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Go Big Or Go Home

by Paul Mark & The Van Dorens

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  • Digital Album
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    The cult-classic first album by Paul Mark & the Van Dorens, recorded at Memphis Sound Studios on Beale Street with producer Jim Gaines. Includes original roots rock gems "The Drinks Are On Me" and "One Job's Worse Than the Next", as well as the band's steamroller cover of "Sixteen Tons".
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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    The starling debut CD from roots rockers Paul Mark & The Van Dorens.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Go Big Or Go Home via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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1.
Another Thing I'll Never Get 02:53
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(Words/music by P.Mark) Every day that I go through And every night 's the same thing too Every day and every night I get the feeling There's something I missed Life for all its promise is one big tease When I think about the way things ought to be I say hey there goes another thing That I'll never get A dollar bill that' s worth more than a dime A salesman that tells me just what I'm buying A winning hand that turns up Just when I get the urge to bet A dollar jug of wine that really does the trick A woman that don't work me like a carrot on a stick Man there goes another thing That I'll never get They say good things come to those who wait But I'm working on limited time All I'm really shooting for is breaking even once in a while A TV show that I’d like to see again A radio that plays a song I can stand A night on the town that doesn't strap me with the national debt A Broadway show that leaves me calling for more A movie that' s worth the price you pay at the door Man there goes another thing I'll never get They say good things come to those who wait But tell me when do the goods arrive? All I'm really shooting for is breaking even while I'm alive A state trooper that looks the other way A county judge who sees the world my way A presidential race where the man really means what he says A job that pays me just for being alive A vacation that lasts until I'm 65 Man there goes another thing I'll never get © Last Warning Music. All rights reserved.
2.
One Job's Worse Than the Next 03:08
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(Words/music by P.Mark) Five long days a week I work at one job or another Saturday and Sunday I spend looking for another Low pay, long hours The story's the same all over this town Listen here - One job's worse than the next It takes two days of work to pay off one day of rent When a man hits 30 he's 50 years in debt Low pay, long hours You get in so deep you can never climb out I'm telling you people - One job's worse than the next I don't mind working if I'm working with my mind But as soon as you get to thinking, man you' re overqualified Low pay, long hours They'll show the door if you figure it all out Tell the truth - One job's worse than the next Five long days a week I work at one job or the other 40 hours of slaving and I can't stand another Low pay, long hours I try looking up but work keeps bringing me down Spread the word - One job's worse than the next Last Warning Music. All rights reserved.
3.
Don't Be Doin' Like I Do 03:58
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(Words/music by P.Mark) Well that little baby of mine She’s fine most of the time But once in a while she gets where she don’t buy my song Starts asking questions like, “Where you been”, “Where’d you meet her?” and “How long has this thing been going on?” Now I don’t mind curiosity And I explain it all as best I can But there are times when she don’t get the message And I have to tell her all over again I say, I spend my days at the racetrack Evenings I keep appointments in the bars In between I roam around the streets of this town In a long black Cadillac car If I’m out on the roam and late getting home I wouldn’t let it bother you Just do as I say, don’t be doin’ like I do Now when I get home I wanna find you alone Got no need for company round here And if you’re heading downtown Just keep your eyes to the ground Don’t want no man pulling your ear Well, it’s different for me, I’m a man of means And I can’t afford to be rude Just do as I say, don’t be doin’ like I do It was late one evening In the not too distant past I wandered in late after business way ‘cross town And being so late at night I didn’t bother with the lights I just came in and laid my weary head on down Now there comes a time in every man’s life When things are going so right That you ought to stop…and take a good look around See when I reach across the pillow For a little tender loving care My woman was nowhere to be found Now it’s been six long weeks And as many lonely nights Since my baby packed her blanket and gone It was hard for a while But grieving’s not my style Now I’m singing that same old song Just the same if you’re looking for a long-term woman I’ve got some advice for you Just do as I say boys, don’t be doin’ like I do © Last Warning Music. All rights reserved.
4.
The Drinks Are On Me 06:17
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(Words/music by P.Mark) I come from a long line of bar stool companions Tell your story man have I got one for you Life’s too short for silence I may be right, I may be wrong But no story ever fell on deaf ears That had a bottle to help it along I come from a long line of higher education The higher I get the more my lesson gets learned And now, now that she’d gone I can stay out all night long So tonight, the drinks are on me Never mind the place is empty Never mind the clock striking three The sun rising over the city It’s a sight you really ought to see So fire up that jukebox Mix the drinks up strong She may not be here with me But I still love that song I come from a long line of late night walkers Flashing neon is a siren to my soul And at home the clock ticks like a gong So I’ll stay out all night long And say tonight, the drinks are on me Bridge I come from a long line of self-made men Everything I got, brother I paid for in spades I ain’t made out of money But if I was I share the wealth If a man’s honest with strangers You can bet he’s honest with himself I come from a long line of closet gamblers Roulette wheel eyes and a crap shoot smile And the years when winning was my style They all come back to me for a little while When I say tonight, the drinks are on me And my real friends they never run away And they smile, especially when I say That tonight, the drinks are on me © Last Warning Music. All rights reserved.
5.
Sixteen Tons 04:43
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(Words/music by Merle Travis)
