Steve Earle - Meet Me In The Alleyway Lyrics






I had a melancholy malady
Went to see the doctor and the doctor say
Too bad, nothin' he could do
He knew a man in Louisiana if I’m willin' to pay
Laid my money on the barrelhead

Man behind the bar began to shimmy and shake
Can't lie, I reckoned I was dead
When he picked my money up and I heard him say
Meet me in the alleyway minute to midnight
Don't be late meet me in the alleyway
Better come runnin' the spirits won't wait
Thirteen tiger teeth in my talisman
St. John the Conqueror and a black cat bone
Been seen walkin' with the guardians
Now I’m in the alley and I’m all alone
Can't run, can't hide from destiny
Knew this day was callin' nearly all of my life
Been done ain't the only boy from Tennessee
To carve his name in cypress with a jawbone knife

So you wanna be the king of America
Say you wanna know the oracle's mind
Say you wanna see the Marquesses of Mardi Gras
dancin' with the devil at the end of the line





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Steve Earle Meet Me In The Alleyway Comments
  1. C.... Y....

    True Detective brought me here✌️🎤🎸

  2. R.... z....

    I don't get it... I've listened to every Steve Earle song and they all sound the same, completely indistinguishable from one another and then there's this song. Wtf it's like a different person, why the fuck is this the only time he tried something like this...Louisiana gritty blues that is ominous and not jolly.

  3. D.... T....

    Great song, kind of reminds me of Tom Waits.

  4. H.... ....

    Steve Earle, he's not just Copperhead Road.

  5. E.... M....

    what is the kind of this song?

  6. S.... ....

    Mr Morgan

  7. m.... l....

    Sounds like Tom Waits

  8. T.... T....

    Down & dirty blues just the way it should be awesome track.

  9. P.... F....

    Amazing song
    Amazing artist

  10. A.... B....

    Lyrics are phenomenal

  11. I.... R....

    Think there's enough Illuminati imagery on the album cover?

  12. D.... J....

    sehr geil

  13. C.... W....

    I like this.

  14. O.... H....

    This is quite possibly, the perfect song.

  15. R.... S....

    Not so into the song but what a killer album cover

    R.... S....

    Artist is a friend of Earle's - Tony Fitzpatrick from Chicago. Look him up.

  16. s.... ....

    Steve Earl leaning heavily on Tom Waits here. Great vibe.

  17. M.... S....

    genius.

  18. T.... E....

    Great road trip music.

  19. L.... I....

    Awesome song! Thank you Cole and Hart !
    Could you tell me guys what is the name of this precise music genre so that I can hunt for similar tracks? :D

  20. R.... H....

    WOW top Steve Earle !

  21. D.... K....

    Brillant Song !!!

  22. B.... R....

    Swamp folk, dug in, off the grid

  23. B.... E....

    what is this genre called?

    B.... E....

    Blues, in a broad sense

  24. S.... ....

    Oh man, do I love this, seriously yes.

  25. j.... k....

    the Jingo kid was here

  26. m.... d....

    So good !!!

  27. m.... d....

    GREAT !!!

  28. D.... A....

    fuck you white boys

    D.... A....

    Hehehehhe

    D.... A....

    And you wonder why people dont like your type HAH

  29. E.... H....

    The world need bad men, we keep the other bad men from the doors

    E.... H....

    Great Line! dark and true of the world's misery?

  30. w.... ....

    Of course I'm dangerous, I'm police.

    w.... ....

    police all ways dangerous................
    You just an was hole;)

  31. p.... h....

    I really get a Tom Waits vibe from this....

    p.... h....

    +MaxMustermann Yes came on first time in true dect and i had to look it up

    p.... h....

    +illona root same for me... great show btw, discovered a lot of music through it

    p.... h....

    More like Dr. John.

  32. G.... ....

    good thing

  33. T.... H....

    Davey loves this!

