"People lie"

Then there's the political songs of JJ Cale. Like People lie, The Problem, Unemployment, Downtown LA, Trouble In The City, Livin' Here Too, Stone river, Homeless, etc.

I think #8 is the darkest album of his. With a black cover to boot. Maybe that's the other part of why I never liked the album that much (the other being the thin tone). Just look at the list of the 9 JJ penned songs: Money talks, Losers, Hard times, Reality, Takin' care of business, People lie, ... all the songs are about the tough modern world.

I dig this line in the lyrics of People lie:

"Well, I bought me a new car, a limo, no doubt
The wheels fell off, the salesman he was out"

The "wheels fell off" bit reminds me of Neil Young's Piece of crap, where he sings "bought a plastic bag, teh bottom fell out, it was a piece of crap". Yes, quality isn't what it used to be...

The song is in the key of E. For once, a true white man's blues guitar key! Maybe it part of the more urban sound?

Anyway, it's a basic 12 bar blues:
E///E///E///E///
A///A///E///E///
E///D///E///E///

The end of the song has a ending lick similar to many of JJ's song closing phrases. Of course he mostly closes with a fade-out, to hide off mistakes, he says. But I think it's just part of the package, the feel you get to hear a 2 minute clip of a great old 25 min barn jam! :D Leave them hungry for more, I say!

Anyway I will get to the ending and some other licks of this song later.