In Person & On Stage
  1. Spanish Pipedream

    She was a level-headed dancer on the road to alcohol
    And I was just a soldier on my way to Montreal
    Well she pressed her chest against me
    About the time the juke box broke
    Yeah, she gave me a peck on the back of the neck
    And these are the words she spoke
    Chorus:
    Blow up your TV throw away your paper
    Go to the country, build you a home
    Plant a little garden, eat a lot of peaches
    Try an find Jesus on your own  
    Well, I sat there at the table and I acted real naive
    For I knew that topless lady had something up her sleeve
    Well, she danced around the bar room and she did the hoochy-coo
    Yeah she sang her song all night long, tellin' me what to do
    (Repeat Chorus)
    Well, I was young and hungry and about to leave that place
    When just as I was leavin', well she looked me in the face
    I said "You must know the answer."
    "She said, "No but I'll give it a try."
    And to this very day we've been livin' our way
    And here is the reason why
    We blew up our TV threw away our paper
    Went to the country, built us a home
    Had a lot of children, fed 'em on peaches
    They all found Jesus on their own
  2. She Is My Everything

    She is my everything
    From her suntanned shoulders
    Down to the freckles
    On her wedding ring
    Here feet are so warm
    They could melt the snow
    In the early Spring
    She is my everything
    She goes everywhere from Copenhagen
    To making eggs and bacon down in Jackson Square
    I'd like to drive a Cadillac
    The color of her long black hair
    She goes everywhere
    Kisses that come all the way from China
    Kinda remind her of memories of Spain
    If I get lost you can always find her
    Standing right beside me in the rain
    Instrumental:
    She uses Eveready batteries to keep
    Her electrical appliances going steady
    She can do fourteen things at one
    And then the phone'll ring
    She is my everything
    She know everybody
    From Muhammad Ali
    To teaching Bruce Lee
    How to do karate
    She can lead a parade
    While putting on her shades
    In her Masarati
    She know everybody
    Kisses that come all the way from China
    Kinda remind her of memories of Spain
    If I get lost you can always find her
    Standing right beside me in the rain
    She is my everything
    When she wakes up in the morning
    That's when the birdies
    Start to sing
    When I hear her voice
    I'll tell you boys
    I forget everything
    She is my everything
    She is my everything
  3. In Spite Of Ourselves (with Iris DeMent)

    She don't like her eggs all runny
    She thinks crossin' her legs is funny
    She looks down her nose at money
    She gets it on like the Easter Bunny
    She's my baby I'm her honey
    I'm never gonna let her go
    He ain't got laid in a month of Sundays
    I caught him once and he was sniffin' my undies
    He ain't too sharp but he gets things done
    Drinks his beer like it's oxygen
    He's my baby
    And I'm his honey
    Never gonna let him go
    In spite of ourselves
    We'll end up a'sittin' on a rainbow
    Against all odds
    Honey, we're the big door prize
    We're gonna spite our noses
    Right off of our faces
    There won't be nothin' but big old hearts
    Dancin' in our eyes.
    She thinks all my jokes are corny
    Convict movies make her horny
    She likes ketchup on her scrambled eggs
    Swears like a sailor when shaves her legs
    She takes a lickin'
    And keeps on tickin'
    I'm never gonna let her go.
    He's got more balls than a big brass monkey
    He's a whacked out weirdo and a lovebug junkie
    Sly as a fox and crazy as a loon
    Payday comes and he's howlin' at the moon
    He's my baby I don't mean maybe
    Never gonna let him go
    In spite of ourselves
    We'll end up a sittin' on a rainbow
    Against all odds
    Honey, we're the big door prize
    We're gonna spite our noses
    Right off of our faces
    There won't be nothin' but big old hearts
    Dancin' in our eyes.
    There won't be nothin' but big old hearts
    Dancin' in our eyes.
    (Spoken) In spite of ourselves
  4. Long Monday

