We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Crooked Songs

by Rance Garrison

/
1.
Ric Flair 04:53
lyrics
buy track
Sittin' on the porch a cigarette in my hand All ready feeling like an old man World's gonna explode I tell you it's true Don't believe me baby if you don't want to I walk my hometown on the railroad tracks Seems like I'm getting a little too relaxed Gotta do something turn it all around If I'm your lover baby make a sound I'm gonna be a jet flying limousine riding kiss stealing wheeling dealing son of a gun just like Ric Flair. You know your heroes are dead in their graves It's the only thing from which none of us are safe Drive your car stay up all night Come with me into the moonlight Laugh your ass off like a lunatic They're lining up so you can take your pick Which ones are we gonna destroy? Tell me who is gonna be your toy? I'm gonna be a jet flying limousine riding kiss stealing wheeling dealing son of a gun just like Ric Flair. I'm smoking Marlboros in the flip top box Look at that girl, man, she's a real fox Gonna get in my car and drive drive drive I'll be back tomorrow if I can make it back alive I'm gonna be a jet flying limousine riding kiss stealing wheeling dealing son of a gun just like Ric Flair.
2.
Paper Bag Poem 04:04
lyrics
buy track
Found a poem written on a paper bag Said that love might be all you have But if you have it you're gonna be fine Smoked a cigarette under the marquee Waiting for you to call out to me From across the street's painted lines I hope you got my letter If I could I would try to know myself better But you know me more than anyone I was driving on the old dirt road Music blaring on my stereo I was so moved a tear appeared in my eye Thought of you in your long blonde curls Wish that together we could burn the world And smoke up this clouded sky I hope you got my letter If I could I would try to know myself better But you know me more than anyone
3.
Dust of the Earth 04:03
lyrics
buy track
I sat my worries down and I left them all behind In the valleys of darkness that once left me blind I'm just trying to reach a better place Not the promised land but still a better place I turned off my radio and I let the feeling soak in And you looked angrily at me but then you promised you were only joking You said to me the only thing to fear is hatred And I asked how can you know love if you don't know hatred And I smiled as you took my hand and kissed it lightly And I noticed that you were also smiling slightly You said to me the only that's really worth hating is fear And I asked how can you know freedom if you don't know fear Is it the camera's eye watching me when I lay me down to sleep Or is it God above? Is it lust I feel looking at you or is it something real and something true? Is it love? I've been told all my life I'm only worth what I manage to get done But with all this work to do how can a man settle down and have some fun? So I must be committing some kind of great sin And although I don't feel guilty I've been told that I'm still living in sin Is the race that you're running worth the time it takes to run its course? Or are you dragging your feet behind you like a tired and beaten down horse? Star dust alone composed the dust of the earth And God made man from the dust of the earth So I wonder as I lay my head down on the pillow tonight Is it wrong of me to feel that everything's gonna work out all right? I'm sick of the same old same old sickening view That the world is collapsing and a bleak future's in view.
4.
Good Friday 04:37
lyrics
buy track
Turn on the TV and it's nothing but bad news Turn on the radio I see why the blues Is slowly coming back in style I turn on the light but in the corner there's shadows Out my window a framed man hangs from the gallows Strangled and drowned on his own bile There's nothing to learn from sliding away From the evils that men do every day I'm diving head first into a world gone wrong Got killer's fingers and a sarcastic grin Gonna block aide my room if you come here again Trying to sell me something I can't even use. My mind's made up I ain't got nothing to learn I just want money in my pocket-money to burn I'm gonna take back the farm with an executioner's style Gonna tear up the road with a shovel and an ax Gonna dip all my windows in candle wax Advertise my invention on the low end of the dial Nothing to learn from turning away From the abominations you see every day I'm doing a cannon ball into a pit of despair Gonna smoke like a freight train til I cloud up the sky I won't say nothing if you ask me why I ain't being cruel, babe, I just don't care Pontius Pilate told Herod the King "I'm waiting on a phone call, tell me if it rings There's a man who's selling me a gun and some ammo, too. And if he asks tell him I apologize For that man we killed they called Jesus the Christ I was just tryin' to keep my job, ain't nothing he wouldn't do." Nothing to do but turn away From a world that's had it's last hey day Just wait for the end to come and hold on to your seat If you try to wake me up, ma, I might just stay in bed See, I got this bad throbbing in my head I'm gonna stay right here til the world finds its feet.
5.
Baby Gone Away 04:40
lyrics
buy track
My baby gone away I"m full of sorrow Full of woe Got troubles even the Lord don't know Got you on my mind all day Ever since my baby gone away I'm a prisoner of your love You were sent to me on the wings of a dove You're the owner of this lonely heart You're the rhythm when the music starts All my joy is now lost On stormy seas carelessly tossed You are the fire You are the flame But my baby gone away I'm full of sorrow Full of woe Got troubles even the Lord don't know Got you on my mind all day Ever since my baby gone away.
