Since I’ve been talking about the South with some of y’all tonight, I thought I’d share some of my favorites from the world of Southern Rock.
Bloody knuckles and a broken nose
oh, that’s why i never left home
i’ve fought in bars
and i’ve fought in the streets
four more years of fightin’
’til they’re done with meleave it ’til tomorrow ’til you say good bye
aint in the mood to watch no one cry
tonight it’s whiskey, so buy another round
drink it up boys its my last night in townmomma i ain’t your only son
aint no favorites here, its just how its done
drink it up boys its my last night in town
its too late to turn back now, ohin the mornin’ its the wide open road
take it far enough it’ll bring you back home
she said “i watched them carry you to the back
couldnt say good by to you like that”I can only say, “I’m sorry i’s drunk”
so many times ’til it doesnt mean much
when i get home the first rounds on me
raise up that glass – good bye tennesseemomma I ain’t your only son
aint no favorites here, its just how its done
drink it up boys its my last night in town
its too late to turn back now, ohI can only say, “I’m sorry i’s drunk”
so many times ’til it doesnt mean much
when i get home the first rounds on me
drink it up boys – good bye tennesseeLucero, “Last Night in Town”
You want to grow up to paint houses like me, a trailer in my yard till you’re 23
You want to be old after 42 years, keep dropping the hammer and grinding the gearsWell, I used to go out in a Mustang, a 302 Mach One in green.
Me and your Mama made you in the back and I sold it to buy her a ring.
And I learned not to say much of nothing and I figured you already know
but in case you don’t or maybe forgot, I’ll lay it out real nice and slowDon’t call what your wearing an outfit. Don’t ever say your car is broke.
Don’t worry about losing your accent, a Southern Man tells better jokes.
Have fun but stay clear of the needle. Call home on your sister’s birthday.
Don’t tell them you’re bigger than Jesus, don’t give it away.Six months in a St. Florian foundry, they call it Industrial Park.
Then hospital maintenance and Tech School just to memorize Frigidaire parts.
But I got to missing your Mama and I got to missing you too.
So I went back to painting for my old man and I guess that’s what I’ll always doSo don’t try to change who you are boy, and don’t try to be who you ain’t.
And don’t let me catch you in Kendale with a bucket of wealthy-man’s paint.Don’t call what your wearing an outfit. Don’t ever say your car is broke.
Don’t sing with a fake British accent. Don’t act like your family’s a joke.
Have fun, but stay clear of the needle, call home on your sister’s birthday.
Don’t tell them you’re bigger than Jesus, Don’t give it away.Don’t give it away.
Drive-By Truckers, “Outfit”
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 beIf I had a nickel I’d find a game
If I won a dollar I’d make it rain
If it rained an ocean I’d drink it dry
and lay me down dissatisfiedLegs to walk and thoughts to fly
eyes to laugh and lips to cry
a restless tongue to classify
all born to grow and grown to dieSo tell my baby I said so long
tell my mother I did no wrong
tell my brother to watch his own
and tell my friends to mourn me noneI’m chained upon the face of time
feelin’ full of foolish rhyme
there ain’t no dark till something shines
I’m bound to leave this dark behindRide 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 beTownes Van Zandt, “Rex’s Blues”
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…posit: any culture which led to those words is inherently valuable.
Which also gave us The Allman Brothers, Johnny Winter, Louis Armstrong, Earl & John Lee Hooker, etc, etc… (How long could I go on) Is inherently priceless.
I never cared for Skynerd, and the tunes quoted above might prompt me to leave the party, but so what. Maybe there’s a Zydeco bar down the street. I don’t feel any obligation to like everything about anything. Or anyone.
I like to think that I have a greater capacity than most to ‘live and let live’, but I could be kidding myself about that. Certainly there are limits.
the south is changing…. just a bit
well, at least the women are!
does this count?
…including some very hard years, I’d just like to add that it also should not be free of criticism. There should be no free rides.
Well, since my baby left me,
I found a new place to dwell.
Its down at the end of lonely street
At heartbreak hotel.
You make me so lonely baby,
I get so lonely,
I get so lonely I could die.
And although its always crowded,
You still can find some room.
Where broken hearted lovers
Do cry away their gloom.
You make me so lonely baby,
I get so lonely,
I get so lonely I could die.
Well, the bell hops tears keep flowin,
And the desk clerks dressed in black.
Well they been so long on lonely street
They aint ever gonna look back.
You make me so lonely baby,
I get so lonely,
I get so lonely I could die.
Hey now, if your baby leaves you,
And you got a tale to tell.
Just take a walk down lonely street
To heartbreak hotel.
stuff at work but I like “Cat Power”, southern girl who sings sort of acoustic soul.
I never got too jazzed up about traditional southern fried work but there are plenty of great blues me/women springing from he general area here.
A Canadian and a Born in the USAian.
Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen: All Along the Watchtower