JimmyRabbitt.com - Jimmy Rabbitt Songs

Fast times at The El Palamino

(The Fall of 2001)

Jimmy Rabbitt

Pellett Music and Arts Company

Look around you son, I think this is your last chance,

tomorrow might just be a day too late

If opportunity comes a callin' while your sleepin',

you bet it all that one knock brings you awake

Cause Opportunity won't knock twice, when it comes to chances,

It just takes one to put it outta the park,

and one more chance just really don't mean nothin',

until you feel your back aginst the wall!

There's just one way to go from here lord,

and it looks like up to me

If this ain't hell, then it's the bottom

and that's close enough for me

just give me the grace to do your will

and show me how to do it right

I can do anything with your help , Lord

Now it's time to get on with my life

guitar break:

Ten years clean and sober, dance'n the 12 step,

living life one day at a time

I've got no tension, got no worrys, got no money,

but my analyst tells me I'm doin' fine

Now I've just got to have my medication,

to keep me up and focused on the road

I don't know if it's the Prozac or the Ritlin,

but I'm doin' just fine, and I'm drug free

repeat bridge

Wild Turkey Fly

Jimmy Rabbitt

Ramona

Jimmy Rabbitt

Pellett Music Company

BMI2001

Standin', shakin', readin' walls in the men's room,

tryin to figure out the scratchin's of mankind,

thinkin' maybe I should go ahead and throw up,

get me some gum, and then see what I can find

Then I saw it written in the cornor,

near the paper, by the dirty sign,

it said if you need love then you should call Ramona,

and I decided I'd just give it a try!

If you need love, then you should call Ramona,

at the one-nine-hundred Hollywood Love line,

tell her that you're as lonely as you can be,

and hope that she just up and asks you by!

guitar............

Ramona's just a one night stand, no love words,

and when you leave, you'd best forget the way,

but write it down in some old tonk stool,

for the next poor fool, who needs her help someday!

If you need love, then you should call Ramona,

at the one-nine-hundred Hollywood Love line,

tell here that you're as lonely as you can be,

and hope that she'll up and ask you by!

"Big D Turnaround"
Jimmy Rabbitt
Pellett Music Company BMI 2001

I've got to get to gettin',

I've been too long sitting,

here waiting on the record man

Who says he likes my songs,

but someone else ought to sing em',

and that I should get a younger band

Well I know I'm not gonna hear,

opportunity knocking,

this side of the studio door

I've got to get out and play,

cut out the dreams,

you can't go for extra points,

until you score!

Big D turnaround and take me back,

back into your arms again,

it hasn't been that long,

you remember my song,

and if you want to rock it,

I'm still your man,

just get up and dance,

Lady give us one more chance,

I know we can make it again,

I'm gonna sing my song,

and before too long,

n' then I'm gonna take you home!

guitar...

I'm a nasty habit, that's out to hook ya',

I'm the words to a rock and roll song,

I sing about livin', I live about singing,

that screamin' is my guitar,

thats got a way without words,

to make you feel beter,

and let you be who you are

So get up and dance,

give us one more chance,

and i'll rock you all night long!

Big D turn around, and take me back

back into your arms again,

it hasn't been that long, you remember my song,

and if you want to rock it, I'm still your man,

just get up and dance, Lady give us one more chance,

I know that we can make it again,

I'm gonna sing my song, and before too long,

n' then I'm gonna take you home!

Between KROQ, and a Hard Place
(the Fall of 72')

Words and music by Jimmy Rabbitt

Produced by Jerry Wexler for Atlantic Records 1972

From "The Lost Texas Tapes" **Renegade Texas

(kick ass rock and roll tempo)

At the Troubadour some country boys, are turnin' hippies on,

The Palomino calls it country rock, and the cowboys get it on

Merle Haggard's on a TV show with the Jackson Five,

The Dirt Band's on The Opry, and were just gettin' high

The redneck's hair is gettin' long, the stars are all in drag,

a guy named Alice is the rage, and Kris has joined SAG

Lou Reed's first hit was decapitated, by a boss named Drake,

we're signed to Atlantic beggin' Wexler for a break

Sir Doug is now a good ole boy, and Roger's off the pills

Jim Wood's blues are wired n' dry, and Bowie is just thrilled

The networks are all showing rock, Dr. John has got a hit

Waylon's playin' New York, and he says they're full of shit!

