Pitiful Blues

Pitiful Blues
Roots
Sign For Sally
Savannah Blues
Another Despair
By The Boots
Words Not Spoken
Words of December
The Music Plays On
For The Love of a Child


Lyrics

pitiful blues

all i wanna see all i wanna hear
is people dyin' screamin' full o' fear
an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth
i aint learned nuthin' but the poor me pitiful blues

go tell ya mama tell ya daddy too
they drove me crazy tellin' me the truth
an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth
i aint learned nuthin' but the poor me pitiful blues

i had my share o' women got all i could drink
liquor kept me swimmin' in my head to big too think
an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth
i aint learned nuthin' but the poor me pitiful blues

the big man spends my money the big man lives it up
he dont give me nuthin' he dont give me some
just an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth
i aint learned nuthin' but the poor me pitiful blues

i sit around the table pray down on the floor
swear i'm gonna go to war and suffer nevermore
it's an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth
i aint learned nuthin' but the poor me pitiful blues
i aint learned nuthin' but the poor me pitiful blues

c.2013 gypsy eyes music, bmi

malcolm holcombe

 

 

roots

maybe texas maybe jupiter
who's to know when you're lonely
reckon mem'ries good to suit her
puttin' roots down in the hills
roots down in the hills

there's one heart in these ol mountains
there's one light gently shinin'
in the blue ridge smoky sunrise
puttin' roots down in the hills
roots down in the hills

hold the silver moonlight passion
dancin' fast everlastin'
til the stars a glance may capture
puttin' roots down in the hills
roots down in the hills

some melody i must remember
in the crowded valley wind
her voice sings to the evenin'
puttin' roots down in the hills
roots down in the hills

first verse

c.2013 gypsyeyes music, bmi

malcolm holcombe




sign for a sally

there's a cigar box full o' usual toys
and the dragon fly was dead
locked up inside the usual noise
that happens in my head

she sewed my clothes with a wrinkled nose
i was glad to have a drink
some swedish lies and the price was right
in the mississippi heat

chorus
mississippi heat's alive and well
smilin' up the alley all black and white
with a sign for a sally
and a righteous fare thee well

she was clingin' to me i was singin' to her
suffocation made the play
i was strung out cold lookin' out the door
in the mississippi heat

so i split the scene back east to dream
in another state affair
stealin' sleep inside a bottle
from the mississippi heat

chorus

you can change your clothes maybe change your mind
even buy a point o' view
but the same ol joe wakes up in the mornin'
with the blues inside o' you

chorus
chorus

c.2013 gypsyeyes music, bmi

malcolm holcombe


savannah blues

it 's cool down in savannah
like the last time i know
it's cool down in savannah
like the last time i know
and i feel lost and hurtin'
and thirsty like befo'

people dont see me
when i look em in the eye
nobody they dont see me
when i look em straight up in the eye
they just stare behind my back
they dont care 'bout if i die

it's rainin' in savannah
my bones achin' all the time
pourin' rain down in savannah
my poor ol bones achin' all the time
undertaker's mean and ugly
he's a hummin' in the pines

now it's a crazy way o' dyin'
sinkin' low in my head
it's a crazy way o' dyin' 
sinkin' low down in my head
you see i'm deep below the sunshine
this here's a cold and lonely bed

sure is crowded in the ground
aint nobody knows my name
way crowded here in the ground
aint nobody knows my name
ev'ry body's in a box
ev'rybody looks the same

that yeller fever's awful bad
i got no money for a bell
that yeller fever's awful bad
and iaint got no money for a bell
i been buried still alive
aint nobody gonna tell

c. gypsy eyes music, bmi 2013

malcolm holcombe




another despair

rain came down and the bottom fell out
the front door slammed in my face in the cold
older than time the east side's swimmin'
in the stench of the devil for a few too many

chorus
swift time passes and the pages tear
one hand to another and another despair


some thrown outta windows teeth do tell
some dead on arrival when the sirens wail
maybe some have a choice in a low down moment
makin' change in the mornin' when the dreams are broken

chorus

now the flesh gets messy with a smile and a nod
on the hooks of a dealer to the Grace of God

chorus
chorus

c,2014 gypsy eyes music, bmi

malcolm holcomb

 

