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Table Of Content (12 songs, 7 soundclips)
Page 1
A Prophet's Mission Big Mama's Door Cowboy Boots Cryin' Shame Electric Eel Fightin' Hard	Hillbilly Willie's Blues Joe Friday Manos Arriba Once Again Treat Her Like A Lady Will I Ever Get Back Home?

A Prophet's Mission

by Alvin Youngblood Hart
recording of 2000
from Start With The Soul (Rykodisc or Hannibal 1449), copyright notice

Got a tale to tell
Gonna carry it to the world
'Bout I came and I saw, yeah
Trees was dyin', chillun cryin', yeah
Fish was floatin', famine risin'

Father, son
On the run
Chillun' stole from their mothers
World o' pain, some insane
Make a mule out of others

Watch your mouth
Don't you shout
Even talk without knowin'
Future man, he understand
Where I been an' where I'm goin'

Got a tale to tell
Gonna carry it to the world
'Bout I came an' I saw

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Big Mama's Door

soundclip

by Alvin Youngblood Hart
recording of November-December, 1995, San Francisco, California
from Big Mama's Door (OKeh/550 Music or Sony 67593), copyright notice

Goin' down in Chickasaw, gon' take that right hand road
Goin' down in Chickasaw, gon' take that right hand road
Bet I ain't gon' stop till I come up in big mama's door

Folks down in Chickasaw they all know my name
Folks down in Chickasaw they all know my name
And when I'm down there, man, sure be glad I came

Girl that I'm lovin' got the great long curly hair
Girl that I'm lovin' got the great long curly hair
But her mama and papa, man, they sure don't 'low me there

What you gonna do when you find your biscuit roller gone?
What you gonna do when you find your biscuit roller gone? (Man, what about it?)
Get in that kitchen, man, and roll 'em till she come home

Get up in the mood, man, we sure had lots of fun
Get up in the mood, man, we sure had lots of fun
When I come round that corner, gonna see my pony run

Goin' down in Chickasaw, gon' take that right hand road
Goin' down in Chickasaw, gon' take that right hand road. (Goin' back to the wood!)
Bet I ain't gon' stop till I come up in big mama's door

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Cowboy Boots

by B. Knight
recording of 2000
from Start With The Soul (Rykodisc or Hannibal 1449), copyright notice

All my life I've been tryin' to save
To get a pair of cowboy boots
Sixteen years of my life I gave
To get a pair of cowboy boots

I wanna go where the money's free
Hollywood is callin' me
Oh what a great big star I'll be
In a pair of cowboy boots

I'm gonna get on a t.v. show
In a pair of cowboy boots
I'm gonna ride in a rodeo-ooo
In a pair of cowboy boots

I wanna go where the badman lurk
Get me a job an' go to work
Give a lesson to Wyatt Earp
In a pair of cowboy boots

Oh give me a home
Where the swimmin' pools roll on
Where the money grows on trees
And the gals just wanna be squeezed

I'm gonna get there if I have to crawl
To get a pair of cowboy boots
Get in the movies and that ain't all
In a pair of cowboy boots

I'm gonna get me a leather vest
Gun on my hip and star on my chest
I'll be the tale of the golden west
In a pair of cowboy boots

Oh give me a home
Where the swimmin' pools roll on
Where the money grows on trees
And the gals just wanna be squeezed

I'm gonna get there if I have to crawl
To get a pair of cowboy boots
Get in the movies and that ain't all
In a pair of cowboy boots

I'm gonna get me a leather vest
Gun on my hip a star on my chest
I'll be the tale of the golden west
In a pair of cowboy boots

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Cryin' Shame

by Black Oak Arkansas
recording of 2000
from Start With The Soul (Rykodisc or Hannibal 1449), copyright notice

I try my best just to past the test
But I don't think I'm gonna make it
Wham bam, people got a hold on me
And I just can't seem to shake it

I'm always down since I hit this town
Lord knows it sure is a pity
I never understand the woman or the man
What gets off livin' in the city

Anyway you see it, it remains the same
Can anybody tell me who's to blame?
Anyway you see it, it remains the same
Livin' like this is a cryin' shame
Cryin' shame
Cryin' shame

Workin' all day got no time to play
It's enough to make you worry
I just can't see for the life of me
Why everyone's in such a hurry

It takes all my money, got to please me honey
It sho' is makin' me crazy
Gotta find a way for to get my pay
Layin' down feelin' lazy

Anyway you see it, it remains the same
Can anybody tell me who's to blame?
Anyway you see it, it remains the same
Livin' like this is a cryin' shame

Cryin' shame
Cryin' shame
Cryin' shame

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Electric Eel

by Alvin Youngblood Hart
recording of 2000
from Start With The Soul (Rykodisc or Hannibal 1449), copyright notice

The pages of my history
Ain't no great big mystery
For the price of petty bribes
Separation of the tribes

Men with guns have leadeth us
Down their path of righteousness
A thousand trips around the sun
Hard to tell who lost and won
Who lost?

