Delirium Tremolos

The Beauty Way

Written by Eliza Gilkyson

My daddy made a pretty damn good livin’

Playin’ music on the beauty way.

He’s gonna die with some money in his pocket.

Wish I could do the same today little darlin’,

Wish I could do the same today.

Wide eyed kid and a little transistor

Tuned into Wolfman Jack.

I picked up a guitar, heard the sirens whisper

And I never looked back little darlin’,

And I never looked back.

I worked the clubs along the Sangre De Cristos.

Polished a diamond in the rough.

By the time I hit LA I was hotter than a pistol.

But you’re never hot enough little darlin’,

You’re never really hot enough.

I felt the lights on the big, big stages.

A fire burnin’ in my soul.

I had those nights where my guitar was ragin’.

It’s not somethin’ you control little darlin’,

It’s not somethin’ you control.

Redtail divin’ for a rat on sunset,

Coyotes pickin’ through the trash.

I wish I was lyin’ like a cat in the sun,

‘stead of workin’ like a dog for the cash little darlin’,

I’m only workin’ for the cash.

Sometimes I wish I could unplug this cord,

And my soul or my money I could save.

But every time I say I’m gonna quit the beauty way,

I feel my bones just turnin’ in their grave little darlin’,

Bones just turnin’ in their grave.

Rock-N-Roll Gypsies

Written by Roger Tillison

To the faraway places and friends,

Of the people and the places I’ve been,

I’ll sing you a song, and I won’t keep you long.

For the tambourine’s playin’, and the carnival’s callin’ me on.

And the rock and roll gypsies are ridin’ tonight.

On the carnival strips they’ll stay.

And the golden earrings laugh at the light,

As life is more than a play,

For tomorrow will soon be yesterday.

To the motherless children who ride

On the shadowless highway at night.

It’s more than a game,

More than fortune or fame.

For the winner takes nothing and the loser gets all that remains.

And the rock and roll gypsies are ridin’ tonight.

On the carnival strips they’ll stay.

And the golden earrings laugh at the light,

As life is more than a play,

For tomorrow will soon be yesterday.

And the rock and roll gypsies are ridin’ tonight.

On the carnival strips they’ll stay.

And the golden earrings laugh at the light,

As life is more than a play,

For tomorrow will soon be yesterday.

Dallas After Midnight

I pulled in the alley behind the liquor store,

Turned out the lights, left the motor runnin’, and opened up the door.

I flashed a grin and said, “Well, Jack this is gonna be a piece of cake

Later tonight we’ll head down to The Last Stand and split up the take.”

Sittin’ in the darkness, I take a drink of wine,

Feelin’ high and fast and loose and so right.

Then I think of something I’d never realized,

If I get shot tonight I ain’t never been baptized.

Oh, Dallas after midnight

Dallas after midnight

Oh, Dallas after midnight

I came runnin’ back, blinded by sweat, blood and tears.

I said, “Jack, the cat had a gun, let’s get out of here.”

I didn’t say nothin’ as we drove away.

I kept askin’ myself, “How’d I ever get so mean I couldn’t pray?”

Oh, Dallas after midnight

Now, there ain’t nothin’ I like better than drivin’ on hard concrete.

I’d rather hold a steering wheel than have a woman at my feet.

Ever since I was a little kid, I was always rowdy and loud.

Now here I am, thirty-four, still runnin’ ‘round with the wrong crowd.

Now we had such plans for when we got to Mexico.

After a high speed chase we got caught just south of San Angelo

Well the judge, he asked, “Why’d you wanna go and rob a liquor store?”

I said, “Well Your Honor, it’s hard to live in Dallas when you’re white trash and poor.”

Oh, Dallas after midnight

Dallas after midnight

Oh, Dallas after midnight

Dallas after midnight

Torn in Two

Written by Gurf Morlix

There’s a tattoo on my shoulder.

There’s a story under my skin.

Put there, to remind me,

Of the shape you let me in.

I took the Ford ‘cause it was rainin’.

I went down Chippewa road.

I picked it out, from the window,

Like a thousand fools before.

I got a heart that’s torn in two

So ever’one can see

I’m nothin’ without you. My heart’s been torn in two.

I was talkin’ all about you,

As if it mattered to him.

