We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.
/

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $1 USD  or more

     

  • Buy the Full Digital Album

lyrics

Shelby Cobra

Daddy was a fighting man / learned to walk then he ran
earned what he could / to steal what he can
mamma she'd just shake her head / thankful for the warm bed
and them little pills / that kept her living in her own head
I grew up in between the doors in the hall / bought a record player and bounced off the wall
learned to play a guitar / never got very far
singing Badlee songs in the back of some dive bar
free townie women and drafts all night / wake up in the morning with another case of stage fright
Cheetos and a road trip / learn to leave and learn to tip
ain't afraid of nothing 'cept a little bit of kinship

Shelby Cobra is my name / and with it comes all the shame
of all the things I've done to keep you feeling just the same
told I got a son / coulda been anyone
I guess that's what you get for 30 years of one and done
Beer and chasers and a credit card / Burstin’ at the seams from trying too hard
Creepin’ time, creepin’ gray / Gonna get you anyway
So why not leave a corpse that looks good during the day
Roll up my wisdom in a sleeping bag / And listen to Levon sing ‘Rag Mama Rag’
Feel lonesome feel bad / Feeling sick or feeling glad
At least you feel something that’s the best I ever had

They used to say “join the corps../ Maybe you’ll get a war”
Get yourself a medal and bury it in your drawer
Maybe a GI loan / Get some blood from a stone
At least you got some stuff to remember when you’re all alone
But I sleep ‘till noon that’s a natural fact / Had a 9 to 5 but I ended up sacked
Lazy is as lazy does / Sometimes just because
I was all that I could be before I know what all that was
Dying is a drag I must’ve read that somewhere / Got myself a flower and wore it in my hair
So that’s how I got here / It all seems pretty clear
Until I put my shaking hands on this here steering wheel

Watching movies in my head / Go to sleep when I’m dead
Tried to take the fork but I wound up here instead
Argue with an echo / Wanna stay but then I go
Split the bloody difference by pulling out real slow
Rear view mirror ain’t got nothin on me / ‘Cause I only look at what I wanna see
Maybe I’ll write a book / That takes a deeper look
At all the scar tissues that forms like a new crook
‘Learnin’ all the ropes at the foot of a man / With no self doubt so he couldn’t understand
Hey ho rock and roll / Population overflow
Maybe you do need a weatherman to know that the wind blows

credits

from Tales From PA 6, released June 21, 2018

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Tom Flannery image

Tom Flannery Scranton, Pennsylvania

"One of the most gifted songwriters to emerge at the turn of the century"
-- The All Music Guide

contact / help

Contact Tom Flannery

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this track or account

If you like Tom Flannery, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Fabiana Palladino stops by to talk about her mesmeric debut LP.
listen now