Be Careful What You Sign
ALSO RELEASED ON: Pot O' Gold, Sixty - The Trilogy Concert, The Colossus Of Roads
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Version 1 is a full studio recording
Note that the French MGM LP was pressed with a slightly faster play speed, so the song is a little shorter Note that the stereo image is reversed on the Phydeaux Bone 777-6 LP Note that the 2003 So Long Ago The Garden CD has better noise reduction than the earlier CDs |
So Long Ago The Garden [MGM, Rhema, Myrrh and Phydeaux LPs, 1993 and 2003 CD releases]
Larry Norman The Very Best Of Larry Norman Volume 2 Emancipator Siege At Elsinore |
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Version 2 is a live band recording, from the Flevo Totaal Festival in Holland in 1989. Larry is backed by the Finnish band Q-Stone, and his brother Charles
Note that one Rock, Scissors the initial 'Ow-ah-ow...' is missing, as this was actually on the end of the preceding track on Live At Flevo |
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Version 3 is a live recording, performed with a full band (The Barratt Band plus Charles Norman) at The Assembly Buildings in Belfast, Ireland, on December 1 1989
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Version 4 is a short excerpt of version 3
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Rough Diamonds, Precious Jewels Sampler Disc [All three versions] [See the CD tab on the singles page]
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Version 5 is a live recording, performed with a full band during a concert in Northern Ireland, where Larry sang most of the last verse towards the end of the song Watch What You're Doing
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Version 6 is the same recording as version 1, but with an earlier fade out
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Version 7 is similar to version 1, but with faint guide vocals
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lyrics versions 1 and 6
I was walking down the road when I bumped into you
I was walking down the road when I bumped into you
Mmm you stopped me, you touched me, you looked me in the eye
I had a feeling that you knew me, I decided you must die
I pulled out my Thornton special, I shot you in the head
I threw you in the alley way and I left you for dead
Uh
Then a man with a hat came up from behind
The sky went black and I thought I was blind
He put his hand inside my jacket and left a million dollar bills
He slipped his hand into my pocket and gave me women and thrills
And when I turned around to thank him, there was no one there but me
And both my hands were filled with sand, I was standing by the sea
We had dinner at eight and women at nine
The party was great till we ran out of wine
There was a knock upon the bedroom door, my knees began to shake
And this man came in and melted all the candles on my cake
He said I, I've come here to escort you, it's time for you to go
He opened up my body and he took away my soul
I was running down the road
I was running down the road, I was trying to leave
An' I saw you all alone in between the thieves
And when the lightning flashed I saw somebody hanging from a tree
As I turned to walk away I realized it was me
I pulled out my Thornton special, I shot me in the head
I threw me in the alleyway and I left me for dead
Ah down the road
Down the road [x3]
I was walking down the road when I bumped into you
Mmm you stopped me, you touched me, you looked me in the eye
I had a feeling that you knew me, I decided you must die
I pulled out my Thornton special, I shot you in the head
I threw you in the alley way and I left you for dead
Uh
Then a man with a hat came up from behind
The sky went black and I thought I was blind
He put his hand inside my jacket and left a million dollar bills
He slipped his hand into my pocket and gave me women and thrills
And when I turned around to thank him, there was no one there but me
And both my hands were filled with sand, I was standing by the sea
We had dinner at eight and women at nine
The party was great till we ran out of wine
There was a knock upon the bedroom door, my knees began to shake
And this man came in and melted all the candles on my cake
He said I, I've come here to escort you, it's time for you to go
He opened up my body and he took away my soul
I was running down the road
I was running down the road, I was trying to leave
An' I saw you all alone in between the thieves
And when the lightning flashed I saw somebody hanging from a tree
As I turned to walk away I realized it was me
I pulled out my Thornton special, I shot me in the head
I threw me in the alleyway and I left me for dead
Ah down the road
Down the road [x3]
lyrics version 2
Ow-ah-ow-ah-ow-ah-ow-ah-ow-ah-ow-ah-ah
I was walking down the road when I bumped into you
I was walking down the road ah, when I bumped into you
Mmm you stopped me, you touched me, you looked me in the eye
