All language subtitles for Heartworn.Highways 1976

Pack up all your dishes

make note of all good wishes

and say goodbye
to the landlord for me

son of a bitch
has always bored me

throw out them
L.A. papers and that

moldy box of vanilla wafers

adios to all this concrete

gonna get me some
dirt road back streets

[h can just get off
of this L.A. freeway

without gettin' killed or caught

I'll be down the road
in a cloud of smoke

to some land I ain't
bought, bought, bought

and this here's to you
old skinny Dennis

only one I think I will miss

I can hear that old bass singin'

sweet and low
like a gift you're bringin'

play it for me one more time now

got to give it all we can now

I believe everything
you're sayin'

just you keep on,
keep on playin'

[H can just get off
of this L.A. freeway

without gettin' killed or caught

I'll be down the road
in a cloud of smoke

to some land I ain't
bought, bought, bought

[h can just get off
of this L.A. freeway

without gettin' killed or caught

I'll be down the road
in a cloud of smoke

to some land I ain't bought

Yeah.

Little loose.

Give me something for level
as soon as you get ready.

All right.

Seems like... seems like
the tempo before.

Yeah.

I'm gonna be doin' it in a.

Why don't you run it down?

We can overdub some harp.

That's what the studio's for.

Bunch of opportunities
to get ridiculous.

Which one of them?

Don't know..

See what Brent's got.

See what Brent's got.

Well...

Y'all ready to pick, boys?

- Yeah.
- Ready.

Let's see what I've got.

Larry, what's the song title?

- “Ohoopee river bottomland."
- All right.

Uh, sometimes my tunes

bear a little explanation.

So, uh, but there's enough
on the front for a-

you think there are some people

that don't know where
the ohoopee river is?

There might be a few.

I wonder if there's
anybody in the world

who doesn't know where
the ohoopee river is.

You can jump across it.

Hello, Larry.

It's a Georgia gator hole.

Check the tune on guitars.

That one.

Sounds like an a.

Okay, that sounds good.

It's really just
a three-pattern, this, uh...

Okay, what's your intro,
11-11,11-11?

Yeah, yup, 11-11, let's see.

No, the intro's gonna be

five,

five, four.

Eleven.

I don't know, I think we really
ought to wing it along once.

Run it down,
and see what we've got.

Let's do... your tasties are tasty anyway.

Do somethin' with that.

Mm-hmm

it's about a little river
in South Georgia

where my family's been for

couple hundred years makin'

generations and
sippin' whiskey, I guess.

Yeah, now we'll do
the four-five twice

out of the five-four here.

Met a few people
that's friends of mine

mostly Utah's been unkind

salt lake city can do without me

there's some folks in Georgia
that care a little 'bout me

I'm leaving for home
as soon as I can, lord,

to the ohoopee river bottomland

down to a five.

Back to the one.

Five.

Now I want you to vamp out
here at the end of one.

We'd have to really
count that up,

but yeah, that's fine,
somethin' like...

Can you put me down
in the phones a little bit?

Same here.

On bass.

Being a group thing,
if you have any licks to...

But I'm not a maker of licks.

The song's not...
It's not a lick song anyway.

It's a groove.

There's a groove,
and it got a little better,

it's like hittin' first,
second, third, fourth gear.

Bass kicks in with
a full lick instead of a, uh,

one every four.

Then, when you jump in,
and then when

the drum does second and third,

and you can become high gear.

If you want, yeah.

- Y'all wanna run one?
- Sure!

This is the hooker right here.

One, two,
one, two, three, four...

Mm-hmm

Mm-hmm

this low-rent land
has turned to sand

and I done stood
'bout all I can, I'm ieavin'

I'm ieavin'

that one really hurts me, uh.

Okay, less guitar,
hold on a second.

- Hey, that was cookin' though.
- It was good.

I think that's where
the groove belongs.

We still rollin'?

Yeah, we can, uh,
hold on one second.

We're adjusting
a few mics around here.

Okay.

Hey, would you
teach me that later?

- It's a lightning lick groove.
- I know it!

Oh, something wrong

somethin' wrong, lightning

I know it just can't be
all them good things I done

That's all right,
I want you to remember

I'm my mama's seventh son

Get the ionesomest sound, yeah.

- As a matter of fact...
- Good lonesome campfire type.

Yeah, yeah, 'cause he's
on a highway by himself

tryin' to get 2,800 miles.

Okay, okay in the studio, can...

Is it possible to, uh,

just give me a little
bit more echo, send...

- Mm-hmm.
- The last verse?

Make it sound a little
further away?

- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- All right.

- Okay.
- That's good.

Y'all say when now.

Yeah, go ahead
and roll it, Brent.

- All right, sit tight.
- That sounds good...

One, two,
one, two, three, four...

Mm-hmm

this low-rent land
has turned to sand

and I done stood
'bout all I can, I'm ieavin'

I'm ieavin'

papa, he said "good luck, son

try to remember there's
always one you can turn to

when you need to

mama, fix the boy
some ham and hoe cakes

and dry your eyes
'cause you knew one day

he'd make his own way

quick as he can, lord

from the ohoopee river
bottomland

mm-hmm

farmhouse ieanin'
and the barn is rottin'

and my back is bent
from choppin' cotton in macon

I'm achin'

box and pine and croppin'
tobacco with a wore out mule

and the no count
tractor quit now

this is it, man

land has brought me
pain and sorrow

trailway's comin'
through tomorrow, I'm ieavin'

from here as soon as I can, lord

from the ohoopee river
bottomland

Two years gone been on my own

my belly told me
the money's gone in Reno

Reno

bright, rich town
with the city sound

everybody tellin' me to
lay your money down, boy

get your bet down, boy

them that's got
is them that's gettin'

and them that wins
is them that's bettin'

I'm ieavin',
a little closer to home

if! Can, lord

back toward the ohoopee
river bottomland

mm-hmm

mm-hmm

a hot dry highway, Utah byways

a semi stopped
and he's headin' my way

thank you

oh, thank you.

