Looka yonder!
Looka yonder!
Looka yonder!
A big black cloud come!
O comes to Tupelo. Comes to Tupelo

Yonder on the horizon
Stopped at the mighty river and
Sucked the damn thing dry
Tupleo-o-o, O Tupleo.
In a valley hides a town called Tupelo.

Distant thunder rumble
Rumble hungry like the Beast
The Beast it cometh, cometh down
Wo wo wo-o-o, Tupelo bound
Tupleo-o-o, yeah Tueplo
The Beast it cometh, Tupleo bound.

Why the hen won’t lay no egg
Can’t get that crock to crow
The nag is spooked and crazy
O God help Tueplo, O God help Tupelo!

Ya can say these streets are rivers
Ya can call these rivers streets
Ya can tell yaself ya dreaming buddy
But no sleep runs this deep.
Women at their windows,
Rain crashing on the pane
Writing in the frost Tupelo’s shame
Tueplo’s shame
O God help Tupleo! O God help Tupelo!

O go to sleep lil children,
The sandman’s on his way
O go to sleep lil chldren,
The sandman’s on his way.
But the lil children know,
They listen to the beating of their blood

They listen to the beating of their blood
The sandman’s mud!
The sandman’s mud!
And the black rain come down.
Water water everywhere
Where no bird can fly no fish can swim
No fish can swim
Until the King is born!
Until the King is born!
In Tupelo! Tupleo-o-o!
Till the King is born in Tupelo!

In a clap-board shack with a roof of tin
Where the rain came down and leaked within
A young mother frozen on a concrete floor
With a bottle and a box and a cradle of straw
Tupelo-o-o! O Tueplo!
With a bundle and a box and a cradle of straw.

Well Saturday gives what Sunday steals
And a child is born on his brother’s heels
Come Sunday morn the first-born’s dead
In a shoe-box tied with a ribbon of red
Tupleo-o-o! Hey Tupleo!
In a shoe-box tied with a ribbon of red.

O mama rock your lil one slow,
O ma-ma rock your baby.
O ma-ma rock your lil one slow
O God help Tueplo! O God help Tupelo!
Mama rock your lil one slow
The lil one will walk on Tupleo
Tupleo-o-o! Yeah Tupelo!
And carry the burden of Tupelo
Tueplo-o-o! O Tupleo!
Yeah! The King will walk on Tupelo
Tueplo-o-o! Tueplo!
He carried the burden outa Tupelo!
Tupeolo-o-o! Hey Tupelo!
You will reap just what you sow.

O say goodbye to the little girl tree
O you know that I must say goodbye
To the little girl tree
This wall I built around you
Is made out of stone-lies
O little girl the truth would be
An axe in thee
O father look to your daughter
Brick of grief and stricken morter
With this ring
This silver hoop of wire
I bind your maiden mainstem
Just to keep you as a child

O say goodbye to the little girl tree
O you know that I must say goodbye
To my little girl tree
How fast your candy bones
Reached out for me
I must say goodbye to your brittle bones
Crying out for me
O you know that I must say goodbye
O goodbye
Even though you will betray me
The very minute that I leave

O say goodbye to the little girl tree
O Lord you know that I must say goodbye
To that little girl tree
I rise up her girl-child lumps and slipping knots
Into her laden boughs
And amongst her roping limbs
Like a swollen neck vein branching
Into smaller lesser veins
That must all just sing and say goodbye
And let her blossom veils fly
Her velvet gown
Down down down
Down down down
Down down down and goodbye
For you know that I must say goodbye

To a rhythm softly tortured
Of a motion back and forth
Thats a rhythm sweetly tortured
O that’s the rhythm of the orchard
And you know that I must say goodbye
To that little girl tree
O goodbye
Yes goodbye
For you know that I must die
Down down down
Down down down
Down down down and goodbye
For you know that I must die
Yes you know that I must die
O-o you know that I must die.

Woo-wooooooo Woo!
In the name of pain!
(In the name of pain and suffering)
In the name of pain!
(In the name of pain and suffering)
There comes a train!
(There comes a train)
Yeah!
A long black train
(There comes a train)
Lord, a long black train

Woo-woo! Woo-woo!

Punched from the tunnel
(The tunnel of love is long and lonely)
Engines steaming like a fist
(A fistful of memories)
Into the jolly jaw of morning
(Yeah! O yeah!)
O baby it gets smashed!
(You know that it gets smashed)
O baby it gets smashed!
(You know that it gets smashed)

I kick every goddamn splinter
Into all the looking eyes in the world
Into all the laughing eyes
Of all the girls in the world
Oooooo-woooooh
She ain’t never comin back
She ain’t never comin back
She ain’t never comin back
She ain’t never comin back
And the name of the pain is…
And the name of the pain is…
And the name of the pain is…
And the name of the pain is…
The name of the pain is
A train long-suffering

On rails of pain
(On rails of pain and suffering)
There comes a train
(There comes a train long-suffering)
On rails of pain
(On rails of pain and suffering)
O baby blow its whistle in the rain

Woo-oo Woo! Woo-oo Woo!

