Johnny Cash - American Recordings Album Lyrics

---

Delia's Gone

Delia, oh, Delia Delia all my life
If I hadn't have shot poor
Delia I'd have had her for my wife
Delia's gone, one more round Delia's gone

I went up to Memphis
And I met Delia there Found her in her parlor
And I tied to her chair
Delia's gone, one more round Delia's gone

She was low down and trifling
And she was cold and mean
Kind of evil make me want to Grab my sub machine
Delia's gone, one more round Delia's gone

First time I shot her I shot her in the side
Hard to watch her suffer
But with the second shot she died
Delia's gone, one more round Delia's gone

But jailer, oh, jailer Jailer,
I can't sleep 'Cause all around my bedside
I hear the patter of Delia's feet
Delia's gone, one more round Delia's gone

So if you woman's devilish
You can let her run
Or you can bring her down and do her
Like Delia got done
Delia's gone, one more round Delia's gone

 

---

Let The Train Blow The Whistle

I don't want no aggravation
When my train has left the station
If you're there or not,
I may not even know
Have a round and remember
Things we did that weren't so tender
Let the train blow the whistle when I go

On my guitar sell tickets
So someone can finally pick it
And tell the girls down at the Ritz
I said hello
Tell the gossipers and liars
I will see them in the fire
Let the train blow the whistle when I go

Let her blow, let her blow
Long and loud and hard and happy
Let her blow No regrets, all my debts will be paid
When I get laid Let her blow, let her blow, let her blow

You'll be left without excuses
For the evils and abuses
Down to today from years and years ago
And have yourself another toke
From my basket full of smoke
And let the train blow the whistle when I go

Let her blow, let her blow
Long and loud and hard and happy
Let her blow No regrets, all my debts will be paid
When I get laid Let her blow, let her blow, let her blow

 

---

The Beast In Me

The beast in me
Is caged by frail and fragile bars
Restless by day
And by night rants and rages at the stars
God help the beast in me

The beast in me
Has had to learn to live with pain
And how to shelter from the rain
And in the twinkling of an eye
Might have to be restrained
God help the beast in me

Sometimes it tries to kid me
That it's just a teddy bear
And even somehow manage to vanish in the air
And that is when I must beware
Of the beast in me that everybody knows
They've seen him out dressed in my clothes
Patently unclear It it's New York or New Year
God help the beast in me

The beast in me

 

---

Drive On

I got a friend named Whiskey Sam
He was my boonierat buddy for a year in Nam
He said is my country just a little off track
Took 'em twenty-five years to welcome me back
But, it's better than not coming back at all
Many a good man
I saw fall And even now,
every time I dream I hear the men
and the monkeys in the jungle scream

Drive on, don't mean nothin'
My children love me , but they don't understand
And I got a woman who knows her man
Drive on, don't mean nothin', drive on

I remember one night,
Tex and me Rappelled in on a hot L.Z.
We had our 16's on rock and roll
But, with all that fire,
was scared and cold
We were crazy, we were wild
And I have seen the tiger smile
I spit in a bamboo viper's face
And I'd be dead , but by God's grace

Drive on, don't mean nothin'
My children love me, but they don't understand
And I got a woman who knows her man
Drive on, don't mean nothin', drive on

It was a real slow walk in a real sad rain
And nobody tried to be John Wayne
I came home, but Tex did not
And I can't talk about the hit he got
I got a little limp now when
I walk Got a little tremolo when
I talk But my letter read from Whiskey Sam
You're a walkin' talkin' miracle from Vietnam

Drive on, don't mean nothin'
My children love me, but they don't understand
And I got a woman who knows her man
Drive on, don't mean nothin', drive on

 

---

Why Me Lord

Why me Lord, what have I ever done
To deserve even one Of the pleasures I've known
Tell me Lord, what did I ever do
That was worth loving you
Or the kindness you've shown.

Lord help me Jesus, I've wasted it so
Help me Jesus
I know what I am
Now that I know that I've need you so
Help me Jesus, my soul's in your hand.

Tell me Lord, if you think there's a way I can try to repay
All I've taken from you
Maybe Lord, I can show someone else
What I've been through myself
On my way back to you.

Lord help me Jesus, I've wasted it so
Help me Jesus
I know what I am
Now that I know that I've need you so
Help me Jesus, my soul's in your hand.