Driver said
"son, I just had to ask

did you find yourself
a greener pasture?"

No, sir

I said no, sir.

Met a few people
that's friends of mine

most of Utah's been unkind

salt lake city can do without me

there's some folks in Georgia
that care a little 'bout me

I'm ieavin'

for home as soon as I can, lord

to the ohoopee river bottomland

To the ohoopee river bottomland

The ohoopee river bottomland

mm-hmm

Oh, hell yeah.

Breaker, how 'bout a westbound,
you got eastbound iookin'.

He said he ain't never seen
nobody come by here that slow.

The nine seven marker now
in a brown wrapper.

Breaker 1-9.

Yeah, go ahead breaker.

Yeah, this is
the rhinestone cowboy.

I'm iookin' for a front door.

I'm eastbound on this 40.

I'm up here by this
old chicken Coop

going to Nashville, Tennessee.

Can I get me a front door
up there somewhere?

10-4, David, this is the 1mm,

the Travis Lee,
out of the music city.

You got a clean bill of health
all the way home, David.

Okay, I sure appreciate it,
we're tryin' to get in up there.

We gotta go play at
the Tennessee state prison,

and, uh, I was supposed
to be there at 3:00,

so I wanna try to
hook it on up there.

10-4, rhinestone,
you're iookin' good.

Shake it on, baby.

I had some people in here
from New York the other day,

two boys.

He had his guitar in hock,

and I went up there
and got it out

so he'd come here
and play music.

And so far,
we got him a job and stuff,

got him goin', and he's,

he's doin' pretty good now
in the roofin' business,

but he wanted to be
in the music business,

but he's not.

'Course people is iookin'

for progress everyday,

but I believe that
the old-time flavor

has really come out of your
country music, and so on,

by movin' that show
into a modern house

because in the old grand ole
opry buildin' up here,

it was so countrified in there.

You know, kinda like
us old folks is.

We like to remember
what we grewed up with.

And the grand ole opry
is growed up,

was in itself, it growed up
to be a country music place.

Now they've got out there
and got modern,

and it just don't seem
right to me to see 'em

on their Saturday night...
Saturday evenin' TV show.

It don't seem like
the music's as good to me

at their new place.

I'd go up there,
and them stars would just

come out in the back,

run in there and get 'em a beer,

get 'em whatever they wanted

before they had
to go back on the air,

and, uh,

they are kinda home folks.

Now it kinda seems like
they a little bit snobbish.

The ones that
I know now seems like they

a little bit snobbish.

They get to fightin'
over the swimmin' pool.

They get to fightin' each other,

and all that kinda stuff.

They didn't used to have that

whenever they had
the old opry house.

It's like Roy acuff,

all he has now
to live on is a name.

That's all he has to live on.

These fellas here's comin' up,

and they are givin'...

Well, somethin' like
my grandchildren

that's comin' up in this world.

They are givin' my grandchildren

somethin' like we look
back to Roy acuff for.

We look back to him,
and like we look to Johnny cash,

and so on, forth.

To my opinion,
Johnny cash is, uh,

he's run outta his...

He's done shot his wad.

I believe that Johnny cash
has done already shot his wad.

I'd like to introduce myself.

I'm, uh... excuse me...
I'm townes Van zandt,

and this is my
dog Geraldine here.

Geraldine, come here, Geraldine.

Good dog!

Back out here in the light.

Good dog.

No, don't take her off.

Sure.

Danny.

Okay.

Now this is my girlfriend,
Cindy, here.

Smile at the camera.

Okay, now,

we're gonna first walk around

to the backyard.

- Would you like a drink?
- No, thank you.

I'll have one.

- Would you hold the gun?
- No.

Don't ever aim a gun
at a caged animal.

Don't ever aim
a gun at a caged animal.

Okay, now.

That dog was hurt
and run over by a car.

Hi, Zack, you want me
to throw a rock for ya?

Let's, uh,

come on around here to the back.

This is a... this is
one of the first oaks

ever born on this whole lot.

It's 42 feet up to there.

I got an intercom up there.

I can order Cindy around
'till she unplugs me.

- Goddammit, townes.
- Which is about...

It don't take too long, usually.

Townes, you just missed
a good shot

with the dog iookin'
right at the chickens, man.

The black dog.

- Oh, that big black dog?
- Well, he ran off by now,

but he was sittin'
right there iookin' at 'em.

- That big, black dog?
- Yeah.

Man, I'm gonna...

Aw, little Smith
and little Wesson.

Say hello to the folks, Smith.

These are actually, uh,

champion white buf chickens,

white buf, b-u-f, like buffalo.

This was a opossum
was tryin' to get him,

but, uh, that's all we got left.

The old dog got him,
just came up there,

and just kinda nipped
him right off there.

It was either that
or a midget, hungry midget.

