River

Well there she sits buddy just a-gleaming in the sun
There to greet a working man when his day is done
I'm gonna pack my pa and i'm gonna pack my aunt
I'm gonna take them down to the cadillac ranch

Eldorado fins, whitewalls and skirts
Rides just like a little bit of heaven here on earth
Well buddy when i die throw my body in the back
And drive me to the junkyard in my cadillac

Cadillac, cadillac
Long and dark shiny and black
Open up your engines let `em roar
Tearing up the highway like a big old dinosaur

James dean in that mercury `49
Junior johnson runnin' through the woods of caroline
Even burt reynolds in that black trans am
All gonna meet down at the cadillac ranch

Cadillac, cadillac...
Hey little girlie in the blue jeans so tight
Drivin' alone through the wisconsin night
You're my last love you're my last chance
Don't let `em take me to the cadillac ranch

Cadillac, cadillac...

I come from down in the valley where mister when you're young
They bring you up to do like your daddy done
Me and mary we met in high school when she was just seventeen
We'd ride out of that valley down to where the fields were green

We'd go down to the river
And into the river we'd dive
Oh down to the river we'd ride

Then i got mary pregnant and man that was all she wrote
And for my nineteen birthday i got a union card and a wedding coat
We went down to the courthouse and the judge put it all to rest
No wedding day smiles no walk down the aisle
No flowers no wedding dress
That night we went down to the river
And into the river we'd dive
On down to the river we did ride

I got a job working construction for the johnstown company
But lately there ain't been much work on account of the economy
Now all them things that seemed so important
Well mister they vanished right into the air
Now i just act like i don't remember, mary acts like she don't care
But i remember us riding in my brother's car
Her body tan and wet down at the reservoir
At night on them banks i'd lie awake
And pull her close just to feel each breath she'd take
Now those memories come back to haunt me, they haunt me like a curse
Is a dream a lie if it don't come true
Or is it something worse that sends me
Down to the river though i know the river is dry
Down to the river, my baby and i
Oh down to the river we ride

My feets were flyin' down the street just the other night
When a hong kong special pulled up at the light
What was inside, man, was just c'est magnifique
I wanted to hold the bumper and let her drag me down the street

(chorus)
Ooh, ooh, i gotta crush on you
Ooh, ooh, i gotta crush on you
Ooh, ooh, i gotta crush on you tonight

Sometimes i spot a little stranger standing 'cross the room
My brain takes a vacation just to give my heart more room
For one kiss, darling i swear everything i would give
Cause you're a walking, talking reason to live

(chorus)

Well now she might be the talk of high society
She's probably got a lousy personality
She might be a heiress to rockefeller
She might be a waitress or a bank teller
She makes the venus de milo look like she's got no style
She make sheena of the jungle look meek and mild
I need a quick shot, doc, knock me off my feet
Cause i'll be minding my own business walking down the street... watchout!

(chorus)

When i lost you honey sometimes i think
I lost my guts too
And i wish god would send me a word send me something i'm afraid to lose
Lying in the heat of the night like prisoners all our lives
I get shivers down my spine and all
I wanna do is hold you tight

(chorus)
I swear i'll drive all night just to buy you some shoes
And to taste your tender charms
And i just wanna sleep tonight again in your arms

Tonight there's fallen angels and they're waiting for us down in the street
Tonight there's calling strangers, hear them crying in defeat.
Let them go,
Let them go,
Let them go,
Do their dances of the dead (let'em go right ahead)
You just dry your eyes girl,
And c'mon c'mon c'mon let's go to bed,
Baby, baby, baby

(chorus)

There's machines and there's fire waiting on the edge of town
They're out there for hire but baby they can't hurt us now
Cause you've got,
You've got,
You've got,
You've got my love,
You've got my love
Through the wind,
Through the rain,
The snow, the wind,
The rain
You've got,
You've got my,
My love heart and soul

Your mamma's yappin' in the back seat
Tell her to push over and move them big feet
Every monday morning i gotta drive her down to the unemployment agency
Well this morning i ain't fighting tell her i give up
Tell her she wins if she'll just shut up
But it's the last time that she's gonna be ridin' with me

(chorus)
You can tell her there's a hot sun beatin' on the blacktop
She keeps talkin' she'll be walkin' that last block
She can take a subway back to the ghetto tonight
Well i got some beer and the highway's free
And i got you, and baby you've got me.
Hey, hey, hey whataya say sherry darlin'

Now there's girls melting on the beach
And they're so fine but so far out of reach
Cause i'm stuck in traffic down here on 53rd street
Now sherry my love for you is real
But i didn't count on this package deal
And baby this car just aint big enough for her and me

(chorus)
So you can tell her there's a hot sun beatin' on the blacktop
She keeps talkin' she'll be walkin' that last block
She can take a subway back to the ghetto tonight
Well i got some beer and the highway's free
And i got you, and baby you've got me.
Hey, hey, hey whataya say sherry darlin'

Well let there be sunlight, let there be rain
Let the brokenhearted love again
Sherry we can run with our arms open before the tide
To all the girls down at sacred heart
And all you operators back in the park
Say hey, hey, hey whataya say sherry darlin'
Hey, hey, hey, whataya say sherry darlin'

Do you still say your prayers little darlin' do you go to bed at night
Prayin' that tomorrow, everything will be alright
But tommorow's fall in number in number one by one
You wake up and you're dying you don't even know what from

