Jon Waterman: Music and Lyrics

Waterman- 2009 release

1.Baptize Me in the Mississippi River
2.Satan's Own Still................................
3.Love You Better
4.Finger of Blame..................................
5.Jersey Blues
6.Radiator Booze
7.Error of My Ways
8.In My Shame......................................
9.Devil You Know
10.Mansion on the Hill
11.You Got to Be a Sinner
12.Prison with No Walls
13.Always Be Kind

Lyrics from other recordings

(Click on the devils to return to the top.)

Baptize Me in the Mississippi River Back to top

This song came out of a stop in Memphis. The concept is one of baptism in the
blues. The Mississippi River, with its rich musical history is the natural site of the
sacred, symbolic ritual:

My feet are sore cause they’ve been so long a-walkin
And the miles have worn holes in both my shoes
But I know I won’t get anywhere just talkin
No a man has got to pray to sing the blues

So baptize me in the Mississippi River
Let me feel the waves as the steamboat wheels roll
Lord yeah, baptize me in the Mississippi River
And let that muddy water cleanse my soul

I thought I lost the devil back in Natchez
But he found me when he heard me call his name
See all I get from life are bruise scrapes and scratches
And I was looking for a way to ease my pain

So baptize me in the Mississippi River
Let me feel the waves as the steamboat wheels roll
Lord yeah, baptize me in the Mississippi River
And let that muddy water cleanse my soul

Now my load has sure been heavy,
And these times have sure been tough
I’ve been cryin, but I guess I haven’t been cryin hard enough

So baptize me in the Mississippi River
Let me feel the waves as the steamboat wheels roll
Lord yeah, baptize me in the Mississippi River
And let that muddy water cleanse my soul
©2005 Jon Waterman

Satan’s Own Still Back to top

Another woeful tale in the Americana tradition of a man being led astray- in this
case by the lure of moonshine- and his ultimate and fitting punishment.

I was raised to be a God fearing Christian
So I knew how to tell right from wrong
But now I fear for my soul
Cause I didn’t know
That the devil made whiskey so strong

I was just passin through West Virginia
When I strayed from the path I was on
And I soon stumbled in
To a life fraught with sin
Cause the devil made whiskey so strong

Lord the devil made whiskey so strong
And I know where I’m bound when I’m gone
When that judgment day comes as I know that it will
I’ll be stokin the fire for Satan’s own still

So I wasted the life I’d been given
Chasin women and drinkin all night long
And my world became a haze
Of barroom brawls and wicked ways
Cause the devil made whiskey so strong

Now here I sit in this Charleston prison
And I’ll go to the gallows come dawn
Cause I got drunk and out of hand
I took and woman and killed her man
Cause the devil made whiskey so strong

Lord the devil made whiskey so strong
And I know where I’m bound when I’m gone
When that judgment day comes as I know that it will
I’ll be stokin the fire for Satan’s own still
I’ll be stokin the fire for Satan’s own still
©2005 Jon Waterman

Love You Better Back to top

An all too familiar story, with an ending probably not familiar enough...

He told her he felt bad
About the big fight that they had the night before
And he swore on what was sacred to him
That he wouldn’t hurt her anymore
Then he held her near, and he wiped away a tear
He told her he was sorry and he whispered in her ear

And he said I’m gonna love you better
I’m gonna love you right
I’m gonna love you better
When I love you tonight

He called her on his lunch
To say he needed her so much and just because
He knew that he’d been kind of rough
And he wanted to check up on how she was
And he said he was ashamed, that the whiskey was to blame
And he swore things would be different
from now on, that he would change

He said I’m gonna love you better
I’m gonna love you right
I’m gonna love you better
When I love you tonight

But it didn’t matter what he said or if he was sincere
For even though she held the telephone up to her ear
Her eyes were on the woman in the mirror

When she said I’m gonna love you better
I’m gonna love you right
I’m gonna love you better
When I leave here tonight
When I leave here tonight
©2007 Jon Waterman

Finger of Blame Back to top

The dreaded accusatory finger, useful for wrecking relationships, and averting
as well as assigning responsibility. Some people are as fast with the 'finger of
blame' as the quickest gunslingers of the old west...