I've raised these rabbits
for about three years now,

I've, like, uh,

made my motto
"the bigger the bunnier.“

it's pretty funny,
but I'll tell ya what's funnier,

the better.

See, the bigger the better.

Right? And, uh,

I want y'all to
follow me over here,

and I'm gonna show you
one of these holes.

I call 'em...

Holes.

Some people call 'em Burrows.

They're just
the entrance to Burrows.

Follow me over here,
it's not very far.

Here's one.

I'm talkin' 'bout
some big rabbits.

Are you hip?

They're, like, as big as a pig,
easy as big as a pig.

This is their latest one.

They drink some.

Come over here
and look at this one.

We had to close this one up

'cause of the state,
the state said close it up.

I don't blame 'em, really,
gettin' too, uh...

Now, see, I'm serious.

They started burrowin'
under here, and, uh...

Get this off me.

Get this off me!

Somethin's got my leg!

It's got my leg!

Then I also played with
the gully jumpers,

Paul warmack
and his gully jumpers.

That's been back,

oh, around '37 and '38.

That's been, oh, many moons ago,

but I, but I played with 'em.

It's been years ago.

Then I also played
with old uncle Dave

from 193...

1937 until 1941.

And, uh,

we recorded, uncle Dave and I,

for Columbia records.

We had to go to
Charlotte, north Carolina

from Nashville.

We had quite a time, you know.

We gettin' up there...
Uncle Dave, you know,

he'd want his
toddy time, you know.

He carried the little leash,
you know,

where he carried his pine in,

and I recall
that's the first time

that I ever rode
a Pullman train, you know,

where I had a berth to sleep in.

Why, I felt like I was in

some kind of a big kingdom,
or something, you know,

because I lived in
a low-rent housing project.

What'd you do whenever uncle
Dave had to have his little

- toddy time, what'd you do?
- Oh, he said toddy time,

we all had toddy time,

and I recall
two very distinctly.

You know, if he give you
a drink out of his bottle

before toddy time,

why he'd expect you
the next day to repay that.

And you had to give him your

toddy time drink, you know,

'cause he didn't wanna
be beat out of anything.

- We had better.
- I was gonna say, I don't know.

Then I'll have you castrated.

You, you, you put some of that...

Yeah, that's enough.

- New year's Eve's blues.
- This whore here

isn't worth a damn, is it?

I tell you what we're gonna
do here, if you don't care.

Let's do them “doctor blues“

on new year's day because hey,
you know something?

We both of us
need a doctor today.

Both of us need one!

What is that,
them "doctor blues"?

This is a lovely
little song entitled

"I'd rather be
sunburned on my vacation

than vaccinated on my weekend."

- Now, what did you say?
- I said the “doctor blues."

"The doctor's blues,"
that's it, well, here we go!

Now get up on this table

pull off that gown

raise up that right leg,
let the left one down

pull off them stockin's,
the silk underwear

the doctor's gonna cut
your mama lord knows where

say, doc, what did
you take outta me?

I feel mighty bad

you lay real still
and I'll tell ya just a minute

now here's what
the doctor took out of you

four monkey wrenches

two horseshoes

pair of old britches
and a bale of hay

your ribs were kinda loose, son.

They moved about.

If I hadn't sewed you up
everything would fell out

so iput in new tubes

tied up exhaust

And that old-time feelin'

comes and goes in the rain

like an old man
with his checkers

dyin' to find a game

that old-time feelin '

plays for beer in bars

like an old-time blues picker

who don't recall who you are

And that old-time feelin'

limps through
the night on a crutch

like an old soldier wondering

if he's paid too much

that old-time feelin '

rocks, and spits, and cries

like an old lover rememberin'

the girl with
the clear blue eyes

Let's do that break over again.

And that old-time feelin'

goes sneakin' down the hall

like an old gray cat in winter

keepin' close to the wall

Ain't that good?

Yeah.

Give you some money,
and then give you

money rod finally
to find the money.

Where's the money?

Well, I'm fixin' to interview
uncle Seymour Washington,

Seymour Washington
from Austin, Texas.

Unc, you had a birthday
lately, right?

- Twelfth of July.
- July 12th.

Twelfth of July,

you were 36?

Seventy-nine.

Born 1896.

1896, uh, horseshoer

- all your life, right?
- I'm a horseshoer,

beginner blacksmith.

You were called
the walkin' blacksmith,

- ain't that right?
- That's what I was called.

Nicknamed walkin' blacksmith.

- 'Cause, uh...
- I didn't have any

transportation,
I had to catch the bus,

and then wait for people
to pick me up on the ranch,

carry me to the ranch.

Dripping Springs
was my big headquarters.

Dripping Springs,
buda, and blanco.

- But you lived here, right?
- Lived here, but I'd go out

up on the bus to those towns,

and they'd carry me
to the ranch.

And I got a knack to
handlin' stock, any kinda stock.

In other words, some men
go up to a horse to shoe him,

and they go up there cussin' him
and kickin' him in the side,

and jerkin' him to
make him stand still,

but you wanna go up
to a horse's head first

and pet him on the neck
and scratch him.

And I don't care
how bad and rough he is,

he'll soon understand that
you wanna be his friend.

And you go on and ease with
him and handle him careful.

And one you get him shod,

he'll always know
what you wanna do

when you start to work on him.

If you put
the shoe on correctly,

the outside of the hoof
is where you put your nail.

It's just like cuttin'
your fingernails.

If you cut your fingernail
down too deep there,

you got a crippled sore finger.

