Verse I I was playin’ dives off Highway 9, For tips and watered beer, Singin’ songs to half-filled rooms That didn’t want to hear. My guitar case held more dust than bills, My tank was runnin’ low— That’s when a man with easy eyes Said, “I got a way to go.” Chorus Simple cash, he called it then, “No trouble, easy ride”— Just drive a little farther south With somethin’ tucked inside. Simple cash, that’s what he said, But simple turns to ash… Now I’m countin’ bars instead of tips All for that simple cash. Verse II It was packed up tight in burlap sacks Beneath my beat-up Ford, He said, “You’ll make in one long night What you ain’t made before.” I thought about my broken strings, The rent I couldn’t pay— So I crossed that line with shaky hands And pointed, "Wheels away!" Chorus Simple cash, he called it then, “No trouble, easy ride”— Just drive a little farther south With somethin’ tucked inside. Simple cash, that’s what he said, But simple don’t last long… Now every mile I drove that night Just echoes in this song. Verse III Blue lights cut the desert dark Like judgment from above, A siren sang a colder tune Than any song I loved. They found the truth beneath the boards, No lie could set me free— A guitar man with calloused hands In chains for all to see. Bridge/Solo Now the boys in here all know my name, They pass around my tune— I trade my songs for cigarettes And count the days by moons. My six-string’s gone, but still I play On rusted bars at night… And every note’s a warning sign I wish I’d read it right. Final Chorus Simple cash, it cost me years, More than I could pay— A foolish dream of easy roads That led my life astray. Simple cash ain’t simple, son, When freedom’s what you lose… Now all I got’s this jailhouse song And time to sing the blues.
