Guy Clark

Well, it's a nickel for the fiddler, it's a nickel for his tune It's a nickel for the tambourine kind of afternoon And it's a high holiday on the 21st of June And it's country music in the park and everybody's ruined Well, it's fountains full of dogs and kids...

Oh a time there was I was feelin' so hopeless It's a wonder I didn't cave in I kept throwing love at all the wrong people Never to see it again. [Chorus:] Oh Lord won't you look what I've found Starin' me right in the face I'm through bein lonely I'm through...

Well she ain't got no cell phone You got to call her when she's home All of her clocks have got hands Now don't try to e-mail her, You've got to snail mail her You got to take pen in hand Ones and zeros, zeros and ones She'll have none of that virtual fun She...

I wish I had a dime for every bad time But the bad times always seem to keep the change You been all alone so you know what I'm sayin' So when all you can recall is the pain Just you wait until tomorrow when you wake up with me At your side and find I haven't...

'Twas in the town of Nashville in the year of '75 This Arizona star she just fell out of the sky She was shinin' like a diamond, she had tombstones in her eyes She liked drinkin', she liked smokin', she liked dancin' in the aisle She was a pre-Madonna primado...

She did not want to drive She did not want to fly She did not want to wait For a bus to come by She did not want to hassle She did not want to hurry She didn't want to know What is cost, don't worry [Chorus:] Baby took a limo to Memphis Seemed like the thing...

He said his hip talks to him when it's ready to rain He's had a little nip and he's feelin' no pain When he gets like this he feels like talkin' He said he took some shrapnel at the Bay of Pigs He lost two fingers on a gulf oil rig Oh, you gotta watch him he'l...

I'm gonna leave Texarkana I'm goin' down to Louisiana I'm gonna try my luck in Baton Rouge I'm gonna follow ol red river down Till I see the lights of town I ain't gonna get no sleep in Baton Rouge [Chorus:] Baton Rouge Baton Rouge I'm gonna get me some allig...

[Chorus:] Black Diamond Strings Black Diamond Strings Drinkin' W. Harper Playin' Black Diamond Strings Black Diamond Strings Are like white flour and grits You play Black Diamond Strings 'Cause it's all you can get Black Diamond Strings on a Catalog Guitar Th...

He's a black haired boy of some confusion And he makes no excuse for the things that he's usin' He's gentle and wild and a child of the mountain His words are for singing and his days are for countin' [Chorus:] And he's looking for a home he's scared to find...

It's time for a change I'm tired of that same ol same The same ol words the same ol lines The same ol tricks and the same ol rhymes Days precious days Roll in and out like waves I got boards to bend I got planks to nail I got charts to make I got seas to sail...

Now broken hearted people always seem to drink And tryin' to drown those sorrows ain't as easy as you think But living with a liar is a hard old way to go Laughin' just to keep from crying ain't no way to grow old So take me to a barroom driver Set me on a st...

The last time it snowed in Del Rio hell froze I could not believe that I missed it So far from the border so close to the line Son I almost got down and kissed it But it's too far from home and it's too late to look back Two times a night make it tough Bee Sp...

Meanwhile down on Beale Street Drinking in a Beale Street bar There's a fog rolling off the Mississippi Has anybody seen Arkansas? And the deckhands from the towboats Come ashore wearing Mexican shoes Headed strait for Graceland It Was the first thing they wan...

When I was a young man my daddy told me A lesson he learned, it was a long time ago If you want to have someone to hold onto You're gonna have to learn to let go [Chorus:] You got to sing like you don't need the money Love like you'll never get hurt You got t...

Now you have got the best years of my life and I've got yours Well, who else could you trust to hold your own Ah, no one is the answer to that question, I'm quite sure So treat 'em nice and easy to the bone Comfort and crazy is a smooth combination And that's...

That Crystelle, you temptress, you creature of back booths So accomplished at dancin' when walkin' would do There's a neon fire in your eyes reflecting off a rhinestone tear Fixed upon your cheek to see who cares And that's way too much for a country boy who s...

Some of her dancin' days are over Some of her dancin' days are done But she's still got a couple of two steps She ain't shown no one Time will tell if she needs you Time will tell if she don't What'll you do if she believes you What'll you do if she won't Yo...

And I played the Red River Valley And he'd sit in the kitchen and cry Run his fingers through seventy years of livin' And wonder, "Lord, has every well I've drilled gone dry?" We was friends, me and this old man Was like desperados waitin' for a train Like des...

