Little Sister
(Greg Trooper)
(Greg Trooper version - from We Don't Dance)

I don't care what you do to me
I don't care what you do to me
I don't care what you do to me
But won't you let my little sister be

Now you can tie me up an torture me
You can hang me from a willow tree
You can jail me for eternity
But won't you let my little sister be

She's afraid of the dark
She prays for the morning light
She's as free as a bird
And her wings are spread and ready for flight
She knows nothing at all
About you and your emotional plight
But she heard you making noises
In the hallway late last night

If you got to have something to show
And you've got to take it down below
And you're sure that one of us must go
Take me and leave my sister alone

Love's To Blame
(Mary Cutrufello, Steve Earle)

I was not born in this town
But that ol' highway wore me down
Days roll by and turn to years
I don't know why I'm still here

He told me he loved me so
But there were things he'd never know
Then one day I said I'd stay
But he'd already turned away

I don't know why I gave into to love when it called my name
Now I'm lonely, the highway don't know me, and love's to blame

I swore I'd hit the road again
And I would not recall a thing
But every time I tried to leave
Love came tuggin' at my sleeve

I don't know know why I needed to hear someone call my name
Now I'm lonely, the highway don't know me, and love's to blame

Last night I was fast asleep
Pray the Lord my soul to keep
But I woke up to that highway sound
I knew I'd never leave this town

Lucy Dee
(Steve Earle)
(Vince Gill's version – from The Best Of Vince Gill)

I've been sittin' here talkin' at you all night long
Honey, you still come on cool
Well, you could have walked away
Instead you're leading me on
Lucy, who're you tryin' to fool?

CHORUS:
Yeah, Lucy Dee
You ain't got to run that line on me
It's plain to see
That you ain't all that you're made out to be
Well, you can tell all your friends
That you've finally met your equal, Lucy Dee

Well, you've known all along just what I'm talkin' about
You knew someday there'd come a man
Who wouldn't keep on givin' ‘til he finally gave out
Lucy, honey, here I stand

CHORUS

Well, you tell me you know every thrill that there is to know
But nothin' in this life comes free - nothin'
You tell me you've been every way that there is to go
Lucy, you ain't been with me

CHORUS

Lungs
(Townes Van Zandt)

Well, won't you lend your lungs to me?
Mine are collapsing
Plant my feet and bitterly breathe
up the time that's passing.
Breath I'll take and breath I'll give
pray the day ain't poison
stand among the ones that live
in lonely indecision.

Fingers walk the darkness down
mind is on the midnight
gather up the gold you've found
you fool, it's only moonlight.
If you try to take it home
your hands will turn to butter
You better leave this dream alone
try to find another.

Salvation sat and crossed herself
called the devil partner
wisdom burned upon a shelf
who'll kill the raging cancer
Seal the river at its mouth
take the water prisoner
fill the sky with screams and cries
bathe in fiery answers

Jesus was an only son
and love his only concept
strangers cry in foreign tongues
and dirty up the doorstep
and I for one, and you for two
ain't got the time for outside
just keep your injured looks to you
we'll tell the world we tried

Nebraska
(Bruce Springsteen)

I saw her standin' on her front lawn just twirlin' her baton
Me and her went for a ride sir and ten innocent people died

From the town of Lincoln, Nebraska with a sawed off .410 on my lap
Through to the badlands of Wyoming I killed everything in my path

I can't say that I'm sorry for the things that we done
At least for a little while sir me and her we had some fun

The jury brought in a guilty verdict and the judge he sentenced me to death
Midnight in a prison storeroom with leather straps across my chest

Sheriff when the man pulls that switch sir and snaps my poor head back
You make sure my pretty baby is sittin' right there on my lap

They declared me unfit to live said into that great void my soul'd be hurled
They wanted to know why I did what I did
Well sir I guess there's just a meanness in this world

No Deal
(Townes Van Zandt)

Now this man down at the used car lot
tried to sell me four wheels and a trunk.
I said, "Man, there is no engine!",
he said, "The engine's just a bunch of junk.
You don't need no engine to go downhill
and I could plainly see, that that's the direction
you're headed in", and he handed me the keys

(I said) No deal; you can't sell this stuff to me
No deal, I'm going back to Tennessee

Well, I went to a doctor of the highest order,
he said I couldn't have a drink for a year.
One glass of wine on my birthday
if my birthday wasn't too very near.
Lord, he must have put me in a state of shock
'cause I made it for about two weeks;
then he sent me a bill
that knocked me flat off the wagon
and back down on my feet

When true love knocked upon my door
she'd just barely turned fifteen
and I was a little bit nervous
if you know just what I mean.
But I've heard somewhere
that true love conquers all
and I figured that was that
then I started having dreams 'bout
being chased out of town
wearing nothing but my cowboy hat.

