Oh, the ragman draws circles
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
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the
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
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
And now he's buried in the rocks
But everybody still talks about how
But me, I expected it to happen
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
Now the senator came down here
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
Now the tea preacher looked so baffled
When I asked him why he dressed
With twenty pounds of headlines
But he cursed me when I proved it to him
Then I whispered and said,
You see, you're just like me
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the
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
And when Ruthie says come see her
Where I can watch her waltz for free
'neath her Panamanian moon
An' I say, "Aw come on now
You know you knew about my debutante"
An' she says, "Your debutante
But I know what you want"
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the
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 pa tiently
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
