1. |
Pacific Avenue
05:52
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The alleyway was dark and she really wasn't that young
Her high heels made a clicking spark, she had a barbell through her tongue
And I gave her fifty smackers to do that trick you used to do
The bittersweet taste of freedom on Pacific Avenue
We went in through the back door into a den of Chinese art
For another fifty dollars she inked a dagger through a heart
She said, "Any other favors?" I said, "I need this one removed."
She took your name from off my shoulder on Pacific Avenue
Pacific Avenue, my darling used to wait for me
Kisses sweeter than cotton candy, tears saltier than the sea
On the ocean side there's an amusement ride where we held each other true
We thought it would last forever on Pacific Avenue
I stepped around the corner where I had my fortune read
The gypsy's eyes got big as saucers and her face was full of dread
She said, "You're never going to make it past the age of twenty-two!"
That's when I left and started drinking on Pacific Avenue
Pacific Avenue, my darling used to wait for me...
I'm shipping out in three days to fight on foreign soil
Kick some ass and take some names and trade my blood for oil
When I get home I'm going to kiss the ground and gas up the Malibu
And drive her 'til the wheels fall off on Pacific Avenue
Pacific Avenue, my darling used to wait for me...
Pacific Avenue, my little darling used to wait for me
Kisses sweeter than cotton candy, tears saltier than the sea
On the Ferris wheel she let me cop a feel and we would marvel at the view
Of the bright lights way below us on Pacific Avenue
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2. |
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They're closing down Jim Storhoi's bar
Taking the trophies from the wall
To build a new parking garage
And another vacant shopping mall
He opened her up in '45
When he came home from the war
He's lived above her ever since
Now they're making room for an outlet store
Hey Jimmy, pour me another one
Whoa Jimmy, pour me another one
Hey Jimmy, pour me another one
I ain't driving this time, I'm stumbling home
Where will all the lonely soldiers go
To recite their oath and defend the flag
They're kicking 'em out into the snow
Personal effects in a body bag
Hey Jimmy, pour me another one
Whoa Jimmy, pour me another one
Hey Jimmy, pour me another one
Make it a double this time, I'm stumbling home
Let's all raise a glass to all our lovers past
Knowing nothing lasts like port and a good cigar
Let's all say a toast to the barkeep with the most
And the final ghost who haunts Jim Storhoi's bar
The government ain't got no right
To Jimmy's land and Jimmy's claim
But he's too tired for a fight
Well, then fuck their eminent domain
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3. |
Vanilla Girl
02:59
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My baby don't need a symphony
Just me and my D-35
A simple song and I can never go wrong
She thinks that I'm the greatest singer alive
My baby don't need the silver screen
She prefers the late, late show
In black and white on a Saturday night
Popcorn and soda and she's ready to go
She ain't a high-maintenance woman
She don't need expensive things
Just sweet nothings and a nibble on her ear
And her big daddy and the love that I bring
My baby don't need candy sprinkles
She don't need a chocolate swirl
She's so sweet just the way that she is
She's my plain-Jane vanilla girl
She ain't a high-maintenance woman
She don't need expensive things
Just sweet nothings and a nibble on her ear
And her big daddy and the songs that I sing
My baby don't need candy sprinkles
She don't need a chocolate swirl
She's so sweet just the way that she is
She's my plain-Jane vanilla girl
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4. |
Ali MacGraw
04:41
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Come on, baby, won't you be my Ali MacGraw
You're the prettiest doe-eyed woman I ever saw
If we leave today we can make our getaway
And have drinks and dinner on the set with Sam Peckinpah
Come on, baby, won't you be my Steve McQueen
You're the handsomest blue-eyed devil I've ever seen
I'll blow in your ear all those dirty words you want to hear
You're tall and strong and fast and long and lean
Picture me and you in nineteen seventy-two
Making love in a trailer in the studio parking lot
Picture you and me in dark shades and chinos, baby
Flipping off the paparazzi in every shot
Come on, baby, won't you be my Ali MacGraw
I've been searching but, I can't find a flaw
If we leave today we can make our getaway
And keep a safe distance from the long arm of the law
Picture me and you in nineteen seventy-two...
Come on, baby, won't you be my Steve McQueen
Living on the edge so cool and clean
I'll blow in your ear all those dirty words you want to hear
We'll paint this town in forty weight and gasoline
Picture me and you in nineteen seventy-two...
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5. |
Pontiac Blues
04:45
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Slammed the door last night after a dirty fight left my mama screaming
Feet stomped and eyes glared, she was pissed and I was scared, her ears were steaming
Should I stay or should I leave
Sometimes it's just so damned hard to choose
Between groveling at her feet or parking on the side street, living in my Pontiac blues
Wish I knew what set her off enough to make her spit and cough those nasty names
Maybe then I'd save some face, enough to show some grace and take the blame
She's really blown a gasket this time
Looks like mama's really blown her fuse
I got these parking on the side street, sleeping in the back seat, living in my Pontiac blues
Pontiac Blues
I can't wait til her red light turns green
When she loses her temper she's the meanest mama I've ever seen
Pontiac Blues
I can't wait til her engine cools down
Then I'll pack my belongings and quietly cruise out of town
Well, I don't know what hurts worse, her punch or to hear her curse those four letter words
All I know's I can't stay here, she's bound to burn my ear and my clothes will end up on the curb
I used to sleep on the couch
But, tonight I must stubbornly, simply refuse
I got these parking on the side street, sleeping in the back seat, living in my Pontiac blues
Pontiac Blues
I can't wait til her red light turns green...
