Lyrics....what ya got? HELLDORADO VID ADDED

Buc McMaster · March 26, 2010

Let's compare notes! I know many of you roll your own, so to speak.......show us your stuff! I'll bare my soul first so don't be scared!

I was poking around on the web looking at stuff about the Old West and ran across references to Tombstone, Arizona being called Helldorado back in the day. Thought it was a good word, rolled off the tongue well, and began to imagine a street scene in old Helldorado. Ended up writing a condemnation of an apathetic public in the Old West, which could still apply to some American streets today..........

Out on the streets of Helldorado, a Colt revolver in his hand,

There stands a lonesome desperado, there lays another in the sand.

The people peer through shuttered windows....silent witness, justice done.

The only law in Helldorado is the round end of a gun.

No one cried in Helldorado, no one even knew his name.

They stood 'round and watched him die though, judge and jury just the same.

When the sun comes up tomorrow, and they've laid him on Boot Hill,

If God won't come to Helldorado, it's for sure the Devil will.

If God won't come to Helldorado, heaven knows the Devil will.

A song need not be long to be strong! Your turn!

EDIT - - -

Wow. I've gotten a few emails concerning this song - folks seem to like the lyrics and I am flattered! Thank you! Yes, I there is a melody and I have recorded it with some friends just to have it on tape, so to speak. But I just figured out that my little Sony digital camera will shoot video as well, so here's a hurriedly done, unedited solo version of what the song sounds like. Flatpicking with an alternating bass note......cowboy chords! My first YouTube experience......can't figure out the embed thing.......here's a link

Helldorado on YouTube

MisterGibs · March 26, 2010

Buc,

That just blew my mind!

It is fantastic and I love it!

If I could only write such lyrics in english...

Buc, please forgive me that question - the lyrics above are yours? Yes?

I ask because I am not an american and I don't understand 100% of what you guys write here...

So you wrote that?

If so - I tell you, man - these are words of a BIG BIG BIG song!!!!

dhanners623 · March 26, 2010

Ok, I'll contribute. Wrote this when Ford announced it would close its St. Paul plant. But they've changed their mind (then changed it back again, and then again) so the plant is still open but there have been furloughs and other issues.

Yesterday they called us in, gave us some line 'bout the economy

They said, "Well boys, this is it, Ford's closin' this factory"

I took the long way home last night, hit a bar I knew well

And I drank a toast to the way things were before they went to hell

Eighteen hundred and ten good women and men outta work just like that

We put our trust in things that rust and jobs that ain't comin' back

I pull out of this parking lot and know I did my job well

I’ll go drink a toast to the way things were before they went to hell

(bridge)

Union brothers and sisters are the family that I know

But if you wanna build Ford Ranger trucks, you'll do it in Mexico

Back in the day my dad would say a Ford job is solid as a rock

So I followed him in, got in 10, now I'm playin' out the clock

Ghosts on this assembly line got secrets they’ll never tell

And I will drink a toast to the way things were before they went to hell

Yeah, I will drink a toast to the way things were before they went to hell

Buc McMaster · March 26, 2010

So you wrote that?

Yes sir, I did. Guilty as charged. Thank you for your kind words! I can only hope that someday someone with some stroke in the business feels as you do!

And to Mr Hanners: very good, sir! From the real-life-working-man-storytelling-Woody Guthrie school of songwriting.

jefleppard · March 26, 2010

nice job, guys. my town is in the same boat as dave's. we are a rusty lunch bucket town. with so many empty factories. our downtown is marked with empty businesses so in keeping with that...

half mast

the mayor says things’ll get better

but my eyes cant get much redder

I cant go on living like this

I got laid off last Christmas

greedy union turned us all into losers

trying to act like beggars can be chosers

we’ll show ‘em

we’ll put our foot down

they showed us

they packed up and left town

bought a house because its cheaper than rent

didn’t even need a down payment

we’d figure out a way to scrape by

strung out on

a personal credit line

poor man’s wages don’t mean a thing

union says we should

all live like kings

beware of a door open wide

and a company selling outdated paradigms

leaving was the only way to escape

left the town looking barren like a moonscape

you don’t need a college degree

to figure out we’re our own worst enemy

tried to bite the hand that fed us

take a look and see where that left us

what was once a proud city

is now all boarded up and empty

there’s no hope left for this town

our last die has been cast

even if the sun comes up tomorrow

all our glory days are past

and all our flags are at half mast

Buc McMaster · March 26, 2010

Come on, y'all...........don't be shy! We can't talk about bridge pins and string choices all the time!

This is an old one but still fits today - the media is even worse now than then! When played live, this one can be dedicated to whomever happens to be in the headlines........

It's on the front page of every newspaper in town

They got the details from a secret source they found

Oh yes, it's all there, and the word is gettin' 'round

on you.

They took your picture and they put it on page one

They're asking questions and they've got you on the run

They're like a wolfpack, and brother you're the one

they want.

Refrain:

Everyday the front page is the same

They always seem to know who to blame

and anonymous tip will put them on your trail

sooner or later the media will prevail

There was a scandal, and the lawyers took their time

Outside the courtroom the reporters stood in line

To get the story, please tell it one more time

For me.

And now it's over, and you've straightened out your life

You read the front page, and it cuts you like a knife

because the same thing just happened to your wife!

Oh yeah.....

McDuff · March 26, 2010

Be wary what lies below could be terrible

Desert rose

Desert rose the shaman knows

Star dust in my eyes

The puppet master pulls my strings

As I start to cry

Desert rose how could you know

There’s no water here

Crystal ash on tombstones

Made out of angle tears

Desert rose was on death row

the warden knows her name

they are long lost lovers

bound by iron chains

Desert rose can’t see the crows

They circle over head

They are bent on killin'

Could they please take me instead?

