Sweet sweet sweet sweet bulbs grow in m’ latest garden Warm warm warm warm warm sun fingers wave In m’ latest garden Flowers dance their faces brave Come talk freely in the garden of m’ lady Her hominy smile her hominy snatch Only uh crow would peck n’ uh chicken would scratch Her lips turned up t’ kiss I see yuh Phoebe baby in yer bonnet With the sunset written on it ‘n the shadow of uh tree Curled around yuh knee in color n’ just behind yuh was the sea of negativity Tinklin’ like mercury in the wind Her feet kept by the groundRead More →

Sugar ‘n spikes ‘n neon lights ‘n walks ‘n lights ‘n chains coughin’ smoke whoopin’ hope Cardinal sky rush by falls bark in dark Fall back in dark Pies steam stale shoes move broom ‘n pale Moon in uh dime store sale Sugar ‘n spikes ‘n everything nice ‘n everything nice ‘n crazy That’s what little worlds are made of lady I’m paid up in home in ‘m new Friday’s house There’s no H on my faucet there’s no bed for m’ mouse My punch ‘n grow mind in diamond back time Now it’s king for uh day with my lady look fine Got m’Read More →

Justin Sherill writes: Interestingly, I received an email from a Peter Wray, who might just be the fellow mentioned in the song. Here’s a chunk of his email. “My only claim to fame was being mentioned in one of his songs (Sugar n Spikes). How I got in the lyrics I don’t know except that I met Beefheart on tour in Columbus Ohio in 1968 or 69.” “I remember that one of my friends in college got one of the first issues of TMR – when Warners included the lyric sheet – and came running into my room yelling and insisting that I somehow hadRead More →

The black paper between a mirror breaks my heart The moon frayed thru dark velvet lightly apart Steal softly thru sunshine Steal softly thru snow The wild goose flies from winter Breaks my heart that I can’t go Energy flys thru a field ‘n the sun softly melts a nothing wheel Steal softly thru sunshine Steal softly thru snow The black paper between a mirror breaks my heart that I can’t go The swan their feathers don’t grow They’re spun They live two hundred years of love They’re one Breaks my heart to see them cross the sun Grain grows rainbows up straw hill BreaksRead More →

She’s too much for my mirror She almost make me lose it The way she abuse it make me never wanna use it Well mend yer heart ‘n mind yer soul Ole Chicago she’s uh woman thata Make uh young man uh bum She howl like the wind Make m’ heart grow cold Make me long for that little red fum! She makes things fly ‘n she makes things roll She got me way over here ‘n I’m hungry ‘n cold I remember m’ mother told me I oughta be choosey That was way back when I thought she was m’ friend Now I findRead More →

Pena Her litle head clinking Like a barrel of red velvet balls Full past noise Treats filled her eyes Turning them yellow like enamel coated tacks Soft like butter hard not to pour Out enjoying the sun while sitting on a turned on waffle iron Smoke billowing up from between her legs Made me vomit beautifully And crush a chandelier Fall on my stomach ‘n view her From a thousand happened facets Liquid red salt ran over crystals I later band-aided the area Sighed Oh well it was worth it Pena pleased but sore from sitting Choose to stub her toe ‘n view the whiteRead More →

When she wears her bolero then she begin t’ dance All the pachucos start withold’n hands When she drives her Chevy Sissy’s don’t dare t’ glance Yellow jackets ‘n red debbles buzzin’ round ‘er hair hive ho She wears her past like uh present Take her fancy in the past Her sedan skims along the floorboard Her two pipes hummin’ carbon cum Got her wheel out of uh B-29 Bomber brodey knob amber Spanish fringe ‘n talcum tazzles FOREVER AMBER She looks like an old squaw indian she’s 99 she won’t go down Avocado green ‘n alfalfa yellow adorn her t’ the ground Tatooes ‘nRead More →

Painless Parker Derek Laskie writes: This is a photo of a wooden pail full of teeth which Painless Parker extracted. Edgar R R ‘Painless’ Parker is described: ‘heavyweight champion of tooth pullers died in 1952 at age 80’ The American Dental Association called him ‘a menace to the dignity of the profession’. It seems that he was a bit of a huckster/showman, wearing a necklace of human teeth and making a fortune. I can just imagine the young Don hearing, seeing or reading the obituaries. You can read more about Painless Parker at www.ushistory.org and at Wikipedia. Inspired by Beefheart… Derek Laskie also pointed out that thereRead More →

Uh thick cloud caught uh piper cub’s tail The match struck blue on uh railroad rail The old puff horse was just pullin’ thru ‘n uh man wore uh peg leg forever I’m on the bum where the hoboes run The air breaks with filthy chatter Oh I don’t care there’s no place there I don’t think it matters My skin’s blazin’ thru ‘n my clothes in tatters ‘n the railroad looked Like uh “Y” up the hill of ladders Ohe shoe fell on the gravel One stick poked down Gray of age fell down on uh pair of ears An eagle shined thru myRead More →

Pappy with the Khaki sweatband Bowed goat potbellied barnyard that only he noticed The old fart was smart The old gold cloth madonna Dancin’ t’ the fiddle ‘n saw He ran down behind the knoll ‘n slipped on his wooden fishhead The mouth worked ‘n snapped all the bees Back t’ the bungalow Momma was flatten’n lard With her red enamel rollin’ pin When the fishhead broke the window Rubber eye erect ‘n precisely detailed Airholes from which breath should come Is now closely fit With the chatter of the old fart inside An assortment of observations took place Momma licked ‘er lips like uhRead More →

