JACOB'S LADDER
JACKSON CAGE
JANEY DON'T YOU LOSE HEART
a JANEY NEEDS A SHOOTER
b JEANNIE NEEDS A SHOOTER (ALT)
JAZZ MUSICIAN
JERSEY GIRL - Tom Waits
JESSE
JESSIE JAMES
JESUS WAS AN ONLY SON
JOHN HENRY
JOHNNY 99
a JOHNNY BYE BYE
b JOHNNY BYE BYE - alternate version
a JUNGELAND
b JUNGLELAND (ALT)

We are climbing Jacob's ladder
We are climbing Jacob's ladder
We are climbing Jacob's ladder
Brothers, sisters, all

Every rung goes higher and higher
Every rung goes higher and higher
Every rung goes higher and higher
Brothers, sisters, all

We are dancing Sarah's circle
We are dancing Sarah's circle
We are dancing Sarah's circle
Sisters, brothers, all

Every round a generation
Every round a generation
Every round a generation
Sisters, brothers, all

We are climbing Jacob's ladder
We are climbing Jacob's ladder
We are climbing Jacob's ladder
Brothers, sisters, all

JACKSON CAGE
Driving home she grabs something to eat
Turns a corner and drives down her street
Into a row of houses she just melts away
Like the scenery in another man's play
Into a house where the blinds are closed
To keep from seeing things she don't wanna know
She pulls the blinds and looks out on the street
The cool of the night takes the edge off the heat

In the Jackson Cage
Down in Jackson Cage
You can try with all your might
But you're reminded every night
That you been judged and handed life
Down in Jackson Cage

Every day ends in wasted motion
Just crossed swords on the killing floor
To settle back is to settle without knowing
The hard edge that you're settling for
Because there's always just one more day
And it's always gonna be that way
Little girl you've been down here so long
I can tell by the way that you move you belong to

The Jackson Cage
Down in Jackson Cage
And it don't matter just what you say
Are you tough enough to play the game they play
Or will you just do your time and fade away
Down into the Jackson Cage

Baby there's nights when I dream of a better world
But I wake up so downhearted girl
I see you feeling so tired and confused
I wonder what it's worth to me or you
Just waiting to see some sun
Never knowing if that day will ever come
Left alone standing out on the street
Till you become the hand that turns the key down in

Jackson Cage
Down in Jackson Cage
Well darlin' can you understand
The way that they will turn a man
Into a stranger to waste away
Down in the Jackson Cage

JANEY DON'T YOU LOSE HEART
You got your book baby with all your fears
Let me, honey, and I'll catch your tears
I'll take your sorrow if you want me to
Come tomorrow that's what I'll do
Listen to me

CHORUS
Janey don't you lose heart
Janey don't you lose heart
Janey don't you lose heart
Janey don't you lose heart

Well you say you got no new dreams to touch
You feel like a stranger babe who knows too much
Well you come home late and get undressed
You lie in bed, feel this emptiness
Well listen to me

CHORUS

'Til every river runs dry
Until the sun honey's torn from the sky
'Til every fear you've felt burst free
And gone tumblin' down into the sea
Listen to me

CHORUS

JANEY NEEDS A SHOOTER
Well Janey's got a doctor who tears apart her insides.
He investigates her and he silently bates her sighs
He probes with his fingers but he knows her heart only through his stethoscope.
Hands are cold and his body's so old
Janey turns him down like dope.

Janey needs a shooter Jack
A shooter like me on her side
Janey needs a shooter Jack
A shooter man who knows her style
The way that I know her style

Well Janey's got a priest from his marble pulpit he smiles
He provides concilation and confessions at anytime
Through the pages of his bible he holds from what Janey hides
With her doors open wide she begs come inside
But he's frozen in the clear on the outside

Janey needs a shooter Jack
A shooter like me on her side
Janey needs a shooter Jack
A shooter man who knows her style,
The way that I know her style

Well Janey's got a cop who lives round the block
and checks on her everynight
From at through the jail outside her house his siren roars
when he knows that I'm inside
Well Janey's small and sometimes he scares her
So I held her real close she flowed like a ghost
And i told her bye, so long, I can't play that dope.

