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John Prine: Live in Asheville '86

by John Prine

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1.
Lulu Walls 03:05
One evening getting dark We first met at the park Just sitting by the fountain all alone I lifted up my hat And then began to chat She said she'd allow me to see her at her home Chorus: Such a star I've never seen She's as pretty as the queen She's as perfect as an angel from above If she'd only be my wife I'd live happy all me life With that aggravating beauty Lulu Walls. If she were only mine I'd build a house so fine And around it so many fences tall It would make me jealously To think that none but me Could gaze upon that beauty Lulu Walls. Repeat Chorus: One evening getting late Well, I met her at the gate I asked her if she'd wed me in the fall But she only turned away And nothing would she say That aggravating beauty Lulu Walls. Repeat Chorus: With that aggravating beauty Lulu Walls.
2.
Torch Singer 02:27
The night club was burning From the torch singer's song And the sweat was floodin' her eyes The catwalk squeaked 'Neath the bartender's feet And the smoke was too heavy to rise Chorus: She sang of the love that I left her And of the woman that she'll never be Made me feel like the buck and a quarter That I paid 'em to listen and see I paid 'em to listen and see I was born down in Kansas 'Neath the October sky Work the day shift from seven to three And the only relief that I receive Is nearer my God to Thee She constantly throws me off timing Leaves me standing both naked and bare Makes me feel like the Sunday funnies After everything's gone off the air Everything's gone off the air I picked through the ashes Of the torch singer's song And I ordered my money a round For whiskey and pain Both taste the same During the time they go down (Repeat chorus)
3.
Aw Heck 02:32
I could be as happy as a sardine in a can Long as I got my woman I could run stark naked and live in and old oak tree Just as long as she's with me My woman. The cannibals can catch me and fry me in a pan Long as I got my woman I could get the electric chair for a phony rap Long as she's sittin' in my lap My woman. I'd run a mile, just to see her smile And put her lovin arms, around my neck Aw heck My spine starts a tingling, and bells start a ringling When she's with me, can't you see. They could torture me and stretch me like a rubber band Long as I got my woman I could jump off a cliff and never have no fear Just as long as she is near My woman.
4.
Wanda had a baby in nineteen fifty one. The father was stranger and a stranger was the son. Call that child James Lewis, call these rooms a home. Changing all them diapers polish all that chrome. C'mon, baby, spend the night with me All around the schoolyard playing all the games Running, laughing back and forth the kid with two first names Stranger in the closet, lock the diary The past is running faster singing harmony C'mon, baby, spend the night with me "God bless this kitchen" said the knick-knack shelf "The dinner's almost ready Go and wash yourself" Jimmy's growing up now and Wanda's growing old The time is growin' shorter the nights are long and cold C'mon, baby, spend the night with me Sneaking in the closet and through the diary Now, don't you know all he saw was all there was to see The whole town saw Jimmy on the six o'clock news His brains were on the sidewalk and blood was on his shoes C'mon, baby, spend the night with me C'mon, baby, spend the night with me
5.
6.
Out Of Love 03:15
Barley malts and does eat oats and little girls are lively And your liveliness has left me in a brew So I'm sitting here just drinking beer Cause there's nothing else to do. And when I'm out of love, I'm out of you. We were so happy, honey when we were together Why we should have won a ribbon colored blue But those Rocky Mountain waters came between us And when I'm out of love, I'm out of you. Chorus: So I'm living in the land of sky blue waters And I'm grabbing all the gusto up it's true Well, you only go around once in life they say And when I'm out of love, I'm out of you These teardrops that I'm crying are the champagne of bottled tears, And I must admit that I've shed one or two, But when good friends get together well they always tip a few And when I'm out of love, I'm out of you. Repeat Chorus: So put me in a cool place for I'm the King of Beers Forty to forty-five degrees will do And if you must play that jukebox let it be low and now 'Cause when I'm out of love, I'm out of you. Repeat Chorus: Ending: So if you go the time, we got the tears And when I'm out of love, I'm out of you
7.