 

---

Thirteen

Bad luck wind been blowing at my back
I was born to bring trouble to wherever
I'm at Got the number thirteen tattooed on my neck
When the ink starts to itch, then the black will turn to red

I was born in the soul of misery
Never had me a name
They just gave me the number when I was young

Got a long line of heartache
I carry it well
The list of lives
I've broken reach from here to hell
Back luck been blowing at my back
I pray you don't look at me, I pray I don't look back

I was born in the soul of misery
Never had me a name
They just gave me the number when I was young

I was born in the soul of misery
Never had me a name
They just gave me the number when I was young
They just gave me the number when I was young

 

---

Oh, Bury Me Not

[Introduction - A Cowboy's Prayer:]
Lord, I've never lived where churches grow I loved creation better
As it stood That day you finished it so long ago And looked upon your work and
Called it good I know that others find you in the light That sifted down through
Tinted window panes And yet I seem to feel you near tonight In this dim, quiet
Starlight on the plains I thank you, Lord, that I'm placed so well That you've
Made my freedom so complete That I'm no slave to whistle, clock or bell Nor weak
Eyed prisoner of Waller Street Just let me live my life as I've begun And give
Me work that's open to the sky Make me a partner of the wind and sun And I won't
Ask a life that's soft or high Let me be easy on the man that's down Let me be
Square and generous with all I'm careless sometimes, Lord, when I'm in town But
Never let them say I'm mean or small Make me as big and open as the plains And
Honest as the horse between my knees Clean as a wind that blows behind the rains
Free as the hawk that circles down the breeze Forgive me, Lord, if sometimes I
Forget You know about the reasons that are hid You understand the things that
Gall or fret Well, you knew me better than my mother did Just keep an eye on all
That's done or said And right me

Sometimes when I turn aside And guide me on that long, dim trail ahead That
Stretched upward toward the great divide

Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie These words came low and mournfully From the
Pallid lips of a youth who lay On his dying bed at the close of day

Oh, bury me not and his voice failed there But we took no heed to his dying
Prayer In a shallow grave just six by three We buried him there on the lone
Prairie.

 

---

Bird On A Wire

Like a bird on a wire
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free
Like a fish on a hook
Like a knight from an old fashioned book
I have saved all my ribbons with thee

And if I have been unkind
I hope that you will just let it go by
And if I have been untrue
I hope you know it was never to you

Like a baby stillborn
Like a beast with his horn
I have torn everyone who reached out for me

But I swear by this song
By all I have done wrong
I'll make it all up to you

I saw a beggar leaning on his wooden crutch
He called out to me "Don't ask for so much!"
And a young man leaning on his darkened door
He cried out to me "Hey, why not ask for more!"

Like a bird on a wire
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free

 

---

Tennessee Stud

Back about eighteen and twenty-five
I left Tennessee very much alive
I never would've made it through the Arkansas mud
If I hadn't been riding on the Tennessee Stud

Had some trouble with my sweetheart's Pa
One of her brothers was a bad outlaw
I wrote a letter to my Uncle Spud And
I rode away on the Tennessee Stud
On a Tennessee Stud
The Tennessee Stud was long and lean
The color of the sun and his eyes were green
He had the nerve and he had the blood
There never was a horse like Tennessee Stud

Drifted on down into no man's land
Across the river called the Rio Grande Raced my horse with the Spaniard's foe
Til I got me a skin full of silver and gold

Me and the gambler, we couldn't agree
We got in a fight over Tennessee Pulled our guns and he fell with a thud
And I rode away on a Tennessee Stud

The Tennessee Stud was long and lean
The color of the sun and his eyes were green
He had the nerve and he had the blood
There was never a horse like the Tennessee Stud

I rode right back across Arkansas
I whipped her brother and
I whipped her Pa
I found that girl with the golden hair
She was riding on a Tennessee Mare

Pretty little baby on the cabin floor
Little horse colt playing round the door
I loved the girl with the golden hair
And the Tennessee Stud loves the Tennessee Mare

The Tennessee Stud was long and lean
The color of the sun and his eyes were green
He had the nerve and he had the blood
There was never a horse like the Tennessee Stud

 

---

Down There By The Train

There's a place I know where the train goes slow
Where the sinner can be washed in the blood of the lamb
There's a river by the trestle down by sinner's grove
Down where the willow and the dogwood grow

