I Was In The House When The House Burned Down
Warren Zevon
© Zevon Music (BMI)

I had the shit ‘til it all got smoked
I kept the promise ‘til the vow got broke
I had to drink from the lovin' cup
I stood on the banks  ‘til the river rose up
I saw the bride in her wedding gown
I was in the house when the house burned down

I may be old and I may be bent
But I had the money ‘til it all got spent
I had the money ‘til they made me pay
Then I had the sense to be on my way
I had to stay in the underground
I was in the house when the house burned down

I was in the house when the house burned down
I met the man with the thorny crown
I helped Him carry his cross through town
I was in the house when the house burned down

I was in the house when the house burned down
I met the man with the thorny crown
I helped Him carry his cross through town
I was in the house when the house burned down

I had the shit ‘til it all got smoked
I kept the promise ‘til the vow got broke
I had to drink from the lovin' cup
I stood on the banks ‘til the river rose up
I saw the bride in her wedding gown
I was in the house when the house burned down


Life'll Kill Ya
Warren Zevon
© Zevon Music (BMI)

You've got an invalid haircut
It hurts when you smile
You'd better get out of town
Before your nickname expires
It's the Kingdom of the Spiders
It's the Empire of the Ants
You need a permit to walk around downtown
You need a license to dance

Life'll kill ya
That's what I said
Life'll kill ya
Then you'll be dead
Life'll find you
Wherever you go
Requiescat in pace
That's all she wrote

From the President of the United States
To the lowliest rock and roll star
The doctor is in and he'll see you now
He don't care who you are
Some get the awful, awful diseases
Some get the knife, some get the gun
Some get to die in their sleep
At the age of a hundred and one

Life'll kill ya
That's what I said
Life'll kill ya
Then you'll be dead
Life'll find you
Wherever you go
Requiescat in pace
That's all she wrote

Maybe you'll go to heaven
See Uncle Al and Uncle Lou
Or maybe you'll be reincarnated
Maybe that stuff's true
Maybe if you were good
You'll come back as someone nice
And maybe if you were bad
You'll have to pay the price
Life'll kill ya
That's what I said
Life'll kill ya
Then you'll be dead
Life'll find you
Wherever you go
Requiescat in pace
That's all she wrote


Porcelain Monkey
Warren Zevon & Jorge Calderón
©Zevon Music (BMI)/Googolplex Music (BMI)

He was an accident waiting to happen
Most accidents happen at home
Maybe he should've gone out more often
Maybe he should've answered the phone

Hip-shakin' shoutin' in gold lamé
That's how he earned his regal sobriquet
Then he threw it all away
For a porcelain monkey

He threw it away for a porcelain monkey
Gave it all up for a figurine
He traded it in for a night in Las Vegas
And his face on velveteen

From a shotgun shack singing Pentecostal hymns
Through the wrought iron gates to the TV room
He had a little world, it was smaller than your hand
It's a rockabilly ride from the glitter to the gloom

Left behind by the latest trends
Eating fried chicken with his regicidal friends
That's how the story ends
With a porcelain monkey

He threw it away for a porcelain monkey
Gave it all up for a figurine
He traded it in for a night in Las Vegas
And his face on velveteen

Porcelain Monkey
Har Har Har Har

Hip-shakin' shoutin' in gold lamé
That's how he earned his regal sobriquet
Then he threw it all away
For a porcelain monkey

He threw it away for a porcelain monkey
Gave it all up for a figurine
He traded it in for a night in Las Vegas
And his face on velveteen

Porcelain Monkey
Har Har Har Har
Porcelain Monkey
Hey Hey Hey Hey
Porcelain Monkey


For My Next Trick I'll Need A Volunteer
Warren Zevon
© Zevon Music (BMI)

Well, I can saw a woman in two
But you won't want to look in the box when I’m through
I can make love disappear
For my next trick I'll need a volunteer

I can pull a rabbit out of a hat
I can pull it out but I can't put it back
I can make love disappear
For my next trick I'll need a volunteer
Step right up
For my next trick I'll need a volunteer
For my next trick I'll need a volunteer
Step right up
For my next trick I'll need a volunteer

It's lonely up here
When the tricks have been played
And the spotlights have faded
And the plans that we made
Have fallen apart
It's lonely as hell
And there's no magic spell
For a broken heart

Put me in chains and I will escape
Better not wait up 'cause I might be late
I can make love disappear
For my next trick I'll need a volunteer

Well, it's lonely up here
When the tricks have been played
And the spotlights have faded
And the plans that we made
Have fallen apart
It's lonely as hell
And there's no magic spell
For a broken heart

