1. |
01 Bone Train
04:22
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I'm riding on a Bone Train, blood of the highway
and I'm burning now, in a delta rain.
I got a mojo working, and I can feel the Power
but I don't know if I'll make it through the day.
Riding on a Bone Train, 'cross the River
and the muddy moon is winkin' in the haze.
Bone Train— I'm ridin' on a Bone Train
Riding on a Bone Train, with a memory
when we were young and listened to the night
And now I listen to the rhythm of a cold steel highway
as it's counting out the distance in the gloom.
I'm riding on a Bone Train through a station
where the Southern Cross is twistin' on a line.
Bone Train— I'm ridin' on a Bone Train
Riding on a Bone Train, preacher's waiting
for one last call to try and save her soul.
He's gonna call on Jesus, it's a true foundation
but in the end, she's goin' down to stay.
Riding on a Bone Train back to Mama,
ain't no one else about to share the pain.
Bone Train— I'm ridin' on a Bone Train
Riding on a Bone Train, doors are closin'
and I guess I won't be back this way again.
I'm standing in the shadow of a cotton depot
and the rusty tin is shakin' in the wind.
Bone Train— I'm ridin' on a Bone Train
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2. |
02 By Degree
04:02
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Judge said, "boy, did you kill him bad?
'Bout the worst ol' killin' that I ever had,"
By Degree, oh, By Degree
And I'm falling By Degree
I'm falling. baby, oh, By Degree
Well the cock in the morning is standing up to greet the day
while the corn in the rows is twisted this-away, By Degree
And the Gates of Heaven are standin' half closed
while the People standin' cryin' at the fork out in the road, it's By Degree
And I wonder 'bout a Land of Troubles, yeah, Land of Troubles
I wonder 'bout a Land of Troubles, oh yeah, oh yeah
And I wonder 'bout my ol' religion, yeah, my ol' religion
I wonder 'bout my ol' religion, oh yeah, oh yeah
Now it's a hot day in Hell, and a hot day in this town
so I take my cold comfort from the Lions on the Ground.
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3. |
03 Charley James' Blues
04:17
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If you see Charley James heading down the road
please, don't you tell him, which way I go.
I had a whole lot of money, and I lost it, ain't that sad?
Had a gang of women 'round to drive me wild...
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4. |
04 Johnson Terraplane
04:02
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We paid three hundred dollars for a Johnson Terraplane
and ground it down in an afternoon
Had a quarter on the arm to keep it groovin'
an' a bottle of bourbon to boot.
Later that night I heard Big Chuck say
"Oh, the cops are in the yard,"
he say "Cover me Jimmy, I got to go out there
I'm gonna hit 'em hard."
Oh, you could hear his big fingers squeakin' on a string
in the hotel gloom
and I could smell the cigarette smoke driftin'
kind of heavy 'round the room.
I could hear ice crackin' in the glass of the young boss card
He whispered "Cover me Jimmy, I got to go out there
I'm gonna hit 'em hard."
Big Chuck never did make it back, but I still sing this tune—
We paid three hundred dollars for a Johnson Terraplane
and ground it down in an afternoon.
Mix up twenty-four Bud with a bottle of bourbon
ought to make things perfectly clear
Queen of Spades gone naked on a sofa
she's suckin' on a tall boy beer.
Pretty soon she's rollin' out the window, Big Four with a jar,
she say "Cover me, Jimmy, I got to go out there
I'm gonna hit 'em hard."
Well the last thing we did was spin her in a flat pan
melt her down to a drippin' load
Peeled out the label through the Wonderbread
with the rest going down my throat.
You ain't never had the blues until you drink a Johnson car
an' say "Cover me, Jimmy, I got to go out there
I'm gonna hit 'em hard."
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5. |
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A dog named Skelper killed 21 rats
at Big Bill Swan's Saloon
Preacher lost a bundle on a plain board table
and the counter man wrote this tune.
From a black rag doll Long Charlie pulled a snake
to toss it in a blazing pile, he said
"I'll bet my life and a bottle of bourbon
I can make the Old Lady smile."
Three Cards on a Coffin at closing time,
Closing time, oh, closing time
Three Cards on a Coffin at closing time
It's a dead man's hand goin' down.
They beat a dry bone shuffle on an old pork barrel
while the fancy man raised the bets
meanwhile the King of the Mississippi gambling men
was suckin' blood from his cigarettes.
He was a sure thing player, said the Storyville paper
reporting on the news next day
But when he drew a black ace from Bayou Sarah
he jumped up to try to get away.
Long Charlie could of died in a terrible fall
from the roof of the old hotel
But a guzzle shop preacher raised his hand
and sent him straight along to Hell.
Was he shot from the street, or did a five inch blade
deliver the Black Domino?
They laid him face down to make the last cut
so I guess that I never will know.
So aces face down and twenty says you can't
turn the Old Lady over in her grave
Charlie called his last turn at play a sucker faro
and now there ain't nothin left to save.
Oh, he could of died in prison with a card in his mouth
or maybe he could of died fine
But like Big Bill said when Charlie took to runnin'
"Three Cards on a Coffin at closing time."
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6. |
06 Angola Prison Rodeo
04:29
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I ride the rodeo, Angola Rodeo, I ride the rodeo, all night long
I ride the rodeo, Angola Rodeo, I ride the rodeo of Warden Cain.
I rode the buckin' mare, I rode the buckin' mare
I rode the buckin' mare, she broke me down,
she broke me down.
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7. |
07 Narrow House
06:06
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Put on your Mondays
Put on your Monday clothes
Put on your Mondays, baby, you gonna be
Diggin' a Narrow House.
Get out your silver
Get out your silver spade
Get out your silver, and plant the bitter seed
Plant the bitter seed.
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8. |
08 Dead Men Walking
05:02
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Now she's floatin' in the river
you can lay your bible down
They say that bread'll raise the dead
in every levy town.
And what's that by the water?
Must be a 'gator on the crawl.
If you goin' down the levy, man
well you just might not come back at all.
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9. |
09 Ain't She Pretty
04:00
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I'd rather be shaved by a boozin' barber
Boozin' barber in a rage
he's drinkin' Aqua Velva at the razor stropin' stage
And he's foamin' at the mouth now
or is it slop from his crazy brain?
Yeah, there's cracks across the mirror
and its greasy sides are slick and stained.
But ain't she pretty?
Way too pretty for a pile of pain.
Ain't she pretty now, boy,
Way too pretty for a pile of pain.
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10. |
10 Who's Gonna Love You
09:34
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Well, baby, who's gonna love you like I do
who's gonna love you like I do?
Oh, baby, all I really want to know is who's gonna love you like I do?
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Doc MacLean Toronto, Ontario
Forty-five years ago Doc was playing Charlie Patton songs in Son House's living
room.
And now: After a lifetime spent on the Blues Highway, he's a blues vagabond and storyteller writing from the dark side of the road. Touring three continents, based in Cape Town and Toronto, and now collaborating with contemporary and traditional African artists.
... more
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