Singin' the Blues or any other durn thing ya want.

[Arcey]

Still like the ole train songs:

There’s an elephant on the engine he’s headed down the track
With a goose on the caboose and a chicken ridin’ in back
There’s a horse upon a handcar and zebras in the railyard
Oh, the fun has just begun when the animals ride the train
There’s a bullfrog on a boxcar with a lizard and a snake
A gorilla on a gondola how much more of this can i take
There’s a hippo on a hopper and a hog in a helicopter
Oh, the fun has just begun when the animals ride the train
There’s a whale in the water tower just swimming ‘round and ‘round
There’s monkeys on the crossing gate just hanging upside down
There’s a tiger and a mouse and a seal in the station house
Oh, the fun has just begun when the animals ride the train
There’s a turtle on a tanker, he’s thinking he’s found a friend
There’s a lion on the loading dock and a bear just around the bend
There’s donkey on a dumper and a pony on a pumper
Oh, the fun has just begun when the animals ride the train
Oh, the fun has just begun when the animals ride the train

[Delmonico]

Me too, and I love this one by Guy Clark

Now bein' six years old, I had seen some trains before,
so it's hard to figure out what I'm at the depot for.

Trains are big and black and smokin' - steam screamin' at the wheels,
bigger than anything they is, at least that's the way she feels

Trains are big and black and smokin', louder'n July four,
but everybody's actin' like this might be somethin' more. . .

. . .than just pickin' up the mail, or the soldiers from the war.
This is somethin' that even old man Wileman never seen before.

And it's late afternoon on a hot Texas day.
somethin' strange is goin' on, and we's all in the way.

Well there's fifty or sixty people they're just sittin' on their cars,
and the old men left their dominos and they come down from the bars.

Everybody's checkin', old Jack Kittrel check his watch,
and us kids put our ears to the rails to hear 'em pop.

So we already knowed it, when they finally said 'train time'
you'd a-thought that Jesus Christ his-self was rollin' down the line.

'Cause things got real quiet, momma jerked me back,
But not before I'd got the chance to lay a nickel on the track.
 
Look out here she comes, she's comin',
Look out there she goes, she's gone,
screamin' straight through Texas
like a mad dog cyclone.

Big, red, and silver,
she don't make no smoke,
she's a fast-rollin' streamline
come to show the folks.

Look out here she comes, she's comin'
Look out there she goes, she's gone,
screamin' straight through Texas
like a mad dog cyclone.

. . .Lord, she never even stopped.

She left fifty or sixty people still sittin' on their cars,
and they're wonderin' what it's comin' to
and how it got this far.

Oh but me I got a nickel smashed flatter than a dime
by a mad dog, runaway red-silver streamline. . . train

[Delmonico]

Heck, it ain't about trains, but I love Guy Clark's music.

He's a wino, tried and true.
Done about everything there is to do.
He worked on freighters, he worked in bars.
He worked on farms, 'n he worked on cars.

It was white port, that put that look in his eye
That grown men get when they need to cry
And he sat down on the curb to rest
And his head just fell down on his chest

He said "Every single day it gets
A little bit harder to handle and yet. . ."
And he lost the thread and his mind got cluttered
And the words just rolled off down in the gutter

Well he was elevator man in a cheap hotel
In exchange for the rent on a one room cell
He's old in years beyond his time
Thanks to the world, and the white Port wine

So he says "Son," he always called me son
He said, "Life for you has just begun"
And he told me a story that I heard before
How he fell in love with a Dallas whore

Well he could cut through the years to the very night
When it ended, in a whore house fight
And she turned his last proposal down
In favor of being a girl about town

Now it's been seventeen years right in line
And he ain't been straight none of the time
Too many days of fightin' the weather
And too many nights of not being together

So he died. . .