He sighed and said, “I know her.”

Drew it on and colored it in.

I got a heart that’s torn in two

So ever’one can see

I’m nothin’ without you. My heart’s been torn in two.

I put a thousand miles on my motor.

I broke down in Bowling Green.

To find a girl who thinks just like you.

I gotta burn some gasoline.

I got a heart that’s torn in two

So ever’one can see

I’m nothin’ without you. My heart’s been torn in two.

I got a heart that’s torn in two

So ever’one can see

I’m nothin’ without you. My heart’s been torn in two.

My heart’s been torn in two.

Drivin’ Wheel

Written by David Wiffin

I just came in on the midnight special.

Well, hey, how ‘bout that?

My car broke down in Texas.

She stopped dead in her tracks.

I just called to tell you that I miss you.

I just called to tell you how I feel.

‘Cause I feel like some old engine. I done lost my drivin’ wheel.

They took my money for a train ride.

It was a bad flight.

I gave you my promise that I’d be with you

By last Saturday night.

I just called to tell you that I need you.

I just called to tell you how I feel.

‘Cause I feel like some old engine. I done lost my drivin’ wheel.

You can’t say much in a phone call.

You know how that is.

I just called to tell you one short somethin’.

Now won’t you listen to this?

I just called to tell you that I love you.

I just called to tell you how I feel.

‘Cause I feel like some old engine. I done lost my drivin’ wheel.

This Mornin’ I Am Born Again

This Mornin’ I Was Born Again

Lyrics by Woodie Guthrie Music by Slaid Cleaves

This mornin’ I was born again and a light shines on my land.

I no longer look for heaven in your deathly distant land.

I do not want your pearly gates, don’t want your streets of gold.

This mornin’ I was born again and a light shines in my soul.

This mornin’ I was born again, I was born again complete.

I stood up above my troubles and I stand on my two feet.

My hand it feels unlimited, my body feels like the sky.

I feel at home in the universe where yonder planets fly.

This mornin’ I was born again, my past is dead and gone.

This great eternal moment is my great eternal dawn.

Each drop of blood within me, each breath of life I breathe,

Is united with these mountains and the mountains with the seas.

I feel the sun upon me, its rays crawl through my skin.

I breathe the life of Jesus and old John Henry in.

I give myself, my heart, my soul to give some friend a hand.

This mornin’ I was born again, I am in the Promised Land.

This mornin’ I was born again and a light shines on my land.

I no longer look for heaven in your deathly distant land.

I do not want your pearly gates, don’t want your streets of gold.

And I do not want your mansion for my heart is never cold.

Dust of the Chase

Said I come down from Oklahoma with a pistol in my boot

A pair of dice, a deck of cards, and a bible in my suit

I come here as the cause of tears, just a cryin’ shame

Seven stud or eternal blood, I’m lookin’ for a game

I double crossed the state of Texas and they gave me a little time

I taught myself to double cut the cards and hold scriptures in my mind

I learned to love the tumblin’ die and to believe the word

Tombstones and rollin’ bones, beats anything I ever heard

Patience is a virtue that I don’t possess

And I can’t deny that heaven lies beneath a cotton dress

How small a part of time we share till we hear the sound of wings

I am lost in the dust of the chase that my life brings

I have walked through God’s green pastures, beneath his rich blue skies

I’ve seen the fall of man and the kingdom hidden from their eyes

I have heard the roar of thunder, I felt the lightening bolt

And when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I take along Samuel Colt

