1.WOUNDED CREEK 

BY JOE ELY

I went out one afternoon for a walk down Wounded Creek

I saw a young girl crying, tears run down her cheek

Her hands were white as ivory. A bruise was on her wrist

I asked her what the matter was and if anything was a miss

Her eyes looked down to somewhere else. Tears fell on her knees

I heard a car door slamming somewhere beyond the trees

She turned South, stole away. I followed her close behind

Up the path from Wounded Creek through the brambles, brush and vines

I heard the branches breaking. I hid behind the trees

Drew my pistol from my vest to see who it could be

The crashing sounds got closer, I caught my peace to speak

Up came a scraggly Spaniel dog who was lost on Wounded Creek

I turned to find no sign of her, the girl who'd let me in

So I walked up to the highway, just for my head to clear

The traffic light was changing, the wind grew cold with fear

I watched some silver Greyhound bus until it disappeared

2.MAGDELINA

BY GUY CLARK AND Stephenson Thomas Ray

I ain't lookin' for trouble

I can't stay here tonight

I got to leave here on the double

If I want to see the morning light

Don't need no pistol for the tickets

I've got just enough to get us down the line

I don't know what happens next

Your guess is just as good as mine

Move with me Magdalene

I'm tired of the same old scene

There's a greyhound leaving at midnight

If you came with me it'd be like a dream

Come on Magdalene

Move with me Magdalene

I've heard Mexico is easy

I wouldn't stay here if I could

Don't come along just to please you

Let's go while the going's good

Move with me Magdalene

I'm tired of the same old scene

Let's go down to San Miguel

Let's go be somebody else tonight

Come on Magdalene

There's a greyhound leaving at midnight

If you came with me it'd be like a dream

Come on Magdalene

Move with me Magdalene

3. COYOTES ARE HOWLIN’

BY JOE ELY

Coyotes Are howlin’, peyote’s in bloom

The Yard dogs are prowlin in the border town moon

The streets are all empty on the Mexican side

Jesus disappeared after hitching a ride

Go to sleep my little angel. Don’t worry what’s all been said.

The ways of the West, they used to be blest

Now it’s just all in your head

Now it’s just all in your head

Bright lights are flashing, both red and blue

It’s nowhere near Christmas

But it’s long over due

Tomorrow might find me on the road to Portales

Waiting on a phone call from the morgue in Nogales

Go to sleep my little angel

I’ll turn out the light

4. WHEN THE NIGHTS ARE COLD

BY BUTCH HANCOCK

Please don't ask me to swim that river

Please don't ask me for silver and gold

I can't give you things,

That I can't deliver

I'll keep you warm,

When the nights are cold

The moon is high,

The stars are blinkin,

The clouds are driftin,

So slow and low,

And I just can't keep,

Myself from thinkin

I'll keep you warm,

When the nights are cold

The moon is gone now,

Rain is falling,

The clouds are drifting,

So slow and low,

And the fire is dying,

The walls are falling,

I'll keep you warm,

When the nights Are Cold

5. EARLY IN THE MORNING

BY JOE ELY

The wind blew through my hair. Early in the morning.

I saw her standin’ there. Early in the morning.

The wind blew through my hair. Early in the morning.

I saw her standin’ there. Early in the morning.

I hear a melody. Ringin’ in my head.

It’s got a hold on me, Ringin’ in my head.

I can’t make disappear the sounds that I hear

And I know she’s a hearing’ them too, Early in the morning.

SOLO

I take a bus downtown. Early in the morning.

Then I just walk around Early in the morning.

I know the bells will chime Early in the morning.

When the preacher drops his dime Early in the morning.

I can’t make disappear the sounds that I hear

And I know she’s a hearing’ them too, Early in the morning.

SOLO

The wind blew through my hair. Early in the morning.

I saw her standin’ there. Early in the morning.

Early in the morning.

