At first mom and papa called their little boy Ned They raise him on the banks of the river bed A houseboat tied to a big tall tree a home for my papa and my mama and me The clock strikes three papa jumps to his feet Already mama's cookin' papa somethin' to eat At half past papa he's ready to go he jumps in his piro headed down the bayou He's got fishin' lines strung across the Louisiana River Gotta catch a big fish for us to eat Headin' crops in the swamp catchin' everythin' he can Gotta make a livin' he's a Louisiana man gotta make a livin' he's a Louisiana man Muskart hides a hangin' by the dozen even got a lady make a muskart's cousin Pile of hide drying in the hot hot sun tomorrow papa's gonna turn them into mon [ Steel ] Well they call mama Rita and my daddy Jack A little baby brother on the floor that's Mac Riz and Liz are the family twins big brother Ed's on the bayou fishin' On the river float papa's great big boat that's how my papa goes into town He takes every bit of the night and day Then ever reach the place where the people stay I can hardly wait till tomorrow comes around That's the day my papa takes his fure to town Papa promised me that I could go even let me see a cowboy show I saw the cowboys and Indians for the first time then I told my papa gotta go again Papa said son we got the lines to run we'll come back again there's work to be done He's got fishin' lines...

Well, at birth mom and papa called their little boy Ned He raised him on the banks of a river bed On a houseboat tied to a big tall tree A home for my papa and my mama and me The clock strikes three and papa jumps to his feet Already mama's cooking papa something to eat At half past, papa he's ready to go He jumps in his pirogue headed down the bayou He's got fishing lines strung across the Louisiana rivers Gotta catch a big fish for us to eat He's setting traps in the swamp, catching anything he can Gotta make a living, he's a Louisiana man Gotta make a living, he's a Louisiana man My Muskrat hides hanging by the dozens Even got a lady mink, a muskrat's cousin Got 'em out drying in the hot, hot sun Tomorrow papa's gonna turn 'em into money Well, they call mama Rita and my daddy Jack Little baby brother on the floor, that's Mack Bren and Lin are the family twins And big brother Eddie's on the bayou fishing On the river floats papa's great big boat And that's how my papa goes into town It takes him every bit of a night and a day To even reach a place where the people stay And I can hardly wait until tomorrow comes around That's the day my papa takes his furs to town Papa promised me that I could go He'd even let me see a cowboy show I saw the cowboys and Indians for the first time then I told my pop I've gotta go again Well, Papa said, "Son we've got lines to run We'll come back again but first there's work to be done" He's got fishing lines strung across the Louisiana rivers Gotta catch a big fish for us to eat He's setting traps, he's in the swamp He's catching anything he can Gotta make a living, he's a Louisiana man Gotta make a living, he's a Louisiana man Gotta make a living, he's a Louisiana man Gotta make a living, Louisiana man

I feel asleep last night On a roundabout A cloud of wings From the glass around you Light reflects The sun on your skin When you touch me Bullets in conversation On a crowded train Quietly violent When you touch me Planets in sweet collision Quietly violent I fell asleep last night On the underground The air there breaks With the light around you The darkness breaks Whenever you walk in When you touch me Planets in sweet collision When you touch me Bullets in conversation Quietly violent Quietly violent

Benjamin rode out of Montana On a Palomino pony Told me he was all alone He lost his family in forty-nine Benjamin took me to San Diego Guess we caused quite a commotion Sellin' Pacific Ocean water And callin' it seaweed wine Oh, I never had as good a friend as Benjamin He loved to travel He'd been ever' place I'd been and back again That boy could unravel Stories that would make your eyes Big as blackberry pies, I'm tellin' you Life could be fun for anyone Who had a good friend like Benjamin Had a good friend like Benjamin Well, me and Ben thumbed a ride to Alabama Spent the summer pickin' cotton Now, it was so doggone hot We bought us a three-speed electric fan Then at night we'd drink a Coca-Cola Listen to the rain a-fallin' Hearin' the bob white callin' As though he'd know we'd understand Oh, I never had as good a friend as Benjamin He loved to travel He'd been ever' place I'd been and back again That boy could unravel Stories that would make your eyes Big as blackberry pies, I'm tellin' you Life could be fun for anyone Who had a good friend like Benjamin Had a good friend like Benjamin Well, Ben and me spent some time in Oklahoma Livin' on a reservation Workin' at a service station Pumpin' gas, passin' time We caught a train down to Harlan County Thinkin' we were awful lucky Just to walk along a Kentucky backroad Without no reason nor rhyme Oh, I never had as good a friend as Benjamin He loved to travel He'd been ever' place I'd been and back again That boy could unravel Stories that would make your eyes Big as blackberry pies, I'm tellin' you Life could be fun for anyone Who had a good friend like Benjamin Had a good friend like Benjamin Had a good friend like Benjamin