Small town, bright lights, Saturday night, Pinballs and pool halls flashing their lights. Making change behind the counter in a penny arcade Sat the fat girl daughter of Virginia and Ray (Spoken:) Lydia Lydia hid her thoughts like a cat Behind her small eyes sunk deep in her fat. She read romance magazines up in her room And felt just like Sunday on Saturday afternoon. Chorus: But dreaming just comes natural Like the first breath from a baby, Like sunshine feeding daisies, Like the love hidden deep in your heart. Bunk beds, shaved heads, Saturday night, A warehouse of strangers with sixty watt lights. Staring through the ceiling, just wanting to be Lay one of too many, a young PFC: (Spoken:) Donald There were spaces between Donald and whatever he said. Strangers had forced him to live in his head. He envisioned the details of romantic scenes After midnight in the stillness of the barracks latrine. Repeat Chorus: Hot love, cold love, no love at all. A portrait of guilt is hung on the wall. Nothing is wrong, nothing is right. Donald and Lydia made love that night. (Spoken:) Love The made love in the mountains, they made love in the streams, They made love in the valleys, they made love in their dreams. But when they were finished there was nothing to say, 'Cause mostly they made love from ten miles away. Repeat Chorus:
8.
Feelings are strange especially when they come true and I had a feeling you'd be leaving soon so I tried to rearrange all my emotions but it seems the same no matter what I do. Chorus: Blue umbrella rest upon my shoulder hide the pain while the rain makes up my mind well, my feet are wet from thinking this thing over and it's been so long since I felt the warm sunshine just give me one good reason and I promise I won't ask you any more just give me one extra season so I can figure out the other four. Day time makes me wonder why you left me night time makes me wonder what I said next time are the words I'd like to plan on but, last time was the only thing you said. Chorus:
9.
Souvenirs 03:37
All the snow has turned to water Christmas days have come and gone Broken toys and faded colors Are all that's left to linger on I hate graveyards and old pawn shops For they always bring me tears I can't forgive the way they rob me Of my childhood souvenirs Chorus: Memories they can't be boughten They can't be won at carnivals for free Well it took me years To get those souvenirs And I don't know how they slipped away from me Broken hearts and dirty windows Make life difficult to see That's why last night and this mornin' Always look the same to me I hate reading old love letters For they always bring me tears I can't forgive the way they rob me Of my sweetheart's souvenirs (Repeat chorus)
10.
Grandpa wore his suit to dinner Nearly every day No particular reason He just dressed that way Brown necktie and a matching vest And both his wingtip shoes He built a closet on our back porch And put a penny in a burned out fuse. Chorus: Grandpa was a carpenter He built houses stores and banks Chain smoked Camel cigarettes And hammered nails in planks He was level on the level And shaved even every door And voted for Eisenhower 'Cause Lincoln won the war. Well, he used to sing me "Blood on the Saddle" And rock me on his knee And let me listen to radio Before we got TV Well, he'd drive to church on Sunday And take me with him too! Stained glass in every window Hearing aids in every pew. Repeat Chorus: Now my grandma was a teacher Went to school in Bowling Green Traded in a milking cow For a Singer sewing machine She called her husband "Mister" And walked real tall and pride And used to buy me comic books After grandpa died. Repeat Chorus:
11.
I been thinking lately about the people I meet The carwash on the corner and the hole in the street The way my ankles hurt with shoes on my feet And I'm wondering if I'm gonna see tomorrow. Father forgive us for what we must do You forgive us we'll forgive you We'll forgive each other till we both turn blue Then we'll whistle and go fishing in heaven. I was in the army but I never dug a trench I used to bust my knuckles on a monkey wrench Then I'd go to town and drink and give the girls a pinch But I don't think they ever even noticed me. Fish and whistle, whistle and fish Eat everything that they put on your dish And when we get through we'll make a big wish That we never have to do this again again? again???? On my very first job I said thank you and please They made me scrub a parking lot down on my knees Then I got fired for being scared of bees And they only give me fifty cents an hour.
12.
