Cletis Carr - Talking St. Kilda Blues lyrics

rate me

I first met Louie in 1986 he was hanging around St. Kilda, down by the pier

We got to talking about politics and injustice

Louie said let's go across to the Esplanade and have a beer

The barmaid was Annie, at least I think that was her name

I ordered a VB stubby, Louie ordered the same

Then he turned to me with a crazy grin

And said, man, I'm gonna tell you something I ain't told nobody

Louie gazed around the bar, slowly, like he was looking for someone he knew

And then lowered his voice and spoke without moving his mouth much

The way Humphrey Bogart used to do

He said, everybody got a secret, they got something to hide

But me, I'm a little different, you see, I just killed this guy

And then our eyes met for just a second, and I knew he was serious

I knew I was a little scared

I whispered, so why'd you kill him anyway

And then I looked around to see if anyone had heard

Louie said, it was over this gambling debt thing, he got all my money

And all I got was his word

Cause they'll always rip you off, it's just a matter of when

Some do it with a gun, man, some do it with a pen

Louie put down his beer and smiled

And said, you shoulda seen the look on that guy's face, I was glad I hadn't

I finished my beer and said, look, I gotta run

Louie said, hey, can I get a lift, there's some people I gotta meet

So we walked out and got in my old Falcon

Started it up and headed up Fitzroy Street

Louie pulled out a matchbook, on the back someone drew

A map and an address, somewhere out in Kew

And Louie said, I'll bet we can get there in ten minutes

I said, no thanks, I don't bet, not anymore anyway

So we pulled up to this house, there were no lights on, it was all black

And Louie opened the car door and said come on in for a minute

You gotta see this talking dog they got out back

And I said, what? He said, they got a talking dog out back

So I forgot about that other thing and got out of the car

And followed Louie up to the house

Louie knocked on the heavy old door, slowly creaked open like it wasn't latched

We went inside a couple of steps, it was pitch black, Louie said, you got a match

And I gave him one

Then he lit it up, I could see the back door

Just getting a look at that dog was all that I came for

So I left Louie in the hallway and went out to check out the back yard

Then I stepped out in the grass

It looked like it hadn't been mowed in at least a year

And out in the middle sat this old spotted mongrel

With three legs and one ear

I knew right then I'd been taken for a fool

Why this dog couldn't talk, it just sat there and drooled

Just then I heard a couple voices coming from inside the house

And one of them was Louie's

So I listened closely, trying to hear what was being said

But all I could make out was something about not really being dead

And then I heard a shot, something hit the floor

Man, I ain't ever been this scared before

Then a deep voice behind me said, come on, there's a gate around the side

Let's get out of here – and I ran like hell

Then I jumped in my old Falcon, fired it up and put the pedal straight to the floor

Man, I did a hundred and ten through Hawthorn, through Caulfield

Hit the Princes Highway, I didn't stop til I got to the ocean shore

Then I let out a sigh, sat back in the seat

Almost jumped through the roof when I saw that dog at my feet

And that dog just looked at me with a funny look on it's face and said nothing

I wasn't surprised

Anyway, I eventually moved back to Sydney and got a job selling newspapers

Down at Central Station

I read them everyday but I never read anything about Louie

I guess he never got a mention

So the moral of the story is, never be too sure

Check out all the facts and don't be too premature

And remember what Louie said about secrets, and about pens

By the way, the dog's name is Freddie

And he really does talk