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 me kindly
And they furnish me with tape
But deep inside my heart
I know I 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' I 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 I speed 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
Is this really the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again
Now the T-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 to him
Then I whispered and said "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
The other was just railroad gin
An' 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 I can watch her waltz for free
'Neath her Panamanian moon
An' I say, "Aw, come on now
You know you know about my debutante"
An' she says, "Your debutante just knows what you need
But I know what you 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
Is this really the end?
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again