SURVIVAL SUIT

wreck (of the ocean ranger)

for some money isn't nothing
for some it's all there is
but a failure to bring all your money to bear -

eighty four lost
because of the cost
to properly protect them from exposure

the sun's gonna shine
but not on me and mine
it's gonna be a cold and a wet one tonight

but a newfie should know
that you never go
where your survival suit doesn't go with you

somebody close the goddamned window
cause it's starting to blow
somebody better raise the captain
cause i think she's gonna go
roll over slow

my friend old crow davie
wouldn't leave the rig
saw him at the window when the package finally fell

now he's at the bottom
i'll be with him soon
we'll be lying somewhere southeast of the well

the sun's gonna shine
but not on me and mine
it's gonna be a cold and a wet one tonight

but a newfie should know
that you never go
where your survival suit doesn't go with you

somebody close the goddamned window
cause it's starting to blow
somebody better raise the captain
cause i think she's gonna go
roll over slow

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drink

this is my farewell to drink
spending my time in the grime and the stink
i'm quittin' while i'm in the pink, o lord
this is my farewell to drink

this is my farewell to smoke
making me stupid and making me broke
Oh! my life is a joke, o lord
this is my farewell to smoke

this is my farewell to crank
so many sunrises seen and sank
all on an empty tank, o lord
this is my farewell to crank

this is my farewell to drink
this is my goodbye to getting this sick
before my liver's a brick, o lord
this is my farewell to drink

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stockholm to birmingham

whenever i feel i'm pining
for somethin that's somewhere else
there's only two places
where i know where i am
that's stockhom to birmingham

whenever feel rheumy
whenever my sugar run low
the doctor won't see me
when i'm on the lam
stockholm to birmingham

i know a girl there who says no goodbyes
she don't look kindly on being surprised
says she's the queen of the ratman's hill
and i know that she'd rather be by herself
so it's stockholm to birmingham

before you say something stupid
allow me to top off your drink
it's back on the left
but it probably don't work
i usually go in the sink

i know a guy there who'll get me my stuff
five is a party but three is enough
a moth is a dirty butterfly
and i like when i find i forget who i am
so it's stockholm to birmingham

i've been drinkin to much whiskey
and my mom she startin to miss me
won't you come to me and kiss me goodbye
cause it's stockholm to birmingham

where was i last tuesday?
why was your blood on my hands?
i can't remember
you won't forget
so it's stockholm to birmingham

can't carry my pistol
can't wear my kevlar vest
who'll take the blame when i take mine in the chest
fun while it lasted, but it lasted too long
now sgt johansen he wanna put me in the can
so it's stockholm to birmingham
stockholm to birmingham

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perp walk

does your family want to kill me?
i know the man's your uncle but he's being such an asshole

do you still have some money?
my cellmate wanna love me but i'd rather not oblige him

do you still have my pistol?
please take it all apart and bake it underneath some brownies

do you still want my baby
since they made me do the perp walk on the television news?

did i look ok on tv?
a trooper held my wallet and a sheriff held my shoes

did you try to call my lawyer?
i used up all my phone calls and he didn't answer once

do you think they'll convict me?
i try to keep my spirits up but man i think i'm goin down.

do you still want my baby
since they made me do the perp walk on the television news?

now i'm rehabilitated
i sharpened up my english and i learned to build a bookcase

do you think i'm a juice pump?
i didn't want to do it but i had to pay my bookie

do you still love me baby
like the day i did the perp walk on the television news?

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buy my farm

i buried my horse on monday
that was a big hole
i'm not gonna buy me another
gonna drink til the farm gets sold

i buried my chicken on tuesday
that was a good goddamned chicken
she laid me an egg every monday
gonna drink til the farm gets sold

daddy never wanted me to stay here
wanted me to be an astronaut
but i was never much of one for learnin
now this farm is all i got

my pig took the measles on wednesday
i buried him out behind the barn
he would have made a hell of a pork chop
gonna drink til the farm gets sold

i buried my best man on thursday
he was a hard workin soul
but he smoke and he swore like a sailor
gonna drink til the farm gets sold

a man can only hear so much bitchin
before he finally starts thinkin
how much sweeter it would be
if a man were truly free?
now this place is all i got
this old farm is all i got

i buried my wife on friday
i dug up the money that i stole
i bought me a suit and a necktie
gonna drink til the farm gets sold

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That Song

there's no radio
when you're driving through the mountains
east of idaho
i got this song stuck in my head
and i can't say who sung it
stand beside an open door
make the noise you made before
but i don't need this anymore
than you.

where do you go
when you feel the way that i do
you'd like to know
so you can call me when i get there
but i ain't pickin up
i know i heard this song before
heard it back in '94
in dallas or in baltimore
maryland.

time just got tight
for me to take it any longer
nothing felt as right
as when i upper-decked your toilet
cause you said i had no talent
find somebody new to lie to
cause you don't make the payments, i do
find somebody else to drive you
to your job

this sand which i hold
holds the key to my existence
you held me heart
til i had to go to prison
then you blew the rhythm section
i know i heard this song before
heard it back in '94
in dallas or in baltimore
maryland.

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american tsunami

the happiest time that i recall's
the day you set me free
you're the one that said goodbye
so don't lay that bullshit on me

you're my american tsunami
a walkin disaster in heels
ex-presidents want my money
tell them i know how it feels

my time is money so talk if you must
but keep that shit short and sweet
you ain't the kind that i can trust
you've been too long out in the street

you're my american tsunami
a sea monster swallowing men
i remember that night in niagara falls too well
to let you make a fool of me again

you're my american tsunami
six bushels shy of a load
i only came to clear my name with the sheriff of kern county
this ain't but a bump in my road.

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earnhardt

burned out fast like there was a rocket up your ass
black cheverolet its the perfect day to take a checkered flag

keep your foot on the gas your needle in the sky
cause the straightaway is giving way to turn number four

but they're saying that it's time to pay for all the times you walked away
some things'll never go the way they should
daytona on a sunny day, you live the way, you die the way
they always said you would

dirt track couldn't hold you, the short track never do
cause the siren of the superspeedway's callin out to you

put your foot on the gas and never let 'em pas
and put them all in the wall before you let em through

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love myself

i went down to the river to stare at my reflection
something like perfection stared right back at me.

i know nobody's perfect, but i know someone's close
i bet any sum that that sumbitch is me.

i love myself, i love myself
i love myself like no one else could ever do

i took you to the movies, you said you had to leave
cause i picked the movie with all the drugs and sex

so i watched you go, sat down on the floor,
grabbed my magazines you know what happens next

i love myself, i love myself
i love myself like no one else could ever do