1. |
Chualar
03:07
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Chualar is a little town off of Highway 101
Far away from Frisco or LA
It gets so dusty there sometimes, that it almost blocks the sun
Ain't no sidewalks there to this very day
And all the stores say "Se Habla Espanol"
All my friends' moms and dads spoke another language to their kids
Most the time when we were doing something wrong
I'd hear their names, then a string of words that I could not understand
That's how I knew it was time for me to get on home
And all the stores say "Se Habla Espanol"
But if you looked out our front window,
we had a view of heaven
Todos los colores
que se viste el campo
en la primavera
People working in the fields all day need a place to lay their heads
And for that, I guess Chualar was all right
That dusty, violent, little town in the picture-perfect valley
Our little ghetto in paradise
Mi pueblito, mi pueblo...
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2. |
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CHORUS
Well, you can pry my weed out of my cold, dead hand (3x)
Help me, Jesus, tell me that you understand.
Just like that ol froggy say, it ain't easy being green
but i've been living the same way since the day i turned 19
that's the day i smoked my first marijuana cigarette
didn't hurt me one bit then, and it hasn't hurt me yet
(CHORUS)
well, i can smoke all the weed i want, and nobody gives a damn
but you and both know that's cause of the color that i am
the war on drugs is actually another kind of war
and green ain't the real color that you're being busted for
(REPEAT CHORUS as often as needed)
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3. |
Hotel Riverview
02:20
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Well, it's a short way from the Riverview to heaven
Just watch the rich folks with their dogs outside
Dumb animals in fashionable clothing
They'll never worry where to spend the night, oh lord
They'll never worry where to spend the night
Well it's a short way from the Riverview to heaven
Just listen to that old man cough next door
He's traded in his final breath for one last drag of cigarette
and pretty soon we'll hear him cough no more, oh lord
pretty soon we'll hear him cough no more
And the Riverview's a dark and rough spot in this diamond mine
And the Riverview it shines because it simply doesn't shine
And you love me and baby I love you
So we checked into the Hotel Riverview
Well it's a short way from the Riverview to heaven
I know because you take me there each night
We got no money, we got no home, but here's a place we can be alone
And wrap our arms around each other tight, oh lord,
wrap our arms around each other tight
And the Riverview's a dark and rough spot in this diamond mine
And the Riverview it shines because it simply doesn't shine
And you love me and baby I love you
So we checked into the hotel Riverview
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4. |
Get Rid of the Drunk
02:53
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Well, you throw things when you're drinking and you take off your clothes
And sometimes you throw up in the car
And I started hated drinking, cuz I started hated dragging
Your sorry drunken ass out the bar
But drinking with my friends is still so much fun
So I won't get rid of the drinking, I'll get rid of the drunk
CHORUS
Get rid of the drunk who's always hanging 'round
Trying to bring my drinking down
Making it seem like more work than fun
Get rid of the drunk who can't understand that it's
time to go at 4 AM
cuz honey, you got work to do at home
Well you're always saying one more round and it's on me
and I don't even know where the money goes
and I tried to keep up with you, but I always wound up sleeping
in the back of the bar in all my clothes
So tonight I'm leaving with someone fun
I won't get rid of the drinking, I'll get rid of the drunk
CHORUS
I'm sure you'll find another, with a real rotten liver
and both of you can drink til you drown
and I'll see you at the bar, or I'll see you in the gutter
and I will be the one looking down
ladies if your man ain't no damn fun
don't get rid of the drinking, just get rid of the drunk
CHORUS
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5. |
Chicken in Every Pot
01:18
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Chicken in every pot
That's the promise that I got
But the one little thing they forgot to impart
is that the chicken in question's someone close to my heart
Chicken in every pot
Guess I've guaranteed my spot
Cuz I'm splashing around in this funny bath
and the temperature is rising fast.
