Dark
and Bloody Ground (Joe Grushecky) This land was ours far as the eye
could see We took it from the Cherokee with a scalping knife And a white
man’s disease When the smallpox ravaged their towns We came in and
burnt them down And took this dark and bloody ground This dark and bloody
ground This dark and bloody ground I took a prisoner ‘cause I needed
a wife I broke her will she gave me a son I spared her life It was a fate
much worse than death Yeah we were kissed by the devil’s breath Set
down on this dark and bloody ground This dark and bloody ground This dark
and bloody ground We’ll lay our bodies down Put ‘em six feet in
the ground And when the long cold winter ends Oh the sun comes shinin’
in The crops will grow again In this dark and bloody ground They gave
me three hundred dollars Put a pen in my hand I was drunk on corn liquor I
signed the rights away to my land The coal company tore my homestead down Ripped
the black gold from the ground Left a hole in this dark and bloody ground This
dark and bloody ground This dark and bloody ground If Jesus was born in
Kentucky They’d make him pay for his nails Worse yet he’d have
to work off his debt Down here in this hell Where they pay you off in company
scrip And your life it don’t mean shit Just a piece of this dark and
bloody ground This dark and bloody ground This dark and bloody ground I
will lay my body down Put me six feet in the ground And when the long cold
winter ends The sun comes shinin’ in And the crops will grow again
Chain
Smokin’ (Joe Grushecky) I’m chain smokin’ I’m
tokin’ Heart’s broken Chain smokin’ I’m chain smokin’ Words
spoken Vows broken Chain smokin’ Since you went away — chain
smokin’ Since you went away — chain smokin’ Since you went
away I can stay out however late I want I can watch all my favorite programs
on TV And I don’t have to put up with your silly little laugh Oh I
wish to god that you were here to bother me Instead I’m chain smokin’ Chain
smokin’ Chain smokin’ Since you went away I’m chain smokin’ Since
you went away I’m chain smokin’ Since you went away I can stay
out however late I want I can watch all my favorite programs on TV And I
don’t have to put up with your silly little laugh But I wish to god that
you were here to bother me Instead I’m chain smokin’ I’m
tokin’ My heart’s broken Chain smokin’ Since you went
away Chain smokin’ Since you went away
Never
be enough time (Joe Grushecky) Well your mama didn’t like me So
we just ran away Got a little apartment in a hotel Down in Brownsville way I
used to sit in the kitchen and play guitar When night turned to day We always
thought we had something No one could ever take away But the time run out And
the payment’s due There’ll never be enough time to forget about you Well
there’ll never be enough time to forget about you We used to lie in bed
all day And plot our destination And talk about why you like the miracles And
I dug the temptations But all those good times that we had Just turned into
frustration When we made our final move There were no hesitation Because
the time run out And the payment’s due There’ll never be enough
time to forget about you Well there’ll never be enough time to forget
about you Never be enough time The time run out And the payment’s
due There’ll never be enough time to forget about you Never be enough
time to forget about you Never be enough time to forget about you Never
be enough time to forget about you Never be enough time to forget about you Never
be enough time Never be enough time American
Babylon (Joe Grushecky) A kid stole my car the other day Broke in
and drove it away Took it for a joy ride and when he was done Held up a
liquor store with a great big gun He said "I didn’t do nothing wrong It’s
just the way we live around here" In American Babylon puttin’ my
protection on Got everything I need — drugs, money, sex and greed In
American Babylon puttin’ my blindfold on In American Babylon Well she
ran out of money — she ran out of hope She left the kids at home —
went out to score some dope The cops caught her selling it down on broadway The
county came in and took the kids away She said "they’re better off
without me" In American Babylon puttin’ my protection on Got everything
I need — drugs, money, sex and greed In american babylon puttin’
my blindfold on I can’t tell right from wrong In American Babylon Who
cares about the kids? (I don’t) Or what goes in their heads? (I don’t) Or
if the poor are fed? (I don’t) Or if your neighbor’s dead? (I don’t) I
said do you really care? (I don’t) I said do you really care? (I don’t) I
said do you really care? (I don’t) American Babylon puttin’ my protection
on I got everything I need — drugs, money, sex and greed In American
Babylon I put my blindfold on And I can’t tell right from wrong In
American Babylon
Homestead (Joe
Grushecky, Bruce Springsteen) I was born in the corn fields of Kentucky I
moved north in ’73 The war was still going strong so I found a job Rolling
steel in a foundry in Homestead I worked beside a guy named Grzbowski Who
taught me how to keep safe He said "there’s many a man who lost the
fingers from Their hands You could wind up crippled or dead in Homestead And
the steel glowed in the white hot chambers The furnace spit fire and smoke And
the sunlight came through the cracks in the roof The dust was so thick you
could choke I heard all the old stories about the twelve hour shifts In
the mill And the union brothers the Pinkertons tried hard to kill Heard
about Frick and Carnegie the day the river ran red How the union caved in —
in Homestead It was more than a job it was my family I got married —
settled down — bought a home And in the bars down the street — in
the late summer heat You never had to feel alone I got work tearin’
those old mills down Until there’s nothing left but the sweat and blood In
the ground At night we tuck our little babies in bed We still pray to the
red, white and blue in Homestead I’m still livin’ in Homestead
Comin’
Down Maria (Joe Grushecky) Is this just a game we’re playing? I
