Living & Dying In 3/4 Time

By: jimmy buffett
1974
The ice cream man he's a hillbilly fan
Got seventy-eights by hank snow
Walks down the street, shufflin' his feet
To a rhythm that only he knows

And i've seen him in so many places
I saw him the night i was born
In a bourbon street bar, i received my first scar
From an old man so tattered and torn

Chorus:
And the wino and i know the pain of street singin'
Like a door-to-door salesman knows the pains of bell ringin'
Strange situation, wild occupation
Livin' my life like a song

Coffee is strong at the cafe du monde
Donuts are too hot to touch
Just like a fool, when those sweet goodies cool
I eat 'til i eat way too much

'cause i'm livin' on things that excite me
Be they pastry or lobster or love
I'm just tryin' to get by bein' quiet and shy
In a world full of pushin' and shove

Chorus:
And the wino and i know the pain of back bustin'
Like the farmer knows the pain of his pickup truck rustin'
Strange situation, wild occupation
Livin' my life like a song

Sweet senorita won't you please come with me
Back to the island honey, back to the sea
Back to the only place that i want to be

Chorus:
And the wino and i know the joy of the ocean
Like a boy knows the joy of his milkshake in motion
Strange situation, wild occupation
Livin' my life like a song
Yes it's a strange situation, a wild occupation
Livin' my life like a song

Ringling, ringling
By: jimmy buffett
1974
Ringlin', ringlin' slippin' away
Only forty people livin' there today
Streets are dusty and the bank has been torn down
It's a dyin' little town

Church windows broken, that place ain't been used in years
Jail don't have a sheriff or a cell
And electric trains they run by maybe once or twice a month
Easin' it on down the muscle shell

Chorus:
Ringlin', ringlin' slippin' away
Only forty people livin' there today
'cause the streets are dusty and the bank has been torn down
It's a dyin' little town

And across from the bar there's a pile of beer cans
Been there twenty-seven years
Imagine all the heartaches and tears
In twenty-seven years of beer

So we hopped back in the rent-a-car
And we hit the cruise control
Pretty soon the town was out of site
Though we left behind a fat barmaid, a cowboy, and a dog
Bracin' for a ringlin' friday night

Chorus:
Ringlin', ringlin' you're just slippin' away
I wonder how many people will be there a year from today
'cause the streets are dusty and the bank has been torn down
It's a dyin' little town
Yeah, it's a dyin' little town

Ballad of spider john
By: willis a. ramsey
1974
"spider john" is my name friend
I'm in between freights and i sure would be obliged
If you'd share your company

I know this may sound strange to you
But if you wait till the song is sung and the story is told
You might come to understand
Oh, i'm old and bent and devil sent, runnin' out of time
When i long ago held a royal flush in my hand

Chorus:
Oh, i was a supermarket fool
I was a motor bank stool-pidgeon, robbin' my hometown
I thought i lost my blues, yes i thought i paid my dues
I thought i'd found a life to suit my style
But here i sit old spider john the robber-man
Long, tall, and handsome
Yes, old spider john with a loaded hand, takin' ransom

Then one day i met diamond lill
She was the sweetest thing, i declare
That the summer breeze had ever blown my way
But lilly she had no idea, of my illustrious occupation
She thought i was a saint, not a sinner, gone astray
But you see that the word got around and lilly left town
Never saw her again
Tossin' and turnin', 'causin' my heart to grieve

Chorus:
Oh, i was a supermarket fool
I was a motor bank stool-pidgeon, robbin' my hometown
I thought i lost my blues, yes i thought i paid my dues
I thought i'd found a life to suit my style
But here i sit old spider john the robber-man
Long, tall, and handsome
Yes, old spider john with a loaded hand, takin' ransom

That is all my story
It's been these thirty years since i took to the road
To find my precious jewel one
And if you see my lilly, won't you give her my regards
Tell her ole spider got tangled in the black web that he spun
You can tell her ole spider got tangled the black web that he spun

God's own drunk
By: lord buckley
1974
"well, like i explained to y'all before i ain't no drinkin' man. i tried it once, and it got me highly irregular and i swore i'd never do it again. but i promised my brother-in-law that i'd
P and watch his still while he went into town to vote.

