1. Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum
2. Mississippi
3. Summer Days
4. Bye And Bye
5. Lonesome Day Blues
6. Floater (Too Much To Ask)
7. High Water (For Charley Patton)
8. Moonlight
9. Honest With Me
10. Po' Boy
11. Cry A While
12. Sugar Baby
TWEEDLE DEE & TWEEDLE DUM
Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee
They’re throwing knives into the tree
Two big bags of dead man’s bones
Got their noses to the grindstones
Living in the Land of Nod
Trustin’ their fate to the Hands of God
They pass by so silently
Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee
Well, they’re going to the country, they’re gonna retire
They’re taking a street car named Desire
Looking in the window at the pecan pie
Lot of things they’d like they would never buy
Neither one gonna turn and run
They’re making a voyage to the sun
“His Master’s voice is calling me”
Says Tweedle Dum to Tweedle Dee
Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum
All that and more and then some
They walk among the stately trees
They know the secrets of the breeze
Tweedle Dum said to Tweedle Dee
“Your presence is obnoxious to me”
They’re like babies sittin’ on a woman’s knee
Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee
Well, the rain beating down on my window pane
I got love for you and it’s all in vain
Brains in the pot, they’re beginning to boil
They’re dripping with garlic and olive oil
Tweedle Dee, he’s on his hands and his knees
Saying, “Throw me somethin’, Mister, please”
“What’s good for you is good for me”
Says Tweedle Dum to Tweedle Dee
Well, they’re living in a happy harmony
Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee
They’re one day older and a dollar short
They’ve got a parade permit and a police escort
They’re lying low and they’re makin’ hay
They seem determined to go all the way
They run a brick-and-tile company
Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee
Well a childish dream is a deathless need
And a noble truth is a sacred dream
My pretty baby, she’s lookin’ around
She’s wearin’ a multi-thousand dollar gown
Tweedle Dee is a lowdown, sorry old man
Tweedle Dum, he’ll stab you where you stand
“I’ve had too much of your company,”
Says Tweedle Dum to Tweedle Dee
MISSISSIPPI
Every step of the way we walk the line
Your days are numbered, so are mine
Time is pilin’ up, we struggle and we scrape
We’re all boxed in, nowhere to escape
City’s just a jungle; more games to play
Trapped in the heart of it, tryin' to get away
I was raised in the country, I been workin’ in the town
I been in trouble ever since I set my suitcase down
Got nothin' for you, I had nothin' before
Don’t even have anything for myself anymore
Sky full of fire, pain pourin’ down
Nothing you can sell me, I’ll see you around
All my powers of expression and thoughts so sublime
Could never do you justice in reason or rhyme
Only one thing I did wrong
Stayed in Mississippi a day too long
Well, the devil’s in the alley, mule’s in the stall
Say anything you wanna, I have heard it all
I was thinkin’ 'bout the things that Rosie said
I was dreaming I was sleepin' in Rosie’s bed
Walkin' through the leaves, falling from the trees
Feelin' like a stranger nobody sees
So many things that we never will undo
I know you’re sorry, I’m sorry too
Some people will offer you their hand and some won’t
Last night I knew you, tonight I don’t
I need somethin’ strong to distract my mind
I’m gonna look at you ’til my eyes go blind
Well I got here followin' the southern star
I crossed that river just to be where you are
Only one thing I did wrong
Stayed in Mississippi a day too long
Well my ship’s been split to splinters and it’s sinkin' fast
I’m drownin’ in the poison, got no future, got no past
But my heart is not weary, it’s light and it’s free
I’ve got nothin’ but affection for all those who’ve sailed with me
Everybody movin’ if they ain’t already there
Everybody got to move somewhere
Stick with me baby, stick with me anyhow
Things should start to get interestin' right about now
My clothes are wet, tight on my skin
Not as tight as the corner that I painted myself in
I know that fortune is waitin’ to be kind
So give me your hand and say you’ll be mine
Well, the emptiness is endless, cold as the clay
You can always come back, but you can’t come back all the way
Only one thing I did wrong
Stayed in Mississippi a day too long
SUMMER DAYS
Summer days, summer nights are gone
Summer days and the summer nights are gone
I know a place where there’s still somethin’ going on
I got a house on a hill, I got hogs all out in the mud
I got a house on a hill, I got hogs out lying in the mud
I got a long-haired woman, she got royal Indian blood
Everybody get ready, lift up your glasses and sing
Everybody get ready to lift up your glasses and sing
Well, I’m standin’ on the table, I’m proposing a toast to the King
Well I’m drivin’ in the flats in a Cadillac car
The girls all say, “You’re a worn-out star”
My pockets are loaded and I’m spending every dime
How can you say you love someone else when you know it’s me all the time?