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6. |
Sometimes It Rains
04:22
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Woke up this morning and rolled up the windows
Some clouds were forming in the sky
A storm was brewing like strong black coffee
Cream and sugar-coated little white lies
Off in the distance some big-time thunder
Punched a hole through it all
The leaves are changing along with the weather
I've always been afraid of the Fall
Sometimes it rains, sometimes it pours
Sometimes it's sunny when you darken my door
Sometimes your smile reminds me of love's pains
Sometimes it shines and sometimes it rains
Rolled up my sleeves and swore to the morning
As the sky grew black
It's coming down now in big, fat buckets
Cats and dogs and you're still not back
Off in the distance some big-time lightning
Flashed like your baby blues
My head heard you when you said it was over
But, my heart just now got the news
Sometimes it rains, sometimes it pours
Sometimes it's sunny when you darken my door
Sometimes your smile reminds me of love's pains
Sometimes it shines and sometimes
I'm just a tropical manic-depression
Laughing and crying now and then
The weatherman named a hurricane after you
So, it looks like we're even again
Sometimes it rains, sometimes it pours
Sometimes it's sunny when you darken my door
Sometimes your smile reminds me of love's pains
Sometimes it shines and sometimes it rains
I lost my mind when Allison came ashore
It broke my heart when Allison came ashore
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7. |
Panhandle Flat
04:08
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Another night, another song
Another two-bit white trash novel going wrong
Another fight, another round
Another leaving at 3 a.m. without a sound
If you had our money you'd be living thin
It's hard to get a raise these days on the wages of sin
If you had our loving you'd be living fat
On the seedy side of town in our panhandle flat
Another smoke, another drink
Another watching the years roll down the kitchen sink
Another right, another wrong
Another finishing up dead last when we started strong
If you had our money...
We will pay it back some day
In diamonds, hearts and spades
But the interest rates and the interstates
Are full of holes and barracades
Another night, another song
Another two-bit white trash novel going wrong
Another fight, another round
Another leaving at 3 a.m. without a sound
If you had our money...
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8. |
Used Car
04:59
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I feel like a used car
Been on your lot now for a long time
You don't have to take me far
For old time's sake make it a test drive
Dents in my fenders, rust on my wheels
Dust on my dashboard, cracks in my windshield
A little soap and water, scrub me up and down
Hit me with the hot wax, baby, and spin me around your town
I feel like a used car...
Your asking price is lower than that blue book flattery
You're going to sell me as is without a warranty
Lots of miles, but runs good, so you'll throw in the map for free
You're such a cheapskate, why won't you haggle over me
I feel like a used car...
A time or two around the block would make me feel so good
There's a sexy danger in some sweet stranger lifting up my hood
Truth in advertising, baby, tell it like you should
Cut the P.C. crap, call me what I am
I'm a used car...
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9. |
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Bitch, moan, carry on and cry
Whatever it takes girl to get you by
Doesn't matter to me
I won't be here to take it anymore
Scratch, claw, see what you can find
Begging and pleading won't make me change my mind
The next sound you hear
Will be my boots scuffing up your floor
I've been wiping up your tears with a dirty dish rag
Wringing it out with each crying jag
Don't want to boast, don't mean to brag
But I'm ready to walk out on you
Bitch, moan, carry on and cry
No need to ask "who, when, where or why"
All I've got to say is she makes me laugh
Like you never did before
I've been mopping up your tears with a dirty dish rag
Wringing it out with each crying jag
I've got my life savings in a brown paper bag
I'm ready to walk out on you
Bitch, moan, carry on and cry
Whatever it takes girl to get you by
Doesn't matter to me
I won't be here to take it anymore
Stop, look, listen to your heart
Time to split the sheets and get a brand new start
The next sound you hear
Will be a softly shutting door
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10. |
I Really Can't Complain
03:32
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Gravy's too runny, eggs are too greasy
Bacon is burnt, and the coffee's too weak
They won't give credit, you know they won't take checks
Or confederate money or even Raleigh coupons
My bed's too lumpy, you know my pillow's too fluffy
Black and white tv, it only gets three channels
My maid's so fat, you know she don't speak English
Yeah, she talks pretty funny and don't smile very much
I need four walls and three square meals
Two loving arms and one good feel
Time won't fix what sleep can't heal
Other than that, I really can't complain
But my reefer broke down somewhere north of Nogales
Nineteen tones of lettuce, ninety-nine degrees
The pavement's so hot, you know my wheels are a-humming
This is some oasis, Lord, I sure miss Texas
I need four walls and three square meals
Two loving arms and one good feel
Time won't fix what sleep can't heal
Other than that, I really can't complain
I need four walls and three square meals
Free local calls and eighteen wheels
My engine stalls and my brakes squeal
Other than that, I really can't complain
Gravy's too runny, eggs are too greasy
Bacon is burnt, and the coffee's too weak
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11. |
El Pasillo del Diablo
06:01
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She had legs that were made to order in the air on the outskirts of town
Seven miles from the 66 station, Maria's Fury broke down
She kicked the tires, ripped a hole in her stockings and scuffed up her red F.M.P.s
Chipped a nail as she hoisted her hood, shouting obscenities
She cried, "Lord of mercy! I ain't no mechanic! I can't even change a flat tire!