    You and me
    Sittin' in the back my memory
    Like a honey bee
    Buzzin' 'round a glass of sweet Chablis
    Radio's on
    Windows rolled up
    And my mind's rolled down
    Headlights shining
    Like silver moons
    Rollin' on the ground
    We made love
    In everyway love can be made
    And we made time
    Look like time
    Could never fade
    Friday Night
    We both made the guitar hum
    Saturday made Sunday feel
    Like it would never come
    Gonna be a long Monday
    Sittin' all alone on a mountain
    By a river that has no end
    Gonna be a long Monday
    Stuck like the tick of a clock
    That's come unwound - again
    Soul to soul
    Heart to heart
    And cheek to cheek
    Come on baby
    Give me a kiss
    That'll last all week
    The thought of you leavin' again
    Brings me down
    The promise of
    Your sweet love
    Brings me around
    It's gonna be a long Monday
    Sittin' all alone on a mountain
    By a river that has no end
    It's gonna be a long Monday
    Stuck like the tick of a clock
    That's come unwound - again
    And again
  5. The Late John Garfield Blues (with Sara Watkins)

    Black faces pressed against the glass
    Where rain has pressed it's weight
    Wind blown scarves in top down cars
    All share one western trait
    Sadness leaks through tear-stained cheeks
    From winos to dime-store Jews
    Probably don't know they give me
    These late John Garfield blues
     
    Midnight fell on Franklin Street
    And the lamppost bulbs were broke
    For the life of me, I could not see
    But I heard a brand new joke
    Two men were standing upon a bridge
    One jumped and screamed you lose
    And just left the odd man holding
    Those late John Garfield blues
     
    An old man sleeps with his conscience at night
    Young kids sleep with their dreams
    While the mentally ill sit perfectly still
    And live through life's in-betweens
     
    I'm going away to the last resort
    In week or two real soon
    Where the fish don't bite but once a night
    By the cold light of the moon
    The horses scream- the nightmares dream
    And the dead men all wear shoes
    'Cause everybody's dancin'
    Those late John Garfield blues
  6. The Bottomless Lake

    Here's the story of a man and his family
    And a big trip that they took
    Well, I heard all about in a restaurant
    And I read it in a history book
    They rented a car at the Erie Canal
    But the car didn't have no brake
    Said Ma to Pa "My God this car"
    "Is gonna fall into the Bottomless Lake"
     
    Well, Mama turned to Daddy with a pale face
    Said "I've done something horribly wrong"
    "Well, the waters still runnin' in the bathtub"
    And I think I left the kitchen light on"
    Then I heard a crash the car when splash
    And the compass rolled around and around
    Oh, for Heaven's Sake! We fell in a lake
    And I think we're all gonna drown
    Chorus:
    We are falling down
    Down to the bottom of a hole in the ground
    Smoke 'em if you got 'em
    I'm so scared I can hardly breathe
    I may never see my sweetheart again
    Play once after first verse
    There was plenty of food in the backseat
    And the windows were rolled up tight
    So we all nibbled on a chicken leg
    Told stories 'way thru' the night
    Well, Pa told one that he told before
    And the baby got a bellyache
    Said Ma to Pa "My God this car"
    "Falling down a Bottomless Lake"
    (Repeat Chorus)
    Poppa played the music on the radio
    Mama rocked the baby to sleep
    He said he would've taken the other road
    But he didn't think the lake was that deep
    Well, if the ferry been there at the end of the pier
    We'd be half way to Uncle Jake's
    Instead of looking at fish out the window I wish
    We'd hit the bottom of the Bottomless Lake
    'Stead of looking at fish out the window I wish
    We'd hit the bottom of the Bottomless Lake
     
    So if you're ever goin' on a big trip
    Ya better be careful out there
    Start everything on you good foot
    And wear clean underwear
    Take along a Bible in the backseat
    Read of David and Solomon
    For if you make a mistake in the Bottomless Lake
    You may never see your sweetheart again
    If you should make a mistake in the Bottomless Lake
    You may never see your sweetheart again
    If you should make a mistake in the Bottomless Lake
    You may never see your sweetheart again
  7. Bear Creek Blues

    Way up on Bear Creek, Watching the sun go down.
    Way up on Bear Creek, Watching the sun go down.
    Well it makes me feel like I’m on my last go ‘round.

