Fightin For My Life

Words and Music by Butch Hancock

I'm ridin through the middle of some god forsaken town

Dark figures from the shadows, theyre tryin to cut me down

Some hero of the hour needs a rival of some kind

So dont talk to me right now, I've got survival on my mind

It might seem a little strange to you

But babe I got some things to do

Things for me that just cant wait

Dont let your love turn to hate

I got nothin in the world against you babe

But its gonna be a rough night out tonight

I got a feelin Im fightin for my life

Some street gang in the alley is tryin to tan my hide

I give ‘em all my money but theyre still not satisfied

Theyre callin out some names but it dont reflect on you

So dont bother me Im tryin to makeem see my point of view

It might seem a little strange to you

But babe I got some things to do

Things for me that just cant wait

Dont let your love turn to hate

I got nothin in the world against you babe

Its gonna be a rough night out tonight

I know the kung fu and Im fightin for my life

They say those silly phantoms are only in your mind

But I swear that even some of them get out from time to time

Some are rough and some are rowdy, some are fast to make the scene

But the ones that move so slow, theyre the ones that treat you mean

It might seem a little strange to you

But babe I got some things to do

Things for me that just cant wait

Dont let your love turn to hate

I got nothin in the world against you babe

Its gonna be a rough night out tonight

I better meditate you know Im fightin for my life

I used to read the Bible and Paradise Lost

now it looks like everybodys been gettin double-crossed

I dont mean to crash the cymbals, I dont mean to beat the drum

I dont wanna waste your time, you know Id rather save you some

It might seem a little strange to you

But babe I got some things to do

Things for me that just cant wait

Dont let your love turn to hate

I got nothin in the world against you babe

Its gonna be a rough night out tonight

I better meditate you know Im fightin for my life

My eyes are open, Im fightin for my life

Im on the Run Again

Words and Music by Joe Ely

Im on the run again

Runnin from the pleasure

Runnin from the pain

Runnin from the voices

Whore callin my name

And Im feelin like the wild wild wind

Im on the run again

Hidin from my feelings

Hidin from my heart

Hidin from barriers

That keep us apart

And Im feelin like the wild wild wind

Im on the run again

Hold me close

Youre the only one who knows me

Hold me tight

Protect me from the winds that blow me

Im on the run again

Fleein from the city

Fleein from the cars

Fleein from the comets

And the fallin stars

And Im feelin like the wild wild wind

Im on the run again

Runnin from the salesmen

Tryin to connect

Runnin from the tax man

Callin collect

And Im feelin like the wild wild wind

Im on the run again

Hold me close

Youre the only one who knows me

Hold me tight

Protect me from the winds that blow me

Im on the run again

Runnin from the internet

Runnin from the Man

Runnin from the Cameras

At the checkout stand

Flood on our hands

Words and Music by Joe Ely

The rivers are swollen

We got a flood on our hands

Get out the buckets

and the pots and pans

Mama put the pictures

In the old wooden boat

Billy get the baby

And mamas overcoat

Theres high ground at Gruene

At the old Gristmill Store

We can keep everybody dry

if it dont rain no more

We got a Flood on Our Hands

The rains gonna keep comin down

Has anybody talked to sister

Since the lines went down?

She spent the night with Mandy

On the low side of town

I do hope shes watchin

On the outside tonight

She aint been herself

Since she lost little Dwight

You dont never miss

What you aint got

Till you wake up some morning

And youve lost the whole lot

We got a Flood on Our Hands

The rains gonna keep comin down

Thank God were all together

Thats all we really need

You cant change the weather

But you can plant new seed

No life is spared

To the ones who blame

A God with out mercy,

Pride with out Shame

Like Noah of old

Was put to the test

To see if his faith

Was deeper than the rest

We got a Flood on Our Hands

And the Rains gonna keep Comin Down

Mama get the Shotgun

And the pictures of dad

Someday well look back

On everything we had

We got a Flood on Our Hands

The rains gonna keep comin down

All That You Need

Words and Music by Joe Ely

I been workin on the farm

Just me and my brother Jack

Choppin a sea of cotton

Till I thought Id break my back

Everything changed

When my daddy got hurt

Our lives were so connected

to that brown ol flatland dirt

When the government man from Austin

Come sniffin around our land

Askin a bunch of questions

That we did not understand

Theres more to farmin cotton

Than just tendin to your seed

The ones who set the policy

Dont give a damn about our needs

Sow the seed in the ground below

Fall to your knees and pray real slow

That rain will come and kiss the seed

And Bless you with all that you need

Mama says to Jackie

Would she bring the car around?