I saw yuh baby dancin’ in your x-ray gingham dress I knew you were under duress I knew you were under yer dress Just keep comin’ Jesus Your the best dressed You look dandy in the sky but you don’t scare me Cause I got you here in my eye In this lifetime you got m’humangetsmeblues With yer jaw hangin’ slack n’ yer hair’s curlin’ Like an ole navy fork stickin’ in the sunset The way you were dancin’ I knew you’d never come back You were strainin’ t’ keep yer Old black cracked patent shoes In this lifetime you got m’humangetsmeblues Well the wayRead More →

Moonlight on Vermont affected everybody Even Mrs. Wooten well as Little Nitty Even lifebuoy floatin’ With his lil’ pistol showin’ ‘n his lil’ pistol totin’ Well that goes t’ show you what uh moon can do No more bridge from Tuesday t’ Friday Everybody’s gone high society Hope lost his head ‘n got off on alligators Somebodies leavin’ peanuts on the curbins For uh white elephant escaped from the zoo with love Goes t’ show you what uh moon can do Moonlight on Vermont Well it did it for Lifebuoy And it did it t’ you And it did it t’ zoo And it canRead More →

Moonlight on Vermont affected everybody Even Mrs. Wooten well as Little Nitty Even lifebuoy floatin’/With his lil’ pistol showin’ ‘n his lil’ pistol totin’ Vermont is about as white a place as you can get, that is in most people’s minds. I can’t think of anyplace whiter than that. Not just white but white in a very Northeastern sort of way. But Beefheart’s paean to the influence of the moon is set in the whitest place on earth; white people, white with snow, white as the full moon riding in the sky that stirs people’s blood, the same moon that Howlin’ Wolf howled to inRead More →

Strawwood claw rattlin’ m’ jaw I can’t call it usin’ It’s just sumptin’ soothin’ Feather times uh feather Mornin’ time t’ thaw Hobo chang ba Hobo chang ba Standin’ still is losin’ Feather times a feather Mornin’ time t’ thaw Strawwood claw rattlin’ m’ jaw Hobo chang ba Hobo chang ba Hobo chang ba ‘o Hobo chang ba ‘o Stand t’ gain m’ ground Lay t’ rest the law The ocean is m’ mother ‘n the freight train is m’ paw Hobo chang ba Hobo chang ba ‘o Hobo chang ba The rails I ride ‘r rustin’ The new sunrise m’ trustin’ The rails IRead More →

My smile is stuck I cannot go back to your Frownland My spirit’s made up of the ocean And the sky ‘n’ the sun ‘n’ the moon ‘n’ all my eyes can see I cannot go back to your land of gloom Where black jagged shadows Remind me of the coming of your doom I want my own land Take my hand and come with me It’s not too late for you It’s not too late for me To find my homeland Where a man can stand by another man Without an ego flying With no man lying ‘n’ no one dying by an earthlyRead More →

When I get lonesome the wind begin t’ moan When I trip fallin’ ditch Somebody wanna’ throw the dirt right down When I feel like dyin’ the sun come out ‘n stole m’ fear ‘n gone Who’s afraid of the spirit with the bluesferbones Who’s afraid of the fallin’ ditch Fallin’ ditch ain’t gonna get my bones How’s that for the spirit How’s that for the things Ain’t my fault the thing’s gone wrong ‘n when I’m smilin’ my face wrinkles up real warm ‘n when um frownin’ things just turn t’ stone Fallin’ ditch ain’t gonna get my bones ‘n when I get lonesomeRead More →

Ella Guru as imagined by OpenAI

Now here she comes walkin’ Lookin’ like uh zoo Hello Moon Hello Moon Hi Ella high Ella Guru She know all the colors that nature do High Ella high Ella Guru High yella high red high blue she blew High Ella high Ella Guru She do what she mean ‘n she do what she do Got sumptin’ fo’ me sumptin’ fo’ you She sho’ sumptin’ She’s young too Ella Guru Ella Guru Ella Guru Ella Guru Ha ha right right Just dig it That’s right “The Mascara Snake” Fast ‘n bulbous Tight also Ella Guru Ella Guru Ella Guru Ella Guru Ella Guru (1969) OriginallyRead More →

There’s ole Gray with ‘er dove-winged hat Threre’s ole Green with her sewing machine Where’s the bobbin at? Tote’n old grain in uh printed sack The dust blows forward ‘n dust blows back And the wind blows black thru the sky And the smokestack blows up in suns eye What am I gonna die? Uh white flake riverboat just flew by Bubbles popped big ‘n uh lipstick Kleenex hung on uh pointed forked twig Reminds of the bobby girls Never was my hobby girls Hand full uh worms and uh pole fishin’ Cork bobbin’ like uh hot red bulb ‘n uh blue jay squeaks HisRead More →

Dachau blues those poor Jews Dachau blues those poor Jews Dachau blues, Dachau blues those poor Jews Still cryin’ ’bout the burnin’ back in World War Two’s One mad man six million lose Down in Dachau blues, down in Dachau blues The world can’t forget that misery ‘n the young ones now beggin’ the old ones please t’ stop bein’ madmen ‘fore they have t’ tell their children ’bout the burnin’s back in World War Three’s War One was balls ‘n powder ‘n blood ‘n snow War Two rained death ‘n showers ‘n skeletons Dancin’ ‘n screamin’ ‘n dyin’ in the ovens Cough ‘n smokeRead More →

I don’t wanna kill my china pig No I don’t Uh man’s gotta live Uh man’s gotta eat Uh man’s gotta have shoes t’ walk out on the street I don’t wanna kill my china pig Ell he was uh baby I want yuh t’ see I don’t wanna kill my china pig Well I used t’ go t’ school With uh’ little red box ‘n I used to have m’ pig go with me We walked for blocks I don’t wanna kill my china pig His tail curled five times in uh circle round It’s glazed He’s got uh slot in his back flowersRead More →