Artists
Musicians featured in this piece are:
J.J. Cale – vocals, guitar
Written by J.J. Cale & Audie Ashworth. Produced and engineered by J.J. Cale. Released as the opening track (2:37) on Travel-Log (Silvertone Records, 6 November 1989), and later included on the compilation The Silvertone Years (2011).
“Shanghaid” opens Travel-Log, the first album J.J. Cale produced himself after years of working with longtime producer Audie Ashworth, who nonetheless co-wrote this opening track. The album has a travel theme, with song titles like “Tijuana” and “New Orleans,” though Cale insisted he never set out to make a concept album and only noticed the pattern after choosing the songs. He compiled a batch of tapes when Silvertone’s Andrew Lauder said he’d like to release some material, and the label put them out as the album.
J.J. Cale – Shanghaid Lyrics
Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore
New York, Boston and Baltimore
They’ll take you right down where you don’t want to go
If you talk too fast and you walk too slow
Shanghaid, Shanghaid
Been locked up and Shanghaid
Shanghaid, Shanghaid
Been locked up and Shanghaid
I tried to live by the golden rule
Do unto others and they’ll do unto you
Every time I get turned on I end up singing the same song
Shanghaid, Shanghaid
Been locked up and Shanghaid
Shanghaid, Shanghaid
Been locked up and Shanghaid
I was crossing the desert on a sunny day
I met two women that passed my way
They took me to a tent and they locked the door And all they
Ever said was “More, more”
Shanghaid, Shanghaid
Been locked up and Shanghaid
Shanghaid, Shanghaid
Been locked up and Shanghaid
And I’m standing right here with my usual slack
Police got me for talking back
“You’re out on the street, you’d better watch your step
If you talk too loud, now button your lip”
Shanghaid, Shanghaid
Been locked up and Shanghaid
Shanghaid, Shanghaid
Been locked up and Shanghaid
Sitting in a bar in West Berlin
Sipping on a glass that’s low again
Talking to a woman I thought I knew
The lights went out and I did too
Shanghaid, Shanghaid
Been locked up and Shanghaid
Shanghaid, Shanghaid
Been locked up and Shanghaid
To listen to other songs from the Teleskop 16 program and the full program, click here.