1. |
Around Here
02:06
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Hey there, Johnny, what's all the trouble?
How come you keep running around in circles?
If you don't sit still, like I asked you before
I'll nail your other foot to the floor
That's just the way it goes around here
Here there, Johnny, you look sort of blue
Just what exactly's the matter with you?
If you don't take that plastic bag off your head
I'll rough you up so bad you'll wish you were dead
That's just the way it goes around here
Hey there, Johnny, you look so concerned
It must have been all that knowledge you learned
You finally got rid of your ignorance
And right along with it went your sense of bliss
That's just the way it goes around here
Hey there, Johnny, you look sort of down
You look lower than a hole in the ground
Crawl out of that coffin, I'll buy you a drink
And we'll do whatever it takes not to think
That's just the way it goes around here
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2. |
Parking Lot
01:32
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When we look out the window we can see a parking lot
The view is not the greatest, but it's all that we got
And we ask each other, How many cars today?
And we pretend to get excited no matter what we say
We live in a little town called Baltimore
And we live in a small apartment up on the third floor
And it's not the greatest place, I really must confess
But when you're here with me, it really is the best
Some times the parking lot has hardly any cars
Some times it has a lot, but none of them are ours
They charge a fee to park there, so we park on the street
Being poor is never easy, at least it's always cheap
Looking out the window is my favorite thing to do
But only if you're here with me, looking out the window too
No matter how many problems we got
We can always look out, at our parking lot
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3. |
Veterinary Nurse
01:30
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I wear a pair of scrubs with my name on the chest
I come to work every day and I do my best
I'm the one who takes care of your dogs and cats
If they're still sick in a week you better bring them back
I try to keep their illnesses from getting worse
I'm working as a registered veterinary nurse
I always have a smile here on my face
I give rabies victims plenty of space
Drawing blood is tougher than you realize
But I can hit the vein within a couple of tries
When the humans are around I try not to curse
I'm working as a registered veterinary nurse
Yeah I'm a veterinary nurse, a veterinary nurse
When it's time to pay, you better reach for your purse
I hope we don't have to call the veterinary hearse
I'm working real hard as a veterinary nurse
Well, if your little dog is feeling kind of sick
I bet you don't know what to do with it
So bring him to us, we'll run a couple of tests
And we'll let you know what we think is best
A bowl of water on the floor to quench his thirst
I'm working very hard as a veterinary nurse
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4. |
Out Fer a Walk
01:43
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Well, I took my dog out fer a walk
And we walked all around the block
We do this each night
And it works out alright
And there ain't never no need to talk
But last night a strange thing occurred
And it's tough to describe with just words
But out in the night
We saw a bright light
And it sure as hell wasn't no bird
It shot down like a falling star
But it sure seemed to go pretty far
So, heck I don't know
About UFOs
Unidentified means... we don't know what they are
I thought about the universe
And how sometimes I feel like I'm cursed
But an alien race
From outer space
Abducting us all would be worse
Almost two weeks have gone by
And everything seems to be fine
No aliens here
Nothing to fear
I still walk my dog every night
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5. |
Cold in Crookston
03:15
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Up in northern Minnesota, there's a tiny little town
It's just about the coldest little place there is around
I only been there once, but let me tell you what I found
A bunch of snow up in the sky and more along the ground
Cause it gets cold..... up there in Crookston
Well, me and my baby, we thought we'd take a ride
Get out of the city, see a little countryside
Instead we found a blizzard, a hundred miles wide
The more we drove into it, the more we almost died
Cause it gets cold..... up there in Crookston
Well, they only got two seasons, let me tell you bout it brother
One of 'em's called winter, and so is the other
It gets about as cold, ya know, as it could ever get
Then it gets a little colder, and a little colder yet
Well, we just kept on a-drivin', we kept on a-pushin through
Thirty miles an hour was all that we could do
The engine covered up with ice, the gas was frozen too
I grabbed my baby by the hand and whispered I love you
Cause it gets cold..... up there in Crookston
Well, we finally made it into town, that's when the car got stuck
Been drivin' since the day before and finally ran out of luck
We found some local heroes in a great big pickup truck
They said they'd push us out for free, but we gave 'em twenty bucks
Cause it gets cold..... up there in Crookston
We found a hotel lobby, that's where we made our beds
A pair of matching army cots, that's where we laid our heads
Not the most romantic thing, but at least we were not dead
And when we kissed goodnight, that's that's exactly what I said
Now if you go to Crookston, tell 'em that I say hello
Ask 'em why it never gets to more than ten below
If they ever get some sunshine, I suppose I'll have to go
Until then I'll stay here, sweet home Chicago
Cause it gets cold..... up there in Crookston
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6. |
Just the Kind of Person
01:56
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I got a little friend, and his name is James
But that's just one of his many names
He's the type of guy who stays up too late
Doing the types of things most people hate
But ya know... That's just the type of person I love
Each and every mornin' is a brand new day
To do the same thing in a brand new way
I know it all sounds kind of crazy to you
But that's just the type of thing my friends all do
And ya know... That's just the type of person I love
You can go ahead and ask the common man
What makes this country so big and grand
He'll probably tell you all about democracy
But the writing on the wall is more important to me
There have always been quite a lot of folk
Who think that society is quite the joke
All they wanna be is whoever they are
And that's the kind of thing that's really not so hard
And ya know... That's just the type of person I love
Everywhere I go I try to find
Another person with an open mind
I look for the people who are totally weird
That's the kind of person who has no fear
And ya know... That's just the kind of person I love
Now I wouldn't go so far as to say
That one certain thing has made me this way
All I can do is just be me
And leave my mark for the world to see
If you want to try it then you probably should
And if you think you can, then you probably could
There really ain't nothin' slowin' you down
So live it up and paint the town
Cause you know... That's just the kind of person I love
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7. |
I Used to Have a Brother
03:58
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I used to have a brother, Three years younger than me
Then he started drinking, Now he's no where to be seen
I used to have a brother, As children we would play
Now he's gone and wrecked his life, And they locked him away
I used to have a brother, I think about him all the time
No matter just where I am, He's never far from my mind
I used to have a brother, We were the best of friends
And I just cannot believe that, This is how it all ends
They say that the drink is the curse of the working man
I'm sorry to say that I've seen it first hand
And what about those for whom the drink is not enough?
