When people twist your words, Woodrow, ah, they’ll twist at every whim
It’s thugs that run the unions now and use your songs like hymns
Once, your music danced on women’s thighs and the arch of a hobo’s
brow-ow
Aw, Mrs. Guthrie look what they done to your brown-eyed baby now

Oh, the trains leave every morning, some go east and some go west
And the clacking of the iron is the sound you love the best
It’s the great escape from railroad bulls and the Coney Island girls
Aw, Mrs. Guthrie, look what we done to your brown eyed boy with curls

Chorus:
Sing the truth, scream it loud (2nd time: sing it loud)
Aw, Mrs. Guthrie, look what they done to your brown-eyed baby now
(2nd time: we done)

All those boxcars full of Chinese junk, the caboose has been junk piled
And we’re all buying groceries now from men with crooked smiles
You were a drunken, wild misogyneer and your politics were crude
As you sat home writing nursery rhymes and drawing women nude

And all those politicians breaths stink bad, be they left or be they
right
And the ones who play with rhetoric are not the ones to fight
Don’t go coming ‘round here, Woodrow, they’ll stretch you from a rope
And your corpse won’t ever find a bar where a man can drink and smoke

Repeat Chorus

Instrumental (chorus)

Did you hear the screen door slam, Ma, Woodrow's gone again
He’s writin’ obscene letters now, the Feds might bring him in
But every song he ever wrote is hangin’ on the breeze
With the laundry in the Guthrie yard full of Huntington’s disease

So, Woodrow, rest in peace, old pal, there ain’t nothin’ for you here
We’re in the scrub oak country now, the land of dread an’ fear
And whitey’s in the wood pile and the writing’s on the wall
But your ring of truth still echoes down the Greystone clinic hall

Repeat Chorus

So here’s to all outsiders, all the ones who could not fit
The troubadour, the prisoners, the drunken Indian
Ah, the circus freaks, the wounded lovers will make it through somehow
Ah, Mrs. Guthrie, we are ridin’ blind with your brown eyed baby now

Sing the truth scream it loud
Ah, Mrs. Guthrie, look what we done to your brown-eyed baby now
Sing the truth, scream it loud
Ah, Mrs. Guthrie, look what we done to your brown-eyed baby now

I’ll give to you a house of mirrors
A thousand eyes they belong to you
A labyrinth of wild roses
I know you’ll find your own way through

Wait a while and you’ll grow older/stronger
Never mind what the old/wise folks say
Just keep an angel on your shoulder

Never throw your dreams away
For they will save your life one day

A song is just a box of visions
you can’s unlock it with a key
A message rolled up inside a bottle
And dropped into the stormy sea

A song is just a box of visions
A jar of hears and a gypsy’s ear
A labyrinth of wild roses
A journey though the house of mirrors

(Capo on 3)

Intro.: (G) (G/F#) (F7) (E7) (E7)

My (G)father was a (G/F#)gambler, he threw (F7)horseshoes at the (E7)moon
He (C)won a (G)million dollars, and (Em/F#)lost a million, (C)too
They repossessed the house, and (G)towed that Cadil-(C)lac
My (Am)daddy, he just (E)smiled and said, “One (F)day I’ll win it (F#)back”

My (G)daddy bought that (G/F#)Cadillac off a (F7)Detroit motor (E7)line
Then he (C)drove it through his (G)home town, to (Em/F#)prove he hit his (C)prime
With hundred dollars bills in a (G)Saint Chris money (C)clip
And (Am)four kids starrin’ (E)proudly from that (F)big ole sinkin’ (F#)ship (D)
Throwin’ horseshoes at the (Em)moon

(Chorus)
Boys, it’s (C)mighty risky (G)odds
Some-(C)times ya hook the (G)milky way or the (F#)outstretched hands of (E)God
But (C)mostly they just fall into a (G)dark and dusty (C)hole
And the (Am)sound of fallin’ (E)horse shoes (F)pulls upon your (F#)soul (D)
Throwin’ horse shoes at the (Em)moon