Well, I come through this life a stumbler, my friends
I expect to die that way
it could be twenty years from now
it could be most any day.
But if there is no whiskey and women, Lord,
behind them heavenly doors
I'm gonna take my chances down below,
and of that you can be sure.

Racing In The Street
(Bruce Springsteen)

I got a sixty-nine Chevy with a 396
Fuelie heads and a Hurst on the floor
She's waiting tonight down in the parking lot
Outside the Seven-Eleven store
Me and my partner Sonny built her straight out of scratch
And he rides with me from town to town
We only run for the money got no strings attached
We shut 'em up and then we shut 'em down

Tonight tonight the strip's just right
I wanna blow 'em off in my first heat
Summer's here and the time is right
We're goin' racin' in the street

We take all the action we can meet
And we cover all the northeast state
When the strip shuts down we run 'em in the street
From the fire roads to the interstate
Some guys they just give up living
And start dying little by little piece by piece
Some guys come home from work and wash up
Then go racin' in the street

Tonight tonight the strip's just right
I wanna blow 'em all out of their seats
Calling out around the world
We're going racin' in the street

I met her on the strip three years ago
In a Camaro with this dude from L.A.
I blew that Camaro off my back and drove that little girl away
But now there's wrinkles around my baby's eyes
And she cries herself to sleep at night
When I come home the house is dark
She sighs "Baby did you make it all right"
She sits on the porch of her daddy's house
But all her pretty dreams are torn
She stares off alone into the night
With the eyes of one who hates for just being born

For all the shut-down strangers and hot rod angels
Rumbling through this promised land
Tonight my baby and me we're gonna ride to the sea
And wash these sins off our hands

Tonight tonight the highway's bright
Out of our way mister you best keep
'Cause summer's here and the time is right
We're goin' racin' in the street

Rex's Blues
(Townes Van Zandt)

Ride the blue wind high and free
she'll lead you down through misery
leave you low, come time to go
alone and low as low can be

If I had a nickel I'd find a game
If I won a dollar I'd make it rain
If it rained an ocean I'd drink it dry
and lay me down dissatisfied

Legs to walk and thoughts to fly
eyes to laugh and lips to cry
a restless tongue to classify
all born to grow and grown to die

So tell my baby I said so long
tell my mother I did no wrong
tell my brother to watch his own
and tell my friends to mourn me none

I'm chained upon the face of time
feelin' full of foolish rhyme
there ain't no dark till something shines
I'm bound to leave this dark behind

Ride the blue wind high and free
she'll lead you down through misery
leave you low, come time to go
alone and low as low can be

Saturday Night And Sunday Morning
(David Olney)
(David Olney version - from Eye Of The Storm)

If I was Saturday night
And you were Sunday morning
For a fleeting moment we could touch at midnight
And in that moment, could you really know me?
But I am looking ‘cross the river
Longing to be near
The water is too wide, I can not reach you
I'm as close as I can ever hope to be

And if I was Winter dying
And you the virgin Spring
Gladly to your warmth I would surrender
To melt the snows and set the rivers free
But I am standing on the mountain
Longing to be near
Heaven is too high, I can not reach you
I'm as close as I can ever hope to be

And if you were the water that He turned into wine
And you could satisfy a drunkard's thirst
Well, I'd surely drink until I could not see
But I am lost in the Devil's storm
Longing to be near
The wind, it blows too hard, I can not reach you
I'm as close as I can ever hope to be

And if I was Saturday night
And you were Sunday morning
For a fleeting moment we could touch at midnight
And in that moment, could you really know me?

Shake, Rattle And Roll
(Charles Calhoun)

Well, get out of that bed, wash your face and hands
Get out of that bed, wash your face and hands
Well, get in that kitchen
Make some noise with the pots and pans
I believe it to my soul you're the devil in nylon hose
I believe it to my soul you're the devil in nylon hose
For the harder I work the faster my money goes

Well I said shake, rattle and roll
I said shake, rattle and roll
I said shake, rattle and roll
I said shake, rattle and roll
Well you won't do right
To save your doggone soul

Shake, rattle and roll

I'm like the one-eyed cat peeping in a seafood store
I'm like the one-eyed cat peeping in a seafood store
Well I can look at you tell you ain't no child no more
I believe you're doing me wrong and now I know
I believe you're doing me wrong and now I know
'Cause the harder I work the faster my money goes

Well I said shake, rattle and roll
I said shake, rattle and roll
I said shake, rattle and roll
I said shake, rattle and roll
Well you won't do right
To save your doggone soul

Play it again!