Early in the morning

Early in the morning

6. SOUTHERN EYES

BY JOE ELY

Don’t roll those Southern Eyes at me

Specially when the moon is high

Shinin’ in those starry eyes

The night is way too dark for me to see

Don’t roll those Southern Eyes at me

Don’t roll those Southern Eyes at me

Never on a hard wood floor

Lookin’ out those swinging’ doors

Where no man treads is where I want to be

Don’t roll those Southern Eyes at me

SOLO Don’t roll those Southern Eyes at me

Don’t roll those Southern Eyes at me

You might stir up a hurricane

Poundin’ on my window pane

Toss me in my rowboat on high seas

Don’t roll those Southern Eyes at me

Don’t roll those Southern Eyes at me

Those secret looks are dangerous

Lips too red for me to trust

They might just knock me off my feet

Don’t roll those Southern Eyes at me

SOLO Don’t roll those Southern Eyes at me

Don’t roll those Southern Eyes at me

Don’t roll those Southern Eyes at me

I feel them when they penetrate

Like an arrow true and straight

I’m just a little weak around the knees

Don’t roll those Southern Eyes at me

Don’t roll those Southern Eyes at me

Specially when the music’s loud

Dueces wild and three’s a crowd

There’s trouble waiting down the road for me

Don’t roll those Southern Eyes at me

7. FOUR OLE’ BROKES ONE FOOL JOKER

BY JOE ELY

Four ol’ Brokes, One Fool Joker, waitin’ for the light to change

On an eastbound freight outa San Berdu waitin’ waiting on the Santa Fe

The Joker pulled a deck of playing cards the hobos gathered around

He deals a hand of 5 card stud as they lay their money down

Four ol’ Brokes, One Fool Joker as they lay their money down

Well the highball rolled to the tune of the wind and the clatter of the black iron rails

Before they reached ol’ Flagstaff town the broks were lookin’ pale

The Brokes told the Joker this is where I jump as he packed his cards away

But the hobo said, wait a minute son, there’s one more game to play

Four ol’ Brokes, One Fool Joker there’s one more game to play

Well the whistle did blow as Willie the Rat pulled two new two dollar bills

I’ll bet an even 4 to one that I can win the till

What’s the bet said the Joker in a sweat as Willie the Rat smiled strange

I bet four ol’ brokes can whip a Joker’s ass and still leave a little change

I bet four ol’ brokes can whip a Joker’s ass and still leave a pile of change

Well the Joker flew out of that boxcar door, his cape was a billowing sail

The Four ol’ Brokes were holdin’ their sides, watchin’ him cut a trail

The freight pulled out in the Arizona sun, the rails went clippity clump

The Brokes still laughing and sitin’ easy on the Jokers silver trunk

Four ol’ Brokes, One Fool Joker on his abandoned silver trunk

This story ain’t got no moral, this story ain’t got no punch

If you make your livin’ as a wheeler-dealer don’t rob a poor man’s lunch

Sooner or later as the circle connects you’ll be lookin’ in the mirror someday

The bats in the sky to you they’ll fly and follow you to their grave

Four ol’ Brokes and One Fool Joker they followed him to his grave

8. WONDERIN’ WHERE

BY JOE ELY

I was raised in a canyon

By the country music station

In a richland deserrt dust bowl

And the radio towers would scrape the low clouds

And sway when the wind would blow

The music in the kitchen

Seemed to come from out of nowhere

But me, I’d want to know

I’d look  up every morning

And lay there every night

Wondrin’ where the songs would go

Wondrin’ where the songs would go

Out behind the wreckin’ yard 

The Rock Island Station

Rumbled with the trains rollin’ in

And the stockyards would rattle

With the thunder of the cattle 

And they would rumble away again

Like a big iron rhino chargin’ down the track

I’d watch ‘em disappear and then

The brakemen and the hobos 

Would leave me there at sundown 

Wondering where it all would end

Wondering where it all would end

That place you keep inside your heart

Where only you can go

Is like a shelter from this world

That only you can know

Only you can know

Down through the canyon

Rolled a winding river

A cross between a trickle and a stream

I floated wooden boats in the long afternoons

Till night, an eternity it seemed

I dreamed I saw the angels coming for my brother

And I begged them not to go

I’d wake up in the moonlight

With the tears still in my eyes

Wondering where the dreams did go

Wondering where the dreams did go

I left behind that canyon

By the country music station

Called K -something -so - and- so

And the radio towers still scrape the low clouds

And sway when the winds do blow

I traded all my wishes for a cloud of blowin’ sand

In a rich land desert dust bowl

Holed up in a hotel with a suitcase full of dreams

Hangin’ on to save my soul

Hangin’ on to save my soul

That place you keep inside your heart

That only you can go

Is like a shelter from this world

That only you can know

Only you can know

9.BURDEN OF YOUR LOAD

BY JOE ELY

I was talking to the gypsy about our next of kin

When along came a sound like a mighty wind

The walls did tremble and the earth did shake

It was screeching’ through the trees

Hissing like a snake

I peeked out in the dark it was a moon lit night

I saw the devil kneeling’ in his car headlights

Glowin’ like a poker, just plain as day

Reflected in the chrome

Of his black Chevrolet

Sometimes the road gets dreary

When your travels get long

And the road makes you weary

When your heart has lost it’s song

Stay present, don’t get distracted 

Keep your eyes on the road

And the weight will be subtrated

From the burden of your load.

I turned, I looked.

Everybody was gone

Just a circle of ashes

Burning on the lawn

A black Chevrolet

All bound in flames

Spirits were a flying’ 

Only cinders did remain  

  Sometimes the road gets dreary

When your travels get long

And the road makes you weary

When your heart has lost it’s song

Stay present, don’t get distracted 

Keep your eyes on the road

And the weight will be subtracted

From the burden of your load.

