Gangstabilly

[G]You met him at the dance hall
You [D]only saw his charms
You [C]said he really swept you off your [G]feet

Then one night he’s drinking
and [D]jealousy enraged
He [C]knocked out two of your front [G]teeth

[G]so you came over to [D]hide out at my place
[C]I guess I should have killed him there and [G]then
[G]but you begged me not to
[D]now you say he’s changed
and [C]you’re gonna go back to [G]him

[G]Don’t give me that bull about [D]how it’s for the children
[C]A man like that could never be a [G]dad
[G]What happens when he kills you?
[D]What will they do then?
[C]Sometimes you ought to ask yourself [G]that

[C]Don’t go back to him he’s a [G]wife beater
You’d[D] be better off with this [G]potato eater
[C]You say he’s changed, don’t [G]be a [Em]fool
[G]A man like that’s no [D]good for [G]you
[G]A man like that’s no [D]good for [G]you

lyrics by Patterson Hood
music by Drive-by Truckers (Cooley, Hood, Howell, Lane, Neff)
© 1998 Soul Dump Music

written on Elvis’ birthday 1/8/97 at the grocery store
dedicated with love to the great Tammy Wynette
Alabama Music Hall of Fame inductee

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DEMONIC POSSESSION

(chorus)

Demonic Possession

His court’s in session

I sign my confession

Demonic Possession

It was raining on the day she told me

them things that fella sold me

Mama wasn’t there to scold me

No prison or cell could hold me

I still recall the date

I’z probably about eight

when I sealed my fate

You honor I rightly state
(repeat chorus)

Suddenly I had a foot hold

I became such a butthole

I don’t need nobody consoling me

No one but the devil controlling me

I can kick ass and talk backward

I hang out with a whole bunch of slackers
and I know I can get some help from him

I listen to a lot of Led Zeppelin
(repeat chorus)

I got so much money I don’t need smarts

My records are flying to the top of the charts

and I’m eating in all those fancy restaurants

and Hanging out with Sam Phillips

and I owe it all to him

Oh, the shape I’m in

The devil says the only thing that’s buggin him

is Hell’s filling up with Republicans

(repeat chorus twice)

lyrics by Patterson Hood
music by Drive-by Truckers (Cooley, Hood, Howell, Lane, Neff, Sell)
© 1998 Soul Dump Music
written in august 1996 during G.O.P. convention
recorded july 21, 1997

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THE TOUGH SELL
"She’s a beaute, yes sir she is" said EZ DAN, fifty five, a bad age,
smelling of Brute from Fabrege’ and sweat
EZ DAN don’t bathe a lot these days (and why the hell should he anyway?)
"She’s got a few miles on her, but then again, who don’t?"
he said with a slight chuckle, the recent Binaca Blast still lingering on his breath,
"and besides, them’s highway miles"

I shifted my weight from one foot to the other
it certainly wasn’t the car of my dreams, but the price was right
and EZ DAN assured me the mid 70’s were a particularly nice period
for Chrysler products in general
"and this one is a Volare’"
and besides, finally having an eight-track means I can play
all them tapes I ain’t been able to listen to since high-school

so we stuffed EZ DAN’s body in the trunk and hauled ass out of town
but somewhere just past the middle of nowhere the fuel pump blew
and the oil pump too, and the piston rods hurled straight through the engine block
dropping oil, gasoline, water, and anti-freeze onto the Alabama red clay below

Ain’t that a bitch?
I ain’t never been lucky with love

lyrics by Patterson Hood
music by Drive-by Truckers (Cooley, Hood, Howell, Lane, Neff, and Sell)
©1998 Soul Dump Music
written spring 96 recorded 7/21/97
dedicated to the Quadrajets 187 / 10-4

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THE LIVING BUBBA
The A chord used in this song is Asus2 as best as I can tell.

[Cadd9]    [Em7]
       --3------3----|
       --3------3----|
       --0------0----|
       --2------2----|
       --3------2----|
       ---------0----|

[Cadd9]I wake up tired and I wake up pissed
[Em7]wonder how I ended up like this
[Asus2]I wonder why things happen like they do  [Cadd9]
but I don't wonder [Em7]long cuz I [Asus2]got a show to do     [Cadd9]

[Cadd9]I'm sick at my stomach from the A.Z.T.
[Em7]Broke at my bank cuz that shit ain't free
[Asus2]but I'm here to stay (at least another week [Cadd9]or two)
I can't die [Em7]now cuz I g[Asus2]ot another show to do   [Cadd9]

[Cadd9]Don't give me no pity don't give me no grief
[Em7]Wait till I die for sympathy
[Asus2]Just help me with this amp and a guitar [Cadd9]or two
I can't die [Em7]now cuz I [Asus2]got another show to do    [Cadd9]