Inst.: (C) (G) (C) (G) (F#m) (Em) (Em) (C) (C) (Bm)
[(G)] [(C)] [(C)] [(Am)] [(E)] [(F)][(F#)][(D)][—]
My (G)daddy was a (G/F#)gambler but he (F7)had an honest (E7)heart
He (C)never did com-(G)plain when the (Em/F#)whole thing fell a-(C)part
He just swam that sea of alcohol till he (G)reached the other (C)side
How (Am)can ya be a (E)loser if you (F)never loss your (F#)pride? (D)
Throwin’ horse shoes at the (Em)moon

(Chorus)
Boys, it’s (C)mighty risky (G)odds
Some-(C)times ya hook the (G)milky way or the (F#)outstretched hands of (E)God
But (C)mostly they just fall into a (G)dark and dusty (C)hole
And the (Am)sound of fallin’ (E)horse shoes (F)pulls upon your (F#)soul (D)
Throwin’ horse shoes at the (Em)moon

(Tag)
(C) Throwin (D)horse shoes at the (G)moon —–

Intro C

Barcelona is a woman’s town – women everywhere
Barcelona is a woman’s eyes, raven gypsy hair
I got drunk in Barcelona and then she walked away from me
My tears ran down a bottle of Spanish burgundy
And I drank until I slept and I slept until I dream
In every dream her lips did taste of Spanish burgundy

There was once a gypsy saying, it may come from Catalan
First the man he takes the drink and then the drink it takes the man
It may lead you to destruction or a love that’s meant to be
But beware of Barcelona girls and the Spanish Burgundy
And we drink until we sleep and we sleep until we dream
We dream of Barcelona girls and Spanish burgundy

Solo

So I will join the old men down in the sad cafe
The sun goes up the sun goes down, shadows cross our face
As we sing of how it might of been oh and how it used to be
And the moon shines through the bottles of Spanish burgundy
And we drink until we sleep and we sleep until we dream
We dream of Barcelona girls and Spanish burgundy
And we drink until we sleep and we sleep until we dream
In every dream her lips did taste of Spanish burgundy

The night my baby left me I crossed the bridge to Juarez avenu[C/G]e
Like that movie “Touch of evil” I got the Orson Wells, Marlene Dietrich
blues
Where Orson walks in to the whore house and
Marlene says “Man, you look like hel[C/G]l”
And Orson’s chewing on a chocolate bar
as the l[C/G]ights go on in the old Blue Star hotel
“Read my future” says old Orson, “down inside the tea leaves of your cup”
And she says “You ain’t got no future, Hank,
I believe your future’s all used up”

Why don’t you touch me anymore? Why don’t you touch me anymore?
Why do you run away and hide? You know it hurts me deep inside[(G7)]
Why do you close the bedroom door? This is a brutal little war
What good is all this fightin’ for if you don’t touch me anymore?

[C/G]
(Chords like 1st verse, until notice)
They shot “A touch of evil” in a Venice, California colony[C/G]
And I grew near those dead canals
where they filmed the longest pan shot ever made
Now I’m thinking about the movie, the bar I’m in, the bridge, the Rio Grande[C/G]
Now I’m thinking about my baby and the [C/G]borderline ‘tween a woman and a man
I was drunk as Orson Wells the night I crawled backwards out the door
I was screaming “Baby, baby how come you touch me anymore?”

