Old Rock 'N Roller lyrics - The Charlie Daniels band

He's just an old rock 'n' roller playing music in a backstreet bar.
He sings a little flat and he never learned to play the guitar.
But he keeps on belting out them rhythm and blues,
"Long Tall Sally" and "Blue Suede Shoes".
He never faced the fact that he's never gonna be a star.
He's just an old rock 'n' roller playing music in a backstreet bar.

He had a record in the sixties, it was big enough to go Top Ten.
And though he tried and he tried he never could make it happen again.
He's been living twenty years on bourbon and pride.
Jerry Lee went crazy and Elvis died.
Then his third wife left him but he never really thought it would last.
And now she ain't nothing but another little blast from the past.

But sometimes at night when the music and the crowd is having fun,
He steps up on the mike with a gleam in his eye and once again he's twenty-one.
And then it's "Be-Bop-A-Lula" and "Heartbreak Hotel" and "That'll Be The Day"
Then the "Sweet Bird of Youth" just flies away.

He's an earthbound eagle that never did learn how to fly.
He ain't never gonna make it but he sure did give it a try.
So go dye your hair and turn the music up loud,
And when it's time to go at least you'll go down proud.
You ain't never gonna be nothing but what you are
Just an old rock 'n' roller playing music in a backstreet bar.
Just an old rock 'n' roller playing music in a backstreet bar.

Mister DJ lyrics - The Charlie Daniels Band

Mr DJ won't you please play me a song
Play it for an old boy who's a long long way from home
With a thousand miles ahead and a thousand miles behind
A dollar in his pocket and a woman on his mind
You can pick out almost anything you choose
Play Sweet Home Alabama or let Waylon sing the blues
I don't care what kind of music just as long as it sounds tough
Don't play any hurting songs cause I feel bad enough

Now don't get the wrong impression I ain't meaning to complain
But it would be Sunday morning and I guess it had to rain
And I was doing pretty good until I heard that durned old train
Going who knows where
And I guess the combination's got me feeling kinda low
And all I've got to cheer me up is this all night radio
Why don't you play us something hot and let this 18 wheeler
Roll my blues away

Well I called her from a phone booth in St Paul
When I asked her if she loved me I got no reply at all
And if that's the way she wants it that's the way it's gonna be
It might hurt a little while but that's alright with me
I've been jamming gears and wondering what went wrong
Then I turned on the radio and I heard a country song
And it kinda keeps me moving helps me rolling down the line
But when you played that hurtin' song I almost started cryin'

Willie drowned in Whiskey River with Hank Jr's rowdy friends
The Oak Ridge Boys sang Elvira Ricky played the mandolin
Then them old boys from Alabama put the pedal to the medal
And let it toll Roll On
And I started feeling bad when George stopped loving her today
Why don't you let old Mickey Gilley get down on them 88's
Come on and play us something hot and let this 18 wheeler roll my blues away
Hey Mr DJ hey Mr DJ hey Mr DJ

"Homesick Heroes" (1988)




Boogie Woogie Fiddle Country Blues lyrics - The Charlie Daniels Band

Every time I hear a fiddle and it's cookin' just a little
Well it makes me want to jump up and run
And if he's sawing with some soul boogie woogie rock n' roll
Well I know I'm gonna have some fun
And when the resin starts to fly and I'm looking in the eye
Like I'm just about to blow a fuse
Mama call the doctor 'cause your boy has got 

The rocking Boogie Woogie Fiddle Country Blues

I met a man from Tenessee this is what he said to me
He said music is a rhapsody
He picked up his violin stuck it underneath his chin
And started playing me a symphony
I said that ain't the way it's done let me see that fiddle son
And I sawed him off a chorus or two
He said you'd better call the doctor 'cause I think I've got

The rocking Boogie Woogie Fiddle Country Blues

Now if you want to play me some fiddle
I'll tell you right from the start
You'd better play me something lowdown hoedown honking
I don't want to hear no funeral march
It's got to pick me up and roll me over
It's got to make me want to jump up and sing
If it ain't buzzing like a beehive, kick it into overdrive
Or it don't mean a doggone thing
So let me resin up my bow and I think I can show you
The way I like to play this thing
Let's put some boogie rhythm in it kick it on up to the limit
I'm gonna put some fire on these strings
And if you feel your feet start moving to the beat
And you feel like you've got ants in your shoes
Well you'd better call the doctor 'cause you've probably got

The rocking Boogie Woogie Fiddle Country Blues

Alligator lyrics -The Charlie Daniels Band

Well, if you ever go back into Wooley Swamp, well, you better not go at night.
There's things out there in the middle of them woods that make a strong man
die from fright. Things that crawl and things that fly and things that creep 
around on the ground. And they say the ghost of Lucius Clay gets up and he walks around. 

