Slate (Uncle Tupelo)

A worn out joke to keep the flies away
Carried it this far
Got the west side winds to keep it steady
We bury the hatchets we find

Could carry that heavy load
If I really thought it would matter
Farcical hair appears
As a blind side, clean the slate

Working in the halls of shame
Lay it down in full view
Lay it down
What the hell were we thinking

Before the fire burned out?
I can't find you now
And I didn't know you then
Loneliness drinks the bitters

Till the cold winds warm again
It's a feel for the game
Mouth open wide, screams and hollers
Working in the halls of shame

Lay it down in full view
Lay it down
I gambled once and won, never made a dollar
And beauty fades to grey
And I pray the very best will guard her
And provide the way
It's a telltale sign
When it's chairs up, and time to go

Working in the halls of shame
Lay it down in full view
Lay it down

Acuff-Rose (Uncle Tupelo)

Early in the morning,
Sometimes late at night
Sometimes I get the feeling
That everything's alright
Early in the evening,
Sometimes in the day
Sometimes I get the feeling
Everything's okay
Because everything
Cuts against the tide
When you're by my side
Name me a song
That everybody knows
And I'll bet you it belongs
To Acuff-Rose
Children in the playground,
The folks in the home
Anybody anywhere
Who's ever been alone
'Cause everything
Cuts against the tide
When I hear that sound

The Long Cut (Uncle Tupelo)

I've been searching
And you've been gone
Out looking for the shortest path
To the one that you're on

And I've already seen
All I wanna see
Come on, let's take the long cut
I think that's what we need

When we were younger
And we were strong
We felt a lot better
Than the things that we'd done

Now if it's to be, if you still believe
Come on let's take the long cut
I think that's what we need
If you wanna take the long cut
We'll get there eventually

I've been searching
And you've been gone
Out looking for the shortest path
To the one that you're on

Now if it's to be, if you still believe
Come on let's take the long cut
I think that's what we need

We've been in a deep rut
And it's been killing me
If you wanna take the long cut
We'll get there eventually

Eventually
Eventually

originally appeared on Anodyne / Uncle Tupelo written by Jeff Tweedy

Give Back The Key To My Heart [Doug Sahm cover]

Take my picture off the wall
It don't matter to me at all
Said I was headed for a fall
But you wanted me to crawl

Give back my TV
It don't mean that much to me
While you're giving back my things
Give me back the key to my heart

Give back the key to my heart
Give back the key to my heart
And let my love flow like a river
Straight into your heart, dear

Well, you say I was the one
To blame for the wrong that's been done
Well, you got a friend named cocaine
And to me he is to blame

He has drained life from your face
He has taken my place
While you're alone in San Antone
Give me back the key to my heart

Give back the key to my heart
Give back the key to my heart
And let my love flow like a river
Straight into your heart, dear

written by Doug Sahm © Bluewater Music Corp.

Chickamauga (Uncle Tupelo)

You'd never leave on your own Where you're from and where you're going I know these things like I know you hate me now Catch yourself in mid-air thinking Your dreams can never be bought I couldn't help you then and I guess I can't help you now When jousting is for pleasure Pleasure is way out of hand The time is right for getting out while we still can Chickamauga's where I've been Solitude is where I'm bound I don't ever wanna taste these tears again I don't ever wanna taste these tears again Appalachian, so patient The lessons we've traveled As soon as we're out, we're kicking our way back in Fighting fire with unlit matches From our respective trenches No authority can clean up this mess we're in A miracle might point the way To solutions we're after And avert our chronic impending disaster Chickamauga's where I've been Solitude is where I'm bound I don't ever wanna taste these tears again written by Jay Farrar originally appears on Anodyne/ Uncle Tupelo

New Madrid [Uncle Tupelo]

All my daydreams are disasters
She's the one I think I love
Rivers burn and then run backwards
For her, that's enough

They all come from New York City
And they woke me up at dawn
She walked with me to the fountain
And she held onto my arm

Come on, do what you did
Roll me under New Madrid
Shake my baby and please bring her back
'Cause death won't even be still
Caroms over the landfill
Buries us all in its broken back

There's a man of conviction
And although he's getting old
Mr. Browning has a prediction
And we've all been told

So come on back from New York City
Roll your trucks in at dawn
Walk with me to the fountain
And hold onto my arm

Come on, do what you did
Roll me under New Madrid
Shake my baby and please bring her back
'Cause death won't even be still
Caroms over the landfill
Buries us all in its broken back

originally appears on Anodyne / Uncle Tupelo written by Jeff Tweedy

Anodyne (Uncle Tupelo)

