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Live On Tour

by John Prine

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released April 8, 1997

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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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Track Name: Picture Show
A young man from a small town
With a very large imagination
Lay alone in his room with his radio on
Looking for another station
When the static from the mouthpiece
Gave way to the sound below
James Dean went out to Hollywood
And put his picture in a Picture Show.
James Dean went out to Hollywood
And put his picture in a Picture Show.

And It's Oh Daddy get off of your knees
Mamma why'd you have to go
Your darling Jim is out a limb
I put my picture in a Picture Show
Whoa Ho! Put my picture in a Picture Show

Hamburgers Cheeseburgers
Wilbur and Orville Wright
John Garfield in the afternoon
Montgomery Clift at night
When the static hit the mouthpiece
Gave way to the sound below
James Dean went out to Hollywood
And put his picture in a Picture Show.

(Repeat Chorus)

A Mocca man in a wigwam sitting on a Reservation.
With a big black hole in the belly of his soul
Waiting on an explanation
While the white man sits on his fat can
And takes pictures of the Navajo
Every time he clicks his Kodak pics
He steals a little bit of soul.
Every time he clicks his Kodak pics
He steals a little bit of soul.

(Repeat Chorus)

Yie Hi! Put my picture in a Picture Show
Here we go! A young man from a small town
With a very large imagination...
Track Name: Quit Hollerin' at Me
I don't want your big French Fry
I don't want your car
I don't want to buy no soap
From no washed-up movie star
You are so much louder
Than the show I wanna hear
With your sugarless gum
Gee, but I'm dumb
Non-alcoholic beer
It's enough to make a grown man
Blow up his own TV
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me

I heard you the first time
I heard myself say
Seems like the little woman
Is getting bigger every day
You don't have to tell the neighbors
A little silence ain't no sin
They already think my name is
Where in the hell you been?
Louder, louder, louder, louder, louder
Constantly
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me
Whoa oh whoa oh
Sweet Serenity
Whoa oh whoa oh
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me

Ain't it great at the end of the day
When there ain't no sound around
Just me and the fence post
Staring each other down
Nothing but a big bunch of nothing
Driving me insane
Cause there ain't no voice that's louder
Than the one inside my brain
Hey you go on
Go on and let me be Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me
Whoa oh whoa oh
Sweet Serenity
Whoa oh whoa oh
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me
Quit hollerin' at me
Track Name: You Got Gold
Is there ever enough space between us
To keep us both honest and true?
Why is it so hard just to sit in the yard
And stare at the sky so blue?
I've got a new way of walking and a new way of talking Honey when I'm around you,
But it gives me the blues when I've got some good news And you're not there to bring it to.

Life is a blessing, it's a delicatessen
Of all the little favors you do.
All wrapped up together no matter the weather,
Baby you always come through.
It's a measure of treasure that gives me the pleasure
Of loving you the way I do
And you know I would gladly say I need your love badly And bring these little things to you.


Cause you got gold
Gold inside of you
You got gold
Gold inside of you
Well I got some
Gold inside me too

Well I'm thinking I'm knowing that I gotta be going
You know I hate to say so long.
It gives me an ocean of mixed up emotion
I'll have to work it out in a song.
Well I'm leaving a lot for the little I got
But you know a lot a little will do
And if you give me your love I'll let it shine up above
And light my way back home to you.

(Repeat Chorus)

You got wheels
Turning inside of you
You got wheels
Turning inside of you Well I got wheels
Turning inside me too.
Track Name: Unwed Fathers
In an Appalachian, Greyhound station
She sits there waiting, in a family way
"Goodbye brother, Tell Mom I love her
Tell all the others, I'll write someday"

From an teenage lover, to an unwed mother
Kept undercover, like some bad dream
While unwed fathers, they can't be bothered
They run like water, through a mountain stream

In a cold and gray town, a nurse say's "Lay down" '
This ain't no playground, and this ain't home'
Someone's children, out having children
In a gray stone building, all alone

On somewhere else bound, Smokey Mountain Greyhound She bows her head down, hummin' lullabies '
Your daddy never, meant to hurt you ever'
'He just don't live here, but you've got his eyes'

(Repeat Chorus)

Well, they run like water,
Through a mountain stream
Track Name: Space Monkey
Space Monkey, Space Monkey
What you doing out there?
Why it's dark as a dungeon way up in the air

Come gather round me you little monkeys and a story I'll tell
About a brave young primate, outer space knew him well
He was born at the top of a big old tree
Way back in 1953.