Well they shot you point blank you been shot in the back
Baby point blank you been fooled this time little girl that's a fact
Right between the eyes baby, point blank right between the pretty lies that
They tell
Little girl you fell

You grew up where young girls they grow up fast
You took what you were handed and left behind what was asked
But what they asked baby wasn't right you didn't have to live that life,
I was gonna be your romeo you were gonna be my juliet
These days you don't wait on romeo's you wait on that welfare check and on all the pretty things that you can't ever have and on all the promises

That always end up point blank, shot between the eyes
Point blank like little white lies you tell to ease the pain
You're walkin' in the sights, girl of point blank
And it's one false move and baby the lights go out

Once i dreamed we were together again baby you and me
Back home in those old clubs the way we used to be
We were standin' at the bar it was hard to hear
The band was playin' loud and you were shoutin' somethin' in my ear
You pulled my jacket off and as the drummer counted four
You grabbed my hand and pulled me out on the floor
You just stood there and held me, then you started dancin' slow
And as i pulled you tighter i swore i'd never let you go

Well i saw you last night down on the avenue
Your face was in the shadows but i knew that it was you
You were standin' in the doorway out of the rain
You didn't answer when i called out your name
You just turned, and then you looked away like just another stranger waitin' to get blown away

Point blank, right between the eyes
Point blank, right between the pretty lies you fell
Point blank, shot right through the heart

Yea point blank, you've been twisted up till you've become just another part of it
Point blank, you're walkin' in the sights
Point blank, livin' one false move just one false move away
Point blank, they caught you in their sights
Point blank, did you forget how to love, girl, did you forget how to fight.
Point blank they must have shot you in the head
Cause point blank, bang bang baby you're dead.

You been hurt and you're all cried out you say
You walk down the street pushin' people outta your way
You packed your bags and all alone you wanna ride,
You don't want nothin', don't need no one by your side
You're walkin' tough baby, but you're walkin' blind

(chorus)
The ties that bind
Now you can't break the ties that bind

Cheap romance, it's all just a crutch
You don't want nothin' that anybody can touch
You're so afraid of being somebody's fool
Not walkin' tough baby, not walkin' cool
You walk cool, but darlin', can you walk the line
And face the ties that bind
The ties that bind
Now you can't break the ties that bind

I would rather feel the hurt inside, yes i would darlin',
Than know the emptiness your heart must hide,
Yes i would darlin', yes i would darlin',
Yes i would baby

You sit and wonder just who's gonna stop the rain
Who'll ease the sadness, who's gonna quiet the pain
It's a long dark highway and a thin white line
Connecting baby, your heart to mine
We're runnin' now but darlin' we will stand in time
To face the ties that bind
The ties that bind
Now you can't break the ties that bind
You can't forsake the ties that bind

Put on your best dress baby
And darlin', fix your hair up right
Cause there's a party, honey
Way down beneath the neon lights
All day you've been working that hard line
Now tonight you're gonna have a good time

I work five days a week girl
Loading crates down on the dock
I take my hard earned money
And meet my girl down on the block
And monday when the foreman calls time
I've already got friday on my mind

When that whistle blows
Girl, i'm down the street
I'm home, i'm out of my work clothes
When i'm out in the street
I walk the way i wanna walk
When i'm out in the street
I talk the way i wanna talk
When i'm out in the street
When i'm out in the street

When i'm out in the street, girl
Well, i never feel alone
When i'm out in the street, girl
In the crowd i feel at home
The black and whites they cruise by
And they watch us from the corner of their eye

But there ain't no doubt girl, down here
We ain't gonna take what they're handing out
When i'm out in the street
I walk the way i wanna walk
When i'm out in the street
I talk the way i wanna talk
Baby, out in the street i don't feel sad or blue
Baby, out in the street i'll be waiting for you

When the whistle blows
Girl, i'm down the street
I'm home, i'm out of my work clothes
When i'm out in the street
I walk the way i wanna walk
When i'm out in the street
I talk the way i wanna talk

When i'm out in the street
Pretty girls, they're all passing by
When i'm out in the street
From the corner, we give them the eye

Baby, out in the street i just feel all right
Meet me out in the street, little girl, tonight
Meet me out in the street
Meet me out in the street

You make up your mind, you choose the chance you take
You ride to where the highway ends and the desert breaks
Out on to an open road you ride until the day
You learn to sleep at night with the price you pay

Now with their hands held high, they reached out for the open skies
And in one last breath they built the roads they'd ride to their death
Driving on through the night, unable to break away
From the restless pull of the price you pay

(chorus)
Oh, the price you pay, oh, the price you pay
Now you can't walk away from the price you pay

Now they'd come so far and they'd waited so long
Just to end up caught in a dream where everything goes wrong
Where the dark of night holds back the light of day
And you've gotta stand and fight for the price you pay

(chorus)

Little girl down on the strand
With that pretty little baby in your hands
Do you remember the story of the promised land
How he crossed the desert sands
And could not enter the chosen land
On the banks of the river he stayed
To face the price you pay

So let the games start, you better run you little wild heart
You can run through all the nights and all the days
But just across the county line, a stranger passing through put up a sign
That counts the men fallen away to the price you pay,
And girl before the end of the day,
I'm gonna tear it down and throw it away