Well when they went through his personal affects
In among the stubs from the welfare checks
Was a crumblin' picture of a girl in a door
An address in Dallas, and nothin' more

The welfare people provided the priest
A couple from the mission down the street
Sang Amazing Grace, and no one cried
'Cept some woman in black, way off to the side

We all left and she was standing there
Black veil covering her silver hair
And 'ol One-Eyed John said her name was Alice
And she used to be a whore in Dallas

Let him roar, Lord let him roll
Bet he's gone to Dallas Rest his soul
Lord, let him roll, Lord let him roar
He always said that heaven
Was just a Dallas whore.

[Advertising]

[Tensleep]

By Hank Snow

That big eight-wheeler rollin' down the track
Means your true-lovin' daddy ain't comin' back
'Cause I'm movin' on, I'll soon be gone
You were flyin' too high, for my little old sky
So I'm movin' on

That big loud whistle as it blew and blew
Said hello to the southland, we're comin' to you
When we're movin' on, oh hear my song
You had the laugh on me, so I've set you free
And I'm movin' on

Mister fireman won't you please listen to me
'Cause I got a pretty mama in Tennessee
Keep movin' me on, keep rollin' on
So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll
And keep movin' me on

Mister Engineer, take that throttle in hand
This rattler's the fastest in the southern land
To keep movin' me on, keep rollin' on
You gonna ease my mind, put me there on time
And keep rollin' on

I've told you baby, from time to time
But you just wouldn't listen or pay me no mind
Now I'm movin' on, I'm rollin' on
You've broken your vow, and it's all over now
So I'm movin' on

You've switched your engine now I ain't got time
For a triflin' woman on my main line
Cause I'm movin on, you done your daddy wrong
I warned you twice, now you can settle the price
'Cause I'm movin on

But someday baby when you've had your play
You're gonna want your daddy but your daddy will say
Keep movin' on, you stayed away too long
I'm through with you, too bad you're blue
Keep movin' on

[Delmonico]

Roger Miller.

Engine Engine #9
Engine Engine #9, coming down the railroad line
How much farther back did she get off?
Old brown suite case that she carried,
Ive looked for it everywhere, it just aint here among the rest and
Im a little upset yes tell me Engine Engine #9
Coming down the railroad line,
I know she got on in Baltimore,
110 miles aint much distance
But it sure do make a difference,
I dont think she loves me anymore.
I warned her of the dangers,
Dont speak to strangers,
Did by chance she find a romance?
Warmer lips to kiss her? Arms to hold her tighter
Steering new vibes inside her,
How I wish that it was me instead
He just stands beside her
Engine Engine #9, coming down the railroad line
I know she got on in Baltimore
110 miles aint much distance
But it sure do make a difference,
I dont think she loves me anymore.
No, I dont think she loves me anymore
I dont think she loves me, I dont think she loves me anymore.

[Arcey]

‘N rubber tired vehamahickles:

The wheels on the bus go round and round
Round and round, round and round
The wheels on the bus go round and round
All through the town.
The wipers on the bus go "Swish, swish, swish,
Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish"
The wipers on the bus go "Swish, swish, swish"
All through the town.
The door on the bus goes open and shut
Open and shut, open and shut
The door on the bus goes open and shut
All through the town.
The horn on the bus goes "Beep, beep, beep
Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep"
The horn on the bus goes "Beep, beep, beep"
All through the town.
The bio-diesel on the bus goes "Glug, glug, glug
Glug, glug, glug, save the planet"
The bio-diesel on the bus goes "Glug, glug, glug"
All through the town.
The money on the bus goes "Clink, clink, clink,
Clink, clink, clink, clink, clink, clink"
The money on the bus goes "Clink, clink, clink"
All through the town.
The baby on the bus says, "Wah, wah, wah!
Wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah!"
The baby on the bus says, "Wah, wah, wah!"
All through the town.
The people on the bus say, "Shh, shh, shh,
Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh"
The people on the bus say, "Shh, shh, shh"
All through the town.
The mommy on the bus says, "I love you,
I love you, I love you"
The daddy on the bus says, "I love you, too"
All through the town.

