Tom Waits — Get Behind the Mule

Molly b'Damn smote Jimmy the Harp With a horrid little pistol and a lariat She's goin' to the bottom And she's goin' down the drain Said she wasn't big enough to carry it She got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow Got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow She got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow Get behind the mule in the morning and plow Choppity-chop goes the axe in the woods You gotta meet me by the fall down tree Shovel full of dirt upon a coffin lid And I know they'll come lookin' for me boys And I know they'll come a-lookin' for me Got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow Get behind the mule in the morning and plow Get behind the mule in the morning and plow Get behind the mule in the morning and plow Big Jack Earle was 8'1' He stood in the road and he cried He couldn't make her love him And couldn't make her stay But tell the good Lord that he tried Got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow Get behind the mule in the morning and plow You got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow Got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow Dusty trail from Atchison to Placerville On the wreck of the Weaverville stage Beulah fired on Beatty for a lemonade I was stirring my brandy with a nail, boys Stirring my brandy with a nail Got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow Get behind the mule in the morning and plow You got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow Get behind the mule in the morning and plow Well the rampaging sons of the widow James Jack the Cutter and the pock-marked kid Had to stand naked at the bottom of the cross And tell the good Lord what they did Tell the good Lord what they did You got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow Get behind the mule in the morning and plow You got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow Get behind the mule in the morning and plow Punctuated birds on the power line In a Studebaker with Birdie Joe Hoaks I'm diggin' all the way to China with a silver spoon While the hangman fumbles with the noose, boys The hangman fumbles with the noose You got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow Get behind the mule in the morning and plow You got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow Get behind the mule in the morning and plow Pin your ear to the wisdom post Pin your eye to the line Never let the weeds get higher than the garden Always keep a sapphire in your mind Always keep a diamond in your mind You got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow Got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow Got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow Got to get behind the mule in the morning and plow