One of the most beautiful songs I know of. This is the only version of it that I can listen to, because I've absorbed every bit of how Waits uses his voice in it, the sounds he makes, how he shapes his vowels, his lisp... And the story of the song is painful. And it seems so real.
...Makes me very sad.
~
hey, Charlie
hey, Charlie baby, I'm pregnant - again
and I'm livin' on ninth street
right above a dirty bookstore
off cuclid avenue
I stopped taking dope
and I quit drinking whisky
and my old man, well, he plays the trombone
and he works out at the track
he says that he loves me
even though it's not his baby
he says he's gonna raise him up
like he would his own son
he gave me a ring that was worn by his mother
and d'you know something, charlie?
the guy takes me out dancing every saturday night
and charlie baby, man, I still think about you
every time I pass a filling station
on account of all the grease you used to wear in your hair
and believe it or not, man, I've still got that record
by little anthony and the imperials
"going out of my head over you
out of my head over you..."
it's been all this time
and Charlie baby
I almost went crazy after Mario got busted
so I went back to Omaha to live with my folks
but everyone that I used to know
is either dead or in prison
so I came back to Minneapolis, honey
maybe I'll stick around for a while, now
and Charlie... well... you know
I'm holding up all right
I wish I had all the money we used to spend on dope
I'd buy me a used carlot
nah, I don't think I'd ever sell any of 'em
I'd just drive me a different car every day
depending on how I feel
and Charlie, for chrissakes man, you wanna know the truth of it?
I ain't got no husband, baby
nah, he don't play the trombone
I need to borrow money to pay this lawyer, Charlie, hey
they say I'll be eligible for parole
come valentines day
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