I had the feeling that you knew me, I decided you must die
I pulled out my Thornton special, I shot you in the head
I threw you in the alley way, I left you for dead
Ah-chi-uh, ah-chi-uh-chi-uh
Chi chi chi
Then a man with a hat, he came up from behind
The sky went black and I thought I was blind, yeah
He put his hand into my jacket, he left a million dollar bills
He put his hand into my pocket, he left me women and thrills
And when I turned around to thank him there was no one there but me
And both my hands were filled with sand, I was standing by the sea
We had dinner at eight, women at nine
The party was great till we ran outta wine
There was a knock upon the bedroom door, my knees began to shake
And this man came in, he melted all the candles on my cake
He said I've come here to escort you, it's time for you to go
He opened up my body, he took away my soul
Aaaaaah
I was running down the road
I was running down the road, I was trying to leave
An' I saw you all alone in between the thieves
And when the lightning flashed I saw somebody hanging from a tree
And as I turned to walk away I realized it was me
I pulled out my Thornton special, I shot me in the head
I threw me in the alleyway and I left me for dead
Down the road
I was just going down the road
Just like you, just like you
I was just walking down the road
I was walking down the road when I bumped into you
I was walking down the road ah, when I bumped into you
Mmm you stopped me, you touched me, you looked me in the eye
I had the feeling that you knew me, I decided you must die
I pulled out my Thornton special, I shot you in the head
I threw you in the alley way, I left you for dead
Ah-chi-uh, ah-chi-uh-chi-uh
Chi chi chi
Then a man with a hat, he came up from behind
The sky went black and I thought I was blind, yeah
He put his hand into my jacket, he left a million dollar bills
He put his hand into my pocket, he left me women and thrills
And when I turned around to thank him there was no one there but me
And both my hands were filled with sand, I was standing by the sea
We had dinner at eight, women at nine
The party was great till we ran outta wine
There was a knock upon the bedroom door, my knees began to shake
And this man came in, he melted all the candles on my cake
He said I've come here to escort you, it's time for you to go
He opened up my body, he took away my soul
Aaaaaah
I was running down the road
I was running down the road, I was trying to leave
An' I saw you all alone in between the thieves
And when the lightning flashed I saw somebody hanging from a tree
And as I turned to walk away I realized it was me
I pulled out my Thornton special, I shot me in the head
I threw me in the alleyway and I left me for dead
Down the road
I was just going down the road
Just like you, just like you
I was just walking down the road
lyrics version 3
La la la la leh [On Rough Diamonds, Precious Jewels, this line is prior to the track split, on the end of Twelve Good Men]
Aah
I was walking down the road when I bumped into you
I was walking down the road when I bumped into you
Mmm you stopped me, you touched me, you looked me in the eye
I had the feeling that you knew me, I decided you must die
I pulled out my Thornton special, I shot you in the head
I threw you in the alley way and I left you for dead
Then a man with a hat, he came up from behind
The sky went black and I thought I was blind
He put his hand into my jacket, he left a million dollar bill
And put his hand into my pocket, and left women and thrills
When I turned around to thank him there was no one there but me
Both my hands were filled with sand, I was standing by the sea
Yeah
I had dinner at eight, a-women at nine
The party was great till we ran out of wine
There was a knock upon the bedroom door, my knees began to shake
And this man came in and melted all the candles on my cake
He said I've come here to escort you, it's time for you to go
And then he opened up my body, he took away my soul
I was running down the road
I was trying to leave
Then I saw you all alone in between the thieves
And when the lightning flashed I saw somebody hanging from a tree
And as I turned to walk away I realized it was me
I pulled out my Thornton special, I shot me in the head
I threw me in the alleyway, I left me for dead
I was just going down the road
Just like you
I was just walking down that road
Down that road
Down that road [Very faintly]
I was just walking down the road
Aah
I was walking down the road when I bumped into you
I was walking down the road when I bumped into you
Mmm you stopped me, you touched me, you looked me in the eye
I had the feeling that you knew me, I decided you must die
I pulled out my Thornton special, I shot you in the head
I threw you in the alley way and I left you for dead
Then a man with a hat, he came up from behind
The sky went black and I thought I was blind
He put his hand into my jacket, he left a million dollar bill
And put his hand into my pocket, and left women and thrills