I went over the hill, way down underneath
I went over the hill, way down underneath
You make me roll my eyes
And then you make me grit my teeth

Well I said shake, rattle and roll
I said shake, rattle and roll
I said shake, rattle and roll
I said shake, rattle and roll
Well you won't do right
To save your doggone soul

Sin City
(Gram Parsons, Chris Hillman)

This old town filled with sin it will swallow you in
If you have some money to burn
Take it home right away you got three years to pay
But Satan is waiting his turn

Chorus:
This old earthquake's gonna leave me in the poor house
It seems like this whole town's insane
On the thirty-first floor your gold-plated door
Won't keep out the Lord's burning rain

The scientists say it will all wash away
But we don't believe anymore
'Cause we've got our recruits and our green mohair suits
So please show our ID at the door

Chorus

A man came around tried to clean up this town
His ideas made some people mad
But he trusted his crowd so he spoke right out loud
And they lost the best friend they had

Chorus

Six Days On The Road
(E. Green, C. Montgomery)

I pulled out of Pittsburgh rolling down the Eastern seaboard
I've got my diesel wound up and she's running like never before
There's a speed zone ahead on right and I ain't see a cop all night
Six days on the road and now I'm gonna make it home tonight

I got a ten forward gears and a Georgia overdrive
I take little white pills and my eyes are open wide
I just passed a "Gimmy" and a "White"
I've been smokin' everything in sight
Six days on the road and now I'm gonna make it home tonight

Well it seems like a month since I kissed my baby goodbye
And I can have a lot of women but I'm not like some other guys
I can find one to hold me tight
But I could never make believe it's alright
Six days on the road and now I'm gonna make it home tonight

Now the ICC's been a-checkin' on down the line
I'm a little overweight and my log book's way behind
Nothing bothers me tonight
I can dodge all them scales all right
Six days on the road and now I'm gonna make it home tonight

Well my rig's a little low, but that don't mean she's slow
got the stacks blowin' fire and the smoke's blowing black as coal
My hometown's coming in sight
If you think I'm happy, you're right
Six days on the road and now I'm gonna make it home tonight

Slippin' Away
(Steve Earle, Chris Gates, David Roach)

Back in my old home town
There were long summer days
And there were leaves on the ground
And it was too cold to play

The city's colder than cold
It's faceless and gray
And all the dreams that you hold
Keep slippin' away

CHORUS:
Slippin' away, slippin' away
Little by little, day by day
Slippin' away, slippin' away
Little by little and day by day

I saw an old friend of mine
Asked if he was ok
And he said everything's fine
But his eyes filled with pain

Yeah, he had nothin' to lose
He had nothin' to say
He feels worn out and used
And slippin' away

CHORUS

Better put up a fight
Start right here today
It's time you start right
Before you just slip away

CHORUS x 2

Sorry Dwayne
(Steve Earle)
(instrumental)

State Trooper
(Bruce Springsteen)
(Steve Earle's version)

New Jersey Turnpike
Cruisin' on a wet night
Beneath the refinery's glow
Out where the knee black water flow
License, registration
I ain't got none
But I got a clear conscience
About the things that I done
Mister state trooper
Please don't you stop me
Please don't you stop me
Please don't you stop me

Maybe you got a kid
Maybe you got a pretty wife
Well, the only thing that I got
Has been botherin' me my whole life
Mister state trooper
Please don't you stop me
Please don't you stop me
Please don't you stop me

Now in the wee wee hours
Your mind gets hazy
Well, relay towers
Want to lead me to my baby
Now the radio is jammed up
With those talk show stations
It's just talk talk talk
'Till you're losin' your patience
Mister state trooper
Please don't you stop me
Please don't you stop me
Please don't you stop me

Is there anybody out there?
Listen to my last prayer
Hi ho silver-o
Deliver me from nowhere

Summer Wages
(Ian Tyson)

Never hit seventeen
When you play against the dealer
You know that the odds
Won't ride with you
And never leave your woman alone
With your friends around to steal her
She'll be gamled and gone
Like summer wages

And we'll keep rollin' on
'til we get to Vancouver
And the woman that I love
She's living there
It's been six long months
And more since I've seen her
Years have gambled and gone
Like summer wages

Chorus:
In all the beer parlors
All down along Main Street
The dreams of the seasons
Get all spilled down on the floor
All the big stands of timber
Just waiting for falling
And the hookers standing watchfully
Waiting by the door

