Goin' Nowhere Blues
Robert Earl Keen



Am     F             C       G       
In the corner of the barroom
Am        F                 C        G
Lives the ghost of Langston Hughes
Am          F                 C           G 
He’s takin’ notes and smokin’ cigarettes
Dm      F             C
Sippin’ slowly on his booze
Bb       F             C
Got them goin’ nowhere blues


And on the stage beneath the spotlight 
Woody Guthrie sings the news
He’s always ready for the good fight 
Never thinkin’ that he’ll lose
Got them goin’ nowhere blues


Through the back way in the alley
Sellin’ all you should refuse
Looks like Jane has finally given in
Hey, what the hell, it ain’t no use
Got them goin’ nowhere blues

 
Out the front around the corner
Martin Luther shines your shoes
He’s preachin’ justice and equality
I guess Martin’s payin’ dues
He’s got them goin’ nowhere blues


Bridge:
Bb     F     C    Bb 
On the other side it’s a free ride
Bb         F             C
You’ve got money you can burn
Bb      F       C      Bb
When the ground shakes and the earth breaks
Am    F             C
Which way you gonna turn
C       F          C
Are you ever gonna learn


In the poolroom on the table
Swillin’ wine and smashin’ cues
They locked him up last night for fighting
Cesar Chavez blew a fuse
He’s got them goin’ nowhere blues

 
All the members of the union
All the farm and labor crews
They used to be meet here by the dozens
They disappeared in ones and twos
Got them goin’ nowhere blues

So you wonder why they come here
They come here to look for clues
Passin’ time until they live again
To fight these going nowhere views
Leave these goin’ nowhere blues
To fight these goin’ nowhere views