LEE HAZLEWOOD
TROUBLE IS A LONESOME TOWN
(Mercury SR-60860)
November/1963
Produced by Lee Hazlewood
(Trouble is a lonesome town and it's a little town too
But we got some big people take Moss Durringer he's almost six foot five inches tall
Now Trouble like most all little towns has some people who're bad all the time
And it has some people who're good all the time
But most of the people're good and bad most of the time
The people that live in Trouble do lots of remembering
And I guess that's cause they ain't got much to look forward to
One of the first things I remembered happened when I was ten
One day when I was ten and lived in trouble I found a friend)
1.
LONG BLACK TRAIN
(Lee Hazlewood)
« © '63 Criterion Music, ASCAP »
Back when I was ten Jim was my best friend
We'd go down to the station and watched the trains come in
The long black train the long black train
Some day I told my friend we'll ride that train and then
We'll make a fortune for ourselves and we'll ride it home again
The long black train the long black train
As we grew older Jim grew wilder than the wind
He robbed the bank in our hometown and they sent me after him
On the long black train the long black train
And so I cut my friend twelve men convicted him
Ninety nine years is what he got I'll bet it seems like a hundred to Jim
He'll miss the long black train the long black train
**********
(I guess about ever town has a girl that kinda looks better than the rest
You know kinda soft and gooey lookin' and so darn pretty
You can hardly take your eye off of her
Well we had one like that in our town of Trouble Anna Mae Stillwell
I guess she was about the best lookin' thing that's ever been raised in Trouble
I remember when she was oh bout ten or eleven years old
And she was the skinnest long legged thing
Why you wouldn't even give her a second look
Well anyway one spring Anna Mae started to blossom out
Well sir she blossomed and blossomed and blossomed
She blossomed so much that you'd've thought
Winter wasn't never gonna come again
Winter came all right and when it did we had one of the prettiest women
You'd ever want to see livin' in our town
A few years later old Bret Baker he's about twice her age I guess
He saw Anna Mae and started courtin' her
It wasn't too long before they were married
And livin' in old Bret's big huge house down by the river
Now I'll tell you the truth we all kinda envied Bret
That is until one day Bret told us that things ain't always just exactl likey they seem)
2.
LOOK AT THAT WOMAN
(Lee Hazlewood)
« © '63 Criterion Music, ASCAP »
Look at that woman standin' there look at that woman ain't she fair
Look at that woman seems so fine
Lord I wish that woman was anybody else of but mine
Anybody else of but mine
She can't cook and she can't love and she ain't worth a dime
And Lord I wish that woman was anybody else of but mine
Face like a child body so nice eyes like an angel heart cold as ice
Look at that woman seems so fine
Lord I wish that woman was anybody else of but mine
Anybody else of but mine
She can't cook and she can't love...
[ harmonica ]
Look at that woman
**********
(Now Trouble like any other little town has its share of people
Who are always judgin' young people and judge them not
For what they are or what they hope to be someday but for what their folks are
Now if a boy's father is a banker or a doctor or a lawyer
Well this boy can't help to turn out right
But if his dad is a well his dad has kinda unusual accupation
Then this boy can't hope to amount too much
Course there's one good thing about it
In Trouble like any other little town they're seldom right)
3.
SON OF A GUN
(Lee Hazlewood)
« © '63 Criterion Music, ASCAP »
It hurts to be told when you're not very old
That you're an outlaw's son
And the older you get they won't let you forget
That you're the son of a gun a bad bad gun you son of a gun
And then you'll meet someone so sweet and she says her heart you've won
But her old dad get's awfuly mad
She'll marry no son of a gun a bad bad gun the son of a gun
One day her dad must face a bad a bad outlaw with a gun
You're quick on the draw and you saved her pa
You no good son of a gun a bad bad gun you son of a gun
Now everyone who is someone smiles at the outlaw's son
You're one of the crowd her dad's so proud
She'll marry the son of a gun a bad bad gun the son of a gun
She'll marry the son of a gun
**********
(Sleepy Gilloreeth is prob'ly the best dressed man in Trouble
In fact there ain't no probably's he is
Sleepy's our undertaker he's a quite little man he don't bother any of us
Every day at twelve noon you can set your watch by it that's if you got one
Sleepy takes a walk down the main street of Trouble
He says howdy and never smiles
That is unless he sees one of the old folks lookin' kinda pale
Now every day when Sleepy takes his walk
He'll take a few steps and turn and look over his right shoulder
Now he does this so he can keep an eye on his assistant
A full blooded Indian name of Charlie Flood
And Sleepy makes Charlie take a walk with him every day
Cause if he didn't Charlie'd sneak back and drink up all the embalmin' fluid
And Charlie Flood's drinkin' is bout the only worry that Sleepy Gilloreeth has
Cause he knows we'll all be giving him a little business sooner or later)
4.
