dhanners623 Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 We were watching TV the other night and had on one of those true-crime channels. I was half-listening but when the narrator introduced a female character and said, “At 18, she moved to Fort Worth, Texas, where she fell in with the wrong crowd,” my ears perked up. If that’s not the first line of a David Hanners song, I don’t know what is. I wrote it down.The next morning I opened my notebook, looked at the line and started writing, making up the story as I went. There’s been some editing, but what you see is pretty much what came out.I learned early in my journalism career that most people behind bars are there because they got caught up in a cascading series of bad choices. Yeah, there are some psychopaths who are just evil, but a lot of incarcerated folks were trying to feed a habit of some sort and things spiraled out of control. That doesn’t absolve them of guilt or lessen the impact of what they've done; it is just a reminder that a lot of them started out “normal” and one bad decision led to another.When I look at the forks in the road of my own life, I’m thankful I was either smart enough to make the right choice or too chicken to make the bad one. I'm playing the Farida OT-22 on it. Am really liking that guitar. A Cautionary Tale of Fort Worth© 2019 by David HannersAt 18 she moved to Fort Worth, Texas, where she fell in with the wrong crowdWas the life of every party, drank too much and was too loudMet Dale on the loading dock at work, they had chemistry to spareLike high-test gas and a propane torch, they lived life on a dareSaid she knew a guy who knew a guy through a friend she used to knowLived alone on Lake Worth, was supposedly flush with doughIt was supposed to be a simple robbery, hell, the guy might not even tellBut when he resisted Dale pulled a gun and things went all to hellDale got stopped for a busted taillight; you know it's always something dumbWhen the cop saw the .45 on the seat, Dale tried to runIn the universe of bad ideas, that wasn’t the way to goYou might outrun a single cop but you won’t outrun his radio In the ensuing gun battle Dale held his own ‘til he took a slug in the chestLooked over to the passenger side, she was already deadFort Worth’s finest surrounded the car, Dale saw no escape routeGrabbed her hand, closed his eyes and waited to bleed outParamedics arrived in the nick of time and managed to patch the holeDale took a plea to avoid the needle, he’s doing life without parole93 octane and propane torches seldom make for good pairsYou got two deceased, one in the Clements Unit, the tale ends right thereThere’s no moral to this story; that’s not what life’s aboutExcept if you move to Fort Worth, Texas, don’t fall in with the wrong crowd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 For some of us, it wasn't about making the right choices, but a matter of pure luck. When I look back on some of the things I did when I was young, it's either luck or the grace of God (depending on your perspective) that I didn't end up dead or behind bars. I had friends that suffered both of those fates. There's a lifetime of songs between those two facts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars68 Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 I like your song and your style. I have managed to stay out of trouble so far myself, so I can´t relate to the story on a personal level, but it doesn't make it any less valid. It's enough to open a newspaper any day of the week to realize that these kinds of events are all around. Lars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 (edited) Like this one great lyrics, and I like the way the song moves, and there is some nice chord melody work in the measures separating the verses. Great job on this one. I've led an easy life, met my wife in ninth grade, we were married the fall after we graduated, and I've worked in IT base jobs since. two kids, four grand kids, and about 4 years left on a mortgage.. look for an exit strategy now to start using the retirement plans we've been working on.... But,, I've had friends who were not so fortunate, some of them are no longer here... none of those guys took the road to Fort Worth tho... Edited October 18, 2019 by kidblast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly campbell Posted October 18, 2019 Share Posted October 18, 2019 I really like it...I like the tone of your Farida as well I have tried a couple at Elderly's been really tempted to get one..may still. Anyway Good stuff thanks for sharing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted October 19, 2019 Share Posted October 19, 2019 Bravo! Red 333 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoSoxBiker Posted October 20, 2019 Share Posted October 20, 2019 Nicely done, David. I sensed a little bit of that Lucinda Williams irreverence* right at the end. Not a bad thing. Your guitar looks and sounds nice, too. (* = for lack of a better word) For conversation sake only, do you think an element of time would help the story? I am awful at these types of songs. Again, well done and add a couple of bravos while I'm at it. 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhanners623 Posted October 20, 2019 Author Share Posted October 20, 2019 5 hours ago, PatriotsBiker said: Nicely done, David. I sensed a little bit of that Lucinda Williams irreverence* right at the end. Not a bad thing. Your guitar looks and sounds nice, too. (* = for lack of a better word) For conversation sake only, do you think an element of time would help the story? I am awful at these types of songs. Again, well done and add a couple of bravos while I'm at it. 🙂 Thanks for the kind words. Re: an element of time. One of the issues with the song is it is pretty crowded, thought-wise, as it is. There are a lot of moving parts, and I'm not sure adding an element that dates the song adds to the narrative. The song takes place in contemporary times. (The Clements Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice referred to in the last verse didn't open until 1990.) On one of the other acoustic guitar forums I'm on, we sometimes share songs and one of the concerns expressed there was that the woman -- who is the catalyst for everything -- is never named. We learn about "Dale," but we never know her name. That was a conscious decision on my part, and follows a literary and cinematic practice of having an unnamed main character. For example, we never know the name of The Bride" in Tarantino's "Kill Bill," nor do we know the name of the lead character in "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoSoxBiker Posted October 21, 2019 Share Posted October 21, 2019 7 hours ago, dhanners623 said: Thanks for the kind words. Re: an element of time. One of the issues with the song is it is pretty crowded, thought-wise, as it is. There are a lot of moving parts, and I'm not sure adding an element that dates the song adds to the narrative. The song takes place in contemporary times. (The Clements Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice referred to in the last verse didn't open until 1990.) On one of the other acoustic guitar forums I'm on, we sometimes share songs and one of the concerns expressed there was that the woman -- who is the catalyst for everything -- is never named. We learn about "Dale," but we never know her name. That was a conscious decision on my part, and follows a literary and cinematic practice of having an unnamed main character. For example, we never know the name of The Bride" in Tarantino's "Kill Bill," nor do we know the name of the lead character in "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." That's probably why my story songs are not good. I end up describing the tires on the getaway car for 3 verses and run out of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhanners623 Posted October 21, 2019 Author Share Posted October 21, 2019 15 hours ago, PatriotsBiker said: That's probably why my story songs are not good. I end up describing the tires on the getaway car for 3 verses and run out of time. You do a fine job. But, yeah, one verse on the tires is probably enough.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seagull Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 Great song. The right woman is just enough, the wrong one is one way to many. I'm gonna write a book one day. The folks that have only known me the last 20 years will likely pass out. Most of the smart ones disowned me long before that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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