Let me set the mood, set the situation Imagine that you're sittin' in the congregation Hey, he's talkin' 'bout Judgment Day If you listen real close, hear what he say You may run on for a long time Run on for a long time May run on for a long time But let me tell you God Almighty's gonna cut you down Go 'n' tell that long-term liar Go 'n' tell that midnight rider Tell the gambler, rambler, backbiter Tell him God Almighty gonna cut him down Great God Almighty, let me tell you my need Yes, my head's been wet with the midnight deed I been down on my bended knee Talkin' to the man from Galilee My God spoke, spoke so sweet I thought I heard the shufflin' of angel feet He put one hand on my head Great God Almighty let me tell you what he said You may run on for a long time Run on for a long time May run on for a long time Let me tell you God Almighty gonna cut you down You may throw the rock, hide your hand Workin' in the dark against your fellow man But sure as God made the day and night What you do in the dark will be brought to light You may run and hide, slip and slide Try to take the mote from your neighbor's eye But sure as the Lord made the rich and poor What you reap, my brother, is what you sow You may run on for a long time Run on for a long time Run on for a long time But let me tell you God Almighty gonna cut you down Some people go to church just to signify They try to make a date with their neighbor's wife But let me tell you, brother, just as sure as your born Better leave that woman, better leave her alone One of these days just mark my words You think that your brother's gone off to work You'll walk up and knock on the door That's all, brother, there ain't no more (Swing low, sweet chariot) You may run on for a long time Run on for a long time May run on for a long time But let me tell you God Almighty gonna cut you down Go 'n' tell that midnight rider Go 'n' tell that long-term liar Tell the rambler, gambler, backbiter Tell him God Almighty gonna cut him down Amen

I'm tired of spinning my wheels I need to find a place where my heart can go to heal I need to get there pretty quick Hey mister what you got out on that lot you can sell me in a pinch Maybe one of them souped up muscle cars The kind that makes you think you're stronger than you are Color don't matter no I don't need leather seats All that really concerns me is Speeeeed How fast will it go Can it get me Over her quickly Zero to sixty Can it outrun her memory Yeah, what I really need Is an open road And a whole lot of speed I'd like to trade in this old truck Cause it makes me think of her and that just slows me up See, it's the first place we made love where we used to sit and talk On the tailgate all night long but now she's gone And I need to move on So give me Speeeeed How fast will it go Can it get me Over her quickly Zero to sixty Can it outrun her memory Yeah, what I really need Is an open road And a whole lot of speed Throw me them keys so I can put some miles between us Tear off that rearview mirror there's nothing left to see here Let me lean on that gas Oh she catches up fast So give me Speeeeed How fast will it go Can it get me Over her quickly Zero to sixty Can it outrun her memory Yeah, what I really need Is an open road And a whole lot of speed That's what I need I'm tired of spinning my wheels... I'm tired of spinning my wheeeeeeels!

This ain't no temporary, typical Tearful goodbye, uh-uh-uh This ain't no breakin' up, then wakin' up And makin' up one more time, uh-uh-uh This is gone (gone), gone (gone) Gone (gone), gone Gone like a freight train, gone like yesterday Gone like a soldier in the Civil War, bang-bang Gone like a '59 Cadillac Like all the good things, that ain't never comin' back She's gone (gone), gone (gone) Gone (gone), gone, she's gone This ain't no give it time I'm hurtin' but maybe we can work it out, uh-uh-uh Won't be no champagne Red rose, romance, second chance, uh-uh-uh This is gone (gone), gone (gone) Gone (gone), gone Gone like a freight train, gone like yesterday Gone like a soldier in the Civil War, bang-bang Gone like a '59 Cadillac Like all the good things, that ain't never comin' back She's gone (gone), gone (gone) Gone (gone), gone She's gone This is gone (gone), gone (gone) Gone (gone), gone Gone like a freight train, gone like yesterday Gone like a soldier in the Civil War, bang-bang Gone like a '59 Cadillac Like all the good things, that ain't never comin' back She's gone (gone), she's gone (gone) She's gone (gone), she's gone, yeah She's gone Gone like a freight train, gone like yesterday Gone like a soldier in the Civil War, bang-bang Gone like a '59 Cadillac Like all the good things, but she's gone Long gone, don't be wrong Never comin' back, my baby's gone (she's gone) Wanna get home, sittin' alone So pack your bags, and now she's gone Never comin' back, she's gone No, no, never, no, no, never No, no, never, no, no never comin' back No, no, never, no, no never comin' back