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The last two great story-songs by Stan Ridgway I posted in the July thread put me in the mood for some more.
"How you doin', Bert?"
"Well, not so good, Charlie
My back's gone out and I got my finger cut gnarly
The job's the same, and so's the boss
He's still a big ass, and my wallet got lost
My wife's sick in bed, she says she'll never get well
And all these kids today have gone to hell
And all that government paperwork caught up with me––
Had to hire a beancounter for an outrageous fee
And I don't know if the chicken or the egg is to blame
But all things considered, I guess I can't complain."
"Cheer up," Charlie said, "things could be worse."
"Well, yeah, I know, but did I tell ya that
My landlord's a cop? My neighbor's insane?
But all things considered, I guess I can't complain."
Out on the water
Where the sailing men all go
The water's high
While all the fish swim low
Out on the water
Where the sailing men all go
The water's high
While all the fish swim low
"You know what, Bert?" Charlie said, "You've got the wrong attitude
Sometimes life's a big game, and the paths, you can choose
Things may go wrong, but you've gotta stand tall."
"Well, I know," Bert said, "But well, that ain't all
My hair's fallin' out. The roof leaks when it rains
But all things considered, I guess I can't complain."
Out on the water
Where the sailing men all go
The water's high
While all the fish swim low
Out on the water
Where the sailing men all go
The water's high
While all the fish swim low
"You know what, Bert?" Charlie said, "You're a real loser
So I'll see you next week––if you live 'til then."
As Bert walked out to the sidewalk, ten floors up
Two men lost control of a hoist at just the right time
And a big Steinway grand flattened Bert like a dime
And as a crowd gathered 'round and asked, what was his name?
And could it be the chicken, or the egg to blame?
Well, the only thing heard was that all things considered, he really couldn't complain
So if you're a loser in life, and your gun's outta ammo
Just remember the story of Bert and the piano
'Cause if you can't string the bow––and you're clean outta resin
Someone may have planned for you a music lesson
Keep your eyes to the sky; it could be a brand name
And remember, all things considered, you really can't complain
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Another Ridgway tune here
and here
They all say that it's a lonely town
They all say that it's a lonely town
Wide open spaces––empty rooms
If the weather holds out, you can get there by noon
Shadows crawl on the highway line
Don't rush, you've got time
Pull into a donut shop
And get a cup of mud
Ask for directions from a plumber outside
He says "don't go there, bud"
'Cause they all say
That it's a lonely town
And they all say
That it's a drag
And they all know
Those people in a lonely town
All those people are
Lonely and mad
Now I've got my foot on the gas
As I'm crossin the midwest county line
And I think about those mosquitos on my windshield
How they don't give a damn about Christmas-time
And as the passing trucks all flash their lights
Just as I top the hill
I'll remember two green eyes and some flowers
Dyin' on a windowsill
They all say
That it's a lonely town
And they all say
That it's a drag
They all know
Those people in a lonely town
And all those people
Are lonely and mad
They're just lonely and mad
Out here in a lonely town
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This song had a special resonance for me when I moved from the East Coast to California
He got the high sign so he jumped a bus
And along the roads that wind on through
The hot Mojave and the Jericho
He'd start his whole life anew
And what he'd left behind he hadn't valued
Half as much as some things
He never knew
Right around sundown...
He got dropped off on a street in town
Where a grey old man looked him up and down and said
"Son, this ain't no Western movie matinee
And you're a long way off from yippee-yi-yay
'Cause I can tell at a glance
You're not from 'round these parts
Got a green look about ya
And that's a gringo for starts
Sometimes the only thing a Western savage understands
Are whiskey and rifles and an unarmed man like you."
"So you gotta keep on the move
Don't let that fancy paint job fool you."
And then the old-timer pulled him close and said
"You've come a long way, I know
You got a longer drive ahead
Through the bones of the buffalo
Through the claims of the Western dead
And just like the spokes of a wheel
You'll spin 'round with the rest
You'll hear the drums and the brush of steel
You'll hear the call of the west."
Call of the west
You'll hear the call of the west
Call of the west
Harshly awakened by the sound of six rounds
Of light-caliber rifle fire
Followed minutes later by the booming of nine rounds
From a heavier rifle
But you can't close off the wilderness
He heard the snick of a rifle bolt
And found himself peering down the muzzle
Of a weapon held by a drunken liquor store owner
"There's a conflict," he said
"There's a conflict between land and people...
The people have to go
They've come all the way out here to make mining claims
To do automobile body work
To gamble
To take pictures
To not have to do laundry
To own a mini-bike
To have their own CB radios and air conditioning
Good plumbing for sure
And to sell Time Life books and to work in a deli
To have some chili every morning
And maybe... maybe to own their own gas stations again
And to take drugs
Have some crazy sex
But above all, above all, to have a fair shake
To get a piece of the rock and a slice of the pie
And spit out of the window of your car
And not have the wind blow it back in your face"
Now from the high timber line to the deserts dry
Who'll risk dangling on some hangman's tree?
