I play this song on just about every gig I have. I'm referencing my time at The Woodland apartment complex on the West Bank of New Orleans, working to pay off school and touring debts.
lyrics
I got twenty-three dollars and twenty three cents,
Havin’ trouble with my bills,
Havin’ trouble payin’ rent
Ain’t no glory in an honest day,
They’ll be laughin’ to the bank when they take your pay
Hi aye
I wanna jump and shout
Howlin’ at the moon till the sun comes out
I work all day in the summer sun
There’s a little bit of shade
but it won’t help you none
Aint no shakin’ in the leaves on the trees
They aint shakin’ cause there aint no breeze
Hi aye,.....
Gloves on my hands, I got boots on my feet,
Whistlin’ up a tune as I walk down the street,
I like the sound of the hammer and the ting of the nail
Washin’ off my hands in a five gallon pail
Hi Aye....
Put a nail through my foot,
Needed stitches in my hand,
I can't keep living by your demands,
You got me in a game of the crazy eights,
Can't get to heaven on no roller skates,
Hi Aye...
Paint in my hair, I got paint in my brain,
The smell of the turpentine’ll drive you insane
But my hinges don’t bind and my bit don’t walk
and I shoot about as straight as a line of chaulk
Hi aye....
You’re a two bit hustler in a one horse town,
Watch your back cause I don’t mess around
If you buck if you bolt, I can do that too,
You been laughin’ in my face, but now the joke’s on you
Hi Aye...
I mailed my letter and I checked the date,
Watched the postman pick it up by the old front gate,
You can run your number, you can raise your rates,
Just try to tell me that my rent came late
Hi Aye.....
Twenty three dollars and some change
Twenty three dollars and aint no sense
credits
from Egyptland,
released August 1, 2009
Ted Hefko - vocals, acoustic guitar
Adam Ahrens - electric guitar, drum and percussion programming
Eric Pryzgocki - electric bass
Ted Hefko and The ThousandairesNew Orleans, Louisiana
Ted Hefko & The Thousandaires stir up an intoxicating brew of the profound and the profane, of virtue and vice and most
importantly the volatile in-between. Ted’s songs explore hope and hustlers, saints and strays, drifters and the down-and-out. The band brings these stories to life with the spontaneity of jazz, and the rough-hewn, bare-bones tone of backwoods rhythm and bllues....more
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