6.
Country Elegance 03:49
lyrics
buy track
They're waking up mama because daddy just died We're all sad we laughed until we cried There's a feeling in the air nobody cares to hide They wouldn't if they could because then it only grows on the inside I'm playing pick up sticks as you get a round of applause No one knows why you make them so proud so they say it's just because And when you juggle tomatoes everyone has pause To watch the clown run his reputation in the ground and show everyone who's boss And I'm happy to be here where secrets run skin deep Where beauty is rare and when found it comes with just two teeth I shake like an earthquake every time that I weep As you're running your diner on a quiet small town street And I think I would die if I could be reborn as you You got it so lucky, babe, but you don't have a clue All the pretty girls they come in herds when they see you I wonder how it feels to walk a mile in your shoes Well I heard they beat you down just like a government mule You tried to run out of town but your car ran out of fuel You want to go to where ignorance is a rule Where knowledge comes on a disc and every man remains a fool They're waking up mama 'cause the world just ended outside We're all sad in here we laughed until we died Get in my car, baby, we'll take a little ride But if we tell daddy, you know, he'll tan both our hides.
7.
Devil Woman 04:54
lyrics
buy track
Devil woman, why are you so mean to me? Devil woman, why are you so mean to me? You say that you love me then you turn around and set me free. Devil woman, you're cold hearted and you're cruel Devil woman, you're cold hearted and you're cruel I loved you with all my heart and you played me for a fool. Devil woman, why'd you set me free? Devil woman, why'd you set me free? Devil woman, can't you see all that we could be? Devil woman, you're the devil in a yellow skirt Devil woman, you're the devil in a yellow skirt You say that you love me but all you make me do is hurt. Devil woman, I love you can't you see? Devil woman, I love you can't you see? If you got nothing nice to say, then come on and leave me be.
8.
Killing Time 02:00
lyrics
buy track
I love rock and roll Rock and roll in the deepest, darkest. . . I love killin' time Blastin' tunes and endless rhymes All plans are gone for the day Everything I normally do has changed Writing songs, vibrating chords Thumping subs, the occasional keyboard Tapes are rollin', CDs are turnin' Not a care in the world Look at their faces No one cares Take it easy. --by Josh Daniels.
9.
Innocence 01:38
lyrics
buy track
Instrumental
10.
Living Will 03:08
lyrics
buy track
Broken windows old hotels You're burdened with the lies they tell Glaring into the silver swell All jaws dropped as the curtain fell The prince gives his hidden cause Revenge was for the love he lost Interest compounded a heart of frost All our roads will one day cross It'll be a hard rain falling down on you and me A rough road to the other side A lost cause but one in which we can believe A hard rain falling If I end up dead and broke Missing the point of my own joke Just promise you won't let me choke Upon the words that I spoke For broken men with busted guns Come marching out with busted drums Spewing conceit from forked tongues So hide your women and your young It'll be a hard rain falling down on you and me A rough road to the other side A lost cause but one in which we can believe A hard rain falling.
11.
Light Up Ahead 04:19
lyrics
buy track
Saw you standing on the side of the road With your hung up eyelids and your heavy load You were saying "I'm leaving this world." I was thinking life's too unkind to little girls But the sky is a sea and the moon is a boat And we ain't sailing baby we are merely a float You are just too young to understand So come here darling, take my hand There's a light up ahead and I'm reaching for it In the end we all end up dead It's what you do between to make it feel like it was worth it. Are you still laughing? Do you ever smile? I haven't seen you in quite awhile Are you still driving your fairy boat to hell Or were the fires put out? Is it just as well To go on living like nothing's wrong, To go on smiling all the day long? Sometimes there ain't no joy left at all But you won't ever believe what I just saw There's a light up ahead and I'm basking in it Won't you follow me to bed? This exhaustion's cutting deep, and I just can't ignore it. There's a light up ahead There's a light up ahead There's a light up ahead Won't you follow me to it?
12.
Heaterswitch Sunrise Blues 03:56
lyrics
buy track
Well its so late the sun is rising And the night is dying And the street lights are fading As yesterday's credits roll And I'm thinking about the old days About old friends gone their own ways I know that time flies, baby, But it feels just like a stroll It feels like everybody's leaving this place And I'm still standing here with a dumbstruck look upon my face Fond farewell to all old times Put 'em in a box and lay it all on the line I'm gonna sit around and watch the sun rise Well, there's no windows in my home I just hang out here all alone Sometimes my girl drops by or a friend comes to call And my truck's heaterswitch is broken There's so much that goes unspoken There are things I'd love to tell you That I will never say at all. It feels like everybody's leaving this place But I'm still standing here with a dumbstruck look upon my face Fond farewell to all old times Put 'em in a box and lay it all the line I'm gonna sit around and watch the sun rise.