Well, the fog’s so thick you can’t spy the land
The fog is so thick that you can’t even spy the land
What good are you anyway, if you can’t stand up to some old businessman?
Wedding bells ringin’, the choir is beginning to sing
Yes, the wedding bells are ringing and the choir is beginning to sing
What looks good in the day, at night is another thing
She’s looking into my eyes, she’s holding my hand
She’s looking into my eyes, she’s holding my hand
She says, “You can’t repeat the past.” I say, “You can’t? What do you mean,
you can’t? Of course you can.”
Where do you come from? Where do you go?
Sorry that’s nothin’ you would need to know
Well, my back has been to the wall for so long, it seems like it’s stuck
Why don’t you break my heart one more time just for good luck
I got eight carburetors, boys I’m using ’em all
Well, I got eight carburetors and boys, I’m using ’em all
I’m short on gas, my motor’s starting to stall
My dogs are barking, there must be someone around
My dogs are barking, there must be someone around
I got my hammer ringin’, pretty baby, but the nails ain’t goin’ down
You got something to say, speak or hold your peace
Well, you got something to say, speak now or hold your peace
If it’s information you want you can go get it from the police
Politician got on his jogging shoes
He must be running for office, got no time to lose
He been suckin’ the blood out of the genius of generosity
You been rolling your eyes, you been teasing me
Standing by God’s river, my soul is beginnin’ to shake
Standing by God’s river, my soul is beginnin’ to shake
I’m countin’ on you love, to give me a break
I’m leaving in the morning as soon as the dark clouds lift
Yes, I’m leaving in the morning just as soon as the dark clouds lift
Gonna break the roof in set fire to the place as a parting gift
Summer days, summer nights are gone
Summer days, summer nights are gone
I know a place where there’s still somethin’ going on
BYE AND BYE
Bye and bye, I’m breathin’ a lover’s sigh
While I’m sittin’ on my watch so I can be on time
I’m singin’ love’s praises with sugar-coated rhyme
Bye and bye, on you I’m casting my eye
I’m paintin’ the town, swinging my partner around
Well I know who I can depend on, I know who to trust
I’m watchin’ the roads, I’m studying the dust
I’m paintin’ the town making my last go-round
Well, I’m scufflin’ and I’m shufflin’ and I’m walkin’ on briars
I’m not even acquainted with my own desires
I’m rollin’ slow, I’m doing all I know
I’m tellin’ myself I found true happiness
That I’ve still got a dream that hasn’t been repossessed
I’m rollin’ slow, goin’ where the wild roses grow
Well the future for me is already a thing of the past
You were my first love and you will be my last
Papa gone mad, mamma, she’s feeling sad
Well I’m gonna baptize you in fire so you can sin no more
I’m gonna establish my rule through civil war
Gonna make you see just how loyal and true a man can be
LONESOME DAY BLUES
Well, today has been a sad ol’ lonesome day
Yeah, today has been a sad ol’ lonesome day
I’m just sittin’ here thinking,
My mind a million miles away
Well, they’re doing the double shuffle, throwin’ sand on the floor
They’re doing the double shuffle, they’re throwin’ sand on the floor
When I left my long-time darlin’
She was standing in the door
Well, my pa he died and left me, my brother got killed in the war
Well, my pa he died and left me, my brother got killed in the war
My sister, she ran off and got married
Never was heard of any more
Samantha Brown lived in my house for about four or five months
Samantha Brown lived in my house for about four or five months
Don’t know how it looked to other people
I never slept with her even once
Well, the road’s washed out, weather not fit for man or beast
Yeah the road’s washed out, weather not fit for man or beast
Funny, the things you have the hardest time parting with
Are the things you need the least
I’m forty miles from the mill, I’m droppin’ it into overdrive
I’m forty miles from the mill, I’m droppin’ it into overdrive
Settin’ my dial on the radio
I wish my mother was still alive
I see your lover-man comin’, comin’ ’cross the barren field
I see your lover-man comin’, comin’ ’cross the barren field
