I used to - and probably still do - blame the old man for a number of things. Several of which he most certainly deserved! But the love of the drink is not something that I can blame him for. It was certainly his genetic trait, but it was also HIS father’s genetic trait, and HIS father’s, etc. My dad just wasn’t strong enough to break the cycle. In the end, cigarettes and booze got the better of him. But, at the very least, he got to drink a lot of beer and smoke a lot of cigarettes. I know how awful that sounds.
lyrics
All I got’s a pack of smokes, a can of Coors and a head full of jokes
A lot they’re both doing for me now
I don’t feel like being on........Can’t smoke...marathon
It’s 9 am and I’m at work somehow
I use the same rhyme all the time.........Smokes and jokes - a dozen lines -
They say all I ever sing about is booze
So I go back and double check.......They’re all right, but what’d you expect
From an Irish sonofabitch who left big shoes
I came into this world - ain’t no chance in hell
I’m my father’s son - as far as I can tell -
It’s a crooked deck, a bogus die. Best we can do is try
You can pray if you think there’s ears
But worse comes to worse: there’s Marlboros and beers
Can’t cast blame on anyone. - My father was his father’s son.
And so on adfinitum down the line.
We all do the best we can - With what we learned from our old man
And hope things keep getting better every time.
credits
from A Man Down,
released June 1, 2008
AJJ: vocals, guitar, piano, percussion, banjo, ukulele
Cory Seznec: harp
Peter Kanelous: lead guitar
Bob Hoffnar: pedal steel guitar
Lelah Simon: bull fiddle
Daniel Correa - drums
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