High Cumberland Jubilee

Nov 30, 1976

Ace

Lyrics

ACE
Jimmy Buffett
It hardly seems a long time just a minute of the day
When the man who stood beside me more than gave himself away
The food stain on his spotted shirt a gray beard on his face
A man composed of many names so I just called him Ace

Ace can't read and Ace can't write and
He sleeps on a bench at night
A little man the world has left behind
He ain't bitter he ain't sweet
Makes his living on the street
Never knowin' what he's gonna find

Born in Mississippi pickin' cotton as a child
Left soon for the city where he heard that life was wild
That was fifty years ago when nothin's really strange
From a poor dirt farm to dirty streets is really not much change

Ace can't read and Ace can't write and
He sleeps on a bench at night
A little man the world has left behind
He ain't bitter he ain't sweet
Makes his living on the street
Never knowin' what he's gonna find

Go back to the country no he really can't do that
Wasted years have left him nothin' but an old straw hat
So he puts it on his head and waves a last good-bye
With no time left to turn around and no time to ask why

Ace can't read and Ace can't write and
He sleeps on a bench at night
A little man the world has left behind
He ain't bitter he ain't sweet
Makes his living on the street
Never knowin' what he's gonna find
This old world has left poor Ace behind
Rockefeller Square

Lyrics

ROCKERFELLER SQUARE
Jimmy Buffett, Buzz Cason
Did you ever just want to lay down
Tell the world you've had enough
Did you ever just want to drop out
When the goin' got a little bit rough
Have you ever walked the sidewalks hungry
Have you ever really had the blues
So now you want to see how the other half lives
Well brother whatcha got to lose

Whatcha got to lose if you leave your home
And you never think of ever goin' back
Your father's makin' money for the good of the country
And your mother's out bettin' at the track

Camptown ladies sing them songs doo dah doo dah
Now you want to let your hair grow long
And get a little pad uptown
Throw away your checkbook and all your credit cards
And use your wits to get around
So you think it's gonna make you happy
See your story in the evening news
Makin' a game out of pointin' the blame
Brother whatcha got to lose

Hey lonely Rockefeller Square
The underground world don't fit a millionaire
Hey Rocky whatcha gonna do
First time you've ever had the pressure on you
But Rock when the rockin' and the bummin' is through
There'll still be piece of Daddy's kingdom for you

Rocky you sure hurt your mama
And your daddy's got an ulcer for you
With the stock market shot and the war's still hot
It was sure was a cruel thing to do

(So don't cry boy)
Hey lonely Rockefeller Square
The underground world don't fit a millionaire
Hey Rocky whatcha gonna do
First time you've ever had the pressure on you
But Rock when the rockin' and the bummin' is through
There'll still be piece of Daddy's kingdom for you

Money today money to pay
Don't you go gay
Rocky better pray
Bend a Little

Lyrics

BEND A LITTLE
Jimmy Buffett, Buzz Cason
Evil it's been here all along
Good things they just seem to have come and gone
In my life I have seen so much go wrong
And there's only one way left for us to get along

You got to bend a little one way or the other
You got to leave your mind open to discover
Seems I've been fightin' it all along
You got to bend a little no matter which side you're on
Or soon you'll be gone

Papers they print it every day
Housewife wraps the garbage then throws it away
I don't guess she thinks they have that much to say
But when the time is right she'll be the lady with so much to pay

You got to bend a little one way or the other
You got to leave your mind open to discover
Seems I've been fightin' it all along
You got to bend a little no matter which side you're on
Or soon you'll be gone

History it teaches much too well
Nations had to rise up before they fell
And my eyes see the story they're tryin' to tell
And tonight I think I heard the final toll of the bell
We better...

Bend a little one way or the other
You got to leave your mind open to discover
Seems I've been fightin' it all along
You got to bend a little no matter which side you're on
Or soon you'll be gone
In the Shelter

Lyrics

IN THE SHELTER
Jimmy Buffett
In the shelter
In the morning as the sun was brightly beaming
I heard her cryin' out what is it all about
I just don't know
But I can't go back home

Lonely princess
All the days out on your own are growing empty
Nothing is goin' well if you could only tell them
How you feel
But they're too real to understand

Too many trite expressions ended in forced rejections
long ago
Too many innocent faces too many far out places
something's wrong
Let me tell you that something's wrong
It's been that way so long
It's a shame

On the street car
To the city where she knows that she might lose it all
Riding for just a dime taking her own sweet time
and knowing well
This could be her final fall

Past the boutique
down the alley to the river people pass her by
Sits on the big gray rocks takes off her boots and socks
And knowing what she will do next
Just starts to cry

Too many small suggestions ending in angry questions
from her dad
Too many TV dinners and everyone loves a winner
But she was lost
No one knows the trials she had

In the shelter
In the morning as the sun was brightly beaming
I heard her cryin' out what is it all about
I just don't know
But I can't go back home

Lord I just don't know but I can't go back home.
Death Valley Lives

Lyrics

DEATH VALLEY LIVES
Jimmy Buffett
It's the ways of her father
If she's gonna change she hasn't done it yet
And the desert is calling to me
Run before the final trap is set
All roads lead to the city
Where the dudes and the dykes all look the same
Lady lays out the pattern
With the parts of her body that seem tame
Death Valley lives and Tracy isn't sure what really gives

Act like a child and I'll respond with my well-rehearsed farewell
Quoting the verse that you bought but weren't quite prepared to sell

Saying I think I love you
Maybe I care
It's not fair
Death Valley lives and Tracy Isn't sure what really gives

And it's a sore spot when the room's burning hot
And the desert air just cannot bring you down
Still the bed's warm but a cold arm
Keeps me floating inches off the ground

