1. |
Daddy Was a Badass
03:58
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Daddy was a badass, oil field white trash, never took nobody’s lip
He was a honky tonk dancer and even beat cancer, 40 years smokin’ just quit
He had Korean pin-up black ink tattooed forearms from the war
He won a purple heart medal, but never heard him peddle, the killin’ he did with the Corps
So they shipped him on home, his mind all blown, and nightmares about his past
Well it’s a dang good thing, Mama met Daddy, cuz Daddy was a badass
He met Mama on the dance floor in deep East Texas, she was the bell of the ball
He had a oil baron’s son givin’ him a run for her hand in marriage to call
So he took the rich kid to the back of the bar, threatened him with his life
Said “hey little girl your date had to leave, now you’re gonna be my wife”
I guess his country charm turned her on cuz 50 years has past
He got the one and only girl, in the whole wide world, cuz Daddy was a badass
Well Daddy made it out of the drillin’ rig patch and gamblin’ paid for his school
The University of Texas sure got reckless, livin’ on 8 ball pool
He had back room all night poker games, a pistol by a rotary phone
He was a hot-tip handicapper on football, never took a student loan
So he passed with honors by sellin’ numbers to everybody in his class
Then he drove back home to ol’ East Texas....well, you know what he was
So they had us kids and he built us a house and he started his company
He made drillin’ bits for the oil rigs and made a truck-load of money
Hired all my uncles and the good ol’ boys from back in his rough neck days
‘Til his shop burned down lost everything he had and they went their separate ways
Well he flew to Vegas, he borrowed 5 grand and he put it on the red and black
He made 200 g’s, he got the business back
Daddy retired, sold the business the kids are grown and gone
He said woman I just can’t sit around here ya know I got to keep bringin’ it on
Climbed on his 1963 Pan Head Harley Davidson
And rode it wide open to the end of the world, off a cliff and into the sun
Well at his funeral, Mama was cryin’ sayin’ “that’s the way he should’ve passed
In a blaze of glory, just done with the world, cuz Daddy was a badass”
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2. |
Holy Ghost Rock N Roller
03:13
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Well back in them deep piney trees,
Where I was baptized in ‘73
At the full Gospel tabernacle
That’s where my chains came unshackled
Well they were speakin’ in tongues and handlin’ snakes
It really freaked me out, so I made a break
I wound up pickin’ on an old guitar
At the Devil’s Juke Joint Hillbilly Bar
Cuz I’m a Holy Ghost Rock n Roller
Spent my life lookin’ over my shoulder
Preachers all keep prayin’ for me
But the Devil’s music’s gonna set me free
Sunday mornin’ I’m so hungover
I’m a Holy Ghost Rock n Roller
Well them charismatic girls got a Holy appearance
But after church it was a Jezebel experience
They never cut their hair or put make up on
And the Cajun ones screamed “Tres Bon Tres Bon!”
So I started makin’ music for the secular party
I got a bookin’ agent named Davis McClarty
He booked me all over the great big world
Playin’ Holy Ghost music for screamin’ girls
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3. |
The Way We Are
02:53
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We blew our minds out the night before
On Mexican lettuce and cold Lone Star
Now we’re drivin’ to a gig too far
We can’t help the way that we are
Last night we sold out, we had it wired
Tonight we couldn’t get arrested if we set ourselves on fire
Still we’re pickin’ on these guitars
Brother we can’t help the way that we are
Can I sing to you, the truth about the blues
And the heartache that we all go through
It ain’t the ex-wife or the whiskey
Or the life of a gypsy
Just the toll on the souls of me and you
So now we’re up there on the stage
Just pickin’ for the wealthy and the minimum wage
And we’d do it for nothin’ or drinks from the bar
Cuz we can’t help the way that we are
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4. |
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In the summer drought of ‘31 it was hotter than hell
Even the Oauchita River was an Indian giver had a long dry spell
Well I was told to just keep on walkin’ don’t even look him in the eye
He was an old Well Witcher just a half drunk preacher, and he’d asked you to tithe
But he didn’t seem quite so crazy when Oauchita county dried up
And they all come around with their cups, just beggin’ my friend to fill up their tins again
They used to turn a blind eye, but now they got their hat in the their hands
Eatin’ crow and drinkin’ sand, eatin’ crow and drinkin’ sand
When he wasn’t preachin' or beggin’ he was walkin’ around
When his willow switch well it started to twitch he’d just stare at the ground
Crazy lookin’ at the ground
Daddy would yell through the screen door “are ya done with them chores?”