The faces in the mist I see
Ain't no great big mystery
Loss of heart, loss of mind
Lost some chrome through tests of time
Through tests of time

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Fightin' Hard

soundclip

by Alvin Youngblood Hart
recording of 2000
from Start With The Soul (Rykodisc or Hannibal 1449), copyright notice

If I could stroll 'cross the sands of time
I'd call my cronies up an' drink some wine
'Cause just the other day I heard you died
Disappeared when you was in your prime
An' I'm fightin' hard

Stompin' 'round on my grandma land
I held my little son in my hand
I know he knowed that I understand
He tryin' hard just to be a man, yeah
An' he's fightin' hard

I told him folks don't have a clue
Where you're from or where you're goin' to
An' sometime baby, gets so hard to deal
With folks that believe wrestlin' is real
An' we fightin' hard

If I could stroll 'cross the sands of time
I'd call my cronies up and drink some wine
'Cause all we got's just a little time
'Fore we all gotta say goodbye
An' I'm fightin' hard

An' I'm fightin' hard

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Hillbilly Willie's Blues

soundclip

by Blind Willie McTell
recording of November-December, 1995, San Francisco, California
from Big Mama's Door (OKeh/550 Music or Sony 67593), copyright notice

Roosevelt is a mighty fine man, darlin'
Roosevelt is a mighty fine man, darlin'
Roosevelt is a mighty fine man
Gonna be the president all by land (?), darlin'

My baby got a diamond ring, darlin'
My baby got a diamond ring, darlin'
My baby got a diamond ring
Poor me ain't got a doggone thing, darlin'

My baby got a Cadillac Eight, darlin'
My baby got a Cadillac Eight, darlin'
My baby got a Cadillac Eight
Poor me ain't got nowhere to stay, darlin'

My baby got a house 'n' lot, darlin'
My baby got a house 'n' lot, darlin'
My baby got a house 'n' lot
Poor me ain't got diddley-squat, darlin'

Moonshine been here long enough, darlin'
Moonshine been here long enough, darlin'
Moonshine been here long enough
(...?...) drink of that stuff (?), darlin'

Come all the way from Arkansas, darlin'
Come all the way from Arkansas, darlin'
Come all the way from Arkansas
(...?...) barnyard dog (?), darlin'

Ten-dollar bill and a bottle of beer, darlin'
Ten-dollar bill and a bottle of beer, darlin'
Ten-dollar bill and a bottle of beer
I wish to God my honey was here, darlin'

I got a gal from the white folks' yard, darlin'
I got a gal from the white folks' yard, darlin'
I got a gal from the white folks' yard
She don't drink liquor but she do play card, darlin'

__________
Note: all question marks are parts of the lyric that are missing or in doubt. If you have any suggestions on these parts of the lyric please mail me, thanks!.

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Joe Friday

soundclip

by Alvin Youngblood Hart
recording of November-December, 1995, San Francisco, California
from Big Mama's Door (OKeh/550 Music or Sony 67593), copyright notice

It was late one Friday evenin', it began to rain and snow
Letter from my baby, say, she ain't comin' home no mo'
I gotta call up Joe Friday and put him on my baby's trail
I'm 'on' get all hold of it if I have to break loose from jail

She left here flyin' in a '38 Cadillac,
Had a funny, funny feeling, the li'l girl ain't comin' back
I gotta call up Joe Friday and put him on my baby's trail
I'm 'on' get all hold of it if I have to break loose from jail

Said, I called up Boat (?) and Black, Dick Tracy, don't you know
Crazy 'bout you, baby, don't know where the world you go
I gotta call up Joe Friday and put him on my baby's trail
I'm 'on' get all hold of it if I have to break loose from jail

Well, baby said she's gone where the chilly winds don't blow
She ain't done a-followed (?) (…) where he c… (?)
I gotta call up Joe Friday and put him on my baby's trail
I'm 'on' get all hold of it if I have to break loose from jail

Well, if you see that woman, won't you tell her this for me
Since she hit the highway I'm just as blue as I can be
I gotta call up Joe Friday and put him on my baby's trail
I'm 'on' get all hold of it if I have to break loose from jail

__________
Note: all question marks are parts of the lyric that are missing or in doubt. If you have any suggestions on these parts of the lyric please mail me, thanks!.

