John Butler Trio

Coffee, Methadone & Cigarettes

John Butler Trio


See my old man has a broken heart
Gotta leaky valve, an aneurysm
But, trace it back to the start
When that big old fire came towards Nannup town
That greedy thing burnt more than the bush down
You can bury the dead and try to forget
You're still waking up with
Coffee, methadone and cigarettes

In the summer of fifty eight
When innocence shattered and broke
The tree, the egg, the nest, the breast, the yolk
When those thieving flames
Took my grandad from my Pa
And ever since then we've been mending all those scars
But the bandages and ointment ain't done yet
You're still waking up with
Coffee, methadone and cigarettes

That broken bird somehow grew
With his seven brothers and sisters
Moved from the country to the zoo
Between the legacy visits and the boarding schools
Yes he learnt to dodge the books
And he learnt to dodge the fools
Says he's made mistakes
But lives with no regrets
Still waking up with
Coffee, methadone and cigarettes

Grandma on Sunday
Used to eat the chicken neck
Said she wasn't hungry and the kids could have the rest
When those kids grew they learnt just what she'd done
She would go hungry for all of them
She'd go hungry for everyone
Now she's gone and it's hell in the hand basket
Still waking up with
Coffee, methadone and cigarettes

See my old man has a broken heart
Got a leaky valve, an aneurysm
But yeah trace it back to the start
When that big old fire came towards Nannup town
That greedy thing burnt more than the bush down
You can bury the dead and try to forget
You can bury the dead and try to live with no regrets
You can bury the dead and it's all gone to shit
Still waking up with
Coffee, methadone and cigarettes
Now she's gone
And it's hell in a hand basket
Still waking up with
Coffee, methadone and cigarettes