So I'll work on the towboats
With my slippery city shoes
Which lord I swore I would never do again
Through the gray fog-bound straits
Where the cedars stand watching
I'll be far off and gone
Like summer wages

Chorus

Never hit seventeen
When you play against the dealer
You know that the odds
Won't ride with you
And never leave your woman alone
With your friends around to steal her
She'll be gamled and gone
Like summer wages

Tag
And the years are gambled and lost
Like summer wages

Sweet Virginia
(Mick Jagger, Keith Richards)

Wading through the waste stormy winter
And there's not a friend to help you through
Trying to stop the waves behind your eye-balls
Drop your reds drop your greens an blues

Chorus:
Come on, come on down, Sweet Virginia
Come on, honey  Child I beg of you
Come on, come on down, you got it in you
Got to scrape that shit right off your shoes

Thank you for your wine California
thank you for your sweet and bitter fruits
Yes I got the desert in my toe-nail
And I hid the speed inside my shoes

Chorus

Take It Or Leave It
(Mick Jagger, Keith Richards)

You can turn off and on more times
Than a flashin' neon sign
When you want you're bad
But you can be so kind

Just take it or leave it
Don't tell your friend
Just what you're gonna do now
You take it or leave it, it's just my life

There've been times when you tried
Makin' eyes at all my so called friends
Then you go, now you're back
But you can be so kind

Just take it or leave it
Don't tell your friend
Just what you're gonna do now
You take it or leave it, it's just my life

Oh, la-la-la-ta-ta-ta-ta-la-la-la-la
Oh, la-la-la-ta-ta-ta-ta-la-la
Oh, la-la-la-ta-ta-ta-ta-la-la-la-la
Oh, la-la-la-ta-ta-ta-ta-la-la

I'm sick and tired of the smile that you give
When you don't come home at night
You said you'd call, that's a lie
But you could be so kind

Just take it or leave it
Don't tell your friend
Just what you're gonna do now
You take it or leave it, it's just my life

Oh, la-la-la-ta-ta-ta-ta-la-la-la-la
Oh, la-la-la-ta-ta-ta-ta-la-la
Oh, la-la-la-ta-ta-ta-ta-la-la-la-la
Oh, la-la-la-ta-ta-ta-ta-la-la

Oh, la-la-la-ta-ta-ta-ta-la-la-la-la
Oh, la-la-la-ta-ta-ta-ta-la-la

What'll You Do About Me
(Dennis Linde)

All you wanted was a one night stand
The fire, the wine, and the touch of a man
I fell in love an ruined all your plans
What'll you do about me?

Imagine the faces on your high class friends
When I bang on the door and I beg to come in
I'll scream "Come on, love me again"
What'll you do about me?

Well, you can change your number
You can change your name
You can ride like hell on the midnight train
That's all right, mama, that's o.k.
What'll you do about me?

I picture your neighbors when you try to explain
That good ol' boy standin' out in the rain
With his nose on the window pane
What'll you do about me?

What in the world are you plannin' to do
When a man comes over just to visit with you
And I'm on your porch with a 2 by 2
Lady, what'll you do about me?

Well, you can call your lawyer
You can call the fuzz
You can sound the alarm
Wake the neighbors up
Ain't no way to stop a man in love
So, what'll you do about me?

All you wanted was a one night stand
The fire, the wine, and the touch of a man
But I fell in love and baby, here I am
What'll you do about me?
What'll you do about me?
What'll you do about me?

What's Your Name
(Gary Rossington, Ronnie Van Zandt)

Well, its 8 o'clock in Boise, Idaho
I'll find my limo driver
Mister, take us to the show
I done made some plans for later on tonight
I'll find a little queen
And I know I can treat her right.

Chorus:
What's your name, little girl?
What's your name?
Shouldn't you stay, little girl?

Won't you do the same?.
Back at the hotel
Lord we got such a mess
It seems that one of the crew
Had a go with one of the guests, oh yes
Well, the police said we can't drink in the bar
What a shame
Won't you come upstairs girl
And have a drink of champagne

What's your name, little girl?
What's your name?
Shouldn't you stay, little girl?
For there ain't no shame.

Chorus x 2

9 o'clock the next day
And I'm ready to go
I got six hundred miles to ride
To do one more show, oh no
Can I get you a taxi home
It sure was grand
When I come back here next year
I wanna see you again

What was your name, little girl?
What's your name?
Shouldn't you stay, little girl?
Well there ain't no shame
What was your name, little girl?
What's your name?
Shouldn't you stay, little girl?
Won't you do the same?

