# **Murphy and Me** **[Verse 1]** I was sixteen, wild and green, Learning life in a two-forty-Z. Murph taught me clutch, taught me how to steer, With a forty in the bag and the backroads clear. Gravel flying underneath the wheels, Smoking homegrown through the open fields. No destination, nowhere to be, Just the moon, the road, Murphy and me. **[Chorus]** Murphy and me in that two-forty-Z, Running dirt roads where nobody could see. Forties in the console, smoke rolling free, Learning how to drive with Murphy and me. **[Verse 2]** Murph and Ace were radio men, Deep midnight voices rolling through the FM. They mailed cassette tapes instead of a letter, Talking trash and trying to outdo each other. A few weeks before, we had played our hand, Sent Ace a joint of Allegheny Indica, man. “O.L.E.F.” marked where he’d understand— Open left end first, the joint fit in the band. **[Verse 3]** Then Ace sent one back with O.L.E.F., So we grabbed two forties and headed west. Down to the Springs, our old party place, Ready for stories in that deep voice of Ace. We fired the joint and pushed Play in, Then fifteen minutes of static began. We waited for Ace, but the tape just hissed, And neither one noticed how high we’d get. **[Chorus]** Murphy and me in that two-forty-Z, Parked at the Springs beneath the trees. Forties going warm, staring silently, Lost in the static—Murphy and me. **[Bridge]** The joint had gone out A long time before. Murph couldn’t find the keys, I couldn’t find the door. Then the static cut dead, And that deep voice rolled through: **“Fuck you, Murph.”** Then silence again— That was all Ace had to say. Fifteen minutes of nothing For three words of payback that day. **[Verse 4]** It was Maui Wowie, stronger than sin, Ace paying us back for that Allegheny Indica we sent. Murph looked at me, and I looked at him, Then we both broke loose and the laughing began. We laughed till we cried, laughed till it hurt, Laughed so damn hard that we pissed our shirts. Too high to drive for hours, maybe three, Stranded at the Springs—Murphy and me. **[Final Chorus]** Murphy and me in that two-forty-Z, Too damn high to be driving free. Ace on the tape with perfect delivery— Three little words for Murphy and me. He taught me to drive, and Ace taught me more: Never trust a joint from a friend keeping score. That hiss and that voice still live in my memory— **“Fuck you, Murph.”** Murphy and me.