Shes wearin her finest dress

Thats how I know shes goin to town

I wish Id never seen that letter

That I found there in her room

Theyre sellin the farm on the courthouse step

This Saturday afternoon

Me and Jack moved into town

To a shack by the train depot

Jack got a job as a bouncer

At a Bar on Paradise Row

Mama got a job in the cotton gin

Grading cotton by the bale

She cried when a trailor full of cotton come in

From the farm we had to sell

Sow the seed in the ground below

Fall to your knees and pray real slow

That rain will come and kiss the seed

And Bless you with all that you need

Me, I ended up in jail

Sick of livin on welfare

And the hardest thing ever happend to me

Is when mama come to vist me there

Dont you worry your pretty little head

I said as I buttoned my shirt

When I get out of this Iron Hotel

Im goin back to that Dryland dirt

For some its just a livin

But for Us its our whole life

If it kills me Im gonna rake that dirt

And make a livin out of toil and strife

The ways of the cities makes no sense

Strapped to dependency

Id rather be sweatin ‘neath a clear blue sky

Plantin cotton with my family

Sow the seed in the ground below

Fall to your knees and pray real slow

That rain will come and kiss the seed

And Bless you with all that you need

Run Little Pony

Words and Music by Joe Ely

I went down to the races to watch my pony run

Down to the races to watch my pony run

Lookin at the faces, lookin for the fastest one

I took my money, money Id saved for rent

Forgive me honey, Ill give it up for lent

Run Little Pony, run like youre runnin from Sin

Run Little Pony, Run like the Crazy Wind

Play your bugle, boy, play it fast and hard

Here come the ponies, come trottin out in the yard

The odds against me, they laid ‘em seven to one

Odds were against me, they laid ‘em at seven to one

Cold sweat like t drench me, when the starter man fired his gun

Run Little Pony, run like youre runnin from Sin

Run Little Pony, Run like the Crazy Wind

I yelled and I cheered and praised the lord above

My Little Pony come in, one head out in front

Out all night until the mornin sun

Buyin all the drinks with the money I had won

Run Little Pony, run like youre runnin from Sin

Run Little Pony, Run like the Crazy Wind

Next thing I knew I was lookin thru cold hard steel

Aint got a brain in my head, guess I never will.

Streets of Sin

Words and Music by Joe Ely

Mighty River, Muddy as Sin

Troubled Waters, Like the shape I'm in

Would you open your Screen

Let a poor boy in

If I come back Home

Off the Streets of Sin

If I come back Home

Would you let me in?

If I could hitch a ride, on a DC9

I'd be back home by closin' time.

Would you open your Screen

Let a poor boy in

If I come back Home

Off the Streets of Sin

If I come back Home

Would you let me in?

Love o love, can't you hear me moan

This ramblin' boy aint got no Home.

Would you open your Screen

Let a poor boy in

If I come back Home

Off the Streets of Sin

If I come back Home

Would you let me in?

Off the Streets of Sin

If I come back Home

Off the Streets of Sin

95 South

Words and Music by Joe Ely

95 South 95 South

95 South from Portland Maine

When am I ever gonna see you again

95 South 95 South

95 South tryin to whistle a tune

Potholes deeper that the craters on the moon

95 South

Well, the longest train that I ever saw

Had the front in the summer and the back in the fall

I wish I was on that train tonight

Rollin in the pale moonlight

95 South 95 South

95 South to Boston town

Honey this tunnell is getting me down

95 South 95 South

95 South to the big city lights

Theres a big empty hole in my heart tonight

95 South

Well, the longest train that I ever saw

Had the front in the summer and the back in the fall

I wish I was on that train tonight

Rollin in the pale moonlight

95 South 95 South

95 South off the Jersey Pike

Coffee colored Cadillac rollin through the night

95 South

95 South through the Carolina Pines

My head is swimming in the honeysuckle vines

Well, the longest train that I ever saw

Had the front in the summer and the back in the fall

I wish I was on that train tonight

Rollin in the pale moonlight

Carnival Bum

Words and Music by Joe Ely

The carnival is closed for the winter

The gates are full of nails

All my belongings in a camper truck

In front of some Hell Hole Motel.

The rides are wrapped in canvass

There's a smell of snow in the air

They're taking apart the ferris wheel

Like a game of solitaire.

Love o love I will be home

When the trees are bare and brown

For without you I'm just a carnival bum

Whose fate goes round and round

When Little Maggie lost Big Earle

Man, That was about it for her

She was MIA in the Day to Day

The next 3 years were a blur

I left home when Maggie checked out

I been a snowbird ever since

I work the curcuit in the summertime

Come Winter I jump the Fence

Love o love I will be home

When the trees are bare and brown

For without you I'm just a carnival bum

Whose fate goes round and round

Darkness comes with the headlights.

It gives me a little relief.

I feel a little more like a leaf in the wind

And a little bit less like a thief.

