1. |
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Fire at the End of the World
(©K. Gordon)
Me and Billy, seventeen
Sitting in class, feeling bored and mean
In came the teacher, said we had a guest
She introduced the sheriff, and put off the test
He talked about pot, how folks grew their own
Statistics were given, slides were shown
Pills, powders, LSD
I found out what all that would do to me
Around here things stay pretty slow
Hound dogs sleep in the middle of the road
Gotta shuck the oyster to find the pearl
And I heard about a fire at the end of the world
Didn’t know what we were doing, but we were gonna get it done
Headed down Louisiana highway 1
Life’s a magazine; the pages start to curl
Down there by the fire at the end of the world
Drove straight south til the road met the water
Split a half a gram, & a hit of good blotter
Every bit of evidence was gone
Sitting on the hood feeling it coming on
There it was, a gold flame in the black velvet sky
Over the refinery so wild and high
That’s when a parish deputy appeared
Asked what we were doing down there
He stared at Billy, he stared at me
I mumbled something about what we came to see
I give the devil neither the credit or the blame
I was just down there looking for that flame
Sometimes you just want things to tilt and shine—
Change it up a little bit inside your mind.
You gotta shuck the oyster to find the pearl
I heard about a fire at the end of the world
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2. |
Saint on a Chain
05:46
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Saint on a Chain
(©Kevin Gordon)
I grew up right down the road
Never had too far to go
Making it here, your chance is slim
Folks leave this town, you won’t see em again
Mama died in ’93
This silver medal she gave to me
St. Christopher ‘round my neck
Wherever I go, my soul he protects
Every river’s a daughter of a dirty rain
But see how it shines
Water’s moving like the blood pushing through my veins
See how it shines, like a saint on a chain
Heather was so sweet to me
Her daddy owned some property
Maybe my drinking was a little much
She turned cold to my touch
That story about another woman,
Maybe it was true--
Heather put together 2 and 2
She kicked me out and changed the locks
On my motel door now the sheriff knocks
After work I take my lonesome down
With a Percocet, and a double shot of Crown
But the higher I get, the harder it seems
To get back to that place that floats like a dream
One hand on the wheel, doing 85
And all my trouble just flies on by
I want to forget everything I know
I want to close my eyes and just let her go
Rearview glow of the city bright
Angel of death got no headlight
And you who’d protect me, I ask no more
Just carry me ‘cross to that other shore
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3. |
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One Road Out (Angola Rodeo Blues)
(©K. Gordon)
Six white horses here to ride
Man don’t need but one
Crack that leather across her back
Send him over the sinking sun
Hear that crowd roar when Johnny
Took a bull's horn in his side
He’s on his back in the mud, boys
Took a stretcher for a ride
One road in, one road out
One road in, one road out
I was drinking Crown with the deputy
Down at the Old Camp bar
Watching them guards come in off shift
Rain falling over the yard
He said “everyone’s a preacher—
Inside a prison cell—
If they ever leave here living
They leave Jesus in the jail
Leave their Jesus in the jail”
One road in, one road out
One road in, one road out
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4. |
Gatling Gun
04:00
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Gatling Gun
(©K.Gordon)
If I had a rocket ship and a Gatling gun
I’d fly all the way up to the sun
Shoot it full of holes til I put out the light
Fall back to the ocean and call it a night
Gonna call John Henry help build me a railroad
Straight through the coal mines, pick up a big load
Dig a hole to China, ride it on down
Keep sinking low til I come out on higher ground
I still see her there
How the river wind plays her hair
Gold in fallen light
Right by my side
I could take a razor to my blank stare
Bleed out every memory of her in there
Toss my eyes like dice into the sky
But I’d come up empty, still asking why
I still see her there
How the river wind plays her hair
Gold in fallen light
On the levee by my side
Giving me her time
The wild meadow of her mind
The bloom of her soft kiss
Why can’t it stay like this
And nothing less?
