Peggy/Sue from 123 by The Buckwheat Sages
"Peggy/Sue" I wrote this one on a plane to Ireland, just to keep myself busy (it's a long flight). I thought of my brother a lot while I was writing it; it seems like the kind of jams he gets himself into. I'm not sure he would have the perspicacity and wisdom of the last verse, though: that's where this song and "Kirsten" share a realization moment at the end that bespeaks a sad maturing of the narrator/singer. And, of course, I find this last line very touching as well.
Tracklist
| 11. | Peggy/Sue | 4:03 |
Lyrics
Two cups of coffee, some cereal in my bowl,
Sliced me a banana, stuffed it all in my hole.
That's the last thing I remember before you went away
And here's how I spent the rest of my day:
I put on my socks, I slid on my pants,
Buttoned up my workshirt as if in a trance,
Put my wallet in my pocket and my hat on my head,
Grabbed the keys off the dresser, headed out to the shed.
Well, I started up the tractor, backed it out of the door,
Put it into low gear and worked it up to four.
I kicked it into overdrive and drove it in the ditch,
And I hollered as it threw me, "Oh, Son-of-a-Bitch!
Son of a Bitch, Oh-oh, Son of a Bitch."
Well I hit the ground runnin', 'bout broke my leg,
I thought I'd look funny hoppin' 'round on a peg.
And that's what I called you, although your name is Sue,
And though I called you "Peggy," you Know I meant You.
Well, I started back to the farmhouse, it wasn't very far,
I went right on past it, walked on to the bar.
Ordered me a whiskey and a 12-pack of beer
And I wondered how the hell I'd ended up here.
Well, I drank all the beer and chased it down with the booze,
And me and the barkeep watched the 8 a.m. news.
I told him you left me, he said, "What'd you do?"
I said, "I called her Peggy." He said, "Her name's Sue."
Her Name Is Sue!
Well I sat on that barstool till my ass went numb,
Threw darts at the dartboard, and twiddled my thumbs.
Called my boss up at lunchtime, said, "Boss, How you doin'?"
He said, "Where the Hell are You?" and he gave my ass a chewin'.
I said, "Hey, there, Boss: can I take a later shift?
My tractor's rolled over and lyin' in the ditch.
And Peggy's got my damn truck, and Sue's got my car,
And I'm three sheets to the wind and sittin' at the bar."
Sittin' at the Bar! Oh, sittin' at this here Bar.
Well, I had me one good girl, and then I had me two,
And then I had me none, well, how do you do.
So if you see a Peggy let her go on her way
And go home to your Susan at the end of the day.
You know, Life's pretty tough, no need to make it tougher,
No need to find a way to add to your suffer-
ing. Your suffering ...
Credits
License
All rights reserved.
The Buckwheat Sages have been a kinda sorta thing for nearly 30 years. We didn't "make it" in the sense that that phrase is usually used, and this is the sum total of all our efforts over all that time. We hope you can enjoy this compilation, for what it's worth. If you can't, well, you know who to blame.