He could swing through the jungle and hang by his toes
Till they took him to Russia cause they could I suppose
They dressed him up in a spacesuit and it started to snow
Shot him off in a rocket where no man would go

Space Monkey Space Monkey
What you doing out there?
Why it's dark as a dungeon way up in the air
There'll be no one to greet you when you get back home
No hammer or sickle you'll be on your own.

He had plenty of Cuban bananas and loads of Spam
But he found great difficulty trying to open the can
One day he slipped on a banana peel and the ship lost control
It spun out of orbit and shot o]ut the black hole

It's been four decades now, that's nine monkey years
That's a long time for a Space Monkey to confront all his fears

Space Monkey Space Monkey
What you doing out there?
Why it's dark as a dungeon way up in the air
There'll be no one to greet you when you get back home
No hammer or sickle you'll be all on your own.

Space Monkey, Space Monkey
It's time to get real
The space race is over, how does it feel
Cold War's had a heatwave, Iron Curtain's torn down
They've rolled up the carpet in Space Monkey town

Now Leningrad is Petersburg and Petersburg's hell
For a card-carrying monkey with a story to tell
The Space Monkey was reportedly last sighted about
A half a block off of Red Square
In a karaoke bar having a few drinks with some of his friends
There was the dog that flew Sputnik
And a blind red-headed, one legged parrot
Who had done some minor research for Dow Chemical
They were drinking American Vodka
Imported all the way from Paducah, Kentucky
And reportedly had their arms around each other's
Shoulders singing.
"Those were the days, my friend, we thought they'd never end"

Space Monkey, Space Monkey
There's nothing to do
But it's better than living in a Communist zoo
There'll be no one to greet you when you get back home
No hammer or sickle you'll be all on you own
Track Name: The Late John Garfield Blues
Black faces pressed against the glass
Where rain has pressed it's weight
Wind blown scarves in top down cars
All share one western trait
Sadness leaks through tear-stained cheeks
From winos to dime-store Jews
Probably don't know they give me
These late John Garfield blues

Midnight fell on Franklin Street
And the lamppost bulbs were broke
For the life of me, I could not see
But I heard a brand new joke
Two men were standing upon a bridge
One jumped and screamed you lose
And just left the odd man holding
Those late John Garfield blues

An old man sleeps with his conscience at night
Young kids sleep with their dreams
While the mentally ill sit perfectly still
And live through life's in-betweens

I'm going away to the last resort
In week or two real soon
Where the fish don't bite but once a night
By the cold light of the moon
The horses scream- the nightmares dream
And the dead men all wear shoes
'Cause everybody's dancin'
Those late John Garfield blues
Track Name: Storm Windows
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

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
Track Name: Jesus, The Missing Years
(Spoken)
Jesus.... the missing years
It was raining. It was cold
West Bethlehem was no place for a twelve year old
So he packed his bags and he headed out
To find out what the world's about
He went to France. He went to Spain
He found love. He found pain.
He found stores so he started to shop
But he had no money so he got in trouble with a cop
Kids in trouble with the cops
From Israel didn't have no home
So he cut his hair and moved to Rome
It was there he met his Irish bride
And they rented a flat on the lower east side of Rome... Italy that is
Music publishers, book binders, Bible belters, Money Changers,
Spoon Benders and lots of pretty Italian chicks.

Charley bought some popcorn
Billy bought a car
Someone almost bought the farm
But they didn't go that far
Things shut down at midnight
At least around here they do
Cause we all reside down the block
Inside at ....23 Skidoo.

Wine was flowing so were beers
So Jesus found his missing years
So He went to a dance and said "This don't move me"
He hiked up his pants and he went to a movie
On his thirteenth birthday he saw "Rebel without a Cause"
He went straight on home and invented Santa Claus
Who gave him a gift and he responded in kind
He gave the gift of love and went out of his mind
You see him and the wife wasn't getting along
So he took out his guitar and he wrote a song
Called "The Dove of Love Fell Off the Perch"
But he couldn't get divorced in the Catholic Church At least not back then anyhow
Jesus was a good guy he didn't need this shit
So he took a pill with a bag of peanuts and
A Coca-Cola and he swallowed it.
He discovered the Beatles
And he recorded with the Stones
Once He even opened up a three-way package
In Southern California for old George Jones