But I couldn't believe it. I just had to find out for myself. And I couldn't conceive
it 'cause I never would have listened to nobody else. And I couldn't believe it. 
I just had to find out for myself there's some things in this world you just can't explain.

[Spoken:]
The old man lived in the Wooley Swamp way back in Booger Woods. He never
did do a lot of harm in the world, but he never did do no good. People didn't 
think too much of him. They all thought he acted funny. The old man didn't 
care about people anyway. All he cared about was his money. He'd stuff it all
down in mason jars and he'd bury it all around. And on certain nights if the 
moon was right he'd dig it up out of the ground. He'd pour it all out on the floor
of his shack and run his fingers through it. Yeah, Lucius Clay was a greedy old
man and that's all that there was to it.

But I couldn't believe it. I just had to find out for myself. And I couldn't conceive
it 'cause I never would have listened to nobody else. And I couldn't believe it. 
I just had to find out for myself there's some things in this world you just can't explain.

[Spoken:]
Cable boys was white trash. They lived over on Carver's Creek. They were 
mean as a snake and sneaky as a cat and belligerent when they'd speak. One
night the oldest brother said, "Y'all meet me at the Wooley Swamp later. We'll 
take old Lucius's money and we'll feed him to the alligators." They found the 
old man out in the back with a shovel in his hand, thirteen rusty mason jars was
just dug up out of the sand. And they all went crazy and they beat the old man, 
and they picked him up off of the ground. Threw him in the swamp and stood there
and laughed as the black water sucked him down. Then they turned around and 
went back to the shack and picked up the money and ran. They hadn't gone 
no where when they realized they were running in quicksand. And they struggled
and they screamed but they couldn't get away and just before they went under 
they could hear that old man laughing in a voice as loud as thunder.
And that's been fifty years ago and you can go by there yet. There's a spot in 
the yard in the back of that shack where the ground is always wet. And on 
summer nights, if the moon is right down by the that dark footpath, you can
hear three young men screaming. You can hear one old man laugh.
Well, if you ever go back into Wooley Swamp, well, you better not go at night.
There's things out there in the middle of them woods that make a strong man
die from fright. Things that crawl and things that fly and things that creep 
around on the ground. And they say the ghost of Lucius Clay gets up and he walks around. 

But I couldn't believe it. I just had to find out for myself. And I couldn't conceive
it 'cause I never would have listened to nobody else. And I couldn't believe it. 
I just had to find out for myself there's some things in this world you just can't explain.
There's some things in this world you just can't explain

Get Me Back To Dixie lyrics - The Charlie Daniels band

You can put me in the ocean
Stranded in a boat
Put me on an island
No bottle or a note
Put me on a Greyhound bus
With a dog behind the wheel
Tie me up, you'll still get stuck
With a hearing how I feel

Drop me in Alaska
In thirty feet of snow
Drop me at the cold north pole
Where the eskimos won't go
Drop me in the desert
With the heat of the burning sand
Ring my bell, but I'll still tell you
How I really stand

Get me back to Dixie
I love my Tennessee
In the Smokey Mountains
That's where I want to be
From the muddy Mississippi
To the land of the Cherokee
Get me back to Dixie
I love my Tennessee...
Love my Tennessee

(Fire on the mountain, run boys run!)

You can run me up a mountain
Where only eagles fly
Throw me down a cold dark well
Where I can't see the sky
Tie me to the railroad tracks
And read me my last rites
Long as that train don't stop
Until Tennessee is in sight

Get me back to Dixie
I love my Tennessee
In the Smokey Mountains
That's where I want to be
From the muddy Mississippi
To the land of the Cherokee
Get me back to Dixie
I love my Tennessee
Get me back to Dixie
I love my Tennessee...
Love my Tennessee...