But, I don't need to see all these idiot lights to know that my engine's on fire.
If you just see me through this one incident I'll never prowl the truck stop again."
She rolled her brown eyes, crossed her fingers, and thought of her most recent sin
El Pasillo del Diablo
It's time to even the score
Take a look-see through the peephole
Smile when you open the door
It's a long walk to the truck stop that lights up route 54
El Pasillo del Diablo, the Devil's corridor
She had a great aspiration of ending up on a barstool hoovering cheap cigarettes
Chugging down coin beer, getting laid by some trucker and losing a couple bar bets
But now she's winding her way home deep in the darkness, her Plymouth parked down in the ditch
Thinking about changing her life's occupation, maybe it's time for a switch
El Pasillo del Diablo
It's time to even the score
Time to pay up and settle your tab
Pick your clothes up off the floor
Twenty dollars got you twenty minutes, but not one sweet minute more
El Pasillo del Diablo, the Devil's corridor
She had legs that were made to order in the air on the outskirts of town
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12. |
Americana Deluxe
03:54
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Speeding down the avenue, I got a pain my side and the wedding bell blues
Those things I said about your mother and you
Don't you even think that I didn't mean 'em
Drive-thru pawn, going to hock this ring, get shit-faced drunk, dance and sing
With a couple of whores full of costume bling
Make a sandwich and sleep between 'em
I ran out of my wedding in a powder blue tux
In a stolen beater Buick with a hundred bucks
Dodging bullets, cars and trucks
I'll be spending the night at the Americana Deluxe
The cops will catch me, but I don't care, there ain't no ring on my finger or rice in my hair
It ain't like the judge is going to give me the chair
Doing you is like doing time
He'll prob'ly just give me ten or twelve years of bustin' rocks and jammin' gears
But, I'll be shedding happy tears
Knowing you ain't making up my mind
I ran out of my wedding in a powder blue tux
In a stolen beater Buick with a hundred bucks
Dodging bullets, cars and trucks
I'll be signing my name at the Americana Deluxe
Cruising down the avenue, there's blood in my seat dripping on my shoes
BOLO alert, I just made the news but, you know that I ain't sorry
Hearing my name on the radio, if I gotta go out, that's the way to go
Sun going down nice and slow but, it won't come up tomorrow
I ran out of my wedding in a powder blue tux
In a stolen beater Buick with a hundred bucks
Dodging bullets, cars and trucks
I'll be safe at home in the Americana Deluxe
Chugging down the avenue, i got a pain in my side and the wedding bell blues
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13. |
One Lonely Waitress
09:12
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It was a truck stop tragedy late Friday night
Words were not wasted in a knock-down-drag-out fight
Bad things were said that can't be taken back
Now there's one lonely waitress and a smoking bob-tailed Mack
Dishes were flying, so was pecan pie
It might have been funny if he hadn't made her cry
Innocent bystanders just minding our own
Now there's one lonely waitress and a ringing pay phone
These are the lines we never rehearse
We tell the Devil we're sorry but, it only makes it worse
Some days our wheels just get stuck in reverse on life's lonely highway
On life's lonely highway
She picked up a dustpan, she picked up a broom
Then she noticed the silence that enveloped the room
She swept up the pieces of her broken day
Then one lonely waitress simply threw them away
The fry cook stood silently, slinging his hash
The busboy came out and he took out her trash
All heads were lowered without making a sound
Then one lonely waitress just turned around
These are the lines we never rehearse
We tell the Devil we're sorry but, it only makes it worse
Sometimes a blessing, sometimes a curse on life's lonely highway
On life's lonely highway
She handed me a menu and said, "Sorry about the wait."
With a wink and a smile, suggested the blue plate
Like the scene that played out just wasn't a big deal
One lonely waitress just serving my meal
It was a truck stop tragedy late Friday night
Words were not wasted in a knock-down-drag-out fight
Bad things were said that can't be taken back
Now there's one lonely waitress at the all night waffle shack
These are the lines we never rehearse
We tell the Devil we're sorry but, it only makes it worse
We all have to ride in the back of the hearse on life's lonely highway
On life's lonely highway
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