Doesn't take long before they move to harder stuff
The booze and the sex and the coke and the meth
Staying alive by staying close to death
No plans for the future just getting through the day
Surviving the night, not knowing another way
And deep underneath it all an ounce of hope remains
Because he's my fucking brother, and that will never change
Who am I to judge the course his life has run?
When it comes to hardship, he's seen more than anyone
I used to have a brother, where the hell has he gone to?
I love him with all my heart, but there's nothing I can do
The childhood that we shared is just a distant memory
I let my brother slip away as I worried about me
And if I had had ever known, the trouble he was in
I would have dropped everything just to be with him again
I used to have a brother, I think about him all the time
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8. |
Strange Winds
02:27
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I can feel a strange wind blow
Just what that means, I really don't know
Not much to do when you're feelin' this low
Maybe it's time, for me to go
Tonight........ Tonight
Some times it comes and it pushes along
Some times it comes and it writes me a song
Some times I'm alright, but tonight I'm all wrong
And I can tell I no longer belong
Tonight....... Tonight
I never really asked for much
Just love and compassion, and humor and such
What little you had, you used it up
I gave what I could, but it wasn't enough
Tonight..... Tonight
I tell myself not to think about you
But this late at night there ain't much else to do
I know that it's over, I know that we're through
And I'll find another, but I don't know who
Tonight..... Tonight
I never really asked for much
Just love and compassion, and humor and such
What little you had, you used it up
I gave what I could, but it wasn't enough
Tonight..... Tonight
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9. |
Here We Are
02:37
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We moved to the city, I don't know why
Maybe we just had to give it a try
So we dove right in, over our heads
We probably should have stayed put instead
But now it's too late, cuz here we are
You found a job, and I found one too
Everything we do is totally new
It's never easy, but some times it's fun
Now I know for sure that you're the only one
All we have is each other, and here we are
In a tiny house with crooked walls
Into love is how we'll fall
When life gets hard and times get tough
We'll have each other, and that's enough
We miss all our friends so far away
But we make new friends every day
And we miss all the food from our old home state
We miss all the things that we used to hate
But we'll learn to love this place, cuz here we are
The world around us is such a mess
People without much, end up with less
Those on top don't deserve what they got
If you're not a have, you must be a have-not
That's how it's always been, so here we are
As the world burns, you and I can hold hands
We'll laugh at jokes no one understands
We'll take it as it comes, day by day
And nothing will ever stand in our way
As long as we have each other, here we are
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10. |
If You Relate
03:08
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I left my shoes in Oakland
As a piece of performance art
Then I flew back to New Mexico
In search of a brand new start
I feel so excited when I first wake up
I'm depressed by the end of the day
I may not be good at the things that I do
But I'm an artist with something to say
And if you relate
to any of this
Then maybe we can be friends
With some blood and some spit
And a firm handshake
I'll stick with you until the end
When I'm in a bad situation
I just do the best that I can
But the more I experience life
The less that I understand
Another young man was shot down today
He was running from the police
When we're at war with our own guardians
How can we ever find peace?
I write books and stories
Songs and graffiti too
When I start to think too much
I find myself something to do
Believe it or not, I was once punk as fuck
I just don't dye my hair any more
But I still fight the system
And I'm still DIY to the core
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iknowbilly New Mexico
Billy McCall is an artist, writer and musician. He has been in a lot of bands, typically either on drums or vocals. These are a few of them. Email him: iknowbilly AT gmail DOT com.
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