I can hear the wheels of the automobiles So far away - just moving along through the drifting snow It's times like these when the temperatures freeze I sit alone just looking at the world through a storm window And down on the beach the sandman sleeps Time don't fly it bounds and leaps And a country band that plays for keeps They play it so slow Chorus: Don't let your baby down Don't let your baby down Don't let your baby down Well, the spirits were high 'til the well went dry For so long the raven at my window was only a crow I bought the rights to the inside fights And watched a man just beating his hand against a storm window While miles away o'er hills and streams A candle burns A witch's dreams And silence is golden till it screams Right through your bones Repeat Chorus: Storm windows - Gee but I'm getting old Storm window - keep away the cold
13.
When I woke up this morning, things were lookin' bad Seem like total silence was the only friend I had Bowl of oatmeal tried to stare me down... and won And it was twelve o'clock before I realized That I was havin' ... no fun Chorus: But fortunately I have the key to escape reality And you may see me tonight with an illegal smile It don't cost very much, but it lasts a long while Won't you please tell the man I didn't kill anyone No I'm just tryin' to have me some fun Last time I checked my bankroll, It was gettin' thin Sometimes it seems like the bottom Is the only place I've been I Chased a rainbow down a one-way street... dead end And all my friends turned out to be insurance salesmen Repeat Chorus: Well, I sat down in my closet with all my overalls Tryin' to get away From all the ears inside my walls I dreamed the police heard Everything I thought... what then? Well I went to court And the judge's name was Hoffman Ah but fortunately I have the key to escape reality And you may see me tonight with an illegal smile It don't cost very much, but it lasts a long while Won't you please tell the man I didn't kill anyone No I'm just tryin' to have me some fun Well done, hot dog bun, my sister's a nun
14.
Dear Abby 04:48
Dear Abby, Dear Abby ... My feet are too long My hair's falling out and my rights are all wrong My friends they all tell me that I've no friends at all Won't you write me a letter, Won't you give me a call Signed Bewildered Bewildered, Bewildered... Chorus: You have no complaint You are what your are and you ain't what you ain't So listen up Buster, and listen up good Stop wishing for bad luck and knocking on wood Dear Abby, Dear Abby... My fountain pen leaks My wife hollers at me and my kids are all freaks Every side I get up on is the wrong side of bed If it weren't so expensive I'd wish I were dead Signed Unhappy Unhappy, Unhappy... Repeat Chorus Dear Abby, Dear Abby... You won't believe this But my stomach makes noises whenever I kiss My girlfriend tells me It's all in my head But my stomach tells me to write you instead Signed Noise-maker Noise-maker, Noise-maker Repeat Chorus Dear Abby, Dear Abby... Well I never thought That me and my girlfriend would ever get caught We were sitting in the back seat just shooting the breeze With her hair up in curlers and her pants to her knees Signed Just Married Just Married, Just Married... Repeat Chorus
15.
Far From Me 04:00
As the cafe was closing on a warm summer night And Cathy was cleaning the spoons The radio played the "Hit Parade" And I hummed a long with the tune She asked me to change the station Said the song just drove her insane But it weren't just the music playing It was me that she was trying to blame. Chorus: And the sky is black and still now On the hill where the angels sing Ain't it funny how an old broken bottle Looks just like a diamond ring But it's far, far from me Well, I leaned on my left leg in the parking lot dirt And Cathy was closing the lights A June bug flew from the warmth he once knew And I wished for once I weren't right Why we used to laugh together And we'd dance to any old song. Well, ya know, she still laughs with me But she waits just a second too long. Repeat Chorus: Well, I started the engine and I gave it some gas And Cathy was closing her purse Well, we hadn't gone far in my beat old car And I was prepared for the worst. "Will you still see me tomorrow?" "No, I got too much to do." Well, a question ain't really a question If you know the answer too. Repeat Chorus:
16.
The movie wasn't really doing so hot said the new producer to the old big shot its dying on the edge of the great Midwest Sabu must tour or forever rest. Hey look ma here comes the elephant boy bundled all up in his corduroy headed down south towards Illinois from the jungles of East St. Paul. His manager sat in the office alone staring at the numbers on the telephone wondering how a man could send a child actor to visit in the land of the wind chill factor. Sabu was sad the whole tour stunk the airlines lost the elephant's trunk the roadie got the rabies and the scabies and the flu they was low on morale but they was high on...
