The Definitive Collection lyrics

We've been runnin' away from somethin' we both know
We've long run out of things to say and I think I'd better go
So don't be gettin' excited oh-when you hear that slammin' door
Cause there'll be one less set of footsteps on your floor in the mornin'

And we've been hidin' from somethin' that should have never gone this far
But after all it's what we've done that makes us what we are

Operator, well could you help me place this call?
See, the number on the matchbook is old and faded
She's living in L. A. with my best old ex-friend Ray
A guy she said she knew well and sometimes hated

Isn't that the way they say it goes?
Well, let's forget all that
And give me the number if you can find it
So I can call just to tell 'em I’m fine and to show

Which way are you goin'?
Which side will you be on?
Will you stand and watch while,
All the seeds of hate are sown?
Will you stand with those who say,
Let his will be done?

One hand on the bible
One hand on the gun
One hand on the bible
One hand on the gun

Which way are you looking?
Is it hard to see?
Do you say whats wrong for him,
Is not wrong for me?
You walk the streets, righteousness,

The Hard Way Every Time

Written by - Jim Croce

Yeah, I've had my share of broken dreams

And more than a couple of falls
And in chasin' what I thought were moonbeams

I have run into a couple of walls

But in looking back at the places I've been

The changes that I've left behind

I just look at myself to find

I've learned the hard way every time

If you get to feelin' all alone

When your good time friends have all got up and gone

Don't come knockin' around my door

Because I've heard your lines before

Chorus:

And there ain't gonna be a next time this time

'Cause woman startin' right now

I'm gonna forget you name and your pretty face, girl

And write you off as a bad mistake

You know that some women, they are lovers

I don't gamble, I don't fight

I don't be hangin' in the bars at night

Yeah I used to be a fighter but

Now I am a wiser man

I don't drink much, I don't smoke

I don't be hardly mess around with no dope

Yeah I used to be a problem but

Now I am a careful man

Chorus:

But if you used to want to see a commotion

You shoulda seen the man that I used to be

Well, I just got out of the county prison doin'
90 days for nonsupport
Tried to find me an executice position
but no matter how smooth I talk
They wouldn't listen to the fact that I was a genius
the man said we got all that we can use
Now I got them steadily deppressin', low-down mind-messin'
workin' at the carwash blues

Well, I should be sittin' in an air-conditioned