If you stick a nail inside
of this coronary band,

and go into the quick,

and drive it in there,
you get blood, and besides,

you quick him, and the horse
is lame for a long time.

Probably may go into lockjaw.

So, it's very technical.

Always keep doin' somethin'.

If it ain't much, do a little.

And don't never forget
to get down on your knees

and pray to god and thank him

for the time that he's
given you on earth.

And from there,
go on and talk to the lord

just like you'd talk to
us humans on earth.

Live careful
and eat three times a day,

and eat common, plain food,
soul food, like beans,

turnip Greens, and cornbread.

Drink the best
of bourbon whiskey.

People condemn whiskey,
but they have no right to.

Really?

Because when god created
the heaven and earth,

he created all things.

He also created barley, rye,

and if he didn't think
that was good for man,

he wouldn't let
those things grow.

- Hallelujah!
- Really!

Amen!

- Amen!
- But,

he also created
cattle of the fields,

and birds of the air,
and food for us to subsist on,

but he didn't mean for us
to eat so much of it

until it was detrimental to us,

would make us sick.

The same thing applies
to drinkin' whiskey,

or beer, or anything you drink.

You don't have to drink
a barrel of whiskey

because you see
a barrel sittin' there.

Drink a little bit of it,
then stop.

And ask god to give you

- the knowledge...
- Maybe I should interject

somethin' here,
I've seen unc drink until he,

he had to be carried,

he had to be carried from
the other side of his yard

and put in to bed,

and it didn't take
no barrel of whiskey either.

But now then, on the other hand,

accordin' to
Mr. Van zandt's statement,

he have also seen me sit down
where there's a lot of whiskey,

like we've got whiskey here now,

but he didn't see me
drink all of it.

I will drink some
and walk away from it.

And he's also felt
kinda embarrassed

because he's offered me whiskey,

and I didn't want it,
and he'd ask me

was I angry with him.

I wasn't angry.

I just didn't want
no more whiskey.

This is the first
song I ever wrote about him.

Is it?

I had no idea.

Well, sometimes
I don't know where

this dirty road is takin' me

sometimes I can't even
see the reason why

I guess I'll keep a-gamblin'

lots of booze
and lots of ramblin'

it's easier than just
a-waitin' 'round to die

well, one time, friends,
I had a ma

this is my favorite
song of townes'.

I even had a pa

he beat her with a belt
once 'cause she cried

she told him to take care of me

she headed down to Tennessee

oh, it's easier than
just a-waitin' 'round to die

Well, I come 0' age
and I found a girl

in a tuscaloosa bar

and she cleaned me out
and hit it on the sly

I tried to kill the pain

I bought some booze
and hopped a train

seemed easier than just
a-waitin' around to die

Then a friend said he knew

where some easy money was

we robbed a man
and brother did we fly

they told her to take care of me

they drug me back to Tennessee

and that's two long years
a-waitin' around to die

oh, but now I'm outta prison

I got me a friend at last

he don't drink or steal
or cheat or lie

well, his name's codeine

he's the nicest thing I've seen

and together we're gonna
wait around and die

well, together we're
gonna wait around

that's beautiful.

Grandpa, I been thinkin'
'bout you lately

Wondering if you'd found
your peace of mind

I'd guess you'd be proud
to know your grandson

never crossed
the Mason-Dixon line

I still sing the old songs
that you taught me

I still pray
to Jesus now and then

just like you, I wish
that he would save me

to see the day the south
would rise again

Daddy wore his
purple heart so proudly

long before
I had turned into a man

buried with our flag
acrossed his casket

I was still too
young to understand

I still sing the old songs
that you taught me

and I still pray
to Jesus now and then

and just like you,
I wish that he would save me

to see the day the south
would rise again

grandpa, I been thinkin'
'bout you lately

Well, baby says she'd
really love a party

we'll get some friends
together feelin' fine

well, any friend of mine
is worth his habit

a belly full of baby's
bluebird wine

and it's all right now

I just hit my stride

right off the bat, lord,
I'm drunk on bluebird wine

yes, it's all right now

I just hit my stride

the party just started, lord,

and I'm drunk on bluebird wine

Well, baby showed me
some different ways of thinkin'

like how to spend
my evenin' here at home

listenin' to that
music on the radio

drinkin' all
the bluebird we can hold

and it's all right now

I just hit my stride

right off the bat, lord,
I'm drunk on bluebird wine

yes, and I'm all right now

I just hit my stride now

party just started, lord,
and I'm drunk on bluebird wine

sit down, all right now

I just hit my stride

right off the bat, lord,
I'm drunk on bluebird wine

Hey, rhinestone?

You got him, come on.

Where'd y'all work last night?

We was in Dallas, Texas.

Dallas, Texas?

Yeah, 10-4.

Have a pretty good turn out?

Yeah, we was with, uh,
Willie Nelson.

There was 8,000 people there.

Oh, 10-4 on the big Willie.

Yeah, it was pretty crazy.

I'm ridin' down

by your shack today

Lord, I've worked

all out in your cotton fields

lord, I worked

all out in your cotton fields

worked so hard I thought

it was unreal

yeah, but I worked

all out in your cotton fields

Alabama highway

Take me on

to the moonlight

toward the day

turn supernatural

take me to the stars
and let me play

I wanna be free

Alabama highway

Oh, well, I've loved you

I've loved you, dixieland

yes, I loved you

I've loved you, dixieland

wonderin' why you never give me

a helpin' hand

'cause I've loved you

yeah, I've loved you, dixieland

Alabama highway

Take me on

'neath the moonlight
toward the day

turn supernatural

take me to the stars
and let me play

I wanna be free

Alabama highway

Look, they've got grooves
in them.

