I've been taking off and landing
But this airport's closed
And how much thicker this fog is gonna get
God only knows
Just when you think that you've got a grip
Reality sneaks off, it gives you the slip
As if you ever knew what it was
Takin' you down the lime
Tearing through the cotton fields and bus shelters
Of the South runnin' helter skelter
Down through the Mississippi Delta
With no place to call your own
Mixing up drinks with mixed feeling
All along the paint was peeling
Down to an Indian blanket on a pony
With no rider in the flesh and bone
Lookin' for his buffalo river home
I've been circling the wagons
Down at Time Square
Trying to fill up this hole in my soul
But nothing fits there
Just when you think you can let it rip
You're pounding the pavement in your daddy's wingtips
As if you had someplace else to go
Or a better way to get there
Tearing through the cotton fields and bus shelters
Of the South runnin' helter skelter
Down through the Mississippi Delta
With no place to call your own
Mixing up drinks with mixed feeling
All along the paint was peeling
Down to an Indian blanket on a pony
With no rider in the flesh and bone
Lookin' for his buffalo river home
Now there's only two things in life
But I forget what they are
It seems we're either hangin' on a moonbeam's coattails
Or wishing on stars
Just when you think that you've been gyped
The bearded lady comes and does a double back flip
And you run off and join the circus
Yeah you just let that pony ride
Tearing through the cotton fields and bus shelters
Of the South runnin' helter skelter
Down through the Mississippi Delta
With no place to call your own
Mixing up drinks with mixed feeling
All along the paint was peeling
Down to an Indian blanket on a pony
With no rider in the flesh and bone
Lookin' for his buffalo river home
Lookin' for his buffalo river home
| DeemerDave (The Gate City of NH, USA) | Posted: Jul 31, 2011 - 08:44 Nice feel to this song. I don't hear any similarity to Jimmy Buffett ( ) except for the mixing drinks line. I much prefer Hiatt. |
| BalesBub (Boston) | Posted: Jul 31, 2011 - 08:42 Had to turn this off...all the dogs in an 10 mile radius started howling. |
| zeelandhills | Posted: Jun 29, 2011 - 22:58 TwinEngine wrote: Forest267 wrote: >>>>>>>>I'm hearing a little Thrasher, Neil Young. ...I was thinking the same thing. Me three. I'll take Thrasher please. Someone tell me Neil came first, right? There's a lawsuit here for one of them if Cat Stevens can go after the Flaming Lips for "Fight Test" vs "Father and Son"... so is it crappy audio, or am I listening in a can? not too impressed, jimmy buffetesque. |
| Cynaera (South of Neanderthal) | Posted: Apr 27, 2011 - 18:08 His voice is not at its best. But I adore this song, and the artist, so I'm willing to allow for a lot of flexibility. This hits just the right note for me tonight (long story, not worth explaining.) I have always and will always love John Hiatt's music. Naysayers, feel free to naysay. We all have our reasons for loving or hating an artist. Me? I'm really tired, and all I want is to sink into music and sleep until about 2012. |
| jbwiv (Greensboro, NC) | Posted: Apr 27, 2011 - 18:05 Love it...don't get all the negativity, but oh well. I've always felt Hiatt captures the feeling of the South perfectly in his songs. I've lived in the Mississippi Delta, and let me tell you...driving out on the back roads on a hot, incredibly humid day *feels* like this song... |
| Pieter (Sydney Australia) | Posted: Feb 23, 2011 - 16:56 Papernapkin wrote: Only an idiot would say such a thing. I'm not feeling much love in the room! |
| apd (Toronto, On) | Posted: Feb 23, 2011 - 16:49 I usually love John Hiatt but this, not so much. Can someone with more musical knowledge than I tell if the guitar is off-key? There's a couple of chords that really clang. |
