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Fortunes
(Fossil 187)
All songs ©1987 Joel Mabus
all rights reserved -- do not post
this material to another website!
Scroll down or click on title to read the lyrics.
To learn more about this album, click here.
To order this or any album, click here
Lucky Lucky You
Drifter's Alibi
The Kitty Ditty
It All Comes Back To You
Blues For Jimmie (Jimmie Rodgers On The Radio)
Business With The Devil
The Festival's Over
Love Is A Gamble
Lucky Lucky You
words and music ©1987 Joel Mabus
[a new version appears on the Retold album]
Well, I got me a letter just the other day;
I nearly threw the dang thing away,
But the envelope said, "I got something important to say!"
So I opened up the letter and I read the page.
It said, "Are you tired of the same old wage?
Then you might be happy to hear what I've got to say -
You may already be a winner -
you may have already won the prize!
You may already be the lucky one -
you never know until you try!
You may already have what everybody
wants to have come true -
You may already be a winner - Lucky, Lucky You!"
Well, I thought about that for a little while.
I thought a little longer and it made me smile.
You're telling me something, Ed, that I already knew.
'Cause you can try for fortune, you can try for fame,
But the winner is the one who enjoys the game -
It ain't the things that you got, it's the things that you go through.
You may already be a winner -
you may have already won the prize!
You may already be the lucky one -
you never know until you try!
You may already have what everybody
wants to have come true -
You may already be a winner - Lucky, Lucky You!"
So many people wasting their time counting sheep,
Trying to sleep that American sleep,
Wishing they could dream a little piece of that American Dream.
If they could only open up their eyes and see
The best things in life are practically free,
And the Rich and the Famous ain't half as happy as they seem.
And you may already be a winner -
you may have already won the prize.
You may already be the lucky one -
I can see it in your eyes.
You may already have what everybody
wants to have come true -
You may already be a winner - Lucky, Lucky You!
Drifter's Alibi
words and music ©1987 Joel Mabus
Some know me as a stranger, some know me as a friend,
Others, they don't know my kind at all.
I've been traveling down this highway,
thumbing every ride I can -
You know a drifter's life don't know no protocol.
And it's a cold, dark day out on the shoulder,
And those cars and trailers just keep a-rolling by.
It's the same old story getting older -
Just a lonesome drifter's alibi.
Now it seems just like forever since I hit out on the road;
My traveling shoes don't leave a blessed track.
I've seen every make and model, and every mile of road
'Til the going looks just like the coming back.
And it's a cold, dark day out on the shoulder,
And those cars and trailers just keep a-rolling by.
It's the same old story getting older -
Just a lonesome drifter's alibi.
Now some are free to ramble, some are free to roam,
Some are free to be what they will be.
And some are free to settle down, free to go back home;
Others just keep rolling on like me.
And it's a cold, dark day out on the shoulder,
And those cars and trailers just keep a-rolling by.
It's the same old story getting older -
Just a lonesome drifter's alibi.
The Kitty Ditty
words and music ©1987 Joel Mabus
I'm a fortunate fella 'cause I got two cats,
One of them striped and the other one black.
One is skinny and the other one's fat,
And they make me sneeze: they're kitty cats.
[chorus:] Oh my kitty, oh my kitty, oh my kitty cat,
Kitty, oh my kitty, oh my kitty cat,
She's a kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty cat.
Kitty, oh my kitty, oh my kitty cat.
My kitty cat has her favorite chair
Where she sits to lick her hair.
Sometimes she just sit and stare
At things that are not really there.
When she goes outside, she don't go far;
She likes to sit underneath my car.
The back yard's where the best things are:
Fresh catnip and mouse tartar.
When she comes into heat she does it well -
She stands right up and starts to yell.
The Tom cats - they can always tell,
And they make the back door smell like hell.
Snuggle and purr - she's a kitty cat.
Ruffle her fur - she's a kitty cat.
Quiet and sure - she's a kitty cat.
Yep, that's her - that's my kitty cat.
Oh my kitty, oh my kitty, oh my kitty cat,
Kitty, oh my kitty, oh my kitty cat,
She's a kitty kitty kitty kitty kitty cat.
Kitty, oh my kitty, oh my kitty cat.
It All Comes Back To You
words and music ©1987 Joel Mabus
In this world of give and take, be careful what you do -
The strings you pull to get things done are tugging back at you.
They're tugging back at you.
And it's been said so many times you might forget it's true,
But the way you treat your neighbor -
That's the way that he'll treat you -
That's the way that she'll treat you.
I say you better watch what you say -
You better watch what you do.
Cast your bread out on the water -
It'll all come back to you.
It all comes back to you.
Now there was a man had a sack of gold
and he buried it in the ground.
When he died all the people tried,
but the gold could not be found.
His gold could not be found. (over)
But a second man had a sack of gold, and he spread it all around.
He made his friends and his friends made him
The richest man in town -
He was the richest man in town.