Who’s the engine driver?
(The engine drivers over yonder)
His name is Memory
(His name is Memory)
O Memory is his name
(Woooooo-wo!)
Destination: Misery
(Pain and misery)
O pain and misery
(Pain and misery)
O pain and misery
Hey! Hey!
(Pain and misery)
Hey! That’s a sad lookin sack!
Oooh that’s a sad lookin sack!
And the name of the pain is…
And the name of the pain is…
Ooh the name of the pain is
A train long-suffering

There is a train!
(It’s got a name)
Yeah! It’s a train long-suffering
O Lord a train!
(A long black train)
Lord! Of pain and suffering
Each night so black
(O yeah! So black)
And in the darkness of my sack
I’m missing you baby
(I’m missing you)
And I just dunno what to do
(dunno what to do)
(Train long-suffering)
(Train long-suffering)
(Train long-suffering)
(Train long-suffering)
O she ain’t never comin back
O she ain’t never comin back
O she ain’t never comin back
O she ain’t never comin back
And the name of the pain is…
And the name of the pain is…
The name of the train is…
The name of the train is
Pain and suffering

Mmmmm Mmmmm Mmmmm
I am the black crow king
Mmmmm Mmmmm Mmmmm
I am the black crow king
Keeper of the nodding corn
Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!
All the hammers are a-talking
All the nails are a-singing
So sweet and low

You can hear it in the valley
Where live the lame and the blind
They climb the hill out of its belly
They leave with mean black boots on

“I just made a simple gesture
They jumped up and nailed it to my shadow
My gesture was a hooker
You know, my shadow’s made of timber.”

And the storm is a-rolling
And the storm is a-rolling
All down on me

And I’m still here rolling after everybody’s gone
And I’m still here rolling after everybody’s gone
Ah’m still here rolling and I’m left on my own
The blackbirds have all gone!
Everyone’s rolled on!

I am the black crow king
Keeper of the trodden corn
I am the king
Won’t say it again
And the rain, it raineth daily
Lord
And wash away my clothes
I surrender up my arms
To a company of crows
I am the black crow king
I won’t say it again

And all the thorns are a-crowning
King ruby on each spine
And the spears are a-sailing
O my o my

And the storm is a-rolling
And the storm is a-rolling
All down on me

And I’m still here rolling after everybody’s gone
And I’m still here rolling after everybody’s gone
I’m still here rolling and left on my own
Those blackbirds they have all flown and
I am on my own

I am the black crow king
Keeper of the forgotten corn
The King! The King!
I’m the king of nuthin’ at all
The hammers are a-talking
The nails are a-singing
The thorns are a-crowning him
The spears are a-sailing
The crows are a-mocking
The corn is a-nodding
The storm is a-rolling
The storm is a-rolling
The storm is a-rolling down
The storm is a-rolling down
The storm is a-rolling
Down on me
Rolling down on me
Rolling down on me.

These chains of sorrow, they are heavy, it is true
And these locks cannot be broken,
no, not with one thousand keys
O Jailer, you wear a ball-n-chain you cannot see
You can lay your burden on me
You can lay your burden down on me
You can lay your burden down upon me
But you cannot lay down those memories.

Woooo wooo wooo
Woooo wooo wooo

Here I go!
Knockin on Joe!
This square foot of sky will be mine til I die
Knocking on Joe
Woooo wooo wooo
All down the row.
Knockin on Joe.

O Warden I surrender you
Your fists cain’t hurt me anymore
You know, these hands will never wash
These dirty Death Row floors
O Preacher, come closer, you don’t scare me anymore
Just tell Nancy not to come here
Just tell her not to come here anymore
Tell Nancy not to come
And let me die in the memory of her arms.

O woo woo woo
Woo woo woo
All down the row.
Knockin on Joe.
O you kings of halls and ends of halls
You will die within these walls
And I’ll go, all down the row
Knockin on Joe.

O Nancy’s body is a coffin,
she wears my tombstone at her head
O Nancy’s body is a coffin,
she wears my tombstone at her head
She wears her body like a coffin
She wears a dress of gold and red
She wears a dress of gold and red
She wears a dress of red and gold
Grave-looters at my coffin
before my bodies even cold.

It’s a door for when I go
Knockin on Joe
These hands will never mop
your dirty Death Row floors
No! You can hide! You can run!
O but your trial is yet to come
O you can run! You can hide!
But you have yet to be tried!
You can lay your burden down here
You can lay your burden down here
Knockin on Joe
You can lay your burden upon me
You can lay your burden down upon me
Knockin on Joe

You cain’t hurt me anymore
Knockin on Joe.

