Rollin'
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If guitar picks were only money, I could buy me a ticket home
get on out of this hustlin’ bustlin’ city,
go back to where I come from
but as it is I only got two dollars, gonna find me a place to go
I’m gonna hitch a ride clean out of LA
and I’m never comin’ back no more
I’m rollin’, rollin’ down the highway, and I ain’t never comin’ back
‘til hell freezes over and the sun goes black
I met a lady eight miles from Memphis, she was sittin’ by the side of the road
waiting there with her head in her hands, didn’t have no place to go.
I said, “Hey sister, won’t you walk with me to the other side of the hill?”
she said, “There’s something that’s calling me over, but I just don’t think I will.”
I’m rollin’, rollin’ down the line, and I aint never comin’ back
‘til hell freezes over and the sun goes black
Then the lady said goodbye and she went down to the river, and she climbed aboard the Robert E. Lee.
and she said to herself as she saw the dock a-leavin’,
“Mister sternwheel carry me
‘straight on down that big old muddy river, to the other end of the shore.
‘I’m gonna get out of this god forsaken country and I’m
never comin’ back no more.”
I’m rollin’, rollin’ down the river and I ain’t never comin’ back
‘til hell freezes over and the sun goes black
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2. |
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Sittin in a diner, back along the line
she came inside and sat down at the table next to mine.
a flower child of peace and love, natural as can be
an angel in tie dye sittin’ next to me.
She was dealin’ from the bottom, markin’ every card
I tried to get her attention,
but the getting’ was gettin’ pretty hard
so I just told her what I knew, I don’t remember what I told her
but the fire in her eyes kept me warm as the night was getting’ colder.
It felt so right, but it don’t make sense
a lady with a cause and a cowboy with a job riding fence
I told her ‘bout my horse and how I worked the cattle
and all I had to show for it all were the miles on my saddle.
she talked about the movement, trying to fight injustice
she told me there were people we could help, if only they would trust us
I told her ‘bout the sunrise out across the plain
she talked about the work she had to do, trying to take away the pain
a night of conversation, never feeling freer
but I knew that in the morning she was leaving, and I was never gonna see her
It felt so right, but it don’t make sense
a lady with a cause and a cowboy with a job riding fence
it felt so right, but it don’t make sense
she was a lady with a cause with a cowboy with a job riding fence
a lady with a cause, and I spend every day checkin’ fence
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3. |
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You say that your true love has left you
gone to find somebody new
you say you’ll never love another
your world has fallen in on you
Your eyes are filled with tears of sorrow
your heart is lined with walls of stone
be careful of the things you wish for
nobody wants to be alone
Love will go where you can’t follow
pain and sorrow ‘til the end
don’t let true love leave without you
don’t let your love go ‘round the bend
You can’t go on like this forever
whatever life you have in mind
won’t free the soul that keeps you searching
for the happiness you hope to find
Love will go where you can’t follow
pain and sorrow ‘til the end
don’t let true love leave without you
don’t let your love go ‘round the bend
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4. |
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Can’t figure out what you want from me
I try to run but I jump back in
this ain’t how love is supposed to be
same mistake all over again.
Heaven help me, I can’t get away
I see your face and I change my mind.
your lips are moving, I believe what you say
but I know your love is the reckless kind.
Hey…..whatcha trying to do?
fool me once, shame on you
I lost my heart again, it’s plain to see
fool me twice, shame on me
You cut me deep, I can still feel the pain
you took the very best part of me
I seem to go through it again and again,
endlessly…
You’re an ocean, the water’s cold
with a heart that’s sailed to the other side
love’s a story that we’ve all been told
and it comes and goes with the changing tide.
Hey…. whatcha trying to do?
fool me once, shame on you
I lost my heart again, it’s plain to see
fool me twice, shame on me
Hey….. whatcha trying to do?
fool me once, shame on you
unlock my heart and set me free
fool me twice, shame on me
fool me twice, shame on me
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5. |
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Lorraine ties her hair back when she’s working in her garden
planting seeds she hopes will grow
but there’s no one there to share it, and sometimes she just can’t bear it
so she throws herself into her work and never lets it show.