He’s not a gentleman at all, he’s rotten to the core
He’s a coward and he steals
Well my captain he’s decorated, he’s well schooled and he’s skilled
My captain, he’s decorated, he’s well schooled and he’s skilled
He’s not sentimental don’t bother him at all
How many of his pals have been killed
Last night the wind was whisperin’, I was trying to make out what it was
Last night the wind was whisperin’ somethin’, I was trying to make out what it was
I tell myself something’s comin’
But it never does
I’m gonna spare the defeated, I’m gonna speak to the crowd
I’m gonna spare the defeated, boys, I’m going to speak to the crowd
I am goin’ to teach peace to the conquered
I’m gonna tame the proud
FLOATER (TOO MUCH TO ASK)
Down over the window
Comes the dazzling sunlit rays
Through the back alleys, through the blinds
Another one of them endless days
Honey bees are buzzin’
Leaves begin to stir
I’m in love with my second cousin
I tell myself I could be happy forever with her
I keep listenin’ for footsteps
But I ain’t hearing any
From the boat I fish for bullheads
I catch a lot, sometimes too many
A summer breeze is blowing
A squall is settin’ in
Sometimes it’s just plain stupid
To get into any kind of wind
Well, the old men ’round here, sometimes they get
On bad terms with the younger men
Old, young, age don’t carry weight
It doesn’t matter in the end
One of the boss’ hangers-on
Sometimes comes to call at times you least expect
Try to bully ya, strong-arm you inspire you with fear
It has the opposite effect
There’s a new grove of trees on the outskirts of town
The old one is long gone
Timber two-foot-six across
Burns with the bark still on
They say times are hard, if you don’t believe it
You can follow your nose
It don’t bother me times are hard everywhere
We’ll just have to see how it goes
My old man, he’s like some feudal lord
Got more lives than a cat
Never seen him quarrel with my mother even once
Things come alive or they fall flat
You can smell the pinewood burnin’
You can hear the school bell ring
Gotta get up near the teacher if you can
If you wanna learn anything
Romeo, he said to Juliet, “You got a poor complexion
It doesn’t give your appearance a very youthful touch!”
Juliet said back to Romeo, “Why don’t you just shove off
If it bothers you so much”
They got all got out of here any way they could
Cold rain can give you the shivers
They went down the Ohio, the Cumberland, the Tennessee
All the rest of them rebel rivers
If you ever try to interfere with me or cross my path again
You do so at the peril of your own life
I’m not quite as cool or forgiving as I sound
I’ve seen enough heartaches and strife
My grandfather was a duck trapper
He could do it with just dragnets and ropes
My grandmother could sew new dresses out of old cloth
I don’t know if they had any dreams or hopes
I had ’em once though, I suppose, to go along
With all the ring-dancin’ Christmas carols on all of the Christmas eves
I left all my dreams and hopes
Buried under tobacco leaves
Not always easy kicking someone out
Gotta wait a while it can be an unpleasant task
Sometimes somebody wants you to give something up
And tears or not, it’s too much to ask
HIGH WATER (FOR CHARLIE PATTON)
High water risin’, risin’ night and day
All the gold and silver are bein' stolen away
Big Joe Turner lookin’ east and west
From the dark room of his mind
He made it to Kansas City
Twelfth Street and Vine
Nothin' standing there
High water everywhere
High water risin’, the shacks are slidin’ down
Folks lose their possessions, the folks are leaving town
Bertha Mason shook it, broke it
Then she hung it on a wall
Says, “You’re dancin’ with whom they tell you to
Or you don’t dance at all”
It’s tough out there
High water everywhere
I got a cravin’ love for blazing speed
Got a hopped-up Mustang Ford
Jump into the wagon, love, throw your panties on the board
I can write you poems, make a strong man lose his mind
I’m no pig without a wig
I hope you treat me kind
Things are breakin’ up out there
High water everywhere
High water risin’, six inches ’bove my head
Coffins droppin’ in the street
Like balloons made out of lead
Water pourin’ into Vicksburg, don’t know what I’m goin' to do
“Don’t reach out for me,” she said
“Can’t you see I’m drownin’ too?”