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Manos Arriba

soundclip

by Alvin Youngblood Hart
recording of 2000
from Start With The Soul (Rykodisc or Hannibal 1449), copyright notice

Ain't gonna give you no line
Just gonna take back what's mine
First we start with the soul, yeah
An' then uh, maybe your gold

(Manos arriba, sucka!)
(Manos arriba)

You watch too much t.v.
You identify me
But I'm the one who done nothin'
So stop your huffin' an' puffin'

(Manos arriba sucka!)
(Manos arriba)

I heard it come on the squawk
You watchin' me like a hawk
I ain't got nothin' to sell, yeah
So you can go straight to hell

(Manos, manos, manos, manos arriba sucka!)

You won't let me go in style
You say I fit the profile
It don't take long to discover
That I'm the one takin' over

(Manos arriba, sucka!)

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Once Again

soundclip

by Alvin Youngblood Hart
recording of 2000
from Start With The Soul (Rykodisc or Hannibal 1449), copyright notice

Once again my brother wants his solitude
And once again my neighbor's got an attitude
And once again baby, I'm in the mood
For love, yeah for love

Once again my baby boy done skinned his knee
Once again somebody want a piece of me
And once again baby, I can't see
For love, yeah for love

Once again somebody went and gone too far
Once again a hand caught in the cookie jar
And once again, baby I'm wishin' on a star
For love, yeah for love

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Treat Her Like A Lady

soundclip

by E. Cornelius Jr.
recording of 2000
from Start With The Soul (Rykodisc or Hannibal 1449), copyright notice

All my friends had to ask me
Sump'in they didn't understand
How I get, all the womens
In the palm of my hand

I told 'em treat her like a lady
Do the best you can do
You gotta treat her like a lady
An' she'll give in to you
Oh, you can see, you know what I mean

I know you heard that the woman
Soon take advantage-a you
Let me tell you, my friend
There just ain't no substitute

You oughta treat her like a lady
Do the best you can do
You gotta treat her like a lady
(Treat her like, you gotta, gotta treat her like)
She'll give in to you
Whoa, you can see, you know what I mean

Oh, you've got to love her (love her)
And tease her (tease her)
But most of all you've got to please her (yeah)

You've got to hold her (hold her)
And want her (want her)
And make her feel you'll always need her
(Yeah, yeah, yeah!)

You know a woman, is sentimental
And so easy to upset (yea-eah-eah!)
So make her feel, that she's for real
And she'll give you happiness
Whoa oh oh, strange as it seem
You know you can't treat a woman mean

So my friends (treat her like)
There you have it (treat her like)
Said it's the easy (treat her like)
Simple way (treat her like)

If ya fail (treat her like)
To do this (treat her like)
Don't blame her (treat her like)
If she look my way (treat her like)

'Cause I'm gonna treat her like a lady
So eventually,
I'm gonna treat her like a lady
(Got to, got to treat her like)
She'll give in to me
Oh you can see, you know what I mean

Yeah you've got to treat her like a lady
Do the best you can do
You gotta treat her like a lady
(Treat her like, got to, got to treat her like)
And she'll give in to you

(Treat her like, got to, got to treat her like)
(Treat her like, got to, got to treat her like)
(Treat her like, got to, got to treat her like)
(Treat her like, got to, got to treat her like)
(Treat her like, got to, got to treat her like)
(Treat her like, got to, got to treat her like)
(Treat her like, got to, got to treat her like)
Fading:
(Treat her like)

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Will I Ever Get Back Home?

traditional, arranged by Alvin Youngblood Hart
recording of 2000
from Start With The Soul (Rykodisc or Hannibal 1449), copyright notice

Cryin' Lord, I wonder will I, ever ooo get back ho-ooome ?
Cryin' Lord, I wonder will I, ever ooo get back ho-ooome ?
I wonder ooo, will I ever ooo-hoo get back ho-ooome?

Said I walked and I'm wondering, cryin' all night lo-oong
Said I walked and I'm wondering, cryin' all night lo-oong
Cryin' I wonder ooo, will I ever ooo-hoo, get back ho-oome?

So many days I done traveling, way-sided more
So many days I done traveling, way-sided more
Wonder if possible, ooo, will I ever, ooo get back ho-oome?

(It'll get better)

You will never ever, see me any more
You will never ever, see me any more
But you'll never ooo, forget the day, I knocked hoo-ooo on your door

And Lord, I wonder will I, ooo-ooo ever get back ho-oome?
Cryin' Lord I wonder will I, ooo-ooo ever get back ho-oome?
Cryin' I wonder ooo, will I ever, ooo-hoo, get back home?

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Created by:
Bluesman Harry
Page last updated on:
June 25 2000