Van Zandt, Townes - Cocaine Lyrics






Everytime my baby and me go up town
police come and they knock me down
Cocaine all around my brain
Hey baby, better come here quick.
This old cocaine is making me sick.
Cocaine all around my brain.
Yonder comes by baby, she's dressed in red
She's got a shot-gun, says she's gonna kill me dead.
Cocaine all around my brain
Hey baby, better come here quick.
This old cocaine is making me sick.
Cocaine all around my brain.
Early one morning, half past four
cocaine came knockin' on my door.
Cocaine all around my brain
Hey baby, you better come here quick.
This old cocaine is making me sick.
Cocaine all around my brain.
Cocaine's for horses and it's not for men
Doctor said it kill you, but he don't say when.
Cocaine all around my brain.
Hey baby, you better come here quick.
This old cocaine is making me sick.
Cocaine all around my brain.





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Van Zandt, Townes Cocaine Comments
  1. 1.... ....

    My Harley riding uncle who had done jail time told me once when I was in grade school "Cocaine ain't nothin' but a rich man's high."
    Since I have never been rich I left it alone.
    Years latter I saw a sticker inside a customized van that said "Cocaine. Rich man's aspirin."
    Made me think of my uncle.

  2. A.... H....

    KATABOIS HAPPY LAND JJJOOO

  3. J.... B....

    Definitely owes to Gary Davis (via Van Ronk and Kaukonen).

  4. D.... M....

    There's nothing more depressing than having your last line.

    D.... M....

    Only if you don't have a shot of heroin to smooth out the ride.

  5. G.... a....

    áááááááááá i am so high no jno i jsut do wwwwwwwwwwwwwwweeeeeeeeeeeeddddddddddd ´=P but like it is know ´=DDDDDDDD ááááááááááááááááááá yééééé pls I NEVER FORGET HIM!!!!!!!!!!´=)))

  6. Y.... W....

    Oh no, this is wonderful

  7. E.... J....

    CHASING THE SNOW TRAIN.. HEY OH GOT MY HEY OH!

  8. V.... O....

    Love this version as well as the Rev Gary Davis and Dave van Ronk versions.

  9. r.... l....

    I’m on cocaine.

  10. L.... P....

    Sounds like this stole the tune freight train.. 🤔

  11. b.... a....

    This is an awesome version...as is Jackson Brown's...and Dave Van Ronk's...but....hard to beat the original, the great Reverend Gary Davis. I read that he was said to have learned it from a carnival musician back in 1908 or something, when he was just a kid...who knows? great story, even if it's just a legend. If anyone knows who actually wrote it? please comment.

  12. V.... Q....

    Loven this

  13. M.... F....

    I dont know who intiially wrote this song or if different iterations have been passed down but my favorite is probably Abner Jays rendition. Just has alot of heart.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvvbJnVLX40

  14. R.... K....

    we all made by stardust

  15. K.... T....

    Tom Saint if you read this ever, thank you

  16. A.... B....

    Cocaine Blues
    Townes Van Zandt
    Cocaine, cocaine,
    'Round my heart and runnin' 'round my brain,
    Cocaine, aw, you ol' cocaine.
    I woke up this mornin', Lord, I had a hunger pain.
    And all I want for breakfast is my good cocaine,
    Cocaine, aw you ol' cocaine.
    Jump out of bed, Mama, run downtown;
    Take along the money and look all around.
    Find the man, the man that sells cocaine.
    Come here, Mama, come here quick;
    That ol' coke's got me and I'm feelin' sick.
    Cocaine, aw you ol' cocaine.
    Get out of here, Mama, I thought you understood;
    You got no connections then you're no damn good.
    Cocaine.
    Well, coke's for horses, Lord, it ain't for men.
    They say it kills you, but they don't say when.
    c'mon, Mama, let's rent us a boat.
    We'll sail down that Gibraltar moat;
    Shed a tear every time we pass Tangiers.
    Cocaine, cocaine,
    'Round my heart and runnin' 'round my brain,
    Cocaine, aw, you ol' cocaine.

  17. G.... E....

    well cokes for horses, lord it aint for men . they say it'll kill you but they don't say when.

  18. M.... ....

    does anyone know what if any cd dead flowers is on except lebowski

    M.... ....

