Now don't let the moon catch a fool on your roof
That is some aggravation I'm gonna tell you the truth
He'll rattle your dishes and he'll run off your dogs
And he'll be dancin' till dawn in the light of it all

Chorus
Fool on the roof, he's just foolin' with you
Laughin' it off is 'bout the best you can do
Fool on the roof, he will not take no checks
You've got to pay by the dance and that's a natural fact

Fool on the roof, he will not cut you no slack
He make you, mama, make you go 'round back
He's hidin' behind that big ol' chinaberry tree
I know he's there 'cause he's chunkin' 'em at me

Chorus

Don't mind me, baby, I got a fool on my roof
How many times have you used that excuse
Might be something you said or maybe somewhere you've been
With someone you shouldn't and never will again

Chorus

Who walked out when the times got hard
When the truck broke down in the whole front yard
It wasn't me, it wasn't you
Who shot pool all night long
Wound up bettin' on the crack of dawn
That was you darlin', and that was me

Chorus
And we are fools for each other, me and you
We are lovers, in fact, we've gone crazy out back
Like only fools for each other would do

Now who gave up when the fire burned low
Who flew south when the wind blew cold
It wasn't me, it wasn't you
Who held on when the blues came down
Who took care when the tie was bound
That was you, darlin', and that was me

Chorus

Who took off when their heart got broke
Let the whole thing go up in smoke
It wasn't me and it wasn't you, oh no
And who showed up when the time was right
Laid a little mercy on a bad ol' night
That was you, darlin', and that was me

The blackbird she flies wherever she wants to
The mockingbird singin', oh, any ol' song
And the swallow she's nestin' in the rafters of my house
Summer is coming and the geese are all gone
You got to fly and let fly

Ah, the mower's broke down and the yard's run away with me
I've taken to sittin' and just watchin' it grow
And the rabbits are eatin' like kings in the driveway
And I've just about found me no place to go
You've got to live and let live

Come sit by my side in the shade of all greens
It smells like the honeysuckle have gone to extremes
And I've found a reason and you've made it rhyme
And we can go crazy, tomorrow's just fine

I'm gonna sit on the front porch till the lightnin' bugs show up
And it really gets dark and there's dogs in the trash
ItŐs the first and the last time all rolled into this time
You make me feel like I just took a bath
You got to laugh and let laugh

I beg your pardon, momma, what did you say
My mind was drifting on a Martinique day
It's not that I'm not interested, you see
Augusta, Georgia, is just no place to be

Chorus
Just think Jamaica in the moonlight
Sandy beaches, drinking run every night
We got no money, momma, but we can go
We'll split the difference and go to Coconut Grove

Just keep on talkin', momma, I can hear
Your voice, it tickes down inside of my ear
I feel a tropical vacation this year
Could be the answer to that hillbilly beer

Chorus

Voila, an American dream
We can travel, girl, without any means
When it's just as easy as closing your eyes
And dream Jamaica is a big neon sign

Just keep on talkin', momma, I like that sound
It goes so good with the rain falling down
I feel a tropical vacation this year
Might be the answer to this hillbilly beer

Cowboys and Indians and trees he could climb
Tomorrow came too fast but he didn't mind
Ah, the distance was short so light it again
It don't take no time to get where I am

But the one paper kid wasn't really so mean
He's just a little bit scared and a little bit green
And he'd heard of a place that was legal to dream
So he sat with his coffee and a blue Texas wind
And wrote on the rock "the one paper kid, he's rollin' again"

The driver was drunk or he just didn't see
The future was there: it'll happen to me
And all the time that he wasted was his once again
It never takes too long to go where you've been

There's broken hearts scattered all over the past
And old bad memories tryin' to last
Whiskey and women and growing up fast
Fussin' and lovin' and itchin' like grass

Hell, the one paper kid wasn't really so mean
Just a little bit weird 'cause the times were so lean
Now he's gone to a place where it's legal to dream
No camels, no coffee, no cold morning wind
And it's writ on the rock "the one paper kid, he's rollin' again
The one paper kid, he's rollin' again

I had a friend named Bill Campbell
He used to rob, steal, and gamble
And on the side he begged so he mopped up
Well, I told ol' Bill he shouldn't do it
And ol' Bill said that he knew it
So he started begging with a bucket instead of a cup

He's in the jailhouse now
He's in the jailhouse now
Lord, ol' Bill flubbed his dub
When he wore a tuxedo to the country club
He's in the jailhouse now

Ol' Bill had a gal named Sadie
And she said "Have you seen Bill lately?"
Naw, I don't believe that he's about
Well, ol' Sadie went down to the jail
It was just to pay his bail
And she whispered "Sheriff, please don't let him out!"

He's in the jailhouse now
He's in the jailhouse now
Lord, while ol' Bill's away
Sadie's with the sheriff every day
He's in the jailhouse now

You remember the last election
The prohibitionist was in action
Tryin' to elect themselves a president
And Bill Campbell and John Austin
They rode from New Orleans to Boston
And they bought them a bottle in every settlement

In the jailhouse now
In the jailhouse now
Lord, they caught 'em down by the railroad track
Stealin' the train just to haul it back
They're in the jailhouse now

Now you have got the best years of my life and I got yours
Who else could you trust to hold your own
"No one" is the answer to that question I'm quite sure
So treat 'em nice and easy to the bone

Chorus
Comfort and crazy's a smooth combination
And that's how it feels lovin' you
Using stumbling blocks for stepping stones
And anything that works as long
As we are bound to split this life in two

So when it's lookin' like cartoon time down in Texas
And you're feelin' like some shot-up old tin can
Hell, I'll be the one who'll come runnin' to get you
I think you got me last so I'm your man

Chorus twice

Now the Houston Kid's got a new pair of jeans
But he's got no soap, he got no washing machine
Now the Houston Kid he's feelin' tight and he's mean
And he's tryin' to figure out how his pants got clean

Chorus
Well, he's doin' his wash in a tub full of whiskey
Hangin' his threads on a very thin line
Tryin' to tell the man in charge of the dryers
What a great job he's doin' fakin' sunshine

Now the Houston Kid he seems hard pressed
'Cause he hit the world naked, now he's headed back dressed
As the Houston Kid, no more and no less
If your dice fit your pocket then your pants pass the test

Chorus

Now some say the Houston Kid is bent
But if you've got to do your wash
Then you've got to pay some rent
So the Houston Kid he just up and he went
And love could buy back the dimes that he'd spent

Chorus

Well, there's a fool on the roof, mama
What do you think he wants
A fool on the roof, mama
What do you think he wants
Well, that could be the dumbest question I've ever asked you, baby
'Cause he's smooth lookin' for me

You know I tried to get away -- even gave up my good address
You know I tried to get away -- even gave up my good address
I moved all the way to Fannin Street
Tryin' to catch one lonesome breath

Well, I remember that day was in nineteen fifty two
I remember that day -- it was in nineteen and fifty two
Mama and papa took me aside and said
"Whoo-boy, I hate to tell you but you got a fool on your roof"

You let the fool have his way
And you'll be spittin' on your whole life
You let the fool have his way
And you'll be spittin' on your whole life
I'm talkin' 'bout goin' back to Texas
Just me, my guitar, and my wife

Acoustic Guitar Guy Clark
Electric Guitar Albert Lee
Bass B. Spears
Harmonica Don Brooke