Cowboy Hat In Dallas lyrics - The Charlie Daniels Band

[INTRO:]
Well there ain't no grapes in California, and there ain't no spuds in Idaho
Ain't no snow in Minnesota, they don't get hot in El Paso
And there ain't no baked beans up in Boston, and no river in St. Lou
Ain't no grizzlies in Alaska and the Astrodome is blue
And there ain't a cowboy hat in Dallas if I ain't in love with you

Well there ain't no M in Massechusetts, and there ain't no K in Kankakee
And there ain't T in Tallahassee, there ain't no B.S. in D.C.
Ain't no beer in Bogalusa, ain't no beach in Malibu
Ain't no cars in Carson City, ain't no water in Waterloo
And there ain't a guitar pick in Nashville if I ain't in love with you

[BRIDGE:]
How am I gonna make you see that all I wanna do is make you mine
You won't believe a word I say so I'm just gonna try it one more time
One more time
And there ain't no tide in Tuscaloosa, no jambalaya in Lafayette
And there ain't no oil in Oklahoma, and Arizona's soakin' wet
And I ain't ever givin' up in spite of all you put me thru
I'm gonna tell ya one more time, baby you know it's true
Ain't a Chevrolet in Detroit if I ain't in love with you

[SOLO]

You won't believe a word I say so I'll just have to try it one more time
One more time
Well there ain't no mountains in Montana, ain't no pines in Caroline
And there ain't rivers in Mississippi, ain't no Mason-Dixon Lines, and ya know that's fine
Ain't no longhorn cows in Texas, ain't no streets in Kalamazoo
Ain't no losers in Las Vegas, ain't no creeks in Caribou
Ain't a cowboy hat in Dallas if I ain't in love with you
Ain't a cowboy hat in Dallas if I ain't in love with you

Big Bad John lyrics - The Charlie Daniels Band

[Spoken]
Ev'ry mornin' at the mine you could see him arrive
He stood six foot six and weighed two forty five
Kinda broad at the shoulder and narrow at the hip
And everybody knew ya didn't give no lip to Big John.
Big John, Big John, Big Bad John (Big John)

Nobody seemed to know where John called home
He just drifted into town and stayed all alone
He didn't say much, kinda quiet and shy
And if you spoke at all, you just said "Hi" to Big John.

Somebody said he came from New Orleans
Where he got in a fight over a Cajun Queen
And a crashin' blow from a huge right hand
Sent a Loosiana fellow to the Promised Land, Big John
Big John, Big John, Big Bad John (Big John)

Then came the day at the bottom of the mine
When a timber cracked and men started cryin'
Miners were prayin' and hearts beat fast
And everybody thought that they'd
Breathed their last-'cept John

Through the dust and the smoke of this man-made hell
Walked a giant of a man that the miners knew well
Grabbed a saggin' timber, gave out with a groan
And like a giant oak tree he just stood there alone, Big John
Big John, Big John, Big Bad John (Big John)

And with all of his strength he gave a mighty shove
Then a miner yelled out "There's a light up above!"
And twenty men scrambled from a would-be grave
Now there's only one left down there to save, Big John

With jacks and timbers they started back down
Then came that rumble way down in the ground
And then smoke and gas belched out of that mine
Everybody knew it was the end of the line for Big John
Big John, Big John, Big Bad John (Big John)

Now, they never reopened that worthless pit
They just placed a marble stand in front of it
These few words are written on that stand
"At the bottom of this mine lies one hell of a man, Big John"
Big John, Big John, Big Bad John (Big John)

(Big John, Big John, Big John)...

Midnight Train lyrics - The Charlie Daniels Band

Midnight train, roll on
Midnight train, roll on

Clear them tracks and keep that whistle blowin
Take this stranger on to Santa Fe
It seems like romance and danger
Follow this here tall dark stranger all along the way

Well the train was rumblin through the night heading south to Santa Fe
And in a fancy car, with a private bar, and a personal valet
There was a bunch of cold eyed men a sittin at a poker table
Bettin hot stakes all around

Ole Louisiana Lou had a knife in his shoe, was dealin' a hand of cards
And ole Stagger Lee Crocket had a gun in his pocket, was sweatin bettin hard
And over in the corner this Mexican guy with two gold teeth and a patch on his eye
Took a long hard look around

And then the door flew open, the stranger walked in and said don't ya'll get excited
I know this here's a private game, and I know I wasn't invited
But I got a roll that'd choke a mule
I'm just about a big enough fool to lay it all right down

And everybody nodded as the stranger took his seat
He knew this bunch of cutthroat's would be mighty hard to beat
As the stranger knew then the toughest two by far were where he sat
Was a pot belly fellow from south Alabama, and a dude in a black felt hat

Midnight Train, roll on
Midnight Train, roll on

Well clear them tracks and keep that whistle blowin
Take this stranger on to Santa Fe
It seems like romance and danger
Follow this here tall dark stranger all along the way

Well the stranger sat down he looked around at all them evil faces
And the pot-belly fellow drew a pair of queens, but the stranger he drew aces
And he kept on raising and pushin his luck, kept on winning like a run away truck
He was giving them a beating