So I'll just go ahead and
level the fingerboard, okay.

You're the doctor.

You sure I never
worked on this guitar?

- You might have.
- Man, that's exactly the way

- I fix shit.
- You might have,

I bought it in Austin.

Whose was it?

Roland stock had it.

You know Roland,
used to own the string shop?

- Yeah.
- He had it.

I got all my stuff ripped off
about last January.

And uh, he sold me that.

He gave me a real
good deal on it.

It was one
of his closet guitars.

Far out.

Boy, it's a good guitar.

That's the only guitar
I've had for any length of time.

This is the part
that's hard to watch

for the guitar owner.

That's one of the nice things
about bone

is that it... good solid bone
is like working ivory.

It's really consistent
and you can judge it just right.

That's why people,
all the Chinese and everybody,

carved ivory.

Bone's like, you know,
not as good as ivory obviously

but better than wood.

Dammit,
I've already cut this too short.

Okay.

You need water soluble glue

so you can repair it
without tearing the wood up.

You just wet it, melts

and then you can repair stuff.

So one of the marks
of really fine instruments

is it's not put together
with some sort of...

Insoluble glue.

'Cause then you can't take
the fingerboard off

and straighten the neck
or do... you know.

You wind up with...

Something that
doesn't do anything.

That's the whole thing
about guitars.

That's why I like them.

When you come
to the subtleties of them

you can't really count on
any kind of mathematics

or you can count on mathematics
as far as a scale's concerned

but once it gets down
to making them play right,

every one's different.

You know, they're like
really unique things.

So you wind up treating
every one different

and then working on them,
you don't get bored.

Which is one of my main aims.

Okay, now.

Bridge pins.

What'd I do with them?

There.

All right.

That looks
just about right to me already.

Here you go.

All right.

Hit me that string right there.

Okay.

Hit me that next one.

I'm going down to Austin, Texas

I'm going down to save my soul

get that barbecue and chili

eat my fill and come back home

I'm gon' take my baby with me

we gon' have a high old time

we gon' eat till we get silly

sho' do make a beer taste fine

oh my, mama, ain't
that Texas cookin' somethin'

oh my, mama, it'll stop
yo' belly and backbone bumpin'

oh my, mama, ain't
that Texas cookin' good

oh my, mama, eat it
every day if I could

I know a place
that got fried okra

beat anything I ever saw

I know a woman cook cabrito

it must be against the law

we gon' get a big old sausage

big old plate
of ranch style beans

I could eat the heart of Texas

we're gon' need
some brand newjeans

oh my, mama, ain't that
Texas cookin' somethin'

oh my, mama, it'll stop yo'
belly and backbone bumpin'

oh my, mama, ain't
that Texas cookin' good

oh my, mama, eat it
every day if I could

oh my, mama, ain't
that Texas cookin' somethin'

oh my, mama, it'll stop yo'
belly and backbone bumpin'

oh my, mama, ain't
that Texas cookin' good

oh my, mama, eat it
every day if I could

Now, nothing too exciting
ever happened at Charlie's

except when Harvey came in.

Harvey was a prominent,
devout, deeply committed,

totally involved,
commode-hugging drunk.

He dealt mainly
in small numbers.

He'd steal hubcaps
off peterbilt diesels

at the a&w root beer parking lot

and fence them
at the western auto store.

He would dynamite catfish
in copious commercial quantities

in the little
econlockhatchee river

and sell them in bulk to
Howard Johnsons for scallops.

Cut 'em out with a copper tube.

But he was chiefly celebrated
among the populace

of our community
for having imported

into our thankful midst
a young woman

of sporting morality.

An unconscionable aesthete
by the name of marita

who had been drummed out
of high-rolling society

in phenix city, Alabama,

after her health card
had been punched so many times

it disappeared into thin air.

And this marita considered
herself an interpretress

of the modern dance.

And io, whenever the dulcet
and mellifluous tones

of miss Peggy Lee were heard
to resonate upon the wurlitzer,

singing that grand old
American standard “fever,"

marita would lose herself
in an engaging series

of peregrinations, pirouettes,
and bumps and grinds

calculated to leave even
the most diffident of observers

fraught with horn.

On this particular night,
Harvey and marita

and a Randy retinue of rednecks

came stomping into Charlie's.

All the local good ol' boys

are bellied up the bar,
snapping the suspenders

on their big dads,

their left hands upraised
in that fervid type

of monodigital articulation

which bespeaks an argument
in progress

about the relative merits of
post hole digging attachments

for John deere vis-a-vis

international harvester
tractors.

They turn about and beheld
the entry of Harvey and marita

and in a great
man-swarmed gaggle

of arcadian underachievers,

they slewed crabwise
over the polished floor

of that gaming establishment,

stoking the juke
with legal tender

in such a manner
that Peggy Lee's “fever“

played 92 times.

And marita so lost herself
in a transcendental evocation

of her timeless art,
struggling gamely as it were

up the olympiad
of her sensibility,

that she shucked her duds right
on Charlie's terrazzo floor.

That's the second
most exciting thing

that ever happened
around a Turkey farm

after the great massacre of '53.