To stake their claims on these prairie plains
While they say this lunch is not had for free?
Just like the spokes of a wheel
Who'll spin 'round with the rest?
They'll hear the drums and the brush of steel
And I'll hear the call of the west
Call of the west
(Yippee-yi-yo, yippee-yi-yo-ki-yay, yippee-yi-yo-ohh)
I'll hear the call of the west
Call of the west
(Yippee-yi-yo, yippee-yi-yo-ki-yay, yippee-yi-yo-ohh)
I'll hear the call of the west
Call of the west
(Yippee-yi-yo, yippee-yi-yo-ki-yay, yippee-yi-yo-ohh)
I'll hear the call of the west
Call of the west
(Yippee-yi-yo, yippee-yi-yo-ki-yay, yippee-yi-yo-ohh)
I'll hear the call of the west
Call of the west
(Yippee-yi-yo, yippee-yi-yo-ki-yay, yippee-yi-yo-ohh)
("I used to be somebody!
I used to be somebody, do you hear me?
Do you hear me?
I-I've been there!
I used to be somebody, goddamn you!
I've been there before!
Don't walk away!")
Well, you—you wanted unleaded?
Unleaded—that's next pump over, so keep on movin', okay?
No, it's out of order
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Speaking of my Western experience....weirdly this group of super-popular Irishmen - basically the Led Zeppelin of the 1980's - put out an album inspired by Joshua Tree National Park while I was living in Los Angeles, so we drove out there in my roommate's Isuzu...desert....rocks, dust....those weird Joshua trees....super hot during the day and freezing at night, rattlesnakes crawling into your sleeping bag was a real concern for campers lol. Not that we got out of the car - we were from L.A.
Man this album was huge.
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This was a followup to the also-huge The Unforgettable Fire, with songs like this one about those who resist tyranny and oppression, and the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, Black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last.
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"One man betrayed by a kiss" of course refers to Jesus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiss_of_Judas
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I like the Missing Persons song. “Nobody walks in LA” lol. Truly, unless you want to get shot or run over.Note
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I walked lol. I didn't have my first car till I was almost 25. But I did have my roommate drive us places like pet stores (we were both into pet snakes) and Jack-in-the-Box with their 5-cheese cheeseburgers. Man those were awesome. I could probably live for two or three days off one of those.l i t t l es t e p h e r sNote
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I had my driver's license at 16. I drove. I just didn't own a car. I would borrow the car to drive to the mall or the video arcade. Gen Z doesn't even have a license and they don't borrow their parents' cars. They don't walk either. They sit in their rooms on their phones. Believe me I hear about it from their parents at work - in whose houses they still live at age 26.
I had 11 different species of snakes in my room at one point lol. We raised our own rats and mice for food for the snakes as well as to sell back to pet stores, there was an insatiable demand for pinkies and fuzzies as they called the different stages of mice and rat babies.
L.A. felt like this - at night anyway.
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Would put this on when driving to San Diego
Tell not a word that you heard in here
But there's a big truck waitin' tonight at the pier
Comin' in on an east-bound boat
Now, don't be late for delivery––here, put this in your coat
It's a strange weight from an exotic locale
Don't worry about the cops, 'cause they're in on it, pal
Just pick it up no later than tonight at three o'clock
And bring it to the warehouse––here, put this in your sock
No one left to save you
Nobody will return
You run so fast, you catch on fire
You've just gotta burn
Yeah––
Goin' southbound
Follow that sound
Long line of cars
Just a-movin' out of town
You've got this job
But you don't know how
And everybody does
What nobody will allow
Full moon shines like a big cue ball
Someone fishin' on the pier, might as well stall
Repaint the car, change your license plate
How ya spell relief? Must be somethin' that you ate
All this is a secret
As common as that dirt
We'll rely on your expert eye
Here, put this in your shirt
Yeah––
Goin' southbound
Follow that sound
Long line of cars
Just a-movin' out of town
You've got this job
But you don't know how
And everybody does
What nobody will allow
Goin' southbound
Follow that sound
Long line of cars
Just a-movin' out of town
You've got this job
But you don't know how
And everybody does
What nobody will allow
And we'll all be waiting so long
Wait so long
We'll all be waiting so long
Wait so long, wait so long
Now if you get caught, don't tell 'em about me
The last one who did, well, we tied him to a tree
Out in the high desert, by an ant hill
Haven't been back there since––guess he's swingin' there still
All this is a secret
As common as that dirt
We'll rely on your expert eye
Here, put this in your shirt
Yeah––yeah! yeah! yeah!
Goin' southbound
Follow that sound
Long line of cars
Just a-movin' out of town
You've got this job
But you don't know how
And everybody does
What nobody will allow
Goin' southbound
Follow that sound
Long line of cars
Just a-movin' out of town
You've got this job
But you don't know how
And everybody does
What nobody will allow
Goin' southbound...
We're goin' southbound...
We're goin' southbound...
We're goin' southbound...
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