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King Snake Motor Blues

by Josh Pastor

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1.
King Snake Motor Blues A hot rod drove off the road last night headlights shining in the cold moonlight When old Davey Barrett pulled the car from the lake Under that hood were eleven king snakes What's under that hood? Boy it ain't nothing good The carburetor's missing Instead the snakes are hissing Someone put a spell On that old black DeVille Billy ray never came home from the mill They say he drove off in that old black DeVille Someone saw him racing on the levee alone The engine was a-hissin' like it gonna explode They found Billy Ray down the river tonight Up and down his arms were eleven snake bites Old Davey Barrett said he don't know what to make Cause he never seen an engine with eleven king snakes
2.
Conjure Man 04:39
Conjure Man I'm the road when it's shining in the midnight rain I'm the blood when it's running from the alleyway I'm the steel in your hand I'm your trouble when it lands I'm your conjure man I'm the stars when they're falling from a crowded sky I'm the questions that remain when you wonder why I'm the riddle in the sand That you'll never understand I'm your conjure man I'm the smoke when it rises In the pale moonlight I'm the coal when it smolders In the coldest night I'm the broken minute hand Ticking back where it began I'm your conjure man
3.
Bring Me Back When this world i do part And blood lay idle in my heart Call Madáme Beauchene to my grave So she can bring the color to my veins Bring me back Oh bring me back When that bell tolls for me Not for long will I hear it ring Hoodoo woman come where I lay And speak the words I want you to say Bring me back Oh bring me back I want to rise up from that hole I'm in And feel the moonlight On my skin Bring me back Tell me know what can be found Laying forever in the cold cold ground Whisper to me your magic words And I will crawl through the stones and earth
4.
Static in the air trouble on the road Las Cruzes in the rear view mirror Tommy two snake driving close If I don't cross the border lord I'll be dead in El Paso Well Tom he was hustler From Memphis Tennessee One day he looked the other way And I took all I could steal Lord he's driving closer now That weapon pointing at my door I was on the road to Mexico Now I'm dead in El Paso Now I ride a pale horse My horse is a black 442 See me snaking round the bend Down old highway 62 Forever here I shake my bones Cause I'm dead in El Paso
5.
The Good with the Bad There's a rust on the plow But the dirt still turns There's a blight on the trees But the wood still burns There's a mark on my heart From when you left that day But you're here standing with me Now anyway I take the good with the bad 'Cause I'm tired of trying to fix everything. I got a headlight out But the other one shines I got ten miles of gas But I only need nine Sirens on the road but they go they other way There's a blood red moon Before the break of day. I take the good with the bad 'Cause I'm tired of trying to fix everything I see the sun shine through a broken window I'm drinking moonshine By the walls of Jericho They call the wild card of a one eyed queen I got two nines and a suicide king I take the good with the bad 'Cause I'm tired of trying to fix everything
6.
Bad Things In Store for Me Spin your web Entangle me I can see that poison Dripping from your teeth The trap is set So delicately I can tell that you got Bad things in store for me Up ahead A blood red sky To match the color Of your eyes Darkness falls So wickedly I can tell that you got Bad things in store for me I knew that you were dangerous Right from the start With the face of Venus And the blackest heart No hoodoo charm No slight of hand Can deliver me from this Trouble I'm in I can beg And I can plead But I can tell that you got Bad things in store for me
7.
Bad Like Me 03:41
Bad Like Me You wonder why your brothers Ain't half as bad as you They're bringing home the grades You're breaking all the rules You got midnight on your mind And diesel in your veins It's cause I'm your real daddy Your mother's got something to explain Now your in trouble with the law Everybody knows your name Driving everybody crazy But they can't stay away You're better looking than your father You're twice the trouble too It's cause I'm your real daddy Your mother ain't been straight with you I know you're the black sheep But that ain't always bad With low expectations There's freedom to be had So ride on to midnight Don't look back to see Cause I'm you're real daddy That's why you're bad like me.
8.
They Call Me Hoodoo Brown There's lightening on the hills There's fire on the tracks Ain't nothing in this world Can turn a ten-wheel back They call me Hoodoo Brown No preacher knows my name. With red ink on my sleeve, Ain't got no soul to save. Don't you go to Trusdale, Them folks got venom in their veins. The street are made of bones And they call the mayor "Old Samhain." Witching rod won't turn, Ain't no place to drive a well. I'm twenty miles from water Lord, I'm only six feet from hell. Brother if you're with me in the end, Listen to me close don't you misunderstand. Never you pray my soul to keep Just float my body down Skeleton Creek. Float me down that Skeleton Creek Where the cottonwood blooms and the water's deep. If you see me floating downriver my friend, Won't you fill my pockets With heavy stones and lead.
9.
The Madness in Your Eyes Behind the glowing of the screen Nothing is just what it seems Got the dark art of persuasion From the television to the invasion Trouble, trouble, Falluja's way Ain't the same since Abu Ghraib Take the town for the lot of us We'll paint it white with phosphorous This ain't 1944 No devil standing at the door By the madness in your eyes This one looks like '65 Mother, mother, of all bombs Our daughter of Vietnam Win your war win control Win control and lose your soul The desert ain't no place to hide Run, run, while you're still alive Back home ain't no work for you They gone and stole your future too
10.
The Ballad of Old Scratch The streetlights flickered When he walked underneath, A three-quarter moon Shining in his teeth. He was looking for John, found him drunk on the lawn, Singing bout how his whole his life gone wrong. He said "Hey John you could wager and win. just pick a card, you'll live all over again. But if you guess wrong you'll be singing a song Forever and a day upon my front lawn." A man and his dog Walking through the fog tapping on the tracks with his cane all along. He said "goddam how I wish I could see!" Well the dog started howling and then there were three. A man in black pulled a card from the stack. He threw it on the ground and asked "red or black?" "Guess accurately and I swear you will see But if you guess wrong you'll be seeing lots of me." I met a man in a downtown bar with Hands full of scars and a gambler's heart. He built the levees down in New Orleans, working for a man named Mephistopheles. He said hey Josh my soul's been lost But I'll win it back now whatever the cost Before it's too late I'll tell it to you straight, and you better listen to every word I say. He said: (Chorus) Roll don't you roll with dice made of bones Don't play your hand when your hand is known Don't split the nines on a moonless night Don't wager with a stranger When the stars are aligned Whatever may you do Don't gamble with the man tonight

credits

released November 12, 2014

Cover art credit: Eric Giles
egilesart.squarespace.com

Special thanks to Papa Rick Pastor for the many guitars I had to borrow to record this album!

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Josh Pastor Santa Cruz, California

Formerly the frontman of various hard rock and rockabilly projects, Josh Pastor’s current style is an evocative mix of hoodoo swamp blues and psychedelic rock. His latest release, King Snake Motor Blues, combines smoldering, seething hoodoo blues with poetic lyricism to create an ethereal and transportive vibe. ... more

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