BLACKWATER

BLACKWATER
Been doin' a lot of hidin'
Tryin' to get away from myself - granny say
How you gonna live come tomorrow
Roll black water roll
Roll black water roll

I left home for the good life
But man I felt alone - daddy say
How you gonna live if you don't know which way up or down is
Roll black water roll
Roll black water roll

I woke up in a city
And I ain't know which way was home
Guess I'm gonna leave come tomorrow
Roll black water roll
Roll black water roll

HO CAKE
My Granny makes the best cracklin' ho cake
It tastes so good I can't wait to dip my plate
She's cookin' ham hocks in some white-acre peas
She's cookin' turnip greens and macaroni and cheese
Get on out my way I got to ease up to that pot
I like my cornbread while it's still piping hot
I love this food Lord I can't get enough
Stick ya hands near my plate, you'll draw back a nub

I 'member it happened back in 1978
Daddy caught me tryin' to steal a pork chop off his plate
He snatched it back and I gave him a little sass
He quick whupped off the belt 'n started whuppin' on my ass

I learned a lesson 'bout what this food can do
It can talk yo ass in to turning black-and-blue
So all you kids keep yo hands to yo on supper
Cuz if you let that food do the talkin' yo tail might suffer
I love smoke mullet, hush puppies and grits
I love them catfish and I love them popcorn shrimp
I love fried chicken and I love them collard greens
I love them black eye peas and them lima beans
I love that ox-tail soup with a little rice
I love them candied yams and sweet potato pies
I love it all Lord I just got to holler
Tastes so dad-blame good I can't even swallow

AIR
This is the world in which we live
This is all take and no give
Every comfort for you, you , you
Only gonna do you blind a whole lotta people can't see that high

This is the house that which we built
This is the place where we found guilt
Break a bad habit let it go
It's harder still you know

Want a little peace of mind?
Then grab the lowest branch and start to climb

We've been walking on air y'all, we've been walking on air

The invitation's in
If it beats all git out then do it again
Less than pleasant then put it to shame
Only gonna do you blind
A whole lotta folks can't see that high

We've been walking on air y'all, we've been walking on air

JOOKHOUSE
Down at the jookhouse baby - Down at the house

I done been around the world
I done seen people everywhere
But they ain't nobody that can move
Move ya ass like these people down here
You got the soul we got the slip
We gonna go barefottin' with the Southern trip
Leave the fools with fools a kickin' that leash
But throw off that leash and get with the grease

We got D over here
We got Robbie over there
We got Chris over there
We got Amy and Turtle and Mike and Jeanie
What's yo name, I don't know? What's yo name?
Jim Mao
My Bad. What's yo name? Jim Mao
There we go.
Get up and dance around
Git into the greasy of the soul funk sound
We got no time for people who slip
e go - we got to kick it on dow
Kick ya shoes off and jump around
And act like a fool to the sound
Of the funky little jookhouse groove we got
And if you don't git it
hmm...I don't know why.

NARE SUGAR
If this a big party then everybody dance
Got a little idea what ya gonna
People wanna try to play me
Like I don't know what I'm talkin about
Cuz I'm a fool, but I figured it out.

Mama gonna tell me what I don't wanna
She keep tryin' to - tryin' to play me
Woman don't leave me for another man
Cuz if you do... I don't even wanna be around

My baby's coming home
But I ain't gon' get nare sugar tonight


FREE
Some people think they're free
if they get to do just what they want to do
And do nothing, nothing else

Some people want to lead their life
Ohers want to follow but it's ok
Cuz every man got to walk his own way

Don't be hesitating
There's no contemplating
No there is no waiting - you got to live free
Wealth ain't necessary
Some think it's to scary
Quite the contrary - you got to live free

Some people complicate their lives
Others keep it simple
And that's a little bit closer to the truth
That we all seek

We pledge allegiance to anything
That takes our mind away
Freedom ain't cheap, naw freedom ain't easy to get

Don't let go
Some let go

Don't be hesitating
There's no contemplating
No there is no waiting you got to live free
Wealth ain't necessary
Some think it's to scary
Quite the contrary you got to live free

All them things you say
All them things you do
They won't mean a thing if you don't live free
All them things we say
All them things we do
They won't mean a thing if we don't live free

FLORIDA
I remember my granpa tellin' me
About the early days of Florida
Born a swamp cracka' 2 miles from Grannies Bay
Comin' up the way of the wilderness

