Get all 6 Colin Cutler releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Tarwater, If I Had My Way, I'd Tear That Idol Down, Hot Pepper Jam, Stranger in the Promised Land, Peacock Feathers, and Nelson County Wayside.
1. |
Bad Man's Easy
03:47
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There ain't no joy in it, Bobby Lee,
I said as we drove down Highway 1.
That tiger tattoo on his arm, it grinned
As he tightened his grip on the butt of his gun.
We might make it to the Carolina line,
But a bad man's easy to find.
Have I ever told you how I feel
When I hear those sirens wail?
Like a pack of dogs nipping at my heels,
Even if I know that they aren't on my trail.
A good man's hard to find, and a bad man's easy.
My mama said there's two kinds of people:
“You're going to heaven, or you're going to hell,”
But everybody's got at least a little killer in them.
When you touch where you're not wanted, you can tell.
A good man's hard to find, but a bad man's easy.
Was it love, was it fear in her eyes?
It was something that I’d never seen before.
It was like she saw me, and she recognized me,
And I must have jerked back when I shot her.
A good man is hard to find, and a bad man’s easy.
Might be the Devil, might be God, might be both.
Might be grace, might be the law, I don't know,
But a good man is hard to find, and a bad man's easy.
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2. |
A New Tattoo
02:41
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VERSE
My name is O.E. Parker;
What it means only God and the Navy and my mama know.
All of my life I’ve been running from something,
Maybe God or the Navy or my mama or the government.
CHORUS
I knew a boy with his mouth hanging down to his shoes
Now he’s covered in the blood and tattoo blues,
Till I find that child again, I’ll keep running.
VERSE
I broke my teeth on the Rock of Ages,
Chewed every word till it made my stomach turn.
God the Father and Uncle Sam
Didn’t make a prophet, just a man with a tongue that burns.
CHORUS
VERSE
I tried to make myself with a new tattoo
Tried to gain the whole world, but it got underneath my skin.
But you can’t outrun the sonic speed of love,
It's lightning striking, dying to be born again.
CHORUS
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3. |
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CHORUS
Mama, I don’t know where heaven is,
But I hear that’s where you’ve gone.
Mama, I don’t know where heaven is, Oh Lord
But I’ll be there with you before too long.
VERSE
Father, he says you’ve gone away,
Where there ain’t a heaven nor a hell.
Father, he says you’ve gone away
And you ain’t bad, and you ain’t well.
CHORUS
VERSE
Sister, she was a baby,
And I hear that she’s up in heaven, too.
Sister, she was a baby, Oh Lord,
And I wonder if she’s seen you.
VERSE
There’s a boy out on the street says you’ve seen Jesus’ face,
Way up where He hung the stars,
He says there ain’t no more people a-crying
And I want to be there where you are.
CHORUS
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4. |
The Cold That's Forever
04:30
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VERSE
It's cold in the north for a Georgia boy,
It was colder at home in my mother's employ.
I went to the city just to spread out my wings
But it was a pity when my heart couldn't sing
CHORUS
What's wrong with me,
It's far beyond you.
And nobody knows
Where the cold winds blow from
Or where they go when they’re through.
VERSE
I was hell-bent for learning, but the world kept on turning
And my heart kept on yearning for something to hold.
But my head kept on spinning, the world kept on sinning,
And my eyes kept on brimming with tears in the cold.
CHORUS
VERSE
The crows are all calling, and the leaves are all falling
And I feel like I'm crawling like the prodigal son.
There's a cold that's forever in your heart, at your center;
And all through the winter, it’s been coming down.
VERSE
The train keeps on clacking on down the tracks, and
I'm heading back to where I come from.
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5. |
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VERSE
My name is O.E. Parker;
What it means only God and the Navy and my mama know.
All of my life I’ve been running from something,
Maybe God or the Navy or my mama or the government.
CHORUS
I knew a boy with his mouth hanging down to his shoes
Now he’s covered in the blood and tattoo blues,
Till I find that child again, I’ll keep running.
VERSE
I broke my teeth on the Rock of Ages,
Chewed every word till it made my stomach turn.
God the Father and Uncle Sam
Didn’t make a prophet, just a man with a tongue that burns.
CHORUS
VERSE
I tried to make myself with a new tattoo
Tried to gain the whole world, but it got underneath my skin.
But you can’t outrun the sonic speed of love,
It's lightning striking, dying to be born again.
CHORUS
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6. |
Save Your Life and Drive
05:19
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I was hiking down the highway to Mobile, Alabama,
Had one good arm and a nine-pound hammer.
I took a turn up a washed-out gravel road,
Saw a little old lady just a-squatting like a toad on her porch swing;
Her thirty-something daughter rocked there beside her, drooling out the side of her mouth.
