Sulphur to Sugarcane

[Verse 1]

It's not very far from sulphur to sugarcane

Everywhere I travel, the pretty girls call my name

I give them a squeeze and they shoot me a wink

I buy their hot-headed husbands a long, cool drink

You'd better come up smelling sweet 'cause you're a long time stinking

Then it's a little too late to complain

It's not very far from sulphur to sugarcane

[Verse 2]

Now if you catch my eye and you find that it runs down your leg

It's like striking a match pretty hard upon a powder keg

They'll tell you from the borders to the waters of the Gulf

You can take all the sugar, you will end up in the sulphur

And you'll burn in, "Hello, baby I'm-a pleased to meet you"

"I wouldn't do you wrong, honey, I wouldn't cheat you, honey'"

"When can I see you again? Wrap you up in cellophane"

It's not very far from sulphur to sugarcane

[Bridge]

It's not very far from sulphur to sugarcane

When your eyes fill up with brine 'cause you're drowning in wine

It's like the last days of Rome with the despots and divine

And there's no place like home for a little doll from China

It's a little too late to complain

It's not very far from sulphur to sugarcane

[Verse 3]

You can go west to Texas, east to Mississippi

You can run out of money, you can run out of pity

Throw open your purse until you're crying for mercy

Go to Alabama, escape Louisiana

I'm digging like a miner, North and South Carolina

And then if you continue you will end up in Virginia

The women in Poughkeepsie take their clothes off when they're tipsy

But in Albany, New York they love the filthy way I talk

Until they gargle with the finest champagne

When they can't get the grape or the grain

It's not very far from sulphur to sugarcane

[Instrumental Break]

It's not very far from sulphur to sugarcane

[Verse 5]

If I could find a piano here in Bloomington, Indiana

I would play it with my toes until the girls all take their clothes off

The women knock upon my door in odd and even numbers

But none of them as wild as I discovered in Columbus

I gave up married women 'cause I heard it was a sin

But now I'm back in Pittsburgh, I might take it up again

Because they gargle with the finest champagne

They can't get the grape and the grain

It's not very far from sulphur to sugarcane

[Instrumental Break]

It's not very far from sulphur to sugarcane

[Verse 6]

Up in Syracuse, I was once falsely accused

But I'm not here to hurt you, I'm here to steal your virtue

Down in Bridgeport, the women will kill you for sport

But in Worcester, Massachusetts, they love my sauce

The women in Poughkeepsie take their clothes off when they're tipsy

But I hear in Ypsilanti they don't wear any panties

Once they gargle with the finest champagne

They hitch up their skirts and exclaim

[Outro]

It's not very far, Sugar

It's not very far, Sugar

Pour a little sugar on it, Sugar

It's not very far from sulphur to sugarcane