I say you better watch what you say -
You better watch what you do.
Cast your bread out on the water -
It'll all come back to you.
It all comes back to you.
Now, some of us have plenty; some of us have none.
While some never seem to have enough -
It's the way the world is run.
That's the way this world is run.
So just try to do your very best, and remember when you do,
The more you give the more you get - it all comes back to you.
It all comes back to you.
I say you better watch what you say -
You better watch what you do.
Cast your bread out on the water -
It'll all come back to you.
It all comes back to you.
Blues For Jimmie (Jimmie Rodgers On The Radio)
words and music ©1987 Joel Mabus
Hey, Hey, mister DJ - I got a request for you.
Tell me, if you got the records, could you play me a song or two?
'Cause I really do like your show - now if you'd only play
Jimmie Rodgers on the radio.
I want to hear "T for Texas," and the old "Muleskinner Blues,"
And "I Miss The Mississippi," or "Blue Yodel Number Two."
It's been such a long time ago - since I heard
Jimmie Rodgers on the radio.
Well he made more records than a passenger train could haul.
They called him the blue yodeler -
he was the daddy of country soul.
So tell me where do I have to go - if I want to hear
Jimmie Rodgers on the radio.
When I get to heaven, I guess the first thing I'll do
Is listen to the angels blow a bugle tune or two.
But it won't be heaven I know - if they don't have
Jimmie Rodgers on the radio.
Say hey, mister DJ - spin your records 'round.
Here's an old boy who's listenin' for that old-time country sound.
Why, I'd settle for old Hank Snow - but I wanna hear
Jimmie Rodgers on the radio.
Oh gimme Jimmie Rodgers on the radio.
Business With The Devil
words and music ©1987 Joel Mabus
There's a time for talking and a time for walking
And a time for doing what you know you've got to do.
There's a time for praying and a time for saying
That the time for waiting's over and the Devil's game is through.
Doing business with the devil ain't no business of my own.
His gold and shining diamonds cannot keep him on his throne.
For the devil is the weakest when the devil stands alone -
His gold will turn to ashes and his diamonds turn to stone.
Doing business with the devil might seem like easy money
In that land of milk and honey where the riches all abound,
But the price is so much dearer when you gaze into the mirror
And you see the battered faces of your brothers underground.
Doing business with the devil ain't no business of my own.
His gold and shining diamonds cannot keep him on his throne.
For the devil is the weakest when the devil stands alone -
His gold will turn to ashes and his diamonds turn to stone.
Now the devil would have you believe -
he's got nothing up his sleeve -
He's a loving father, mother, brother, sister, daughter, son.
But the devil is a liar, and he knows he's under fire,
And he's just that much more desperate
when you've got him on the run.
Doing business with the devil ain't no business of my own.
His gold and shining diamonds cannot keep him on his throne.
For the devil is the weakest when the devil stands alone -
His gold will turn to ashes and his diamonds turn to stone.
The Festival's Over
words and music ©1987 Joel Mabus
The festival's over, the stage crew is gone.
The campfire's no more than a glow.
The fingers are tired, but the music's inspired,
So let's play just one more before we go.
Hey, you on the fiddle, don't put down your bow.
Won't you please play me just one more tune.
And don't stop your singin' -
Keep your mandolin ringin',
And we'll dance by the light of the moon.
It's too many days since we been together,
And there's so many stories to trade
About old friends and places, good times and hard cases,
And all of those good tunes we played.
Hey, you on the fiddle, don't put down your bow.
Won't you please play me just one more tune.
And don't stop your singin' -
Keep your mandolin ringin',
And we'll dance by the light of the moon.
So tune up those fiddles the best that you can,
And play something everyone knows
So we all can remember when we all sang together
'Til the next time we meet down the road.
Hey, you on the fiddle, don't put down your bow.
Won't you please play me just one more tune.
And don't stop your singin' -
Keep your mandolin ringin',
And we'll dance by the light of the moon.
Love Is A Gamble
words and music ©1987 Joel Mabus
Love is a gamble, that's what people say.
You're taking your chances as you go.
Love is a gambler's paradise -
Come and let your paradise roll.
Come and let your paradise roll -
Come and let your paradise roll.
We're living in a gambler's paradise,
So come and let your paradise roll.
Now the time will come to take your chances
Or let the chances take their toll.
Just remember there's snake eyes hiding in your paradise,
So shake 'em up before you roll.
Shake 'em up before you roll -
Shake 'em up before you roll.
There's a couple of snake eyes hiding in your paradise,
So shake 'em up before you roll.
Love is a gamble, just a game of chance.
You win some - you lose some, don't you know.
But if what you're looking for is true romance
Then you got to let your paradise roll .
Come and let your paradise roll -
Come and let your paradise roll.
Love is a gamble, come and take a chance -
Come and let your paradise roll.
[back to top of page]
© 2001 Joel Mabus
Last revised: January 24, 2015
.