Al Kooper Going Going Gone 2005

Al Kooper made a bunch of great music in the sixties and seventies. His solo records from the period are great finds in used record stores, and most of it is available on CD and streaming. I wrote about his work in a post about his 2008 outing White Chocolate. His finest solo work is probably Black Coffee from 2005.

Black Coffee contained Al's excellent Going Going Gone. I've been feeling nostalgic for the past lately, since the present seems so much, well, not so good as the past. Al summed it up pretty well with Going Going Gone. The YouTube video is here.

Going Going Gone

I went to put my old boots on this morning
They were cracked on the side and had a hole straight through the sole
I went downtown to the store where I first bought ‘em
They said Al, they don’t make any boots like that no more

And that’s the way my whole life seems to be goin’
Like the world is playin’ some big ass joke on me
You know they just tore down the theater where I saw my first movie
One day it’s there, next day you couldn’t tell where it used to be

Going Going Gone
The things we took for granted, that we always counted on
If you had a million dollars you couldn’t even try them on
Cause today you can’t find no boots like that cause there going going gone

I used to fall in love to that deep soul music
It was the voices of the angels and they never told you no lie
Now you got pimps, gangstas and big-time rappers
They make the whole damn thing disappear right before our eyes

Going Going Gone
The things we took for granted, that we always counted on
And now you only hear that music on some oldies marathon
Pretty soon it won’t even be there no more cause it’s going going gone

I used to think I had my whole life before me
And in some small way I could change things all around
But now I feel that most people just ignore me
I got one foot in the gutter and the other foot in the ground

Going Going Gone
The things we took for granted, that we always counted on
I’d rather play this old guitar than to strap some new one on
Guess I’ll play that song this way till I’m going going gone
Even that beat-up pillow I love to lay my head upon
Will someday be my tombstone when I’m going going gone