    The water up on Bear Creek, Tastes like cherry wine.
    The water up on Bear Creek, Tastes like cherry  wine.
    One drink of that water, You stay drunk all the time.

    If you stay up on Bear Creek, You’ll get like Jesse James.
    If you stay up on Bear Creek, You’ll get like Jesse James.
    You’ll take two pistols, And you’ll rob that Bear Creek train.

    I’m going high, high, Up on some lonesome ridge.
    I’m going high, high, Up on some lonesome ridge.
    Look down on Bear Creek, Where my good gal used to live.

    Way up on Bear Creek, Watching the sun go down.
    Way up on Bear Creek, Watching the sun go down.
    Well it makes me feel like I’m on my last go ‘round.
  8. Saddle In The Rain

    I wish, I hope, I wonder
    Where you're at sometimes
    Is your back against the wall?
    Or just across the line
    Have you been standing in the rain
    Reciting nursery rhymes?
    Trying to recall
    Some long lost kind of peace of mind
    Peace of mind
    Try spending the night sometime
    All alone in a frozen room
    Afterneath you've lain
    Your Saddle in the rain
    I dreamed they locked God up
    Down in my basement
    And he waited there for me
    To have this accident
    So he could drink my wine
    And eat me like a sacrament
    And I just stood there like I do
    Then I came and went
    I came and went
    Like a bird in a foreign sky
    Couldn't even say good bye
    Or come and share the pain
    My Saddle's in the rain
    I saw a friend who doesn't know
    If I'm his friend just yet
    His eyes and mouth were widely open
    And his jaw was set
    Like he'd fell off a cliff
    And hadn't hit the bottom yet
    I wish he wouldn't pull those things on me
    Without a net
    Without a net
    I had him up to the house one time
    And we was having a real good time
    Then he went and lain
    His Saddle in the rain
    In a laundromat not too far
    From the Alamo
    Sits a girl who stole my records
    Very long ago
    And she wishes, wants and washes
    Out those dirty clothes
    As she shuts her eyes and dreams
    About her one eyed Joe
    One eyed Joe
    Car parked on a dirty road
    Heaven knows the load she pulled
    Couldn't take the strain
    A Saddle in the rain
  9. Angel From Montgomery (with Emmylou Harris)

    I am an old woman named after my mother
    My old man is another child that's grown old
    If dreams were lightning thunder was desire
    This old house would have burnt down a long time ago
    Chorus:
    Make me an angel that flies from Montgom'ry
    Make me a poster of an old rodeo
    Just give me one thing that I can hold on to
    To believe in this living is just a hard way to go
    When I was a young girl well, I had me a cowboy
    He weren't much to look at, just free rambling man
    But that was a long time and no matter how I try
    The years just flow by like a broken down dam.
    (Repeat Chorus)
    There's flies in the kitchen I can hear 'em there buzzing
    And I ain't done nothing since I woke up today.
    How the hell can a person go to work in the morning
    And come home in the evening and have nothing to say.
    (Repeat Chorus)
  10. Your Flag Decal Wont Get You Into Heaven Anymore

    While digesting Reader's Digest
    In the back of a dirty book store,
    A plastic flag, with gum on the back,
    Fell out on the floor.
    Well, I picked it up and I ran outside
    Slapped it on my window shield,
    And if I could see old Betsy Ross
    I'd tell her how good I feel.
    Chorus:
    But your flag decal won't get you
    Into Heaven any more.
    They're already overcrowded
    From your dirty little war.
    Now Jesus don't like killin'
    No matter what the reason's for,
    And your flag decal won't get you
    Into Heaven any more. 
    Well, I went to the bank this morning
    And the cashier he said to me,
    "If you join the Christmas club
    We'll give you ten of them flags for free."
    Well, I didn't mess around a bit
    I took him up on what he said.
    And I stuck them stickers all over my car
    And one on my wife's forehead.
    (Repeat Chorus)
    Well, I got my window shield so filled
    With flags I couldn't see.
    So, I ran the car upside a curb
    And right into a tree.
    By the time they got a doctor down
    I was already dead.
    And I'll never understand why the man
    Standing in the Pearly Gates said...
    "But your flag decal won't get you
    Into Heaven any more.
    We're already overcrowded
    From your dirty little war.
    Now Jesus don't like killin'
    No matter what the reason's for,
    And your flag decal won't get you
    Into Heaven any more."
  11. Mexican Home (with Josh Ritter)