get no answers even when I’m praying Sometimes I think I’m too dumb
to learn I keep playing with fire I keep getting burned Spent my whole life
waiting for someone just like you The time is right I’m not hesitating I’ll
tell you what I’m going to do Well I’m comin’ down Maria Comin’
down my angel eyes I’m comin’ down Maria — I’ve just got
to see you tonight You can change your plans You can call your friend back He
won’t mind going out alone A little white lie never hurt nobody Tell
him you’re sick and you’re staying home I know I shouldn’t be
calling But it seems like the right thing to do I can’t help it I
am falling Well I’ll hang up if you want me to I’m comin’
down Maria Comin’ down my angel eyes Well I’m comin’ down
Maria — I’ve just got to see you tonight Ours is no disgrace If
we should both fall from grace So listen to my lover’s prayer Tell
me you’ll be waiting there When I come on down Maria Comin’ down
my angel eyes Comin’ down Maria — I’ve just got to see you tonight Well
I’m comin’ down Maria Comin’ down my angel eyes Comin’
down Maria — I’ve just got to see you tonight Got to see you tonight
Talk
Show (Joe Grushecky) I’ve been watching the guests on the talk
shows All week long Telling tales of abuse Drunken nights and love gone
wrong I’ve been told it’s just a reflection of society A mirror
held up for all to see On a talk show — on a talk show Whoa oh talk
show — talk show And when I write my book the talk shows Will all be
calling me Going to tell them about a life full of sin A life full of misery And
I will sell my will sell my soul for a very modest sum Let the whole world
know right where I’m coming from On a talk show — on a talk show Whoa
oh talk show — talk show We’ve got fitness freaks and super mothers Who
can turn you into the world’s greatest lover If you just follow their
simple advice And stick to it like white on rice We got parasites and sideshow
geeks Who lose IQ when they speak Who do proclaim "it ain’t my
fault I can’t help how I turned out" On a talk show — on
a talk show Whoa oh talk show — talk show All they do is talk —
talk — talk
No
Strings Attached (Joe Grushecky) So good to see you again Didn’t
realize how much I missed you Don’t sit so far away my friend Don’t
worry I won’t try to kiss you Here’s to our bizarre relationship Another
drink I might start to slip If you come around here tonight There’ll
be no strings attached You won’t owe me anything There will be no questions
asked I just want to be near you — I just want to hear you laugh If
you come around here tonight There’ll be no strings attached No strings
attached I know I treated you badly I realize that was my disgrace Perhaps
I loved you too madly Now I know that you need some space I won’t try
to smother you That’s one thing I would never do So if you come around
here tonight There’ll be no strings attached You won’t owe me
anything There will be no questions asked I just want to be near you —
I just want to hear you laugh If you come around here tonight There’ll
be no strings attached No strings attached I know you’re a big girl
now and you’ve got responsibility But the real truth of it is I know you
can’t forget about me I won’t try to smother you That’s one
thing I would never do So if you come around here tonight There’ll
be no strings attached You won’t owe me anything There will be no questions
asked I just want to be near you — I just want to hear you laugh If
you come around here tonight There’ll be no strings attached No strings
attached No strings attached — no strings attached No strings attached You
won’t owe me anything — you won’t owe me anything Anything You
won’t owe me anything — you won’t owe me anything There’ll
be no strings attached There’ll be no There’ll be no strings attached
Billy’s
Waltz (Joe Grushecky, Bill Toms) Left her on a mountain Way up on
a hill I promised I’d come back to get her But I know I never will Well
I was full of good intentions But intentions often change Way up on that
mountain All it ever does is rain All it ever does is rain All it ever
does is rain Way up on that mountain All it ever does is rain Well my
daddy was a miner Working twelve-hour shifts a day On the night there weren’t
enough to eat I would hear him pray He’d say "help me sweet lord
Jesus Don’t let the kids go hungry again" Way up on this mountain All
it ever does is rain All it ever does is rain All it ever does is rain Way
up on this mountain All it ever does is rain
Only
Lovers Left Alive (Joe Grushecky) Daddy got a tattoo that says "born
to lose" Got a motorcycle jacket old blue suede shoes Thinks time won’t
catch him if he don’t stand still Mama tells her son our life is so insane Daddy
drops in to say hello and then he’s gone again We’re only left with
time to kill You can run but you can’t hide Somewhere there’s
only lovers left alive Somewhere there’s only lovers left alive Somewhere
there’s only lovers left alive One evening when the sun is setting red
in the sky Daddy strapped on his boots and took his bike out for a ride Hit
the open highway with no thoughts of going home After a while she grew tired
of waiting And stopped expecting anything She’s forgotten how to smile
and how to sing She could never stand to be alone She can run but she can’t
hide Somewhere there’s only lovers left alive Somewhere there’s
only lovers left alive Somewhere there’s only lovers left alive You
can run but you can’t hide Somewhere there’s only lovers left alive Somewhere
there’s only lovers left alive Somewhere there’s only lovers left
alive He starts hanging with the tough guys Because he thinks they’re
cool Starts smoking and drinking and cutting school Mama says he won’t
listen any more And I don’t know what to do Since his daddy left he
hasn’t been the same He’s a good boy he’s just angry-he needs
someone to blame I wonder if the old man knows what he’s putting us through Well
he can run but he can never hide Somewhere there’s only lovers left alive Somewhere
there’s only lovers left alive