I’m a wanted man, wanted man…
I’m wanted, I’m a wanted man…
Oh yeah…
yeah…
ah honey, I’m a wanted man
I’m a wanted man in California, I’m a wanted man in Buffalo
I’m a wanted man in Kansas City, I’m a wanted man in Ohio
I’m a wanted man in Mississippi, they want me in old Cheyenne
Wherever you may look tonight, you will see this wanted man
I might be in Colorado or Georgia by the sea,
Working for some man who may not know at all who I might be
If you ever see me comin’ and you know justa who I am,
Don’t breathe a word to no one buddy, ’cause I’m a wanted man
Wanted man in Albuquerque, wanted man in Syracuse,
Wanted man in Tallahassee, wanted man in Baton Rouge,
Wanted man in Arizona, wanted man in Galveston,
Wanted man in El Dorado, this wanted man’s in great demand
If you ever catch me sleepin’,
just see the price flashin’ ‘bove my head,
Well take look again my friend,
that’s a gun pointed at your head
Wanted man by Lucy Watson, wanted man by Jesse Brown,
Wanted man by Nellie Johnson, wanted man in this next town
Wanted man by the Boller(?) Sisters,
wanted man by Kid Galahad
Hey Darlin’ don’t you tell me you don’t want me,
cause I’m a wanted man
A wanted man who’s lost his will to live,
a wanted man who won’t lay down,
There’s a woman kneelin’ on my grave,
pushin’ daisies in the ground
Wanted man in the Windy City, wanted man in Tennessee,
Wanted man in Broken Arrow, wanted man in Wounded Knee
Wanted man in Jackson Town, Wanted man in El Passo,
I got bounties on my head in towns I wouldn’t ever think to go
Wanted Man in Arizona, wanted man in Louisville,
Wanted man deep in Death Valley,
wanted man up in the Hollywood Hill
If the Devil comes collectin’,
cause he doesn’t know I’m a wanted man,
he’d better wear a six gun on his hip
and hold another in his hand
If you love the wanted man,
you best hold him while you can,
cause you’re gonna wake up one mornin’
and find the man you wanted, he is gone
Wanted man in New York City, wanted man in San Anton’
Wanted man down in Lorado, wanted man in Tupelo
Wanted man in the state of Texas, wanted man in the state of Maine
This wanted man’s in the state of leavin’ ya baby,
jumpin’ on a midnight train
Wanted man in every courthouse, wanted man in a many saloons,
Wanted man is a ghost in hundred homes, a shadow in a thousand rooms
Wanted man down in St. Louis, wanted man in New Orleans
Wanted man in Mussel(?) Bay, wanted man in Cripple Creek
Wanted man in Detroit City, wanted man in San Anton’
But there’s one place I’m not wanted lord,
it’s the place that I call home
Wanted man…
Wanted man…
If the devil comes collectin’
he better hold a six gun in his hand.

Blind Lemon Jefferson is a-coming
Tap tap tappin with his cane
Blind Lemon Jefferson is a-coming
Tap tap tappin with his cane
His last ditch lies down the road of trials
Down the road of trials
Half filled with rain

O Sycamore, Sycamore!
Stretch your arms across the storm
Down fly two greasy brother-crows
They hop’n'bop They hop’n'bop They hop’n'bop
Like the tax-man come to call
They go knock knock! Knock knock!
Hop’n'bop hop’n'bop
They slap a death-writ on his door

Here come the Judgement train
Git on board!
And turn that big black engine home
O let’s roll!
Let’s roll!
Down the tunnel
The terrible tunnel of his world
Waiting at his final station
Like a bigger blacker third bird
O let’s roll!
Let’s roll!

O his road is dark and lonely
He don’t drive no Cadillac
O his road is dark and holy
He don’t drive no Cadillac
If that sky serves as his eyes
Then that moons a cataract

Let’s roll!
Yeah let’s roll!

Guitar thug blew into town.
His eyes like wheels spinnin’ round.
Jerkin-off at every sound.
Layin’ all his crosses down.
O yeah.
He got Six Strings.
The Six Strings that drew blood.

The bar is full of Holy-Joes.
A Holy-hole-a-whole-aria.
Around the neck of our consumptive rose
is the root of all his sorrows.
O yeah.
He got Six Strings.
Six Strings that drew blood.
A Holy-hole-a-whole-aria.
Six Strings that drew blood.

In the bathroom under cover.
He turns on one tap to discover.
He’s smashed his teeth out on the other.
Well he look in the mirror and say
don’t fuck me brother.
Cause I got Six Strings.
Six Strings that drew blood.

Numbin’ the runt of reputation they call rat fame.
Top-E as a tourniquet.
A low tune whistles across his grave.
Forever the master and the slave of his Six Strings.
A Holy-hole-a-whole-aria.
Six Strings that drew blood.