Mickey's not a household word, The Beatles still won't play

Delaney's doing concerts, Bonnie stays away

Rita's got an outlaw, Elvis misses Pris,

we're on the air at KROQ, and the signal ain't for shitt!

(except for Burbank!)

Billboard ain't no porny, but Lord it turns us on,

(bridge) to think how good a naked "1" would look next to our song

Billboard, Billboard chart us up, and we won't ever stop,

till all the stars are in a pile, with us way up on top!

Three Dog Hype is gettin' sued, for sittin' on their ass

Tanya's learnin' spanish, Charlie Tuna's gettin' smashed

Dick Clark had a black dance show, Soul Train shut him down!

Nixon's bugged with Watergate, and Spiro's still a clown

Burt showed off his body, to every gal's delight

Hank Jr's sellin' dogfood, Ali lost a fight!

Hee Haw's gettin' corny, Wolfman's outta sight

Roy Clark's gettin' skinny, and Pat Boone's seen the light!

Willie Nelson's got an earring, the Shadoe's gettin' big

Dolly Partons got a set of lungs that calico ain't hid!

Joe Namath's sellin' lilac water to the bigger kids,

Sam Riddle's gettin' older, Steve Lundy's still a gas!

Deep Throat ain't no porny, cause we can all get in,

as long as we have proof of age, and five dollars for the sin

(bridge) Ms. Lovelace is the kind of gal that really blows our mind,

the lady's hip, cause she got rich, by givin' good headlines

guitar break

It's All Just Music To Me!

(Radio Free Texas)

Jimmy Rabbitt/June Engle

I was just comin' down out of the hills,

when I saw your tower, I'm a radio star,

they call me Dollar A Hollar, just put me on the air,

n' let me talk to the people,

we'll be friends, we like the same music,

You the kind with a beat, n' just a taste of guitar,

the piano playin' notes that fit your feet,

you get up to dance, the bass leads,

and you follow, whatever that is?,

that's music to me!

guitar...

You can call it rock and roll, or call it country,

from the Nashville Network to MTV,*

before Les Paul, it was all "un-plugged",

and back there, it all had the same roots,

You know, a song with a beat, n' just a taste of guitar,

the piano playing notes that fit your feet

you get up to dance, the bass leads,

and you follow, whatever that is?,

thats music to me!

We'll call it Radio Free Texas,

n' bounce it up there, off that satellite,

all around the world, people will be dancin',

cause we play the kind of music that they like,

You know, the kind with a beat, n' just a taste of guitar,

with the piano playing notes that fit your feet,

you get up to dance, the bass leads,

and you follow, what ever that is?,

that's music to me!

*(call it New Age, call it now Blues)

Joke em' (If They Can't Take A Fool!)

A Redneck Too!

David Alan Coe/Jimmy Rabbitt

Window Music Pub. Co. Inc/Lotsa Music BMI1975

Pellett Music & Arts Company

Schitty Tunes BMI 2001

Now I always try to get along, but I just can't follow the crowd,

when everybody starts to quietn' down, it's my turn to get proud

when I see everybody headin' to the left, you know I'm goin' right,

and some loud mouth's there to tell me I'm wrong, n' we end up in a fight

I say joke em', if they can't take a fool like me

I'm the best at what I am, not what I ought to be

Just a good ole boy, who lives to ride,

and loves the good old USA

So if it's the same to you,

just leave me alone,

and you'll live another day!

No we don't play the cotton-eyed Joe, and I can't sing the twist

Yeah Free Bird Is A hell of a song, n' Stevie Ray's the best

I just sing about livin', n'live about singin', that screamin' is my guitar!

It's gotta way without words, to make you feel better, n' let you be who you are!

guitar..solo.....(2 verses)....

So just joke em', if they can't take a fool like me,

I'm the best at what I am, not what I ought to be

I'm just a good ole boy who loves the lord,

n' livin' in the U.S.A.

so if it's the same to you just leave us alone,

and you'll live another day!

Cause my hair's still long, my necks still red, n' they ain't beat me yet,

I go surfin' on the internet, I've got a Fat Boy and a Vette!

And I'm still wearin' the same Levis I wore 20 years ago,

we've broke down a time or two, but we're still on the road!

guitar....( ..1..verse).....

