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Zip City Lyrics
Your Daddy was mad as hell
He was mad at me and you
As he tied that chain to the front of my car and pulled me out of that ditch that we slid into
Don't know what his problem is
Why he keeps dragging you away
Don't know why I put up with this shit
When you don't put out and Zip City's so far away
Your Daddy is a deacon down at the Salem Church of Christ
And He makes good money as long as Reynolds Wrap keeps everything wrapped up tight
Your Mama's as good a wife and Mama as she can be
And your Sister's puttin' that sweet stuff on everybody in town but me
Your Brother was the first-born, got ten fingers and ten toes
And it's a damn good thing cause He needs all twenty to keep the closet door closed
Maybe it's the twenty-six mile drive from Zip City to Colbert Heights
Keeps my mind clean
Gets me through the night
Maybe you're just a destination, a place for me to go
A way to keep from having to deal with my seventeen-year-old mind all alone
Keep your drawers on, girl, it ain't worth the fight
By the time you drop them I'll be gone
And you'll be right where they fall the rest of your life
You say you're tired of me taking you for granted
Waiting' up till the last minute to call you up and see what you want to do
Well you're only fifteen, girl, you ain't got no secretary
And "for granted" is a mighty big word for a country girl like you
You know it's just your Daddy talking
Cause He knows that blood red carpet at the Salem Church of Christ
Ain't gonna ever see no wedding between me and you
Zip City it's a good thing that they built a wall around you
Zip up to Tennessee then zip back down to Alabama
I got 350 heads on a 305 engine
I get ten miles to the gallon
I ain't got no good intentions
He was mad at me and you
As he tied that chain to the front of my car and pulled me out of that ditch that we slid into
Don't know what his problem is
Why he keeps dragging you away
Don't know why I put up with this shit
When you don't put out and Zip City's so far away
And He makes good money as long as Reynolds Wrap keeps everything wrapped up tight
Your Mama's as good a wife and Mama as she can be
And your Sister's puttin' that sweet stuff on everybody in town but me
Your Brother was the first-born, got ten fingers and ten toes
And it's a damn good thing cause He needs all twenty to keep the closet door closed
Keeps my mind clean
Gets me through the night
Maybe you're just a destination, a place for me to go
A way to keep from having to deal with my seventeen-year-old mind all alone
Keep your drawers on, girl, it ain't worth the fight
By the time you drop them I'll be gone
And you'll be right where they fall the rest of your life
Waiting' up till the last minute to call you up and see what you want to do
Well you're only fifteen, girl, you ain't got no secretary
And "for granted" is a mighty big word for a country girl like you
You know it's just your Daddy talking
Cause He knows that blood red carpet at the Salem Church of Christ
Ain't gonna ever see no wedding between me and you
Zip up to Tennessee then zip back down to Alabama
I got 350 heads on a 305 engine
I get ten miles to the gallon
I ain't got no good intentions
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DBT deserve more comments, especially with lines like:
"Keep your drawers on, girl, it ain't worth the fight By the time you drop them I'll be gone And you'll be right where they fall the rest of your life"
Really? No one?
@crazyburger I couldn't agree with you more. I repeat that in my head all the time. So cold. So cold.
@crazyburger I couldn't agree with you more. I repeat that in my head all the time. So cold. So cold.
"I got 350 heads on a 305 engine I get ten miles to the gallon I ain't got no good intentions"
'Cause how F-ing awesome is THAT? Cooley always seems to save the best lines for the end and this ones no different. Sums up the whole damn song perfectly. Every bit of teenage angst in one line.
Agreed, Jaydot. When I heard him say "I ain't got no good intentions" I actually paused for a quick second, just to let it sink in. Sure, its a simple pronouncement, but as you said, it underpins the whole story and sums up being a teenager for many of us in this country.
Agreed, Jaydot. When I heard him say "I ain't got no good intentions" I actually paused for a quick second, just to let it sink in. Sure, its a simple pronouncement, but as you said, it underpins the whole story and sums up being a teenager for many of us in this country.
