Stan Ridgway - Call Of The West lyrics

He got the high sign so he jumped a bus Along the roads that wind on through The hot mojave and the jericho He'd start his whole life anew And what he left behind he hadn't valued Half as much as some things He never knew Right around sundown... He got dropped off on a street in town Where a grey old man looked him up and down and said "son, this ain't no western movie matinee You're a long way off from yippie-yi-yay 'cause i can tell at a glance you're not from 'round these parts You've got a green look about'cha Sometimes the only thing a western savage understands Are whiskey and rifles and an unarmed man Like you" "so you gotta keep on the move! Don't let that fancy paint job fool you!" Then the old timer pulled him close and said You've got a long way, i know You've got a longer drive ahead Through the bones of the buffalo Through the claims of the western dead, and Just like the spokes of a wheel You'll spin 'round with the rest You'll hear the drums and the brush of steel You'll hear the call of the west, call of the west You'll hear the call of the west, call of the west Spoken Harshly awakened by the sound of six rounds of light-caliber rifle fire Followed minutes later by the booming of nine rounds from a heavier rifle But you can't close off the wilderness He heard the snick of a rifle bolt And found himself peering down the muzzle Of a weapon held by a drunken liquor store owner "there's a conflict," he said, "there's a conflict Between land and people The people have to go They've come all the way out here to make mining claims To do automobile body work To gamble Take pictures To not have to do laundry To own a mini-bike Have their own cb radios and air conditioning Good plumbing for sure And to sell time/life books and to work in a deli To have a little chili every morning And maybe... maybe to own their own gas stations again And take d** Have some crazy s** But above all, above all, to have a fair shake To get a piece of the rock and a slice of the pie And spit out of the window of your car and not have the wind blow it back in your face" Now, from the high timberline to the deserts dry Who'll risk dangling on some hangman's tree To stake their claims on these prarie plains While they say this lunch is not had for free? Just like the spokes of a wheel Who'll spin 'round with the rest They'll hear the drums and the brush of steel And i'll hear the call of the west, call of the west (yippie-yi-yo, yippie-yi-yo-ki-yay, yippie-yi-yo-ohh-ohh) I'll hear the call of the west, call of the west (yippie-yi-yo, yippie-yi-yo-ki-yay, yippie-yi-yo-ohh-ohh) I'll hear the call of the west, call of the west (yippie-yi-yo, yippie-yi-yo-ki-yay, yippie-yi-yo-ohh-ohh) I'll hear the call of the west, call of the west (yippie-yi-yo, yippie-yi-yo-ki-yay, yippie-yi-yo-ohh-ohh) Spoken/shouted: I used to be somebody! I used to be somebody, do you hear me? Do you hear me? i've been there! I used to be somebody, god damn you! I've been there before! Don't walk away! Well, you Unleaded No, it's out of order.