And the stakes got higher than a Chinese kite, the stranger kept getting hot
Till every cent everybody had was lying out in that pot
Then the stranger threw down a royal flush, 
Somebody said "Hey Man, that's enough friend I think you've been cheatin"

And then the stranger picked the money up and said "Boys I better run"
And then the bot-bellyed fella pulled a razor out and somebody pulled a gun
They said "You may think you're a sly old fox, 
you're gonna leave here in a long pine box
if you don't leave that money alone"

Just about then the lights went out, and they all started fussin
And the lights came on, the stranger was gone, they all started cussin
And they searched that train from front to rear
The stranger he done disappeared, and all their money was gone

When the train pulled in the station, with the whistle blowin loud
A telegram was waitin, from the stranger for the crowd
Said "Thank you for the money boys, but don't feel too outdone
Cause It takes a dog to know a dog
I'm a howlin son of a gun."

Midnight Train, roll on
Midnight Train, roll on

Well clear them tracks and keep that whistle blowin
Take this stranger on to Santa Fe
It seems like romance and danger
Follow this here tall dark stranger all along the way

Honky Tonk Avenue lyrics - The Charlie Daniels Band

Oh I know wanna sound weak is lookin' old and time to seek
While the hooker in the doorway
Leaves to turn another cheek
And the jukebox in the camberlay
Is blearin' out the blues
But the blues is just a way of life
On honky-tonk Avenue

Where the swingers and the hustlers
And the evening people dwell
Where the neon shines toward heaven
While it lights the way to hell

Time to survive and time to stay alive 
S'about all a man can do
You can make it anywhere
If you can make it out there
On Honky-tonk Avenue

Where all birds of a feather
Were out here on the street in all kinds of weather
Were all in this thing together
Were just trying to make a living
Just trying to get by

It's a one-way street to nowhere
Where nothing's as it seems
It's a multi-car junkyard
Full of a thousand broken dreams
And it's the end of the line
Where the sun don't shine
And there's nothing left to lose
Well it sure ain't a lot but it's all that we've got
On Honky-tonk Avenue

Where all birds of a feather
Were out here on the street in all kinds of weather
Were all in this thing together
Were just trying to make a living
Just trying to get by
Were just trying to make a living
Just trying to get by

Oh I know wanna sound weak is lookin' old and time to seek

You Can't Pick Cotton lyrics - The Charlie Daniels band

I will never forget the day the law come take my grandpa away
The family lived on sugar hill making, making liquor in a moonshine still
Uncle Bill said, Grandpa you better run, High Sheriff is coming with a posse and a gun
Grandpa didn’t want to go to jail; he took off a running down the Cumberland Trail

They said, Hey Hey, I better get my britches on the high sheriffs come and to take me to town
Hey Hey, I better get a move on, I better get a move on down

[CHORUS:]
You can’t pick cotton if the fields ain’t white
You can’t stay sober on a Saturday night
You can’t go courting if you get too old
You can’t go driving if the wheels won’t roll
Greenback money make the wheels go round
I’m gonna play my fiddle’til the sun goes down

Two weeks later he was back in town in a Cadillac car with the top rolled down
Girls in the front, girls in the back, whiskey in the jug, and money in the sack
Sitting in the backseat, jumping like a frog, crazy like a possum putting on a dog
New suit new hat twinkle in his eye, playing on his fiddle for the people passing by

He said, Hey Hey, give me a drink of water the sun is getting hotter and I think I’m getting dry
Hey Hey, doing what I ought-ta now, telling you the reason why…

[CHORUS]

Do you remember a long time ago? 
Devil worked a man named Cotton-Eyed Joe
Devil worked a man named Cotton-Eyed Joe
Down in the __ fields down below
Everybody talking about Cotton-Eyed Joe
Everybody talking about Cotton-Eyed Joe

[CHORUS]