It was up there on the mountain where the map said it would be. friends let me tell you one thing though, it wadn't no ordinary still. it stood up that mountainside like... like a huge golden op
R

God's yellar moon was a' shinin' on the cool clear evenin', god's little lanterns just a' twinklin' on and off in the heavens and, like i explained to you once before, i ain't no drinkin' man, b
Emptation got the best of me, and i took a slash... (wshew!... woah...) that yellar whiskey runnin' down my throat like honeydew vine water, and i took another slash. took another and another an
Ther. 'fore you knew it i'd downed one whole jug o' that shit and commenced to get hot flashes.

Goosepimples was runnin' up and down my body and a feelin' came over me like, somethin' i'd never experienced before, it's like, like i was in love,

("why don't we have a little love mike [utley]")

In love for the first time, with anything that moved... animate, in-animate it didn't matter. it's like there's a great neon sign flashin' on and off in my brain sayin, "jimmy buffett there
Reat day a comin'..." 'cause i was drunk.

Now i wadn't, uh, knee-crawlin', slip-slidin', reggy-youngin', commode-huggin' drunk, i was god's own drunk, and a fearless man; and that's when i first saw the bear.

He was a kodiak lookin' fella 'bout 19 feet tall he rambled up over the hill 'spectin' me to do one of two things: flip or fly, i didn't do either one. it hung him up. he starts sniffin' 'round
Dy tryin' to smell fear, but he ain't gonna smell no fear, 'cause i'm god's own drunk and a fearless man. it hung him up. he looked me right in my eyes and my eyes was a lot redder than his was.
Ung him up.

So i approached him and i said, "mr. bear, i love every hair on your 27 acre body. i know you got a lotta friends over there on the other side of the hill. there's ole' rear bear, tall bear
Ddy bear, kelly jair, relly bear, smelly the bear, smokey the bear, pokey the bear; i want you to go back over there tonight and tell 'em i'm feelin' right. you tell 'em i love each and every on
'em like a brother and a sister; but if they give me any trouble tonight, i'm gonna run every goddamned one of 'em off the hill."

He took two steps backwards and didn't know what to think. neither did i, but, being charitable and cautious, well hell, i approached him again. i said, "mr. bear, you know in the eyes of t
Rd, we're both beasts when it comes right down to it. so i want you to be my buddy, 'buddy bear.'" so i took ole' buddy bear by his island sized paw and i led him over to the still. now he'
Sniffin' around that thing 'cause he's smellin' somethin' good. i gave him one of them jugs of honeydew vine water, he downed it upright, (looked like one of them damn bears in the circus sippin
Parilly in the moonlight.) i gave him another and another and another 'fore i knew it, he'd downed eight of 'em and commenced to do the "bear dance." two sniffs, a snort, a fly, a turn
A grunt; and it was so simple like the jitterbug it plumb evaded me.

And we worked ourselves into a tumultuous uproar and i's awful tired, went over to the hillside, and i laid down, went to sleep, slept for four hours, and dreamt me some tremulous dreams and whe
Oke up, oh, there was god's yellar moon a' shinin' on the clear cool evenin'. and god's little lanterns just a' twinklin' on and off in the heavens, and my buddy the bear was a' missin'... yeah,
Want to know somethin' else friends and neighbors, so was that still.

-- spoken:
"that's a take. wait, could uh.....you missed it?"

Come monday
By: jimmy buffett
1974
Headin' up to san francisco
For the labor day week-end show
I've got my hush-puppies on
I guess i never was meant for glitter rock and roll
And honey i didn't know
That i'd be missin' you so

Chorus:
Come monday, it'll be all right
Come monday, i'll be holdin' you tight
I spent four lonely days in a brown l. a. haze
And i just want you back by my side

Yes, it's been quite a summer
Rent-a-cars and west-bound trains
And now you're off on vacation
Somethin' you tried to explain
And darlin', since i love you so
That's the reason i just let you go

Chorus:
Come monday, it'll be all right
Come monday, i'll be holdin' you tight
I spent four lonely days in a brown l. a. haze
And i just want you back by my side

I can't help it honey
You're that much a part of me now
Remember that night in montana
When we said there'd be no room for doubt

I hope you're enjoyin' the scen'ry
I know that it's pretty up there
We can go hikin' on tuesday
With you i'd walk anywhere
California has worn me quite thin
I just can't wait to see you again

Chorus:
Come monday, it'll be all right
Come monday, i'll be holdin' you tight
I spent four lonely days in a brown l. a. haze
And i just want you back by my side