Now There's a man you'll hear about Most anywhere you go, And his holdings are in Texas And his name is Diamond Joe. And he carries all his money In a diamond-studded jar. He never took much trouble With the process of the law. I hired out to Diamond Joe, bo...

I was feelin' depressed I was feelin real low down I felt so bad I could not get my butt up off the grounds I was mopin' around the house I was bumpin' into walls I was cryin' at the Andy Griffith show and I was snappin' and the dog I was startin' to fear for...

Well don't you take it too bad if you're feelin' unlovin' If you're feelin' unfeelin' if you're feelin' alone Don't take it too bad cause it ain't you to blame babe Well it's some kind of game babe Out of all of this living that we've got left to do If you go...

I wish I was in Austin In the Chili Parlour Bar Drinkin' Mad Dog Margaritas And not carin' where you are But here I sit in Dublin Just rollin' cigarettes Holdin' back and chokin' back The shakes with every breath [Chorus:] Forgive me all my anger Forgive me...

Now when you write your expose I wish you'd leave me out I'd just as soon you didn't use my name I'm not crazy 'bout the way Your book might make me look I might have been there but You can't hold me to blame Now when you write your expose Don't kiss and tell...

Well, there's a fool on the roof, mama What do you think he wants A fool on the roof, mama What do you think he wants Well, that could be the dumbest question I've ever asked you, baby 'Cause he's smooth lookin' for me You know I tried to get away - even gave...

Who walked out when the times got hard When the truck broke down in the whole front yard It wasn't me, it wasn't you Who shot pool all night long Wound up bettin' on the crack of dawn That was you darlin', and that was me [Chorus:] And we are fools for each o...

Well, he used to be a pretty good rodeo clown People loved to watch him horse around When that rank black bucked em all down He was a pretty good rodeo clown Till he met the gal who sold the souvenirs He could make her smile from ear to ear They stayed up all...

Now here comes Texas rolling through my mind There ain't nothing to it mama don't be cryin' It's just one of those things that everyone goes through Just an old time feelin' don't mean no harm so roll me in your lovin' arms Everybody needs a little help from...

A hand is just another kind of hammer made of steel Beating blindly on the anvil a hammer cannot feel But a hand is for reaching out and touching all you can Holding on and hoping that you'll come to understand [Chorus:] So always try to keep you heart connec...

I used to be Juanita's old boyfriend We sure gave 'em some stories to tell Now I can't even find her picture I guess I'm finally through foolin' myself I used to be an ex-bullrider Livin' on the edge of life itself Now I can't even find my buckle Looks like I...

One man's hawk is another man's dove, one man's hug is another man's shove One man's rock is another man's sand, one man's fist is another man's hand One man's tool is another man's toy, one man grief is another man's joy One man's squawk is another man's sing...

Who wouldn't notic the fire in your eyes Or the bitter direction of impending goodbyes I'm fallen and folded and wilted in place At the sight of you standing with streaks down your face [Chorus:] Heartbroke and runnin' from the reason Heartbroke Don't give up...

Somedays I think this old machine is out to get me Somedays she does what I tell her It's like dancing with a widow-maker forty hours a week You know I'm talkin' 'bout a big ol' D-10 caterpiller [Chorus:] I don't know why I like to drive 'em like I do It ain'...

Hemingway's whiskey warm And smooth and mean Even when it burns It will always finish clean He did not like it watered down He took it straight up and neat If it's bad enough for him You know it's bad enough for me Hemingway's whiskey You know it tough out t...

Well, I was passing by a pawn shop In an older part of town Something caught my eye And I stopped and turned around I stepped inside and there I spied In the middle of it all Was a beat up old guitar Hanging on the wall "What do you want for that piece of ju...

Ain't nothin' in the world that I like better Than bacon & lettuce & homegrown tomatoes Up in the mornin' out in the garden Get you a ripe one don't get a hard one Plant 'em in the spring eat 'em in the summer All winter with out 'em's a culinary bumm...

Cardboard sign old and bent, says "Friend for Life 25˘" When did this start makin' sense man it's really getting cold Sometimes I forget things and I get confused I could still be working but they refuse Now I'm livin' with the bums, the whores and the abused...

Sorry 'bout your mama Sorry 'bout your paw Sorry 'bout the business With your brother-in-law Hard cheese about the money man Hard cheese about the stock Hard cheese about you bein' Up to your ears in hock Tough luck about your luggage tough luck about your so...