| complicated | Posted: Jan 23, 2011 - 10:21 The original is faster and better, with a swirly guitar sound. |
| listen_n_sf | Posted: Jan 23, 2011 - 10:19 He really shouldn't have done that to "The Thrasher". |
| Dave_Mack (Five bus, Jive bus!) | Posted: Oct 20, 2010 - 16:15 bachbeet wrote: I like Hiatt but this one is not among his best. I think this is a great song, and I dig John Hiatt, but this version is not so good. He misses a LOT of chords, and that really bugs me. |
| sailorgirl | Posted: Oct 20, 2010 - 16:12 boring, too hick, too country. Me no like :( |
| bachbeet | Posted: Sep 18, 2010 - 23:24 I like Hiatt but this one is not among his best. |
| ziakut (Chicago, IL) | Posted: Aug 17, 2010 - 22:26 Good songwriter...weak and shaky voice. Nearly everything he's written is nearly always outdone by other artists. Oh well...not terrible. I've heard worse. |
| peacockangel (Phoenix) | Posted: Jul 17, 2010 - 00:32 CatFitz wrote: I gagged when he paired 'helter-skelter' with 'Mississippi delta.' Chee-zee cunt-tree crap. craft . |
| peacockangel (Phoenix) | Posted: Jul 17, 2010 - 00:31 8 ~ only because there are better versions ![]() |
| CatFitz (Tulsa, OK) | Posted: May 14, 2010 - 09:45 I gagged when he paired 'helter-skelter' with 'Mississippi delta.' Chee-zee cunt-tree crap. |
| tasart55 | Posted: May 14, 2010 - 09:42 Not that bad! |
| George_Tirebiter (Phoenix) | Posted: Apr 12, 2010 - 15:05 I've been John Hiatt fan for some time - this isn't one of my favorites, but it's a nice coming of age tune. Storyteller indeed - I give it a 7.2. ![]() |
| james_of_tucson (Tucson AZ) | Posted: Apr 12, 2010 - 15:04 Artists who I know in real life get 9's, no exceptions! |
| dogpound (the island on which I belong) | Posted: Feb 08, 2010 - 11:29 wow this just get worse as it goes. |
| Papernapkin (Mountain View, CA) | Posted: Feb 08, 2010 - 11:26 Pieter wrote: Personal attacks on those that don't share your taste in music is a pretty pointless exercise don't you think? Only an idiot would say such a thing. |
| TwinEngine | Posted: Dec 07, 2009 - 16:14 Forest267 wrote: >>>>>>>>I'm hearing a little Thrasher, Neil Young. ...I was thinking the same thing. Me three. I'll take Thrasher please. Someone tell me Neil came first, right? |
| Pieter (Sydney Australia) | Posted: Dec 07, 2009 - 16:11 lophrequa wrote: true to your name h8rhater! come now lets ![]() I'm in! |
| wendyleefrancis (Banff, AB Canada) | Posted: Dec 07, 2009 - 16:07 I Love John Hiatt; his lyrics and music are both great and his voice is unique. He's also great live. |
| lophrequa (the very edge of the land) | Posted: Dec 07, 2009 - 16:06 h8rhater wrote: Brought to you from the kangaroo-dbag-home. Keep it switched off, mate. true to your name h8rhater! come now lets ![]() |
| Pieter (Sydney Australia) | Posted: Dec 01, 2009 - 23:56 h8rhater wrote: Brought to you from the kangaroo-dbag-home. Keep it switched off, mate. Personal attacks on those that don't share your taste in music is a pretty pointless exercise don't you think? |
| h8rhater | Posted: Nov 06, 2009 - 06:49 Pieter wrote: This is terrible. "Mixing up drinks with mixed feelings" made everyone in the room crack up laughing just before it got switched off. Brought to you from the kangaroo-dbag-home. Keep it switched off, mate. |
| Forest267 (Milwaukee) | Posted: Sep 04, 2009 - 05:30 sfListener wrote: I'm hearing a little Thrasher, Neil Young. ...I was thinking the same thing. |
| fredriley (Nottingham, UK) | Posted: Sep 04, 2009 - 05:28 Antigone wrote: Well, to all the naysayers, I have to say that I think John Hiatt is amazing, a great songwriter, with a unique voice. I've seen him live (with Richard Thompson!) and he's GREAT! Is a "naysayer" a horse impersonator? I'll get me coat... :o) |