Every night I kiss the cards and hold them to my breast

And when I see the kind of hearts, I know that I am blessed

And though my eyes are blind sometimes I know there’s something there

So when the time’s at hand and I kill a man I, I say a little prayer

Roll and I Tumble

Written by Gurf Morlix

Roll and I tumble, cried the whole night long

Got up this mornin’ didn’t know right from wrong

What you gonna do when your tarot be like mine

Gonna stand in the rain, gonna wring your hands and cry

She won’t get up woman, she won’t do nothin’ she says

Roll and I tumble, cried the whole night long

Cooler-N-Hell

Written by Ray Wylie Hubbard and Cody Canada

A sixty-eight Camaro, Candy Apple Red

Four speed transmission, chrome heads

Rev her up, and she casts a spell

Some things here under heaven are just cooler-n-hell

A pack of Chesterfields, sunglasses and a suit

A half pint of gin and a gold tooth

Lightnin’ Hopkins and a penatonic scale

Some things here under heaven are just cooler-n-hell

A blonde telecaster, 1955

Dyna Comp pedal and a beer bottle for a slide

A black face twin, with JBLs

Some things here under heaven are just cooler-n-hell

Black mascara, Loreal on her lips

A tribal tattoo just above her hips

A honky-tonkin’ woman who wears her ink well

Some things here under heaven are just cooler-n-hell

Yeah, some of this stuff down here is just cooler-n-hell

Choctaw Bingo

Written by James McMurtry

Strap them kids in

Give ‘em a lil’ bit of vodka

In a Cherry Coke

We’re goin’ to Oklahoma

To the family reunion

For the first time in years

It’s up at Uncle Slatons

‘Cause he’s gettin’ on in years

No longer travels but he’s

Still pretty spry

He’s not much on talkin’

And he’s too mean to die

And they’ll be comin’ down

From Kansas and from west Arkansas

It’ll be one big ol’ party

Like you’ve never saw

Uncle Slaton’s got his Texan pride

Back in the thickets with his Asian bride

He’s got an Airstream trailer and a

Holstein cow

Still makes whiskey ‘cause he still knows how

He plays that Choctaw bingo every Friday night

You know he had to leave Texas but he, he won’t say why

He owns a quarter section up by Lake Ufalla

Caught a great big ol’ bluecat on a driftin’ jugline

Sells his hardwood timber to the chippin’ mill

Cooks that crystal meth ‘cause his shine don’t sell

He cooks that crystal meth ‘cause his shine don’t sell

You know he likes that money, he don’t mind the smell

My cousin Roscoe, Slaton’s oldest boy

From his second marriage up in Illinois

He’s raised in East St Louis by his

Mamma’s people where they do things different

Thought he’d just come on down

He’s goin’ to Dallas, Texas in a semi truck

Caught from that big McDonalds

You know the one that’s built up on that

Big old bridge across the Will Rogers turnpike

Took the big cabin exit stopped and bought a carton of cigarettes

At that Indian smoke shop with the big neon smoke rings

In the Cherokee nation hit Muskogee late that night

Somebody ran the stoplight at the Shawnee bypass

Roscoe tried to miss him but he didn’t quite

Bob and Mae come up from

Some little town way down by

Lake Texoma where he coaches football

They were two-A champions now for two years running

But he says they won’t be this year

No they won’t be this year

And he stopped off in Tuska at that pop knife and gun place

Bought a SKS rifle and a couple full cases of that steel core ammo

With the Berdan primers from some east bloc nation

That no longer needs em’

And a desert eagle that’s one great big old pistol

I mean fifty caliber made by bad-ass Hebrews

And some surplus tracers for that old BAR

Of Slaton’s as soon as it gets dark

We’re gonna have us a time

Ruth-Anne and Lynn come down from Baxter springs

Thats one hell-raisin town way up in

Southeastern kansas

Got a biker bar next to the lingerie store

Thats got rollin stones lips up there in

Bright pink neon

And they’re right downtown where everyone can see ‘em

And they burn all night

You know they burn all night

They burn all night

Ruth-Anne and Lynn they wear them cut off britches

And them skinny little halters

And they’re second cousins to me

Man I don’t care I wanna get between ‘em

With a great big ol’ hard-on

Like a old bois’darc fencepost

You could hang a five rail _____ from

Do some sister-twistin’

‘Till the cows come home

You know we’ll have us a time

We’re gonna have us a time

Uncle Slaton’s got his Texan pride

Back in the thickets with his Asian bride

He cut that corner pasture into acre lots

He sells them owner financed strictly to them

That’s got no kind of credit

‘Cause he knows they’re slackers

And they’ll miss that payment

And he, he takes it back

He plays that Choctaw bingo

Every Friday night

He drinks his Johnny Walker

At that club 69

We’re gonna strap them kids in

Give ‘em a lil’ bit of Benadryl

In a Cherry Coke

We’re goin’ to Oklahoma

Gonna have us a time