(Repeat Chorus)

The years went by like sweet little days
With babies crying pork chops and beaujolais
When he woke up he was seventeen
The world was angry. The world was mean.
Why the man down the street and the kid on the stoop All agreed that life stank. All the world smelled like poop Baby poop that is ..the worst kind
So he grew his hair long and threw away his comb
And headed back to Jerusalem to find Mom, Dad and home
But when he got there the cupboard was bare
Except for an old black man with a fishing rod
He said "Whatcha gonna be when you grow up?"
Jesus said "God"
Oh my God, what have I gotten myself into?
I'm a human corkscrew and all my wine is blood
They're gonna kill me Mama. They don't like me Bud.
So Jesus went to Heaven and he went there awful quick All them people killed him and he wasn't even sick
So come and gather around me my contemporary peers And I'll tell you all the story of Jesus...The Missing Years
We all reside down the block
Inside at ....23 Skidoo.
Track Name: Humidity Built the Snowman
Does he still think about her
Why there was never really any doubt
Every time he lights a candle
Or blows a candle out
The scientific nature of the ordinary man
Is to go on out and do the best you can

I don't think that you know
That I think you don't know
That old barometer goes crazy baby
Every time it starts to snow
You won't find me walking
Round your part of town
Humidity built the snowman
Sunshine brought him down

This world is full of people
They never seem to fall
Somebody said they seen you
You hadn't changed at all
The fundamental story
Of the contemporary man
Is to walk away and someday understand

I don't think that you know
That I think you don't know
That old barometer goes crazy baby
Every time it starts to snow
You won't find me walking
Round your part of town
Humidity built the snowman
Sunshine brought him down

The scientific nature of the ordinary man
Is to go on out and do the best you can

I don't think that you know
That I think you don't know
That old barometer goes crazy baby
Every time it starts to snow
You won't find me walking
Round your part of town

Humidity built the snowman
Sunshine brought him down
Humidity built the snowman
Sunshine brought him down
Brought him down
Track Name: Illegal Smile
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

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
Track Name: Daddy's Little Pumkin
You must be daddy's little pumpkin
I can tell by the way you roll
You must be daddy's little pumpkin
I can tell by the way you roll
Why it's quarter past eleven
And you're sleeping on the bedroom floor

I can see the fire burning
Burning right behind your eyes
I can see the fire burning
Burning right behind your eyes
You must of swallowed a candle
Or some other kind of surprise

I'm going down to Memphis
I got three hundred dollars in cash
I'm going down to Memphis
I got three hundred dollars in cash
All the women in Memphis
Want to see how long my money will last

I'm going downtown
I'm gonna to rattle somebody's cage
I'm going downtown
I'm gonna rattle somebody's cage
I'm gonna beat on my guitar
And strut all around the stage

If you see my baby coming
Don't tell her that her daddy's in jail
If you see my baby coming
Don't you tell her that her daddy's in jail
She'd sell her little pumpkin just to raise
Her sweet daddy's bail

You must be daddy's little pumpkin
I can tell by the way you roll
You must be daddy's little pumpkin
I can tell by the way you roll
You never do nothing
To save your doggone soul.
Track Name: Lake Marie
We were standing
Standing by peaceful waters
Standing by peaceful waters
Whoa Wah Oh Wha Oh
Whoa Wah Oh Wha Oh

Many years ago along the Illinois-Wisconsin Border
There was this Indian tribe
They found two babies in the woods
White babies
One of them was named Elizabeth
She was the fairer of the two
While the smaller and more fragile one was named Marie Having never seen white girls before
And living on the two lakes known as the Twin Lakes They named the larger and more beautiful Lake, Lake Elizabeth
And thus the smaller lake that was hidden from the highway
Became known forever as Lake Marie

(Repeat Chorus)

Many years later I found myself talking to this girl
Who was standing there with her back turned to Lake Marie
The wind was blowing especially through her hair
There was four Italian sausages cooking on the outdoor grill
And Man, they was ssssssssizzlin'
Many years later we found ourselves in Canada
Trying to save our marriage and perhaps catch a few fish Whatever seemed easier
That night she fell asleep in my arms
Humming the tune to 'Louie Louie'
Aah baby, We gotta go now.