These days nothing stays the same
But my tongue remembers the shape of her name
Love is free and free to roam
But I can’t quit no matter how far away she goes
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5. |
Right on Time
03:36
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Right on Time
(©K. Gordon/G. Owen)
I got 57 dollars, 400 miles
A little prayer to whisper to the ceiling tiles
A cold clear morning blaring through the motel blinds
I hear the call but the speaker’s blown
and I’m a long way from home
I’ll be there right on time
Two kids and a wife, that makes three
People who don’t know what to make of me
Blowing through the doors with my four chords and my rhymes
Chasing down the next hundred bucks
Dying for love, praying for luck
I’ll be there right on time
I’m gonna be there—right on time
Gonna be there—right on time
Come on trouble, tell me what you know
I've heard it all so long ago
I'm gonna be there, right on time
Sometimes I wake up and don’t know where I am,
North of Baltimore, south of Destrahan
Dreaming my lover was with me here in 209
And I’m not sure just where I’m bound
But I sure am covering ground
And I’ll be there right on time
I’m gonna be there—right on time
Gonna be there—right on time
Gold streets and pearly gates
Someday heaven won’t have to wait
I’m gonna be there, right on time
Right on time
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6. |
DeValls Bluff
03:56
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DeValls Bluff
(©K. Gordon/J. McMahan)
Old iron trestle
Stripes of shadow
Over the hood of the car
It bubbles with rust
It’s a wonder to trust
You read the sign, but do you know where you are?
Stair-step crack crawls
Cinder block wall
Highlines over ponds and pines
Catfish wind blows cold
With stories untold
Idle time is a friend of mine
Out of the pen
Back here again
Cutting logs, cutting hogs, cutting pine
I was staying on the straight
But I like how that out-of-state
Escalade like a clean blade shines
Old DeValls Bluff
Is good enough
Pigmeat falls off the bone
See you come, see you go
But you never know
What might happen around here
Frogs in the night
Ain’t no riverboat light
Still water don’t talk much
Newspaper headline
From weeks gone by:
The death of the Star City judge
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7. |
Drunkest Man in Town
03:01
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Drunkest Man in Town
(©K. Gordon)
Quiet streets, most folks are asleep
In the tavern there’s laughter
In the company you keep
They’re buying another round
For the drunkest man in town
You’ve come so far, on a stool in a bar
And you stuck with it til the devil
Paid you with a bleeding star
He’s grinning as he drowns
The drunkest man in town
Come the dawn, something’s missing
Morning flies without a friend
Not long ago you were laughing like
The night would have no end
To confess you’ll be the first
You’re happiest at your worst
Miles from where grace abounds
The drunkest man in town
Whiskey was fine; now you’re draining the wine
One hand on the bottle, still clinging to the vine
Leading you straight to the ground
The drunkest man in town
Someone pull the curtain down
On the drunkest man in town
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8. |
Rest Your Head
03:38
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Rest Your Head
(©K. Gordon)
Stars above the clouds tonight that I can’t see
Pictures swirling up in my head say what you mean to me
You're a thousand miles away
You get tired this time of day
That bad feeling ain’t all it seems
Baby rest your weary head and dream
Work is good but wants to steal away our time
Hours and frustrations lead to nothing but
Paper dollars and thin dimes
It’s here and then it’s gone
So we labor on
Polished shoes and Listerine
Baby rest your weary head and dream
Rest a while
Hear that laughing river flow
When I find it I’ll follow it
As far as it goes
Cool wind in the shadow of a redwood tree
I can’t see that bird but I’m a fool to think
it’s singing just for me
Whippoorwill or mockingbird,
Lonesome song ain’t got no words
But I think I know what it means
Baby rest your weary head and dream
Rest a while
Hear that laughing river flow
When I find it I’ll follow it
As far as it goes
And that bad feeling ain’t all it seems
Baby rest your weary head and dream
Baby rest your weary head
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9. |
Get It Together
03:09
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Get It Together
(©K.Gordon/Gwil Owen)
So you lost your papa in the highway fog
A copperhead bite took your old hound dog
I know you’re taking it hard
Three days laying drunk in the yard
Staring down heavy weather
Can you get it together now?
You hunger for the lover who threw you away
But you’re cheating on the one who’s never strayed
She’s still on the threshold waiting
First plane home’s the one I’d be taking
Your fate’s light as a feather
Better get yourself together now
When you gonna get your shit together
Might be now, might be never
When you gonna get your shit together
Might be now, might be never
Better sit right down, and get it together now
It’s a sad world, full of joy
You can let it take you down,
Let it take you down--
Or get back up in it
And get it together now
You got a conscience clear as a winding stream
Your life flows by in a fever dream
While the ice melts and oceans rise
Is it too late or can’t we try
As this world we're killing fades to the sweet bye-and-bye
To stand up and make it better
Can we get it together somehow?
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Kevin Gordon Nashville, Tennessee
Kevin Gordon is a Louisiana native whose latest releases, Tilt & Shine, Long Gone Time, & 2012's Gloryland, earned raves from the NY Times, Rolling Stone, NPR, and others. His songs have been recorded by Keith Richards, Levon Helm, Hard Working Americans, Irma Thomas, & others. "Down to the Well", a duet w/Lucinda Williams, was featured on the Oxford American Southern Music Sampler. ... more
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