    Mac Road Songs, Townes’ covers album

    M.... ....

    thanks ccinnz

    M.... ....

    Mac One day u Will do one rail to much.. and your heart stops.. a few friends have died from it... i HATE it , still i am sitting here drinking jäeger and doing blow.. lol

  19. J.... N....

    2 thirds would be amazing in this day in age oh how things change

  20. J.... S....

    You reap what you sow

  21. J.... G....

    yes yes yes — this is sooooooooooooooo good — i only heard it from keith richards on the mainstreet album

  22. A.... S....

    didn't jackson browne cover this too? it's just awesome.

    A.... S....

    Adam S lots of artists have covered this song in one form or another Reverend Gary Davis , Dave Van Ronk, Steve Earle and Ramblin Jack Elliott come to mind.

    A.... S....

    Adam S yes he did and ImHo Jackson Brown's (absolutely positively without a doubt no questions about it case closed take it to the bank) best album (Ever!). I'm sure it's released on YouTube, JB has always been about "playing for the people not the dollar".

    A.... S....

    Jackson Browne (with Glenn Frey) added some lyrics,
    You take Sally and I'll take Sue, ain't no difference between the two
    cocaine, running all 'round my brain...

  23. S.... T....

    start 20 projects and don't get any of them done! lol

  24. o.... ....

    WHISKEY WISHES, CRACKPIPE DREAMS
    by odatmatt
    Beyond the reach of human range
    A drop of hell, a touch of strange
    Rock by rock I built a wall
    Never knowing how far I'd fall
    One was always too little
    One was always too much
    One cost me everything
    Even your touch
    All my thoughts were all arranged
    All my mind was all deranged
    Reality leaving, going on it's way
    Where it's gone, I can't say
    All the colors on the wheel
    Can't describe just how it feels
    To find the black and lose the light
    Starless sky in an endless night
    Once I could live and laught, even cry
    Now the hole in me only wonders why
    All my joy has turned to sorrow
    How long can I wait for tomorow
    If I should die before I wake
    Will I still have a soul to take
    If I should live to see the day
    One big blast will blow it all away
    All the love my heart once felt
    Listen to it sizzle, watch it melt
    My world lost in the bitter smoke
    Someone page the man that has the coke
    Call him quick let it ring
    Ask him please won't he bring
    A drop of hell, a touch of strange
    Beyond the reach of human range

    o.... ....

    That is where crack took me, 18 years clean, My soul sings the song to bad if you can't hear it!

    o.... ....

    Great poem. Thank you for sharing that

    o.... ....

    odatmatt thanks for sharing your poem. It is so true. Congrats on being off it so long. I am staying off it one day at a time.

    o.... ....

    odatmatt hell yeah. Been there, lost that!

    o.... ....

    Solid brother. I bet you know a talented local songwriter that could take that and run with it. Just a thought.

  25. f.... ....

    Touching drake

  26. g.... ....

    I believe hoyt axton wrote this along with a bunch other dam good songs that other people made famous. good tune tho

    g.... ....

    greasychoppers you're wrong bub it was reverend Gary Johnson who firdt recorded it, and he got it from some traveling carnie back in 1905

  27. J.... S....

    Coke, My boyfriend mentioned in our 20s, don't do white powder or clear liquor. Good advice.

    J.... S....

    of all the powders to do, cocaine is the purest and closest to its natural form ... and for me, the clear liquor is the hard stuff but it goes down so much better than all the brown sickly hangover additions ... so perhaps good advice but honestly i'd say stick to the green stuff, as the universe intended ;)

    J.... S....

    Only do the tan powder

  28. R.... P....

    Trying to find that man who sells cocaine

    R.... P....

    Find any MLK Drive. If you find that racist you are full of manure

  29. J.... V....

    Preacher on guitar, who doesn't Preach

  30. L.... V....

    wow, this is fire as fuck.

    soundcloud rappers wish they were this poignant about drug use.

  31. y.... a....

    Cocaine fucks up my nose and sinuses for weeks, but meth is a good old friend 😂

  32. R.... C....

    The Devils dandruff / rough ride , so glad it's gone forever in my life Raybann Austin Texas

    R.... C....

    seen many ride off on the white horse, fuck man.