No car phone or electric light
Just livin' life one day at a time
No newspaper no war and no strife
Just the elemental keys that provide for life

Florida I know you're out ther hidin' from me
You get harder and harder to find
Everyday she keeps slippin' away
Florida please don't fade on me now

Autumn sun set mornin' skies ablaze
The oaks and the pines turn their palms up to the sun
The kind of beauty that hits down in the soul
And still we're hell bent to destroy it all

With concrete and steal we pave
A road to hell on a land we've killed
So take a good look and remember it now
Cuz one day ya gonna wake up and find it gone

Now skyscrapers and superhighways
Are carved through the heart of Florida
Building sub-divisions while the swamps are drained
Makin' room for people and amusement parks

It's like watchin' someone you love die slow
Yeah they're killin' her one piece at a time
I know some fools who think I should let go
But they never seen Florida through my eyes

Florida I know you're out ther hidin' from me
You get harder and harder to find
Everyday she keeps slippin' away
Florida please don't fade on me now

LAZY FO' ACRE
It's ok daddy wanna play
Have you been wantin' some of the same?
Sho' do wanna get with you
Fe Fi, baby wanna ride
Kisses are right on time
Let's get back in that groove - yeah yeah

It's a slow, lazy summer
Yeah the perfect time to hook up with you
For some old fashioned lovin'
In the middle of the heat of June

Circle fly, I wanna sail I wanna stretch across the sky
Deep in the heart of blue
A tall glass of lemonade and a
Hammock swingin' baby we got it made
Is that somethin' that you don't do? yeah yeah

It's a slow, lazy summer
Yeah the perfect time to hook up with you
For some old fashioned lovin'
In the middle of the heat of June

SANTA CLAUS
Off and to the right, the fade of the light, I'm watching the sun go down Over the fields, we see the one, that little girl to make, make my heart pound (yes she do)
But don't you know that that's forbidden, son you better get rid of them ideas, they'll lead to a hangin'

When I was young
You know that I believed
In Santa Claus, true love, and freedom

Pushin' back the fear, sneakin' off to see her, and we'd dream to leave this land
Then her family would say, boy ya better stay away, if your daddy finds out you're a dead man
Leave me to die, my way my time, how can a man Lord chain a man

When I was young
You know that I believed
In Santa Claus, true love, and freedom

Those days are gone
Might as well leave them be
No more Santa Claus, true love, and freedom

WHITEHOUSE
Playful days you know I got a lot of memories
Of growing up deep in the South at a time when people cared
I didn't know I had it good I was to busy playin' games
Livin' childhood dreams and fantasies

Slip-n-slide play hide & go seek 'round the swing set
Climbin' trees me and my partner play the man with the golden baR
Mama callin' out to me tellin me "don't wander off to far"
"dinners almost ready and ya got to come in soon"

Show me the way back to those days
Show me the way back to those days

Truth or dare kissin' icky girls at the playground
Sno-cones for foul balls
Throwin' pennies on the tracks and playin' in the rain
Oblivious of the world around us that was going insane
Lord feel that vibe Lord feel that vibe

Show me the way back to those days
Show me the way back to those days

I was born in the South a long long way from anywhere
Comin' up through troubled times but I did not know to even give a care Life was good simple to the point of makin' do
Path ahead of me mysterious indeed all brand new
And now they fade memories hold my place in time
While I'm waiting for the changing of the tide
The thrill is gone and with it went my wings to fly
Guess we'll have to climb one step at time
Yeah we climb one step at a time, yeah we climb
Do you want to climb the higher mountain with me now?
Do you want to climb the higher road to where we go?

BRIGHTER DAYS
Don't stop even for the right thing
Does it matter what I say?
My whole world was by that river
Flowin' north to meet the sea each day
I don't want to move away

You look at me and ya say "what's wrong boy?"
What else do you want me to say?
I don't want to leave tomorrow
Been and gone but I belong here now
Your big world can wait another day

Brighter days where did they go?

I am hopeful for where I'm goin'
But I belong in the South
That was where I's born a po' boy
Livin' life like there's no end in sight
Even so I've done without

Brighter days where did they go?

Boy you about to hit the bottom
I'll be alone I feel I'm movin' where
To a land you never saw
And I see you 'bout to hit the bottom
Lord help me move away
To a land you never saw
And I've seen

Brighter days where did they go?