[Verse 1]
You take off from work a bit early
The boss doesn't care if you stay
The guard with the key
Has to check your ID
But he'd just as soon blow you away

[Verse 2]
The cops have stopped ten miles of traffic
They're sorry for all the delay
No need for alarm
As they're waving their arms
But they'd just as soon blow you away

[Verse 3]
Two pretty blondes in a Porsche
Their bumper says "We Love LA!"
They look pretty fair
But they're crazy out there
They'd just as soon blow you away

[Verse 4]
You got in some trouble in high school
But you feel like a new man today
You keep to yourself
Because anyone else
Would just as soon blow you away
[Verse 5: Robert Earl Keen & Michael Snow]
You're standin' in front of the teller
She's counting out all of your pay
There're twenties and ones
And there's guards with their guns
And they'd just as soon blow you away

[Verse 6: Robert Earl Keen & Maura O'Connell]
And one old ex-con at the station
Fixes flats in the back of the bay
He winks and he jokes
And he borrows a smoke
But he'd just as soon blow you away

[Verse 7: Robert Earl Keen & Michael Snow & Maura O'Connell]
You like the new girl at the hotel
She drops your room key in the tray
No words will pass
Through the bullet-proof glass
'Cause she'd just as soon blow you away

[Verse 8]
You climb up the stairs every evening
To your room right above the café
There ain't much mystique
But you pay every week
'Cause they'd just as soon blow you away
[Verse 9]
And you turn out the light that you read by
You pray that you're one of the few
When you're in with the Lord
There's just one reward
And they'd just as soon make it come true

[Verse 10]
Your mattress is mildewed and lumpy
But you fall fast asleep where you lay
Under the lump
There's a twenty-gauge pump
'Cause they'd just as soon blow you away