If I needed you would you come to me, Would you come to me, and ease my pain? If you needed me I would come to you I'd swim the seas for to ease your pain In the night forlorn the morning's born And the morning shines with the lights of love You will miss sun...

Oh Ellis Island was swarming Like a scene from a costume hall Decked out in the colors in Europe And on fire with the hope of it all There stood my father's own father stood huddled With the tired and hungry and scared Turn of the century pilgrims Bound by th...

I had a friend named Bill Campbell he used to rob steal and gamble And on the side he'd beg so he mopped up Well I told ol' Billy shouldn't do but ol' Bill said that he knew it So he started beggin' with a bucket instead of a cup He's in the jailhouse now he's...

He washed all the road dirt from his face and from his neck And sat down at her table and she picked up his check. And she took him home for reasons that she did not understand. And him, he had the answers but did not play his hand. For him he knew the taste o...

Hear that old tune come driftin' down the hall Trying to put a stop to clock on the wall Free flowin' free flown Lord mama how that old thief time carries on Take off your old coat and let down your hair Kick off them boots hon I don't care it's only time and...

Now I don't mind workin' hard You can't burn me down They ain't made a job That I can't work my way around Sometime I do it for the money Sometime for the glamour Sometime I use my head Sometime I get a bigger hammer I worked on the railroad I worked in the f...

Pack up all your dishes. Make note of all good wishes. Say goodbye to the landlord for me. That son of a bitch has always bored me. Throw out them LA papers And that moldy box of vanilla wafers. Adios to all this concrete. Gonna get me some dirt road back stre...

He's a wino, tried and true. Done about everything there is to do. He worked on freighters, he worked in bars. He worked on farms, 'n he worked on cars. It was white port, that put that look in his eye That grown men get when they need to cry And he sat down...

I found comfort and courage from bottles of whiskey. I swear to you friends these old high times sure seem risky. I have backed away gently from those who tried to burn me. And blocked up my ears that no one should learn me. [Chorus:] But the lady beside me i...

The Lone Star Hotel Cafe is nothing but a dive, And Florence Smith showed up there, Lord every day at five Florence was a waitress Have I mentioned that before? Serving beer to strangers and to some she'd seen before Florence used to ride a little Apaloosa ma...

Oh the beautiful red-haired Madonna with child Sat on the curb wearin' a smile That doubled up the years And trebled the miles And comforts the babe In the softest of style She work up in San Francisco On the day she turned 16 Haight St. was somethin' then H...

I ain't lookin' for trouble I can't stay here tonight I got to leave here on the double If I want to see the morning light Don't need no pistol for the tickets I've got just enough to get us down the line I don't know what happens next Your guess is just as go...

I'd rather sleep in a box like a bum on the street Than a fine feather bed without your little ol' cold feet And I'd rather be deaf, dumb, and stone blind Than to know that your mornings will never be mine And I'd rather die young than to live without you I'd...

I've smeared my heart on my sleeve I've tagged my name on the wall It's prob'ly time for me to leave Actin' big and talkin' small I've tracked blood in on the floor I put my first through the wall I've dragged trouble through the door And I've spilled wine on...

Hooray for the drinkin' warm red wine On a day both bright and fair Hooray for the layin' and playin' a tune On the sunlight through your hair, your hair The sunlight through your haur Well I wish that I was a fiddle bow Flyin across the strings And you;ve tak...

Now down by the creek where the water goes slow The green-backed heron and the moccasin know All things come to him who waits Yet he is lost who hesitates Life and death just dancin' 'round in the mud Well, The light comes down through the limbs and the leave...

My favorite picture of you Is the one where you're staring Straight into the lens It's just a polaroid shot Someone took on the spot No beginning no end It's just a moment in time You can't have back You never left but your bags were packed Just in case My...

I ain't gonna sing no lonesome tune Ah, babe, I'm a comin' soon I cannot believe I stayed so long away But a man must look around You're the sweetest thing I've found All your lost high roller's rollin' home today Well, my Daddy said to me "Son, it's hard as...

He's down a dead end road And he don't know where The right front tire Is gonna need some air Up around the bend Just a two pump place So he pulls in To get his bearings straight And he thumbs back Through his life The pages cut Just like a knife One by one H...

It's like when you're making conversation And you're trying not to scream And you're trying not to tell 'em You don't care what they mean And you're really feeling fragile And you really can't get home And you really feel abandoned But you want to be alone [C...