[Cadd9]Don't give me no preachin' no self servin'
[Em7]I ain't no angel but nobody's [Asus2]deserving    [Cadd9]
I can dance on my o[Em7]wn grave, [Asus2]Thank You!      [Cadd9]
but I can't die [Em7]now cuz I [Asus2]got another show...     [Cadd9]

[G]Some people keep saying I can't last long
but I g[D]ot my bands I got my songs,
[Em7]liquor, beer, and nicotine to [Cadd9]help me along
and I'm [G]drunk and stubborn as they come[D]
chain [Em7]smoking, guitar picking, til I'm [Cadd9]gone

[Cadd9]I ain't got no political agenda[Em7]
Ain't got n[Asus2]o message for the youth of Amer[Cadd9]ica
'cept "Wear a [Em7]rubber and be c[Asus2]areful who you screw"      [Cadd9]
and come see me next F[Em7]riday cuz I g[Asus2]ot another show...      [Cadd9]

[G]Some people stop living long before they die  [D]
[Em7]Work a dead end job just to scrape on b[Cadd9]y
but I keep[Em7] living just to [Asus2]bend that note in two  [Cadd9]
and I can't die [Em7]now cuz I [Asus2]got another show...  [Cadd9]

lyrics by Patterson Hood
music by Drive-by Truckers (Cooley, Hood, Howell, Lane, Neff)
©1998 Soul Dump Music

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LATE FOR CHURCH

Transcription by Dan Reppert

[F] [C] X2
[F]Late for church again
[C]Never seem to be on time
[F]Hear the bells as they peal through the holler
[C]Doesn't sound like a friend of mine

[F]A hundred eyes turn as I enter
[C]Face burnin' as I walk past pews
[F]I can tell they think I'm a sinner
[C]Hear them whisper while I'm watching my shoes

[F]Only seat left is right up front
[C]I'm not a bit surprised
[F]Back is soft but the seat is hard
[C]Why can't they get it right?

[F] [C]
[C] [B] [C]
[D]
[F] [C]
[G]   [G]

[F]Reverend Bob is pointin' his finger
[C]Mom and Dad follow every last word
[F]All this hollerin' makes me wonder
[C]Does a whispered prayer get heard?

[F]Reverend Bob is preachin' out thunder
[C]Fire and brimstone pouring down
[F]Me, I'm wondering what's for dinner
[C]Waitin' for 12 o'clock to come round

[D]Everybody's got their own Heaven    [C]
[F]They all find it their own way[G]

[F]I am an angel   [C]

lyrics by Adam Howell/Patterson Hood
music by Drive-by Truckers
&

PANTIES IN YOUR PURSE

(chords pulled from altcountrytab.com)

[C]Saw you standing [G]in the hallway,

[F]red plastic cup, and one of those [C]big long [G]cigarettes

[C]You asked me if I could [G]play you some Dylan

[F]I said "Dylan who?" you told [C]me to kiss your [G]ass

[Dm]I apologized, [F]but you could [C]tell I didn’t mean it by the [G]way I rolled my eyes

[Dm]and when you said it wasn’t [F]me it was you

[C]somehow I knew you were [G]gonna tell me why

Stuff was flying out of the window
falling and breaking on the pavement underneath
He’s screaming at you, red faced and fuming
He’d come home early, parked his car way up the street
You had your stockings in your hand, panties in your purse
it was ten a.m. and all the neighbors heard
him calling you a whore and a tramp
you just stood there while your heels sank into the warm wet ground

He got a lawyer, you got a bottle
He got the children and you moved in with your mama
She fixes breakfast and lets you drive her car
she don’t care how late you call to tell her where you are
Y’all still fight and she still nags you some
but somehow it’s different now than when you were young
It’s your own damn fault you been threw hell
for one reason or another, seems like she kinda blames herself


WHY HENRY DRINKS

[A]  [E]  [D]

---------------0--2-----|
----3----------0--3-----|
-2--2--2-------0--2-----|
-2--2--2--4-2--1--0-----|
-2-----2-------2--------|
-0-------------2--------|
---------------0--------|

[A]Them stories that you tell me are so hard to swallow

You said “Go to hell” but I know you’d just follow
[D]The future’s closing in quicker than you [F#]think
and [A]hanging with you I [E]know why [D]Henry [A]drinks

[A]Those obnoxious drunks downstairs are fighting and cussing

and twelve years of me and you don’t add up to nothing
[D]You say what’s on your mind - tell it to your [F#]shrink
so [A]he can know like [E]me why [D]Henry d[A]rinks

[E]Just a few more hours till the sun comes back around

to tear each other down and drink another round

lost it on the way now I’m hating what we found
mendacity and grudge-fucks and [D]pieces out of town

[A]I drink half a case of beer on my way home from work

Daddy needs his medicine to keep his hands off Mama’s throat
[D]Baby, push a little harder cuz you got me on the [F#]brink
of [A]spilling more than guts [E]about why H[D]enry d[A]rinks
[A]Telling you so much a[E]bout why [D]Henry d[A]rinks

lyrics by Patterson Hood
music by Drive-by Truckers (Cooley, Hood, Howell, Lane, and Neff)
©1998 Soul Dump Music

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18 WHEELS OF LOVE

[G]  [D]  [Cadd9]
[G]  [D]  [Cadd9]
[G]  [D]  [Cadd9]  [D]

Mama ran off with a trucker

Mama ran off with a trucker

Mama ran off with a trucker

Peterbilt Peterbilt

He is making her give life another stab

They can see the world from way up in the cab

Mama ran off with a trucker...........

