Songs of the Week 139: Cooley Drankin' Songs

[Smitty]

This week I'll offer up two lost Cooley classics, "3 on the Tree" & "Blue Law Blues" (the latter tackles a subject matter I'm all too familiar with)

3 on the Tree

First time I got pulled over while driving under the influence,
I was coming out of Nashville late one night.
I'd been drinking rotgut whiskey and it didn't agree with me.
And I showed my ass to everyone in sight.

I was driving an old, beat-up, black, 66 Ford pickup,
twin I-beam with a 3 on the tree.
Didn't have no dash lights, couldn't tell how fast I was going
till I saw that Tennessee trooper coming after me.

Two of my good buddies were in a car behind me,
and they just knew that I was going to jail.
They'd been with me all night, and despite their best intentions
I went right on and got myself drunk to hell.

They said they were doing 80, or maybe more when I passed 'em.
And I went by like they were sitting still.
And Ol' Smokey jumped the median with his blue lights a flashin'.
He came up hard and fast on my tail.

Well he wrote me up for speeding, and he wrote me up a warning,
for the tail lights I didn't seem to have.
And just when I thought I felt sweet relief coming,
he looked up and stopped writing on his pad.

He grinned just a little and then asked if I'd been drinking.
I lied and said that two was all I'd had.
He said "Well, if you can hold that ol' truck on the road going that fast,
in my book you can't be doing too bad."

I sat there with my freedom in the hands of the lawman;
dead-to-rights, DWI I was.
My fate played out before me, three months without a license
and how it was gonna break my mama's heart.

I'm sorry to have to tell you, I don't think I learned my lesson.
From time to time I still drive when I'm drunk.
And if I go on living, and keep being so hard-headed,
I'm gonna drink and drive myself right out of luck.

(Alternate verse)
Well, son I hope you're listening, there's a lesson to be learned
but it probably ain't the one you're thinking about.
You don't need me to tell you, a hard head and harder liquor
won't turn you into nothing but inside-out.

If there's one thing that I ain't done since that night in Tennessee,
something that I ain't done one time since.
It changed me forever, and I think I'm better for it:
I never cussed that old pickup again.

Blue Law Blues


I woke up on fire this morning,
and it just ain't my style to drop and roll.
When I hit the ground, Lord I hit the ground running.
Heading straight for something tall and cold.

What I did last night, Lord I just can't remember.
I don't even know how I got home.
If I bought some beer, well I guess I must have drank it.
It's Sunday now and I can't get no more.

Damn the law, and damn the light that wakes me.
I just want to lay here all day long.
Kicking at the covers, feeling helpless as a baby.
I'll praise the Lord when Sunday's come and gone.

There's preaching on the radio and there's preaching on the TV.
Biscuits on the table getting cold.
And I'm pacing back and forth, looking for some satisfaction.
Pouring hot black coffee down my throat.

Don't know if I'm a heathen, but I know I am a sinner.
Jesus said I was and He ain't wrong.
Lord's been good to me and I show my gratitude
by leaving Him alone on His day off.

Woke up on fire this morning.
And I'll go to bed tonight much the same way.
Monday morning's blue to me, just like it is for you.
By Monday night I'll be feeling OK.
By Monday night I'll be feeling OK.

Damn the law, and damn the light that wakes me.
I just want to lay here all day long.
Kicking at the covers, feeling helpless as a baby.
I'll praise the Lord when Sunday's come and gone.
I'll praise the Lord when Sunday's come and gone.

they both can be found on Airplane Screams

thanks to oneofthesedays.org for lyrics

[Iowan]

Good shit Smitty. This thread got me to dig back into Airplane Screams. So many great songs sitting out there, floating around the Truckersphere. All the Cooley songs in that collection are top notch, and I'd love to see them on proper DBT releases.

I can relate to the Blue Law blues too. Iowa is thankfully exempt, but I often find myself shopping on Sundays in Minnesota, the only place you can buy Surly beer. Which is some of the best beer I've ever had. And I can't buy it on Sundays, when I tend to be there, because Minnesota has Blue Laws.

Fuckin' Minnesota.