When I turned around to thank him there was no one there but me
Both my hands were filled with sand, I was standing by the sea
Yeah
I had dinner at eight, a-women at nine
The party was great till we ran out of wine
There was a knock upon the bedroom door, my knees began to shake
And this man came in and melted all the candles on my cake
He said I've come here to escort you, it's time for you to go
And then he opened up my body, he took away my soul
I was running down the road
I was trying to leave
Then I saw you all alone in between the thieves
And when the lightning flashed I saw somebody hanging from a tree
And as I turned to walk away I realized it was me
I pulled out my Thornton special, I shot me in the head
I threw me in the alleyway, I left me for dead
I was just going down the road
Just like you
I was just walking down that road
Down that road
Down that road [Very faintly]
I was just walking down the road
lyrics version 4
When I bumped into you
Mmm you stopped me, you touched me, you looked me in the eye
I had the feeling that you knew me, I decided you must die
I pulled out my Thornton special, I shot you in the head
I threw you in the alley way and I left you for dead
Then a man with a hat, he came up from behind
The sky went black and I thought I was blind
He put his hand into my jacket and left a million dollar
Mmm you stopped me, you touched me, you looked me in the eye
I had the feeling that you knew me, I decided you must die
I pulled out my Thornton special, I shot you in the head
I threw you in the alley way and I left you for dead
Then a man with a hat, he came up from behind
The sky went black and I thought I was blind
He put his hand into my jacket and left a million dollar
lyrics version 5
Well well well
Aah ah ah ah ow... [Mimics guitar]
Ah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Oh oh oh
Oh mama killed a chicken, she thought it was a duck
She put it on the table with its legs sticking up
And papa broke his glasses when he fell down drunk
He tried to drown the kitty cat, turned out to be a skunk
You gotta watch what you're doing
Yeah
You gotta watch where you're going
I knew a girl, she was sweet as could be
But she fell for men just like a chain sawed tree
She listened to their lies, she was fooled by their charm
Now she's sitting with a baby in her arm
You gotta watch what you're doing
You know that
You gotta, you gotta watch out
Watch out
Watch out
[Mimics guitar solo]
Everything's fine till things get bad
Then you sit around thinking 'bout the good times you had
It ain't no good to lead a life of sin
If you don't shape up you know you'll never get in
You gotta watch what you're doing 'cause he does
That's right, it's true
He loves you, he loves you
And he watches you 'cause he loves you
Aah
Some folks smile
I said some folks smile
Some folks, some folks smile
You think they're nice when some folks smile, they seem alright
And then later you find out they're like demons in the night
Try to love everybody but don't be blind
'Cause some kind of people try to mess up your mind
Gotta watch out
Don't be fooled
Watch out
Yeah yeah yeah
Some folks say that God is dead
That he doesn't exist except inside your head
I wonder how many are gonna be surprised
When they look straight up and see him coming through the sky
Do you know where you're going
Oh yeah yeah
Gotta watch what you're doing
Yeah
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ah-ah
Watch out
There's someone after you
He's a liar they call the devil
He wants to lock you up in his zoo
He's got a nice little cage picked out just for you
I'll bet it fits real nice too
Watch out
Don't get caught, don't be fooled, don't get caught, don't be fooled, don't get caught, don't be fooled, don't get caught, ah don't
Aw ah yeah yeah [Very faintly]
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Oh Jesus take me to the river
Put me down, shake me up, help me to the cross
Take me to the river
Take me to the river
Take me to the river
Take me to the river
Gotta watch what you're doing
I was walking down the road
And I bumped into you
I saw you all alone in between the thieves
And when the lightning flashed I saw somebody hanging from a tree
And as I turned to walk away I realized it was me
Why, why, why
Watch what you're doing
You gotta watch what you're doing
Yeah
Wo-ooh
Yeah
Ah yeah
For God's sake look out
Aah ah ah ah ow... [Mimics guitar]
Ah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Oh oh oh
Oh mama killed a chicken, she thought it was a duck
She put it on the table with its legs sticking up
And papa broke his glasses when he fell down drunk
He tried to drown the kitty cat, turned out to be a skunk
You gotta watch what you're doing
Yeah
You gotta watch where you're going
I knew a girl, she was sweet as could be
But she fell for men just like a chain sawed tree
She listened to their lies, she was fooled by their charm
Now she's sitting with a baby in her arm