(Repeat Chorus)

The dogs were barking as the cars were parking
The loan sharks were sharking the narcs were narcing Practically everyone was there
In the parking lot by the forest preserve
The police had found two bodies
Nay, naked bodies
Their faces had been horribly disfigured by some sharp object
Saw it on the news
On the TV news
In a black and white video
You know what blood looks like in a black and white video?
Shadows, Shadows that's exactly what it looks like
All the love we shared between her and me was slammed Slammed up against the banks of Old Lake Marie, Marie

We were standing
Standing by peaceful waters
Standing by peaceful waters
Whoa Wah Oh Wha Oh
Whoa Wah Oh Wha Oh
Whoa Wah Oh Wha Oh
Whoa Wah Oh Wha Oh
Standing by peaceful waters
Peaceful waters
Standing by peaceful waters
Peaceful waters
Standing by peaceful waters
Peaceful waters
Standing by peaceful waters
Peaceful waters
Ahh baby, we gotta go now
Track Name: If I Could
If I could make my living going fishing
Then I would make my living with a line and pole
Put food on the table pay the money to the landlord
Buy some working clothes
Cause I ain't making money going fishing
Like I'm paid at the factory
If I could pay all these bills with my guitar
Then I would pay these bills with some rock and roll
Put food on the table pay the money to the landlord
Buy some working clothes
Cause I ain't making money playing guitar
Like I'm paid at the factory

Now if I could (if I could)
Then I would (then I would)
Make money doing something that I love
I'd thank my lucky stars above
If I could just get by loving you dear
Then I would just get by making love to you
Put food on the table pay the money to the landlord
Buy some working clothes
Cause I ain't making money making love
Like I'm paid at the factory

(Repeat Chorus)

If I could make my living going fishing
Then I would make my living with a line and pole
Put food on the table pay the money to the landlord
Buy some working clothes
Cause I ain't making money going fishing
Like I'm paid at the factory

(Repeat Chorus)

If I could just get by loving you dear
Then I would just get by making love to you
Put food on the table pay the money to the landlord
Buy some working clothes
Cause I ain't making money making love
Like I'm paid at the factory
Put food on the table pay the money to the landlord
Buy some working clothes
Cause I ain't making money making love
Like I'm paid at the factory
Put food on the table pay the money to the landlord
Buy some working clothes
Cause I ain't making money making love
Like I'm paid at the factory
Track Name: Stick a Needle in My Eye
I'm awfully tired of the same old business
Kiss the babies, make 'em cry
I'm only lookin' for one good woman
Cross my heart and hope to die
Stick a needle in my eye, eye, eye

Got a load of mashed potatoes
Holdin' gravy like a fishin' hole
I know something that might sound funny
I got no money and my buddy's broke
I got no money and my buddy's broke

Counterculture, mother vulture
Post Toasties and a quart of beer
I'm only looking for a place to go to
Somebody ask me what I'm doin' here?
Somebody ask me what I'm doin' here?

A boneless breast and a crispy thigh
Sittin' at the bar n' giving me the eye
Black crows on a garbage can
What kind of fella do you think I am?
Stick a needle in my eye, eye, eye

I'm fallin' in with bad companions
My mind is weak and my throat is dry
Thanksgiving in the Grand Canyon
Can't keep my fingers off that country pie

I'm awfully tired of the same old business
Kiss the babies, make 'em cry
I'm only lookin' for one good woman
Cross my heart and hope to die
Stick a needle in my eye, eye, eye
Stick a needle in my eye, eye, eye
Track Name: You Mean So Much to Me
A girl meets a guy
A car passes by
The moon shines down on a tree
A kid in the park
Should have been home by dark
You mean so much to me
The snow on the ground
A merry-go_round
A sight that was somethin' to see
Some cigarette smoke
Some laughter a joke
You mean so much to me
It seems to be
Like heaven to me
With you at the end of the day
Here's looking at you
Here's looking at me
Dancing with history
That old crocodile
Got a satisfied smile
His life is no big mystery
A postcard you wrote
A musical note
You mean so much to me
Here's looking at you
Here's looking at you
Here's looking at me
Dancing with history
It seems to be
Like heaven to me

With you at the end of the day
A girl meets a guy
A car passes by
The moon shines down on a tree
I'm thinking of you
So what else is new
You mean so much to me
You mean so much to me

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