6.
Connect With Me 04:27
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(Words/music by P.Mark) Step out of line, we' re walking in for free Step out of line, we' re walking in for free If you' re looking for connections Come on, connect with me My mother was princess, my daddy was a wheel I got a brother who works on Wall Street The boy sure knows how to deal Step out of line, we'll see the show for free I got connections at the door Come on, connect with me I got a buddy who's in real estate Now I don' t pay no rent My neighbor he’s a diplomat He drinks with the President Scratch my back, baby You’ll get the same from me I'll make all the introductions Come on, connect with me I got an aunt who was a beauty queen She was long, dark and slim My uncle stars in Hollywood And they say I look like him Don't mind the cameras Just walk on and say cheese We'll make a front page splash Come on, connect with me Those wheels across the street They look mighty fine to me With you beside me darling we’ll ride like king and queen It ain't my car but I think we can find the key We'll joyride into the sunset Come on, connect with me © Last Warning Music. All rights reserved.
7.
Only Man In Leavenworth 03:53
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(Words/music by P.Mark) I don't hear no trains I mark time by the falling of the rain I got no company except for the hand that feeds The meal plate under my door I ain't the last, ain't the first But I'm the only man in Leavenworth Floor of earth, walls of stone A man lives as he dreams: all alone The darkness of my days seems so far away From the green, green grass of home I know I ain't the first But I'm the only man in Leavenworth Every man must fall The story's been scratched on these walls The words that I read are the desperate pleas Of the man put here before me I ain't the last, ain't the first But I'm the only man in Leavenworth This whole world ain't what it seems I try to sleep but I always dream Of the day when these chains and the falling of the rain Are put to rest with me in a deep dark grave From death to birth I'm the only man in Leavenworth © Last Warning Music. All rights reserved.
8.
What I Learned from You 02:58
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(Words/music by P.Mark) All the places that I've been to Every room l walk through (2x) There's always something that reminds me Of all the things I learned from you All my friends seem so foreign All my memories fade from view (2x) And the world turns so slowly After what I learned from you Every story ever written Every book I learned in school (2x) It all adds up to nothing Next to what I learned from you © Last Warning Music. All rights reserved.
9.
It Was You Who Changed 04:06
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(Words/music by P.Mark) I was living clean once I had my head on straight But now I'm in the barrooms daily Smoking three packs a day I may look different now But when all the arguments are through I step back and look at myself One thing I know is true: It wasn't me who changed Honey it was you I once had loads of money I walked the streets with pride Now I'm ragged and lonely People just walk on by Now all my friends and relations They all look away when I walk into the room They nod their heads but I know they ain't believing When I try to explain the truth That it wasr1' t me who changed Honey It was you I used to roll straight sevens With you by my side Now my luck's gone south Police are giving me the eye That crystal ball was lying When it said my life would be trouble-free Now even that gypsy woman Slams the door at the sight of me But it wasn't me who changed Honey it was you I used to build for the future I had our plans well-laid But now the nest egg's gone So is the promise you made I was wrong about you And for that I'm a damaged man Deep inside I'm true to myself But no one else seems to understand That it wasn't me who changed Honey it was you The world may say I'm lying That bitterness got the best of me But when somebody does the same to you Deep in your heart that day you'll see That it wasn't me who changed Honey it was you © Last Warning Music. All rights reserved.
10.
Del Rio Stompin' 04:00
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(Words/music by P.Mark) Don’t start her talking She’ll wanna talk all night Don’t start her crying She’ll cry until the morning light Refrain: If I know my baby She’s got no mind for stopping ‘Cuz at the bit she’s chomping To go Del Rio Stompin with me Don’t start her fighting We’ll fight like cats’n dogs Don’t start her thinking She’ll sit like a bump on a log Refrain Don’t start her primming She’ll stare at the mirror 'til dawn Don’t start her drinking She’ll drink like a fish in a pond Refrain © Last Warning Music. All Rights Reserved.
11.
I'd Rather Live Alone 04:51
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(Words/music by P.Mark) It's not that I've been hurt And hardened to stone I've just seen enough of this world To know I'd rather live alone Makes a man weary, all these turns in the road I'd rather live alone than be left out in the cold Doorbell rings and I don't answer My telephone's off the hook I spend my evenings indoors With records, TV and books Makes a man evil, all these turns in the road I’d rather live alone than be left out in the cold The years go passing by Like so many days of the week I see an old familiar story On every face I see Makes a man crazy, all these turns in the road I'd rather live alone than be left out in the cold © Last Warning Music. All rights reserved.
12.
Do It Myself 04:09
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(Words/music by P.Mark) At the restaurant I order black-eyed peas The waiter serves up a plate of pork and beans Down at the laundry I drop off my fine silk suit Give it to them red and it comes back blue I've seen enough Good help is so hard to find Next time, I just as soon do it myself At the car wash when I pick up my wheels I find a brand new dent and the paint's all peeled I told the barber to clip my wig just so Now I've got to wear a hat where ever I go I'm staying home Can't trust nobody these days Next time, I just as soon do it myself I ask my baby real nice to go out to the store "Be happy to darling," and she flew out the door Three hours later with her arm’s loaded up She says, "l got me a few things but I couldn't find your stuff" I seen it coming She's got a lot of nerve Next time, l just as soon do it myself My accountant took a fortune to balance my books I should have known it'd be the year the tax man would look That lawyer said he'd get me off for a fee Now I'm pacing in the pokey doing one to three I've seen enough They just take your money and run You want it done right? You got to go and do it yourself © Last Warning Music. All rights reserved.