I can saw a woman in two
But you won't want to look in the box when I’m through
I can make love disappear
For my next trick I'll need a volunteer
Step right up
For my next trick I'll need a volunteer
For my next trick I'll need a volunteer
Step right up
For my next trick I'll need a volunteer


I'll Slow You Down
Warren Zevon
© Zevon Music (BMI)

You know I hate it when you stick your hand inside my head
And switch all my priorities around
Why don't you go pick on someone your own size instead?
Go on without me, I'll just slow you down
Go on without me, I'll just slow you down

You always say you know me somehow I don't think you do
Maybe you should buy another vowel
You're jumping to conclusions so I can't keep up with you
Go on without me, I'll just slow you down

I'll just hold you up
When I fall behind
I'll just throw your schedule off
So you get going if you're so inclined

You know I hate it when you stick your hand inside my head
And switch all my priorities around
You think you're pretty tricky but you're simply overbred
Go on without me, I'll just slow you down
Go on
Go on
Go on
Go on


Hostage-O
Warren Zevon
© Zevon Music (BMI)

I can see me bound and gagged
Dragged behind the clownmobile
You can treat me like a dog
If you make me feel what others feel
You can train me, you can drain me
If you make me lose control
I will be your prisoner
I will be your hostage-o
I will be your prisoner
I will be your hostage-o

All you have to do is ask
I'll be happy to say yes
I'll put on the creepy mask
If you'll grant me some forgetfulness
You can strain me, you can maim me
You can chain me to the floor
I will be your prisoner
I will be your hostage-o
I will be your prisoner
I will be your hostage-o

And this loneliness--
Unbearable
And it all goes by so slow
I will stand in line
For the sacrifice
For the shamefaced love
Of the ugly vice
I will pay the price to see how far you'll go
Let me be your prisoner
Let me be your hostage-o

I can see me bound and gagged
Dragged behind the clownmobile
You can treat me like a dog
If you make me feel what others feel
You can sprain me, you can blame me
If you make me lose control
I will be your prisoner
I will be your hostage-o
I will be your prisoner
I will be your hostage-o


Dirty Little Religion
Warren Zevon
© Zevon Music (BMI)

I like to think I've earned my reputation
For rushing in where angels fear to tread
I'll take you home to meet the congregation
We'll all get together in my tent

I make a dirty little religion out of lovin'
I'll make a dirty little convert out of you
I make a dirty little religion out of lovin'
I'll make a dirty little convert out of you

They treat you like a red-headed stepchild
And try to keep you nailed to the floor
Join us for the countdown to the Rapture
We’ve never turned a sinner from our door

I make a dirty little religion out of lovin'
I'll make a dirty little convert out of you
I make a dirty little religion out of lovin'
It's a dirty little religion, hallelujah

Dirty little acolyte
Dirty little one
Learn the fundamentals of desire
Can I get a witness
To my testament?
Can I get an amen from the choir?

Dirty little religion
Dirty little religion
Dirty little religion
Dirty little religion
I like to think I've earned my reputation
For trying to take the bull by the horns
I'll show you where I get my inspiration
Where we plow and where we plant the corn

I make a dirty little religion out of lovin'
I'll make a dirty little convert out of you
I make a dirty little religion out of lovin'
It's a dirty little religion, hallelujah

Dirty little acolyte
Dirty little one
Learn the fundamentals of desire
Can I get a witness
To my testament?
Can I get an amen from the choir?

Back In The High Life Again
Steve Winwood & Will Jennings
© 1986 F.S. Music; administered by Warner/Tamerlane Publishing Corp./Willin’ David Music/Blue Sky Rider Songs (BMI)

It used to seem to me that my life ran on too fast
And I had to take it slowly just to make the good parts last
But when you’re born to run, it’s so hard to just slow down
So don’t seem surprised to see me on the brighter part of town

I’ll be back in the high life again
All the doors I closed one time will open up again
I’ll be back in the high life again
All the eyes that watched me once will smile and take me in

And I’ll drink and dance with one hand free
Let the world back into me; oh, I’ll be a sight to see
Back in the high life again

You used to be the best to make life be real to me
And I hope that you’re still out there and you’re like you used to be
We’ll have ourselves a time and we’ll dance ‘til the morning sun
We’ll let the good times come in, we won’t stop until we’re done

We’ll be back in the high life again
All the doors I closed one time will open up again
We’ll be back in the high life again
All the eyes that watched us once will smile and take us in

And we’ll drink and dance with one hand free
And have the world so easily; oh, we’ll be a sight to see
Back in the high life again

We’ll be back in the high life again
All the doors I closed one time will open up again
We’ll be back in the high life again
All the eyes that watched us once will smile and take us in
Back in the high life



My Shit's Fucked Up
Warren Zevon
© Zevon Music (BMI)

Well, I went to the doctor
I said, “I'm feeling kind of rough”
He said, “Let me break it to you, son
“Your shit's fucked up.”
I said, “My shit's fucked up?”
“Well, I don't see how--”
He said, “The shit that used to work--
“Won't work now.”

