Biography:
Michelle Shocked (born Dallas, Texas, February, 1962) is the stage name of Michelle Karen Johnston, an American singer-songwriter.
As a young feminist, she left Texas to travel, Kerouac-style, and was caught up in Reagan-era grassroots politics. Her musical career was ignited by a bootleg recording made around a Kerrville Folk Festival campfire on a Sony walkman. Released in England as ‘The Texas Campfire Tapes’ without Shocked’s authority, its success abroad enticed Mercury Records to offer the newcomer a recording contract.
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Words & Music by: Michelle Shocked
From the Album "Arkansas Traveler"
1992 Mercury
[Intro]
C G Dm Dm
C G Dm Dm
[Verse]
C Em7
I Kicked in his door at 5 am
F
"I've come for my bike" I told the repo man
C Em7
My 920's gonna take me far today
F C
You can travel for miles and never leave L. A.
C G Dm Dm
[Chorus]
C Em7
I've come a long way, I've come a long way
F
I've gone 500 miles today
C Em7
I've come a long way, I've come a long way
F
And never even left L. A.
C G Dm Dm
[Verse]
C Em7
I drive by the Plaza where the gay boys pose
F
Stand in their windows wearing no clothes
C Em7
I heard the screams of the dying dark
F
Through the sweet green icing of MacArthur Park
C Em7
And then I crossed the river into East L. A.
F
Pescado mojado me encontre
C Em7
And I'm given up on rock 'n roll
F
And I'm saving up for norteño
C Em7
The river she runs by the railroad tracks
F
I swear I'll never take it back
C Em7
A train, she cries on the midnight hour
F
All along the Watts Tow---er
Ohhhhhhhhhhh
C G Dm Dm
C G Dm Dm
[Chorus]
C Em7
I've come a long way, I've come a long way
F
I've gone 500 miles today
C Em7
I've come a long way, I've come a long way
F
And never even left L. A.
[Verse]
C Em7
I darted down to San Pedro Bay
F
Watched my ship sail in, watched her sail away
C Em7
The sun was sinking in-to the sea
F
But a ball of fire inside of me
C Em7
Was burning my motor and driving me hard
F
Past the big hair on the Boulevard
C Em7
And up Mulholland where I made the scene
F
Like the one that took little Jimmy Dean
C Em7
And then I shimmied up Wilshire like a little silk worm
F
Past the rodeo and the pachyderm
C Em7
And then I stopped for coffee at an art cafe
F
I saw the repo man and made my getaway
C Em7
Doing the Eagle Rock, heading for the hills
F
Oh tried to let my engines cool
C Em7
And it is not my fault that this town shakes
F C G
I saw the falling rock and I hit my brakes
[Chorus]
C Em7
I've come a long way, I've come a long way
F
I've gone 500 miles today
C Em7
I've come a long way, I've come a long way
F
And never even left L. A.
[Segue]
C Dm
Now you tow it to the repo man's front door
And you give him these keys, I don't need 'em no more
C Em7
You tow it to the repo man's front door
Dm G
And you give him these keys, I don't need 'em no more...
[Chorus]
C Em7
I've come a long way, I've come a long way
F
I've gone 500 miles today
C Em7
I've come a long way, I've come a long way
F
And never even left L. A. ...
From the Album "Arkansas Traveler"
1992 Mercury
[Intro]
C G Dm Dm
C G Dm Dm
[Verse]
C Em7
I Kicked in his door at 5 am
F
"I've come for my bike" I told the repo man
C Em7
My 920's gonna take me far today
F C
You can travel for miles and never leave L. A.
C G Dm Dm
[Chorus]
C Em7
I've come a long way, I've come a long way
F
I've gone 500 miles today
C Em7
I've come a long way, I've come a long way
F
And never even left L. A.
C G Dm Dm
[Verse]
C Em7
I drive by the Plaza where the gay boys pose
F
Stand in their windows wearing no clothes
C Em7
I heard the screams of the dying dark
F
Through the sweet green icing of MacArthur Park
C Em7
And then I crossed the river into East L. A.
F
Pescado mojado me encontre
C Em7
And I'm given up on rock 'n roll
F
And I'm saving up for norteño
C Em7
The river she runs by the railroad tracks
F
I swear I'll never take it back
C Em7
A train, she cries on the midnight hour
F
All along the Watts Tow---er
Ohhhhhhhhhhh
C G Dm Dm
C G Dm Dm
[Chorus]
C Em7
I've come a long way, I've come a long way
F
I've gone 500 miles today
C Em7
I've come a long way, I've come a long way
F
And never even left L. A.
[Verse]
C Em7
I darted down to San Pedro Bay
F
Watched my ship sail in, watched her sail away
C Em7
The sun was sinking in-to the sea
F
But a ball of fire inside of me
C Em7
Was burning my motor and driving me hard
F
Past the big hair on the Boulevard
C Em7
And up Mulholland where I made the scene
F
Like the one that took little Jimmy Dean
C Em7
And then I shimmied up Wilshire like a little silk worm
F
Past the rodeo and the pachyderm
C Em7
And then I stopped for coffee at an art cafe
F
I saw the repo man and made my getaway
C Em7
Doing the Eagle Rock, heading for the hills
F
Oh tried to let my engines cool
C Em7
And it is not my fault that this town shakes
F C G
I saw the falling rock and I hit my brakes
[Chorus]
C Em7
I've come a long way, I've come a long way
F
I've gone 500 miles today
C Em7
I've come a long way, I've come a long way
F
And never even left L. A.
[Segue]
C Dm
Now you tow it to the repo man's front door
And you give him these keys, I don't need 'em no more
C Em7
You tow it to the repo man's front door
Dm G
And you give him these keys, I don't need 'em no more...
[Chorus]
C Em7
I've come a long way, I've come a long way
F
I've gone 500 miles today
C Em7
I've come a long way, I've come a long way
F
And never even left L. A. ...
Michigander
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