My long hair still don't cover up my redneck,

I've won every fight I haven't lost

And I still don't need some turkey,

tellin' me that I ain't country,

sayin' I ain't worth the damned

old ticket that he bought

And I still sing all those songs about Texas ,

n' I still do all the sad ones that I know,

I can't help it, I don't look like Merle Haggard,

or sound a bit like David Allan Coe...

The barmaid in the last town that we played in,

knew the words to every song I wrote

She said that Jay Marvin turned her on to my last album

just about the time the jukebox broke

Johnny Cash help me to find Jesus,

about the time Rodriguez stole that goat

I ain't seen The Rhinestone Cowboy in so long I can't remember,

but I can still do you every song Hank Sr. ever wrote

And I still sing all those songs about Texas,

and I still do all the sad ones that I wrote

I can't help it I don't look like Alan Jackson

Or sound a bit like Vince Gill or McGraw

The country deejays still think I'm an outlaw

They'll never come to see me in this dive where

bikers stare at cowboys who are laughin' at the slackers,

who are prayin' they'll get out of here alive!

The loud mouth in the corner's gettin to me,

screamin' out some Eddy Rabbitt song,

I guess he ain't seen the sign that says I've been to prison,

and someone outa warn him before I knock him straight to hell!

Cause my long hair still can't cover up my red-neck,

and I've won every fight, I haven't lost

And I don't need some turkey,

tellin' me that I'm too country,

or sayin' I'm not worth,

that damned old ticket that he bought

guitar solo one verse and fad

It's Friday night in the city,

the traffic's trying to unwind,

the ladies of evening are painting on their smiles,

remembering when love was still kind

A young man rolls his inspiration,

while an old man's bottles half filled,

the junkie's filling his arm with forgetting,

but the housewife remembers her pills!

The stripper's admiring her body,

in a mirror that tellin' her a lie,

the picker's tuning up for the first show,

thinkin' how he'd be great if he was high!

Friday night's such a mixture of lonely,

and of loving so much it's a sin,

of stealing and giving, scoreing and dealing,

while throwing good sense to the wind,

and breakin' all of the rules you can't bend

On the first date they're thinking of touching,

the unsure just of being a man,

those without are looking for someone,

the old man's just glad he still can

The cheater's smile from the shadow,

the proud hang it out in the light,

the weekend hippy worries about his wig,

while the soldier still shakes from the fight

If you're holding on to a dollar,

you can dream of all the pleasures you'll find,

but when you're down so far you can't fall,

you're just praying for someone that's kind!

Friday night's such a mixture of lonely,

and of loving so much it's a sin,

of stealing, and giving, whoring and healing,

while throwing good sense to the wind,

and breaking all of the rules you can't bend

Honkey Tonk Fever

by Jimmy Rabbitt

It's Friday night and I just got paid,

I don't make much so I don't try to save,

I get it all in cash down at the bank

Yeah it looks like a lot but it don't long,

Uncle Sam gets his cut first thing off,

next in line the folks that own my car

Then comes the wife that I don't have,

a payment on a house where I don't live,

and money on the credit cards they cut in half

Rent on a room to store my things,

a bill for a phone that never rings,

what ever's left goes on my Doctor's bill

Cause, (bridge)

I get Honkey Tonk Fever

I feel it comin' on Fridays at work

H-o-Oo-o N-K-eey Tonk Fever

I'ts gotta run it's course,

just let it burn!

guitar......

I want to hear the jukebox sing the blues,

n' hear a band play a country tune

n' hear the bartender say, "this one's on me"!

I can feel the sawdust with my toes,

n' smell the smoke all around my nose,

mixing with the leather and perfume

I love the air thats cold and damp,

that neon warms like an old sunlamp,

as I feel the stool get looser by the drink

I'm gonna dance with the devil, and send her home,

and wake up Monday mornin' all alone,

n' start savin' up for my next doctor's bill!

Cause, (bridge)

I get Honkey Tonk Fever

I feel it coming on Friday at work

H-o-Oo-N-K-eey Tonk Fever

It's gotta run it's course,

just let it burn!

I always know the words to every song,

and we keep singin' em' on an on,

the night's still young,

n' the barmaids got my keys

We're quarantined till closing time,

when the fever rages, you gotta sweat some,

so come on nurse, I'm a hurtin' over here!

Cause, (bridge)

I get Honkey Tonk Fever

I feel it coming on Friday at work

H-o-Oo-N-K-eey Tonk Fever

It's gotta run it's course,

just let it burn!