[Tensleep]

'nother Roger Miller

Trailers for sale or rent
Rooms to let, fifty cents
No phone, no pool, no pets
I ain't got no cigarettes
Ah, but two hours of pushin' broom
Buys an eight by twelve four-bit room
I'm a man of means by no means
King of the road

Third boxcar, midnight train
Destination Bangor, Maine
Old worn out suit and shoes
I don't pay no union dues
I smoke old stogies I have found
Short, but not too big around
I'm a man of means by no means
King of the road

I know every engineer on every train
All of their children, and all of their names
And every handout in every town
And every lock that ain't locked
When no one's around

I sing
Trailers for sale or rent
Rooms to let, fifty cents
No phone, no pool, no pets
I ain't got no cigarettes
Ah, but, two hours of pushin' broom
Buys an eight by twelve four-bit room
I'm a man of means by no means
King of the road

Trailers for sale or rent
Rooms to let, fifty cents
No phone, no pool, no pets
I ain't got no cigarettes
Ah, but, two hours of pushin' broom
Buys an eight by twelve four-bit room

[Arcey]

My favorite Roger Miller piece:

My uncle used to love but she died
A chicken aint chicken til hes licken good and fried
Keep on the sunny side
My uncle used to love me but she died

Who’ll bid me quarter, thirty cents for a ring of keys
Three sixty-five for a dollar bill of groceries
I’ll have me a car of my own someday but til then I need a ride My uncle used to love me but she died

My uncle used to love but she died
A chicken aint chicken til hes licken good and fried
Keep on the sunny side
My uncle used to live me but she died

Hamburger cup of coffee lettuce and tomato
Two times a dime to see a man kiss the alligater
One more time around free on the ferris wheel ride
My uncle used to love me but she died

My uncle used to love but she died
A chicken aint chicken til hes licken good and fried
Keep on the sunny side
My uncle used to live me but she died

Apples are for eatin and snakes are for hissin
I’ve heard about huggin and Ive heard about kissin
I read about it free in a fifty cent illustrated guide
My uncle used to love me but she died

My uncle used to love but she died
A chicken aint chicken til hes licken good and fried
Keep on the sunny side
My uncle used to live me but she died

Well my uncle used to love but she died
A chicken aint chicken til hes licken good and fried
Keep on the sunny side
My uncle used to live me but she died

[Ozark Tracker]

Heard this Tom T Hall one yesterday,  always got a chuckle from it.

 “Salute To A Switchblade”
Me and Yates an army buddy o'mine were doin' three years in Germany at the time
We came upon these Frauleins in the bar
Yates said darf isch zee be-gleit-en they said ya
(And darf isch zee be-gleit-en means can we sit with you all)
Oh we must have drunk ten quarts of German beer
My conscience and my sinuses were clear
I asked that Fraulein if she was a spy she said nein but do bis ain bissel high
(A condition not uncommon to the American soldier)
Well later on I went to be excused when I returned I was a bit confused
Yates and his Fraulein had hit the air another guy was sittin' in my chair
(A young soldier whom we shall get to know better)
I said excuse me Mister that's my seat I'd like to have it back sir if you please
That girl's a nurse and I've been awful sick the man looked up at me and said mox-nix
(Which means that he was not overly concerned with my health)

Next thing I knew he had a switchblade knife
Lord I didn't know that Fraulein was his wife
I took off through that Gasthaus like a fool behind me I heard the crashing stools
(As the police would say he was in hot pursuit)
Well the waitress yelled there's MPs on the way
That's one more reason I didn't want to stay
As I went out the window somethin' went switch
And I giggled all the way home knowin' he missed
(At the time it seemed like a laughing matter)
But next morning my coat was lyin' there on the bunk
And when I saw that coat it made me jump
That man had cut my coat right down the back
A little bit more and they'd been playin' me taps
(And knowin' the sad nature of that song I would decline it)
Well later on I heard that guy got stabbed
They sent him home and didn't that make me glad
On love and marriage I want to say one thing oh lady if you're married wear that ring
(And the army has a new policy if you can't move it paint it
If it has a switchblade knife salute it
Not necessarily an incident one would want to write Mother about
Germany being full of good soldiers good people)

[Leo Tanner]

I was gonna do King of the Road, but got busy round here.

