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Losin' Kind Lyrics
My name is Frank Davis, drive a Dixie 109
I was out on Highway 17, just south of the Camden Line
It was down there in the heart of Wilsonville where I met my fate
She was standing outside the barroom said she was waitin' for a date
But I knew that that was just a line
And I knew I was messin' with a losin' kind
Well I knew what we were both doin' and I knew that you can't win
But when the light turned green, I reached across the seat, popped the lock and she slid in
She said she liked Mexican music, she knew a place if I had the time
Well we had a few drinks and we danced a while, I pulled her close, she didn't mind
And what I knew kinda slipped my mind
And I couldn't resist her messin' with the losin' kind
Well we drove around in my Buick, gettin' drunk and havin' fun
Well we ended up at this Best Western out on Highway 101
It was around 3 A.M. we went out to this empty little roadside bar
It was there the cash register was open, it was there I hit that guy too hard
But I knew when I hit him for the second time
That one attracts the other when you're the losin' kind
Well I grabbed her hand to get out of there and I felt like I was gonna be sick
And a half hour later the sleet started coming down and that highway got pretty slick
I seen some lights in my rearview mirror, I guess I panicked and I gave her a gun
Well then I wrapped us around a telephone pole South on Highway 101
Well she just stumbled out onto the bank and sat down in a pout
Well I kicked out the driver side window but buddy when I got out
Well all I had to greet me was a highway patrolman's .45
He looked at the wreck and then he said "Son you're lucky to be alive"
Well sir I'll think that one over if you don't mind
Now luck ain't much good to you when it's the losin' kind
I was out on Highway 17, just south of the Camden Line
It was down there in the heart of Wilsonville where I met my fate
She was standing outside the barroom said she was waitin' for a date
But I knew that that was just a line
And I knew I was messin' with a losin' kind
But when the light turned green, I reached across the seat, popped the lock and she slid in
She said she liked Mexican music, she knew a place if I had the time
Well we had a few drinks and we danced a while, I pulled her close, she didn't mind
And what I knew kinda slipped my mind
And I couldn't resist her messin' with the losin' kind
Well we ended up at this Best Western out on Highway 101
It was around 3 A.M. we went out to this empty little roadside bar
It was there the cash register was open, it was there I hit that guy too hard
But I knew when I hit him for the second time
That one attracts the other when you're the losin' kind
And a half hour later the sleet started coming down and that highway got pretty slick
I seen some lights in my rearview mirror, I guess I panicked and I gave her a gun
Well then I wrapped us around a telephone pole South on Highway 101
Well she just stumbled out onto the bank and sat down in a pout
Well I kicked out the driver side window but buddy when I got out
Well all I had to greet me was a highway patrolman's .45
He looked at the wreck and then he said "Son you're lucky to be alive"
Well sir I'll think that one over if you don't mind
Now luck ain't much good to you when it's the losin' kind
Song Info
Submitted by
zero_the_hero On Jul 25, 2009
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From the Nebraska demos. The story told in the song is similar to that of "Highway 29" from the album The Ghost Of Tom Joad.
I think this Nebraska era song is the flip side to Highway Patrolman, as told by the brothers perspective. Now of course, not everything matches up, but I think Bruce was trying to write these songs from two different sides. Lets look at the lyrics.
Losing Kind (LK) - My name is Frank Davis, Highway Patrolman (HP) - I got a brother named Franky and Franky ain't no good
LK - It was around 3 A.M. we went out to this empty little roadside bar It was there the cash register was open, it was there I hit that guy too hard HP - There was trouble in a roadhouse out on the Michigan line There was a kid lyin' on the floor lookin' bad bleedin' hard from his head there was a girl cryin' at a table and it was Frank, they said.
LK - Well we drove around in my Buick, gettin' drunk and havin' fun HP - Seen a Buick with Ohio plates behind the wheel was Frank
LK - I seen some lights in my rearview mirror, I guess I panicked and I gave her a gun HP - Well I chased him through them county roads till a sign said Canadian border five miles from here
Now of course the ending and some of the particulars are different, but the similarities make me think this was a writing twin to Highway Patrolman.
Also I think this lyric is wrong:
I seen some lights in my rearview mirror, I guess I panicked and I gave her a gun.
I think the correct lyric is "I panicked and I gave her the gun". meaning flooring the accelerator on the car, not an actual gun. That would tie into the road getting slick, and wrapping the car around a telephone pole.
Look at the line from Something in the Night for reference. Out driving by himself at the start of the song, "and I take her to the floor" meaning flooring the accelerator for reference.