She lives all by herself in a house that’s big and lonely
she thinks it goes so well with her career.
her résumé’s impressive, but the workload is excessive
and sometimes she wishes someone would just steal her heart from her.
Lorraine, sweet Lorraine
your eyes are filled with teardrops again
life ain’t just the places you’ll go, it’s the places you’ve been
you better watch your step, you might lose it all
Lorraine’s gonna fall
Lorraine ties her hair back when she’s working in her garden
the roses show their colors in her eyes.
and she spends the morning hours watering her flowers
and for every one that blossoms the love inside her dies.
Lorraine, sweet Lorraine
your eyes are filled with teardrops again
life ain’t just the places you’ll see, it’s the places you’ve seen
you better watch your step, you might lose it all,
Lorraine’s gonna fall
just let your hair down, give the boy a call
Lorraine’s gonna fall
Lorraine’s gonna fall
Lorraine’s gonna fall
Lorraine’s gonna fall
Lorraine’s gonna fall in love
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6. |
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Some guys are just born losers and some guys got all the luck
that horse I just drew, y’know he sure can buck
I’ve seen him once before, at a rodeo up in Cheyenne
and it didn’t take but 3 jumps outta the chute for that horse to get his man
he’s the toughest on the circuit, all the cowboys call him, “I Walk Alone”
and you know you got yourself a world of grief if you draw that baldfaced roan.
I sit myself down on him and I pull that rigging tightly in my glove
feel that horse tense under me, checking out the cowboy up above
and I know he knows a few things and he’s damned sure gonna take me through the course
I nod my head and holler to the man, “Let’s have a horse”
I knew that horse was stout, but his first two steps still took me by surprise
I guess I should’ve known, I could see the fire in his eyes
he’s movin’ like a dancer, but he does a step ain’t no cowboy could foller
and then I’m on the ground and that bareback bronc has got my thirty dollars
I can’t recall a time when my body didn’t hurt
some cowboy always winds up with my money, and I wind up in the dirt
Some guys are just born losers, and some guys, they got all the luck
that horse I just drew, y’know he sure can buck
he’s the toughest on the circuit, the cowboys call him, “I Walk Alone”
and you know you’ve got yourself a world of grief if you draw that baldfaced roan
well, cowboys ain’t like angels and there ain’t no way for them to learn to fly
but every time they climb aboard a bronc, y’know they’re damned sure gonna try
every time they step up on a horse, they’re damned sure gonna try
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7. |
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Sharon wore high top black tennis shoes
with socks that didn’t match
she carried herself in a way that was always her own.
wire rim glasses and long stringy hair
she didn’t fit in, but she didn’t care
she wasn’t a part of the sociable scene
she lived in a world in the space in between…
she liked poetry readings and books about art
it was love at first sight, I knew right from the start.
Walking the hallway all by herself
a flower in her hair
from a distance I’d see her and wish she were mine
she made her own dresses from faded blue jeans
the stars and the stripes were sewn into the seams
she drew little pictures and colored them in
a trail of teasures with pencil and pen…
she saw things around her that I couldn’t see
but I saw the heavens when she looked at me
when you’re young you’ve got nothing to lose
but I once knew a girl in old tennis shoes
I’ve spent a lifetime looking for ‘em,
those black high tops and the girl who wore ‘em
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8. |
Final Straw
03:58
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You’re sitting there thinking that your life has come and gone
and that there’s nothing left to do that you aint done
sitting there watching everything pass you by
well you won’t change it all if you don’t try
you could be living on mashed potatoes and day old bread
running on the dreams that fill your head
working 2 jobs and wondering, “What’s the use?”
