Blues Lyrics of the Week: Drowning on Dry Land

“You know my mother told me the story
About that lil’ dog that couldn’t see too well.
He was crossing a railroad track one day
When the train cut off a part of his tail.
He turned around but never looked up
Just to peep over the rail –
And she said he lost his whole head
Trying to find a little piece of tail.

That’s why I’m going down. My nose is in the sand.
A cloud of dust just came over me,
And now I think I’m drowning on dry land.”

I’ve liked this one ever since I saw Buddy Guy perform it at a Pittsburgh show a few years back. If you want to get a feel for what it’s like to see him do this one live, it’s among the DVD tracks on Buddy’s Can’t Quit the Blues box set, and also appears on Carlos Santana‘s Blues Live at Montreux DVD. Or you can give a listen to one of the numerous other versions of the song recorded through the years by the likes of Albert King, O.V. Wright, Roy Buchanan, Junior Parker, and Tab Benoit.

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