Bok Bok
Chicken, chicken, chicken dinner
always such a winner
who cares if it's your neighbor
maybe you're doing them a favor
Chicken, chicken, so delicious
who cares if the methods vicious
we sure like to each each other
that's the American way, my brother
Chicken in every pot
That's the promise that I got
but the one little thing they forgot to impart
is that the chicken in question's someone close to my heart
Chicken in every pot
Guess I'm guaranteed my spot
cuz I'm splashing around in this funny bath
and the temperature is rising
the temperature is rising
the temperature is rising fast
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6. |
Pool in my Backyard
03:14
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my daddy grew up picking fruit in Washington and Oregon and California
he went to school for free, and graduated cum laude when I was four or five
and the day we bought the house with the pool was the proudest day of his life
CHORUS
He'd say, look here at this pool
everytime I sweep it, I think,
never thought I'd be someone with a pool in my backyard
Well it ain't wise to fantasize about times
that probably weren't that different, much
but we weren't at war officially and people
didn't seem to cheat so much
besides I know those times were good, cuz I was told
no child had ever had such luck
CHORUS
economics and politics
they don't fit into songs too well
but this is just a song about dad
he was poor but smart and did pretty well
and no offense, America, but it seems to me
that we ain't getting the same deal
CHORUS
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7. |
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Well my mama had a certain friend
who never seemed to find a man
she always spent her days and nights alone
one day my mama said to me
you're old enough to know why she
is always waiting by that telephone
CHORUS
Don't sleep with that married man
he'll leave you lonely and he'll leave you blue
so when you see a ring ridin that left hand
he better not be ridin home with you
Well that was a long time ago
now there's a certain friend I know
who did not heed her own dear mama's words
she'd wait and wait and pine and pine
and when it finally came the time
for him to leave his wife, it was not for her!
CHORUS
Of course there was this time when I
just met this really pretty guy
at a bar around the corner, where I go
well he told me all about his wife,
but he was there and so was I
and I was really drunk, and well, you know, you know
Don't sleep with that married man
he'll leave you lonely and he'll leave you blue
unless it's just for a one night stand
and you send him home before the night is through
REPEAT CHORUS
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8. |
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Land of the Red, White and Cruel
40 children learning from one teacher
Are they learning anything at all
All the bridges are falling down
Empty houses in broken towns
and the TV tells us it's our neighbor's fault
Land of the Red, White and Cruel
I hate to say it, but I can't stop thinking that it's true
Goddamn Uncle Sam, what'd we all ever do to you
Land of the Red, White and Cruel
And all those churches teaching their political religion
Seem to think that God's another 3rd rate politician
punishing the poor for being poor
is that what God is for
I thought the poor were blessed in his name
Land of the Red, White and Cruel
I hate to say it, but I can't stop thinking that it's true
Goddamn Uncle Sam, what'd poor folk ever do to you
Land of the Red, White and Cruel
I know there are places in this country
where I could not safely sing this song
but what makes me even sadder
are the places where it don't matter
it seems our hearts are getting harder
even as the sky gets darker
it ain't just the outside of us gone wrong
Land of the Red, White and Cruel
I hate to say it, but I can't stop thinking that it's true
But Uncle Sam ain't a real man, the cruelty comes from me and you
Land of the Red, White and Cruel
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9. |
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The January streets are desolate and curbed of all desire
just like the summer fields of home, burned to protect from fire
Smoking under dusty mountains, in shades of velvet gold
Green's the color of winter, in the place that I call home
And Uncle John said that he never loved the Hudson
like he loved our little river
that goes dry every summer
but he had to live close to the one to write about the other
Johnny knew about the type of green that only comes with winter
That January green...
So why do we have to travel so far away from home
to understand the level of longing in our souls
see I slipped away so very long ago
but green's the color of winter in the place that I call home
that I call home
that I call home
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10. |
Deeper Down
02:50
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And I believed everything that they taught me then
I raised my hand, I never criticized, I never played the clown
And all the lessons that they took from me
were bruises on my weary, wounded empathy
that I always shouted down
my weary, wounded empathy
that I always shouted down
CHORUS
Now I am different, I can't turn off the frightening
they see me coming, and it's thunder and lightning
and deep inside me, I know I am still human
but it gets deeper down every day
Sometimes I wonder what they see when they see me
I put on that helmet and I take off my identity
and I just wanted to make my mama proud of me
dear lord I pray each night, never let my mama see what I've seen
CHORUS
and it ain't nothing personal
that's what bothers me the most
and I believed everything that they taught me then
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11. |
Family Tradition
03:33
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Grandpa got a visit from the FBI
they sure didn't like the newspaper he liked
Grandpa thought that working people ought to be free
A dangerous opinion in '53
Asked about his politics and Grandpa said,
"I ain't a communist, but I'm the reddest redneck yet."
