April the 14th, Pt. 1 - Gillian Welch

When the iceberg hit,

Oh they must of known

God moves on the water

Like Casey Jones.

So I walked downtown

On my telephone

And took a lazy turn

Through the red-eye zone

It was a five band bill

A two dollar show

I saw the van out front

From Idaho

And a girl passed out

In the backseat trash

There was no way they’d make

Even a half a tank of gas.

They looked sick and stoned

And strangely dressed

No one showed

From the local press

But I watched them walk

Through the bottom land

And I wished I played

In a rock and roll band

Hey, hey

It was the 14th day of April

Well they closed it down

With the sails in rags

And they swept up the fags

And the local rags

Threw the plastic cups

Into plastic bags

And the cooks cleaned the kitchen

With the staggers and the jags.

Ruination day

And the sky was red

I went back to work

And back to bed

And the iceberg broke

And the Okies fled

And the Great Emancipator

Took a bullet in the back of the head