Well Janey needs a shooter Jack
A shooter like me on her side
Janey needs a shooter Jack
A shooter man who knows her style,
Janey needs a shooter Jack
A shooter man on her side
Janey needs a shooter man
A shooter man who knows her style
The way that I know her style
A man who knows her style
The way that I know her style
A man who knows her style
The way that I know her style
A man who knows her style
The way that I know her style
A man who knows her style
The way that I know her style
A man who knows her style
The way I know your style
You need a man who knows your style
The way that I know your style
A man who knows her style
The way I know your style

JEANNIE NEEDS A SHOOTER
I was born down by the river
Where the dirty river flows
And the cool wind cut through me
It cut right through my clothes
And the anger and the yearning
Like fever in my veins
Set the fire burning

She came down from Knightstown
With her hands hard from the line
From the first time I laid eyes on her
I knew that she's be mine
Her father was a lawman
He swore he'd shoot me dead
'Cause he knew I wanted Jeannie
And I'd have her like I'd said

Jeannie needs a shooter, shooter like me
Jeannie needs a shooter
Jeannie needs a shooter, shooter on her side
Jeannie needs a shooter
Jeannie needs a shooter
Jeannie needs a shooter

We met down by the river
On the final day in May
And when I leaned down to kiss her
She did not turn away
I drew out all my money
And together we did vow
To meet that very evening
And to get away somehow

Jeannie needs a shooter, shooter like me
Jeannie needs a shooter
Jeannie needs a shooter, shooter on her side
Jeannie needs a shooter
Jeannie needs a shooter
Jeannie needs a shooter

The night was cold and rainy
Down by the borderline
I was riding hard to meet her
When a shot rang out behind
As I lay there in the darkness
With a pistol by my side
Jeannie and her father
Rode off into the night

JAZZ MUSICIAN
Well it's Saturday night in New Jersey
And you're feeling kinda wet
Now the summer heat is getting you worried
So you try to look as innocent as you can as you sweat
And you've got a woman on the other side of the law
But it ain't cool to go see her yet
Because her ex-old man's a city cop
Who thinks he's auditioning for Dragnet
So you stand on the corner looking kinda torn
And in the Blue Light Lounge
Where death was born
The jazz musician blows his horn

You pop a letter to your baby in Richmond
'Cause you're feeling pretty down
She's kinda small but at least she's a rich one
Oh, and she needs you real bad
And sometimes that's all that counts
You had a teenage band and flying hands
And oh, you was pretty big, you were pretty big in the
South
But you passed out on stage and flew into a rage
And someone tried to revive you
mouth to mouth
You felt a pain in your chest
As you passed the crown
And in the Blue Light Lounge
The lights went down
And the audience slipped silently out of town

Well now the atheist he burns you for laughing out loud
Because he can't understand what you're saying
And the word's out when they pushed him in the hole
Everybody knows that he went out praying
Oh, now the park is dark but the sidewalk's bright
And alive with the light of the living
Oh and mama can I walk you home tonight
'Cause it's a big bad city
And this boy's got a lot for the givingI'm stranded in the jungle
First stage witness at a company killing
I'm clutching my high school diploma, shuffling my feet
Promised sixty bucks a week
And guaranteed top billing
Well you can live a life of love in New York
Only if you don't, if you don't love living
And I met this taxi driver who drives me around town
Telling tales of his back seat women

And out on the corner there's no room to move
'Cause everybody's trying so hard to groove
And in the Blue Light Lounge
The jazz musician plays his blues

JERSEY GIRL
(Tom Waits)
I got no time for the corner boys
Down in the street making all that noise
Or the girls out on the avenue
`Cause tonight I wanna be with you
Tonight I'm gonna take that ride
Across the river to the Jersey side
Take my baby to the carnival
And I'll take her on all the rides

`Cause down the shore everything's all right
You and your baby on a Saturday night
You know all my dreams come true
When I'm walking down the street with you

Sha la la la la la la
Sha la la la la la la la la
Sha la la la la la la
Sha la la la I'm in love with a Jersey girl

You know she thrills me with all her charms
When I'm wrapped up in my baby's arms
My little girl gives me everything
I know that some day she'll wear my ring
So don't bother me man I ain't got no time
I'm on my way to see that girl of mine
`Cause nothing matters in this whole wide world
When you're in love with a Jersey girl

Sha la la la...

