Todd Snider Joe's Blues Lyrics

You can't groove on dope
You can't groove on wine
If you're trying to catch a groove on tv, man, you're wasting your time
Well you can't do what you want, you won't get far
You know the only way to groove is on a bass guitar

You find a loose bit of rhythm
Then you lock in tight
Yes you roll on it over and over till it sounds just exactly right
You can learn to sing lead if you need to be a star
But the only way to groove is on a bass guitar

It fills out the bottom, dirty and mean
Down right greasy when the sound man's clean
The eyes in the room, they all lookin' at the star
The b___s are all shakin' to the bass guitar

You could dress real cool
And wear dark shades
You might be sleek, sharp, and shiney just like a razor blade
You drive around town in a long black car
But the only way to groove is on a bass guitar

It fills out the bottom, dirty and mean
Down right grunge when the sound guy's clean
The eyes in the room, they's all lookin' at the star
The b___s are all shakin' to the bass guitar

Spoken:
Play it for me one time my brother
You know my friend the good doctor Joe Murrey brought me this song
He told me it was the perfect country and western song
I told him it was not the perfect country and western song
'Cuz it didn't mention momma, it didn't mention trucks, hell, it didn't even have a country beat
It's more of a jazz thing and it's about bass
I donno what he's talking about
Check him out though, he's good
Joe, do something

Yes, you can do what you want

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Hidden song: Seattle Grungerock Blues

hey, hey
my, my
rock n roll will never die
just hang your hair down in your eyes
you'll make a million dollars

well, i was in this band goin' nowhere fast
we sent out demos but everybody passed
so one day, we finally took the plunge
moved out to seattle to play some grunge
washington state, that is...
s___e needle, eddie vedder
mudhoney

now to fit in fast, we wear flannel shirts
we turn our amps up until it hurts
we've got bad attitudes and what's more
when we play, we stare straight down at the floor
wowee! pretty scary
how pensive
how totally alternative

now to fit in on the seattle scene
you've got to do something they ain't never seen
so thinkin' up a gimmick one day
we decided to be the only band that wouldn't play a note under any circumstances
silence...
music's original alternative
roots grunge

well, we spread the word through the underground
that we were the hottest new thing in town
the record guy came out to see us one day
and just like always, we didn't play
it knocked him out
he said he loved our work
he said he loved our work, but he wasn't sure if he could sell a record with nothing on it
i said, 'tell 'em we're from seattle'
he advanced us two and a half million dollars

hey, hey
my, my
rock n roll will never die
just hang your hair down in your eyes
you'll make a million dollars

well, they made us do a video, but that wasn't tough
cos we just filmed ourselves smashing stuff
it's kind of weird cos there was no music
but mtv said they'd love to use it
the kids went wild, the kids went nuts
rolling stone gave us a five-star review
said we played with guts

we're scoring chicks, taking drugs
then we got asked to play mtv unplugged
you should have seen it
we went right out there and refused to do acoustical versions of the electrical songs that we had refused to record in the first place
then we smashed our s___

well, we blew 'em away at the grammys show
by refusing to play and refusing to go
and then just when we thought fame would last forever
along came this band that wasn't even together
now that's alternative
now that's alternative to alternative
i feel stupid... and contagious

well, our band got dropped and that ain't funny
cos we're all hooked on drugs but we're outta money
so the other day, i called up the band
i said, 'boys, i've taken all i can
shave off your goatees, pack the van
we're going back to athens'