It’s rough out there
High water everywhere
Well, George Lewis told the Englishman, the Italian and the Jew
“You can’t open up your mind, boys
To every conceivable point of view”
They got Charles Darwin trapped out there on Highway Five
Judge says to the High Sheriff,
“I want him dead or alive
Either one, I don’t care”
High water everywhere
Well, the Cuckoo is a pretty bird, she warbles as she flies
I’m preachin’ the Word of God
I’m puttin’ out your eyes
I asked Fat Nancy for somethin' to eat, she said, “Take it off the shelf
As great as you are a man
You’ll never be greater than yourself”
I told her I didn’t really care
High water everywhere
I’m get up in the morning, I believe I’ll dust my broom
Keeping away from the women
I’m givin’ ’em a lots of room
Thunder rolling over Clarkesdale, everything is looking blue
I just can’t be happy, love
Unless you’re happy too
It’s bad out there
High water everywhere
MOONLIGHT
The seasons they are turnin’ and my sad heart is yearnin’
To hear again the songbird’s sweet melodious tone
Won’t you meet me out in the moonlight alone?
The dusky light, the day is losing, Orchids, Poppies, Black-eyed Susan
The earth and sky that melts with flesh and bone
Won’t you meet me out in the moonlight alone?
The air is thick and heavy all along the levy
Where the geese into the countryside have flown
Won’t you meet me out in the moonlight alone?
Well, I’m preachin’ peace and harmony
The blessings of tranquility
Yet I know when the time is right to strike
I’ll take you cross the river dear
You’ve no need to linger here
I know the kinds of things you like
The clouds are turnin’ crimson, the leaves fall from the limbs an’
The branches cast their shadows over stone
Won’t you meet me out in the moonlight alone?
The boulevards of cypress trees, the masquerades of birds and bees
The petals, pink and white, the wind has blown
Won’t you meet me out in the moonlight alone?
The trailing moss and mystic glow
Purple blossoms soft as snow
My tears keep flowing to the sea
Doctor, lawyer, Indian chief
It takes a thief to catch a thief
For whom does the bell toll for, love? It tolls for you and me
My pulse is runnin’ through my palm, the sharp hills are rising from
The yellow fields with twisted oaks that groan
Won’t you meet me out in the moonlight alone?
HONEST WITH ME
Well, I’m stranded in the city that never sleeps
Some of these women they just give me the creeps
I’m avoidin’ the Southside the best I can
These memories I got, they can strangle a man
Well I came ashore in the dead of the night
Lot of things can get in the way when you’re tryin’ to do what’s right
You don’t understand it my feelings for you
You’d be honest with me if only you knew
I’m not sorry for nothin’ I’ve done
I’m glad I fought, I only wish we’d won
The Siamese twins are comin’ to town
People can’t wait, they’re gathered around
When I left my home the sky split open wide
I never wanted to go back there, I’d rather have died
You don’t understand it, my feelings for you
You’d be honest with me if only you knew
My woman got a face like a teddy bear
She’s tossin’ a baseball bat in the air
The meat is so tough you can’t cut it with a sword
I’m crashin’ my car, trunk first into the boards
You say my eyes are pretty and my smile is nice
Well, I’ll sell it to ya at a reduced price
You don’t understand it, my feelings for you
You’d be honest with me, if only you knew
Some things are too terrible to be true
I won’t come here no more if it bothers you
There’s a Southern Pacific leaving at nine forty-five
I’m having a hard time believin’ some people were ever alive
I’m stark naked, but I don’t care
I’m going off into the woods, I’m huntin’ bare
You don’t understand it, my feelings for you
Well, you’d be honest with me if only you knew
I’m here to create the new imperial empire
I’m going to do whatever circumstances require
I care so much for you, didn’t think that I could
I can’t tell my heart that you’re no good
Well, my parents they warned me not to waste my years
And I still got their advice oozing out of my ears
You don’t understand it, my feelings for you
Well, you’d be honest with me if only you knew
PO' BOY
Man comes to the door, I say, “For whom are you looking?”
He says, “Your wife,” I say, “She’s busy in the kitchen cookin’”
Poor boy, where you been?
I already tol’ you, won’t tell you again
I say, “How much you want for that?” I go into the store
Man says, “Three dollars.” “All right,” I say, “Will you take four?”
Poor boy, never say die
Things will be all right by and by
Been workin’ on the mainline, workin’ like the devil
The game is the same, it’s just up on a different level
Poor boy, dressed in black
Police at your back
Poor boy in a red hot town
Out beyond the twinklin’ stars
Ridin’ first-class trains, making the rounds
Tryin’ to keep from fallin’ between the cars
Othello told Desdemona, “I’m cold, cover me with a blanket
By the way, what happened to that poison wine?”
