"The Ace With The Sweaty Brow"
music & lyrics by Tommy Thompson and Mike Craver
from TWISTED LAUREL/MERCHANTS LUNCH - Red Clay Ramblers CD FF70055for sheet music for "THE ACE" (piano, vocal, instrumental chord charts)
Got a date with a high toned girl
The one that wears that bouffant curl
She means business when she flirts
So I polished up the Chevy with the fender skirts
Hopped in the car and stepped on the gas
I was layin' down rubber on the ole bypassOut her window she did creep
We headed on out for Lover's Leap
Made a detour by the barbeque shack
Put twelve cold beers on ice in the back
Found us a spot in the Twilight Zone
When the light of the police shone
(And he said:)
"Oh, you jack leg, you
I got the goods on you
And your sweetie too, I caught in your car
With the stars in your eyes and your brains in the bottom of your shoes
You're a hot dog, ain't you now
You're the bulldog's big bow-wow
Got fuzz on your face, you're the ace with the sweaty brow
We headed on out for another spot
just down the road from the "Dash and Dot
Saxophones croonin' on the radio
And the moon was hangin' low
Fingernails tappin' on the windowpane:
It was her great big boyfriend Wayne
(And he said:)
"Oh, you ice cream, you
I got the goods on you
And my sweetie too, I caught in your car
With the stars in your eyes and your brains in the bottom of your shoes
You're a hot dog, ain't you now
You're the bulldog's big bow-wow
Got fuzz on your face, you're the ace with the sweaty brow
Sittin' in her parlor
Drinkin' Coca-Colas
We were spinnin' the wax
She put her hair up in rollers
She was filin' her nails on the davenport
When I thought she was ready for a little sport
Tripped on the rug
spilt my Coke in her hair
Split the seat of my britches
Put my foot through a chair
(And she said:)
"Oh, you Milk Dud, you
I've had enough of you
And your Chevy II
Go home in your car
With the stars in your eyes and your brains in the bottom of your shoes
You're a hot dog, ain't you now
You're the bulldog's big bow-wow
Got fuzz on your face, you're the ace with the sweaty brow
"Black Smoke Passenger Train"
music & lyrics by Tommy Thompson (bridge by Bland Simpson)
The tracks were just a mile away when I was four and five years old
And I could hear the whistle blow & see the black smoke rise and roll
Rise and roll black as coal and rolling 'cross the rooftops of our town
In the summer time my dad just home from work would take my hand
And walk with me that peaceful mile to where the two of us could stand
Hand in hand boy and man and watch that ole evening train go down
It's bye bye black smoke passenger train God speed your last long ride
As over the mountain and cross the plain
And blow your whistle on the Great Divide
A cloud of birds would curl above the old abandoned factory
And pour itself like lazy smoke backwards down the tall red stack
My daddy said "Watch the birds go to bed"
In the chimney by the green mountain side
The sunlight made our shadows long and hurt my eyes when I would gaze
Down the tracks where I could see that train from some old scary place
Mean and old, grey and cold, and so far away it made me cry
It's bye bye black smoke passenger train God speed your last long ride
As over the mountain and cross the plain
And blow your whistle on the Great Divide
Where does it come from where does it go
You got to catch the train and ride boy
If you wanna know
The engine passed at six oclock and so we stood there man and boy
Until the iron horse run by steam and steel and smoke and whistle noise
Split the air -- laid us bare and struck us dumb as railroad ties
We watched the coaches clatter by with smiling porters pouring tea
For diners on the dining car who never once looked out at me
Fancy women squeezing lemons and blind to West Virginia rolling by
It's bye bye black smoke passenger train God speed your last long ride
As over the mountain and cross the plain
And blow your whistle on the Great Divide
"The Face In the Mirror"
music & lyrics by Tommy Thompson
from HARD TIMES - Red Clay Ramblers CD FF246
I wish I had a dime for every time you said
Nobody loves you and you wish that you were dead
So many times you've told me "Nobody cares"
Right now I'd be a millionaire
I know someone who loves to hear you run your mouth
Someone who's always with you when you go out
Somebody loves you, someone who's true
Yes, dear, that someone is you
But nobody loves you like you dear
No heart beats as fond or as true
There's nobody dearer than the face in the mirror
Don't ever let yourself be blue
You've got so many charms that no-one else can see
Perry Mason couldn't find your secret quality
You've got some special vision, to see with great precision
What's hidden from the likes of me
I'll take my million bucks and buy you a nice farm
Out in the desert where you can't do any harm
Wouldn't you love to be a loner in lonely Arizoner
You and you alone with all your charms
'Cause nobody loves you like you dear
No heart beats as fond or as true
There's nobody dearer than the face in the mirror
Don't ever let yourself be blue
"I've Got Plans"
music & lyrics by Tommy Thompson w/ Lenny Rogoff
from TWISTED LAUREL/MERCHANTS LUNCH - Red Clay Ramblers CD FF70055
I been staying up too late, well the morning aint for me
Daylight never brings much company.
