Singin' the Blues or any other durn thing ya want.

[Delmonico]

Sam Stone came home,
To his wife and family
After serving in the conflict overseas.
And the time that he served,
Had shattered all his nerves,
And left a little shrapnel in his knee.
But the morphine eased the pain,
And the grass grew round his brain,
And gave him all the confidence he lacked,
With a Purple Heart and a monkey on his back.

There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes,
Jesus Christ died for nothin' I suppose.
Little pitchers have big ears,
Don't stop to count the years,
Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios.

Sam Stone's welcome home
Didn't last too long.
He went to work when he'd spent his last dime
And Sammy took to stealing
When he got that empty feeling
For a hundred dollar habit without overtime.
And the gold rolled through his veins
Like a thousand railroad trains,
And eased his mind in the hours that he chose,
While the kids ran around wearin' other peoples' clothes...

There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes,
Jesus Christ died for nothin' I suppose.
Little pitchers have big ears,
Don't stop to count the years,
Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios.

Sam Stone was alone
When he popped his last balloon
Climbing walls while sitting in a chair
Well, he played his last request
While the room smelled just like death
With an overdose hovering in the air
But life had lost its fun
And there was nothing to be done
But trade his house that he bought on the G. I. Bill
For a flag draped casket on a local heroes' hill.

There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes,
Jesus Christ died for nothin' I suppose.
Little pitchers have big ears,
Don't stop to count the years,
Sweet songs never last too long on broken radios.

[Trinity]

...

Could be related to Jerry Clower.

Whooooooooooooooooooo-wheee!

[Ozark Tracker]

John has a whole lot of good en's


Spanish Pipedream  (AKA Blow Up Your TV)
© John Prine

She was a level-headed dancer on the road to alcohol
And I was just a soldier on my way to Montreal
Well she pressed her chest against me
About the time the juke box broke
Yeah, she gave me a peck on the back of the neck
And these are the words she spoke

Chorus:
Blow up your TV throw away your paper
Go to the country, build you a home
Plant a little garden, eat a lot of peaches
Try an find Jesus on your own 

Well, I sat there at the table and I acted real naive
For I knew that topless lady had something up her sleeve
Well, she danced around the bar room and she did the hoochy-coo
Yeah she sang her song all night long, tellin' me what to do

Repeat chorus:

Well, I was young and hungry and about to leave that place
When just as I was leavin', well she looked me in the face
I said "You must know the answer."
"She said, "No but I'll give it a try."
And to this very day we've been livin' our way
And here is the reason why

We blew up our TV threw away our paper
Went to the country, built us a home
Had a lot of children, fed 'em on peaches
They all found Jesus on their own

[litl rooster]

Here's one of by one of my Favorites, he co penned Navajo Rug with Ian

Tom Russell



Get "Tonight We Ride"

Panco Villa crossed the border in the year of ought sixteen
The people of Columbus still hear him riding through their dreams
He killed seventeen civilians you could hear the women scream
Blackjack Pershing on a dancing horse was waiting in the wings

Tonight we ride, tonight we ride
We'll skin ole Pancho Villa, make chaps out of his hide
Shoot his horse, Siete Leguas, and his twenty-seven bride
Tonight we ride, tonight we ride

We rode for three long years till Blackjack Pershing called it quits
When Jackie wasn't lookin' I stole his fine spade bit
It was tied upon his stallion, so I rode away on it
To the wild Chihuahuan desert, so dry you couldn't spit

Tonight we ride, you bastards dare
We'll kill the wild Apache for the bounty on his hair
Then we'll ride into Durango, climb up the whorehouse stairs
Tonight we ride, Tonight we ride

When I'm too damn old to sit a horse, I'll steal the warden's car
Break my ass out of this prison, leave my teeth there in a jar
You don't need no teeth for kissin' gals or smokin' cheap cigars
I'll sleep with one eye open, 'neath God's celestial stars

Tonight we rock, Tonight we roll
We'll rob the Juarez liquor store for the Reposado Gold
And if we drink ourselves to death, ain't that the cowboy way to go?

Tonight we ride, tonight we ride
Tonight we fly, we're headin' west
Toward the mountains and the ocean where the eagle makes his nest
If our bones bleach on the desert, we'll consider we are blessed
Tonight we ride, Tonight we ride

Tonight we ride, tonight we ride.

[Steel Horse Bailey]

My Grandpa was an Army muleskinner during that time and served under Gen. Pershing while they chased Pancho Villa down in Texas.  I've got his discharge paper with a photo of him at age 18 (in uniform.)