“Son, put that willow switch down before I use it on you ain’t gonna tell you no more...
...Ain't gonna say it no more!”
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5. |
Possum Ran Over My Grave
03:02
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I remember the night, he didn't show
So we shoved his ol’ 8-track in our truck radio
With a 6-pack of beer we cranked up our fate
Was like a possum ran over my grave
Couple years later he came back through town
Man that’s the night No-Show mowed us all down
And durin’ his encore we stood there amazed
Was like a possum ran over our graves
Now when it comes to music there ain’t but a few
That can raise the hair on you
Like the Star-Spangled Banner and Amazing Grace
Or the words to an old country tune
It’s the feelin’ you get when a George Jones song plays
It‘s like a possum ran over your grave
From the East Texas pines all over the world
It’s the saddest voice you’ll ever hear
Like a pain in your heart or a tear in your eye
And the words goin’ through your ears
Like the first time you heard “He Stopped Loving Her Today”
It‘s like a possum ran over your grave
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6. |
Take Out the Trash
03:00
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Just think of me when you take out the trash honey,
Take out the trash baby, that’s what ya did
Think of me when you take out the trash honey,
Take out the trash baby, that’s what ya did
I get no credit for the tryin’ I did baby,
Tryin’ I did baby, trying I did
I’ve been lookin’ for ya, since I was a kid honey,
Since I’s a kid baby, since I’s a kid
I get no mercy from the devil I serve honey,
Devil I serve baby, devil I serve
I had to push it ‘til I got what I deserve honey,
What I deserve baby, what I deserve
Nobody’s gonna rescue me, that only happens in the movies and magazines
And books about people that I’ve never met
So when you’re out at the garbage can, spare a thought for your long lost ex-old man
Cuz that’s about as close as I’m gonna get
You put a hurtin’ on me and left a mark
Ya left a mark baby, ya left a mark
So I took my bullets and I cried in the dark honey
Cried in the dark baby, cried in the dark
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7. |
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Sweet potatoes cookin’ in the kitchen on Sunday after church
She’s hummin’ along with the gospel station on the radio while she works
And through the house you can hear that voice to the front porch swing
You can hear her choke-up when the preacher mentions Martin Luther King
It was a beautiful thing, it was a beautiful thing
Well it seemed like she lived with us most of the time, but kept a place cross town
Daddy would pick her up in his big black Lincoln, all her neighbors they’d come out
She’d say “oh lord Mr. Robert Earl son, ya been so good to me” Daddy hug her neck say
“Whatever you need darlin’ you’re part of the family”
It was a beautiful thing, it was a beautiful thing
Well she’d walk me to school every mornin’ when I was a little boy
She'd hold my hand and we’d sing together “you are my sunshine and my joy”
I said “oh Mrs. Victoria, well, what can I say?”
That black old lady was my best friend made me who I am today
It was a beautiful thing, it was a beautiful thing
She was born in 1897 on Louisiana/Texas line
And she lived ‘til damn near 90-something not a sick day in her life
But when she passed, it hit us hard and we all felt the pain
Her funeral was black and white, but our tears were all the same
It was a beautiful thing, it was a beautiful thing
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8. |
3 Pecker Goat
03:11
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Drinkin’ rum out on the island in the Gulf of Mexico
Killin’ time up on the Poop Deck, waitin’ for a friend to show
Walked on over to the juke box, put a little pocket change in
Saw her dancin’ on the pool table, lookin’ like original sin
She said 7 magic words to me “do you like to fish at night?”
She said “the Reds are runnin’ off Bolivar, right before daylight”
I was standin’ in a state of shock thinkin’ oh my God she’s the one
She said “load’em up in the pick up truck, what’s the matter the cat got your tongue?”