I ain't a smart man, but I could see this whole thing was heading south...right quick.
"Save your life and drive,
You better save your life and drive."
She looked me over like I was an old used car;
Said "There's work to be done, if a working man's what you are."
I said, "You can cut me open, but you still won't know just what I am, ma’am."
She said, "You might have one arm, but honey, I think you're a man."
Out in the barn, I could see her car, and her statement I couldn't deny,
And what's the harm in painting up an old barn and a couple chicken coops anyway?
"You better save your life and drive
Save your life and drive."
Have you ever seen a mother try to sell her daughter?
Said "Look at her there, she's a pure drink of water."
She was talking with the chickens and clawing in the dust;
Said "A woman like that won't give you no fuss."
I looked at the paint peeling from the roof, and I said "Ma'am, it might be a sin,
But give me a hundred dollars, I can get that old house painted,
Maybe get that car running again (if you know what I mean)."
"Save your life and drive, you better save your life and drive."
The wedding day came on the first of the year;
Got that house painted and that car out of second gear.
Mama slipped me the money and she kissed her daughter goodbye.
We stopped five miles away at a roadside diner, and I ordered two turkeys on rye.
The boy behind the counter, he gaped at her, said she looks just like an angel of God.
I slipped out the door and said over my shoulder, "Tell him hi, and I hope he ain't mad."
You gotta save your life and drive,
You better save your life and drive."
Twenty miles down that road, I had dust in my eye,
There was a dark cloud heavy as an iron anvil, it was hanging in the sky.
Saw a barefoot boy walking beside of the ditch--
I stopped, cranked open my window, and yelled out, "C’mon, boy, get in.
Thank your ma and your lucky stars that I stopped, storm comin', ain't no place to hide."
He said, "My ma's the meanest bitch* that ever cut a switch, you better save your life and drive.
"Save your life and drive,
You better save your life and drive."
And I left that boy right beside of the road,
Cause you don’t talk about your mama that way.
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7. |
Parker's Back
04:40
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VERSE
I’ve been running from the name my mama gave me as a child.
She wanted her a godly boy, didn’t know that god was wild.
She tried to drag me to revival, so I ran off to the fleet,
They stuck me full of pins and needles, they’re still itching in my feet.
The Navy and my mama were the only ones who knew
Till something burning deep inside made me tell it straight to you.
CHORUS 1
Obadiah Elihu’s my name.
I’ve been running from it all my life, and I guess that it’s a shame,
But this restless heart, it takes attentive loving just to tame,
And Obadiah Elihu’s my name.
VERSE
You look at me as happy as a cat that’s stepped in shit,
I can’t help it if the highway promised it would scratch my itch.
I don’t even like your cooking—girl, you’d burn up butter beans,
You’re so damn busy praying, you forgot the pork in the collard greens.
Somehow I married you, though I’d almost rather die,
All I get are words like icepicks, they’re still sticking in my side.
CHORUS 1
VERSE
Well, we never promised heaven, but this house is cold as hell;
How can you love your neighbor, if you don’t love yourself.
I do confess that I love drinking, cigarettes, and sin,
I got the image of the living God tattooed into my skin.
But you beat him when you saw him, till it burst my brittle heart,
His eyes were like a burning light, you’d rather love me in the dark.
CHORUS 2
Obadiah Elihu’s my name.
I’ve been running from it all my life, and I guess that it’s a shame,
But it sure caught my attention when that tree went up in flames.
And Obadiah Elihu’s my name.
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8. |
Temple of the Holy Ghost
04:28
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You could sit in an office, you could drive a train,
You could sit in prison, a number without a name,
But you’re the temple of the Holy Ghost.
You could stand on the corner of a city street
With a Bible in your hand or high heels on your feet.
You’re the temple of the Holy Ghost.
You’re a child of Adam, child of Eve,
How precious did that truth appear the hour I first believed.
You’re the temple of the Holy Ghost.
Take the hat off your head, the socks off your toes,
It don’t matter what’s underneath your clothes.
You’re the temple of the Holy Ghost.
You could live in a house, you could live in a car,
But who do you, who do you, who do you think you are?
You’re the temple of the Holy Ghost.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust
The glass heart breaks, and the steel heart rusts,
You’re the temple of the Holy Ghost.
Look to your left, look to your right
Look there behind you, look straight into my eyes.
You’re the temple of the Holy Ghost.
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9. |
Run to the River
04:12
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VERSE
That river is wide, that river is deep,
It's got a long way to run before it rolls into the sea.
I hear paradise is far away,
But I'll follow its call down to the river to pray.
