Cat Power

Released: October 30, 2007

Songwriter: Bob Dylan

Producer: George Drakoulias

Oh, the ragman draws circles
Up and down the block
I'd ask him what the matter was
But I know that he don't talk
And the ladies treat him kindly
And furnish him with tape
But deep inside his heart
I know he can't escape
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again

Well, Shakespeare, he's in the alley
With his pointed shoes and his bells
Speaking to some French girl
Who says she knows me well
And I would send a message
To find out if she's talked
But the post office has been stolen
And the mailbox is locked
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again

Mona tried to tell me
To stay away from the train line
She said that all the railroad men
Just drink up your blood like wine
An' he said, "Oh, I didn't know that
But then again, there's only one I've met
An' he just smoked my eyelids
An' punched my cigarette."
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again

Grandpa died last week
And now he's buried in the rocks
But everybody still talks about
How badly they were shocked
But me, I expected it to happen
I knew he'd lost control
When he built a fire on Main Street
And shot it full of holes
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again

Now the senator came down here
Showing everyone his gun
Handing out free tickets
To the wedding of his son
An' me, I nearly got busted
An' wouldn't it be my luck
To get caught without a ticket
And be discovered beneath a truck
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again

Now the preacher looked so baffled
When I asked him why he dressed
With twenty pounds of headlines
Stapled to his chest
But he cursed me when I proved it to him
Then I whispered, "Not even you can hide
You see, you're just like me
I hope you're satisfied."
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again

Now the rainman gave me two cures
Then he said, "Jump right in."
The one was Texas medicine
And the other was just railroad gin
And like a fool I mixed them
An' it strangled up my mind
An' now people just get uglier
An' I have no sense of time
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again

When Ruthie says come see her
In her honky-tonk lagoon
Where he can watch her waltz for free
'Neath her Panamanian moon
An' he says, "Aw come on now
You must know, know about my debutante."
An' she says, "Your debutante just knows what you need
But I know what you really want."
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again

Now the bricks lay on Grand Street
Where the neon madmen climb
They all fall there so perfectly
It all seems so well timed
An' here I sit so patiently
Waiting to find out what price
You have to pay to get out of
Going through all these things twice
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again

Moody ruminations on the fragile nature of life can be a tough sell, especially when they’re flecked with haunting moans and screams. But from the mid-1990s on, Chan Marshall has proven herself a singer and songwriter who can really get under your skin. Working under the name Cat Power, she’s earned a devoted, steadily growing fanbase that’s followed her from humble avant-folk beginnings. As much about atmosphere as they are melody, her records have also become successively richer in sound, soul and scope.

more tracks from the album

I’m Not There: Original Soundtrack

From the album

I’m Not There: Original Soundtrack (2007)

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Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues AgainCat Power

Cat Power

I’m Not There: Original Soundtrack