13.
Last Record In Apartment Ten 10:56
lyrics
buy track
Holed up at 247 West Morgan Avenue The train whistle's blowing as our minds go askew They left Main Street in tatters after Loretta's closed down But they're trying to rebuild it and give new life to an old town Dr. Tom's been laying low though his grave's been vandalized Most people are waiting for something, but they don't know what til it arrives I'm still waiting myself though it feels like quite a sin Writing nonsense and making the last record in apartment ten. Messrs. K and M will paint your picture for a fee And put it in an antique frame for your loved ones to see Mr. Marx was wasted they caught him on the street A bottle of mountain moonshine was lying at his feet And though I hardly knew him I know I won't forget The words that poured from his tongue like smoke from a cigarette His wife left him in New York State and said she hoped she never saw him again So he spends his nights listening to the last record in apartment ten. They led FDR down the long road that makes up memory lane Bob Dylan slept in Cumberland forty miles away At first light vultures circle the crest of Cemetery Drive Just one more reminder none of us can make it out alive But me I feel so nervous though my shaking may subside If I could see your pretty face and have you at my side But now I sit here all alone on my face there comes a grin As I contemplate the last record in apartment ten. February 22nd, the year 2005 The Lonesome Highway unfolds beneath a Heaterswitch Sunrise The rooftop of the coffeeshop I stared down into Main Street So afraid of falling I nearly lost the feeling in my feet The country music station plays in every store in town I've been lost since I was born though through your love I was found I passed by a thousand signs proclaiming woe until all men Who dare to close their ears to the last record in apartment ten. There's a feeling of leaving that caught me unaware I built to monuments and hid them all underneath your stairs I rounded up my companions though there were few that I could trust Some pierced my heart with flaming swords others murdered me with lust And now I ride a sinking ship I know it's weighted down With the lure of fool's gold and hollow paper crowns And everyone knows where you're going, babe, but not where you've been You've been making your last record in apartment ten Don't you worry my fair love you know that I adore The very way your body moves when you slam the door I got this strange idea that there could be a way To lock up the pandora's box in which my soul was displayed And if they put it in a museum won't you please steal it back for me? I was not born just to die, no, I was born to be free But if being free means that I must be alone again I'd rather make my last record in apartment ten. White lines slash the freeway into opposing sides I've got the Bible in my hands and steam in my strides A cut and paste evangelist is all I hope to be To spread a word of comfort and the hope of eternity And though I've lost every last inch of my faith more than a thousand times I've always regained my ground with God on my side And if I should slip and fall into that hole again You can find me making the last record in apartment ten.
14.
This Hurricane 06:13
lyrics
buy track
I missed your call, you missed your mark I should have known right from the start That the sun is out yet we all remain in the dark About our fate and the ship that sails Across the waters as the tales Of bandits and thieves prevail It just gets hard to find a way To say that which I need to say For my heart is buried deep in hardened clay But I miss your smile, I miss your face I miss your kiss and your embrace I hate this feeling of being so out of place Out of place and out of touch And in need of a crutch To put my weight on so I don't stumble so much But can't you see that you need me Like a slave needs to be free From a master who keeps him chained like a dog to a tree? So come along and take my hand We'll set out for another land We'll outrun the wind and bury our heads beneath the sun And when the storm comes and the wind blows Baby, we'll take off all our clothes And stand naked in the face of the unknown You are my strength, you are my one You are my starlight you are my sun You are what I've been searching for since my life begun When I see you I know God must have a pretty face Because he made you and we're each made in his image So don't you worry no don't you cry Don't you lose that spark in your eye This hurricane will surely pass us by No matter how fucked up things become No matter if the rivers cease to run No matter if the moon comes along and covers up the sun No matter if the world stops its spin No matter if all of time ends No matter if the trees are uprooted by the wind I'll be here.
15.
Speaking Terms 02:30
lyrics
buy track
I've been thinking about you and the way you seem so fragile But now that you've gained your strength Must your hatred be unleashed on me? My brother in arms may you stay safe from harm Although we ain't on speaking terms. You cut me a square deal though you ain't got much to give And one of these sweet days I swear that you will be repaid So do not forget my growing debt And keep me on speaking terms. I been thinking about God and the stories I've always been told But when you're heart gets filled up with sin Can you be redeemed in the end? This heart of black must try to get back On the Father's speaking terms.
16.
Opel's Diner 02:08
info
buy track