Wheels
(Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman)

We've all got wheels to take ourselves away
We've got telephones to say what we can't say
We've all got higher and higher every day
Come on, wheels, take this boy away

We're not afraid to ride
We're not afraid to die
So come on, wheels, take me home today
Come on, wheels, take this boy away

Now when I feel that my time is almost up
And destiny is in my right hand
I'll turn to him who made my fate so strong
Come on, wheels, make this boy a man

We're not afraid to ride
We're not afraid to die
Come on, wheels, take me home today
Come on, wheels, take this boy away
Come on, wheels, take this boy away

When Will Will Be Married?
(traditional)

When will we be married, Molly, when will we be wed
When will we be bedded in the same bed?
When will we be married, Molly, when will we be wed
When will we be bedded in the same bed?

You have your eye on Jimmy, long Jimmy Lee
You have your eye on Jimmy and a fine man he
You have your eye on Jimmy but you'd better let him be
Cause when you go, Molly-o, you'll be going with me

When will we be married, Molly, when will we be wed
When will we be bedded in the same bed?
When will we be married, Molly, when will we be wed
When will we be bedded in the same bed?

You have your eye on Johnny, thin Johnny Fee
You have your eye on Johnny and a fine man he
You have your eye on Johnny but you'd better let him be
Cause when you go, Molly-o, you'll be going with me

When will we be married, Molly, when will we be wed
When will we be bedded in the same bed?
When will we be married, Molly, when will we be wed
When will we be bedded in the same bed?

I made a black bow for your pretty head
When will we be married, Molly, when will we be wed?
Made a black bow for your bonny head

When will we be married, Molly, when will we be wed
When will we be bedded in the same bed?
When will we be married, Molly, when will we be wed
When will we be bedded in the same bed?

When You Fall In Love
(John Scott Sherrill, Steve Earle)
(never released by Steve - recorded by Johnny Lee)

There'll be a rainbow around the moon
You'll fall apart when you hear that tune
Every day will end too soon
When you fall in love
You'll get weak in the knees when you see her smile
You try your best to hid it ‘cause it's not your style
You let it get you cryin' like a little child
When you fall in love

Chorus:
When you fall in love
It's out of your hands
It gets into your heart
It changes your plans
But you'll only understand
When you fall in love

The summer breeze will chill you to the bone
You'll walk the floor ‘til the break of dawn
Sometimes you'll feel so alone
When you fall in love
And you won't notice, but the day that it shows
That light'll follow you wherever you go
And that's how you'll know
When you fall in love

Chorus x 4

While You Sleep
(Charlie Sexton, Steve Earle)
(never released by Steve - recorded by Charlie Sexton)

Girl there's no moon out tonight
Just your window light
The night hides nothing you should fear
'Cause I stand guard out there

Every day I look away when we meet
Every night I'm walking up and down your street
I'm standin' here outside your window
It's drivin' me mad, I can't let go

You'll never even see
This lonely watch I keep
While you sleep

Girl, don't ever think your dreams
Are private as they seem
'Cause I know every move you made
From midnight 'till you wake
While you sleep

Every day I look away when we meet
Every night I'm walking up and down your street
I'm standin' here outside your window
It's drivin' me mad, I can't let go

White Freight Liner Blues
(Townes Van Zandt)

I'm goin out on the highway
listen to them big trucks whine
I'm goin out on the highway
listen to them big trucks whine

White freight liner
won't you steal away my mind
Ah, New Mexico ain't bad, Lord
and the people there they treat you kind
and the people there they treat you kind

Well, it's bad news from Houston
half my friends are dying
Well, it's bad news from Houston
half my friends are dying

Ah, Lord, I'm gonna ramble
till I get back to where I came
Ah, Lord, I'm gonna ramble
till I get back to where I came

I'm goin out on the highway
listen to them big trucks whine
I'm goin out on the highway
listen to them big trucks whine

Windfall
(Jay Farrar)

Now and then it keeps you runnin'
Never seems to die
Trails spin with fear
And not enough livin' on the outside
Never seem to get far enough
Stayin' inbetween the lines
Hold on to what you can
Waitin' for the end
Not knowin' when

CHORUS:
May the wind take your troubles away
May the wind take your troubles away
Both feet on the floor
Two hands on the wheel
May the wind take your troubles away

Tryin' to make it far enough
To the next time zone
Few and far between past the midnight hour
You never feel alone
You're really not alone

Switchin' it over to AM
Searchin' for a truer sound
Can't recall the call letters
Steel guitar and settle down

Catchin' an all night station
Somewhere in Louisiana
It sounds like 1963
But for now it sounds like heaven

CHORUS

May the wind take your troubles away
May the wind
Take your troubles away