life won’t let you go, but that’s no excuse
Poor, poor you
sitting ‘round with nothing to do
living out your life inside the lines you draw
‘til it all comes down to the final straw
It’s all about the things you wanna say
there’s 99 years, and one more day
you’ll find that you’re a prisoner inside the lines you draw
when it all comes down to the final straw
You sit and moan about losing everything
but it’s the same old story, the same old song you sing
you can’t keep looking back, you can’t keep asking why
it’s only 99 years, and then the day you die
So keep the licks you’ve taken on the way
and remember that they’re just a price you pay
and every day you live, it’s another day in school
from a newborn babe to a full grown country fool
Poor, poor you
sitting ‘round with nothing to do
living out your life inside the lines you draw
‘til it all comes down to the final straw
It’s all about the things you wanna say
there’s 99 years, and one more day
you’ll find that you’re a prisoner inside the lines you draw
when it all comes down to the final straw
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9. |
Together She And I
03:02
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I never liked the place I came from
couldn’t wait to leave my old hometown.
between the concrete and the steel, I was caught beneath the wheel
of a big machine about to run me down.
From the starry night of dreams that come to haunt me
to the morning where I travel in my mind,
there’s a woman next to me who lets me feel free
to care about the things I left behind.
And she knows the things to do to make me happy
she knows the things to say to make me cry.
there’s a whistle on the wind of a lonely canyon wren
we hear the song together, she and I
There were times I felt the sky reach down to touch me
and other times I thought the sky would fall
and in everything I’ve done, I’ve always been the one
to try to find a way to change it all
Like the sun that comes to warm a winter morning
and the moon shining down from up above.
it’s like water rolling in, smooth against my skin
I float along the river of her love.
And she knows the things to do to make me happy
she knows the things to say to make me cry.
there’s a whistle on the wind of a lonely canyon wren
we hear the song together, she and I
there’s a whistle on the wind, and I hear it with a friend
and we hear the song together, she and I
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10. |
Motor Machine
02:54
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I was cruisin’ with my baby in my automobile
had my eyes on the road and my hands on the wheel
we were making all the lights, they were yellow and green
everybody stopped to look at my motor machine
with the radio blasting we were doing it right
on a 59 ragtop Saturday night
We had the top rolled down, we turned that radio higher
drove by the kids out on the town with their hearts on fire
But it’s all right, on a 59 ragtop Saturday night
it’s okay, as long as that DJ’s got more records to play
it’s all right, drivin’ with my baby on a Saturday night
it’s so clean, ridin down in my motor machine
There were cats on the corner there were girls in the street
They were playing their music and moving their feet
Some were looking for love, some were looking for a fight
But they were all looking forward to Saturday night
With the radio blasting we were making the scene
As we cruised right along in my motor machine
We had the top rolled down, we turned that radio higher
drove by the kids out on the town with their hearts on fire
But it’s all right, on a 59 ragtop Saturday night
it’s okay, as long as that DJ’s got more records to play
it’s all right, with my baby on a Saturday night
it’s so clean, ridin down in my motor machine
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11. |
Little Pony Lullaby
03:25
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There’s a world of love and tenderness in a little girl’s eyes
you see things that others don’t, and never realize
that the world you see is just the same as what you feel inside
when all the little ponies come to take you for a ride
Little elves that disappear, and horses that can fly
unicorns with twisted horns that point up to the sky
mom and dad might look for you, and you might run and hide
but the ponies always find you, to take you for a ride
So close your eyes my sleepyhead, and let your dreams come true
let your worries and your cares all drift away from you
it’s time to lay you down to sleep, time your tears were dried
and it’s time the ponies come for you, to take you for a ride
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In the wee hours of the morning, with a pencil in my hand
words down on a paper, trying to make a stand
fighting for redemption, things I’ve gotta say
just a one-way conversation with the ghost of yesterday
I’ve traded my security for the music that I write
it’s how I keep from going crazy in the middle of the night
when the sun comes up I realize it’s a small world after all
I’ve got my eyes on the horizon and my back against the wall.
