Ohthe ragman draws circles
Up and down the block.
I d ask him what the matter was
But I know that he don t talk.
And the ladies treat me kindly
And furnish me with tape
But deep inside my heart
I know I can t escape.
OhMamacan this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again.
WellShakespearehe s in the alley
With his pointed shoes and his bells
Speaking to some French girl
Who says she knows me well.
And I would send a message
To find out if she s talked
But the post office has been stolen
And the mailbox is locked.
OhMamacan this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again.
Mona tried to tell me
To stay away from the train line.
She said that all the railroad men
Just drink up your blood like wine.
An I said"OhI didn t know that
But then againthere s only one I ve met
An he just smoked my eyelids
An punched my cigarette."
OhMamacan this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again.
Grandpa died last week
And now he s buried in the rocks
But everybody still talks about
How badly they were shocked.
But meI expected it to happen
I knew he d lost control
When he built a fire on Main Street
And shot it full of holes.
OhMamacan this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again.
Now the senator came down here
Showing ev ryone his gun
Handing out free tickets
To the wedding of his son.
An meI nearly got busted
An wouldn t it be my luck
To get caught without a ticket
And be discovered beneath a truck.
OhMamacan this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again.
Now the preacher looked so baffled
When I asked him why he dressed
With twenty pounds of headlines
Stapled to his chest.
But he cursed me when I proved it to him
Then I whispered"Not even you can hide.
You seeyou re just like me
I hope you re satisfied."
OhMamacan this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again.
Now the rainman gave me two cures
Then he said"Jump right in."
The one was Texas medicine
The other was just railroad gin.
An like a fool I mixed them
An it strangled up my mind
An now people just get uglier
An I have no sense of time.
OhMamacan this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again.
When Ruthie says come see her
In her honky-tonk lagoon
Where I can watch her waltz for free
Neath her Panamanian moon.
An I say"Aw come on now
You must know about my debutante."
An she says"Your debutante just knows what you need
But I know what you want."
OhMamacan this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again.
Now the bricks lay on Grand Street
Where the neon madmen climb.
They all fall there so perfectly
It all seems so well timed.
An here I sit so patiently
Waiting to find out what price
You have to pay to get out of
Going through all these things twice.
OhMamacan this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again.
|
|