Peterbilt Peterbilt

She can quit her job and be his little bride

He can get a local route and stay home by her side

She can fix him roast beast and sweet potato pie

He can eat a lot of it cuz he’s a big ole guy

They got married in Dollywood

(by a Porter Waggoner lookalike)

18 Wheels of Love

for Mom and Chester, on the occasion of their marriage, July 1994

lyrics by Patterson Hood
music by Drive-by Truckers
©1998 Soul Dump Music

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STEVE MCQUEEN

(chords and tab by Travis Kilgore from altcountrytab.com)

The G and C chords that the band uses are the ones where you keep your pinkie finger on
fret of the
E string and your ring finger on the third fret of the B string, and only raise the root
up a string to change from
G to C. (Sorry if that’s confusing, but I don’t know the names of those chords. Like
and Cadd9 or something odd like that.)

E------------------------------------------------------------------------------3--|
B------------------------------------------------------------------------------3--|
G---------------- 4---4--------------------------------------------------------0--|
D----2-(slide)5------------——--------------------------------------------------0--|(Keep
this G)
A-------------------------0—2—5—2--5----0--7--0—5---0---2---0------------------2--|
E------------------------------------------------------------------------------3--|

NOTE ON THE ABOVE (AND BELOW) SOLO TAB: I’ve watched Patterson Hood play this song
times, and this
tab is damn near on the money. The biggest difference between this and the way he plays
is that he starts the solo at the
7th fret of the A string (and changes the location of the second two notes accordingly),
I start it at the 2nd fret of the
D string.  It’s just a question of which way you are more comfortable playing it, but
notes are the same either way.
In fact, I will tab out the second solo to begin the way Patterson plays it so you can
for yourself.

(INTRO/CHORUS)

S[G]teve Mc-Queen[C], Steve[G] Mc-Queen          [D]                [G]

           [C]                  [G]                        [D]
W hen I [G]was a little boy I wanted to grow up to be

Steve Mc-Queen, S[C]teve M[G]c-Queen            [D]                  [G]

       [C]                         [G]                        [D]
The coolest d[G]oggone motherscratcher on the silver screen

      [C]                    [G]                      [D]
I’d drive [G]real fast everywhere no one would ever catch me

             [C]                              [G]
An[D]d I’d kick your ass if you[G] pissed me off so be careful what you ask me

             [C]                     [G]                  [D]
And I’d n[G]ever have an empty bottle or an empty bed

            [C]                 [G]                         [D]
And as cool as Paul Newman[G] is I bet Steve could whup his head

Steve McQueen... (Repeat Chorus)

[C]                     [G]                             [D]
[G]Bullet was my favorite movie that I’d ever seen

I [C]totaled my go-car[G]t trying to imitate that [D]chase scene      [G]

        [C]                     [G]             [D]
[G]That Duster had six hubcaps, know what I mean

          [C]                           [G]
And I love the way they[G] all flew off when it landed in that ra-vine

Steve McQueen
(Repeat Chorus)

  [C]                        [G]             [D]
I re[G]ally loved The Getaway back when I was eight

        [C]                [G]            [D]
That p[G]ussy Alec Baldwin sucked in the remake

[C](Short instrum[G]ental break)[D]          [G]

        [C]                 [G]                    [D]
A[G]nd speaking of pussy, I guess Steve got it all

     [C]…               [G]…                         [D]…….
He fucked Faye Dunaway and he fucked Ali McGraw

Steve Mc-Queen, [C]Steve M[G]c-Queen            [D]                  [G]

          [C]                  [G]                        [D]
When I [G]was a little boy I wanted to grow up to be

Steve Mc-Queen, [C]Steve Mc[G]-Queen            [D]                   [G]

       [C]                          [G]                  [D]
The coole[G]st goddamn motherf**ker on the silver screen
(yee-haw)

(Suddenly the scene turns slow and somber, as a campfire harp plays in the background.
On the album version of this song, the guitar here just plays the root note of the chord
during this verse. For my acoustic rendition I simply strum each chord once during the first
two lines, then strum the chords SLOWLY and SADLY on the third line. Then, sometimes I
do the same on the fourth line, and sometimes I sing it acapella. I will include the
just
in case you wish to strum it.)

