It was the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day
I was out choppin’ cotton, and my brother was balin’ hay
And at dinner time we stopped and walked back to the house to eat
And mama hollered out the back door, y’all, remember to wipe your feet
And then she said, I got some news this mornin’ from Choctaw Ridge
Today, Billy Joe MacAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge
It was early last September, as near as I remember,
While strolling down the lane in tipsy pride,
I lay down beside the kerbing, not a soul ws I disturbing,
When a pig came up and lay down by my side.
As I lay there in the gutter, thinking thoughts I could not utter
A high-born lady came up and did say:
“You can tell a man who boozes by the company he chooses”.
And at that the pig got up and walked away!
{Complete lyric; however I don’t think ‘Trad’ will be suing.}
Extra verses at the Mudcat Cafe: mudcat.org lyrics: PIG AND THE INEBRIATE 2 (long version)
It was just before dawn
One miserable morning in black 'forty four
When the forward commander
Was told to sit tight
When he asked that his men be withdrawn
And the Generals gave thanks
As the other ranks held back
The enemy tanks for a while
We’ve got God on our side
We’re just trying to survive
What if what you do to survive
Kills the things you love?
Fear’s a powerful thing, baby
It’ll turn your heart black you can trust
It’ll take your God filled soul
Fill it with devils and dust
It’ll take your God filled soul
Fill it with devils and dust
But now we’ve got weapons of chemical dust
If fire them we’re forced to, then fire them we must
One push of the button and they shot the world wide
And you never ask questions when God’s on your side
As the young men move out into the battle zone
He feels good, with God you’re never alone
He feels tired and he lays on his bed
Hopes the men will find courage in the words that he said
White lace and feathers
They made up his bed
A gold covered mattress
On which he was laid
Ooh, what a lucky man he was
Ooh, what a lucky man he was
Lay, lady, lay
Lay across my big brass bed
Lay, lady, lay
Lay across my big brass bed
Whatever colors you have
In your mind
I’ll show them to you
And you’ll see them shine
Lay down, Sally, and rest here in my arms
Don’t you think you want someone to talk to?
Lay down, Sally, no need to leave so soon
I’ve been trying all night long just to talk to you
Sally go 'round the roses (Sally go 'round the roses)
Sally go 'round the roses (Sally go 'round the pretty roses)
Roses they can’t hurt you (roses they can’t hurt you)
Roses they can’t hurt you (no, the roses they can’t hurt you)
Sally don’t you go, don’t you go downtown
Sally don’t you go, don’t you go downtown
Saddest thing in the whole wide world
Is to see your baby with another girl
Sneakin’ Sally through the alley
Trying to keep her out of sight
Sneakin’ Sally through the alley
When up pops the wife
Mustang Sally
Guess you’d better slow your mustang down
I’d like to get you
On a slow boat to China
All to myself alone
Ride, captain ride on your mystery ship,
Be amazed at the friends you have here on your trip.
Ride, captain ride on your mystery ship,
Be aware of a world others just might have missed
All hands on deck, we’ve run afloat
I heard the captain cry
“Explore the ship, replace the cook”
“Let no one leave alive!”
Across the straits, around the horn
How far can sailors fly?
A twisted path, our tortured course
And no one left alive
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called Gitche Gumee
Superior, they said, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early
'Cause nothing lasts forever
And we both know hearts can change
And it’s hard to hold a candle
In the cold November rain
A long December and there’s reason to believe
Maybe this year will be better than the last
I can’t remember the last thing that you said as you were leaving
Now the days go by so fast
Lights around the tree
Mama’s whistling
Takes me back again
There’s something bout’ December