Lyrics

Lyrics from Phil’s album From Nowhere to Somewhere. Released October 2021. All lyrics © Phil Gammage (UNLESS INDICATED) and Mayan Music BMI.

Walk in the Sun (Phil Gammage and D.B. Schell)

The devils die with my sleep.
It’s good this night is done.
It’s good to be at daylight now.
I need a walk in the sun.

Skip the morning coffee.
And put away the gun.
I’ve got to get out of here.
I need a walk in the sun.

A cage of hopeful memories, cornered in my brain,
Surrounded by a nightmare land where the devils reign.

I can’t stay here no more.
I’ve got nowhere to run
And all that I can reconcile.
I need a walk in the sun.

Between the Tracks (Phil Gammage and D.B. Schell)

Hobo bohemia, the wandering round.
Big hole sky, homeward bound.
Gypsy moon. Stripper Jack.
Frog-Faced Sally. Cut’n slack.

King of tramps, A-No.1.
Hobo pages, on the bum.
Beggerdom, the big wonder.
On the nut, reap or squander.

Railroad spike. A handy man.
Yeah I was here. Spider web plan.
Between the tracks, the train tales.
Twisting a dream, read’n the rails.
Hobo bohemia, the wandering round.

Voice on the Phone

You rang me up on the phone
Finding me down and all alone
Your voice I longed to hear again this way

It’s been a year since you left this place
The memories I’ll never erase
Your spirit is here, I’ll always dream this way

You had to leave this world, you’ve gone, you’ve gone
But you just can’t say goodbye, go on, go on

You rang me up on the phone
Crying to me from the beyond
Someday, someday, someday, someday

What Would I Do?

I’ve been living in a daze baby, baby
I’ve been trying to find my way baby, baby
I can’t make it on my own
If you left I’d be all alone
Without you what would I do?

Can’t you see I’m falling apart baby, baby
A poison arrow is in my heart
I can’t go on without your love
I can never have enough
Without you what would I do? (2x)

Just look ahead forget the past baby, baby
Let’s hold on to a joy that lasts baby, baby
Take my hand and follow me down
I can’t believe the love I’ve found
Without you what would I do? (3x)

Come on Lightning (Phil Gammage and D.B. Schell)

What you talking about? I come to wake you up.
Singing about your life come and see what’s up.
I come out of Centerville, got one thing on my mind
I hear in this town the blues ain’t hard to find.

So come on Lightning, please don’t go.
Pick up your Gibson, and show us what you know.

Been working on a farm had to go back on home.
Cant get noticed in this town never felt so alone.
I come out of Centerville and I traveled very far.
Just looking for a job playing my guitar.

So come on Lightning, please don’t go.
King of the Third Ward, show us what you know.

Just Another Traveling Man (Phil Gammage and D.B. Schell)

Meet by the old Pepsi sign
I’ve been standing here since half past 9
Smoking castoffs, and drinking gin
Sportin’ my Nicholson grin.

Most men don’t ever stick around
You thought you’d gone and pinned me down
Don’t bother, you can’t ever understand
That I’m just another traveling man

It was getting on to noon
I thought that you’d be showing up soon
My throat was getting mighty dry
Me and this Nevada sky

I realized that you weren’t coming
One thing I’ve learned from this life of bumming
There was a freight headed up the rail
I decided to go and grab it’s tail

Most men don’t ever stick around
You thought you’d gone and pinned me down
As the future holds another day
I might again pass this way
Most men don’t ever stick around
You thought you’d gone and pinned me down
Don’t bother, you can’t ever understand
That I’m just another traveling man

The Never-ending Setting Sun (Phil Gammage and D.B. Schell)

Garbage truck grind on seventh street.
Another day begins in the summer heat.
Out on the bay in the fading light,
I follow a jet until it’s out of sight.

This strange notion like it’s over and done,
Over for good before it’s begun.
In my mind is the never-ending setting sun.

A cloud of umbrella’s on the avenue,
A slow motion of red, black and blue.
On the corner was a child’s face,
Yet, now when I look, an empty space.

The last time, every time is what I feel.
What was before my step is behind my heel.
To this constant twilight of final decline,
I lean back in the seat and raise my wine.

Shadow Road (Phil Gammage and D.B. Schell)

The train horn was calling.
Moon was shining bright.
he train horn was calling.
Middle of the night.

Too late to dream.
Too old to scheme.
All I have is this ode.
I’m walking down shadow road.

Alone with this vision.
Early in the morning.
Alone with this vision.
Appeared as a warning.

A world so stark.
A blend of moon and dark.
A life reaps what it sewed.
I’m walking down shadow road

Too late to dream.
Too old to scheme.
All I have is this ode.
I’m walking down shadow road.

So Long and Goodbye

All the warm summer nights so peaceful in July.
Here’s a toast to the good times.
So long and goodbye.