      Arcey deserves some kind a trophy fer doin Wheels on the Bus   Used ta take ma oldest ta Mommy an me classes when she was young.  Only man there.  I'd use a fake Brooklyn accent jus fer fun..."All tru da town"  Funny memory.


Leo

[Texas Lawdog]

OT, I had forgotten about "Ode to a switchblade".   Arcey, I'm sora partial to "You Can't Rollerskate In A Buffalo Herd".   Ol'Guy Clark and Billy Joe Shaver, now there's a pair to draw to.  A couple more of the Outlaws from Texas.

[Arcey]

Roy Clark once said he used to hang around with Roger Miller until the health department told ‘em to cut it out. I’d pay good hard cash to see the two of ‘em in their prime on stage together.

I feel some Ray Stevens comin' on.

[Texas Lawdog]

I was over in the Stockyards one weekend and happened in to the "White Elephant Saloon" late at night. Roy Clark had finished playin' over at Billy Bob's.  Don Edwards played at the Elephant on the weekends regularly before he became famous. Roy joined Don on the stage and they played till after 2 am. The White Elephant is the bar the used as CD's in Walker, Texas Ranger.

[Arcey]

The boy used ta be fat. There’s no way that much talent could be in a thin body. My mistake was years ago buyin’ a ticket to his concert at Scope. Could’ve werked security ‘n got invited to his back stage party like the others did. They had a blast, I went home. The guy is a cop groupie.  This song seems fittin’.   

"It seems the love I've known,
has always been the most destructive kind.
I guess that's why now,
I feel so old before my time."


Yesterday, when I was young,
The taste of life was sweet, as rain upon my tongue,
I teased at life, as if it were a foolish game,
The way the evening breeze may tease a candle flame

The thousand dreams I dreamed, the splendid things I planned,
I always built, alas, on weak and shifting sand,
I lived by night, and shunned the naked light of day,
And only now, I see, how the years ran away

Yesterday, when I was young,
So many happy songs were waiting to be sung,
So many wild pleasures lay in store for me,
And so much pain, my dazzled eyes refused to see

I ran so fast that time, and youth at last ran out,
I never stopped to think, what life, was all about,
And every conversation, I can now recall,
Concerned itself with me, and nothing else at all

Yesterday, the moon was blue,
And every crazy day, brought something new to do,
I used my magic age, as if it were a wand,
And never saw the worst, and the emptiness beyond

The game of love I played, with arrogance and pride,
And every flame I lit, too quickly, quickly died,
The friends I made, all seemed somehow to drift away,
And only I am left, on stage to end the play

There are so many songs in me, that won't be sung,
I feel the bitter taste, of tears upon my tongue,
The time has come for me to pay,
For yesterday, when I was young

( Roy Clark sang this song at Mickey Mantle's funeral in 1995. Mickey had heard Roy sing it before and thought it depicted his life so well that he specifically asked Roy to someday sing it at his funeral )

[Texas Lawdog]

My favorite Roy Clark song has to be "Thank God and Greyhound, You're Gone".

[Arcey]

[Texas Lawdog]

Thankee, Arcey.

[Arcey]

Certainly.

[Curley Cole]

Have you guys seen this kid???

http://www.guitarflame.com/2008/sungha-jung-no-larger-than-the-guitar/

(he is only 11 years old!!)

Makes me just want to throw my guitar right out the winder.....

Curley

[Leo Tanner]

That was great. 
      He musta gave Mama Cass a sammich in another life.  Made me throw my guitar out the winder too.  Spent six months learnin much easier stuff, I bet this kid just got it.  I wonder where that talent comes from sometimes.


Leo