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mr_lebowski

(33,643 posts)
Sat May 12, 2018, 01:31 PM May 2018

Grant Lee Buffalo - Dixie Drug Store



It was muggy July around supper time
When I pulled into New Orleans
I got dropped off at South Rampart Street
I was hungry for a plate of greens

I made my way down the banquette
Where I could see an open door
And overhead a sign made of painted pine read
"The Dixie Drug Store"

Peppers and roots were hanging
From the rafters above
There were oils and sprays all on display
For money, luck, and for love

I reached down to pick one up
When a dark hand grabbed my arm
And before I could see just who it was
She said "You don't want that charm"

"The last man to walk that thing out of here
Just up and disappeared
Found his wallet and his wingtip shoes
Near a tombstone down in Algiers

No, what you need my travelling friend
Is a place to wash your jeans
And I wouldn't be the least surprised
If you were hungry for a plate of greens"

She beckoned me on up the stairs
For she'd done made up her mind
Said take off your hat and kick off your boots
And leave your pride behind

She took me down to a secret place
In the bayou of her blankets
She offered to share her bourbon
I thanked her ... then I drank it

Thru a small crack in the ceiling
Burst the Louisiana moon
It shone down on our bodies
And we began to croon

Like a couple of coyotes
We were howling thru the night
And I swear they were a beatin' those
Conga drums outside

We laughed until the mornin'
By then my pants had dried
I picked up my hat and pulled on my boots
And I gathered up my pride

I figured she had done stepped out
I didn't see her anywhere
And I set out to find her
I headed on downstairs

Got down to the bottom
I couldn't believe my eyes
Gone were all the bottles
And the remedy supplies

I shouted out for Marie
I darted out the door
An old man on the wooden porch said
"What you in there for?"

"Son you got no business
The hoodoo store's been closed
Long as I remember
A century ... I suppose ..."

"But, Mister I just spent the night
With a young gal named Laveau?!?"
He said "the Widow Paris
done had a little laugh on you!"

I said "You mean to tell me
that was the Voodooing?"
He nodded "Yes, none other ...
The Queen of New Orleans"
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Grant Lee Buffalo - Dixie Drug Store (Original Post) mr_lebowski May 2018 OP
Fell in love with them after I heard that song underpants May 2018 #1
Mighty Joe Moon is seriously one of the best records ever made ... EVERY SONG is great ... mr_lebowski May 2018 #2
 

mr_lebowski

(33,643 posts)
2. Mighty Joe Moon is seriously one of the best records ever made ... EVERY SONG is great ...
Sat May 12, 2018, 02:12 PM
May 2018

Last edited Sat May 12, 2018, 02:46 PM - Edit history (1)

There's a feeling to that album I can't quite put my finger on, but in short, I say it's pretty damn magical. If there's such thing as 'divine inspiration' ... Grant & Paul and the drummer dude, forget his name ... sure as shit had 'it' when they came up with that set of songs.

It's also certainly got a real timeless quality to it ... thus, it'll never really 'go out of style' cause it has no obvious time and place connections (well, Lone Star Song kinda does, but that's about it).

In fact, you ever read the words to 'Lone Star Song'? Cause they're pretty unintelligible when you're just listening to it and I mumbled along to it making up the words for years and years (at least 1/2 of which were completely wrong) 'til the internet came along and I read 'em and I'm like "DOH!!! IT'S F***ING WACO!"

25 years on I still get excited to listen to it once or twice a year, all the way through (cause that's the only way), even though it's like the 1000th time by now. It's esp. great for cranking up when driving on the open road, at night, alone ... and beltin' it out.

This is another particular favorite of mine from MJM ... though like I say I treasure every last song on the damn thing ... as great as their debut 'Fuzzy' was, it was just a prelude to sheer awesome that came next. I also like a buncha songs on Jubilee though it's a tad overproduced, there's still a lot of great ones like The Shallow End, Crooked Dice, and 8 Mile Road.

In fact, that's name of a real road, a ways south of Stockton, CA, and it's right along the drive up to the town of Copperopolis ... (which is the name of their third, sadly slightly inferior (IMHO) record ... they tried to recapture MJM magic but the songs are overly long and too often hookless, unlike MJM where EVERY song has a great hook), I've passed the turnoff to '8 Mile Road' dozens of times on my way to Groveland and/or Yosemite, up the 108 from the Bay Area.

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