Southside Blues - Tobacco Road Lyrics

Soon as I was big enough to get a job
And save me some money
And buy me a ticket
And catch the first thing smokin′
I left, huh
And I made a promise
That if they could just keep the thought out of my mind
I'd keep my feet outside the limits
Because, uh, my part of Chicago

Just as all cities have this particular residential area
In Detroit, they call it Black Bottom
In Cleveland, they call it Euclid Avenue, 55th, 105th, Central Avenue
In Philadelphia, they call it South Street
In New York City, they call it Harlem
Drop down below the cotton curtain, they call it
In Atlanta, they call it Buttermilk Bottom

But then you come out West
Where it′s the best
In San Francisco, they call it the Fillmore District
In Los Angeles, they used to call it Watts
They changed the name, though

My baby
I speak about this place because I'm quite familiar with it
Everyone is in some sense or other
So it all boils down to the same thing, don't it?
I was speaking about this place because, you see

Now, like, in the winter time when it′s very, very cold
And it gets colder in Chicago than anywhere else on Earth
Because when it′s around ten above zero
And it's about twelve inches of snow outside
And the hawk
And I′m speaking of the almighty hawk, Mr. Wind
When he blows down the street around thirty-five, forty miles an hour
It's just like a giant razor blade blowin′ down the street

And all the clothes in the world can't help you
And when you lived in a place like I lived in
Where everybody had a key to the front hall door
′Cause it once was a flat but then they cut it up
Into kitchenette apartments

And you leave that front hall door open and the hawk get in there
Boy, you'd be called a bunch of dirty names
Before you can get in your room
I speak about this, as I said before, because I know

'Cause I was born in a dump
My mama died and my daddy got drunk
He left me here to die or grow
In the middle of Tobacco Road
I grew up in a rusty shack
All I owned was hangin′ on my back
The Lord knows how I loathe
This place called Tobacco Road
But it′s a home, yeah
The only life I've ever known

And the Lord knows I loathe Tobacco Road

Well, now you got Tommy Stolt on the piano again, folks
I′m gonna leave and get a job
With the help and the grace of God
Save my money and get rich, I know
And bring it back to Tobacco Road
Bring dynamite and a crane
Blow it up and start all over again
And I'll build a town I′ll be proud to show
And keep the name Tobacco Road

'Cause it′s a home, yeah, yeah
The only life I've ever known
I despise you 'cause you′re filthy
But I love you because you′re my home

Hey, Tobacco Road, Tobacco Road

Now you're dirty and you′re filthy, Tobacco Road
I'm gonna get me some dynamite
And I′ll bring me a crane
And then blow it up, I'll tear it down
We′ll start out all over again
Tobacco Road, Tobacco Road

I love you, yeah, because you're my home
But you're dirty and you′re filthy, Tobacco Road
I′m gonna blow you up
I'm gonna tear you down
And I′ll build me a town that I will be proud to show
But I'll keep the name
I′m gonna keep the name
I'm gonna keep the name of Tobacco Road
Of Tobacco Road

Tobacco Road, Road, Road, Road
I′m talkin' 'bout Tobacco Road, Road, yeah