Call Of The West Lyrics - Stan Ridgway

He got the high sign so he jumped a bus 

Along the roads that wind on through 

The hot mojave and the jericho 

He'd start his whole life anew 

And what he left behind he hadn't valued 

Half as much as some things 

He never knew 

Right around sundown... 

He got dropped off on a street in town 

Where a grey old man looked him up and down and said 

"son, this ain't no western movie matinee 

You're a long way off from yippie-yi-yay 

'cause I can tell at a glance you're not from 'round these parts 

You've got a green look about'chaccthat's a gringo for starts 

Sometimes the only thing a western savage understands 

Are whiskey and rifles and an unarmed man 

Like you" 

"so you gotta keep on the move! 

Don't let that fancy paint job fool you!" 

Then the old timer pulled him close and said 

You've got a long way, I know 

You've got a longer drive ahead 

Through the bones of the buffalo 

Through the claims of the western dead, andcc 

Just like the spokes of a wheel 

You'll spin 'round with the rest 

You'll hear the drums and the brush of steel 

You'll hear the call of the west, call of the west 

You'll hear the call of the west, call of the west 

Spoken 

Harshly awakened by the sound of six rounds of light-caliber rifle fire 

Followed minutes later by the booming of nine rounds from a heavier rifle 

But you can't close off the wilderness 

He heard the snick of a rifle bolt 

And found himself peering down the muzzle 

Of a weapon held by a drunken liquor store owner 

"there's a conflict," he said, "there's a conflict 

Between land and people 

The people have to go 

They've come all the way out here to make mining claims 

To do automobile body work 

To gamble 

Take pictures 

To not have to do laundry 

To own a mini-bike 

Have their own cb radios and air conditioning 

Good plumbing for sure 

And to sell time/life books and to work in a deli 

To have a little chili every morning 

And maybe... maybe to own their own gas stations again 

And take drugs 

Have some crazy sex 

But above all, above all, to have a fair shake 

To get a piece of the rock and a slice of the pie 

And spit out of the window of your car and not have the wind blow it back in your face" 

Now, from the high timberline to the deserts dry 

Who'll risk dangling on some hangman's tree 

To stake their claims on these prarie plains 

While they say this lunch is not had for free? 

Just like the spokes of a wheel 

Who'll spin 'round with the rest 

They'll hear the drums and the brush of steel 

And I'll hear the call of the west, call of the west 

(yippie-yi-yo, yippie-yi-yo-ki-yay, yippie-yi-yo-ohh-ohh) 

I'll hear the call of the west, call of the west 

(yippie-yi-yo, yippie-yi-yo-ki-yay, yippie-yi-yo-ohh-ohh) 

I'll hear the call of the west, call of the west 

(yippie-yi-yo, yippie-yi-yo-ki-yay, yippie-yi-yo-ohh-ohh) 

I'll hear the call of the west, call of the west 

(yippie-yi-yo, yippie-yi-yo-ki-yay, yippie-yi-yo-ohh-ohh) 

Spoken/shouted: 

I used to be somebody! 

I used to be somebody, do you hear me? 

Do you hear me? I've been there! 

I used to be somebody, God damn you! 

I've been there before! 

Don't walk away! 

Well, youccyou wanted unleaded? 

Unleadedccthat's next pump over, so keep on movin', okay? 

No, it's out of order.