Wicked Ways Written and preformed by Cory Capron, Friday, August 29th, 2003 Ain't no love for the loveless So the unloved say I've been peeking in the keyholes I've been standing in my own way Stranded by my own invention Too much of a good thing Led a war of blindness I hit bottom and kept falling Now it feels like the end of my days So on my knees I do prey If you can get me out of this one Lord I'll quit my wicked ways Quit my wicked ways Swear I'll quit my wicked ways If you can get me out of this one Lord I'll quit my wicked ways Saw a rose in the briers Prettiest girl I've ever seen Say's that she can't love me Till the day that I come clean Took her down to the garden Kissed her on the cheek I know she'll be in heaven While I'm burning underneath And now I see her walking away So on my knees I do prey If you can get me in with this one Lord I'll quit my wicked ways Quit my wicked ways Swear I'll quit my wicked ways If you can get me in with this one Lord I'll quit my wicked ways Thought I'd worn my welcome On the bed I found my hat Left this town just a-crying With the sun crawling up my back Followed the sound of water Thought it the river of the lord Found a lake of fire Bleeding from a golden sword But I was scared and lonely With not a soul to hold I fled into the fire For the land had grown too cold Now St. Peter, tell me why you're laughing? Tell me why do you slam the door? If you just open up the gate, Lord Then I'll quit my ways for sure Quit my ways for sure Swear I'll quit my ways for sure If you just open up the gate, Lord Then I'll quit my ways for sure Now don't you follow me... my love Don't you wait at the edge of the blaze Go on now to heaven I can't quit my wicked ways I can't quit my wicked ways Quit my wicked ways Quit my wicked ways Go on now to heaven I can't quit my wicked ways Cause there ain't no love for the loveless So the unloved say I was peeking in the keyholes I was standing in my own wayTHIS SCRIPT IS COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL AND MAY NOT BE DOWNLOADED, TRANSMITTED, PRINTED OR PERFORMED WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR
One of the things that always fascinated me most about Son House is how spiritually conflicted he was. He was the son of a preacher, yet he sang the blues in a time when it was still considered (much like jazz) to be the music of the devil. He mixed the gospel with the blues shamelessly despite others views of it being blasphemy, shouting out that he'd "preach the blues." In old archive footage the sight of Son House singing is a truly powerful thing. He trebles as if he really did have god and the devil fighting over his soul.
The actual song Wicked Ways has very little to do with Son house outside of theme and style of delivery, (no instruments, bluesy gospel) but deals more with the idea of running out of karma, luck, second chances unpaid. I don't think of it is a religious song though. It uses a lot of biblical language because that's what I was raised with and am most familiar with. I like to think of the imagery as more of an accent of where I come from instead of where I am.
Performed by Cory Capron