Through the night the scent of flowers floating in the sky.
They wrap around my senses.
So long and goodbye.

The air feels heavy, fire flies hover by.
Thoughts start to wander on a warm night in July.

Fully in the moment, one can only try.
Never lose those warm summer nights.
So long and goodbye.

Lyrics from Phil’s album IT’S ALL REAL GOOD. Released AUGUST 2019. All lyrics © Phil Gammage and Mayan Music BMI.

It’s All Real Good

My friend John he’s always on the make, a married woman is all it takes.
It’s all real good, yeah it’s all real good, it’s all real good but I just can’t get it straight.

John asked some guy to buy him a beer, got punched in the face and called a queer.

John’s got himself a big surprise, got caught in bed with the boss’s wife.

John likes to laugh about the fun he’s had, ripping off money from his girlfriend’s dad.

John says it’s time for him to hit the road, the good lord told him it’s time to go.

Luck Don’t Pass Us By

It’s a cold wind blowing clouds rolling in the sky
Hobos in the train yard starting a fire
A chill in the air of anger, it’s begun to intensify
Lady Luck, please don’t pass us by

In the center of the city I’ll be looking for you
Angry crowds getting ready to crucify
The days are getting shorter, nights are getting long
Lady Luck, please don’t pass us by

Brown leaves on the concrete, a patch of snow on the ground
The surge of marching people all around
Standing by the car I’ll be waiting for you
Together we’ll try to push on through
Lady Luck, please don’t pass us by
Don’t pass us by…

Hellcat Maggie

I been lying low in the shadows hiding behind the locks.
Money I stole if she finds me I’ll be hung up behind the docks.

Hey hey don’t ever cross the wharf rats
Run if she ever finds you from the wrath of the hellcat.

I sleep all day in the cellar wake up to drink me my swill.
At night I creep up to Orange Street I go and get me my Phil

Now Maggie I knows if she finds me, she go and bite off my ear.
Then claw me up and hang me, that’s why I live in such fear.

Dancing on Top of the World

It’s another night downtown and the joint is swinging hard
I can can hear Wynonie Harris on the jukebox at the bar

There’s old Sam in his zoo suit sporting his new wingtips
He’s tossing up girls in the air and catching them on his hips

I’m dancing on top of the world (3x)
Yes I am

Over there it’s Candy sporting her new tattoo
She’s looking good like you knew she would, she’s a viper through and through

It’s 3 am at Lee’s Supper Club and nothing’s going down
I’ll head on over to the Greatest Bar and see who’s still around.

Naked in the Rain

Let it all hang out you’ve got nothing to lose
Let it all hang out quit feeling the blues
Now’s the time to take a chance come with me and let’s dance in the rain
Naked in the rain
Naked in the rain Naked in the rain

You know me well you know I wouldn’t lie
You know me well I couldn’t if I tried
So come on and feel romance
Come with me and let’s dance in the rain Naked in the rain Naked in the rain
Naked in the rain

Please take my hand and let’s step outside
Please take my hand and let’s go for a ride
Now’s the time to take a chance come with me and let’s dance in the rain
Naked in the rain

Giveaway

When time draws near to leave this world
Gonna giveaway, giveaway, everything I have
All my laughter and all my tears
Gonna giveaway, giveaway, everything I have

Gather round my friends in a circle
Gonna giveaway, giveaway, everything I have
We’ll dance together down by the river

Going to wash myself and bathe in the river
Gonna giveaway, giveaway, everything I have
When no more is left I’ll be a free man.

Wandering Stars

Wandering stars led me to this place.
Wandering stars led me to my fate

To be loved, be loved, be loved, by someone like you.

The road I’m on, there is no end.
The road I’m on, just looking for a friend.

Soon I must go but my journey is still clear
Soon I must go but tonight I’m still here.

Let Love Begin

I’ve been waiting all my life for this moment to arrive
Now I’m ready, yes I’m ready to let love begin

All those bad times are in the past
Now I’ve found true love at last
And I’m ready, yes I’m ready to let love begin

Yes I’m ready for a new life
Without all of the sorrow and pain
Cause I’ve been hurt so many times
And I won’t let it happen again

Please take me in your arms
Show me that I belong
Cause I’m ready, yes I’m ready to let love begin

Yes I’m ready for a new life
To help me heal my headache
Cause I’ve been hurt so many times
And I’ve had all I can take

I’ve been waiting all my life for this moment to arrive
Now I’m ready, yes I’m ready to let love begin.

Second Time Around

Well jump into the fire, well that’s my desire
To be with you again like when we were more than friends
Everything is better the second time around

Well I know it’s not my place, well but when I see your face
It makes me feel like I was a fool back when I thought I was so cool

Well the time slips away, well it feels like yesterday
Those nights when I’m down walking by myself downtown.

Lyrics from Phil’s album Used Man For Sale. Released October 2016. All lyrics © Phil Gammage and Mayan Music BMI.