You tell me I’m guilty of a crime
You say that I’m wrong all the time
Whenever you’re around I feel ashamed
Cause you’re so quick on the draw with that finger of blame

When it comes to pointing fingers, you’re the best
I reckon you’re the fastest in the west
You’d strike fear in the man with no name
Cause you’re so quick on the draw with that finger of blame

Now those squinty eyes are telling me that soon
Its gonna feel like a showdown at high noon
First I’ll find out something bad happened and then
You’ll tell me, its all my fault again

Well a man would have to be some kind of fool
To ever dare to face you in a duel
Cause you fire your bitin words with deadly aim
And you’re so quick on the draw with that finger of blame

Like the creaky swinging door of a saloon
You’re about to sing that old familiar tune
First I’ll find out something bad happened and then
You’ll tell me, its all my fault again

Well I hope someday you meet somebody who
Can point a finger just as fast as you
Then you’ll realize that it’s a no win game
When you’re so quick on the draw with that finger of blame
So quick on the draw with that finger of blame
©2006 Jon Waterman

Jersey Blues Back to top

A new take on the classic country theme of the dream filled innocent traveling to
the big city in search of fame and fortune, and instead finding hardship and
disappointment. I was in North Bergen New Jersey, hours before a show,
standing on a freeway overpass and looking at the Manhattan skyline when the
song came to me. The song is not autobiographical, and though some have taken
the chorus to be a reference to the twin towers, I had not consciously intended it
as such; it referring rather to the skyline generally. I had been listening to a lot
of early Bobby Bare at the time, and 'Detroit City' was certainly an influence.
The band, especially Terry on pedal steel, found a great groove on this. Hatrack
Gallagher's harmonica really brought it to life.

I could’ve gone to Nashville
I could’ve gone to Memphis
I could’ve gone on down to New Orleans
But whenever I would dream at night
I saw boulevards with flashing lights
And New York City was the city in my dreams

So I went up north in my run down car
With nothing more than my guitar
A change of clothes and the songs I had to sing
I thought that I could make it if I paid my dues
But now I’m singing these Jersey Blues
Cause in the city paid dues don’t guarantee a thing

And I stand on the overpass staring out on the horizon
At those towers risin’ high into the sky
I don’t have enough money to pay the toll
And even the devil won’t buy my soul
So I got no way to cross the river to the other side

Well I guess this new life isn’t all that bad
But it sure is different from those dreams I had
That have vanished in the trash all along these Jersey streets I roam
But now at night, whenever I dream
I see wooded hills and rolling streams
And the loved ones and the life I left back home

I got these Jersey Blues and I’m looking through
The smog to the horizon
At those towers risin high into the sky
But I don’t have enough money for the ferryman’s toll
And the devil must already have my soul
Cause I got no way to cross the river to the other side
And there’s no going back to the life I left behind
©2005 Jon Waterman

Radiator Booze Back to top

A news article some years ago described a number of cases of lead poisoning
turning up in hospitals in a certain part of the country. The rash of cases was a
medical mystery, with no apparent cause, until it was discovered that the
afflicted had all partaken of moonshine made in car radiators. The old radiators
had been welded together with lead, and upon consuming the brew, the
moonshiners were poisoned by the radiator booze.

There’s an old man in the backwoods he’s got cobwebs in his head
He’s had his shots of whiskey and he’s had his shots of lead
He says there’s battles you can sometimes win
And there are those that you can only lose
Oh you’ll do fine to drink communion wine
But stay away from radiator booze

Mama’s in the kitchen, heartbroken and numb
Junior was a bright child but now he’s turning dumb
Daddy’s in the toolshed scratchin’ his head
Wonderin’ who’s
The varmint that’s been messin with him
Gettin in his radiator booze

Radiator booze for the desperate and the poorest of the poor
For the drunk without a bottle the diseased without a cure
When there isn’t any luck and there isn’t any love
And there’ nothing but the pale glow of moonshine
in the heavens up above

There’s a car parked on the front lawn it hasn’t gone in years
Its rotted out and rusted from the raindrops and the tears
The backseats torn with broken springs
And dreams as faded as a burned out fuse
Its not worth sellin’ but its still good
For a gallon of that radiator booze

Hot summer in Kentucky, there’s a cabin on the hill
Grandma’s got a shotgun and Grandpa’s got a still
They’ve got nobody to talk to
Nothing much to do but sing the blues
Lookin’ back on better days
As they waste away from radiator booze

Error of My Ways Back to top

A song of regret, as the title would imply, albeit a selfish one: The remorse
results only from the loneliness and sadness felt by the narrator, not from any
true sense of empathy for those adversely affected by his behavior. Stylistically,
the song was influenced by George Jones.

Now I realize the big mistake I made
Playing the double dealing game I played
It goes to show that cheatin never pays
As too late I see the error of my ways

I’m sorry cause I know that I did wrong
In going somewhere I did not belong
Now I can’t escape my own disdainful gaze
As too late I see the error of my ways

And I pray that you’ll forgive me
But I don’t know if you can
How I wish I could regain the love and trust that we once had
For I’m lonely now and yearning for those days
As too late I see the error of my ways

I was longing for a time
When I thought that I was free
And she was what I thought I wanted
Calling out for me
And I got lost in that sultry smoky haze
And now too late I see the error of my ways

And my world has all but vanished
Gone as if in a fiery blaze
As too late I see the error of my ways
©2007 Jon Waterman

In My Shame Back to top

An exploration of shame with the misdeed of the narrator remaining unspecified.
The tortured soul holds on to hope for a future salvation- or redemption at the
hands of an idealized non-judgmental, all-forgiving Black church; however,
upon finding a place of acceptance and absolution, is still unable to forgive himself.

