Sanitarium Blues Songtext
von Townes Van Zandt

The folks
They just can′t take no more
Throw you in the back seat
Slam the door
No stoppin' as down the road you go
Go not time to lose

Gigantic one way gate ahead
You′re thinkin' man I'd as soon be dead
They decided to give you life instead
The sanitarium blues

Big old nurse
All dressed in white
Slaps you on a table in the middle of the night
Then he straps you down real tight
You′re wonderin′
What'd I do?


They hose you down
Make sure you′re clean
Wrap you up in hospital green
Shoot you full of Thorazine
The sanitarium blues

Could be TB or maybe a tumor
Eavesdropping on the doctors
Listening to the rumors
Can't see your friends
Hear the hum of the wheels
Hey my man
You know how it feels
Like the sanitarium blues

Then upon some sunlit day
They figure
There′s no need for you to stay
They're pretty sure you can′t be cured
So they send you on your merry way


You hit the pavement
Hang around
Nobody's on the outside to be found
You're just tryin′ to stay above the ground
You start to thinkin′
What's the use?
The sanitarium blues
The sanitarium blues