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Little Liza Jane

from When I Go by Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer

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© 1997 David Robert Carter (BMI), administered by Tracy Grammer Music

lyrics

when i was just nine days old, jumped off my pappy's knee
and i crawled out on the open road, a long-haul trucker for to be
saved my money, bought a rig, factory stock and plain
tricked her out, give the name, little liza, liza jane

i said bull dog train
she my ball and chain
chokin churnin rubber burnin little liza jane

i took to haulin overloads across the great divide
missions through the rabbit ears, hell-for-leather, do-or-die
crosswinds clocked at eighty knots, snow upon the ground
black ice in the hammer lane, man, that don't even slow me down

bull dog train
she my ball and chain
frettin fussin diesel-guzzlin little liza jane

smoky at the chicken coop, he said the road was closed
so i doubled back a mile or two and i took this little turn i know
top froze over, bundled out, downgrade ten percent
nailed her into boogie and then down that evil road i went

singin bull dog train
she my ball and chain
slippin slidin skatin glidin little liza jane

road so slick i couldn't steer, snow too thick to see
runnin short on shoulder and my nine lives runnin out on me
sheer cliff risin to the left, drop-off to the right
and nothin past that guard rail but a thousand feet of endless night

i said bull dog train she my ball and chain
racin rockin tightrope-walkin little liza jane

faster now and faster still, couldn't touch the brakes
so i let liza have her head and i crossed my heart for goodness sake
but underneath that driven snow, alligator bait
chomped a tire, road went left -- me and liza went on straight

we crashed right through that wooden rail, o'er the side we went
thirty tons of smoke and chrome and thirty years of bad intent
streakin like a cannon ball, a comet trail in space
and the stars spun in my window, and the full moon in my mortal face

bull dog train
she my ball and chain
rippin roarin eagle soarin little liza jane

now lord i pray forgive me for all the wrongs i've done
for all the bambis i have banged and the stogies i have bummed
but as i stand before you, i swear by smoke and steel
that we sailed down past those chasm walls and never grazed a wheel

'cause liza's tires were spinnin and her cab was cocked just so
that we touched down like a jumbo jet when we hit that valley road below
and she pulled it out like magic on a triple-digit ride
and we made it home ahead of time, good luck and trouble on our side

and drivers, when you're weary, and you just can't find the trail
if you ask me to reveal the moral of this little tale, i'll say

bull dog train
she my ball and chain
jumpin jammin hammer slammin little liza jane
bull dog train
she my ball and chain
jumpin jammin hammer slammin
rippin roarin eagle soarin
racin rockin tight-rope walkin
slippin slidin skatin glidin
frettin fussin diesel guzzlin
chokin churnin hell-fire burnin
little liza, little liza
little liza, little liza
little
liza
jane

credits

from When I Go, released October 11, 1998

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Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer image

Dave Carter & Tracy Grammer Portland, Oregon

American folk duo Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer blend tradition and
innovation into a potent musical elixir. They transcend singer/songwriter stereotypes, delivering evocative, clear-eyed ruminations on death and life, love and ruin, that result in "music of haunting beauty and uncommon intelligence" (The
Oregonian). Carter died in 2002; Grammer curates their legacy and now performs solo. ... more

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