Death Valley lives and Tracy isn't sure what really gives

Go paint your toes wipe your nose and then come say good-bye
And all along tell yourself that I'm wrong if I try
Cryin' sorry it's over
I'm not to blame
What a game
Death Valley lives now I'm not even sure what really gives.
High Cumberland Dilemma

Lyrics

HIGH CUMBERLAND JUBILEE
Jimmy Buffett, Buzz Cason
Maybe leaving's better in the afternoon
When the rain don't fall so hard
From where we were we had to look down far below
To see just what went on in our own backyard

Coming down slow without a thing to show
Wondering what went on while we were up there
Mountain roads now asphalt highways
That we once called heaven skyways
Children lost what is the cost to get back home again

La La La La La La La La Laaaaa
La La La La La La La La Laaaaa

It was a high Cumberland Jubilee
Such a high Cumberland Jubilee
England

Lyrics

ENGLAND
Jimmy Buffett, Buzz Cason
I have watched as the sun went down
I have crashed as the room spun around
Now she's gone, she can't be found

And I'm down where I've been before
Sat and watched as she walked out the door
Can't explain why the woman's so
It's gonna rain some more

Somebody told me the last word they heard her say was England
Somebody said that she mentioned the airline and the fare
Now I wonder if she's there

'Cause she took every cent of mine
Paid it all to the Pan Am line
Though she's gone, I hope she's fine
Fly love of mine

Somebody told me the last word they heard her say was England
Somebody said that she mentioned the airline and the fare
Now I wonder if she's there

So tally-ho
Jolly good show
My woman's gone to England
The Hangout Gang

Lyrics

THE HANG OUT GANG
Jimmy Buffett, Buzz Cason
The tour bus passed here yesterday
Exciting all the fools who pay
To see the naked lady in our yard

The hang out gang is back in town
Rumor has it going 'round they brought back
Four new groupies and a St. Bernard

We're peaceful and abiding cats
Some call gypsies some call brats
But bare feet don't tear streets up like their bus

All we were doin' was hangin' and little Koochie was sangin'
Mama I'm guilty of hangin' out
I know it's a shabby old building but after all ain't we God's children
And Lord it's a good place for hangin' out

The fast approachin' local heat was poundin' out the southeast beat
When they came upon Koochie in our yard
She smiled "Sir, I meant no harm just a little suntan on my arm
They wound up takin' in our St. Bernard
(He didn't tag you'all)

All we were doin' was hangin' and little Koochie was sangin'
Mama I'm guilty of hangin' out
I know it's a shabby old building but after all ain't we gods children
And Lord it's a good place for hangin' out

Now you hang with me and I'll hang with you and we'll hang out
'Til we both turn blue
Mama I'm guilty of hangin' out

All we were doin' was hangin' and little Koochie was sangin'
Mama I'm guilty of hangin' out
I know it's a shabby old building but after all ain't we gods children
And Lord it's a good place for hangin' out
God Don't Own a Car

Lyrics

GOD DON'T OWN A CAR
Jimmy Buffett, Buzz Cason
I have been out wanderin'
I have traveled far
One conclusion I have made
Is God don't own a car
He don't wear no fancy clothes
He'd rather take the bus
He would pay air tourist fare
So He could sit with us
He don't have no tambourine
Guitar or slide trombone
The music we make here on Earth
But the words are His own
And when we finally reach His home
And walk among the stars
He'll join our band then we'll understand
Why God don't own a car
Livingston's Gone to Texas

Lyrics

LIVINGSTON'S GONE TO TEXAS
Jimmy Buffett
Nothing here is different
Nothings changed at all
Livingston's gone to Texas
They say he had a ball
They say he learned to be a cowboy
They say he learned to rope and ride
But I wonder if he ever thinks about the tears his woman cried
Now Holly won't you let me
Try and make you smile
You loved him as if he were your husband
Now he'll be gone awhile
Wrote he had to see the country
On starry nights he wished that you were there
And so it shows wherever he goes
Deep inside you know he really cares
It's crazy and it's different
But it's really being free
And reasons the world would want to question
Makes sense to you and me
Nothing here is different
Nothing's changed at all
Livingston's still in Texas
The snows about to fall
Travelin' Clean

Lyrics

TRAVELIN' CLEAN
Jimmy Buffett
You go to Fargo
We'll meet in Chicago
Travelin' light and travelin' clean
In my nine wheel blue and white travelin' machine
And I'm gone I'm movin' on yes I'm gone
No time to look back
We've crossed the last track
Travelin' free and travelin' wild
With my barefoot blue-eyed travelin' child
And I'm gone I'm movin' on yes I'm gone
Run away Queen
Travelin 'clean
You tell your mother
That you love another
Runnin' with a free-born man
That asks more of you than your hand
And I'm gone I'm movin' on yes I'm gone
Run away Queen
Travelin 'clean
You go to Fargo
We'll meet in Chicago
Travelin' light and travelin' clean
In my nine wheel blue and white travelin' machine
And I'm gone I'm movin' on yes I'm gone
Come away travelin' queen
High Cumberland Jubilee/Comin' Down Slow

Lyrics

HIGH CUMBERLAND JUBILEE
Jimmy Buffett, Buzz Cason
Maybe leaving's better in the afternoon
When the rain don't fall so hard
From where we were we had to look down far below
To see just what went on in our own backyard
Coming down slow without a thing to show
Wondering what went on while we were up there
Mountain roads now asphalt highways
That we once called heaven skyways
Children lost what is the cost to get back home again
La La La La La La La La Laaaaa
La La La La La La La La Laaaaa
It was a high Cumberland Jubilee
Such a high Cumberland Jubilee

High Cumberland Jubilee

High Cumberland Jubilee Tracks