WE ALL MAKE THE FLOWERS GROW
(Lee Hazlewood)
« © '63 Criterion Music, ASCAP »
Cowards and heroes listen my friends
If you have money or nothing to spend
It'll make no difference in a hundred years or so
Sooner or later we'll all make the little flowers grow
Or later we'll all make the little flowers grow
Wise men and fools who get your fight
You'll never get out of this world alive
Don't run and hide it's no use I know
Sooner or later we'll all make the little flowers grow
Or later we'll all make the little flowers grow
[ ac.guitar ]
Short men and tall men and all the rest
Please don't blame me I didn't start this mess
Some of us stay and some of us go
Sooner or later we'll all make the little flowers grow
Or later we'll all make the little flowers grow
**********
(Course I wouldn't want you to think that everybody born in Trouble was born bad
And they either had to get good or stay bad
But some of 'em born on the other side of that railroad track
Just never could find the time or a good enough teacher to learn about bein' good)
5.
RUN BOY RUN
(Lee Hazlewood)
« © '63 Criterion Music, ASCAP »
You were born by a railroad track
Never knew your ma and your pa ain't comin' back
Had to make your way the best you can
But you didn't have to steal from another man
Run boy run boy run boy run they're gonna get you boy run boy run
They're gonna catch you boy run boy run run boy run boy run boy run
Think you're a man cause you're twenty one
Shot a man for nothin' and away you run
Wanted in most every state from here to Tennessee
If you're caught you'll do your runnin' hangin' from a tree
Run boy run boy run boy run...
Storm clouds lookin' down from the sky
And hangman's noose swingin' on a tree near by
The words on that tombstone that won't be read by you
Says his runnin's done at twenty one he won't see twenty two
Run boy run boy run boy run...
**********
(I don't know whether you'll believe this or not
But we have two brothers in Trouble who're thievinist sneakinist
Well just down right crookedest people you'd ever wanna meet
Now of course that may not be too hard to believe
But when Orville and George Dobkins that's the two brothers steal somethin'
They didn't steal from none of us they steal from each other
That's right they steal from each other have each other arrested and put in jail
Now Orville's been in jail well twelve times
And George well George has been in eleven in fact he's still in
Now the other day I saw Orville on the street
And after we got thru with our howdy's I aked him how George was
He kinda smiled and scratched the hammer holder on his overalls
And said he guessed he's okay
Then I said you know Orville it seems an awful shame
For you and your brother to be stealin' from each other all the time
Havin' each other arrested spendin' all that time in jail
You must feel kinda bad with your brother all locked up in jail
And you out here free as a bird
Well Orville kinda grinned and said it ain't so bad he can do anything he wants to do)
6.
SIX FEET OF CHAIN
(Lee Hazlewood)
« © '63 Criterion Music, ASCAP »
He can love any woman he sees he can stay as late as he please
He can take a nice walk in the rain if he can do it on six feet of chain
Six feet of chain six feet of chain he's a prisoner on six feet of chain
He can climb up a mountain so high he can run he can jump he can fly
He can have plenty fortune and fame if he can do it on six feet of chain
Six feet of chain six feet of chain he's a prisoner on six feet of chain
He can go if he wants to go he can stay if he wants to stay
He can go crazy or stay saint if he can do it on six feet of chain
Six feet of chain six feet of chain he's a prisoner on six feet of chain
**********
(There's people livin' in Trouble that'll tell you that Trouble wasn't nothin'
No sir nothin' nothin' but a little town that is until we got our railroad
And of course there's people livin' in Trouble today
That'll tell you since we got our railroad
We're still nothin' with a railroad runnin' thru it
In fact about the easiest way to start an argument
Is to say something either for or against the railroad
I don't have nothin' against the railroad or the men that work for it
As far as I've been able to find out they're hard working
Hard drinking hard dying men they're pretty hard fightin' too
I guess about the only thing they can't whip is each other)
7.