  34. C.... G....

    TRUE DETECTIVEEE!!!

  35. B.... ....

    Shades of Dr. John!

    B.... ....

    +BenjaminFranklin99 shades of gris gris anyway

  36. R.... M....

    this song fits to serial so perfectly. I love it!!!!

  37. p.... p....

    Ladies and gentleman: Elvis Aron Presley.  Stop comparing him anyone. He is the king. elvis fucking a Presley. Did a stint as the drummer In zz top. DID A FEW STADIUM tours as Bruce Springsteen You read it right. Steve earle is elvis Presley.

  38. j.... r....

    "I had a melancholy malady
    Went to see the doctor and the doctor say
    Too bad, nothin' he could do
    He knew a man in Louisiana if I’m willin' to pay
    Laid my money on the barrelhead

    Man behind the bar began to shimmy and shake
    Can't lie, I reckoned I was dead
    When he picked my money up and I heard him say
    Meet me in the alleyway minute to midnight
    Don't be late meet me in the alleyway
    Better come runnin' the spirits won't wait
    Thirteen tiger teeth in my talisman
    St. John the Conqueror and a black cat bone
    Been seen walkin' with the guardians
    Now I’m in the alley and I’m all alone
    Can't run, can't hide from destiny
    Knew this day was callin' nearly all of my life
    Been done ain't the only boy from Tennessee
    To carve his name in cypress with a jawbone knife 

    Meet me in the alleyway minute to midnight
    Don't be late meet me in the alleyway
    Better come runnin' the spirits won't wait

    So you wanna be the king of America
    Say you wanna know the oracle's mind
    Say you wanna see the Marquesses of Mardi Gras
    dancin' with the devil at the end of the line!

    Meet me in the alleyway minute to midnight
    Don't be late meet me in the alleyway
    Better come runnin' the spirits won't wait!

    Meet me in the alleyway, don't be late

    Meet me in the alleyway
    Better come runnin' the spirits won't wait!"

    j.... r....

    genius, pure genius, no?

  39. M.... W....

    First heard this watching episode 2. Loved this tune! Didn't recognize steve earl's voice, but it makes sense: earl mines some real jewels.

  40. j.... r....

    "So, u might be able to remember with a little more money?!"

    j.... r....

    " i might"
    "You might?"

    j.... r....

    "Dory dory dory...Dory, dory..."

  41. K.... L....

    Like+, very much

  42. H.... ....

    Wow so I got into True Detective when it came on tv, then a few weeks I get into Steve Earle big time, not realizing this song was in True Detective. Fucking awesome.

    H.... ....

    +HabsFan123 time is a flat circle

  43. P.... F....

    you can't put labels on steve he started out country for sure record company wanted to keep him in that little country box but than........Copperhead Road, Folk,Bluegrass,Rock,Pop,Blues all the while being the BEST Songwriter in the business

  44. B.... b....

    liebe vom ersten Ton an

    B.... b....

    Ich augh!

  45. O.... W....

    Lovely song

  46. d.... ....

    @Borges Z
    I would call it blues or blues rock, with a heavy Louisiana blues or "swamp blues" influence.  Steve's newest album, coming out this 2/17/15 is a blues album.  Similar artists if you are interested are Tom Waits and Ray Wylie Hubbard.

    d.... ....

    @darlincommitme I am not a fan of Tom Waits. I wouldn't really say he's similar to Steve Earle either. At least not the Steve Earle songs I listen to. I would call them outlaw country maybe.

    d.... ....

    @Ryan Hutchins I didn't mean to imply that Steve's work, in general, is similar to Waits, just this song, though there are a few on the most recent blues album he released. Overall, though, I think Steve is too diverse to be called outlaw country. Some of his work is definitely country and he started that way, but I think alt-Country or Americana fits better.

    d.... ....

    @darlincommitme Ok I gotcha.  I don't really listen to a ton of Steve Earle either.  Just a handful of songs.

    d.... ....