17.
I just found out yesterday that Linda goes to Mars Every time I sit and look at pictures of used cars She'll turn on her radio and sit down in her chair And look at me across the room, as if I wasn't there Chorus: Oh My stars! My Linda's gone to Mars Well I wish she wouldn't leave me here alone Oh My stars! My Linda's gone to Mars Well, I wonder if she'd bring me something home. Something, somewhere, somehow took my Linda by the hand And secretly decoded our sacred wedding band For when the moon shines down up on our happy, humble home Her inner space gets tortured by some outer space unknown. Repeat Chorus: Now I ain't seen no saucers 'cept the ones upon the shelf And if I ever seen one I'd keep it to myself For if there's life out there somewhere beyond this life on earth Then Linda must have gone out there and got her money's worth. Repeat Chorus: Yeah, I wonder if she'd bring me something home.
18.
19.
Well, I packed my bags and bought myself a ticket For the land of the tall palm tree Aloha Old Milwaukee, Hello Waikiki I just stepped down from the airplane When I heard her say, "Waka waka nuka licka, waka waka nuka licka Would you like a lei? Eh?" Chorus Let's talk dirty in Hawaiian Whisper in my ear Kicka pooka mok a wa wahini Are the words I long to hear Lay your coconut on my tiki What the hecka mooka mooka dear Let's talk dirty in Hawaiian Say the words I long to hear It's a ukulele Honolulu sunset Listen to the grass skirts sway Drinking rum from a pineapple Out on Honolulu Bay The steel guitars all playing While she's talking with her hands Gimme gimme oka doka make a wish and wanta polka Words I understand Hey! Repeat Chorus Well, I boughta lota junka with my moolah And sent it to the folks back home I never had the chance to dance the hula Well, I guess I should have known When you start talking to the sweet wahini Walking in the pale moonlight Ohka noka whatta setta knocka-rocka-sis-boom-boccas Hope I said it right Oh! Repeat Chorus Let's talk dirty in Hawaiian Say the words I long to hear spoken: Aloha
20.
I knew a girl who was almost a lady She had a way with all the men in her life Every inch of her blossomed in beauty And she was born on the fourth of July Well she lived in an aluminum house trailer And she worked in a juke box saloon And she spent all the money I give her Just to see the old man in the moon Chorus: I used to sleep at the foot of Old Glory And awake in the dawn's early light But much to my surprise When I opened my eyes I was a victim of the great compromise Well we'd go out on Saturday evenings To the drive-in on Route 41 And it was there that I first suspected That she was doin' what she'd already done She said "Johnny won't you get me some popcorn" And she knew I had to walk pretty far And as soon as I passed through the moonlight She hopped into a foreign sports car (Repeat chorus) Well you know I could have beat up that fellow But it was her that had hopped into his car Many times I'd fought to protect her But this time she was goin' too far Now some folks they call me a coward 'Cause I left her at the drive-in that night But I'd druther have names thrown at me Than to fight for a thing that ain't right (Repeat chorus) Now she writes all the fellows love letters Saying "Greetings, come and see me real soon" And they go and line up in the barroom And spend the night in that sick woman's room But sometimes I get awful lonesome And I wish she was my girl instead But she won't let me live with her And she makes me live in my head (Repeat chorus)
21.
Sam Stone 05:08
Sam Stone came home, To his wife and family After serving in the conflict overseas. And the time that he served, Had shattered all his nerves, And left a little shrapnel in his knee. But the morphine eased the pain, And the grass grew round his brain, And gave him all the confidence he lacked, With a Purple Heart and a monkey on his back. Chorus: There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes, Jesus Christ died for nothin' I suppose. Little pitchers have big ears, Don't stop to count the years, Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios. Mmm.... Sam Stone's welcome home Didn't last too long. He went to work when he'd spent his last dime And Sammy took to stealing When he got that empty feeling For a hundred dollar habit without overtime. And the gold rolled through his veins Like a thousand railroad trains, And eased his mind in the hours that he chose, While the kids ran around wearin' other peoples' clothes... Repeat Chorus: Sam Stone was alone When he popped his last balloon Climbing walls while sitting in a chair Well, he played his last request While the room smelled just like death With an overdose hovering in the air But life had lost its fun And there was nothing to be done But trade his house that he bought on the G. I. Bill For a flag draped casket on a local heroes' hill. Repeat Chorus