 

by the boots

dont take away my guns and bullets
dont leave me here to die
down here in this ol bunker
full o' fear and a crazy mind
full o' fear and a crazy mind

i was raised hard in these ol hills
baptised drinkin' shine
survivin's what i'm trained to do
and fightin' for my pride
fightin' for my pride

chorus
i heard him on the tv
take what you can get
some politician grinnin'
dont trust the government
dont trust the government

my medicine's a runnin' low
i cant afford them pills
doctor's got me strung out cold
and no more dreams to fill
i got no more dreams to fill

ev'rybody's out to get me
nobody understands
what i am is who i am
with a rifle in my hand
i gotta a rifle in my hand

chorus

one day they're comin' for me
one day i told ya so
and i'll be ready for em
shoot to kill is all i know
shoot to kill is all in know

chorus

the shattered speak with broken words
they tear the wounds wide open
spoken only understood
by boots comin' and goin'
boots comin' and goin'

chorus
chorus

c. 2013 gypsyeyes music, bmi

malcolm holcombe

 

 

words not spoken

the sound was familiar recollectin' we met
a voice so sweet may i never forget
reckon a companion for a night or two
for a runaway drunkard too many too few

satisfaction comes and it goes in a whisper
restin' deep in the winter listenin'

chorus
my cousin knows words not spoken
stick down in your throat and wont go away
my cousin knows childhood sufferin'
when innocence dies in front of you

ten years snapped by broken hearts are scattered
to the four blowin' winds in a mind dont matter
if i hear i forget if i do please remember
your voice so sweet in the moment we met

chorus

if i hear i forget if i do please remember
your voice so sweet in the moment we met

chorus
chorus

c. 2013 gypsy eyes music bmi

malcolm holcombe

 

words of december

the christmas tree light burn in the daytime
and the sun shines bright in the valley below
the winds cuts thru you like memories do her
and the words of december got no place to go

she prayed on her knees and cried in the bedroom
eighty some years left a spark in her eyes
she was ready and willin' to die any minute
she tried to help me Lord knows she tried

chorus
what's done has been done indifferent possessions
they serve us awhile soon tossed by the way
but the blood of my past stilll runs warm and tender
and the words of december got no place to go

free spirits shiver on the road to a freedom
livin' a dream and leavin' what's right
the concious of winter freezes a plenty
and the words of december got no place to go

chorus

so listen and wonder when church bells are ringin'
and the ground is cracklin' and frozen below
the sunshne dont matter in the distance you're after
and the words of december got no place to go

chorus
chorus

c. 2014 gypsy eyes music, bmi
malcolm holcombe

 

 

the music plays on

chorus
the louisville slugger and geronimo
it was downtown broadway loud rock n' roll
radartown made a mark on the cover
but the music plays on from the louisville slugger

too many years slipped by in a whisper
but the songs of a picker and a singer keep livin'
a name has a face on the lips of a stranger
kindly warm and never forsaken

chorus

dont 'member much o' nuthin' that happened one nite
but we played up some songs in that ol barroom light
soft pillows dont matter when your head keeps a thrashin'
jack told us the truth like it really just happned

chorus

now friends do you favors when you might least expect it
like scatterin' your ashes underneath some ol branches
seven years passed nine apple trees empty
til the ashes from the slugger gave one tree a plenty

chorus
chorus (rex bob lowenstein made a mark on the cover...)


c. 2013 gypsy eyes music, bmi
malcolm holcombe

 

 

for the love of a child

i use to dream i could fly
after the shoutin' and the whispers were gone
long ago was a time
when i could sleep safe and climb

the smell of ol cigarrettes and beer
shut my mouth and my ears
but i could see troubles turnin'
lovin' eyes into tears

chorus
for the love of a child
for the love of a child
for the love of a child
in my dreams late at nite

aint it funny when it rains
and you're movin' kinda slow
memories touch your shoulders
and you fly again alone

outta sight outta mind
it aint true when you're older
special secrets only God knows
never disappear at all

chorus

1st verse

chorus
chorus

c. 2014 gypsy eyes music, bmi
malcolm holcombe