Song information On this page you can find the lyrics of the song You Better Get It While You Can, artist - Steve Goodman.
Date of issue: 14.09.1994
Song language: English
You Better Get It While You Can |
I remember when I met Carl Martin |
It must have been a dozen years ago |
This wise old gent was grey and bent |
But his eyes had a fiery glow |
He was born April Fool’s Day of 1906 |
Near Big Stone Gap, VA |
He could play a little fiddle |
And some blues guitar that he’d picked up along the way |
But, Jethro, once he put his hands on the mandolin |
He lit up just like a Christmas tree |
Along with Ted Bogan and Howard Armstrong |
They were the best string band I ever did see |
Now for fifty odd years they played rent parties |
Road houses, concerts and festivals too |
At the drop of a hat these three black cats |
Would play you every song they knew |
It was «Lady Be Good» and «The Barnyard Dance» |
And «The Ice Cream Freezer Blues» |
Now, they’d trot the oldest chestnuts out |
And make every one sound brand new |
And the little white boys with their shiny guitars |
Would follow right along at their heels |
They learned all the words and they learned all the chords |
But they never did learn how it feels |
Now one night I asked Carl where he got the fire |
And he said, 'Steve, you’ve got to understand |
If you want to be someone, you better have some fun |
And you better get it while you can.' |
He said: |
You better get it while you can |
You better get it while you can |
If you wait too long, it’ll all be gone |
And you’ll be sorry then |
It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor |
And it’s the same for a woman or a man |
From the cradle to the crypt |
Is a mighty short trip |
So you better get it while you can |
Carl always had a way to make the good times roll |
When the rest of us weren’t so sure |
He’d just pick out the prettiest woman in the room |
And then he’d sing every song to her |
Now, one night back East when the gig was done |
There was an all night blow-out jam |
We played and we sang and we drank for hours |
Until the sun came up again |
It was blues and ballads, Ragtime, Dixieland, Swing |
Some old time show tunes |
And then Carl Martin sang some songs nobody else knew |
And some I haven’t heard since then |
But right before dawn he did two more songs |
Just to separate the strong from the faint |
It was a red-hot rendition of «The Old Pine Tree» |
And a double-time version of 'The Saints' |
(With the mandolin behind his head) |
And when he was done those of us who could still breathe |
Took off our hats to that man |
Carl had played everybody under the table that night |
And he said, 'You better get it while you can' |
It was: |
You better get it while you can |
You better get it while you can |
If you wait too long, it’ll all be gone |
And you’ll be sorry then |
It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor |
And it’s the same for a woman or a man |
From the cradle to the crypt |
Is a mighty short trip |
So you better get it while you can |
You know Carl and his buddies never got too far |
When he died Martin didn’t have a dime |
He was a little behind in his payments |
And a little bit ahead of his time |
Last week some so-called musicians |
Stayed up real late and burned one down |
The liquor kept coming, so we kept strumming |
Til a minute or two before dawn |
There were those who stayed and those who faded |
But soon I was left all alone |
Now I don’t believe in ghosts — but I could swear |
I heard Carl Martin singing one more song |
You better get it while you can |
You better get it while you can |
If you wait too long, it’ll all be gone |
And you’ll be sorry then |
It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor |
And it’s the same for a woman or a man |
From the cradle to the crypt |
Is a mighty short trip |
So you better get it while you can |
You better get it while you can |