I had a dream
Ah, shucks, oh, well
Now it's all fucked up
And shot to hell

Yeah, yeah, my shit's fucked up
It has to happen to the best of us
The rich folks suffer like the rest of us
It'll happen to you

That amazing grace
Sort of passed you by
You wake up every day
And you start to cry
You want to die
But you just can't quit
Let me break it on down:
It's the fucked up shit

Yeah, my shit’s fucked up
Fucked up


Fistful of Rain
Warren Zevon & Jorge Calderón
© Zevon Music (BMI)/Googolplex Music (BMI)

You can dream the American Dream
But you sleep with the lights on
And wake up with a scream
You can hope against hope
That nothing will change
Grab a hold of that fistful of rain
Grab a hold, grab a hold, grab a hold
Grab a hold, grab a hold, grab a hold of that
fistful of rain

When your grasp has exceeded your reach
And you put all your faith
In a figure of speech
You've heard all the answers
But the questions remain
Grab a hold of that fistful of rain

Grab a hold, grab a hold, grab a hold
Grab a hold, grab a hold, grab a hold of that
fistful of rain

And when diamonds turn back into coal
Grab a hold, children, grab a hold
When the mountains crumble
And you're ready to rumble
And roll like a runaway train...

And when diamonds turn back into coal
Grab a hold, children, grab a hold
When the mountains crumble
And you're ready to rumble
And roll like a runaway train...

In a heart there are windows and doors
You can let the light in
You can feel the wind blow
When there's nothing to lose
And nothing to gain
Grab a hold of that fistful of rain

Grab a hold, grab a hold, grab a hold
Grab a hold, grab a hold, grab a hold of that
Fistful of rain
Grab a hold, grab a hold, grab a hold of that
Fistful of rain
Grab a hold, grab a hold, grab a hold of that
Fistful of rain
Grab a hold, grab a hold, grab a hold of that
Fistful of rain
Grab a hold, grab a hold, grab a hold of that
Fistful of rain
Grab a hold, grab a hold, grab a hold of that
Fistful of rain


Ourselves To Know
Warren Zevon
© Zevon Music (BMI)

We left Constantinople in a thousand ninety-nine
To restore the one True Cross was in this heart of mine
To bring it to Jerusalem and then sail home to Rhodes
We took that holy ride ourselves to know
We took that holy ride ourselves to know

Everyone got famous, everyone got rich
Everyone went off the rails and ended in the ditch
We had to take that long, hard road to see where it would go
Yeah, we took that holy ride ourselves to know
We took that holy ride ourselves to know

Now if you make a pilgrimage I hope you find your grail
Be loyal to the ones you leave with even if you fail
Be chivalrous to strangers you meet along the road
As you take that holy ride yourselves to know
You take that holy ride yourselves to know


Don't Let Us Get Sick
Warren Zevon
© Zevon Music (BMI)

Don't let us get sick
Don't let us get old
Don't let us get stupid, all right?
Just make us be brave
And make us play nice
And let us be together tonight

The sky was on fire
When I walked to the mill
To take up the slack in the line
I thought of my friends
And the troubles they've had
To keep me from thinking of mine

Don't let us get sick
Don't let us get old
Don't let us get stupid, all right?
Just make us be brave
And make us play nice
And let us be together tonight

The moon has a face
And it smiles on the lake
And causes the ripples in Time
I'm lucky to be here
With someone I like
Who maketh my spirit to shine

Don't let us get sick
Don't let us get old
Don't let us get stupid, all right?
Just make us be brave
And make us play nice
And let us be together tonight



Warren Zevon: Vocals, Guitar, Piccolo, Pennywhistle, Theremin* and Percussion
Jorge Calderón: Vocals, Bass Guitar and Percussion
Winston Watson: Drums and Percussion

Chuck Prophet: Guitar (“For My Next Trick I’ll Need A Volunteer”)
Jimmy Ryan: Mandolin (“Ourselves To Know”)
Babi Floyd, Dennis Collins, and Curtis King: Vocals (“Fistful Of Rain”)


*Theremin on “Porcelain Monkey”