| drife (Golden, CO) | Posted: Aug 03, 2009 - 16:50 Antigone wrote: Well, to all the naysayers, I have to say that I think John Hiatt is amazing, a great songwriter, with a unique voice. I've seen him live (with Richard Thompson!) and he's GREAT! Couldn't agree more. Hiatt has been a favorite since he reached the charts in 1987, after struggling for 13 long years. He is truly a gifted song writer and performer. |
| alaken (Missoula, MT) | Posted: Aug 03, 2009 - 16:49 Hiatt is an amazing songwriter and performer with a unique voice. Love to hear more of him here on RP. |
| Pieter (Sydney Australia) | Posted: Jul 02, 2009 - 23:12 This is terrible. "Mixing up drinks with mixed feelings" made everyone in the room crack up laughing just before it got switched off. |
| megisi | Posted: Apr 30, 2009 - 11:05 I prefer the full band version, but it's a "10" for the songwriting. Brilliant. |
| sfListener | Posted: Feb 26, 2009 - 09:45 I'm hearing a little Thrasher, Neil Young. |
| LennytheB (beyond the 7th sun) | Posted: Jan 25, 2009 - 19:33 Not one one his best efforts, but John Hyatt is always good. |
| MM13 (High in the lo country) | Posted: Oct 23, 2008 - 01:54 manbirdexperiment wrote: Yeah, that figures, given the insight in his taste that god has given us so far. But by all means, keep licking up to him, it may serve you in the end. In the meantime, I'll give John Hiatt a 9, as usual. |
| NoEnzLefttoSplit (if it stopped turning I could tell you) | Posted: Oct 23, 2008 - 01:50 MBE really doesn't like this song. |
| Manbird (Santa Rosa, CA) | Posted: Oct 18, 2008 - 19:03 ![]() |
| countyman (pittsburgh, pa.) | Posted: Jul 20, 2008 - 05:46 frednic wrote: Sounds like a talented song writer stuck with a unique voice that wouldn't make it on American Idle.
Anyone WITH talent doesn't make it on American Idol. |
| Antigone (A house, in a valley, Virginia) | Posted: Jun 18, 2008 - 16:57 Well, to all the naysayers, I have to say that I think John Hiatt is amazing, a great songwriter, with a unique voice. I've seen him live (with Richard Thompson!) and he's GREAT! |
| CCinSB (the west coast) | Posted: Jun 18, 2008 - 16:55 Classic John Hiatt song. One of his best. |
| luca77 (Melbourne,Australia) | Posted: Jun 18, 2008 - 16:54 This is bloody awful! It's like being at an open mic out in the suburbs and the MC is too polite to cut him off. |
| frednic (Santee, CA) | Posted: Apr 16, 2008 - 18:33 Sounds like a talented song writer stuck with a unique voice that wouldn't make it on American Idle. inindian wrote: Sounds like a guy attempting to sing while drinking coffee and eating a sandwich! |
| Manbird (Santa Rosa, CA) | Posted: Apr 16, 2008 - 18:32
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| MojoJojo (Indianapolis, IN USA) | Posted: Apr 16, 2008 - 18:30 The great thing about refreshing the "Now Playing" list just before a song ends is finding that the next song is by John Hiatt in time to hit "mute" before he gets anything out. Ahhhh. |
| inindian (Ready to set sail) | Posted: Mar 16, 2008 - 06:40 physicsgenius wrote: Ugh. His voice sounds like a New Yorker faking a Southern accent.
Sounds like a guy attempting to sing while drinking coffee and eating a sandwich! |
| freeone1 (portland, oregon) | Posted: Feb 13, 2008 - 19:19 god i need to listen to more john hiatt...putting it on my list of things to do |
| apd (Toronto, On) | Posted: Jan 13, 2008 - 08:05 Anyone know the story with this album? Can't find it on Amazon... |
| sunny_day (East Coast) | Posted: Jan 13, 2008 - 08:00 junebaby65 wrote: Another critically loved artist with a bad voice...sigh....
I couldn't agree more. It's unfortunate singers with a bad voice sell CDs. |
| pevend | Posted: Jan 13, 2008 - 07:58 go_ski_mully wrote: MY KIND OF SET! Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, John Hiatt!
Esp. when you include the David Byrne song that preceded the above, I feel like I have tuned into the "Male vocalists with extremely annoying voices" channel. |

) except for the mixing drinks line. I much prefer Hiatt.