Back to the singin' an' the songs.

[Leo Tanner]

Somehow or another John Prine got me thinking about this guy. 

About the time that Daddy left to fight the big war
I saw my first pistol in the general store
In the general store, when I was thirteen
I thought it was the finest thing I ever had seen

So l asked if I could have one someday when I grew up
Mama dropped a dozen eggs, she really blew up
She really blew up, and she didn't understand
Mama said the pistol is the devil's right hand

The devil's right hand, the devil's right hand
Mama says the pistol is the devil's right hand

Me very first pistol was a cap and ball Colt
Shoots as fast as lightnin' but it loads a mite slow
It loads a mite slow, and soon I found out
It'll get you into trouble but it can't get you out

So about a year later I bought a Colt 45
Called a peacemaker but I never knew why
I never knew why, I didn't understand
Mama says the pistol is the devil's right hand

The devil's right hand, the devil's right hand
Mama says the pistol is the devil's right hand

Got into a card game in a company town
I caught a miner cheating, I shot the dog down
I shot the dog down, I watched the man fall
He never touched his holster, never had a chance to draw

The trial was in the morning and they drug me out of bed
Asked me how I pleaded, not guilty I said
Not guilty I said, you've got the wrong man
Nothing touched the trigger but the devil's right hand

The devil's right hand, the devil's right hand
Mama says the pistol is the devil's right hand

The devil's right hand, the devil's right hand
Mama says the pistol is the devil's right hand

[Delmonico]

Have heard this one 3 times in the last couple days, even made it my ringer for my wife on my phone.

Listened to the original by Hank the Father, (Take yer hat off when you meantion his name.)  Heard one where his voice track was dubbed over a new track, and the 1973 Leon Russell version, like all three.



I'm a rollin' stone all alone and lost
For a life of sin I have paid the cost
When I pass by all the people say
Just another guy on the lost highway

Just a deck of cards and a jug of wine
And a woman's lies makes a life like mine
O the day we met, I went astray
I started rolling down that lost highway

I was just a lad, nearly 22
Neither good nor bad, just a kid like you
And now I'm lost, too late to pray
Lord I paid the cost, on the lost highway

Now boy's don't start to ramblin' round
On this road of sin ,or you're sorrow bound
Take my advice or you'll curse the day
You started rollin' down that lost highway

[Delmonico]

Most folks only know of Steve Goodman cause David Allen Coe mentioned him in a song. 


Steve is now gone, but he wrote some really good stuff, City of New Orleans is one.


VEGEMATIC
by Steve Goodman

Fell asleep last night with the T-V on. Oh, what a dream I had.
I dreamed I answered every single one of those late night mail order ads.
And four to six weeks later, much to my surprise,
The mailman came to my front door, and I couldn't believe my eyes
When he brought the Vegematic, and the Pocket Fisherman too,
Illuminated illustrated history of life,
And Boxcar Willie with a Ginzu knife,
A bamboo steamer, and a Garden Weasel too,
And a tie-dyed, dayglow souvenir shirt from Six Flags Over Burbank.

The doorbell rang all morning and into the afternoon.
I shook with fright as it rang all night to the light of the Master Card moon.
There was Parcel Post in the pantry, and UPS in the hall,
C O D's to the ceiling, and I just couldn't pay for it all.
I got the egg scrambler, with a Seal-a-Meal carrying case,
A set of presidential commemorative plates
So I could eat my eggs off the President's face,
A Minute Mender, and a needle that'll knit or crochet,
And an autographed photograph of Rin Tin Tin at Six Flags Over Burbank.

I remembered I was dreaming, so I gave a mighty cheer.
When I awoke, it was no joke, 'cause all that sh*t was here.
So if you fall asleep with the TV on, let me tell you what to do:
Tear the telephone out of the wall unless you want it to happen to you.
You'll get the Vegematic, and the Pocket Fisherman too,
Illuminated illustrated history of life,
And Boxcar Willie with a Ginzu knife,
A bamboo steamer, and a smokeless ashtray too
And an all expenses paid weekend for three at Six Flags Over Burbank.

[Leo Tanner]

Del
     with hat in hand, I pay tribute to Hank Senior the way his son saw fit.  I bet he laughed his a** off when he heard this from the other side...