RAILROAD
(Lee Hazlewood)
« © '63 Criterion Music, ASCAP »
A workin' on the railroad all day long a workin' on the railroad sing this song
Sing about an old love I once knew sing about an old love or maybe two
A workin' on the railroad a workin' on the railroad
Work work workin' on the railroad
I drove a lotta hot steel in my time I drank a lotta stuff they call moonshine
I got me a woman in every town workin' on the railroad never settle down
A workin' on the railroad a workin' on the railroad
Work work workin' on the railroad
I draw my pay on a Saturday night go in town and start a fight
Love me a woman and laught at a joke a workin' on the railroad always a broke
A workin' on the railroad a workin' on the railroad
Work work workin' on the railroad
When I die then they'll burry me alongside of tracks where I wanna be
Don't you cry friends just remember this there ain't much your ole buddy miss
A-workin' on the railroad a workin' on the railroad
Work work workin' on the railroad
**********
(Now we had a fella lived in Trouble named of Emery Zickafuce Brown
When he's about six years old we used to call him Emery
Course we didn't find out till he's almost nine
That his momma'd hung the elegant middle name of Zickafuce on him
Or we'd've been callin' him that all along
And of course none of us had any idea
That Zickafuce'd be so famous time he was twelve
And I'll tell you something he was famous
I know people come thirty miles
Just to take a look at Emery Zickafuce Brown
Walk away shakin' their heads not quite able to believe what they'd just seen
Time Zickafuce was twenty he had a face on him
That looked like somebody'd run four wagons together
I guess Windfield Bloodsaw he's the fella
That runs the food store in Trouble said it about as good as anybody
When he said that if we had one of those Mr America contests in Trouble
And Emery Zickafuce Brown was the only one to enter
The best he could possibly hope for was fourth place)
8.
UGLY BROWN
(Lee Hazlewood)
« © '63 Criterion Music, ASCAP »
Nobody loves me in this town this town this town
Nobody loves me in this town this town this town
To their parties they never invite me even my own dog bites me
And they call me they call me Ugly Brown
Nobody wants me in this town this town this town
Nobody wants me in this town this town this town
I won't swim in the river and that's a fact
Cause every time I come out you keep a throwin' me back
And you call me you call me Ugly Brown
[ harmonica ]
Nobody needs me in this town this town this town
Nobody needs me in this town this town this town
If I run away and hide where nobody can see
Then nobody comes and looks for me
And they call me they call me Ugly Brown
**********
(Saturday night in Trouble is probably the best time of the week
Most of the people come into town and they buy enough flour and salt
To last while then they stay and visit some
We got this bench that sits out in front of Maude Growdy's store
That's where most of the men do their sittin' whittlin' spittin' and story tellin'
And some of the stories they tell I'll tell you right now
Some of the are just awful hard to believe
You take a couple Saturday nights ago this man was tellin' us all about
How he got his first wife)
9.
PECULIAR GUY
(Lee Hazlewood)
« © '63 Criterion Music, ASCAP »
One night in a card game I lucked at a peculiar run
I won a good team a woman called Red and a gun
I won a valley won a mountain so high
But a lion lured my mountain and a lion is a peculiar guy
I worked with my team and I soon grew as rich as the land
The woman called Red learned to love me as I loved the land
My valley turned green my mountain smiled down from the sky
But a lion lured my mountain and a lion is a peculiar guy
One morning the lion came down from his kingdom I owned
He killed the woman called Red and he left me alone
My valley turned brown my mountain didn't seem so high
Cause a lion lured my mountain and a lion is a peculiar guy
I climbed up my mountain and burried the woman called Red
I emptied my gun in the lion until he laid dead
I left my valley I left my mountain so high
I can't live with mem'ries cause I'm a peculiar guy
**********
(Trouble is a little and it's lonesome you won't find it on any map
But you can take three steps in any direction and you're there
It's a place to be born and it's a place to live and it's a place to die and be forgotten
It's a town called Trouble and Trouble is a lonesome town)
10.
TROUBLE IS A LONESOME TOWN
(Lee Hazlewood)
« © '63 Criterion Music, ASCAP »
Lord I'd like to leave this town Lord I'd like to leave this town
But I guess I'll hang around but I guess I'll hang around
Trouble is a lonesome town Trouble is a lonesome town
Trouble is where I was born yeah Trouble is where I was born
[ harmonica ]
Trouble is a lonesome town Trouble is a lonesome town
Trouble is where I was born yeah Trouble is where I was born Trouble Trouble
**********