She says, “I gave it to you, you drank it”
Poor boy, layin’ ’em straight, pickin’ up the cherries fallin’ off the plate
Time and love has branded me with its claws
Had to go to Florida, dodgin’ them Georgia laws
Poor boy, in the hotel called the Palace of Gloom
Calls down to room service, says send up a room
My mother was a daughter of a wealthy farmer
My father was a traveling salesman, I never met him
When my mother died, my uncle took me in, he ran a funeral parlor
He did a lot of nice things for me and I won’t forget him
All I know is that I’m thrilled by your kiss
I don’t know any more than this
Poor boy, pickin’ up sticks
Build ya a house out of mortar and bricks
Knockin’ on the door, I say, “Who is it and where are you from?”
Man says, “Freddy!” I say, “Freddy who?” He says, “Freddy or not here I come”
Poor boy ’neath the stars that shine
Washin’ them dishes, feedin’ them swine
CRY A WHILE
Well, I had to go down and see a guy named Mr. Goldsmith
Nasty, dirty, double-crossin’, backstabbin’ phony I didn’t have to, want to have to deal with
But I did it for you and all you gave me was a smile
Well, I cried for you, now it’s your turn to cry awhile
I don’t carry deadweight, I’m no flash in the pan
All right, I’ll set you straight, can’t you see I’m a union man?
I’m lettin’ the cat out of the cage, I’m keeping a low profile
Well, I cried for you, now it’s your turn, you can cry awhile
Feel like a fighting rooster, feel better than I ever felt
But the Pennsylvania line’s in an awful mess and the Denver road is about to melt
I went to the church house, every day I go an extra mile
Well, I cried for you, now it’s your turn, you can cry awhile
Last night ’cross the alley there was a pounding on the walls
It must have been Don Pasqualli makin’ a two A.M. booty call
To break a trusting heart like mine was just your style
Well, I cried for you, now it’s your turn to cry awhile
I’m on the fringes of the night, fighting back tears that I can’t control
Some people they ain’t human, they got no heart or soul
Well, I’m crying to the Lord, tryin’ to be meek and mild
Yes, I cried for you, now it’s your turn, you cry awhile
Well, there’s preachers in the pulpits and babies in the cribs
I’m longin’ for that sweet fat that sticks to your ribs
I’m gonna buy me a barrel of whiskey, I’ll die before I turn senile
Yes, I cried for you, now it’s your turn, you can cry awhile
Well, you bet on a horse and it ran on the wrong way
I always said you’d be sorry and today could be the day
I might need a good lawyer, could be your funeral, my trial
Well, I cried for you, now it’s your turn, you can cry awhile
SUGAR BABY
I got my back to the sun ’cause the light is too intense
I can see what everybody in the world is up against
Can’t turn back, you can’t come back, sometimes we push too far
One day you’ll open up your eyes and you’ll see where we are
Sugar baby get on down the road
You ain’t got no brains, no how
You went years without me
Might as well keep going now
Some of these bootleggers, they make pretty good stuff
Plenty of places to hide things here if you wanna hide ’em bad enough
I’m staying with aunt Sally, but you know, she’s not really my aunt
Some of these memories you can learn to live with and some of them you can’t
Sugar baby get on down the line
You ain’t got no brains, no how
You went years without me
You might as well keep going now
The ladies down in darktown, they’re doing the darktown strut
You always got to be prepared but you never look for what
There ain’t no limit to the amount of trouble women bring
Love is pleasing, love is teasing, love not an evil thing
Sugar baby, get on down the road
You ain’t got no brains, no how
You went years without me
You might as well keep going now
Every moment of existence seems like some dirty trick
Happiness can come suddenly and leave just as quick
Any minute of the day the bubble could burst
Try to make things better for someone, sometimes, you just end up making it a thousand times worse
Sugar baby, get on down the road
You ain’t got no brains, no how
You went years without me
Might as well keep going now
Your charms have broken many a heart and mine is surely one
You got a way of tearing the world apart, love see what you done
Just as sure as we’re living, just as sure as you’re born
Look up, look up, seek your maker, ’fore Gabriel blows his horn
Sugar baby, get on down the line
You ain’t got no sense, no how
You went years without me
Might as well keep going now
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