LIVE
AT MISSISSIPPI NIGHTS
1. Come
What May
3. Blue Line
6. Logjam
7. Mississippi Jack*
8. Voodoo
Chili*
*with Jessica
Butler on alto sax
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25 cents at
a five and dime
Looking for a nickel,
couldn't find the time
Cool in the house
but the heat's outside
Made it on foot, couldn't
get a ride
Chorus:
Oh, things just ain't what they used to be
No, things ain't what they used to be
No, things just ain't what they used to be
Big dog looking
for a fat 'ole bone
Ninety miles an hour in a 20 mile zone
Digging through the seats with a fine-tooth comb
Porch light's on but nobody's home
Chorus
Weighing the options, checking the score
Little boy blue come a-blowing his horn
Had it in the bag, dropped it on the floor
Coming up short, looking for more
Chorus
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3.
Blue
Line (8:30)
Halfway back
from the night before
Song still playing in my ears
Take her back the same old track once more
Miles turn hours into years
Catching up the light comes back behind me
Still don't know just how far we've gone
Another day sneaks up and reminds me
You can't outrun the dawn
Chorus:
Cause we're taking the Blue Line
Find a groove and sailing away on the Blue Line
Slipping along on the edge of the day on the Blue Line
Never really knowing just guessing the way on the Blue Line
Dancing underneath the morning sky
Skimming down the road so free
Sunshine visions for a cloudy eye
Daylight glides in on the breeze
Throwing down to keep the wagon rolling
Wondering if we'll ever make it home
Trying not to think too much about it
And go - just go
Chorus
Twisting high above the promised land
Destination right below
Left some traces everywhere we've been
Slide on safely into home
Working hard - playing even harder
On the edge and losing all control
Taking time to listen to the music
And let the rhythm roll
Chorus
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4.
Welcome
Back My Friend (18:38)
Welcome back my friend
As you can see some things have changed
Welcome home my friend
A few things had to be rearranged
Wrapped up in a gold embrace
Child of mountain street and space
Can you still hear the children play
Laughing echoes left today
Chorus:
Amber sunsets on the Earth so green
Thinking of days when skies were blue
Eagles flew across crystal skies
Take one more look that's all that's left for you
You tried to walk away
When all around the battle raged
And now you can't escape
From the beast you can't begin to cage
Welcome back my friend
You look like you expected more
It circles back again
Remember why you left before
Chorus:
Sunlight splash on the window pane
Looking for birds up in the sky
The ocean drifts from day to day
But you can't set sail when the sea is dusty dry
Welcome back my friend
All confused and wondering why
It's getting near the end
Don't let what's left get lost and die
Welcome back my friend
Child of mountain street and space
You can't control the wind
But maybe you can win the race
Chorus:
Marble tossed from a child's hand
Drifting along like the ocean blue
Sunlight sets across the land
There's one more chance
But now it's up to you
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5.
Half The Time (3:37)
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6.
Logjam (5:34)
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7.
Mississippi Jack (11:11)
Mississippi Jack was a gambling man
Said he was born with an ace in his hand
Pocket watch, pistol and a ring of gold
Shot a man dead cause the fool wouldn't fold
Ragtime robber on a riverboat ride
Shake a man's hand while he's robbing him blind
Marking the cards, loading the dice
Taking what he wanted never paying the price
Chorus:
Whiskey shots, suicide kings
One-eyed jacks, lady-luck queens
You know the deck is stacked against you
Oh-oh
Coming up the river was Molly Means
Stealing on a steamer from New Orleans
Jack shot her daddy back in 1904
And Molly was out to settle the score
Fifteen years she was tracking him down
Davenport, Memphis, and St. Louis town
Slept by day, crept by the moon
Looking for Jack in every floatin' saloon
Chorus
Late one night with the moon swinging low
Jack holding five on the ole Diamond Joe
Piano band banging out a ragtime tune
When Molly snuck in through the back of the room
Aces and eights he had a dead-man's hand
Never heard the shot over top of the band
Molly took him down 'fore he got to his feet
With the paddlewheel slappin' that Mississippi beat
Chorus
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8.
Voodoo
Chili (6:21)
Shake that evil woman's curse
Can't let temptation do me worse
Don't take no hex no black cat bone
No jungle root no wishing stone
Only way to leave no doubt
Shake it down and kick it out
Mojo mixin' powder stir
I got the voodoo vixen cure
Snake-eyed spell but not for long
Fever's high but the pulse is strong
Pick me up from down and out
Shake it down and kick it out
Thunder rumble lightning strikes
Been known to hit the same place twice
Set me reeling 'round the block
Knocked the shoes right off my socks
Answer from the inside out
Shake it down and kick it out
Now some folks say it can't be done
So read the signs and tell someone
Bar the windows lock the door
Prepare yourself for what's in store
Feed the fire that won't go out
Shake it down and kick it out
Shake that evil woman's curse
Can't let temptation do me worse
Don't take no hex no black cat bone
No jungle root no wishing stone
Only way to leave no doubt
Shake it down and kick it out
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Performed live in St. Louis
on 21 November 1997
All songs © 1994 written by Blue Dixie except "Welcome Back My Friend"
written by Blue Dixie and Bruce Siebert