I responded
to this visual phenomenon

of unslaked carnality
by instantly proposing marriage

to a one-eyed waitress
who happened by.

I didn't want to get
into anything heavy.

I just wanted to set up
light housekeeping

in a pup tent in the parking lot

before closing time.

I was out there with my borrowed
ball-peen hammer

and my steel tent stakes,
putting that mother

up in the asphalt.

Some fool run over
my foot with a pickup truck,

emptied out his ashtray
in my sleeping bag,

peed in my cook fire.

And the woman rejected me.

So I had to go home
and write this damn song.

I just wanted you
to know the true story

so you'd understand
where art comes from.

On that night of nights,
there were a mess of us

knocking around Charlie's,

scarfing up huge quantities
of an appalachian ambrosia

concocted by a craven
miscreant named motlow.

Who along with
a handpicked group

of charcoal-filtered felons

from Moore county, Tennessee,

turns his firewater out

in what is rumored
to be short supply.

Although armed
with approximately eight dollars

and the address
of any whiskey store,

I've never yet failed
to find at least five shelves

groaning under the weight
of these rare square bottles.

I'm not talking about Jim beam.

I ain't talking about
Ezra Brooks,

jw dant, or George dickel.

I'm talking about Tennessee
sour mash sipping whiskey.

I'm talking about Jack Daniel's
Tennessee sour mash

sipping whiskey

and this is
the old "black label blues.“

A cabaret on the highway

you know the time
is ten till two

a pretty waitress at my table

a pretty waitress at my table

she say,
"what can I do for you?"

That's just what she said now

oh, baby, I'm so lonely

and my mind is ill at ease

I need a woman to love me

mm, but if you cannot love me,
then

Jack Daniel's, if you please

a whiskey and water

oh, a whiskey and water

here's to fear
and pain and sorrow

Jack Daniel's, if you please

look out now

Then I called on
miss Maggie gentry

you know, I fell way down
upon my knees

now, Maggie darlin',
I need some iovin'

oh, deep, deep down
in my dark ol' soul

won't you set my mind at ease

oh, baby, ibelieve
I'm gonna love you

so lay your head down
across my knees

thank you, darlin'

I'm gonna kiss you,
and I'll caress you

mmm, but honey, there's
just one little thing

I gotta ask you for first

what's that, darlin'?

Jack Daniel's, if you please

she liked it too

whiskey and water

oh

Whiskey and water

here's to fear
and pain and sorrow

Jack Daniel's, if you please

with a black label on it

it's so good to be playing

for a bunch ofjuicers again.

Sid's got the best foot
in the house,

I'll tell ya that right now.

Best foot in the whole house.

Let me introduce
to you this time

Mr. Mack mcgowan
and his lovely wife.

She always was a little bashful.

Hope you're enjoying yourself
down here, bless your heart.

Good, good
to have you down here.

All right, this is Mr. Mack
and his lovely wife.

With all these people
I want to tell you now,

my wife has just got in
from her other job

and what it amounts
to her other job,

well, I wasn't there,

I don't know
what it amounted to,

but I want to say this much,

it's good for all you people
to be here with us

in this little old thing here

because this is where
I make my day

and where I make
my living for myself

and my five grandchildren
and two daughters

and uh...

Who else's children we got,
honey?

That's all, I hope.

Well, I've got
some more somewhere.

We like to do this little thing,

a little song of my own now.

It's a little fast ditty.

When you love halfway

someone has to pay

I won't accept a point of view

let's go all the way

love me day and night

then I'll know it's right

love me till I hear you say

oh, let's go all the way

all the way

means happiness

living side by side

halfway means heartbreak

if one of us should lie

just give me a kiss

that you know I'll miss

hold me in your arms

and say oh, let's go all the way

Let's you and I pretend

our love will never end

tell me you'll be mine today

oh, let's go all the way

all the way means happiness

living side by side

halfway means a heartbreak

if one of us should lie

just give me a clue

that you love me too

hold me in your arms and say

oh, let's go all the way

oh, let's go all the way

Wonderful, Peggy.

Charlie.

Hey, hon, I didn't see you.

You're getting so tall...

How are you, good to see you.

- Hi Charlie.
- Hey, babe!

How you've been?

Charlie, this is
my brother's little girl.

Oh no, let's put all
the Up in here.

Yeah, but I'm still
gonna leave room

like enough
to walk behind though.

That's about as far back
as I'm gonna go.

- That's a beaut.
- It's a nice fit, y'all.

I don't know if it's pheasant
or peacock

- or something like that.
- No, that's pheasant.

Hey! How you doing?

Good to see you,
merry Christmas to you.

Pretty good if I can find me
a chord here to tune up with.

That's the flood,
it's not the special.

Where?

The one you're focusing
right now.

- That's not the drum special.
- I know it's not!

Okay!

Well, you goddamn
better hurry up.

I got a strap right here.

To “Birmingham blues.“

"or"? What is this “or" shit?

Damn, they learned new song.

He learns a new song,

he used to be a star.

Which one are we gonna do, boss?

- Hello, Charlie.
- Hey, Terry, how are you.

I'm good, buddy.

How you doing?

All right.

Everybody just hang on
here a second.

We're gonna hook up a fiddle.

This is one of our new tunes.

This is off of nightrider
and it's called “Texas."