Cowboys and Indians and trees he could climb Tomorrow came too fast but he didn't mind Ah the distance was short so light it again It don't take no time to get where I am But one paper kid wasn't really so mean Just a little bit scared and a little bit green...

I was sittin' on the fender of someone else's truck Drinking Old Crow whisky, hot 7-up Out in the parking lot You can hear the band a playin right through the wall Ain't no cover charge, there ain't no last call Out in the parking lot Now there's a couple of...

Picasso said in 1910 I'm gonna paint me a mandolin Could be cubes it could be curves I like to mix the paint with nerve I'm gonna load my brush and fire away Paint me a hole in the light of day [Chorus:] You can play it straight or play it from left field You...

Some S.O.B. shot my dog I found her under a tree If I hadn't loved that dog so much It wouldn't mean nothin' to me You son-of-a-bitch I'll tell you what, I will not be deterred I'll find you out and track you down On that you got my word Queenie's getting bu...

Now a Ramblin' Jack Elliot said: I got these lines in my face Tryin' to straighten out the wrinkles in my life When I think of all the fools I've been It's a wonder that I've sailed this many miles To which Larry Mahan replied: He said, "The sweet bird of you...

Ride the blue wind high and free She'll lead you down through misery Leave you low come time to go Alone and low as low can be If I had a nickel I'd find a game If I won a dollar I would make it rain If it rained an ocean I'd drink it dry And lay me down diss...

She could dance that slow Uvalde Shuffle to some cowboy hustle How she made them trophy buckles shine, shine, shine Wild-eyed and Mexican silvered, Trickin' dumb ol' cousin Willard Into thinkin' that he's got her this time Hill country honky-tonkin' Rita Ball...

Ah, the blackbird she flies wherever she wants to The mockingbird singin', oh, any ol' song And the swallow she's nestin' in the rafters of my house Summer is coming and the geese are all gone You got to fly and let fly Ah, the mower's broke down and the yard...

Standin' on the gone side of leavin' She found a thumb and stuck it in the breeze She'll take anything that's goin' close to somewhere She can lay it down and live it like she'd please But she ain't goin' nowhere, she's just leavin' And she ain't goin' nowher...

Two shots of Wild Turkey puts the wind in her hair Bound and determined in the cold mornin' air If you don't like horses I'd suggest you stay home She don't ride double get a horse of your own She loves to ride horses, she doesn't care How long it'll take her...

Well the bus pulled away In a roaring black cloud While I stood in the road And honey I hollered right out loud Hey darlin' I love you Hey bus driver whoa But you can't stop a woman When she's out of control [Chorus:] She's crazy for leavin' I told her so Wh...

Love is never gonna be a solid bet It's kinda like workin' without a net Don't be afraid to let your feelin's out That's what lovin' is all about Come on Baby and give me a break It's how do you feel, not what do you think Stop rattlin' your keys Shut up and t...

Kick your shoes off in the corner mama Tuck the babies all up snug Sis Draper's comin' over, we all gonna cut a rug When you see that lantern swingin' yonder Comin' up the Holler Road Them dogs'll get to barkin' Ought to tie em all up with a rope You boys bet...

Now first I thought a snake had got me, it happened dreadful quick 'Twas a bullet in my leg, right off I got sick I came to in a wagonload of ten more wounded men Five was dead by the time we reached that bloody tent Gimme some of that Soldier's Joy, you...

It's just one of those days you can't explain When nothing's right or wrong Too much wine or not enough So you just play along. There's no rhyme or reason Ain't a damn thing you can do Some days you write the song Some days the song writes you. Your sure voic...

I got an ol' blue shirt And it suits me just fine I like the way it feels So I wear it all the time I got an old guitar It won't ever stay in tune I like the way it sounds In a dark and empty room I got an ol' pair of boots And they fit just right I...

Bein' six years old, I had seen some trains before So it's hard to figure out what I'm at the depot for Trains are big and black and smokin', steam screamin' at the wheels Bigger than anything there is, at least that's the way she feels Trains are big and bla...

I'm going down to Austin, Texas I'm going down to save my soul Get that bar-b-que and chili Eat my fill then come back home I'm gonna take my baby with me We gonna have a high ol' time We gonna eat till we get silly Sho' do make a beer taste fine [Chorus:] Oh...

And that old time feeling goes sneakin' down the hall Like an old gray cat in winter, keepin' close to the wall And that old time feeling comes stumblin' up the street Like an old salesman kickin' the papers from his feet And that old time feeling draws circl...