Well in 1950 I took a little nip
Along with Mr. Williams on the
Way to Mississipp'
We was stacked 8 deep in a Packard limousine
And we met this promoter in the town of New Orleans
Now the man told Daddy that he had what it took
And he liked the way he sang
And he liked the way he shook
He said pretty soon he'd make us all rich
And we started believin'
that fat son of a bitch
Now the man told Daddy if you wanna make some dough
Take a little money and book me on a show
And we played them dates and we filled the places well
But Hank, he'd done blowed the profits all to hell

Cause he'd run through a 10 and he'd run through a 20
And he'd run through a 100 just as fast as it would go
Like a big dose of sauce to a little bitty fella
He'd spend a $1000 dollars on a $100 dollar show

Hank looked at me with a funny lookin' grin,
Said "I've been to the Opry and I'm goin' back again"
We met the owner in a little office there
And a big fat fella with some artificial hair
He told Hank he wanted half of everything he made
Or he'd have to tell Audrey 'bout
Some women Hank had laid
And you told Daddy he'd better get smart,
Get rid of them fellas and make a new start

So he fired my ass and he fired Jerry Rivers
And he fired everybody just as hard as he could go
He fired old Cedric and he fired Sammy Pruitt
And he fired some people that he didn't even know

Well, every song he made it went to number one,
Y'all was workin' like hell and you was havin' fun
We was ridin' every day and playin' every night
And every 20 minutes some of us had a fight
Now, Daddy he was makin' money hand over fist,
And y'all was getting' screwed but
You wasn't getting kissed
Yeah, I told him to pass a little bit around
But he said he'd rather send it
To his folks in Alabam'

So he fired my ass and he fired Jerry Rivers
And he fired everybody just as hard as he could go
He fired old Cedric and he fired Sammy Pruitt
And he fired some people that he didn't even know

Now the owner of the Opry, he's a-doin' pretty good,
He's got a music company that they call Cedarwood
And Hank played nothing but sold out halls
And I was pumpin' gas in greasy overalls

Cause he'd run through a 10 and he'd run through a 20
And he'd run through a 100 just as fast as it would go
Like a big dose of sauce to a little bitty fella
He'd spend a $1000 dollars on a $100 dollar show



Leo

[Trinity]

In preparation of the festivities this weekend:

The Leprechaun (You're No Irish Laddie!)
words and music by Marc Gunn

There's a Leprechaun in me head, and I wish that I were dead
For I don't think he'll e'er let me be.
Oh, he tempts me with his gold, and if I were e'er so bold,
I'd strangle him and leave him in the street.

    Well, he says to me, "Ah, you're no Irish Laddie!
    And ye call that thing a harp?"
    But each time I share the lore that I am learning.
    He hides in shame while my friends they chant.

    La ta tee, da diddley dee, la ta tee ta tee da
    La ta tee, da diddley diddley dai
    La ta tee, da diddley dee, la ta tee ta tee da
    La ta tee, da diddley diddley dai

There's a leprechaun in my room. He swats me with a broom.
That's the reason I forget the words of this song.
Well, he shows me a four-leaf clover, and before me song is over,
It's buried in a bowl of Lucky Charms.

Ther'es a leprechaun on the floor, and he says that I'm a bore.
He yawns aloud as I sing my song.
He feigns one last breathe stolen, but I see his eyes are open.
And he's watching me with envy deep inside.

There's a leprechaun on a hill, and his gold is buried there.
So I grab him by the neck 'fore he gets away.
The pot's too heavy, he giggles, so I pinch me just a little,
And he thinks he's fooled me as I run away.

Hear it here:
http://www.soundclick.com/util/streamm3u.m3u?id=3406519&q=lo

[Texas Lawdog]

Jerry was from Route 4, Liberty, Mississippi, in Amite County. Jerry was a fertilizer salesman and he started telling his stories to his customers.

[Leo Tanner]

Hey Trin,
     Here's another one for us Micks 

Dum-dum-a-dimmy, dum-a-dum
Dum-dum-a-dimmy, dum-a-dum

Hey! A turbaned Turk who scorns the world
May strut about with his whiskers curled
Keep a hundred wives under lock and key
For nobody else but himself to see
Yet long must he pray with his Al Koran
Before he can love like an Irishman
Long may he pray with his Al Koran
Before he can love like an Irishman

Dum-dum-a-dimmy, dum-a-dum

The gay monsieur, a slave no more
The solemn Don and the shocked Senor
The Dutch Mynheer, so full of pride
The Russian, Prussian, Swede beside
They all may do whatever they can
But they never, never love like an Irishman
They all may do whatever they can
But they never, never love like an Irishman