There's a place
not too far away from here

out with the cows
and the lone star beer

where the iivin' and iovin'
is quite all right with me

they call it Texas,
it's a mighty fine place to be

runs from texarkana to El Paso

and Oklahoma out to old Mexico

and there's Houston, Dallas,
Austin, and San Anton'

people in Texas
sure do make you feel at home

They just want everybody
to leave them alone

while they drink their whiskey
and roll their own

they like their music with
a little bit of southern sound

they kick up their heels every
evening when the sun goes down

you can call them country
and they don't care

if you don't like the way
they wear their hair

you can take your like
and shove 'em on up the line

people in Texas don't care
if the sun don't shine

Thank you!

That's terrible.

About two years ago
we had captive music

going pretty strong and uh...

People were just
sort of using my name

and they uh...

A couple inmates in there
sent some songs to me.

And they were sent back to them

and said we couldn't use
the song or something like that.

I guess they wrote a letter
to the warden

and said that
if I ever came back in there

they were going to kill me, so
they barred me from there for...

And I was surprised
when I found out

that we were gonna
there today to do a show.

Supposed to be
doing a concert here

at Tennessee state prison.

All right, how many you got
on there?

All right,
what the head count is here.

Ten.

- Ten... counting me?
- Yup.

Ten.

All right, all set.

The pink building's the woodshop

and this here is the metal shop.

They make almost all your state
furniture in them two places.

And that's the school
right there.

The center's operations,
on the right is unit three.

On the left is unit two
and up the end

you'll see another building
that's unit four.

That's unit one,
that's maximum security.

That's your death row
and all your lockup.

They don't attend anything.

If you get in a position
like I'm in a position

to talk about something
and I go out there and say,

"well, the food's bad and uh..."

You know, then I'm just
another jerk to them.

But if I can go out there
and tell them,

you know, what I think...
That I think that they need

more psychologists,
that you can't have 5,000 men

and one psychologist or one
psychiatrist in an institution

and to handle
all these men's cases.

Because the only time
you see them

is when you cause a problem,

so they can't help you.

And when luttrell was...
Had this this prison here

and I came out here

and he asked me about
this place here

and I said, “well," I said,

"I think your biggest problem
is that

when you shut
brushy mountain down

you overcrowded your prison here

and I think that
you have to get something

to take the place
of brushy mountain

if you can't open that back up.

But you have to have
a separate place,

you know, for old timers.“

'cause old timers don't like
to be around no young con.

I mean, motherfuckers
in here trying to pull time,

that's what they're doing.

I just got my daddy
out of prison.

I don't know whether y'all...

The last time I was here
I was talking about my dad

- and he was...
- He was in prison, yeah.

Whole life, yeah.

He did a life sentence

and me and my youngest brother
just got...

He's been out one year
and he came home for Christmas

in his first airplane.

We met him at the airport
and he was...

He was scared to death,
you know he...

He just... he was just biting
his nails and shit but...

But I wasn't a criminal
when I first went

to the boys' industrial school
in Lancaster,

it was because my parents
didn't want me.

You know,
so they went down and said,

"well, we don't want him, you
gotta do something with him.“

well, they couldn't put me
in a children's home

because I had parents,
so they put me in

starr commonwealth for boys
in albion, Michigan.

I was there for two weeks and
ran away with two older boys

that stole a car,
we sat on each other's laps

and one worked the pedal
and one steered.

Got home and my parents
called up and turned us in.

Whoa!

Women love an outlaw
I heard folks say

and I'll be an outlaw till
my dying day

You know, I got a big
greyhound bus out here

and there ain't nothin'
out there but Cadillacs.

These guards
all drive Cadillacs.

That's the truth...
No, it really is.

It's the truth.

Now they told me that you
all had a lot of drugs in here,

so now if they're
driving Cadillacs

and you got drugs in here then
there must be a connection.

So I decided that I would call
the FBI up and tell them

that there was drugs
in the joint

and Cadillacs in the parking lot

and I figured
that the drugs and you

ought to be in the parking lot

and the Cadillacs and them
ought to be in here.

Well, you know,
I started sniffing

this typewriter fluid.

You know how
you sniff typewriter fluid.

On the rag and everything.

And we got really,
you know, pretty wasted.

Well, they got a truck
that comes in

and brings guards' uniforms
to the laundry, you know,

and they wash
the guards' clothes.

So this guy came in with
the truck and he parked it

and got out and I said
"say, man, “

I'd only been here
about three weeks, you know.

I said "man, the truck's
still running."

The guy said, "yeah, man,"
so I said, "man, shit.

Let's get out of here, you know,

let's take that truck and go on.

You ain't gonna
be jumping over no fence."

So we jumped in this truck,

zoom across the yard,
55 miles an hour.

Wham! Right into the gate.

Nothing happened.

Nothing happened, man.

It didn't even move, you know.

So we jumped out the truck

and we've got these
little knives that we made

and we're saying "motherfucker!

Open the gate!“

he's standing there with
a machine gun and laughing.

Saying, "are you guys crazy?“

"man, you better
open this gate!“

with a little old knife, man.
This guy's got a gun.

So they took me to the hole
and kicked my ass,

you know, and transferred me
to lewisburg penitentiary.

Well, I got up there
and I decided,

well, man, I'm gonna be cool.

You know, I'm not gonna
do nothing wrong.

I was walking in the dining hall

and I was only 18 years old
at the time.

You know,
I still had one of those

spit curls in my hair, you know.

Man, you know how when you walk
in the dining hall it's just...

You know, everything's going on.