    Or Dr. John

  47. J.... A....

    Me refiero al Mix: The Handsome Falily

  48. B.... Z....

    How is called this style (song, not Steves' style)?

  49. R.... F....

    awesomeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

  50. b.... ....

    great song too bad black keys overused the vocal effect style 

  51. j.... 1....

    Not bad

  52. j.... 1....

    Not bad

  53. D.... S....

    This is the same Steve Earle I presume who wrote Galway Girl with Sharon Shannon?!

    D.... S....

    Recorded it with her, but he wrote it.  She worked on arrangement.

  54. a.... ....

    This song sets the mood, real good

  55. r.... o....

    swamp music... smells kind of sweet...

  56. M.... S....

    Which is the genre of this song? Is that country or something else?

    M.... S....

    Generally Steve generally gets classed as Americana - but this song in particular I would call blues or blues rock.  Though swamp blues is a good specification.

    M.... S....

    Blues it is.

  57. N.... G....

    give it up for the TAXMAN

    N.... G....

    fuckin taxman

  58. x.... ....

    True delight.

  59. t.... ....

    @sesiom Gm Yep, Earle covered the song for the Wire's 5th season.

  60. H.... M....

    I'm 60 fucking years old, been watching the 'box,' in the corner, forever and this is the best thing, that I've ever watched. 
    I feel dirty after every episode. 

    H.... M....

    I smell the psychosphere in here.

    H.... M....

    No shit man! excellent comment.

  61. K.... R....

    Steve must have been listening to a pretty damn steady diet of Tom Waits when he wrote this. 

    K.... R....

    From what Earle said about it at the time, the song had more to do with spending a lot of time in New Orleans when he was acting in the show Treme and listening to a lot of blues.  But it does have a Waits vibe and Earle had recorded Down in the Hole for The Wire a couple years earlier, so there may be a direct influence.  The theme sounds a bit like Waits, though it is also straight out of Creole culture.  Earle said in an interview that he had reached a low point and was tempted to use again for the first time in years, my guess is that the witch doctor is a metaphor for a smack dealer.

  62. M.... G....

    Aint that the singer of the intro from The Wire also?
    Love it.

    M.... G....

    +sesiom Gm yes, last or second last series, IIRC.

    M.... G....

    Yep, he played Bubbles Sponsor as well.

    M.... G....

    Don't know if you guys noticed but in The Wire season 5 you can see the rapist/murderer scarface man from True Detective doing a 3min scene as a homeless guy talking about thousands of people getting murdered...
    Scary shit

    M.... G....

    nilsp51 is this for real dawg?

  63. A.... ....

    I searched "True Detective soundtrack Episode 2" to get here, and glad I did. I've heard of Steve Earle but never listened to his stuff.......until now. Immediately liked this one.

  64. m.... ....

    Oh, this tha thang

  65. j.... s....

    Awesome scene... Darkness follows you little man

  66. T.... ....

    dis that bayou heat!!

  67. M.... J....

    what part of the episode was this played?

    M.... J....

    43 mins

    M.... J....

    The taxman went snoopin around solo

  68. M.... ....

    The right track when you're lone wolfing it.

    M.... ....

    @MrKajithecat tsssssss

    M.... ....

    +MrKajithecat Who de feck yer telking tu?

    M.... ....

    +Smoking Cat His second personality.

    M.... ....

    cats gone wild this night

    M.... ....

    Ha ha ha That's funny...

  69. K.... ....

    Thank you True Detective for introducing me to this awesome song. 

    K.... ....

    check out steve earls other stuff.. it's friggin badass

    K.... ....

    @lew bew I did you were so right. That man is amazing! Thanks for introducing me to a different genre  of music :]

    K.... ....

    Smoking a joint would be good and listening to this.......

    K.... ....

    Thank you True Detective for changing my life

  70. H.... ....

    Great jam!