CHORUS
Well there ain't no redder rednecks
than my humble family
so give us our due respect
cuz we're a dying breed
people ask me aron, why you hold on to that vision
I say leave me alone, I'm just a-carryin on that old...
Family Tradition
Uncle John went to Berkeley in '68
He met up with the hippies on the very first day
and then he punched a cop at some student strike
cuz you can't change the world without a little fight
Uncle John went to jail for a year and a day
cuz when he said "come on!" them hippies ran away
CHORUS
Well you can call me many names, I know how it goes
but the last man who called me liberal, I punched in the nose
Cuz just because I'm lefty, don't mean I won't fight
and a lib won't kick your ass, but a red redneck might
I follow the traditions of my family
we like to scrap a little, and we love to be free
Well there ain't no redder rednecks
than my humble family
so give us our due respect
cuz we're a dying breed
people ask me, aron, why'd you beat him to submission?
i say leave me alone, i'm just a-carrying on that old
Family Tradition
I said leave me alone, I'm just a-carrying on that old
cop hitting
hippie baiting
FBI investigating
Family Tradition
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12. |
Never Talk to Cops
01:54
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Never, ever, ever talk to cops
Never, ever, ever talk to cops
It's your right to stay silent, whether they tell you or not
Never, ever, ever talk to cops
If you tell a cop you're innocent, they can't use that in court
but if you say you're guilty, well your trial will be short
there ain't no way it's good for you and lots of ways it's not
never, ever, ever talk to cops
Cops know that most people are chatty little fools
and they got ways to make you talk, they teach 'em in cop schools
you wouldn't fight a prizefighter if you never learned to box
never, ever, ever talk to cops
of course, if you saw someone running down the street
carrying a severed head in each hand, and screaming you're all dead meat
you should tell the cops you saw that
but use your best judgment
you don't have to fight and you don't have to be a jerk
just gotta exercise your rights and you'll find that it works
Officer, I'm happy to cooperate but not
without my lawyer, I don't talk to cops
Never, ever, ever talk to cops
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13. |
Comfort of a Man
04:20
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Well my mama, she done told me
Don't take your pleasure in the comfort of the world
Oh, but mama, where will I go
when the world is all I know
And do you mean money?
Or do you mean fame?
Or do you mean the comfort of a man
that I may not see again.
Mama, I just ain't got the strength that you do
you tell me to call on the Lord, but he ain't comin through
Mama, I'm flesh and blood and I love this old world
I know who I am I ain't nothing but a boy-loving girl
Oh my mama, she done told me
Don't take your pleasure in the comfort of the world
Oh, but mama, what can I do?
that old world keeps pushing through
And do you mean money?
Or do you mean fame?
Or do you mean the comfort of a man
that I may not see again.
Mama, I just can't be something that I ain't
You done raised a flesh and blood woman, not a sanctified saint
And I don't need money
And I don't need fame
But I do need the comfort of man
I may even see him again.
It all depends.
It all depends on the man.
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Aron Blue
Aron Blue has performed at NYC venues like Bowery Electric, The Bitter End, and the Brooklyn Americana Music Festival 2016
and 2017.
On the west coast, she has performed at venues such as The Viper Room in Los Angeles in 2018.
Since releasing her first album in 2016, she has toured coffeehouses, dive bars, and pubs across the nation on an Amtrak Rail Pass while honing her sound.
... more
Aron Blue recommends:
Fall On In
by Maynard and the Musties
Smart, lyrical, and sweet
go to album
Splinter / Cumbia Call EP
by Gato Loco
For those who like their horns with fire
go to albumIf you like Aron Blue, you may also like:
Move To The Trees
by Winter McQuinn
Winter McQuinn mixes soft rock and psychedelic folk for a sound reminiscent of classic pop purveyors like Cut Worms and the Lemon Twigs.
go to album
Restless Spirit
by Tucker Riggleman & The Cheap Dates
West Virginia trio showcase strident country rock anchored in bold, anthemic songcraft and deliciously twangy tones.
go to album
Scared Of You
by Laura Imbruglia
Gutsy rock & roll from Australian songwriter Laura Imbruglia with biting riffs and sneering vocals.
go to album
A roadtrip-worthy LP of sunbaked cosmic country with lots and lots of riffs from this longtime Oakland band.
go to album
