CROOKED

There's a church by the bend in the river
Sundays, the people there sing
Songs they've been singing forever
The cross and the blood and the King
They sing to be rid of their Satan
To knock open all heaven's doors
But the bend in the river won't straighten
Crooked's the natural course
Crooked’s the natural course

There's a dark house the sun doesn't enter
A place where the light’s not allowed
There's a shadow that tightens the center
And sets you apart from the crowd
The old spirits circle you later
They press and apply quite a force
Believing they'll help you go straighter
But crooked's the natural course
Crooked’s the natural course

Blue skies are not a favour
When no water’s left in the well
Some elders use God as a lever
Some think we're living in hell
So many kids pass through the gate here
From poverty shacks to the wars
A lie is the only thing straight here
Crooked's the natural course
Crooked’s the natural course

There's a house with an oak tree outside it
The branches no longer hold green
There's a scooter but no one to ride it
A hole in the kitchen door screen
In the fields I hear Gideon crying
He's found the remains of a horse
Around him the black birds are flying
Crooked's the natural course
Crooked's the natural course

There's a church by the bend in the river
On Sundays the people there sing
Songs they've been singing forever
The cross and the blood and the King
They sing to be rid of their Satan
To pry open all heaven's doors
But the bend in the river won't straighten
Crooked's the natural course
Crooked’s the natural course

DL

© Doug Lang

Road to Reykjavik 

Euless Girl

Between Fort Worth and Dallas
Along about halfway
There's a little town called Euless
With an all-nite cafe
Got my first job as a waitress there
When midnights got real slow
I'd pump quarters in the jukebox
Johnny Horton, Fats Domino
North To Alaska, Honkytonk Man
The Big Beat, Blueberry Hill
I'd spend my tip money
Just to get that thrill
A little town is all it was
In a big old crazy world
It was home to me and remains today
I aml a Euless girl

I worked overnights with Sherman
He wasn't friendly, just polite
He was half-black, half-Apache
We made about six bucks a night
Cooking and waiting tables
Running that ol' register
When it got real late just to stay awake
I'd plug the Wurlitzer
My Blue Heaven, I Walk The Line
Music, black and white
I was a listenin' fool on a swivel stool
Spinnin' left and right
A little town is all it was
In a big old crazy world
It was home to me and remains today
I am a Euless girl

All of a sudden it gets early
When you're up that late
Here come the Safeway truckers, Sherman
And here's East Texas Freight
Put on a fresh pot of coffee
Grill 'em stacks of ham and eggs
Hope the day shift shows on time
Pray I've got the legs
The sky's about to blind my eyes
Give the boys a second cup
Soon I'll be headin' home to sleep
As the Texas sun comes up
A little town is all it was
In a big old crazy world
It was home to me and will always be
I am a Euless girl

DL

I wrote this song for Dorothy Hamm, based on a true
story she told me about working graveyard shifts as
a young girl at an all-nite diner on the highway that
runs between Dallas and Fort Worth. It used to be the
only place that was open all night long on that stretch
back then. Dorothy spun the details. My imagination
joined them. It was like shooting a video in my mind.

Dorothy is one of the kindest people in the world.
She calls herself Texas Granny sometimes, and she's
like a second mother to a lot of artists, me included,
going out of her way to get us some attention. If she
had her way, we'd all be the toast of the town. After
I wrote this song, she managed to share it with enough
people that the city of Euless went and proclaimed a
Doug Lang Day in late June 2004 and invited a bunch
of us to come and sing at a luncheon in my honour.
Of course, it was really Dorothy Hamm Day, and Euless
is a lucky place to have a citizen like her. Look here
http://dorothyhamm.50megs.com/custom4.html
to see a note from her website along with a photo
of Dorothy and me during my visit to Euless. By the way,
today, April 27th, is Dorothy's birthday, and this is my
little way of letting her know she's dear to my heart.

Happy Birthday, Euless Girl!