Ill Wind lyrics - The Charlie Daniels band

Well he found her in two bit joint down in Dallas
[?] for the juke box serving up beer
Fooled around, messed around, fell in love
He put a ring on her finger and he brought her back here
Atlanta couldn't hold her but he brought her back here
He bought a big house on Peach Tree Avenue
Tried his best to give her her heart's desire
Thought he had her wrapped around his little finger
She left town on the Midnight Flyer
Ain't enough whiskey left to put out the fire
She got your number, big man
She's got you crying in your bourbon drinking when you're all alone
She's got your number big man
She took your love, and your heart, and your credit cards
And now she's gone
Did you ever see a big man crying like a baby
Thought he had it figured out 'til yesterday
When a ill wind come a blowin 'cross Georgia
She's spreading her wings and they blew her away
To who knows where
And I wish I didn't care
He was doing pretty good and the scars were healing
Then she called him one night on the telephone
Said she wanted them to start all over
She was feeling bad, she was feeling all alone
He sent her a ticket she was coming back home
He met her at the airport, took her home and loved her
She told him all about how lonely she'd been
A rolling stone'll crush a loser in a minute
Stone keeps a rollin, the loser can't win
Two weeks later, she was gone again
She got your number, big man
She's got you crying in your bourbon drinking when you're all alone
She's got your number big man
She took your love, and your heart, and your credit cards
And now she's gone
Did you ever see a big man crying like a baby
Thought he had it figured out 'til yesterday
When a ill wind come a blowin 'cross Georgia
She's spreading her wings and they blew her away
To who knows where
And I wish I didn't care
Did you ever see a big man crying like a baby
Thought he had it figured out 'til yesterday
When a ill wind come a blowin 'cross Georgia
She's spread her wings and they blew her away
To who knows where
And I wish I didn't care

Uneasy Rider '88 lyrics - The Charlie Daniels Band

Me and my buddy got us a wild hair
And figured we wanted to go somewhere
So we loaded up in my ragtop Chevrolet
We had a little bit of money
And a whole lot of show
And with Hank Jr. blaring on the radio
We got us a tank full of gas
And we was on our way

We figured we'd go down to New Orleans
We were barrelling down old 17
When a man with a blinking red light
Was on our tail
He said you were doing 60 in a 45
But I'm gonna let you go this time
But if I catch you again
I'm gonna slap you in the county jail

We said thank you sir you sure been nice
And you ain't gonna have to tell us twice
And we were Southbound and down with the wind
Blowing in our faces
We kept on rolling and pretty soon
The radio was cooking out a Haggard tune
And we were pulling into Houston
Checking out all them places

I was feeling dry and I said I think
We ought to stop and get ourselves a drink
And old Jim said yeah 'cause we got time to kill
We kept on rolling and I seen this spot
And we pulled into the parking lot
Of this place called the Cloud Nine Bar and Grill

We walked through the door
And the place was jammed
The lights were low they had a punk rock band
And some orange haired feller singing about suicide
I said Jim this ain't our kind of place
He said well let's just have one round anyway
So against my better judgement we walked on inside
Went up to the bar and we sat down
This feller walked up and said I'll buy this round
And he sat down on the barstool next to Jim

He looked like a girl but he talked like a guy
He had lipstick on and mascara in his eyes
And everybody in that place looked just about like him
I said Jim this ain't our kind of bar
Let's just go on out and get back in the car
'Cause there's gonna be trouble
Ain't no sense in taking a chance
We was getting up getting ready to leave
When somebody grabbed old Jim by the sleeve
And this good looking girl was asking my buddy to dance

I said Jim don't do it there's something missing
There's fellers dancing and fellers kissing
There's a feller in high heeled shoes wearing panty hose
He said partner I just can't turn this down
You just go over there and have one more round
And I'll dance with the lady
And we'll get on down the road

So he walked away and left me alone
But this funny looking feller kept coming on
And he was making me mad with some of the things he said
Then he put his hand on my knee
I said if you don't get your paw off me
I'm gonna locate your nose around
The other side of your head

He said I love it when you get that fire in your eye
I said well partner try this on for size
And I unloaded on him and he went out like a light
Everybody in that place must have been his friend
They all headed for me I said this is the end
But where I come from we don't give up
Without a fight

They were screaming and yelling and scratching and clawing
I was punching and hitting and kicking and pawing
I was holding my own 'cause I've been in a scrap or two
Old Jim come running up out of the blue
And that gal he was with come running up too
And proceeded to beat on me with a high heel shoe

I grabbed her by the hair it came off in my hand
And that beautiful girl was just a beautiful man
And old Jim just got sick right there on the floor

He dropped that dude like a shot from a gun
Smeared his lipstick made his makeup run
And me and old Jim started fighting our way to the door

We lit out of there in that Chevrolet
I put in on the floor and it stayed that way
We were going down the highway
Doing about a hundred and ten
We were headed for home and we was getting nearer
Then a red light came on the rear view mirror
And that same blame cop was pulling us over again

Now I'm sitting here in this county jail
I had to call my daddy to go our bail
But I learned me a lesson
That I never will forget again
I've done give up drinking I've give up bars
And running around the country in souped up cars
I'm going back where the women are women
And the men are men

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