I see you on the street and you look so tired
I know that job you got leaves you so uninspired
When I come by to take you out to eat
You're lyin' all dressed up on the bed baby fast asleep
Go in the bathroom and put your makeup on
We're gonna take that little brat of yours and drop her off at your mom's
I know a place where the dancing's free
Now baby won't you come with me
`Cause down the shore everything's all right
You and your baby on a Saturday night
Nothing matters in this whole wide world
When you're in love with a Jersey girl

JESSE
Oh Jesse, you better start thinkin' about saving your neck
Oh Jesse, you put on that leather jacket like you put on respect
you got cleats on your boots and a woman who shoots everytime you shuffle
out the stage door
And darling Jesse, do you know what its all for?
Ah Jesse, your manager brought by them eight by ten glossies of your band
Oh Jesse, he says you wear cross around your neck and come on
with nails in your hands
With your insides showing and your New York band blowin' them
old Chicago blues
Ah Jesse, can't you see you're the one Jesse
Ah Sonny, this time its you
Well Jesse, your child is slobbering all over your pants
And Jesse, your wife has fallen into a trance
She's got eyes that tell no lies
She's seen so many wars
Ah be a good boy Jesse, tell her she don't have to look no more.
Well Jesse, he knows all the tricks to get the crowd reeling
Oh and Jesse, ya he rocks 'em with that old soul feeling
And he walks off the stage in a self-adoring haze
and gets shoved right out the door
Whoa Jesse, can't you see now boy that that's what its all about Jesse
Not even time to do that old played out encore
Whoa Jesse

JESSIE JAMES

Jesse James was a lad that killed many a man,
He robbed the Danville train,
He stole from the rich and he gave to the poor,
He'd a hand and a heart and a brain.

[chorus:]
Poor Jesse had a wife to mourn for his life,
Three children, they were brave;

But the dirty little coward that shot Mr. Howard
Has laid Jesse James in his grave.
It was Robert Ford, that dirty little coward,
I wonder how he does feel,
For he ate of Jesse's bread and he slept in Jesse's bed,
Then he laid poor Jesse in his grave.

Jesse was a man, a friend to the poor,
He'd never see a man suffer pain,;
And with his brother Frank, he robbed the Chicago bank,
And stopped the Glendale train.

It was on a Wednesday night and the moon was shining bright,
They robbed the Glendale train,
And the people they did say for many miles away,
It was robbed by Frank and Jesse James.

lt was his brother Frank that robbed the Gallatin bank,
And carried the money from the town;
lt was in this very place that they had a little race,
For they shot Captain Sheets to the ground.

They went to the crossing not very far from there,
And there they did the same;
With the agent on his knees, he delivered up the keys
To the outlaws, Frank and Jesse James.

It was on Saturday night and Jesse was at home
Talking with his family brave,
Robert Ford came along like a thief in the night
And laid poor Jesse in his grave.

The people held their breath when they heard of Jesse's death,
And wondered how he ever came to die.
It was one of the gang called little Robert Ford,
He shot poor Jesse on the sly.

Jesse went to rest with his hand on his breast,
The devil will be upon his knee.
He was born one day in the county of Clay ,
And he came from a solitary race.

This song was made by Billy Gashade
As soon as the news did arrive;
He said there was no man with the law in his hand
Who could take Jesse James when alive.

JESUS WAS AN ONLY SON
Well Jesus was an only son
As he walked up Calvary Hill
His mother Mary walking beside him
In the path where his blood spilled

Jesus was an only son
In the hills of Nazareth
As he lay reading the Psalms of David
At his mother's feet

A mother prays, "Sleep tight, my child, sleep well
For I'll be at your side
That no shadow, no darkness, no tolling bell,
Shall pierce your dreams this night."

(Whoaaa...)

In the garden at Gethsemane
He prayed for the life he'd never live
He beseeched his Heavenly Father to remove
The cup of death from his lips

Now there's a loss that can never be replaced
A destination that can never be reached
A light you'll never find in another's face
A sea whose distance cannot be breached

(Whoaaa...)

Well Jesus kissed his mother's hands
Whispered, "Mother, still your tears,
For remember the soul of the universe
Willed a world and it appeared."

(Whoaaa...