CHORUS
Is it wide, is it deep enough to wash my sins away?
I don't know, but I still go to the river to pray.
VERSE
The city lights imitate the stars
And drown them in the void behind the neon signs and bars.
My faithful feet, they never strayed,
But led me down to join them, down to the river to pray.
CHORUS
VERSE
I stopped by a farm where I'd had kin.
There weren't nothing there but a tarpaper shack and a pig in the pen.
That pig got out, chased me down the lane,
And I ran, yes I ran down to the river to pray.
CHORUS
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10. |
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I was hiking down the highway to Mobile, Alabama,
Had one good arm and a nine-pound hammer.
I took a turn up a washed-out gravel road,
Saw a little old lady just a-squatting like a toad on her porch swing;
Her thirty-something daughter rocked there beside her, drooling out the side of her mouth.
I ain't a smart man, but I could see this whole thing was heading south...right quick.
"Save your life and drive,
You better save your life and drive."
She looked me over like I was an old used car;
Said "There's work to be done, if a working man's what you are."
I said, "You can cut me open, but you still won't know just what I am, ma’am."
She said, "You might have one arm, but honey, I think you're a man."
Out in the barn, I could see her car, and her statement I couldn't deny,
And what's the harm in painting up an old barn and a couple chicken coops anyway?
"You better save your life and drive
Save your life and drive."
Have you ever seen a mother try to sell her daughter?
Said "Look at her there, she's a pure drink of water."
She was talking with the chickens and clawing in the dust;
Said "A woman like that won't give you no fuss."
I looked at the paint peeling from the roof, and I said "Ma'am, it might be a sin,
But give me a hundred dollars, I can get that old house painted,
Maybe get that car running again (if you know what I mean)."
"Save your life and drive, you better save your life and drive."
The wedding day came on the first of the year;
Got that house painted and that car out of second gear.
Mama slipped me the money and she kissed her daughter goodbye.
We stopped five miles away at a roadside diner, and I ordered two turkeys on rye.
The boy behind the counter, he gaped at her, said she looks just like an angel of God.
I slipped out the door and said over my shoulder, "Tell him hi, and I hope he ain't mad."
You gotta save your life and drive,
You better save your life and drive."
Twenty miles down that road, I had dust in my eye,
There was a dark cloud heavy as an iron anvil, it was hanging in the sky.
Saw a barefoot boy walking beside of the ditch--
I stopped, cranked open my window, and yelled out, "C’mon, boy, get in.
Thank your ma and your lucky stars that I stopped, storm comin', ain't no place to hide."
He said, "My ma's the meanest witch that ever cut a switch, you better save your life and drive.
"Save your life and drive,
You better save your life and drive."
And I left that boy right beside of the road,
Cause you don’t talk about your mama that way.
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11. |
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VERSE
I’ve been running from the name my mama gave me as a child.
She wanted her a godly boy, didn’t know that god was wild.
She tried to drag me to revival, so I ran off to the fleet,
They stuck me full of pins and needles, they’re still itching in my feet.
The Navy and my mama were the only ones who knew
Till something burning deep inside made me tell it straight to you.
CHORUS 1
Obadiah Elihu’s my name.
I’ve been running from it all my life, and I guess that it’s a shame,
But this restless heart, it takes attentive loving just to tame,
And Obadiah Elihu’s my name.
VERSE
You look at me as happy as a cat that’s stepped in crap,
I can’t help it if the highway promised more than just its scraps.
I don’t even like your cooking—girl, you’d burn up butter beans,
You’re so busy praying, you forgot the pork in the collard greens.
Somehow I married you, though I’d almost rather die,
All I get are words like icepicks, they’re still sticking in my side.
CHORUS 1
VERSE
Well, we never promised heaven, but this house is cold as hell;
How can you love your neighbor, if you don’t love yourself.
I do confess that I love drinking, cigarettes, and sin,
I got the image of the living God tattooed into my skin.
But you beat him when you saw him, till it burst my brittle heart,
His eyes were like a burning light, you’d rather love me in the dark.
CHORUS 2
Obadiah Elihu’s my name.
I’ve been running from it all my life, and I guess that it’s a shame,
But it sure caught my attention when that tree went up in flames.
And Obadiah Elihu’s my name.
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Colin Cutler Greensboro, North Carolina
Armed with a guitar, banjo, a brace of harmonicas, Colin tells stories of love and loss with characters wide open as a Midwest sky and wild as the mountains, with poetry thick as a Carolina swamp.
Colin Cutler recommends:
With a Patsy Cline-powered voice and jazzy rock band, with lyrics dark and deep as swampwater, these guys are the real deal. Also, we recorded my Peacock Feathers EP together.
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