Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again (Take 13, Alternate Take)

Oh, the ragman draws circles
Up and down the block
I'd ask him what the matter was
But I know he doesn't talk
And the ladies treat me kindly
And furnish me with tape
But neither him nor the ragman
Could help me to escape
Oh, Mama, this could be the end
I'm stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again

Now, Shakespeare's in the alley
With his pointed shoes and his bells
Speaking to some French girl
Who says she knows me well
And I would send a message
To find out if she's talked
But the post office has been stolen
And the mailbox is locked
Oh, Mama, this might be the end
I'm stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again

Now, Mona tried to help me
She said stay away from the train line
She said that all the railroad men
Just drink up your blood like wine
An' I said, "Oh, I don't know
But then again, there's only one I've met
An' he just smoked my eyelids
An' punched my cigarette"
Oh, Mama, this might be the end
I'm stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again

Well, Grandpa died last week
He's buried in the rocks
Everybody's still talking about
How badly he was shot
And me, I expected it
I saw he'd lost control
When he built a fire on Main Street
And filled it full of holes
Oh, Mama, this might be the end
I'm stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again

Now the senator came down here
Showing ev'ryone his gun
Handing out free tickets
To the wedding of his son
An' I nearly got busted
Wouldn't it be my luck
To get caught without a ticket
And be discovered beneath a truck
Oh, Mama, this might be the end
I'm be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again

Well the preacher looked so baffled
Everytime I asked him why he dressed
With twenty pounds of headlines
Stapled on his chest
He cursed me when I'd whisper
And say "You're not, you think hide?
You see, you're just like me
I hope you're satisfied"
Oh, Mama, this might be the end
I'm stuck inside of Mobile
With the Nashville blues again

Now the rainman gave me two cures
Then he said, "Jump right in"
The one was Texas medicine
The other was railroad gin
An' like a fool I mixed them
An' it strangled up my mind
An' now people just get uglier
An' I have no sense of time
Oh, Mama, I just need a friend
I'm stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again