I [C]went to see The Hunter on[G] my first [D]date             [G]

       [C]                      [G]
The Hunter was the l[G]ast movie Steve Mc-Queen lived to make

         [C]                       [G]                   [D]
(No, it’s n[C]ot G this time. And hold it dramatically)
They took my drivers license when I was just six-teen

The year Mesoth[C]eli-oma killed [G]Steve [D]Mc-Queen                 [G]

E--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
G---------------- ---------------------------------------------------------|
D------------------9-----9----——-------------------------------------------|
A----7-(slide)10------------0—2—5—2--5----0--7--0—5---0---2---0----2----5--| (continued
next line of tab…)
E--------------------------------------------------------------------------|

E--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3-----|
B--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3-----|
G---------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------0-----|

playing this G again)
A----5---7-(slide)10------------0—2—5—2--5----0--7--0—5---0---2---0---------------------2----|
E---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3----|

S[G]teve Mc-Queen[C], Steve[G] Mc-Queen          [D]                [G]

          [C]                  [G]                        [D]
When I [G]was a little boy I wanted to grow up to be

Steve Mc-Queen, [C]Steve Mc[G]-Queen            [D]                   [G]

       [C]                          [G]                  [D]
The coole[G]st goddamn motherf**ker on the silver screen

       [C]                          [G]                  [D]
The coole[G]st goddamn motherf**ker on the silver screen

       [C]                          [G]                  [D]
The coole[G]st goddamn motherf**ker on the silver screen

       C                          G                  D                  C (C again, and
the hell out of this chord for a bit)
The coolest goddamn motherf**ker on the silver screen…

(Then really WAIL the last line…)

STEEEEEEVE MAAAAAACQUEEEEEEEEN!!!!
(Then just beat the hell out of G for the outtro…)

(c) 1998 Soul Dump Music
dedicated to my grandfather W. M. Patterson
(Mesothelioma is a rare cancer of the lining of the lung caused by exposure to asbestos.
mortality rate is known to be extremely high.)


BUTTHOLEVILLE

------------------|
------------------|
------------------|
-22---2--22---2---|
-00-3-0--00-3-0---|
------------------|

[A]

Tired of living in Buttholeville

Tired of my job and my wife Lucille
[D]Tired of my kids Ronnie and Neil
[A]Tired of my 68 Bonneville

Working down at Billy Bob’s Bar and Grille

The food here tastes like the way I feel
[D]There’s a girl on the dance floor dressed to kill
[A]She’s the best looking woman in Buttholeville

[A]One day I’m gonna get out of Buttholeville

Gonna reach right in Gonna grab the till
[D]Buy a brand new hat and a Coupe deVille
[A]lay a patch on the road that runs over the hill

There’s a beach somewhere where the water’s are still

Gonna lay in the sun till my skin peals
[D]Drinking the best scotch whiskey, eating lobster and eel
[A]and I’m never going back to Buttholeville

[A]Never going, never going, never going never going [G]back!

lyrics by Patterson Hood
music by Adam’s House Cat (Cooley, Cahoon, Hood, Tremblay)
©1990 Cat House Music (ASCAP)
additional music by Drive-by Truckers (Cooley, Hood, Howell, Lane, Neff, and Stacy)
©1998 Soul Dump Music

originally written in July 1988
a lot of folks back home really take issue with (and to a large extent misunderstand)
song.

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SANDWICHES FOR THE ROAD

All packed to go, baloney and mayonnaise sandwiches for the road

lay them out across the dash in the August sun

and if they turn green don’t be afraid

nothing can hurt you but yourself

nothing can hurt you but yourself

I been given to visions from time to time (Mighty fields of vision)

and the voice in my brain can be a little unkind sometimes

Go ahead, point it at me, I ain’t scared

nothing can hurt you but yourself

nothing can hurt you but yourself

and if you see me on the street and if I whop you on the head

you probably got it coming

and if you hit me back, we’ll call it even, but I ain’t going down easy

cuz my mama loves me and I got friends in Decatur, Alabama.

So drink another drink and smoke another cigarette

something’s gonna get us yet

Cuz I got ashes in my throat and I ain’t got no vote

it’s just the way I stand myself

nothing can hurt you but yourself

nothing can hurt you but yourself

lyrics by Patterson Hood
music by Drive-by Truckers (Cooley, Hood, Howell, Lane, and Neff)
©1998 Soul Dump Music

written for and dedicated to the great Eddie Hinton
(His masterpiece, “Very Extremely Dangerous” is now available on Capricorn Records.
Fidelity has also recently released “Letters From Mississippi” and it is very fine.)
Thanks to Johnny “Sailcat” Wyker, Wayne Perkins, Dick Cooper, and Jimmy Johnson for the folklore.