With the ladies of the night, I play the game of chance
Loosin' quarters to the jukebox, buying songs to watch'em dance.
When I grow up, I'm gonna settle down,
Cause chasin' midnight ladies ain't the funnest game in town.
Oh, they disappear like dreams, I wake up sleeping in my jeans...
I'm lonesome tonight, but I got plans.
Could be I'll pan for gold, write a novel, or join a band.
I could sell produce from a roadside stand.
Sturdy wife to share my joys, a pair of healthy strappin' boys
They'll lend a helpin' hand, we'll make a fortune off the land.
When I grow up, I'm gonna settle down,
Chew honeycomb and drive a tractor, grow things in the ground.
Oh, the dream that's in my eye is just tomorrow's enterprise
I may be broke tonight but I got plans.
Haul the proceeds to the bank, and I'll soon have lots of dough
I'll buy me a villa down in Mexico.
While the maiachis play, I'll go fishin' every day
I'll cast a net so gaily on some sunny Latin bay.
When I grow up, I'm gonna settle down,
I'll take a course in business at the night school here in town
Ah, but that'll have to wait, 'cause tonight I got a date
We'll have a drink, and keep on talking 'bout my plans.
"Merchants Lunch"
music & lyrics by Tommy Thompson and Mike Craver
from TWISTED LAUREL/MERCHANTS LUNCH - Red Clay Ramblers CD FF70055for sheet music for "MERCHANTS LUNCH" (piano, vocal, instrumental, chord charts)
(chorus phrases are in parenthesis)
I took a walk (he was walkin' up and down Broadway)
I was hungry (had an eye out for a swell cafe)
I was searchin' (he was soundin' for a bite to munch)
I found a spot (he took a table at the Merchants Lunch)
Oh the Merchants Lunch, it was an ocean of gloom
It looked like half past midnight in the afternoonDown by the bar (a rat-faced manager was pouring suds)
For the boys (Trailways cowboys in their Good Will duds)
And the girls (a pride of peddle-pushin' pinball queens)
Chewin' gum (in sweaty combat at the Wizard machines)
But the queen of them all, lookin' big as a fort
Was Broadway Brenda and her derelict court
I ordered a blue plate special and peered out through the room
Just to see what kind of citizens inhabited this gloom
And the hapless visages I saw were innocent of cheer
Though mirthless laughter filled the air inspired by wine and beer
From these helpless accidents of Fortune's careless aim
Broadway Brenda rose upon her queen-sized six foot frame
I looked away to shun her eyes but I knew it was too late
A hand fell on my shoulder as my gaze fell on my plate
I looked her up and over (and she did the same to me)
Her teeth were green (as green as garden peas)
She shaped her hair (with dishpan fingertips)
An earthquake of excitement shook her Krakatoan hips
Her hands went to her bosom, a hush fell on the crew
An acre of Brenda lay exposed to view
These fevered words she whispered as I gazed upon the scene:
It's the custom here at Merchants Lunch to entertain the queen
I grabbed my hat (and in an instant he was on his feet)
I was sober as a judge down at the county seat
I kept my diesel up to 80 way past Baton Rouge
Made it back to Beaumont for the "Evening News"
I own a wide-load rig (he pays thousands in tax
He's gonna keep it it Texas)-- I ain't leavin' for snacks
(He's a driving fool) the interstate belongs to me
But I'm never going back (into the state of Tennessee)
Oh the Merchants Lunch, it was an ocean of gloom
It looked like half past midnight in the afternoon.