The Slide Area

Ry Cooder The Slide Area Lyrics
1.Ufo Has Landed In The Ghetto

(ry cooder & jim keltner)

Lonesome outerspace invader blasting through the night
Tuning in the soul music on the satellite
All that low-down funky rhythm makes him jump and shout
Just got to find that ghetto planet that everyone's talkin'
about

Tuning in the local scene on the radio
The d.j. on the radar screen is telling him where to go
The funky fever's getting louder, sounds just like a soul
encounter
Cruisin' for some bar-b-que right up central avenue
And he's got a little dance he wants to do

He pulls up to a big night club in his ufo
Gets right in with all the folks out on the big dance floor
It really stops the action, everybody's mystified
To see that little step he's got as he goes glidin' by

Now, he ain't doin' the gigolo 'cause he ain't got no hips
Looks like the funky chicken man, 'cept he ain't got no hips
Those shiny metal threads he's wearin' really got some class
I'd say he was doin' the bomp, but i can't seem to find his ass

Now, everybody fall in love
He's reet, he's neat, he can't be beat
You shake your shimmy like i shake mine
He's hand held and he's jet propelled
Shake it up from sun to sun
He's fast and loose, he's full of juice
Shake it like an atomic bomb
He's got the goose so what's the use
That ufo has landed in the ghetto


2.I Need A Woman

(bob dylan)

It's been raining in my mouth all day
Dripping down to my clothes
My patience it is wearing thin
Got a fire inside my nose
Searching for the truth the way god designed it
The truth is i might drown before i find it

Well, i need a woman
Yes, i do
Need a woman
Yes, i do
Someone who can see me as i am
Give the kind of love that don't have to be condemned

And i want you to be that woman
Every night
Be that woman
Treat me right

I've had my eyes on you, baby
For about five long years
You probably don't know me at all
But i've seen your laughter and i've seen your tears
Now you don't frighten me
I ain't no defendant
And you look like it wouldn't hurt you none
To have a man of understanding

Well, i need a woman
Oh, don't i
Need a woman
Bring it home safe at last

I've seen you standing on the corner
Seen you sitting down in the park
Been watching you in the sunshine
Walking with you in the dark

And i want you to be that woman
Treat me right
Be that woman
Every night

Well, if you believe in something long enough
You just naturally come to think it's true
There ain't no wall you can't crossover
Ain't no fire you can't walk through
Well, believing is all right
Just don't let the wrong people know what it's all about
They might put the evil eye on you
Use their hidden powers to try to turn you out

Well, i need a woman
Just to be my queen
Need a woman
Black, white, yellow, brown, blue or green

Riding out with me at midnight
Like two spanish desperadoes
Gazing down upon the futile world
In her cadillac eldorado
We will penetrate the storm
In search of truth that has not been tested
But she better bring along her checkbook
Just in case we get arrested

And i want you to be that woman


3.Gypsy Woman

(curtis mayfield)

From out of nowhere, through a caravan, around the campfire
light
Came a lovely woman in motion with hair as dark as night
Her eyes were like those of a cat in the dark
And she hypnotized me with love

She was a gypsy woman
She danced around and 'round to guitar melody
From the fire her face was all aglow
How she enchanted me
How i'd love to hold her near
And kiss and forever whisper in her ear

I love you gypsy woman
I want you gypsy woman
I need you gypsy woman
Just got to have a gypsy woman

All through the caravan, she was dancing with all the men
Waiting for the rising sun, everyone was having fun
I hate to see the lady go, knowing she'll never know
That i love her, i love her

I love you gypsy woman
I want you gypsy woman
I need you gypsy woman
Just got to have a gypsy woman


4.Blue Suede Shoes

(carl perkins)

Well, it's one for the money, two for the show
Three to get ready and it's go man go
You can do anything that you want to do
But uh-huh honey, lay off of my shoes
And don't you step on my shoes
Don't you step on my blue suede shoes
You can do anything that you want to do
But uh-uh honey stay off of my shoes
And don't you step on my blue suede shoes

You can burn my house, steal my car
And drink my liquor out of my fruit jar
You can do anything that you want to do
But uh-uh honey stay off of my shoes

And don't you step on my shoes
Don't step on my blue suede shoes
You can do anything that you want to do
But uh-uh honey stay off of my shoes
And don't you step on my blue suede shoes

Well, it's down on beale street late one night
A woman got mad and started a fight
Split my chin and bust my nose
Tore out the back of my best suit of clothes

I said, 'knock me down, step in my face
Slander my name all over the place
Do anything that you want to do
But uh-uh honey stay off of my shoes'

And don't you step on my shoes
Don't step on my blue suede shoes
You can do anything that you want to do
But uh-uh honey stay off of my shoes
And don't you step on my blue suede shoes


5.Mama, Don't Treat Your Daughter Mean

(ry cooder)

Hey, mama, don't you treat your daughter mean
Hey, mama, don't you treat your daughter mean
'cause you treat her so mean and she's only sweet sixteen