Well my Mama’s good raisin’, and my Daddy’s education, Lord it all went out the window girl
Cuz you’re hotter than a 3 pecker goat
Wild as a March hare
Buckin’ like a mule kickin’ in my stall
Drinkin’ on a wild goose tear
Smooth as a fox in a hen house
With a new chinchilla coat
There ain’t nothin’ in the world where we come from
Hotter than a 3 pecker goat
In a big ol’ Buick convertible blue Texas northern in her hair
Drivin’ down the coast from her beach house, doin’ what I could not to stare
And after all the laughin’ and fishin’ and drinkin’ and carrying on that night
She said “drop me back at the Poop Deck son and I’ll see ya on down the line”
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9. |
Match Made in Heaven
03:13
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Oh a match made in Heaven, started a fire as hot as hell
A 3-alarm inferno, burnin’ into wedding bells
So douse us down with water, so we can rest a spell
Oh a match made in Heaven, started a fire as hot as hell
When we met sparks turned into wild fire
I don't think will ever be contained
Like a couple of kids playin‘ with matches
It's much too late our house is up in flames
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10. |
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We started in the mornin’ carried well into the night
Throwin’ dirty dishes with all of our might
Sad commentary on a marriage that has failed
I’m at home gettin’ hammered while she’s out gettin’ nailed
Police pulled into my trailer park
Domestic violence costs ya brother after dark
Well it’s late night with her boss and she’s trying to make a sale
I’m at home gettin’ hammered while she’s out gettin’ nailed
Hey I’m at home drinkin’ whiskey in my easy chair
Watchin’ Jerry Lawler pullin’ Andy Kaufman’s hair
I had a suspicion, so I opened up her mail
I’m at home gettin’ hammered while she's out gettin’ nailed
She used to bring me beer and love all over me
Right before I went on disability
My wiggler ain’t so straight I got whiskey dick
She don’t perk it up boys cuz her ankles got so thick
Well now the moral of this story is sad but true
I love to drink, she loves to screw
Hobo’s got a better life ridin’ on the rails
I’m at home gettin’ hammered while she’s out gettin’ nailed
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11. |
Never Started Livin'
04:06
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Lookin’ back on my wild years and all I put my folks through
I could’ve of turned out so much worse, so I sowed a wild oat or 2
I was the spittin’ image of my old man and I charmed the ladies like some fancy Dan
Still I never started livin’, ‘til I started lovin’ you
I walked into a whole lot of bars even crawled out of a few
Speedin’ tickets on an old shovel head that never ran worth a damn
I tried college and it bored me to tears I guess my collar was a little too blue
Still I never started livin’, ‘til I started lovin’ you
Crazy days I have known
All that ends in the bat of an eye when you give up livin’ on your own
Crazy ways are beatin’ me black and blue
I guess I never started livin’, ‘til I started lovin’ you
Rearrangin’ and changin’ my life from alone to bein’ with you
I'm walkin’ out on a whole lot of nothin’ just to have somethin’ true
Sheddin’ my skin and kissin’ goodbye a fool with nothin’ to do
Still I never started livin’, ‘til I started lovin’ you
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12. |
Big State Motel
04:17
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Woke up in Houston just feelin’ like hell
Room 117 at the Big State Motel
Cleanin’ lady barged in I was naked as a bird
Screamin’ Spanish and slammin’ doors was all I heard
11am check out must’ve been 3pm
Well my flat top Martin and a bottle of Beam really did me in
Open the door curse the sun and almost went blind
Grab my 5 dollar key deposit for cigarettes that night
And our lost souls go on and on
But it feels so wrong like we’re barely hangin’ on
Our lost souls they go on and on it don’t matter how
Lord, we’re just too damn far to turn back now
Lot of crazy people stayin’ at the Big State Motel
Lot of gear and loaded guns and nervous as hell
Stuck with my lower companions feelin’ like the King of Nothin’
In the mornin’ maybe I’ll get up and try to be somethin’
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Jesse Dayton Beaumont, Texas
Equally steeped in Texas/Louisiana blues, old-school country and punk-rock, East Texas native Jesse Dayton is the music world’s best-kept secret, hiding in plain sight as a guitarist for Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Ryan Bingham and L.A. punk pioneers X, as well as touring with Social Distortion, the Supersuckers and John Doe. ... more
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