Carving out an empire
Strolling Pirates' Alley in the middle of the night
Buy a round of cocktails
Spinning sordid fables in the twilight
That's all right
Scattered words that matter
It's a disaster in the making
Take the time to smell the leaves beneath the trees
( Smile, smile, smile)
That's all right
Chorus:
My whole life has gone haywire
I'm just a blade bending in your shade
For your love I'm a vampire
Strolling the ways of Esplanade
I headed up to Pittsburgh
Heard you could get a pretty god sandwich
For fifteen and a dime
Ooh, what I miss that old stretch of road
Down to the Bayou
In the middle of the night
Guilt by association
The mere smell of speculation conjures up for hell
That's all right
Feel the touch of oil from the tankers upon the breeze
( Smile, smile, smile)
Yeah, that's all right
(Chorus)
That's my whole life in a nutshell
Take it as you will
I can hear that old brass band
Playing our song down the hill
That's all right
Won't you smile, smile, smile. That's all right
Won't you smile, smile, smile. That's all right
Won't you smile the smile
That fills the room with an independent light
But that's all right
(Repeat 4 times - Fade)
The Jayhawks are an American alternative country and country rock band that emerged from the Twin Cities music scene in the mid-1980s. Led by vocalists/guitarists/songwriters Gary Louris and Mark Olson, their country rock sound was influential on many bands who played the Twin Cities circuit during the 1980s and 1990s, such as Uncle Tupelo, the Gear Daddies and the Honeydogs. They have released eleven studio albums, with and without Olson (who left the band for the first time in 1995), including five on the American Recordings label. After going on hiatus from 2005 to 2009, the 1995 lineup of the band reunited and released the album Mockingbird Time in September 2011; Olson left the band for the second time after the tour to promote the album. After another hiatus in 2013, the 1997 lineup led by Louris reunited to play shows in 2014 to support the reissue of three albums originally released between 1997 and 2003. Since then, the band has continued to tour and record, releasing the albums Live at The Belly Up in 2015; Paging Mr. Proust, co-produced by Peter Buck, in 2016; Back Roads and Abandoned Motels in 2018; and XOXO in 2020.