about

Paul Mark & the Van Dorens powerful first CD, recorded in Memphis and produced by Grammy-winner Jim Gaines (Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Steve Miller, Luther Allison). "Go Big or Go Home" includes 11 Paul Mark originals along with a killer rendition of Merle Travis' "Sixteen Tons". The CD that put the band on the map, it's a roots rock diamond in the rough and a rawcuss portent of things to come. Includes "The Drinks Are on Me", "Only Man in Leavenworth", and "What I Learned from You," some of the band's most requested numbers.

A cool and twisted debut from the streets of New York City. Everything rock music was in the early 1990s -- this CD is NOT...

A Trash Classic REMASTERED and RE-RELEASED!

credits

released June 1, 1991

Produced by Jim Gaines
Recorded and mixed at Memphis Sound, Memphis TN
Engineers: Jim Gaines, Dan Pfeifer
Asst. engineer: Dan Jammer Godsey
Mixed by John Fleskes
Remastered by Mike Acopelli, Cryrock Studios, Memphis TN

Joe Costello - Drums
Ken Wiltshire - Bass
Jim Morabito - Bass
Jack Holder - Hammond organ
P.Mark - Vocals, guitar

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Paul Mark & The Van Dorens image

Paul Mark & The Van Dorens New York, New York

Triple-threat songwriter-musician-producer Paul Mark has been mystifying critics and barflies for decades. With a striking lyrical edge and an encyclopedic facility with American roots music, NYC-based Paul Mark has built a top-drawer original song catalog that tugs on the ears of the literary as well as the liquidated. Mark is principal owner of Radiation Records. ... more

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