You threw out the past When you threw out what was mine Throughout the years It was hard to make it last Anodyne Anodyne No sign of reconciliation It's a quarter past the end Full moon from on high Across the board we lose again Anodyne Anodyne Anodyne Tossed it out for me to find Without a word you're out the door Without a reason anymore Two fingers on the trigger Can break the heart of any day Foolish to believe It would turn out okay Anodyne Anodyne Anodyne You tossed it out for me to find Without a word you're out the door Without a reason anymore Anodyne Anodyne Anodyne Anodyne written by Jay Farrar originally appears on Anodyne / Uncle Tupelo

We've Been Had (Uncle Tupelo)

We’ve Been Had

There's a guitar leaning on a Marshall stack
Used to sound like the sun on the horizon
Now I think we've been had

There's a young girl screaming all the way in the back
Poor kid, she never saw it coming
Now she knows she's been had

Watching labels spinnin' on my turntable
There's no call waitin' in my headphones
And every star that shines in the back of my mind
Is just waiting for its cover to be blown

There's an eardrum bleeding, yeah, it's in my head
Could I still be so in love when I know
We've been had?

Republicans, Democrats can't give you the facts
Your parents won't tell you 'til you're grown
That every star that shines in the back of your mind
Is just waiting for its cover to be blown

Flashing your badges, just like the law of averages
Nobody likes 'em where they're from
And every star that hides on the back of the bus
Is just waiting for its cover to be blown

written by Jay Farrar originally appeared on Anodyne/ Uncle Tupelo

Fifteen Keys (Uncle Tupelo)

Watch it separate in two Whatever the day wants it to Finding out that the worst is true Finding out that it can escape you Slings and arrows completes the score Always leaving, wanting more And I try to throw it away Silver spikes and mace Displayed in your eyes Fearlessness, cannot fathom What's on your mind? Been there, no luck at all Nothing left to lose Been there, no luck at all Nothing left to lose I've been there "Danger/Slow" says the sign ahead Exhaust fumes, Thin Lizzy instead Left all pressing cares along the road Fifteen keys, but where do they go? Slings and arrows completes the score Always leaving, wanting more And I try to throw it away Strings that pull, strings that bend This song and dance never ends written by Jay Farrar originally appears on Anodyne / Uncle Tupelo

High Water (Uncle Tupelo)

Try to face up to the blinding sun Racing for the final word to come Facing up, it's hard to stay devout I can see the sand and it's running out And it's running out We quote each other only when we're wrong We tear out the threads and move along We can't seem to find common ground I can see the sand and it's running out It was only circumstances But it's the difference that gets in the way No race is run in this direction You can't break even You can't even quit the game The current drags to the bottom A hemorrhage that moves us around It pulls and beckons in a strong direction High water forever bringing us down I can see the sand and it's running out And it's running out It was only circumstances But it's the difference that gets in the way No race is run in this direction You can't break even You can't even quit the game written by Jay Farrar originally appears on Anodyne/ Uncle Tupelo

No Sense In Lovin' (Uncle Tupelo)

I don't know what you've been through You might think that I don't care But I do And I've tried to understand I've tried to understand your abuse But you've got no excuse And there's no use in lovin' Anyone who hates them self You keep coming back So I hold you for a little while But I always go When I can't take your sad smile 'Cause I can't stand it When you get so intense And it's all a part of our bad inheritance And there's no sense in lovin' Anyone Won't you come back for a while You could see exactly What you've always meant to me But you don't wanna know You don't wanna know And you don't know what I've been through And if I think that you don't care You probably do And there's no sense in lovin' Anyone who hates them self written by Jeff Tweedy originally appears on Anodyne/ Uncle Tupelo

Steal the Crumbs (Uncle Tupelo)

Sidetracked down the middle Never saw it coming but what a surprise It's been a wonder Electricity tells a story It's a sound getting near as fear is watching you It's watching you close You can fight it, both arms swinging Or try to wash it away Or pay up to the echoes of "okay" No more, no more will I see you No more will I see you No more will I see you You've schemed more than you have You've borrowed more than you know Better to steal the crumbs It makes it easier to go Paralyzed by conscience Looking for an opening Apathy as your vocal cords cut out Never thought once to ask how's the temperature Too busy with the finer points Of each struggle we're after No more, no more will I see you No more will I see you No more will I see you So long since I've seen you Haven't we both been living the high life It flows to the bottom No more, no more will I see you No more will I see you No more will I see you written by Jay Farrar Anodyne / Uncle Tupelo