Lyr Req: LA Freeway (Guy Clark)

Subject: Lyr Add: LA FREEWAY (Guy Clark)
From: GUEST,Landlady's Daughter
Date: 09 Apr 01 - 04:54 PM

I think I've decoded the lyrics correctly for this let's make a run for it song. What do you think?

LA FREEWAY
(Words and music by Guy Clark © 1975 BMG Music Recorded on Old No. 1, SH-C-1030)

Pack up all your dishes,
Make note of all good wishes,
Say good-bye to the landlord for me,
Son-of-a-bitches always bore me;
Throw out them LA papers,
Moldy bags of vanilla wafers,
Adios to all this concrete,
Gonna get me some dirt road back street.

Chorus:

If I can just get off of this LA Freeway,
Without gettin' killed or caught,
I'll be down the road in a cloud of smoke
To some land I ain't bought, bought, bought.

Here's to you, old skinny Dennis,
The only one I think I will miss;
I can hear your basement singing,
Sweet and low with a guitar ringing;
Play it for me one more time now;
Got to give it all we can now;
I believe everything you're sayin',
Just keep on, keep on playin'. (CHO)

And you put the pink card in the mail box,
Leave the key in the front door lock,
They'll find it likely or not,
I'm sure there's something we have forgot;
Oh, Suzanna, don't you cry, babe,
Love's a gift that's surely handmade;
We've got something to believe in,
Don't you think it's time we're leavin'? (CHO)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: LA Freeway?Check words?
From: GUEST,Landlady's Daughter
Date: 09 Apr 01 - 04:55 PM

That was a lot more BOLD than I wanted it. Wow!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: LA Freeway?Check words?
From: Mountain Dog
Date: 09 Apr 01 - 05:50 PM

For what it's worth, I'd always heard the third line of verse #2 as:

"I can hear your bass-man playin'"

Great tune from a master songwriter and storyteller. Thanks for the transcription!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: LA Freeway?Check words?
From: Francy
Date: 09 Apr 01 - 06:02 PM

I always do it like this.......I can hear that old bass singing.....sweet and low like a gift you're bringin.. Frank of Toledo

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: LA Freeway?Check words?
From: GUEST,Landlady's Daughter
Date: 09 Apr 01 - 06:09 PM

Well, that's what I thought I heard too at first:

"I can hear your bass-man playin'"

But somewhere, from someone, I got the other line and now I'm confused. I think "bassman" is a better line but it may be a folk-processed one. At the same time, the basement is where music happens in them LA urban ranch houses.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: LA Freeway?Check words?
From: Jeri
Date: 09 Apr 01 - 06:19 PM

I'll try to find the album and have a listen. I think the 3rd line of the last verse is:
"They'll find it likely as not."

I think it's "bass man" too. Also "like a guitar ringing." Keep in mind that until I can actually listen to it, I'm talking out of my whatsit.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: LA Freeway?Check words?
From: Midchuck
Date: 09 Apr 01 - 06:59 PM

It's "The son-of-a-bitch (singular) has always bored me."

Peter.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: LA Freeway?Check words?
From: Midchuck
Date: 09 Apr 01 - 07:00 PM

Oh, and I agree with Francy on that line.

P.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: LA Freeway?Check words?
From: Robo
Date: 09 Apr 01 - 07:11 PM

Those fixes pretty much do it. Keep in mind that Jerry Jeff throws in a few different wrinkles in his version.

Rob-o

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: LA Freeway?Check words?
From: Jeri
Date: 09 Apr 01 - 08:14 PM

OK, I found the album. (Three boxes of them, and wouldn't you know it was the second to last album. Old Jackson Browne was last.)

This is what I got from listening - differences in bold:

Throw out them LA papers,
Moldy box of vanilla wafers
and
I can hear your old bass singing,
Sweet and low like a git-jo ringing

Everything else sounded the same as what you wrote. Hope this helps. "Git-jo" sounds a whole lot like "Gift you're," but that's what it sounds like to me. (A bass IS a guitar, so it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but...)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: LA Freeway?Check words?
From: Robo
Date: 09 Apr 01 - 09:24 PM

The original Guy Clark lyrics have it:

"I can hear that old bass singing Sweet and low like a gift you're bringin'"

A bassman is also an amp, however, and something JJWalker takes advantage of in his electrified recording of the song:

"I can hear your bassman singing, soft and low like a gift you're bringing."

Good tune, eh?

Rob-o

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: LA Freeway?Check words?
From: Robo
Date: 09 Apr 01 - 09:32 PM

Both Guy's lyrics and Jerry Jeff's adaptation, by the way, can be found by searching on LA Freeway at www.roughstock.com/cowpie/songs

Rob-o

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: LA Freeway?Check words?
From: Jeri
Date: 09 Apr 01 - 10:49 PM

Thanks Rob-o. I must have Mondegreened it.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: LA Freeway?Check words?
From: GUEST
Date: 09 Apr 01 - 11:26 PM

The line is definitely

"Sons-of-bitches always bore me."

That's the way my brain recalls it anyway...

thanks for posting this great song...lots of memories and I've never even been to LA.

Willie-O

Subject: Lyr Add: L.A. FREEWAY (Guy Clark)
From: GUEST,Landlady's Daughter
Date: 10 Apr 01 - 09:13 AM

Well, this has been fun! I finally found my old Guy Clark cassette which includes printed lyrics; then I found my magnifying glass which reveals that his version does have the "baseman singin'" and some other minor changes; I'm gonna paste the whole thing in below, realizing that Jerry Jeff and others have modified (folk-processed?) the original lyrics which were probably originally written down on a napkin and thrown out with the trash. Thanks everyone for the help and the memories!

L.A. FREEWAY
(Words and music by Guy Clark © 1975 BMG Music Recorded on Old No. 1, SH-C-1030)

Pack up all your dishes,
Make note of all good wishes,
Say good-bye to the landlord for me,
That son-of-a-bitch has always bored me;
Throw out them L.A. papers,
And that moldy bag of vanilla wafers,
Adios to all this concrete,
Gonna get me some dirt road back street.

Chorus:

If I can just get off of this L.A. Freeway,
Without gettin' killed or caught,
I'll be down the road in a cloud of smoke
To some land I ain't bought, bought, bought.

Here's to you, old skinny Dennis,
The only one I think I will miss;
I can hear your baseman singin',
Sweet and low like a gift you're bringing;
Play it for me one more time now;
Got to give it all we can now;
I believe everything you're sayin',
Just you keep on playin'. (CHO)

Put the pink card in the mail box,
Leave the key in the front door lock,
They'll find it likely as not,
I'm sure there's somethin' we have forgot;
Oh, Susanna, don't you cry, babe,
Love's a gift that's surely handmade;
We've got somethin' to believe in,
Don't you think it's time we're leavin'? (CHO)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: LA Freeway?Check words?
From: Jeri
Date: 10 Apr 01 - 10:41 AM

Haha! I think Guy folk-processed it as well. He's definitely singing "old bass" on the 1975 album. Happens all the time, though, and any recorded version, be it written or sung, is only how he did it that particular time.

Great song anyway. The whole album is wonderful - I'm glad you inspired me to dig it out.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: LA Freeway?Check words?
From: LR Mole
Date: 10 Apr 01 - 12:51 PM

"A Man Must Carry On" (the live one) also has one of the most touching versions of "My Buddy" I've ever heard.