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Sin City Blues (2014)

by Mark Lucas & the Dead Setters

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1.
Romeo is anxious, he’s waiting by the door He knows he’s here for something but he don’t quite know what for He can see her now smiling and leaning ‘gainst the wall He feels her soft breath on his neck, all this and more recalled It’s been so long he’s standing here on this empty stage But he remembers everything she said before the House of Pain Last night I dreamt the Queen of Hearts rang the palace bell But the guards were under orders and did not treat her well She took it all so gracefully, so serene and so composed Yeah it’s the devil in the hearts of men that innocents expose As fate drove her through the tunnel of love I’m sure I heard her say Keep your crowns, those hand-me-downs, drive on to the House of Pain And the leader of the opposition, it seems he’s got the blues Trying to sell the future to a disaffected youth Now the world is getting smaller, we’re all civilized We got super-sized democracy, free Coke, Big Mac and fries It’s too late they cry, we’re on line, we know you’re all the same We’d rather just take our chances here in the House of Pain So wise up friend for in the end this is all we got When Elvis left the building he just moved around the block The more things change they still remain - it’s grace alone that counts And now we’re getting low on juice and time is running out So if you’re looking for the real thing and not someone to blame She lies bleedin’ in the hall of mirrors the House of Pain
2.
The radio is playing that song about Marlene I can see you there on your wedding day With the boys and girls gathered all around You brought the circus to that sleepy little town It all seems so long ago Tell me Did you get to go where your heart said go? Now I’m standing here in my Sunday best And I’m dreaming of more but settlin’ for less I’m hearing ‘bout Jesus but I’m seeing Dick Cheney I believe in love and I don’t mean maybe I know you reap just what you sow You got to go where your heart says go You can calculate your stocks and bonds But they won’t get you where you’re going when you’re gone On this long and winding road You got to go where your heart says go Sometimes I just can’t believe my luck Seems sometimes I just keep fucking up Sometimes it’s all too hard to believe That to believe in love is all we need And when the darkness takes a hold You got to go where your heart says go
3.
Now she’s trying to get ahead but it’s like it all just weighs her down And she’s just one of many role players they expect to have around She’s got to be so many people she feels like just a face in the crowd Lost and found Her mother, God bless her brought her up to be a queen Good catholic girl princess in blue jeans She bought the man and the mortgage for the price of her dreams Kicks and screams She used to see diamonds I used to see stars We used to lie in the sand listening to Venus and Mars It’s not easy to explain but I miss the innocence somehow But that was then and this is now That was then and this is now Her mama knew nothing beyond the soaps and abuse Yet her Daddy worked hard for his footy and booze And her plans were the envy of all the girls that she knew Sin city blue She used to see diamonds I used to see stars Lord Lord there ain’t a minute to spare Just a moment ago your dreams were waiting there But the years flick by like those broken white lines And before you know it you’re just plumb out of time Now she’s taking the bus to the end of the line Where hope is a freeway and the freedom to drive Away from hard promises away from cold lies Come alive She used to see diamonds I used to see stars
4.
Young Jack left home one fine bright morning With a spring in his step and the world in his eye It’s a black dirt, yellow sun, red sky country Jackie won’t you come on home He was another country kid, a boy who’d barely grown The last words his mother had for him were Jackie won’t you come on home Young Jack never meant to leave the pastures But there was no room now on his Daddy’s land So he traded fence-lines for a foreign border Dust & steers for sand & oil He never knew why he was really going it just seemed the way to go The last words his mother had for him were Jackie won’t you come on home Young Jack sailed away across the ocean Do your bit son & do your country proud And armchair generals dream of history While the boys stand up and the boys fall down They told him God was on his side as he marched down Soldier’s Road The last words his mother had for him were Jackie won’t you come on home Sometimes the thing worth fighting for is the right to stand your ground Young men die in old men’s wars so the money goes around Young Jack came home a dead war hero In a flag draped box on a transport plane Yeah they made their speeches over his body And his mother wept upon his grave
5.
I’ve got this little problem I don’t like to be alone Guess I just need someone that I can call my own So why do I mess it up every time You never miss your water when you’re standin’ in the rain When that midnight sun comes beating down you’re naked and afraid Baby I think my well just ran dry We made love in the kitchen Then we made war in the hall Make the 7:10 from Central I might miss you when you’re gone You’ve one step on the platform and the other on the train I’m thinkin’ that it’s just as well you kept your maiden name Baby you know this is the end of the line You like your legs over easy I like ém sunny side up I like to make love in the morning you don’t like to wake up Maybe we should have seen the signs We made love in the kitchen Now the evening sun is throwing up your shadow on the wall I can’t believe I’m here alone I can’t believe you’re gone Maybe I’ll just sit right down here and cry I gave up drinkin’ whiskey and I don’t smoke cigarettes These days I just collect the things that help me to forget Lately it’s what I do to survive We made love in the kitchen I’ve got this little problem I don’t like to be alone Guess I just need someone that I can call my own So why do I mess it up every time Why do I stuff it up every time Why do I muck it up every time Why do I…

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released June 26, 2014

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Mark Lucas Sydney, Australia

Australian roots music – it’s a sense of place. In singer-songwriter Mark Lucas' word picture world you’ll encounter ghosts of the past & yearning spirits of the present, making themselves known in a variety of familiar locales, together with a motley cast of misfits & dreamers who could fit in just about anywhere there’s people & stories to tell. ... more

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