Just an American Boy lyrics

(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

(Steve Earle)
chorus
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust

A long time ago before the ice and the snow
There were giants that walked this land
And with each step they took, the mighty mountains shook
And the trees took a knee and the seas rolled in
Then one day they say the sky gave way
And death rained down, it made a terrible sound

My name is Billy Austin
I'm Twenty-Nine years old
I was born in Oklahoma
Quarter Cherokee I'm told
Don't remember Oklahoma
Been so long since I left home
Seems like I've always been in prison
Like I've always been alone
Didn't mean to hurt nobody
Never thought I'd cross that line
I held up a filling station
Like I'd done a hundred times
The kid done like I told him

It's Christmastime in Washington
The Democrats rehearsed
Gettin' into gear for four more years
Things not gettin' worse
The Republicans drink whiskey neat
And thanked their lucky stars
They said, 'He cannot seek another term
They'll be no more FDRs'

I sat home in Tennessee
Staring at the screen
With an uneasy feeling in my chest
And I'm wonderin' what it means

Chorus:

(Steve Earle)

What if I told you it was done with mirrors
What if I showed you it was all a lie
Better be careful, someone might hear ya
The walls have ears and the sky has eyes
What if I said you were only dreamin'
What you wanna bet that all you gotta do
Is open up your eyes and you will wake up screamin'
When you realize that it's all come true

chorus

I'm a Harlan Man
Went down in the mine when I was barely grown
It was easy then
‘Cause I didn't know what I know now
But I'm a family man
And it's the only life that I've ever known
But I'm a Harlan Man
Just as long as my luck and lungs hold out

I'm a mountain man
Born in east Kentucky and here I'll stay
And if it's the good Lord's plan

I wish I'd never come back home
It don't feel right since I've been grown
I can't find any of my old friends hangin' 'round
Won't nothin' bring you down like your hometown

I spent some time in New Orleans
I had to live on rice and beans
I hitched through Texas when the sun was beatin' down
Won't nothin' bring you down like your hometown

CHORUS
Home is where the heart is

(Steve Earle)

When I'm walkin' these streets
And I'm countin' my steps
And I'm draggin' my feet
'Cause I ain't ready yet
To start all over again
'Cause every time that I do
I remember you

Well, you broke my heart
And it healed alright
Now we're far apart
And I don't lie awake at night
But every once in a while
Right out of the blue
I remember you

(Steve Earle)

I woke up this mornin' and none of the news was good
And death machines were rumblin' 'cross the ground where Jesus stood
And the man on my TV told me that it had always been that way
And there was nothin' anyone could do or say

And I almost listened to him
Yeah, I almost lost my mind
Then I regained my senses again
And looked into my heart to find

(Steve Earle)

I'm just an American boy raised on MTV
And I've seen all those kids in the soda pop ads
But none of 'em looked like me
So I started lookin' around for a light out of the dim
And the first thing I heard that made sense was the word
Of Mohammed, peace be upon him

chorus:
A shadu la ilaha illa Allah
There is no God but God

The warden said he'd mail my letter
The chaplain's waitin' by the door
Tonight we'll cross the yard together
Then they can't hurt me anymore.

I am going over yonder
Where no ghost can follow me
There's another place beyond here
Where I'll be free I believe.

Give my radio to Johnson
Thibodeaux can have my fan
Send my Bible home to Mama
Call her every now and then.

I was born on this mountain a long time ago
Before they knocked down the timber and strip-mined the coal
When you rose in the mornin' before it was light
To go down in that dark hole and come back up at night

I was born on this mountain, this mountain's my home
She holds me and keeps me from worry and woe
Well, they took everything that she gave, now they're gone

In the middle of the night
In the middle of a lonely night
Stands alone in the pale moonlight
Screams out in defiance
He's got no one to turn to
You could talk ‘til you turn blue
He'd just turn his back on you
Ain't no compromising

‘Cause he's totally untamed
No fear of the unnamed
But he'll take the blame

(Steve Earle)

Look at ya
Yeah, take a look in the mirror now tell me what you see
Another satisfied customer in the front of the line for the American dream
I remember when we was both out on the boulevard
Talkin' revolution and singin' the blues
Nowadays it's letters to the editor and cheatin' on our taxes
Is the best that we can do
Come on

Look around

Well my name's John Lee Pettimore
Same as my daddy and his daddy before
You hardly ever saw Grandaddy down here
He only came to town about twice a year
He'd buy a hundred pounds of yeast and some copper line
Everybody knew that he made moonshine
Now the revenue man wanted Grandaddy bad
He headed up the holler with everything he had
It's before my time but I've been told

Hey pretty baby are you ready for me
It's your good rockin' daddy down from Tennessee
I'm just out of Austin bound for San Antone
With the radio blastin' and the bird dog on
There's a speed trap up ahead in Selma Town
But no local yokel gonna shut me down
'Cause me and my boys got this rig unwound
And we've come a thousand miles from a Guitar Town

I went downtown, it was just to ease my pain
I ended up out walkin' in the rain

I took my pistol and a hundred dollar bill
I had everything I needed to get me killed

Southside girls, they suit me just fine
As long as I got money they don't whine

The devil lives on Lewis Street I swear
I seen him rockin' in his rockin' chair

I start way up top of Lewis Street