Goin' Nowhere Blues - Robert Earl Keen

In the corner of the barroom

Lives the ghost of Langston Hughes

He’s takin' notes and smokin' cigarettes

Sippin' slowly on his booze

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

On the other side it’s a free ride

You’ve got money you can burn

When the ground shakes and the earth breaks

Which way you gonna turn

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