Man, I walked in the dining hall
I heard all that shit,

I got to the door
and I walked in

and all of sudden is was, swoop.

Just total silence.

I looked around, everybody was
looking at me, you know.

They was looking at me
like I was Marilyn Monroe.

You know.

So by the time
I get to the table,

you got to your seat, you know,
they seat six people at a table.

Well, the other table
is full over here

and the guard's standing here.

Some guy gets up and
starts talking to the guard.

"Hey, blah, blah, blah."

By the time I get to
the table there's three dudes

sitting there and another dude
holding my chair for me.

You know, so I sit down, I put
my tray down here, you know.

And they started
firing them quick.

"Where you from, whatcha doing,
whatcha in here for,

where you going?"
Firing them questions.

"You want any cigarettes,
you need any..."

I said, "whoa, wait... man, shit.
Wait a minute, man, you know."

I stayed in my cell, you know,

you didn't have to go nowhere.

I didn't go nowhere.

I stayed in my cell
for three weeks.

Didn't eat, didn't go
to supper or nothing.

I was scared, you know,
I was 18 years old, scared.

So they come by
and they had a pass,

they took me up
to the warden's office

and he says,
"what's wrong with you, boy?“

I said "ain't nothing
wrong with me, captain.

I just don't want to
go out there

with all them animals,
you know."

And he said "aw, them boys
ain't gonna hurt you.“

I said "okay, man."

So they put me out there
in the population, you know.

The first day I was there,

there was two dudes standing
over here washing their clothes

in the mop buckets, you know,
and this other dude comes up

and says
"say man, you got my bucket!“

dude said,
"man, it's a state bucket."

He said "man, that's my bucket,
man, give me my bucket!“

"get out of here, motherfucker,
I'm washing my...“

"man, give me that bucket!"

Dude stabbed the dude to death
right there in front of me,

man, over a state mop bucket,
right.

They carried the dude out.

I said, "oh man, shit,
I'm not staying here."

You know.

Two days later,
I'm running across the yard.

Man, you know, I'm out there
and everybody's playing football

and all of a sudden some dude
just runs right by me.

Swoop!

Another dude falls down, swoop!

I look down and this dude's
running with a baseball bat,

knocked this dude's head off.

I wrote a letter to my mother,
I said "dear, mom.

Man, you gotta get me
out of here.

I ain't never did nothing wrong
in my life and you know,

whatever it is that
they got me in here for,

I ain't never gonna do it
again.“

well, two days later.

I was in the shower and this
dude comes in and he said...

“Hey, mama."

I said, "say man, you must have
me mixed up with somebody else."

He said “yeah, sure do.

But not for long."

Well, there was,
you know, a mop bucket there

and I said, "look man, you know,
you better leave me alone."

I was scared to death, you know.

So I ease back and I got this
mop, you know.

So I said "bam!"
I hit the dude on the head

and he fell on the floor
and he said,

"man, I was just joking!"
I said, "motherfucker! “

I found out right then that
no matter how young and skinny

or pretty you are, you got
the strength in your two arms

to kill a motherfucker
if they fuck with you.

And ain't no one ever
fucked with me since.

I want fresh tear drops
from a newborn child

in a cup made in timbuktu

if you can't get that,
try a stewed pole-cat

smothered with catfish brew

take the ears
from a rat-tailed monkey

mixed with a spider's left eye

and make me a salad
ofjungle roots from Africa

and I'll be ready to die

oh, warden

now you know just how I feel

I'll be ready to die now

just as soon
as I eat my last meal

Thank you.

River, you heard
my first cry as a baby

like my mom,
you sang me lullabies

you knew my fishing pole

when I was eight years old

and river,
you never told me lies

river, I can see you
from my window

your muddy water
makes me feel alone

river, you keep flowing

like you know
just where you're going

but, river,
will you ever take me home

river, I'm not proud
of what I've done

somehow my fishing pole
became a gun

through these prison bars

isee that
you're still running free

but river,
I've got nowhere to run

river, I can see you
from my window

your muddy water
makes me feel alone

river, you keep flowing

like you know
just where you're going

but, river,
will you ever take me home

river,
will you ever take me home

Thank you very much.

When I'm dead and I'm gone

won't you carry me home

to that little white church
in my daddy's hometown

lord knows
I'm some kind of sinner

but I've done come this far

and it's too late for changing

when this race has been run

take me back where I came from

and let me return
what I took from the ground

when this body
won't carry me no further

take me home

lay me down

- Well, that's nice.
- Boy, ain't that pretty?

- All right.
- I'm out.

- This is the bottle.
- Yes it does.

Well, if you can't do that
then you can't do nothing.

I've heard ideas
but he can still...

- I don't know.
- I don't know either.

John, listen man.

Check into a guy by the name
of John huey.

He'll blow you away.

I want... I want to try this...

Silent night

holy night

all is calm

all is bright

round yon virgin,
mother and child

holy infant, so tender and mild

sleep in heavenly peace

oh, sleep in heavenly peace

silent night

holy night

Shepherds quake

in the night

round yon virgin,
mother and child

holy infant, so tender and mild

sleep in heavenly peace

sleep in heavenly peace

Damn! God damn!

Oh, baby Jesus
we're coming to you!

Silent night

holy night

all is good

all is bright

round yon virgin,

mother and child

holy infant, so tender and mild

sleep in heavenly peace

sleep in heavenly peace

sleep in heavenly peace

Does somebody have that on tape?

All right!