Robert Earl Keen, Jr. (born January 11, 1956 in Houston, Texas) is an Ameri… Read Full Bio ↴Robert Earl Keen, Jr. (born January 11, 1956 in Houston, Texas) is an American singer-songwriter. Growing up, Keen was interested in music, sports, movies and writing. He attended Texas A&M University, enrolling in the school of journalism. Disappointed in the College Station, Texas music scene, he began playing guitar and learned to read and write music, basing his style on folk, country, blues and roots rock. In 1977 he rented a house from landlord Jack Boyett, where his neighbor was a then-unknown Lyle Lovett. The two became friends and performed together on the front porch. This eventually grew into inspiration for a song entitled "The Front Porch Song", which both would add to their repertoire. In 1980, Keen graduated from Texas A&M, moved to Austin, Texas and began writing for a newspaper. Soon he was performing in Austin's nightclubs and live music venues, building a solid following. In 1984 he financed the recording of his own EP and distributed it regionally. In 1986, He moved to Nashville, Tennessee. Discouraged by the polish of the new country sound and unable to land a recording contract, Keen moved back to Austin. In 1989 he released his national debut album, West Textures. His 1993 release, A Bigger Piece Of Sky, gained wider acclaim, both amongst fans and critics. Over the next ten years, Keen would continue to write, record, perform and tour. Today, he is popular with traditional country music fans, folk music fans, the college radio crowd and alt-country fans. Keen currently resides in Bandera, Texas.

Corpus Christi Bay
Robert Earl Keen Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I worked the rigs from three to midnight
On the Corpus Christi Bay
I'd get off and drink till daylight
Sleep the morning away
I had a plan to take my wages
Leave the rigs behind for good
But that life it is contagious
And it gets down in your blood

I lived in Corpus with my brother
We were always on the run
We were bad for one another
But we were good at having fun
We got stoned along the seawall
We got drunk and rolled a car
We knew the girls at every dance hall
Had a tab at every bar

If I could live my life all over
It wouldn't matter anyway
'Cause I never could stay sober
On the Corpus Christi Bay

My brother had a wife and family
You know, he gave them a good home
But his wife thought we were crazy
And one day we found her gone
We threw her clothes into the car trunk
Her photographs, her rosary
We went to the pier and got drunk
And threw it all into the sea

Now my brother lives in Houston
He married for the second time
He got a job with the union
And it's keeping him in line
He came to Corpus just this weekend
It was good to see him here
He said he finally gave up drinking
Then he ordered me a beer

Now my brother lives in Houston
He married for the second time
He got a job with the union
And it's keeping him in line
He came to Corpus just this weekend
It was good to see him here
He said he finally gave up drinking
Then he ordered me a beer

Now my brother lives in Houston
He married for the second time
He got a job with the union
And it's keeping him in line
He came to Corpus just this weekend
It was good to see him here

He said he finally gave up drinking
Then he ordered me a beer

Overall Meaning

The song "Corpus Christi Bay" by Robert Earl Keen is a narrative about the singer's past life working on oil rigs in the titular bay in Texas, specifically his wild times with his brother back when they were living in Corpus Christi. The singer vividly describes his work as a rig worker, where he would work from three to midnight and spend the rest of the night drinking until sunrise, indicating a rough patch in his life where he was stuck in a repetitive routine. He had wanted to leave the job, but despite his intentions, he finds himself becoming trapped in the lifestyle the job offers.

The song delves further into the singer's past, where he and his brother were always getting into trouble; they were "bad for one another," but they "were good at having fun." They lived a carefree, reckless life, getting stoned and drunk on the seaside, crashing cars, and hooking up with girls at every opportunity, all while being financially irresponsible. The singer laments about how, if he could have a do-over, he wouldn't be able to change his path, for he enjoyed the wild, free-spirited lifestyle too much.

The final verse of the song brings the listener back to the current day, where the singer's brother has stopped drinking, settled down with his second wife, and now works with a union in Houston. The final image is poignant as the singer, having heard the news about his brother having stopped drinking, is beckoned to have a beer with his brother, perhaps invoking a sense of nostalgia for simpler, wilder times. All in all, the song paints a vivid picture of a wild and carefree life lived on the Texas coast.

Line by Line Meaning

I worked the rigs from three to midnight
I used to work long hours on oil rigs.

On the Corpus Christi Bay
I worked specifically on oil rigs located on Corpus Christi Bay.

I'd get off and drink till daylight
After work, I would drink heavily until morning.

Sleep the morning away
I would sleep all morning to recover from my long nights of drinking.

I had a plan to take my wages
I wanted to leave my job and take the money I earned from working.

Leave the rigs behind for good
I wanted to quit my job at the oil rigs permanently.

But that life it is contagious
The lifestyle of working on oil rigs and heavy drinking is difficult to escape.

And it gets down in your blood
The lifestyle became a part of who I am, making it hard to leave behind.

We were bad for one another
My brother and I were not good influences on each other.

But we were good at having fun
Despite our bad influence on each other, we knew how to have a good time.

We got stoned along the seawall
We would smoke marijuana along the seawall in Corpus Christi.

We got drunk and rolled a car
We would get drunk and drive recklessly, resulting in a car accident at one point.

Had a tab at every bar
We frequented many different bars and had a running tab at each one.

If I could live my life all over
Looking back, I would not change anything about my life.

It wouldn't matter anyway
No matter what I did differently, I still would have struggled with alcoholism.

'Cause I never could stay sober
My addiction to alcohol was too strong for me to overcome.

My brother had a wife and family
My brother had started a family with his wife.

You know, he gave them a good home
He worked hard to provide for his family and give them a good life.

But his wife thought we were crazy
My brother's wife did not approve of our wild and reckless lifestyle.

And one day we found her gone
His wife eventually left him and their family for unknown reasons.

We threw her clothes into the car trunk
After his wife left, we disposed of her belongings.

Her photographs, her rosary
We even threw away personal and religious items belonging to my brother's wife.

We went to the pier and got drunk
We coped with her leaving by drinking heavily and ignoring our problems.

And threw it all into the sea
We threw all of her belongings into the ocean, showing a lack of respect and care for her things and memory.

He said he finally gave up drinking
When my brother visited me recently, he informed me that he has stopped drinking.

Then he ordered me a beer
Despite my brother's abstinence, he still ordered me an alcoholic drink, showing his inability to escape the temptation and influence of alcohol.

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Robert Keen

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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