JOHN HENRY

John Henry was about three days old,
sittin' on his papa's knee.
He picked up a hammer and a little piece of steel;
said, "Hammer's gonna be the death of me, Lord, Lord.
Hammer's gonna be the death of me."

The captain said to John Henry
"Gonna bring that steam drill 'round.
Gonna bring that steam drill out on the job.
Gonna whop that steel on down. Down, Down.
Whop that steel on down."

John Henry told his captain,
"A man ain't nothin' but a man,
But before I let your steam drill beat me down,
I'd die with a hammer in my hand. Lord, Lord.
I'd dies with a hammer in my hand."

John Henry said to his shaker,
"Shaker, why don't you sing?
I'm throwin' thirty pounds from my hips on down.
Just listen to that cold steel ring. Lord, Lord.
Listen to that cold steel ring."

The man that invented the stream drill
Thought he was mighty fine,
But John Henry made fifteen feet;
The steam drill only made nine. Lord, Lord.
The steam drill only made nine.

John Henry hammered in the mountain
His hammer was striking fire.
But he worked so hard, he broke his poor heart.
He laid down his hammer and he died. Lord, Lord.
He laid down his hammer and he died.

John Henry had a little woman.
Her name was Polly Ann.
John Henry took sick and went to his bed.
Polly Ann drove steel like a man. Lord, Lord.
Polly Ann drove steel like a man.

John Henry had a little baby.
You could hold him in the palm of your hand.
The last words I heard that poor boy say,
"My daddy was steel-driving man. Lord, Lord.
My daddy was a steel-driving."

Well, every Monday morning
When the bluebirds begin to sing.
You can hear John Henry a mile or more.
You can hear John Henry's hammer ring. Lord, Lord.
You can hear John Henry's hammer ring.

JOHNNY 99
Well they closed down the auto plant in Mahwah late that month
Ralph went out lookin' for a job but he couldn't find none
He came home too drunk from mixin'Tanqueray and wine
He got a gun shot a night clerk now they call'm Johnny 99

Down in the part of town where when you hit a red light you don't stop
Johnny's wavin' his gun around and threatenin' to blow his top
When an off duty cop snuck up on him from behind
Out in front of the Club Tip Top they slapped the cuffs on Johnny 99

Well the city supplied a public defender but the judge was Mean John Brown
He came into the courtroom and stared young Johnny down
Well the evidence is clear gonna let the sentence son fit the crime
Prison for 98 and a year and we'll call it even Johnny 99

A fistfight broke out in the courtroom they had to drag Johnny's girl away
His mama stood up and shouted "Judge don't take my boy this way"
Well son you got a statement you'd like to make
Before the bailiff comes to forever take you away

Now judge judge I had debts no honest man could pay
The bank was holdin' my mortgage and they was takin' my house away
Now I ain't sayin' that makes me an innocent man
But it was more 'n all this that put that gun in my hand

Well your honor I do believe I'd be better off dead
And if you can take a man's life for the thoughts that's in his head
Then won't you sit back in that chair and think it over judge one more time
And let 'em shave off my hair and put me on that execution line

JOHNNY BYE-BYE
She drew out all her money from the Southern Trust
And put her little boy on a Greyhound Bus
Leaving Memphis with a guitar in his hand
On a one-way ticket to the promised land
Hey little girl with the red dress on
There's party tonight down in Memphis down
I'll be going down there if you need a ride
The man on the radio says Elvis Presley's died

We drove down into Memphis, the sky was hard and black
Up over the ridge came a white Cadillac
They'd drawn out all his money and they laid him in the back
A woman cried from the roadside "Ah he's gone, he's gone"
They found him slumped up against the drain
With a whole lot of trouble running through his veins
Bye-bye Johnny
Johnny bye-bye
You didn't have to die
You didn't have to die