    It got so hot, last night, I swear
    You couldn't hardly breathe
    Heat lightning burnt the sky like alcohol
    I sat on the porch without my shoes
    And I watched the cars roll by
    As the headlights raced
    To the corner of the kitchen wall.
    Chorus:
    Mama dear
    Your boy is here
    Far across the sea
    Waiting for
    That sacred core
    That burns inside of me
    And I feel a storm
    All wet and warm
    Not ten miles away
    Approaching
    My Mexican home.
    My God! I cried, it's so hot inside
    You could die in the living room
    Take the fan from the window
    Prop the door back with a broom
    The cuckoo clock has died of shock
    And the windows feel no pane
    The air's as still
    As the throttle on a funeral train.
    (Repeat Chorus)
    My father died on the porch outside
    On an August afternoon
    I sipped bourbon and cried
    With a friend by the light of the moon
    So its hurry! hurry! Step right up
    It's a matter of life or death
    The sun is going down
    And the moon is just holding its breath.
    (Repeat Chorus)
  12. Unwed Fathers (with Iris DeMent)

    In an Appalachian, Greyhound station 
    She sits there waiting, in a family way
    "Goodbye brother, Tell Mom I love her
    Tell all the others, I'll write someday"
    Chorus:
    From an teenage lover, to an unwed mother
    Kept undercover, like some bad dream 
    While unwed fathers, they can't be bothered
    They run like water, through a mountain stream
    In a cold and gray town, a nurse say's "Lay down"
    'This ain't no playground, and this ain't home'
    Someone's children, out having children 
    In a gray stone building, all alone
     
    On somewhere else bound, Smokey Mountain Greyhound 
    She bows her head down, hummin' lullabies
    'Your daddy never, meant to hurt you ever' 
    'He just don't live here, but you've got his eyes'
    (Repeat Chorus)
    Well, they run like water,
  13. Glory Of True Love

    Oh the glory of true love
    Is a wild and precious thing
    It don’t grow on old magnolias
    Or only blossom in the spring
    No the glory of true love
    Is it will last your whole life through
    Never will go out of fashion
    Always will look good on you
    You can climb the highest mountain
    Touch the moon and stars above
    But Old Faithful’s just a fountain
    Compared to the glory of true love
    Long before I met you darlin’
    Lord, I thought I had it all
    I could have my lunch in London
    And my dinner in St. Paul
    I got some friends in Albuquerque
    Where the governor calls me “Gov”
    You can give ‘em all to Goodwill
    For the glory of true love
    You can climb the highest mountain
    Touch the moon and stars above
    But Old Faithful’s just a fountain
    Compared to the glory of true love
    Glory, glory, glory, glory
    You can’t never get enough
    Time alone will tell the story
    Of the glory of true love
    Glory, glory, glory, glory
    You can’t never get enough
    Time alone will tell the story
    Of the glory of true love
  14. Paradise (with Kane Welch Kaplin)

    When I was a child my family would travel
    Down to Western Kentucky where my parents were born
    And there's a backwards old town that's often remembered
    So many times that my memories are worn.

    Chorus:
    And daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County
    Down by the Green River where Paradise lay
    Well, I'm sorry my son, but you're too late in asking
    Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away

    Well, sometimes we'd travel right down the Green River
    To the abandoned old prison down by Airdrie Hill
    Where the air smelled like snakes and we'd shoot with our pistols
    But empty pop bottles was all we would kill.

    (Repeat Chorus)

    Then the coal company came with the world's largest shovel
    And they tortured the timber and stripped all the land
    Well, they dug for their coal till the land was forsaken
    Then they wrote it all down as the progress of man.

    (Repeat Chorus)

    When I die let my ashes float down the Green River
    Let my soul roll on up to the Rochester dam
    I'll be halfway to Heaven with Paradise waitin'
    Just five miles away from wherever I am.

    (Repeat Chorus)