You gotta watch what you're doing
You know that
You gotta, you gotta watch out
Watch out
Watch out
[Mimics guitar solo]
Everything's fine till things get bad
Then you sit around thinking 'bout the good times you had
It ain't no good to lead a life of sin
If you don't shape up you know you'll never get in
You gotta watch what you're doing 'cause he does
That's right, it's true
He loves you, he loves you
And he watches you 'cause he loves you
Aah
Some folks smile
I said some folks smile
Some folks, some folks smile
You think they're nice when some folks smile, they seem alright
And then later you find out they're like demons in the night
Try to love everybody but don't be blind
'Cause some kind of people try to mess up your mind
Gotta watch out
Don't be fooled
Watch out
Yeah yeah yeah
Some folks say that God is dead
That he doesn't exist except inside your head
I wonder how many are gonna be surprised
When they look straight up and see him coming through the sky
Do you know where you're going
Oh yeah yeah
Gotta watch what you're doing
Yeah
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ah-ah
Watch out
There's someone after you
He's a liar they call the devil
He wants to lock you up in his zoo
He's got a nice little cage picked out just for you
I'll bet it fits real nice too
Watch out
Don't get caught, don't be fooled, don't get caught, don't be fooled, don't get caught, don't be fooled, don't get caught, ah don't
Aw ah yeah yeah [Very faintly]
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Oh Jesus take me to the river
Put me down, shake me up, help me to the cross
Take me to the river
Take me to the river
Take me to the river
Take me to the river
Gotta watch what you're doing
I was walking down the road
And I bumped into you
I saw you all alone in between the thieves
And when the lightning flashed I saw somebody hanging from a tree
And as I turned to walk away I realized it was me
Why, why, why
Watch what you're doing
You gotta watch what you're doing
Yeah
Wo-ooh
Yeah
Ah yeah
For God's sake look out
lyrics version 7
[These lyrics are probably present, but are not audible]
Mmm you stopped me, you touched me, you looked me in the eye
I had a feeling that you knew me, I decided you must die
I pulled out my Thornton special, I shot you in the head
I threw you in the alley way and I left you for dead
Then a man with a hat came up from behind
The sky went black and I thought I was blind
He put his hand inside my jacket and left a million dollar bills
He slipped his hand into my pocket and gave me women and thrills
And when I turned around to thank him, there was no one there but me
And both my hands were filled with sand, I was standing by the sea
We had dinner at eight and women at nine
The party was great till we ran out of wine
There was a knock upon the bedroom door, my knees began to shake
And this man came in and melted all the candles on my cake
He said I, I've come here to escort you, it's time for you to go
He opened up my body and he took away my soul
I was running down the road
I was running down the road, I was trying to leave
An' I saw you all alone in between the thieves
And when the lightning flashed I saw somebody hanging from a tree
As I turned to walk away I realized it was me
I pulled out my Thornton special, I shot me in the head
I threw me in the alleyway and I left me for dead
Ah down the road
Down the road [x3]
Mmm you stopped me, you touched me, you looked me in the eye
I had a feeling that you knew me, I decided you must die
I pulled out my Thornton special, I shot you in the head
I threw you in the alley way and I left you for dead
Then a man with a hat came up from behind
The sky went black and I thought I was blind
He put his hand inside my jacket and left a million dollar bills
He slipped his hand into my pocket and gave me women and thrills
And when I turned around to thank him, there was no one there but me
And both my hands were filled with sand, I was standing by the sea
We had dinner at eight and women at nine
The party was great till we ran out of wine
There was a knock upon the bedroom door, my knees began to shake
And this man came in and melted all the candles on my cake
He said I, I've come here to escort you, it's time for you to go
He opened up my body and he took away my soul
I was running down the road
I was running down the road, I was trying to leave
An' I saw you all alone in between the thieves
And when the lightning flashed I saw somebody hanging from a tree
As I turned to walk away I realized it was me
I pulled out my Thornton special, I shot me in the head
I threw me in the alleyway and I left me for dead
Ah down the road
Down the road [x3]
Larry, in 1975: It's an allegory, which is cousin to a parable. It's about walking down the road of life and then choosing or rejecting Jesus, facing the temptations of satan, and either resisting the devil and accepting God, or following after the devil to find in the end that he has led you to your death