Arms of a Kind Woman

The nights slowly turn into days
The sun clears away the haze
And fate takes hold, when it’s time to be bold
There is salvation in the arms of a kind woman

The floods they never seem to end
The rains are coming down again
The sky feels cold, when the world seems so old
There is salvation in the arms of a kind woman

In the distance, a hound starts to cry
All the flowers are starting to die
The midnight train rides its track, and when there’s no turning back
There is salvation in the arms of a kind woman

Maybe Tomorrow

Maybe tomorrow, maybe today
Beg, steal, or borrow I’ll find a way

Better days coming, over yonder hills
Lord knows I’m ready, gonna get my fill

Why let the good times pass
Let’s try to make them last

I’ve been hungry, with a pain in my heart
Brighter days, no more falling apart

I Beg of You

I’ve played the game of love and lost
I was the fool who paid the cost
Lord I fell for you, so hard it hurt
My love and devotion always came first

You’re working all your voodoo on me
I beg of you, set me free

Those sleepless nights you go out on the town
With another man, are you fooling around?
I stay at home and I care for your child
While you’re out drinking cocktails, and running wild

You must see in my eyes that I need to be free
But you could always read my mind so easily
What is it that keeps me coming back and holding on?
When all my self-respect has withered and gone

Used Man For Sale

It’s my life or what I’ve got left of it
It’s my world that I try to forget
All I am, all I am is a used man for sale

I had dreams, threw them all away
Hopes and schemes best left for better days

Play me something new, play me something blue
Something that I never heard before
But don’t ever go and try to tease me woman
You’ll leave me wanting so much more

Oh I’m lost in your wilderness
And I’m desperate, desperate for your kiss

Yeah I’m drifting like a sailor lost at sea
But I’ll be here if you ever want to buy me

Ride With Railroad Bill

Railroad Bill, up on a hill
Lighting a cigar with a hundred-dollar bill.
You know that man he stole my wife,
If I don’t like it, he’s gonna take my life.
Buy me a gun just as long as my arm
Shoot everybody that ever done me harm.
Gonna drink my whiskey, drink it in the wind
Doctor said it’ll blind me but he never said when.

Early one morning, standing in the rain
Around the bend come a long freight train.
Bill shot John Hardy that’s what they said
Left him on the train, stone cold dead
He’s a bad ass son of a bitch that Railroad Bill
He never worked and he never will
I can hear Bill singing his hobo song
He’s coming to kill me, it won’t be long

Feeling the Hurt

Now I felt like dirt and given up all I had
I was left to wander Main Street and feeling so sad
But you gave me hope, and lifted me out of the ditch
Gave me strength to stand on my feet and start living again

I wonder where you were when I was feeling the hurt
How can lucky can I be?
I can’t believe this has happened to me, yeah to me

I look and I stare up at the stars
Someone up there is watching me, cause I’ve made it this far
Now I know this is my lucky roll of the dice
It took me this long to get this far
and I’ve paid too high a price.

Before I Leave

I wear my shame like a mask on my heart
To disguise the way I feel.
We’ve been so numb to all that’s going on
You see in this world nothing is real.

Before I leave, I’ve got to tell you
Before I leave, you’ve got to know
Before I leave, I’ve got to tell you
There are some secrets you should know

Cars speed by my window, people stop and talk
I can’t hear a word they say.
They’re just blank faces that never connect
I hide in my mind night and day.

When I’m gone I’ll make sure to leave no trace
Of me ever being around here.
There are some secrets that you and I must share
Before I disappear.

Tenderloin

I want to tell you a story about a man and woman I know
They live on Ellis street in San Francisco.
It’s land that time forgot, the world of dead end streets
Once you’re in you’re never out, that’s where we meet

Now my good friends living there since 1979
They be growing old but there’s no change…Tenderloin knows no time
Up the block and down the street
To Ellis street we go
All my good friends dead or alive in San Francisco

Lost in Loserville

You’re a player that we know
Always on the make always on the go
You’ve been here, and you’ve been around
The city awaits it’s your playground
Looking to find that lonely friend
Trapped in the web of love again
You can’t buy a thrill, lost in Loserville

A fresh smile you always bring
Every night making the scene
This ain’t no small town full of squares
You’re in the big time now, so beware
The band is loose, their groove is tight
And you’ll be staying out every night

Last call and it’s your special time
For you to step out and really shine
A time to plan a time to scheme
Take a walk down that boulevard of broken dreams
But you fell in love with the silver spoon
Fell into to its darkness way to soon

Staring Out Our Window

Staring out our window, neon sign flashing bright.
We’ve some time to kill until the morning light.

Big town keeps on churning, but there’s trouble on the way.
We’ll know what it’s about at the break of day.

Staring out our window, looking down on the street.
We can see the sun rising, now our night is complete.