Here comes Martha runnin' down the pier Looks like Captain Flint is here You get the bow and I get the stern Lord would you look at that Laverne Old Flint's got shrimp from the deep blue sea And buckets of fish for you and me Old Flint's boat is fine and she'...

Eight years old with a flour sack cape tied all around his neck He climbed up on the garage, he's figurin' what the heck, well He screwed his courage up so tight that the whole thing come unwound He got a runnin' start and bless his heart, he's headed for the...

In The Dark you can sometimes hear your own heart beat Or the heart of the one next to you The house settles down after holding itself up all day Shoulder slumps, gives a big sigh You hear no one's foot fall in the hall That drip in the kitchen sink markin' ti...

Well, I was passing by a pawn shop In an older part of town Something caught my eye And I stopped and turned around I stepped inside and there I spied In the middle of it all Was a beat up old guitar Hanging on the wall. What do you want for that piece of ju...

Now the Houston Kid's got a new pair of jeans But he's got no soap, he got no washing machine Now the Houston Kid he's feelin' tight and he's mean And he's tryin' to figure out how his pants got clean Well, he's doin' his wash in a tub full of whiskey Hangin'...

If you ever go out to the circus Where the Wallendas walk on the wire I'll tell you a tale to remember When the white horses leap rings of fire It was a cold night in Oklahoma The show was about to begin The animals they were all restless When the star horse...

The old gunfighter on the porch Stared into the sun And relived the days of living by the gun When deadly games of pride were played And living was mistakes not made And the thought of the smell of the black powder smoke And the stand in the street at the tur...

She's a melody in search of the words I love you She's a rose with rose with no room to grow She's a light in the night with nowhere to shine She's the partner that nobody chose She's tried and she's tried And she's tried to keep on lovin' But every man she l...

My father had a Randall knife My mother gave it to him When he went off to WWII To save us all from ruin If you've ever held a Randall knife Then you know my father well If a better blade was ever made It was probably forged in hell My father was a good man A...

The south coast of Texas is a thin slice of life It' s salty and hard it it stern as a knife Where the wind is for blwon' up hurricanes for showin' The snakes how to swim and the trees how to lean [Chorus:] The shrimpers and their ladies are out in the b...

Won't say I love you babe Won't say I need you babe But, I'm gonna get you babe And I will not do you wrong Livin's mostly wastin' time I waste my share of mine But it never feels too good So let's don't take too long You're soft as glass And I'm a gentle man...

Too much workin'll make your back ache Too much trouble'll bring you a heartbreak Too much gravy'll make you fat Too much rain'll ruin your hat Too much coffee'll race your heart tick Too much road'll make you homesick Too much money'll make you lazy Too much...

I threw a rock through your window Just to let you know I love you Just to let you know I care and I ain't scared To have you see how I feel I blew a kiss through your keyhole Just to let you know I'm breathin' Just to try and smack you in the heart, If I was...

Gents to the middle said a young girl's fiddle And you ain't got nothin' to lose Allemande right she can play it all night She can fiddle off the bottom of your shoes [Chorus:] Oh me, oh my, how she makes that bowhair fly How she hangs that music [crystal] in...

I beg your pardon mama what did you say My mind was drifting on a Martinque day It's not that I'm not interested you see Augusta Georgia is just no place to be Just think Jamaica in the moonlight Sandy beaches drinking rum every night We've got no money mama...

Now what's up with the walkin' man I wonder where he's gone Marchin' down to Birmingham I think I'll tag along Was a walkin' man come by here A hundred years ago Walkin' down the trail of tears Out to Oklahom-i-o out to Oklahome Hand me down my walkin' shoes...

The sun was hot and the dust rose up like smoke So we hid beneath the elm tree and watched the watermelons float There in a big 'ol tub of ice And we'd split em open with a kitchen knife And everybody had a sliece it was a watermelon dream [Chorus:] Ain't not...

Gimme just one more puff Of that worry b gone I'm planning on feelin' much better Before too long I gotta world of trouble I need to forget I'm on my way But I ain't there yet Gimme just one more puff Of that worry b gone Everywhere I look Trouble is all I se...

Nine ball rack sitting on the table Step right up if you're able Sonny gives a lesson to a hundred of games Lay the money down take dead aim House band rockin' way too long What you gonna do for a viper crowd Aint no white, ain't no black, Welcome to the wron...