Brownsville Girl

Album: Knocked Out Loaded (1986)
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  • Well, there was this movie I seen one time
    About a man riding 'cross the desert and it starred Gregory Peck
    He was shot down by a hungry kid trying to make a name for himself
    The townspeople wanted to crush that kid down and string him up by the neck

    Well, the marshal, now he beat that kid to a bloody pulp
    As the dying gunfighter lay in the sun and gasped for his last breath
    Turn him loose, let him go, let him say he outdrew me fair and square
    I want him to feel what it's like to every moment face his death

    Well, I keep seeing this stuff and it just comes a-rolling in
    And you know it blows right through me like a ball and chain
    You know I can't believe we've lived so long and are still so far apart
    The memory of you keeps callin' after me like a rollin' train

    I can still see the day that you came to me on the painted desert
    In your busted down Ford and your platform heels
    I could never figure out why you chose that particular place to meet
    Ah, but you were right, it was perfect as I got in behind the wheel

    Well, we drove that car all night into San Anton'
    And we slept near the Alamo, your skin was so tender and soft
    Way down in Mexico you went out to find a doctor and you never came back
    I would have gone on after you but I didn't feel like letting my head get blown off

    Well, we're drivin' this car and the sun is comin' up over the Rockies
    Now I know she ain't you but she's here and she's got that dark rhythm in her soul
    But I'm too over the edge and I ain't in the mood anymore
    To remember the times when I was your only man
    And she don't want to remind me, she knows this car would go out of control

    Brownsville girl with your Brownsville curls
    Teeth like pearls shining like the moon above
    Brownsville girl, show me all around the world
    Brownsville girl, you're my honey love

    Well, we crossed the panhandle and then we headed towards Amarillo
    We pulled up where Henry Porter used to live
    He owned a wreckin' lot outside of town about a mile
    Ruby was in the backyard hanging clothes, she had her red hair tied back
    She saw us come rolling up in a trail of dust
    She said, Henry ain't here but you can come on in, he'll be back in a little while

    Then she told us how times were tough and about how she was thinkin' of
    Bummin' a ride back to where she started
    But she changed the subject every time money came up
    She said, welcome to the land of the living dead
    You could tell she was so broken-hearted
    She said, even the swap meets around here are getting pretty corrupt

    How far are y'all going, Ruby asked us with a sigh
    We're going all the way 'til the wheels fall off and burn
    'Til the sun peels the paint and the seat covers fade and the water moccasin dies
    Ruby just smiled and said, ah, you know some babies never learn

    Something about that movie though, well I just can't get it out of my head
    But I can't remember why I was in it or what part I was supposed to play
    All I remember about it was Gregory Peck and the way people moved
    And a lot of them seemed to be lookin' my way

    Brownsville girl with your Brownsville curls
    Teeth like pearls shining like the moon above
    Brownsville girl, show me all around the world
    Brownsville girl, you're my honey love

    Well, they were looking for somebody with a pompadour
    I was crossin' the street when shots rang out
    I didn't know whether to duck or to run, so I ran
    We got him cornered in the churchyard, I heard somebody shout

    Well, you saw my picture in the Corpus Christi Tribune
    Underneath it, it said, a man with no alibi
    You went out on a limb to testify for me, you said I was with you
    Then when I saw you break down in front of the judge and cry real tears
    It was the best acting I saw anybody do

    Now I've always been the kind of person that doesn't like to trespass
    But sometimes you just find yourself over the line
    Oh if there's an original thought out there, I could use it right now
    You know, I feel pretty good, but that ain't sayin' much
    I could feel a whole lot better
    If you were just here by my side to show me how

    Well, I'm standin' in line in the rain to see a movie starring Gregory Peck
    Yeah, but you know it's not the one that I had in mind
    He's got a new one out now, I don't even know what it's about
    But I'll see him in anything so I'll stand in line

    Brownsville girl with your Brownsville curls
    Teeth like pearls shining like the moon above
    Brownsville girl, show me all around the world
    Brownsville girl, you're my honey love

    You know, it's funny how things never turn out the way you had 'em planned
    The only thing we knew for sure about Henry Porter
    Is that his name wasn't Henry Porter
    And you know there was somethin' about you baby
    That I liked that was always too good for this world
    Just like you always said there was something about me you liked
    That I left behind in the French Quarter

    Strange how people who suffer together have stronger connections
    Than people who are most content
    I don't have any regrets, they can talk about me plenty when I'm gone
    You always said people don't do what they believe in
    They just do what's most convenient, then they repent
    And I always said, hang on to me, baby, and let's hope that the roof stays on

    There was a movie I seen one time, I think I sat through it twice
    I don't remember who I was or where I was bound
    All I remember about it was it starred Gregory Peck
    He wore a gun and he was shot in the back
    Seems like a long time ago, long before the stars were torn down

    Brownsville girl with your Brownsville curls
    Teeth like pearls shining like the moon above
    Brownsville girl, show me all around the world
    Brownsville girl, you're my honey love

    Brownsville girl with your Brownsville curls
    Teeth like pearls shining like the moon above
    Brownsville girl, show me all around the world
    Brownsville girl, you're my honey love

    Brownsville girl with your Brownsville curls
    Teeth like pearls shining like the moon above Writer/s: Bob Dylan, Sam Shepard
    Publisher: SPECIAL RIDER MUSIC
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

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