Dave Alvin
(Blue Horn Toad Music, BMI)
Well when I was a young boy
I used to slip away
Down to the ashgrove
To hear the old blues men play
There was Big Joe and Lightninâ
And Reverend Gary too
Well Iâd sit and stare and dream
Of doinâ what they could do.
Well itâs been thirty years since the ashgrove burned down
And Iâm out on this highway travelinâ town to town
Tryinâ to make a livinâ
Tryinâ to pay the rent
Tryinâ to figure out where my life went.
I wanna go back to the ashgrove
Thatâs where I come from
I wanna go back to the ashgrove
Thatâs where I belong.
Well you donât have to go searchinâ
Pretend to put on airs
âCause the blues are gonna find you someday, somewhere
Now my motherâs gone
Now my fatherâs gone
And all the old blues men have all passed on
And Iâm out on this highway travelinâ town to town
Settinâ up my gear and then Iâm tearinâ it down
Turninâ up my guitar
Standinâ on the stage
Iâm just tryinâ to raise the ghosts up out of their graves.
I wanna go back to the ashgrove
Thatâs where I come from
Yeah I wanna go back to the ashgrove
Thatâs where I belong.
Well I canât say I been all sinner
Canât say I been all saint
Iâve done some good deeds and Iâve made big mistakes
I been in and out of love
Said words I regret
I been drunk, been sober
Smoked too many cigarettes
And Iâm out on this highway travelinâ town to town
And the news on the radio just brings me down
Intolerance and fear
Ignorance and lies
Itâs the same old same old I heard a million times
And Iâm thinkinâ of friends and lovers
And how they come and go
Like look-alike houses on the side of the road
Full of everyday people tryinâ to get ahead
Tryinâ to find a reason just to get out of bed
âCause we all need somethinâ just to get us through
Well Iâm gonna play the blues tonight man
âCause thatâs what I do.
Iâm goinâ back to the Ashgrove
Thatâs where I come from
Iâm goinâ back to the Ashgrove
Thatâs where I belong.