Sometimes I feel I stole life itself

Im as lucky as a man can be

The carnival is closed for the winter

But it dont matter to me

Love o love I will be home

When the trees are bare and brown

For without you I'm just a carnival bum

Whose fate goes round and round

Twisty River Bridge

Words and Music by Joe Ely

I recall that Twisy River Bridge

Over that painted river bed

They pumped about a gallon of Muddy Water

Out of my salty head.

I woke up in St. James Devine

All wrapped up in plaster and twine

The nurse said I made the front page

Of the River City Sunday Times.

Oh, that Twisty River Bridge

Was damn near, the death of me

Love, wine and Gasoline

Don't mix with jealousy

Have you seen my Reena

Did she, did she make it home?

We had a little misunderstanding

Talkin on the telephone

Tell her that I miss her

But I dont miss what she done

When she run off with that double talkin

Son of a Preachers son

Oh, that Twisty River Bridge

Was damn near, the death of me

Love, wine and Gasoline

Don't mix with jealousy

Thats why I love you like I do

Words and Music by Joe Ely

Because you walked - that lonesome valley

Because I met - you in your town

Because you saw - stars in the alley

Because the street - light, you, did crown

Because I saw - you lift your head

Because you knew - I was watching you

Because there was - nothing to be said

Thats why I love - you like I do

I am a stranger to the others

No one knows - you like I do

To the Great Beyond -There is no farther

Thats why I love - you like I do...

Because I asked - if you were cold

Because the wind - had changed that day

Because you needed - a hand to hold

Because I saw - it in your face

Because you knew - I needed laughter

Because it heals - the wounded fool

Because you saw - the near hereafter

Thats why I love - you like I do

I am a stranger to the others

No one knows - you like I do

To the Great Beyond -There is no farther

Thats why I love - you like I do...

Because the charms - You thought youd hidden

In spite of pride, - Came shinin thru

Because you knew - that I was not kiddin

When I said that I -- could see through you

Because I knew - that you had diamonds

Inside youre soul - where the wild winds blew

Because I thought -- I was a miner

Thats why I love - you like I do

I am a stranger to the others

No one knows - you like I do

To the Great Beyond -There is no farther

Thats why I love - you like I do...

Wind's Gonna Blow You Away

Words and Music by Butch Hancock

Well its cheek to cheek and its face to face

If I told ya once, I told ya twice

East is east, west is west

Fire is fire an ice is ice

That wind's gonna blow tomorrow

Just like it blow'd today

But someday when your bones turn to dust

That wind's gonna blow you away

In the pale moonlight, in the cold campfire light

I have danced in burnin coals

Well it ruined my shoes but it cured my blues

All i wanted was to soothe my soul and

That wind's gonna blow tomorrow

Just like it blow'd today

But someday when your bones turn to dust

That wind's gonna blow you away

Now mistakes are all right if you make them yourself

But they ain't worth a damn if they're not your own

You can sing the blues you can read the news

You can dance off in the dark all alone, but

That wind's gonna blow tomorrow

Just like it blow'd today

But someday when your bones turn to dust

That wind's gonna blow you away

From the piney woods to the great south plains

From the Red River to the Rio Grande

I have crossed some streams, I have lost some dreams

I've seen that golden circle in the sand

I got to find ol Joe

Words and Music by Joe Ely

Smoke from a downshift blows across the grain

And the blackbirds are flyin across the golden plain

Im goin back to where it was I came

I got to find ol Joe before he loses it all

Last night in the cafe I wanted to hold your hand

So I told you with my eyes that I understand

That life sure aint easy here in this no mans land

I got to find ol Joe before he loses it all

Somewhere I believe theres a place for me

Down the road to destiny

Can you hear that eagle call?

I got to find ol Joe before he loses it all

The dogs go to barkin at the risin of the moon

And the highways a callin and Ill be listinen soon

Another weary rambler crazy as a loon

I got to find ol Joe before he loses it all

The motel up ahead has a vacancy sign

But Im travelin too hard to pay it any mind

Theres a rainbow in the clouds down ol highway 99

I gotta find ol Joe before he loses it all

Somewhere I believe theres a place for me

Down the road to destiny

Can you hear that eagle call?

I got to find ol Joe before he loses it all

The wild west was made with the blood of the brave

Where there was little to take and even less to save

Where they buried their heros in unmarked graves

I got to find ol Joe before he loses it all

You work all your life to get where you are

Then you throw it all away to chase some crazy star

While the prophet on the radio slings his guitar

I got to find ol Joe before he loses it all

Somewhere I believe theres a place for me

Down the road to destiny

Can you hear that eagle call?

I got to find ol Joe before he loses it all

The wild west was made from the blood of the brave

Dry as the creek bed, cracked with age

Where they buried their heros in unmarked graves

I got to find ol Joe before he loses it all