(by richard manuel.)

I had a hard time waking this morning
I got a lotta things on my mind
Like those friends of yours
They keep bringing me down
Just hangin’ round all the time

I’ve had a hard time waking most mornings
And it’s been that way for a month or more
You’ve had things your way
But now I’ve got to say
I’m on my way out the door

Chorus:

Now, there's a certain thing
That I learned from Jim
That he'd always make sure I'd understand
And that is that there's a certain way
That a man must swim
If he expects to live off
Of the fat of the land.
Open the door, Homer,
I've heard it said before.
Open the door, Homer,
I've heard it said before
But I ain't gonna hear it said no more.
Now, there's a certain thing

Katie's been gone since the spring time;
She wrote one time'n sent her love.
Katie's been gone for such a long time now.
I wonder what kind of love she's thinkin' of.
Dear Katie,
If you can hear me,
I can't wait to have ya near me.
Oh, Katie, since ya caught that bus,
Well, I just don't know how things are with us.
I'm still here and you're out there.
Katie laughed when I said I was lonely.

Wrote a letter this mornin',
Put it in your hat,
'Cause no one to read it
And I know you knew that.
I bought a joke, a trick or two,
Just to bring and show you,
Caught ya with the trickster too.
Sometimes I wonder how ya knew
A hypnotist, fancytalker,
Ruben Remus ain't no doctor
I knew the man and tried to remember
Just where it was that I'd seen his face.
Long ago, in a movie show,

Ain't no more cane on the Brazos
Oh, oh, oh, oh...
Its all been ground down to molasses
Oh, oh- oh, oh- oh...
You shoulda been on the river in 1910
They were driving the women just like they drove the men.
Go down Old Hannah, don'cha rise no more
Don't you rise up til Judgment Day's for sure
Ain't no more cane on the Brazos
Its all been ground down to molasses

I had a hard time waking this morning
I got a lotta things on my mind
Like those friends of yours
They keep bringing me down
Just hangin' round all the time
I've had a hard time waking most mornings
And it's been that way for a month or more
You've had things your way
But now I've got to say
I'm on my way out the door
Chorus:
Why don't you get right, try to get right, baby

Stranded out in the night,
Eliza took me down
To see the widow give
Rain to the town.
It's against the law
To be a tonic man,
But the widow knows
She's got the upper hand.
So I went on in
Feelin' kinda wheezy.
You know she soothed my mind, boys,
She rocked me kinda slow and easy
All day and all night.
Pick a card before you go
It's a long trip to Mexico.
Eliza wait by the door,

Crash on the levee, mama
Water's gonna overflow
Swamp's gonna rise
No boat's gonna row
Now, you can train on down
To Williams Point
You can bust your feet
You can rock this joint
But oh mama, ain't you gonna miss your best friend now ?
You're gonna have to find yourself
Another best friend, somehow.
Now, don't you try an' move me
You're just gonna lose
There's a crash on the levee

Bessie was more than just a friend of mine
We shared the good times with the bad
Now many a year has passed me by
I still recall the best thing I ever had
I'm just goin' down the road t' see Bessie
Oh, See her soon
Goin' down the road t' see Bessie Smith
When I get there I wonder what she'll do
Now all the crazy things I had to try
Well I tried them all and then some

If your mem'ry serves you well
We were goin' to meet again and wait
So I'm goin' to unpack all my things
And sit before it gets too late
No man alive will come to you
With another tale to tell
And you know that we shall meet again
If your mem'ry serves you well
This wheel's on fire
Rolling down the road
Best notify my next of kin
This wheel shall explode !

If your mem'ry serves you well

Long-distance operator
Place this call, it's not for fun
Long-distance operator
Please, place this call, you know it's not for fun
I gotta give a message to my baby
You know, she's not just anyone.

There are thousands in the phone booth
Thousands at the gate
There are thousands in the phone booth
Thousands at the gate
Ev'rybody wants to make a long-distance call

Nothing was delivered
And I tell this truth to you
Not out of spite or anger
But simply because it's true
Now, I hope you won't object to this
Giving back all what you owe
The fewer words you have to waste on this
The sooner you can go.

Nothing is better, nothing is best
Take heed of this and get plenty of rest.

Nothing was delivered
But I can't say I sympathize

Don't ya tell Henry
Apple's got your fly.

I went down to the river on a saturday morn
A-lookin' around just to see who's born
I found a little chicken down on his knees
I went up and yelled to him
"Please, please, please"
He said, "Don't ya tell Henry
Don't ya tell Henry
Don't ya tell Henry
Apple's got your fly".

I went down to the corner at a-half past ten

Clouds so swift
Rain won't lift
Gate won't close
Railings froze
Get your mind of wintertime
You ain't goin' nowhere
Whoo-ee ride me high
Tomorrow's the day
My bride's gonna come
Oh, oh, are we gonna fly
Down in the easy chair !