22.
Sailin' around, Sailin' around, Sailin' around, I've been out sailin' around again I've been sailin' around But I can't get back to you. Hangin' around, Hangin' around, Hangin' around I've been out hangin' around again I've been hangin' around But I can't get back to you. Chorus: So tell where you been so long (sailin' around) What have I done so wrong? (sailin' around) Well, I'm so glad I finally found you I can't wait to put my arms around you Sailin' around, but I can't get back to you Shoppin' around, Shoppin' around, Shoppin' around, I've been shoppin' around again I've been shoppin' around But I can't get back to you. Repeat Chorus: Sailin' around, Sailin' around, Sailin' around, I've been sailin' around again I've been sailin' around but I can't get back to you. I've been sailin' around but I can't get back to you. I've been sailin' around but I can't get back to you.
23.
I'm beginning to like you But, you know that ain't right 'Cause you'll just twist and twist and twist Till I'm all crooked inside Then you'll take all you gave me Like it never was there And I think that I might, No! I know Yes, I will help you there 'Cause ... Chorus I've done it before And I'd do it again 'Cause it's the only time That makes me feel like I'm My own best friend I'm a victim of friction I just got too close to see Yeah, we sparked in the dark and God hung a light on me And the lamp gets real heavy and it hangs from my heart And it comes, and it goes Till I can't tell the difference apart But ... Repeat Chorus So many people say It'll never work out that way You can't stand the heat While you're watching your heart Just melt away in the basement On a rainy day La la la La la la La lala Lalala la lalaaaaaaaaaa ... There's motel in Shreveport Don't ask me where, please They check in, they check out By the light of the color TV's And the maid calls you honey And she makes your bed slow And she speaks, of the sheets that don't fit But you know that she knows That ... Repeat Chorus
24.
She was a level-headed dancer on the road to alcohol And I was just a soldier on my way to Montreal Well she pressed her chest against me About the time the juke box broke Yeah, she gave me a peck on the back of the neck And these are the words she spoke Chorus: Blow up your TV throw away your paper Go to the country, build you a home Plant a little garden, eat a lot of peaches Try an find Jesus on your own Well, I sat there at the table and I acted real naive For I knew that topless lady had something up her sleeve Well, she danced around the bar room and she did the hoochy-coo Yeah she sang her song all night long, tellin' me what to do Repeat chorus: Well, I was young and hungry and about to leave that place When just as I was leavin', well she looked me in the face I said "You must know the answer." "She said, "No but I'll give it a try." And to this very day we've been livin' our way And here is the reason why We blew up our TV threw away our paper Went to the country, built us a home Had a lot of children, fed 'em on peaches They all found Jesus on their own

about

In this rare set, John plays some then-new material from German Afternoons, as well as classics like “Sam Stone,” Souvenirs,” “Far From Me” and “Donald and Lydia.”

Some people have been trying to sell unauthorized copies of this recording on the internet, please do not support this – you can get it from us for free! If you hear of new John Prine material being released, make sure it’s from Oh Boy Records, the label he helped create and now owns!

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released October 24, 2016

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John Prine Nashville

A two-time Grammy-winner, John Prine is among the English language’s premier phrase-turners. Almost 50 years into a remarkable career that has drawn praise from Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson, Bonnie Raitt, Roger Waters, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen & others. He is a 2019 Rock & Songwriter’s Hall of Fame inductee, a Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member and a PEN New England Lyrics Award. ... more

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