CHORUS:

G C/G x3

(Chords like 2nd verse)
Oh, someone rolled the credits on twenty years of love turned dark and raw[C/G]
Not a technicolor love film, it’s a brutal document, it’s film noir
And it’s all played out on a borderline and the actors are tragically miscas[C/G]t
Like a Mexican burlesk show where the [C/G]characters are wearing comic masks
Oh, it’s love and love alone I cry to the barmen in this Juarez waterhole
As we raise a glass to Orson and ”A touch of evil” livin’ our souls

CHORUS:

Outro: G C/G x3 G

[(C)] [(F)] [(C)] [(G)] [(C)]
What happened to the kid in the (F)baseball (C)cap?
Well hes trying to get home but I (G)think he lost the (C)map
What happened to the kid with the (F)braces on his (C)teeth?
He had an autographed picture of Mu(G)hammad (C)Ali
Hes just a (F)wise-assed, buck-toothed, (Bb)near-sighted fool (F)
Always (C)staring at the girls in the (G)swimming (C)pool
(F)Thirty years later and hes (Bb)staring again (F)
Hes (C)searching for the place where the (G)dreams be(C)gin
Searching for the (Am)place where the dream be(Dm)gins

Then he bought a bunch of records and he (F)heard a man (C)sing
He said if I could write a song I be(G)lieve Id be a (C)king
But it took him twenty years un(F)til he got the (C)nerve
Hes got boxes full of papers and (G)papers full of (C)words
And the (F)words fly away like (Bb)swallows on the (F)wind
But they (C)never flew back to the (G)nest a(C)gain
Never took him to the (Am)place where the dream be(Dm)gins

[(C)(F)(C)(G)(C)]
Then he finally got married and he (F)had two little (C)girls
But he didnt see em much cause he (G)had to see the (C)world
And the lie that he told em is Im (F)like most (C)men
Its always down the road that the (G)dream be(C)gins
And the (F)girls grew up to be (Bb)pretty and wise (F)
They said you (C)could have seen the dream by (G)looking in our (C)eyes
(F)You were always living in the (Bb)world of pretend (F)
You kept (C)running away from (F)where the dream (C)begins
Running a(Am)way from where the dream be(Dm)gins” (C)

Now hes living with a woman out on (F)Borderland (C)Road
But her loves turned bitter, and her (G)eyes turned (C)cold
She said we came to the desert, let the (F)sickness (C)mend
But Hell aint the place where the (G)dreams be(C)gin
(F)Look out boys Im (Bb)gaining on you (F)
Hes old (C)Blind Joe Death in his (G)alligator (C)shoes
Hes got a (F)pocket full of pills and a (Bb)pint of sloe gin (F)
Hes gonna (C)show you to the place where the (G)dream be(C)gins
Follow him (Am)down where the dream be(Dm)gins

[(C)(F)(C)(G)(C)]
At the end of the road there aint (F)nothing but (C)fear
Just a big old room with a (G)big old (C)mirror
And the man in the mirror his (F)hairs turning (C)gray
And his hands begin to shake in a (G)funny kind of (C)way
Hes knows (F)everything you bring for to (Bb)save you soul (F)
(C)Everything denied will con(G)demn you to the (C)hole
With his (F)hand on his heart he (Bb)picks up his pen (F)
He goes (C)searching for the place where the (G)dream be(C)gins
Looking for the (Am)place where the dream be(Dm)gins (C)

What happened to the kid in the (F)baseball (C)cap?
Hes trying to get home but I (G)think hes lost the (C)map.

[(C)(F)(C)(G)(C)]

I’m just trying to make a living
I’m an old man at 39
Two kids and an ex-wife
Moved up to Riverside
Working down on the border
Driving back roads every night
Mountains east of El Cajon
North of the Tecate Line

Well the California summer sun will burn right to your soul
In the winter you can freeze to death
In the California snow

I catch the ones I’m able to
Watch the others slip away
I know some by their faces
And I even know some by name
Guess they think that we’re all movie stars and millionaires
Guess that they still believe that dreams come true up here

But I bet the weather’s warmer down in Mexico
And no one ever tells them ‘bout the California snow

Last winter found a man and wife
Just about day break
Laying in a frozen ditch
South of the interstate
I wrapped ‘em both in blankets
But she’d already died
Next day we sent him back alone
Across the borderline

Don’t know where they came from
Or where they planned to go
But he carried her all night long
Through the California snow

Sometimes when I’m alone out here
I get to thinking about my life
Maybe I should go to Riverside
And try to fix things with my wife
Maybe just get in my truck
And drive as far as I can go
Away from all the ghosts that haunt
The California snow