I don't care
How many letters they sent
Morning came and morning went
Pick up your money
And pack up your tent
You ain't goin' nowhere
Whoo-ee ride me high

Well, you can tell everybody
Down in ol' Frisco
Tell 'em
Tiny Montgomery says hello.

Now, every boy and girl's
Gonna get their bang
'Cause Tiny Montgomery's
Gonna shake that thing
Tell everybody
Down in ol' Frisco
That Tiny Montgomery's comin'
Down to say hello.

Skinny Moo and Halftrack Frank
They're gonna both be gettin
Outta the tank
One bird book
And a buzzard and a crow,

Crash on the levee, mama
Water's gonna overflow
Swamp's gonna rise
No boat's gonna row
Now, you can train on down
To Williams Point
You can bust your feet
You can rock this joint
But oh mama, ain't you gonna miss your best friend now
You're gonna have to find yourself
Another best friend, somehow.

Now, don't you try an' move me
You're just gonna lose
There's a crash on the levee

Well, the comic book and me, just us, we caught the bus
The poor litlle chauffeur, though, she was back in bed
On the very next day with a nose full of pus
Yea ! Heavy and a bottle of bread !
Yea ! Heavy and a bottle of bread !
Yea ! Heavy and a bottle of bread.

It's a one-track town, just brown and a breeze too
Pack up the meat, sweet, we're headin' out
For Wichita in a pile of fruit

Too much of nothing
Can make a man ill at ease
One man's temper might rise
While another man's temper might freeze
In the day of confession
We cannot mock a soul
Oh, when there's too much of nothing
No one has control.

Say hello to Valerie
Say hello to Vivian
Give them all my salary
On the waters of oblivion.

When there's too much of nothing
It can cause a man to weep

We carried you in our arms
On Independence Day
And now you'd throw us all aside
And put us on our way
Oh, what dear daughter 'neath the sun
Would treat a father so
To wait upon him hand and foot
And always tell him "No"
Tears of rage, tears of grief
Why am I the one who must be the thief
Come to me now, you know
We're so alone
And life is brief.

We pointed out the way to go

Well, I've already had two beers
I'm ready for the broom
Please, Missus Henry, won't you
Take me to my room
I'm a good old boy
But I've been sniffin' too many eggs
Talkin' to too many people
Drinkin' too many kegs
Please, Missus Henry, Missus Henry,
Please
Please, Missus Henry, please
I'm down on my knees
And I ain't got a dime.

Well, I'm groanin' in a hallway
Pretty soon I'll be mad

Under that apple suckling tree, oh yeah, under that apple suckling tree
Oh yeah ! Underneath that tree, there's just gonna be you and me
Under that apple suckling tree, oh yeah !

Old man sailin' in a dinghy boat
Down there
Old man sailin' in a dinghy boat
On there
Gonna pull man down on a suckling hook
Gonna pull man into the suckling brook
Oh yeah !

After a while we took in the clothes
Nobody said very much
Just some old wild shirts and a couple pairs of pants
Which nobody really wanted to touch
Mama come in and picked up a book
An' Papa asked her what it was
Someone else asked, "What do you care"
Papa said, "Well, just because"
Then they started to take back their clothes
Hang'em on the line
It was January the thirtieth

I pulled out for San Anton
I never felt so good
My woman said she'd meet me there
And of cource I knew she would
The coachman, he hit me for my hook
And he asked me my name
I give it to him right away
Then I hung my head in shame
Lo and behold ! Lo and behold !
Lookin' for my lo and behold.
Get me out here, my dear man.

I come into Pittsburg
At six-thirty flat
I found myself a vacant seat

I'm going down to Rose Marie's
She never does me wrong
She puts it to me plain as day
And gives it to me for a song.

It's a wicked life but what the hell
The stars ain't fallin' down.
I'm standing outside the Taj Mahal
I don't see no one around.

Goin' to Acapulco
Goin' on the run
Goin' down to see fat gut
Goin' to have some fun.
Yeah
Goin' to have some fun.

Now, whenever I get up

Well, that big dump blonde
With her wheel in the gorge
Turtle, that friend of theirs
With his checks all forged
And his cheeks in a chunk
With his cheese in the cash
They're all gonna be there
At that million dollar bash
Ooh, baby, ooh-ee
Ooh, baby, ooh-ee
It's that million dollar bash.

Everybody from right now
Go ever there and back
The louder they come
The bigger they crack

I plan it all and I take my place
You break your promise all over the place
You promised to love me but what do I see
Just you comin' in and spillin' juice over me
Odds and ends, odds and ends
Lost time is not found again.

Now you take your file and you bend my head
I never can remember anything that you said
You promised to love me, but what do I know

After a while we took in the clothes,
Nobody said very much.
Just some old wild shirts and a couple pairs of pants
Which nobody really wanted to touch.
Mama come in and picked up a book
An' Papa asked her what it was.
Someone else asked, "What do you care?"
Papa said, "Well, just because."
Then they started to take back their clothes,
Hang 'em on the line.
It was January the thirtieth