"Joliet," she says, "is the darkest part of a man…"
It's angry and slick
Into her letters writes
through herself each time
she thinks of him
Trips her way down south
into mystery's mouth
and he follows her there
It's what she doesn't say
that makes you want to stay
and try to comfort her
I talked to the cousins of people who knew you
I asked them the questions they expected to hear
Like maybe a killing went down in your town
Maybe it's the prison
or the birth of barbed wire
"Joliet," she says, "is the darkest part of a man…"
It's shaped like liberty's bell
cracked and common law
and stretched out over its flaws
like an ink-less well
The hanging judge in town
records her comments down
she saves the crowd the truth -
and deals with it herself
Fills that hollow well
with nothing left to prove
I talked to mountains and streams that pushed through there
I talked to the trees that had no fruit to bear
to the colorless people that sat there
beneath her
curled up, stared
I talked to the cousins of people who knew you
I asked them the questions they expected to hear
Like maybe a killing went down in your town
Maybe it's the prison
or the birth of barbed wire
Joliet(Ian Hunter)
Way back in the 50's - you never said a wrong word
People were clean - people were mean
Children should be seen, but children should be not heard
You learned to keep your mouth shut - you did what you were told
But then one day the radio played the sound that we'd all been waiting for
The whole of our lives 'n'
I still love Rock 'n' Roll - I play it every day
Hummin' along, singin' the song
It's the only way - I know how to say what's on my mind
I get up in the morning - put the kettle on the stove
Tommy Steele croons a Guy Mitchell tune
I never felt more like singin' the blues - but if I had to choose
You know I still love rock 'n' roll
I still love rock 'n' roll (let me hear ya)
I never been to Lubbock, Texas or Memphis, Tennessee
I never washed dishes in Macon, Georgia
I wasn't half as good and I wasn't half as pretty as you
But I still got the feelings - embedded in my soul
A rebel armada - Kettering, Granada
It ain't my fault that I never grew up - I got bitten by your bug
And I still love rock 'n' roll, I still love rock 'n' roll, I still love rock
I know what you're thinkin' - it's a little bit strange to you
I know what you're thinkin' - 'cos I'm thinkin' the same way too
But oh those two little four letter words - they're all you need to know
'cos when it all comes down to it - I don't like the sound of it
When you mess around with it - I'm still in it for the thrill of it
I know you tried to kill it but
I still love rock 'n' roll - I play it every day
Hummin' along - singin' the songs
It's the only way I know how to say what's on my mind
I get up every morning - I put the coffee on the stove
The computer's gone - the turntable's on
I can't believe it's 2001 - God, I must be knockin' on
But I still love rock 'n' roll, I still love rock 'n' roll,