about

All of these songs were written and recorded between late 2004 and early 2006. This is the second set of songs to have been mostly recording in Apartment 10, that musky, windowless, hotter than hell apartment I lived in right after I got out of high school. To be fair, I didn't have to pay rent, so I really couldn't complain.

When I started recording these songs, I didn't know I was trying to make another album, so, there are a lot pieces included that were just for fun. These are some of my favorite ones, though. Ric Flair, Baby Gone Away, and the weird numbers like Killing Time (which was adapted from a poem by Josh Daniels that appeared in my high school's literary magazine) and Opel's Diner. All of those were collaborations with Joe Fultz, Keaton Lawson, and Josh Ely. In fact, this album features more songs that were collaborations in one way or another than anything else I've made, which is probably why these songs all hold such a special place in my heart.

My favorite piece of songwriting from the album is Last Record in Apartment Ten which is actually the last song I wrote and recorded in my first apartment. It's sort of an anthem to my hometown of Pennington Gap and also a song about having to grow up a little more, something that I'm still in the process of.

Ended up getting my first taste of heartbreak during this time, and that gets reflected in some of the lyrics, especially Devil Woman, which is a bluesy little acoustic number that i still think is pretty groovy.

The title came from something a friend of mine, Ryan Thacker, said about some of my songs sounding "Crooked." I don't know whether or not he meant it as a compliment, but I liked it.

All of these tracks make me feel a little nostalgic. I hope you enjoy them.

credits

released May 1, 2006

Produced by Rance Garrison with Keaton Lawson

All songs written by Rance Garrison

except

"Baby Gone Away." Lyrics by Rance Garrison. Music by Josh Ely, Rance Garrison, Keaton Lawson, and Joe Fultz

"Killing Time," poem by Josh Daniels; music by Rance Garrison

and

"Opel's Diner" Improv skit written and performed by Rance Garrison, Keaton Lawson, and Joe Fultz III

Recorded in apartment 10 of the Cedar Towers Villa in Pennington Gap, Virginia and the home of Joe Fultz III.

*with the Chain Smokers:

Josh Ely
Joe Fultz
Keaton Lawson

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Rance Garrison image

Rance Garrison Norton, Virginia

Rance Garrison is a singer-songwriter and music producer from the Appalachian region of Virginia. He has released several albums of original music including 2017’s Deplorables and 2015’s The Fireside Season which Whurk! Magazine called, “Virginia’s most secret weapon: a moonshine-swilling, snake-handling, junk-shooting, redemption-seeking opus.” ... more

contact / help

Contact Rance Garrison

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

Rance Garrison recommends:

If you like Rance Garrison, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Featuring Riley Pinkerton (aka The Rat Queen) from the theatrical NYC rockers, Castle Rat.
listen now