JOHNNY BYE-BYE
from a local channel bootleg from a live concert in warren utah
well she drew out all her money from the southern trust
put her little boy on the greyhound bus
leaving memphis with a guitar in his hand
on a one way ticket to the promised land

yeah hey little girl with the red dress on
theres a party tonight down in Memphis town
i'll be going down there if you need a ride
the man on the radio said Elvis Presley died

we drove down to Memphis-the sky was hard and black
up over the ridge came a white caddilack
they drawn out all his money and layed him in the back
a woman from the road cried "oh hes gone hes gone"

they found him slumped up against the drain
a whole lot of trouble came running through his vein
so bye bye johnny johnny bye bye
you didnt have to die you didnt have to die

independence day and it was in the bath
we found the lizard king had paved his path
goin to his maker-the other side of dawn
a place where the poet cant ever do no wrong
bye bye jimbo jim bye bye
you didnt have to die
you didnt have to die

JUNGLELAND
The rangers had a homecoming in Harlem late last night
And the Magic Rat drove his sleek machine over the Jersey state line
Barefoot girl sitting on the hood of a Dodge
Drinking warm beer in the soft summer rain
The Rat pulls into town rolls up his pants
Together they take a stab at romance and disappear down Flamingo Lane

Well the Maximum Lawman run down Flamingo chasing the Rat and the barefoot
girl
And the kids round here look just like shadows always quiet, holding hands
From the churches to the jails tonight all is silence in the world
As we take our stand down in Jungleland

The midnight gang's assembled and picked a rendezvous for the night
They'll meet `neath that giant Exxon sign that brings this fair city light
Man there's an opera out on the Turnpike
There's a ballet being fought out in the alley
Until the local cops, Cherry Tops, rips this holy night
The street's alive as secret debts are paid
Contacts made, they vanished unseen
Kids flash guitars just like switch-blades hustling for the record machine
The hungry and the hunted explode into rock'n'roll bands
That face off against each other out in the street down in Jungleland

In the parking lot the visionaries dress in the latest rage
Inside the backstreet girls are dancing to the records that the D.J. plays
Lonely-hearted lovers struggle in dark corners
Desperate as the night moves on, just a look and a whisper, and they're gone

Beneath the city two hearts beat
Soul engines running through a night so tender in a bedroom locked
In whispers of soft refusal and then surrender in the tunnels uptown
The Rat's own dream guns him down as shots echo down them hallways in the
night
No one watches when the ambulance pulls away
Or as the girl shuts out the bedroom light

Outside the street's on fire in a real death waltz
Between flesh and what's fantasy and the poets down here
Don't write nothing at all, they just stand back and let it all be
And in the quick of the night they reach for their moment
And try to make an honest stand but they wind up wounded, not even dead
Tonight in Jungleland

JUNGLELAND
Well the Rangers had a home-coming in Harlem late last night
And the Magic Rat piloted his sleek machine across the Jersey State Line
Barefoot girl sits drinking warm beer on the hood of an old Dodge
In the soft summer rain
Rat rolls up his pants, together they'd make a stab at romance
And move down Flamingo Lane

Well now the maximum lawmen they run down the Flamingo chasing the Rat
And the barefoot girl
But the kids they live like shadows in empty doorways
(But they live like shadows in the vacant doorways)
Always silent, holding hands
The Rat pulls her close (The Rat pulls Mary close)
And from the churches to the jails there is silence in the world
(all is silent in the world)
For tonight they'd take their chance
Down here in Jungleland

Well ther's a crazy kind of light tonight
Brighter than the one that sparkles for prophets
Brighter than the Giant Exxon sign that brings this fair city light
There's an opera out on the Turnpike, there's a ballet being fought outside
the
alley
Well the cops they let their faces show and rips this holy night
The streets alive with tough-kid Jets in Nova-light machines
Boys flash guitars like bayonets and rip holes in their jeans
Then the hungry and the haunted explode into rock 'n' roll bands
They face off against each other when they meet
Down here in Jungleland

The streets's on fire in a classic death waltz
Between the masters of flesh and fantasy
The poets down here don't write nothin' at all, they just stand and and let
it all be
And in the quick of the night they reach for their moment to make an honest
stand
But they wind up wounded, not rightly dead, down here in Jungleland - yes
they do

Oh beneath the city their hearts beat, soul cool engines tired and brave
Oh as the young (jungle) girls stand by fire angels fallen in the city
In the tunnels of machines they'll hear the screams
Drowned out by the roarin' trains
Them rats above, oh locked in love
The Rat saves her from the edge of an on-coming train
That Angel rides a...
Down here in Jungleland - oh yes they do
They hear the animals sing - oh oh oh