Well the California summer sun can burn right to your soul
In the winter you can freeze to death
In the California snow
In the winter you can freeze to death
In the California snow

…..end on

(C) Alkali, here’s (Dm) mud in your eye
(F) Lost in the desert (G) 25 years or (C) more //// (Dm)// (G)//
(C) Whiskey streams – and your (Dm) goldfield dreams
(F) Lady Luck won’t (G) let you dark her (C) door

Yeah they (Am) tell me you are a (Em) ghost of a man
(F) And I be-(G)-lieve it’s (C) true
They (Am) say you had a (Em) woman once
But she (D) turned her (D7) back on (G) you

You old (Dm) gold-minin’ hobo, (F) dry-well (G) desert rat, (C) Alkali
Put the (Dm) bacon on to fry
The (F) sun’s comin’ up and the (G) mule’s wait’n for his (C) grain ////
[(Dm)//]Just a [(G)//](C) one room shackout by the (Dm) Santa Fe tracks
Its an (F) ole lick of Earth and its (G) screamin’ for a drop of (C) rain

And there’s a (Am) time for work and a (Em) time for play
And a (F) time for (G) lyin’ (C) down
And the (Am) road might lead to the (Em) rainbows end
A (D) dusty old (D7) desert (G) town
You old (Dm) gold-minin’ hobo, (F) dry-well (G) desert rat, (C) Alkali //// ////

[(Dm)////] [////] [(F)////] [(G)////] [(C)////] [(Dm)//][(G)//]
(C) Alkali, there’s a (Dm) buzzard in the sky
Hes a-(F)-countin’ his chances on (G) pickin’ your skinflint (C) bones ////
[(Dm)//]So (C) [(G)//]raise your handand throw a (Dm) curse on the land
They gonna (F) find you one day (G) lyin’ ‘neath an unmarked (C) stone
And the (Am) desert is a (Em) lonely place
For a (F) man to (G) lose his (C) head
They (Am) tell me when you start to (Em) talkin’ to yourself
Ya (D) might as (D7) well be (G) dead

You old (Dm) gold-minin’ hobo, (F) dry-well (G) desert rat, (C) Alkali

(2x)
(Am) Alkali, (Em) Alkali
You old (F) gold-minin’ hobo, (G) dry-well (G7) desert rat, (C) Alkali

Intro E A E E Esus4

Old man on the corner, singing my life
And he’s playing that guitar with a rusty old knife
And every line that he sings rhymes with the truth
And the promise of something beyond the blues
Beyond the blues

Me and my darling took the long way around
Through the wide open countries and the heart attack towns
To every fork in the road where we’ve all got to choose
Between darkness and light, beyond the blues

Beyond the blues, beyond the shadows, beyond the rain
Beyond the darkness and all the pain
When you’re walking in circles, with holes in your shoes
Love is the road that leads out beyond the blues
Beyond the blues

Solo

Old man on the corner has been gone for years
And that guitar in the night bled rusty tears
But there’s a song that he left us we’ll never lose
That love is the road that leads beyond the blues
Beyond the blues

Beyond the blues, beyond the shadows, beyond the rain
Beyond the darkness and all the pain
When you’re walking in circles, with holes in your shoes
Love is the road that leads out beyond the blues
Beyond the blues
Love is the road that leads out beyond the blues

If I may trust your love, she cried, and you would have me for a bride,
ride the wild plain and bring a flask of water from the Mustang Spring.
Fly as on the eagle’s wing cross the Llano Estacado.

He smiled and left without a word, grabbed up saddle, bit, and spur,
cinched his horse and rode away through prickley pear and old Maguey,
vanished with the dying day on the Llano Estacado.
All through the night he galloped on, daylight broke, he rode along,
spurred his horse and drew no rein across that dry, forsaken plain
until the Mustang Spring he gained on the Llano Estacado.

Crazy with loveEnamorado! Alone out on the Llano Estacado.