LONG TIME COMIN'^©

25 May 1997 version

Out where the creek turns shallow and sandy
And the moon comes skimmin' away the stars
The wind in the mesquite come rushin' over the hilltops
Straight into my arms
Straight into my arms

Well I'm ridin' hard carryin' a cache of roses
A fresh map that I made
Tonight I'm gonna get birth naked and bury my old soul
And dance on it's grave
And dance on it's grave

It's been a long time comin', my dear
It's been a long time comin', now it's here
And now it's here

Well my daddy he was just a stranger
Lived in a hotel downtown
Well when I was a kid he was just somebody
Somebody I'd see around
Somebody I'd see around

Well now down below and pullin' on my shirt
Yeah I got some kids of my own
Well if I had one wish for you in this god forsaken world, kids
It'd be that your mistakes'd be your own
That your sins would be your own

It's been a long time comin', my dear
It's been a long time comin', but now it's here
And now it's here

Well out 'neath the arms of Cassiopeia
Where the sword of Orion sweeps
It's me and you Rosie, cracklin' like crossed wires
And you breathin' in your sleep
You breathin' in your sleep

Well there's just a spark of a campfire left burnin'
Two kids in a sleeping bag beside
I reach 'neath your shirt, put my hands across your belly and feel
Another one kickin' inside
And I ain't gonna fuck it up this time

It's been a long time comin', my dear
It's been a long time comin', but now it's here
It's been a long time comin', my dear
It's been a long time comin', but now it's here
And now it's here

Whoa!

These lyrics refer to the 25 May 1997 performance at Palais Des Congres, Paris, France. Check also the album's version and the live versions (very similar): 12 Nov 1996, 12 Dec 1996, 12 Feb 1997, and 21 Apr 2005.

Thanks Bo at Greasy Lake.

Spoken intro on 25 May 1997 at Palais Des Congres, Paris, France:

Thank you. This is a uh, uh, another song about men and women. This is one that's very unusual. This is a happy song (chuckles). I don't write too many happy songs because uh, when I, I found out that the public in general doesn't like 'em, number one, and uh, uh two, they come back and they bite you in the ass later, you know. You're real happy about something and you'll see it comes back and gets you and "Take that, mister happy gong writer!" you know (chuckles). That does happen. But anyway uh, this is one I wrote in spite of myself (chuckles). And uh, uh, I guess this is a song mainly about sort of not doing unto others as was done unto you. I think uh, which is a pretty good lesson to learn. I think we get our, our kids come along and uh, you have the chance to sort of do it differently, you know. To uh, I guess, correct or change some of the things about, and the way that you were brought up. And that's really what this song is about, I guess. It's about trying not to do unto others as has been done unto you. Uh, the bad stuff anyway (chuckles, cheers). Yeah! Alright. So uh, it's pretty happy, I don't wanna get too happy while I'm singing it. If I do, just somebody come up and slap me (chuckles). It's called "Long Time Comin'".