I saw my girls the next morning

Beneath the sky above

Evil was gone, replaced by gracious love

When I waved them good bye

I did thank my lucky stars

And drove into the rainbow

In my Thrifty Rent A Car

Burden of your load

I was talking to the gypsy about our next of kin

When along came a sound like a mighty wind

The walls did tremble and the Earth did shake

It was screeching through the trees hissing like a snake

I peeked out in the dark, it was a moon lit night

I I saw the devil kneelin’ in his car headlights

Glowin’ like a poker, just plain as day

Reflected in the chrome of his black Chevrolet

Sometimes the road gets dreary when your travels get long

And the road makes you weary when your heart has lost its song

Stay present, don’t get distracted, keep your eyes on the road

The weight will be subtracted from the burden of your load.

I turned, I looked, everybody was gone

Just a circle of ashes burnin on the lawn

A Black Chevrolet all bound in flames

Spirits were a flyin’ only cinders did remain

Sometimes the road gets dreary when your travels get long

And the road makes you weary when your heart has lost its song

Stay present, don’t get distracted, keep your eyes on the road

The weight will be subtracted from the burden of your load.

I saw my girls the next morning

Beneath the sky above

Evil was gone, replaced by gracious love

When I waved them goodbye

I did thank my lucky stars

And drove into the Rainbow

In my Thrifty Rent a Car

10. HERE’S TO THE WEARY

BY JOE ELY

There goes Woody in a Model A Ford he’s a Dust Bowl Refugee

From the Hills of Oklahoma to the California sea

In the labor camps along the Road the cars and the trucks pull in

He slaves all day for a place to stay Before he rolls away again

Here’s to the weary and the restless souls

Chasin' some crazy dream 

Fightin’off sleep with the radio

And the beat of  the tambourine

Tryin’s to find a verse that’s never been sung

To hearts that need relief 

The nighttime hears the wheels rush by

While lovers are fast asleep

There’s Bob Wills and a ten piece band Rollin in an ol’ Flex Bus

He played last night in Tulsa Town Choking on the Texas Dust

Pack it up boys he says to them in a high pitched yodeling yell

When the Honky Tonk lights smear into the night the highway casts it’s spell

Here comes Muddy ‘cross the Mississippi in a cloud of Chicago Blues

Little Walter harpin’ like a saxophone, Man he paid some dues

Pinetop pass that bottle around it’s a lonesome world out there

But tomorrow night it’ll be all right, Hand me down my Rockin’ Chair

Here’s to the weary and the restless souls

Chasin' some crazy dream 

Fightin’off sleep with the radio

And the beat of  the tambourine

Tryin’s to find a verse that’s never been sung

To hearts that need relief 

The nighttime hears the wheels rush by

While lovers are fast asleep

Here’s to Buddy and to Chuck and Carl and the Killer Who danced to a brand new beat

Who paved the way for others to play the sounds that moved their feet

How many times have you been so lonely nothin’ could shake your soul

When out of the Blue come a feelin’ over you all you wanna do is Rock and Roll

Here’s to the weary and the restless souls

Chasin' some crazy dream 

Fightin’off sleep with the radio

And the beat of  the tambourine

Tryin’s to find a verse that’s never been sung

To hearts that need relief 

The nighttime hears the wheels rush by

While lovers are fast asleep

Livin off the dream of the promised land while lovers are fast asleep

11. COLD BLACK HAMMER

BY JOE ELY

Pulls black blood from the ground

She swings a cold black hammer

She wears solid gold in her crownNight after night she's relentless

She is a slave-driving queen

She swings a cold black hammer

And lines their pockets with greenShe swings a cold black hammer

Her breasts are covered in sweat

She swings a cold black hammer

In a place you'll never forget

She swings a cold black hammer

At night beneath the moon and the stars

She swings a cold black hammer

And lights the rich man's cigarsMen come to her armed and ready

Bankers in suspenders and white shirts

She swings a cold black hammer

And rolls their bones in the dirt

She swings a cold black hammer

Her breasts are covered in sweat

She swings a cold black hammer

In a place you'll never forget

12. YOU SAVED ME

BY JOE ELY

From myself you saved me

When no one else would call

Your net would catch me gently

When I was about to all

In hard times you gave shelter

From all the storms within

In trouble you brought peace of mind

From the turmoil of the wind

You pulled me up , 

You  filled my cup

When my weary soul was hurting’ and in need

you took me in,

 In from the wind

When the blossoms of my love had gone to seed

In the sunshine you saved me ,

You lit up the world

you took away the rain,

 And gave me a baby girl

So many times I hid within, 

And left my love without

A reason to believe she’d never have a doubt

You pulled me up ,

You filled my cup

When my very soul was hurting and in need

You took me in, 

in from the wind

When the blossoms of my love had gone to seed

From myself you saved me, 

When no one else would call

Your net would catch me gently , 

When I was about to fall

In hard times you gave me shelter ,

From all the storms within

In trouble you brought peace of mind,

 From turmoil of the wind