Dum-dum-a-dimmy, dum-a-dum

Now the London folks themselves beguile
And think they please in a capital style
But let them ask as they cross the street
Of any young girl that they happen to meet
And I know she'll say from behind her fan
Nobody loves like an Irishman
I know what she'll say from behind her fan
Nobody loves like an Irishman

He-ey! Dum-dum-a-dimmy, dum-a-dum

(Instrumental Break)

Dum-dum-a-dimmy, dum-a-dum

So I want you to know just how much I care
And the rest of my life with you I'd share
I love your face, your hair, your smile
It's just as sure as I come from the Emerald Isle
It must be clear to your lovely eye
No boy will love you better than I
It must be clear to your lovely eye
No boy will love you better than I

Dum-dum-a-dimmy, dum-a-dum
Dum-dum-a-dimmy, dum-a-dum
Dum-dum-a-dimmy, dum-a-dum
Dum-dum-a-dimmy, dum-a-dum

[Delmonico]

Might not be a good time to mention almost all my ancestors were English with a bit of Sotch-Irish in the mix.

Never fear, they kicked us out in the 17th century and the black sheep of the American part of the family moved to Canada in the late 18th century.

[Leo Tanner]

Fine a time as any Del 
     E'ry one is entitled to a little pride in theys history now an again.  There's some blurry lines there these days, but I don't see no reason for em.
     My sweet Lil is Scotts Irish an a bit of Germanian ta boot.  We're all good folk 

[Ozark Tracker]

my Scotish part comes in with the Indians,   Great Great how ever many grandparents.

Ludovic Grant: born in 1696 in Scotland and died in 1758 at Tellico Tennessee.
Ludovic, 2nd Baronet of Dalvey, was captured at the battle of Preston during the Jacobite Rebellion in 1715. The focus of the rebellion was to restore the descendents of James VII of Scotland to the British throne.
After his capture his lands were confiscated and his title revoked. He was then banished to the "American Plantations", leaving Liverpool England on May 7, 1716 aboard the SUSANNAH.
Around 1725 Ludovic was an established trader in the Cherokee Nation where he married a full blood Cherokee of the Long Hair Clan by the name of Elizabeth Tassel Coody or "Eughioote".
Being of "good" family and well educated, he became the agend and coorespondent of the Governors of South Carolina. His letters keeping the governors informed of the happenings within the Cherokee Nation are published in the Chronicles of that state. He was one of the few traders who were honest and well respected among both the whites and the Cherokee.

[Delmonico]

OT, I wouldn't tell anyone down there you have the name Grant in the family, some folks are still a little touchy about it.

[Ozark Tracker]

Always got ta be a Black Sheep in the family.

[Delmonico]

One of the songs I'll play Monday.


And come tell me Sean O'Farrell tell me why you hurry so
Husha buachaill hush and listen and his cheeks were all a glow
I bare orders from the captain get you ready quick and soon
For the pikes must be together by the rising of the moon

By the rising of the moon, by the rising of the moon
For the pikes must be together by the rising of the moon

And come tell me Sean O'Farrell where the gath'rin is to be
At the old spot by the river quite well known to you and me
One more word for signal token whistle out the marchin' tune
With your pike upon your shoulder by the rising of the moon

By the rising of the moon, by the rising of the moon
With your pike upon your shoulder by the rising of the moon

Out from many a mud wall cabin eyes were watching through the night
Many a manly heart was beating for the blessed warning light
Murmurs rang along the valleys to the banshees lonely croon
And a thousand pikes were flashing by the rising of the moon

By the rising of the moon, by the rising of the moon
And a thousand pikes were flashing by the rising of the moon

All along that singing river that black mass of men was seen
High above their shining weapons flew their own beloved green
Death to every foe and traitor! Whistle out the marching tune
And hurrah, me boys, for freedom, 'tis the rising of the moon

'Tis the rising of the moon, 'tis the rising of the moon
And hurrah, me boys, for freedom, 'tis the rising of the moon

[Curley Cole]

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday DEARrrrrrrrrrrr

Happy Birthday To Youuuuuuuuuuuuu

And KeeP Off Da Lawn...............


Curley

[Texas Lawdog]

My wedding anniversary is the 16th of March, so I will celebrate it and St Paddy's on the 17th. I have the pleasure of being married to an Irish beauty whose name is Colleen. We'll have a toast with some Bushmillsmand look forword to another year.  This year makes 34.  I would like to visit Ireland and Scotland nest year for our 35th.