I’ve been running from the wrong that I’ve done in my day
But the past will catch me just the same
And I’m worse for the wear, and the burden that I bear
In my shame, in my shame

I’ve been driven to drift through this life without love
Condemned to wander with no aim
I’ve been taunted and tried, and I’ve been cursed and I cried
In my shame, in my shame

But there’s a Black church in the backwoods of Georgia
And when I find my feet no longer fit to roam
Lord won’t you let that gospel chorus sing me cross the river Jordan
To a place that I pray will be home

Once I staggered and stumbled, weathered and worn
To a town where no one knew my name
There I was blessed and embraced though I’d been damned and disgraced
In my shame, in my shame

But I knew I could not long remain in their midst
For my soul had been tainted by blame
And now I’ve wailed and I’ve wept for what I could not accept
In my shame, in my shame

Devil You Know Back to top

Sadly, too many people remain too long in unhealthy relationships, the abusive
'devil they know' seeming preferrable to the 'devil' of the unknown. I had to fight
for the fuzz tone guitar played by Gary Hicks, and I'm glad I did. It captures the
1960's retro-classic country sound I was aiming for.

Its plain to see he’s putting you through hell
By the sadness in your eyes I can tell
Its all because of him your teardrops fell
And they still flow, cause he’s the devil you know

All the love you give to him won’t be returned
But that’s a lesson you still haven’t learned
So time and time again you end up burned
By the fire below, cause he’s the devil you know

And the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t
So though you know you ought to leave him you won’t
Because you’re too afraid of what your life without him will hold
So you just keep selling your soul to the devil you know

He’s a cheatin womanizin’ son of a gun
He doesn’t care who he hurts when he’s having fun
And when he drinks his whiskey you’d better run
But don’t run too slow from the devil you know

Mansion on the Hill- Hank Williams Sr. and Fred Rose Back to top

Producer John Penny and I agreed that the one cover song on this project
should be a Hank Williams number. Williams left us a great many timeless
standards, this one appealed to me for this project because of its class statement
and topical compatibility with 'Jersey Blues' and 'Radiator Booze.'

You Got to Be a Sinner Back to top

The devil here appears in the form of the mythical trickster character,
challenging the beliefs of the narrator, and the conventions and perceptions of
his world.

I was on my way to Memphis, to do my soul some good
When I came across the devil, sittin on a pile of wood
He said walk that straight and narrow, if that’s the path you choose
But you got to be a sinner, if you gonna sing the blues

Well I said I got my true religion, so I don’t need no vice
And that gospel music’s gonna carry me to paradise
He said you can’t get to heaven, until you’ve paid your earthly dues
Yeah and you got to be a sinner, if you gonna sing the blues

You’ve got to be a sinner, you’ve got to give in to desire
You’ve got to yield to temptation, to suffer in the fire
You’ve got to slide until you’re low down as the soles beneath your shoes
Yeah, you got to be a sinner, if you gonna sing the blues

He said “Now you can’t know salvation, until, you fall from grace
And you can’t find redemption til you have to hide your face
Just as you can’t be a winner, til you know what its like to lose
You got to be a sinner, if you gonna sing the blues

You’ve got to be a sinner, you’ve got to give in to desire
You’ve got to yield to temptation, to suffer in the fire
You’ve got to slide until you’re low down as the souls beneath your shoes
Yeah, you got to be a sinner, if you gonna sing the blues

Then he said now you might not remember, or you might not care to know
But we met down at the crossroads a millennium ago
And I offered you a bargain, that you did not refuse
Say you were born to be a sinner, you’d better learn to sing the blues.
©2007 Jon Waterman

Prison with No Walls Back to top

For the lonely or heartbroken, boundless freedom can seem as confining as
prison. The title seemed too good to be untried when I thought of it, and there is
in fact an Eddy Arnold song that I have not yet heard with the title. Stylistically I
was thinking somewhat of Gram Parsons, as well as others, when I wrote this.
John Penny's band got a real kick out of the idiosyncratic ending to the second
verse.

