's nothin' left to say Oh, Magdalena Nothing like the sa...

Blonde hair on my pillow Lipstick on my shirt A woman's picture on the wall Of a memory that still hurts Stabs just like a knife That's been dulled from overuse I can faintly hear her laughter And the tone of her abuse It always brings you down To t...

They say love is all around There's more than enough for all (Psst! Hey, pass it around) There's more than enough for all Try giving some away On the Wheel of Love Turn on the Wheel of Love Take a turn on the Wheel of Love When I'm in your arms And...

Well I've got a long black six passenger limousine A palace in Dallas a club in New Orleans Diamonds on my fingers silk imported clothes And I can tell a fast train by the way she blows Don't give me no plastic saddle just let me feel that leather when I...

Come with me now into a piece of velvet And a plastic painter's daring dance of death We'll journey very far into the surface Those not used to diving hold your breath The lady of my dreams paints scars of velvet On the mirror are the words she chose to...

What will we call it now It isn't marriage anymore Call it new, call it different It's not the way it was before Out of all the words to choose from There's only one will do A simple way of saying What we started now is through We've come down to a p...

Somebody told me today The grass was green again The flowers came out How does it all begin, again? Somebody told me today The sun was shining bright Go, taste the joy of life The golden cup is full, again Yes, and when I heard the news I had no son...

I sit in here alone, this goddamn cell Skin and bone, I'm just a hollow shell I have a need to make your cold heart bleed Jesus, I call your name I'll scream upon my knees I'll sell the prayer Ain't you got the price? No you just sit and stare I hav...

Highways and dancehalls A good song takes you far Your write about the moon And you dream about the stars Blues in old motel rooms Girls in daddy's car You sing about the nights And you laugh about the scars Coffee in the morning cocaine afternoons You talk ab...

Come on now Granny dear You’re much too old to cry You’ve had your memories But, deary, so I have I She was the sweetest rose Of all that strange bouquet The music played forever As we danced the night away Come on and take a chance, sir On a Rosela...

When I was a kind I used to go to school Tried to treat everybody right and live by the golden rule Now I've gotten to be a man I find the rules don't work Try to treat everybody straight they take you for a jerk It's Saturday Morning And there's no scho...

Was I dreaming? I heard the great whales crying Saying, Brother, Brother We are dying Taiyo no komodo tachi Minna-de kujira-sukuo (Children of the Sun Help us save the whales) Once upon a time Has it really been that long? Their voices filled the...

Heard a woman screamin' in the alley Cryin', Lord, won't your come and rescue me Seems that I have got myself in trouble Looks like murder in the third degree When he picked me up he was a sailor But when he got me here he was a cop He said, I think it'...

She passes through the door it falls behind her A fly’s wings curl burning in the air A rainbow rises from a frozen cup of coffee The elephant is sitting in the chair The Bookworm is eating his way through the funnies The Dumplings sit giggling in deligh...

I can't stand to read the papers Seems like all the news is bad And an empty anger keeps me From feeling really sad These are strange times we live in Hard games we play Wager very carefully And play'em as they lay But don't play no cards ain't in yo...

Apricot on raw silk Blue plums in a bowl Pear squash need not be sweet To be beautiful (This is just a picture There's love between the lines It's just a moment Take your time) Dead tree pool See rings ripple a leaf Listen, for the laughter of fish...

Carole once told me she dreamed she was pretty And lived in a very cool part of the city With a man who came home every evening at six And begged her to play him country licks On her steel guitar Show biz tricks on her steel guitar Her Pa'd been a welde...

Come on, let's kiss and make up Paint a smile upon your face Don't sit down you can stand the pace We're steppin' out tonight The band can play in nothin' flat The drummer's gonna beat it back Br> He's got straight drapes right off the rack But he's...

She wakes you up at midnight Just to tell you that she's home You say, It's too late, baby You coulda used the phone She says, Forgive me, daddy Take me back one more time And I'll be yours and you'll be mine Sweet Rollin', did you ever lose your rolli...

Poets, preachers and other creatures Are bound to sing her praise But you'd better get bo'ded Good and loaded Cuz all hell will be raised When the Delta Queen comes rollin' down the river Hear that whistle, steamboat's round the bend Calliope is bound...

I met him there in Pioneer Square In an empty bottle of muscatel He said, Here's my song And where I've gone I'll tell ya boy I've gone to hell "Hear my say, I've lost the way I've burned the bridge behind me And Lord above there ain't no one I ever l...

Snow cranes flew across the sky In this dream I had with you Where you were Bette Davis And I was just untrue "You know I couldn't kill for love" She said, "Darling, you've never tried You're still the man with the heart of glass Grinding up inside T...

Well, if you've been lookin' for love And all you've been getting' is laughter Better let me pull your coat, Jim To the Hereafter I'm talkin' 'bout the Hereafter It might be nirvana Paradise, I don't know Wherever that "It's at" is at I want to try a...

They're putting up a building down on Main Street Paid for with all those truckers' dues But the man who laid the first stone on the corner Had the Jimmy Hoffa Memorial Building Blues Now some say Jimmy's down in Argentina Others tell you that he simply...

Spoken: Pasan caballos negros y gente siniestra Por los hondos caminos de la guitarra (de este guitarra) (Dark horse and sinister men pass through the rutted roads of the guitar, of this guitar) The train inside my head still finds the tracks The shadows...

I’d rather be an outlaw Than to be a drag queen’s knave I read the ads for lovers But all they want are slaves I’d rather be an artist If they’d let me paint the town I’d even be a fireman If they’d let me burn it down But when I popped the questio...

Your daddy hit you And you fell to the floor And you knew that you weren't Daddy's girl no more So you packed your bag And you hitched a ride And you ended up On the under side Of a New York night What a lonely place Too many people And not enough...

We're leavin' here don't look back It's a dead end, kid, it's a cul de sac In a sultry rut you made the scene Now you're all washed up but you can't get clean Step into the future Step out of the past Nothing lasts And just when you're thinking You'v...

(If my lady pleases, at last This heart of mine Drips color to the page I shades of love and rage) Sittin’ by the window Lost in my old easy chair The romance is gone But the fire lingers on a while Lookin’ out the window I could be anywhere but I’...

I know you must get weary Of the years you cannot hide But sometimes when your eyes are smiling I still can see the girl inside In the dark I can be so many men In the dark You are every woman then But in the light I can see your face again In the...