I got one foot on a dirt road, taking me back home
one foot on a highway, set to run
like a prodigal son
like a prodigal son
Out on a lonely highway, there’s a man who writes a song
he’s a million miles from nowhere, in a place he don’t belong
and he prays to Saint Cecilia, and she answers with a tune
and as the feeling in his heart becomes a song
she sings along
she sings along
So I drink a glass of freedom and I know that I can’t win
it’s the miles I’ve put behind me that’ll finally do me in
sometimes I think about the money, fortune follows fame
but I’m inclined to take the road less traveled, just the same
I got one foot on a dirt road, taking me back home
one foot on a highway, ready to run
like a prodigal son
like a prodigal son
just like a prodigal son
like a prodigal son
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13. |
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Love ain’t done me right, I’m just a shell
it’s grief from here as far as I can see
without someone to catch me when I fell
the only fool to pick me up was me
Woe is me, sad as I can be
I fell in love, but I guess I didn’t know her
oh my, she hung me out to dry
I couldn’t trust girl as far as I could throw her
I sit and watch the people passing by
And they all got someplace they want to be
Sometimes someone stops and asks me why
It looks like there’s a dark cloud over me
Woe is me, lonely as I can be
it was a sucker punch below the belt, or lower
oh my, she hung me out to dry
I couldn’t trust girl as far as I could throw her
One time there was a candle in the night
sweetest purest light that ever shone
then that lady up and snuffed the light
and left me in the darkness all alone
Woe is me, sad as I can be
she’s a lovely girl until you get to know her
oh my, she hung me out to dry
so don’t trust girl as far as you can throw her
I couldn't trust that girl as far as I could throw her
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14. |
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Cold wind bends the gum tree, sea bird flies alone
old town hall, music fills the air
shadows on the doorstep, moonlight shows the way
a Kiwi tune keeps them there
Foolish undertaking, it runs agains the grain
hesitate, you’ll miss your chance
so go ahead and ask her, ‘cause everybody knows
a Kiwi girl loves to dance
Kiwi moon spinnin’ the world around
Kiwi moon shining down, down, down
dancing with the one you love
beneath the Kiwi moon
Rainbows in the moonlight, hold her in your arms
like a sailor safe at harbor
you wonder if she loves you, just look into her eyes
and you’ll have the answer
Kiwi moon spinnin’ the world around
Kiwi moon shining down, down, down
dancing with the one you love
beneath the Kiwi moon
Little lambs like handkerchiefs, on the hills across the bay
waiting for the dimming of the day….
Kiwi moon spinnin’ the world around
Kiwi moon shining down, down, down
go and kiss the one you love
beneath the Kiwi moon
go and kiss the one you love
beneath the Kiwi moon
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Behind the wheel and she’s all alone
the road stretching on and on
a million miles in a beat up car
still wouldn’t take her out too far
Her friends all think she’s crazy
they say don’t run away from the things you love
but she’s too busy dreaming
trying to count the stars in the sky above
She’s ready, and she don’t care
she just left them all standin’ there
she can’t wait to see what she will see
she’s headed for escape velocity
she’ll make escape velocity
There’s something about driving an old car
that feels like a friendly handshake with the road
if she keeps it in high gear
with the wind in her face she can never grow old
Time has a way to let her see
the fleeting glimpse of a memory
to let her know that there’s a way
for her to come back to earth someday
She’s ready, and she don’t care
she just left it all lyin’ there
trying to live her life in zero gee
she’s headed for escape velocity
she’ll make escape velocity
Spending her time counting down to one big zero
She’s ready, and she don’t care
blasting off right out of there
She’s cleared the tower, she’s picking up delta vee
she finally made escape velocity
she’s made escape velocity
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John Egenes Dunedin, New Zealand
Download anything you see here for free (you can pay if you want, but you don't have to...) Author, multi-
instrumentalist and session musician for countless artists, producer, songwriter, all around likeable guy.
And you might want to read his book, Man & Horse: The Long Ride Across America
... more
John Egenes recommends:
Tyre Tracks & Broken Hearts
by Donna Dean
a terrific singer and songwriter, with some legendary pickers playing on this album. a must have.
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