You can hear the whistle, you can hear the bell
From the halls of heaven to the gates of hell
And there's room for the forsaken if you're there on time
You'll be washed of all your sins and all of your crimes
If you're down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there where the train goes slow

There's a golden moon that shines up through the mist
And I know that your name can be on that list
There's no eye for an eye, there's no tooth for a tooth
I saw Judas Iscariot carrying John Wilkes Booth
He was down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there by the train
He was down there where the train goes slow

If you've lost all your hope, if you've lost all your faith
I know you can be cared for and I know you can be safe
And all the shamefuls and all of the whores
And even the soldier who pierced the side of the Lord
Is down there by the train

Down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there where the train goes slow

Well, I've never asked forgiveness and I've never said a prayer
Never given of myself, never truly cared
I've left the ones who loved me and I'm still raising
Cain I've taken the low road and if you've done the same
Meet me down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there where the train goes slow

Meet me down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there by the train
Down there where the train goes slow

 

---

Redemption

From the hands it came down
From the side it came down
From the feet it came down
And ran to the ground
Between heaven and hell
A teardrop fell In the deep crimson dew
The tree of life grew

And the blood gave life
To the branches of the tree
And the blood was the price
That set the captives free
And the numbers that came
Through the fire and the flood
Clung to the tree
And were redeemed by the blood

From the tree streamed a light
That started the fight
'Round the tree grew a vine
On whose fruit I could dine
My old friend Lucifer came
Fought to keep me in chains
But I saw through the tricks
Of six-sixty-six

And the blood gave life
To the branches of the tree
And the blood was the price
That set the captives free
And the numbers that came
Through the fire and the flood
Clung to the tree
And were redeemed by the blood

From his hands it came down
From his side it came down
From his feet it came down
And ran to the ground
And a small inner voice
Said "You do have a choice."
The vine engrafted me
And I clung to the tree

 

---

Like A Soldier

With the twilight colors falling
And the evening laying shadows
Hidden memories come stealing from my mind
As I feel my own heart beating out
The simple joy of living
I wonder how I ever was that kind

But the wild road I was rambling
Was always out there calling
And they said a hundred times I should have died
But now my present miracle
Is that you're here beside me So,
I believe they were roads that I was meant to ride

Like a soldier getting over the war
Like a young man getting over his crazy days
Like a bandit getting over his lawless ways
Every day is better than before
I'm like a soldier getting over the war

There were nights I don't remember
And there's pain that I've forgotten
Other things I choose not to recall
There are faces that come to me
In my darkest secret memory
Faces that I wish would not come back at all

In my dreams parade of lovers
From the other times and places
There's not one that matters now, no matter who
I'm just thankful for the journey
And that I've survived the battles
And that my spoils of victory are you

 

---

The Man Who Couldn't Cry

There once was a man who just couldn't cry
He hadn't cried for years and for years
Napalmed babies and the movie love story
For instance could not produce tears
As a child he had cried as all children will
Then at some point his tear ducts ran dry
He grew to be a man, the feces hit the fan
Things got bad, but he couldn't cry

His dog was run over, his wife up and left him
And after that he got sacked from his job
Lost his arm in the war, was laughed at by a whore
Ah, but sill not a sniffle or sob

His novel was refused, his movie was panned
And his big Broadway show was a flop

He got sent off to jail; you guessed it, no bail
Oh, but still not a dribble or drop

In jail he was beaten, bullied and buggered
And made to make license plates
Water and bread was all he was fed
But not once did a tear stain his face

Doctors were called in, scientists, too
Theologians were last and practically least

They all agreed sure enough; this was sure no cream puff
But in fact an insensitive beast

He was removed from jail and placed in a place
For the insensitive and the insane
He played lots of chess and made lots of friends
And he wept every time it would rain

Once it rained forty days and it rained forty nights
And he cried and he cried and he cried and he cried

On the forty-first day, he passed away
He just dehydrated and died

Well, he went up to heaven, located his dog
Not only that, but he rejoined his arm
Down below, all the critics, they loot it all back
Cancer robbed the whore of her charm

His ex-wife died of stretch marks, his ex-employer went broke
The theologians were finally found out

Right down to the ground, that old jail house burned down
The earth suffered perpetual drought