SHAKEY GRAVES LYRICS

September 25, 2011

1.UNLUCKY SKIN

life tasted sweet when I was the bad twin
devil himself sat waving me by

all of my tattoos
they were of no use
no monetary values have I

ooh
wont be long till I belong

bird at my window tells me tomorrow
mean ol tornado carries me off

pulls me from bed and bashes my head in
buries me halfway across the globe

ooh
wont be long till I belong
without all of this unlucky skin

think of me often
loosen my coffin
let all the bugs in my wooden home

ooh
wont be long till I belong
without all of this unlucky skin

2.Built To Roam

this lazy livin’ yeah it sure tastes good
lets make a killin’ down in Hollywood

and buy ourselves some nice fancy home in the hills
spend all our fancy ol’ time spendin’ ten dollar bills

watch out
cause here I come bored and lazy
here I come no dignity
so long sad city of angels you aint been very good to me
you take that blood right from my body
oh you take the bone out of my spine
so long sunny California you aint no friend of mine

so New York City yeah I’ll see you soon
spend all my money on some elbow room
wander around like i got someplace fancy to go
I’m the king of Brooklyn for all you know

watch out cause here I come
bored and lazy
yeah here i come just passin’ through
oh follow me beyond the mountain
go howl the ol’ big moon
yeah strip them clothes right off your body
dress your skin in sticks and stones
doesn’t matter where were headed cause
some of us were built
some of us were built
some of us were built to roam

3.Roll The Bones

yeah so it goes
yeah so it goes
that sweet heirloom
them abbey stones

oh take a chance and roll the bones
cut off your hair
unplug your phone

yeah and sell your belongings
all your clever drawings try to make a dollar
from the grave
but whose to blame

well so it goes
yeah so it goes
them city boys in country clothes
oh take a chance and roll the bones
go crash your car
burn down your home

yeah try to forget all your enemies and debts
yeah try to forget all them enemies and debts
they’ll just chase you round and give you sour dreams

yeah so it seems

yeah so struggle all you like
yeah put up the good fight
they say someday everybody dies alone
yeah struggle all you like
put up the good fight
they say someday everybody dies alone
but hey
who knows
yeah hey who knows
yeah hey who really knows

4.Im On Fire (By Bruce Springsteen)

Hey little girl is your daddy home
Did he go away and leave you all alone
I got a bad desire
I’m on fire

Tell me now baby is he good to you
Can he do to you the things that I do
I can take you higher
I’m on fire

Sometimes it’s like someone took a knife baby
edgy and dull and cut a six-inch valley
through the middle of my soul

At night I wake up with the sheets soaking wet
and a freight train running through the
middle of my head
Only you can cool my desire
I’m on fire

5.Georgia Moon

doing 85 going north on 81
wont see my baby till the rising of the sun
Tennessee keeps warnin’ me if i booze it i might lose it
but shine on Georgia Moon
shine on

yeah well its hard to see the road
through this rain and all the fog

well this Appalachian driving has me tired as a dog
but this mason full of moonshine, is gonna keep me mighty strong
so shine on Georgia Moon
shine on

so loosen up the lid and open up the throttle
you wanna see the light?
aint gonna find it in a bottle
cause when I’m sippin’ on a jar
the road aint quite so long

so shine on Georgia Moon
shine on

6.Business Lunch

we’re social mutts thus
nothing really suits us
roaming is a local curse
(but hey it could be worse)
fuck getting by
go quit your job
lets get drunk in a parking lot

I’ve seen North Dakota
I’ve seen the west sea
now i travel by rail so they cant find me
no use wonderin’ where
to rest your feet
spilt milk
on borrowed mink my sweet

come skin your knees with us
life’s too short for business lunch

7.City In A Bottle (Live @ 2023)

well the cold has a hard time finding me
unlike some folks I know
yeah all the men down in union square
are worried about the snow

when your pockets fill
with dollar bills
your heart forgets to eat
its a wicked thing
it owns this street

yeah fix your boots or take me home says quick monique the freak
I need an easy dollar are you trick or are you treat
well if she was six teeth younger and if I had half a mind
I’d carry her away from that wicked thing outside

well I saw a carried bundle that has fingers eyes and toes
as a father of deception I have never raised a soul

it’s a purchase captured second hand and cherished more than gold
it’s a shelter from that wicked thing that wanders in the night

so fix your boots or take me home says quick monique the freak
I need an easy dollar are you trick or are you treat
well if she was six teeth younger and if I had half a mind
I’d carry her away from that wicked thing outside

the water on the dirty streets has all but turned to ice
to pave the road for wicked things that wander in the night

8.Proper Fence

just a mile down the road and a street or two away
lives that freckled misses that I want most every day
to the home of her father
im gonna drag my sore ol’ feet
tell him shes the woman who can wake me from my sleep

well she said kiss me
and lord I listened
but I haven’t gone back since
i curse the mind for building proper fence

so I will roll and I will suffer
curse the soil and curse the stones
keep my eyes a leakin’ for that girl does love my bones

well I’ve known her for a year
I’ve only seen her seven days
one week to many to keep a man like me away

well she said kiss me
and lord I listened
but I haven’t gone back since
i curse the mind for building proper fence

so three years after
found her doorstep
found her shoes and found her kin
they told me old grim reaper
done come and turned her in

pourin’ liquor on the stone
that marks my lost and gone
well i will whimper and wail
and sing her funeral song

9.The Seal Hunter

Carl was going to walk until he found Alaska
or a knife to carve a sneer into a bathroom wall
while Willie found his note that would lead him to her legs
that were lyin’ in her bed still calling out for Carl
where has my love gone?

I’ll love Willie will he love me?

Carl found Alaska hunted seals for seven months
found it immoral
returned to seek his home
little did he find when he arrived
the door was open
everything was out on the lawn
oh where has my love gone

she loves Willie will she love me?

Carl found Alaksa hunted seals for seven months
found it immoral
returned to seek his home

10.To Cure What Ails…

so I tried a new direction
a new mindset
a new state
but runnings what it is
its hard when you’re kid
to find your place
I know a gang of clever fellows
we built a fort out in the woods
we cuss and spit at all the girls
aint got a care in all the world
yeah the livin is good
but now im supposed to grow
big and tall
seems like I dont get to wear my bare feet
at all
but when the storm is through
my feet know what to do
all roads lead to you

I think ive grown a little thinner
with out you riding my coat tails
I would trade it all again for a nice
stroll in your skin
just to cure what ails