  33. H.... J....

    This is my experience with cocaine, almost every single time: The first hour or so is great. Me and my friends are solving all of the world's problems with fascinating (at least to us!) conversation. Then it quickly devolves into diminishing returns...A line every 15 minutes turns into every 10 minutes...5 minutes...3 minutes...uh oh! We're all out! My heart is pounding out of my chest, I'm super horny but my penis is trying to retreat into my stomach, I hate how I feel right now but I still want MORE!!! Repeat above scenario until it is 11am on Sunday. Now the godforsaken coke depression comes on..... Christ. I'm so glad to be out of the drug scene😵😱😨 I'm a downer guy. My brain never shuts the fuck up so I like drugs that slow down the nut factory between my ears😁

    H.... J....

    @Michael Stansby tell your doctor you need secobarbitral or chrolhyadrate both are sure to knock you out or nembutal any strong barbiturates chrolhyadrate is not a barbiturate but it will knock out anyone some doctors may not even know about these meds because they have been replaced by so called safer meds

    H.... J....

    You just didn't do enough. I've never tried it myself. But I did read it's best to have at least an ounce and a week off to do it. And the phone numbers if all the people you have hated all your life. Then call after downing 5 shots of rumplminz and 10 rails. When the blow is gone,go out for heuvo rancheros for breakfast. Crash for 12 hours......then get another ounce.

    H.... J....

    I'm a beer drinker, a little Irish whiskey now and again .. don't like pot. I'm fine with it for others, .. just not my thing. In fact I know a BUNCH of power drinkers that would benefit immensely from switching to pot. Never heard the expression "pot muscles". But, cocaine, ..I don't get it. Tried it once about 40 years ago and was astonished how aggressive and belligerent it made me. Walked away and never looked back.

    H.... J....

    Nailed it!

    H.... J....

    Cocaine's a helluva drug.

  34. Z.... J....

    and they said cocaine was a helluva drug

  35. K.... K....

    I just did some coke. The only hard drug I'll touch.

    K.... K....

    congratulations! so unique

  36. S.... M....

    Christ, do I ever miss being young and bulletproof and being able to drink and smoke grass and blast rails until the sun came up. It's a hard thing when you can look back on it like yesterday but can't do it as such.

    S.... M....

    weed n booze

    S.... M....

    You can still smoke weed and drink a beer but at least you were addicted to heroin like I was

    S.... M....

    That's funny, upvote

    S.... M....

    Nice life project IF you are alone and rich but whit other people around ya know....wife....kids.....good friends....maybe a few projects....the shit cant fly, so pushing sixty getting your nose in nuclear mode is really not all that smart.

    S.... M....

    Us youngins are still killin it for yall! 🤟

  37. s.... f....

    any idea when this was recorded?

    s.... f....

    July 1973, it's on his 'Live at the Old Quarter' album.

    s.... f....

    thank you.

    s.... f....

    Sorry it's not actually that version (poor show on my part as I listen to that album a lot), if the commenter below is correct and is from Roadsongs it was recorded mid 70s/early 80s

  38. a.... ....

    I'm passing the word around. More people need to hear this. Beautiful.

  39. F.... ....

    Sooths the comedown.

  40. M.... o....

    Hello, fans of Townes van Zandt might be interested in The #BobDylan Project

  41. D.... G....

    Sick shit !! FIDLAR was good but still can't compare

    D.... G....

    Sounds Like Poppa John Creech

  42. D.... P....

    How did you find this? Do you know where and when it is? 

    D.... P....

    +Potent Tokin i think its from Roadsongs, released 92

    D.... P....

    my dad showed me this band, he is a bluegrass enthusiast and always spoke highly of Van Zandt, it was only when I hit my early twenties that i realized the appeal of this music.

  43. B.... 2....

    Well done Rudi. Cheers

  44. R.... ....

    whos woot ashton 

    R.... ....

    Hoyt Axton

  45. D.... P....

    Absolutely brilliant. We both know this should have millions of views, Thanks for uploading it. 

    D.... P....

    Potent Tokin we both know they wouldn't all be able to appreciate it. This man lived the blues and not many today can understand what it's like. He was a part of his music, and it was a part of him. You know it's Townes because he wrote HIS music. He didn't have much, or towards the end anything really, but booze and his guitar. He was truly a master. Mississippi John Hurt would be proud. Rest easy, Mr. Van Zandt.