It was late last friday evening, when everything was still
I heard somebody calling my name outside my window sill
I got up and i looked outside strainin' my eyes to see
And my heart went wild when i realized just who was calling me

I hollered
Hey, mama, don't you treat your daughter mean
Hey, mama, don't you treat your daughter mean
'cause you treat her so mean and she's only sweet sixteen

Now, her eyes were blazing up at me
Her hair was black as night
And her naked skin shone like gold
Out in the pale moonlight
She took my hand and she pulled me down
Where the grass had grown up tall
The she moved her body all around
Just like a cannon ball

Hey, mama, don't you treat your daughter mean
Hey, mama, don't you treat your daughter mean
'cause you treat her so mean and she's only sweet sixteen

Yonder comes your mama, girl, 'cross the field
Runnin' and a-shakin' like an automobile
Daddy's got a shotgun in his hand
They just don't understand
The first time i seen that sweet girl
She was runnin' home from sunday school
And the next time i seen that sweet little girl
Was when she broke her mama's rule
But the last time i seen that sweet little girl
She was filled with a strange desire
Rollin' and tumblin' out on the cold wet ground
Her skin burnin' up just like a cane fire
She called my name a thousand ways
The tears came streaming down her face
But just when i was 'bout to blow my stack
Her daddy came a-creepin' and a-crawlin' up behind
And he shot me in the back


6.I'm Drinking Again

(ry cooder & jim keltner)

Yes, it's me and i'm drinking again
Tell everybody i'm drinking again
Doctor said it'd kill me
But he didn't say when
Have mercy, i'm drinking again

Yes, it's me and i'm drinking again
I'd like to dry out but i doubt if i can
My baby said she'd quit me but she didn't say when
'cause i'm drinking again

Working two jobs, tryin' to get straight
Don't need the money, just want to lose weight
Gonna get you all the things that you lack
Diamond ring and a red cadillac
Came home drunk and pushed you around
Don't you quit me baby, don't you put me down

I'll never do it again
I'll never do it again
I'll never do it again
I promise this time

I came home last night about half past four
Whole neighborhood was rocking out on my floor
And my baby was working up under the sheet
With a teenage boy that lives down the street
I grabbed a bottle, he grabbed a gun
I heard somebody holler: 'shoot him 'fore he runs'
And that's the reason why i'm drinking again
Tell everybody i'm drinking again
You can't lick 'em and you just can't win
Yes, it's me and i'm drinking again

Ain't it enough to start you drinking again
We got to live in a world full of sin
Thank you jesus for what you have done
I'm sick and tired tryin' to be number one
Change my suit, change my shirt
Change what i dig and get out of the dirt

I'll never do it again
I'll never do it again
I'm going to get back in my gin
I'm drinking again


7.Which Came First

(willie dixon & ry cooder)

You may be a hater, you may be a lover
You can bet your life one destroys the other
I don't know how it all began, which came first
The egg or the hen

The moon comes up and the sun goes down
This old world keeps spinning around
Just as sure as the day turns into the night
What you do in the dark will turn up in the light
Masked man ridin' out across the land
Spreading destruction and moving his hand
He carries a ray-gun, shoots from the hip
Got your past in his pocket, your future's in his grip

You may be a hater, you may be a lover
You bet your life one destroys the other
I don't know how it all began, which came first
The egg or the hen

Now, you bet your life without a doubt
Asking a masked man to leat you out
He's got you so tight that you can't even see
That ray-gun is pointed right at you and me

You won't see it coming
You won't feel the blow
You won't get no warning
You won't never know
You can't start it sooner
And fix it up later
And you ain't going to read about it in the newspaper

Rich or poor, mighty and meek
Don't need no ticket, you've all got a seat
High up on the mountain, low down in the alley
We'll all watch the world turn into death valley

You may be a hater, you may be a lover
You can bet your life one destroys the other
I don't know how it all began, which came first
The egg or the hen

Better shake my hand 'cause time is winding up
Shake your neighbor's hand 'cause time is winding up

You may be a hater, you may be a lover
You can bet your life one destroys the other
I don't know how it all began, which came first
The egg or the hen


8.That's The Way Love Turned Out To Be

(quinton claunch, dave hall & ry cooder)

Brand new day, brave new man
It's a miracle what love can do
All the joys romance can bring
Come smiling down on a heart that's true
When love is real, you can't turn it around
It's like a river running down to the sea
This old world turns around for lovers like you
It's not the way love turned out for me

People in love build a house they can share
Takes a long time to get it just right
But a fire can start in the kitchen somewhere
And burn that little house down over night
That flame burning bright in your heart, i believed that
You turned it on just for me
Another man held that fire, burned our house to the ground
That's the way love turned out for me

People turn out for the big show
Pretty flowers turn out in the spring
And the light turns out in the kitchen
When somebody pulls on the string
But there's no light burning in my kitchen
And no doors open up with my key
And i ain't got no one to turn to
That's the way love turned out for me