Watch the Zip City video on youtube (Live in Chicago)... the crowd take over the last 3 lines and its awesome. Wish I was at that gig... or any DBTs gig for that matter. Don't suppose they'll be coming to London anytime soon.
Watch the Zip City video on youtube (Live in Chicago)... the crowd take over the last 3 lines and its awesome. Wish I was at that gig... or any DBTs gig for that matter. Don't suppose they'll be coming to London anytime soon.
Salem Church of Christ is located in Zip City in Lauderdale County & Colbert Heights and Reynolds Aluminum plant is/was in Colbert County.
The parents in this song seem like hard working, old fashioned, country folks who have raised a couple of screwed up kids. The Deacon knows what the older narrators plan is with his younger daughter, probably why he married his old lady. Hell, a young man expects a gal to put out if he's dropping that kind of coin on gas.
The 17 yr old narrator's mind is smarter and more devious than the others, if the average bear gets in them drawers he would be stuck in Zip City forever playing the good guy. But not this dude with a 305 engine with no good intentions.
I think it speaks to the anxiousness of being a teenager in a small town. So many people have dreams of getting out as soon as they are able, and the narrator fully believes he will escape from the small world where he has been raised. His car is his current means of escape, albeit temporarily, from everything he knows. He realizes that he will not end up with the girl, nor does he necessarily want to, its just something to do to keep his mind off of things. The girl's father sees a lot of himself (during his younger days) in the narrator, and realizes what his plans/dreams/intentions are, and is only trying to protect his daughter from ensuing heartbreak, while respecting his daughter's feelings.
Driving somewhere and you're not really even sure why; that in a nutshell is what being young in America is all about. It's easier than dealing with the boredom. That last line, I ain't got no good intentions, is a killer. Why is this not the biggest band in the world?
I think I can answer that. Because they don't play to "the crowd"..they play REAL music which the masses aren't interested in. I don't even listen to the radio anymore because everything sucks so bad in this American Idol world of music we're living in. This is one of the best bands that I've personally ever seen or heard and I hope they never sell out..just keep making great tunes and albums.
I think I can answer that. Because they don't play to "the crowd"..they play REAL music which the masses aren't interested in. I don't even listen to the radio anymore because everything sucks so bad in this American Idol world of music we're living in. This is one of the best bands that I've personally ever seen or heard and I hope they never sell out..just keep making great tunes and albums.
About the Reynolds Wrap thing.. It really is a straight forward reference to the Reynolds wrap factory in the Shoals area of Alabama. it's a large source of employment to the small area.
Mike Cooley is the only artists whose songs I never get tired of listening to. He only writes great songs, so inteligiently worded yet spoken through the mouth of an uneducated southern kid. After Jason left, Cooley quickly became my Favorite DBTs writer and essentially took the band on his back with English Oceans. Forgot the words to "Gravity's Gone" the other night in Asbury, NJ though....lol. Love Cooley, guy just reeks of classic rock writer gunslinger SWAGGER. Imagine, If Cooley had joined the Stones as a kid in the late 80's, like Mick Taylor, Stones would have had another rennaiasance period of greatness Last of a dying breed.
Yeah, the "keep your drawers on girl"line is great...I've always thought it was one of the best lines in a song ever.
And you know, as observant as I like to think I am, I totally missed on the daddy/drug dealer reference. I always thought the Reynolds Wrap just meant that he worked for the Reynolds factory in town or something like that. I never thought about a drug reference. What a doofus I am.
I love this song, and you can't have a good southern rock song without twin guitars, which are great in this tune.
i agree freewheelinmike, it pisses me off that they don't even get any radio play except for the occasional satellite radio station. what bull faggots dj's are.
This is my favorite song right now, i love it.
i love the line- "You say you're tired of me taking you for granted Waiting' up till the last minute to call you up and see what you want to do Well you're only fifteen, girl, you ain't got no secretary And "for granted" is a mighty big word for a country girl like you"