Last night I went out for a night on the town
And I hit every bar I could find
I can’t count the amount of shots I put down
But I still couldn’t drink you off my mind
I heard heart achin music on each honky tonk jukebox
From the first taste until the last call
Without you I’m free to wander the world
Livin in a prison with no walls

So maybe tomorrow, I’ll head up the country
And there, hideaway for a spell
Or else go to the city and roam through the alleys
And streets of my own private hell
I might stand on the bridge that crosses the river
And jump off if I have the balls
Without you I’m free to wander the world
Livin in a prison with no walls

Now some of my friends have said I’ve gone off the deep end
Well they can say what they want, I don’t care
They have to tend to the women and children who love them
But I’m not tied down nor held anywhere
Like a madman in Bedlam who spends his life endlessly
Lost in those long lonesome halls
Without you I’m free to wander the world
Livin in a prison with no walls
©2005 Jon Waterman

Always Be Kind Back to top

A song that could be a marriage proposal. The message lies at the cornerstone of
all relationships.

When you wake up beside me
On a cold rainy day
And the blue skies I promised are all clouded over and grey
And you wish that the sun would come out but the sun just won’t shine
Will you stay with me and will you always be kind?

And when it seems like the hard times
Have lasted so long
And so much that we thought was right has turned out to be wrong
And it feels like our stars in the heavens are never aligned
Will you still have faith in me and will you always be kind?

Will you always be kind, whatever I do
Through all the mistakes I might make and what they put us through
If I trouble your heart, if I worry your mind
Will you forgive me, and will you always be kind

When I wake up beside you
On a cold rainy day
And the blue skies you promised are all clouded over and grey
And I wish that the sun would come out but the sun just won’t shine
I will you stay with you and I’ll always be kind

Will you forgive me, and could you forget
If I ever hurt you or cause you to feel regret
For I’d be a fool, yes and I would be blind
If I ever lost sight of this promise to always be kind
©2008 Jon Waterman

Other Lyrics Back to top

The Sultana Back to top

In 2005, the song 'Sultana' which tells the story of an ill-fated Civil War
steamship, was selected for use in an upcoming documentary on the disaster
titled 'Sultana: Soldiers of Misfortune'. In April of 2005, Jon was invited to
perform the song at the Annual Reunion of Sultana descendants in Vicksburg,
Mississippi.

The Sultana was a steamship that carried passengers and cargo up and down the
Mississippi in the days before the Civil War. The end of the war found a large
number of Union soldiers and recently liberated POW's left in the south and in
need of transport to their homes in the north. Many of these soldiers made their
way to the banks of the Mississippi to await passage. The army commissioned
the Sultana to take them home. This song tells the little remembered story of
what would turn out to be the worst maritime disaster in American history.

Up the Mississippi river, from down in New Orleans,
The Sultana started rolling, her boilers filled with steam
The river current was running strong and the waters were high
From the melted snows of winter, in the spring of '65

The war was not long over and the wounds still fresh in mind
And the riverbanks were flooded with Yankees left behind
So the army put out word that there was money to be made
For every Union soldier taken home, five dollars would be paid

Oh Sultana, roll on up the river,
Roll on up the river take them weary prisoners home
Haul them kegs of sugar, and tote them bags of bones
Up the Mississippi river, take them weary prisoners home

Captain J.C. Mason stood upon the bow
He said this ship can haul more cargo than the laws allow
And since there's money to be made for every soldier that we haul
Though other steamships run this river, we're gonna take them all

The Sultana docked in Vicksburg where a boiler sprang a leak
The repairman said to fix it right would take about a week
But Captain Mason said you've got one day to get it done
Cause there's extra money to be made on this river run.

Oh Sultana, roll on up the river,
Roll on up the river take them weary prisoners home
Haul them kegs of sugar, and tote them bags of bones
Up the Mississippi river, take them weary prisoners home

At the docks the gangplank lowered and there clambored up on board
2000 young men gaunt and grey and grizzled from the war
Many walking skeletons, alive by force of will
Survivors of Cahaba and Andersonville

The wheels turned and the water churned and she moved out from the pier
The soldiers packed on side by side were filled with hope and cheer
Just a few more days on the river and they would be back home
to their families and loved ones they'd been gone from for so long

So on up past Memphis, the Sultana rolled
With six times as many passengers as she was built to hold
Then at 3 a.m. there came a blast that split the night
and a hailstorm of red hot coals filled the sky with light

Fifteen hundred men were drowned or scalded by the steam
And ferried off to a different home then the ones of which they dreamed
See how greed can turn a man like a gambler turns his tricks
Or even make the mighty Mississippi into the River Styx.

Oh Sultana, roll on up the river,
Roll on up the river take them weary prisoners home
Haul them kegs of sugar, and tote them bags of bones
Up the Mississippi river, take them weary prisoners home.
©2004-Jon Waterman

Taking the Fall CD (2003) Back to top

Follow the link for lyrics from the 2003 CD release Taking the Fall. A limited
number of copies of "Taking the Fall' are available for $5 with the purchase of
the current release.

Jon Waterman: Music and Lyrics

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