Desert rose puts on a show

And shapes the burnin’ wind

Fire flys who melt on by

Witnessed all my sins

So desert rose is dead now

By my cruel cruel hand

She asked of me that favor

I'll never understand

oddly enough due to how much I ramble that is one of my shorter songs.

By the way guys amazing songs. Buc you blow me away man, your songs seem to have a lot of life behind them. Sorry if that makes no sense.

Taylor Player · March 26, 2010

My writing days are in my past for now, but some day I hope they come back in full bloom.

One of my favorites was one I wrote back in 1978 as a 17 year old. I still get asked by friends to play it when they see me or I am at a party with a bunch of them.

The background story was that I was adopted when only 3 months old and always knew I had been adopted and it was always something that made me feel a little "special" in a good way thanks to my parents who raised me. But yet, I always had questions about who my real parents might have been.

I was spending the summer as a forign exchange student living with a host family in Cali, Colombia South America and had my old "25 lb" VOX 12 string guitar (Man I wish I still had that one!!!) and it's cheap chip board case with me for the 3 months I stayed with a family there. The country being extremly Catholic made me come up with this take on being adopted.

Please accept that it was meant to be humorous!!!

It's basically a Jerry Jeff Walker style "Talkie" song with singing on the Chorus parts.

Verse 1

Back when I was just a little boy, my foster parents used to tell a kinda funny story about my "Real" parents..... let me tell you how it goes.

Seems my parents weren't the type that could keep a kid in sight, cause if I'd been found things would have gotten pretty tight, and I could have started a scandal at St. Mary's convent.....

Chorus:

Cause...... my.....

Mother was a Sister and my father was a Father,

I wonder if that makes me a brother to my mother, but then my father'd be my Brother and I'd be my own Uncle.

All my dauthers could be cousins, but their husbands really can't...

cause my Father is their Grandpa and my Mother is their Aunt...

and that would make me either their Dad or their Brother!!!

Verse 2

Well I thought that most kids were a gift that heaven sent,

but just look at me, I'm one of Heavens accidents,

When he makes a mistake...... He don't make em very small

If I hadn't been adopted and to a family been sent.....

just think of all the mess I could make in Government....

Hell..... I could make the birthrate rise and fall!!!

Because......

Verse 3

Well, now I'm 21 and I had some time to think

I'm going into the Priesthood... but if some Sister winks,

I'm gonna tell her all about me...... and then I'll let her decide....

If She decides to go, I'll thank her very much,

just think of all the trouble now that no one will touch...

If she decides to stay........????

Here we go again!!!

dhanners623 · March 26, 2010

Some fine examples so far. It's fun to read them. And Bluesbreather, your lyrics that laid below were not terrible. Far from it. Quite a story. (And Jeff, sorry your union experience wasn't a good one. I've been a proud union member -- CWA -- for 16 years and although the local has had its ups and downs, I still find union membership better than the alternative.)

Ok, here's a tune I'm posting just because I was thinking of it earlier today. I usually play it on a steel-bodied duolian I bought last year from Republic Guitars in Dallas. It's a fine guitar at the price. In fact, at twice the price, it would still be a fine guitar. Great tone. Fun to play.

The song is a true story about the death of Tex Thornton, who in 1949 was a world-famous oil well fire fighter who lived in Amarillo, Texas. If I told you any more of the story, there'd be no need to post the lyrics, so here goes:

'48 Chrysler flyin' down Route 66

Two-lane desolation way out in the sticks

Three sat in the front seat: Tex, Evald and Diane

Diane was a looker; Evald was a jealous man

Third one wore a Stetson, Tex Thornton was his name

Snuffin' oil fires is where he got his fame

Give him a box of dynamite, some nitroglycerin shells

He'd stare down the devil and blow out the fires of Hell

Evald and Diane had hitched across New Mexico

Tex had come upon them on the side of the road

Now, Tex liked his whiskey and he liked his rolls of cash

He liked his women young and he liked his women fast

Night fell as the Chrysler rolled into a tourist court

Tex was way too drunk, could not walk without support

He would sleep it off at this roadside motel

He knew if he went home drunk, the wife would give him hell

I s'pose we'll never know the truth ‘bout that summer night

When the maid found Tex's body she fainted from the fright

Evald and Diane likely knew they’s in a fix

So they made off with the Chrysler, headin' east on 66

Police tracked down Evald up in Michigan

Hauled him back to Texas so his trial could begin

He swore a drunken Tex had made advances on Diane

And like I said before, Evald was a jealous man

The jury saw it his way, said the death was justified

Still, some good folks wondered if Evald may have lied

He and Diane left the courthouse, went their separate ways

Any secrets that they carried they would carry to the grave

Yeah, any secrets that they carried they would carry to the grave

bkharmony · March 26, 2010

Here's something I'm currently working on. Still reworking some lines, but what the heck...

Hearts Along

Darkened miles and open road.

Forgotten wheels take control.

Verse 1:

Don't think of me as dark and distant, think of me and sigh.

Couldn't watch us anymore and keep on moving by.

Speeding blind, uncaring into mistakes you might foresee

and if you had one life to live, how could it be with me?

Chorus:

The songs I didn't write

the life I didn't lead.

Waiting for it all to happen

somehow, eventually.

The wrongs I didn't right,

oh the days for which I long.

Some roads end in nowhere and

some hearts ride along.

Verse 2:

Took a break from painted walls I couldn't see.

How could I blame them, ever when they took a break from me?

In heavy air it's hard to walk, maintain the fifth degree

Somehow turning invisible made it easier to breathe.

Repeat Chorus

Darkened miles and open road.

Forgotten wheels take me home.

bkharmony · March 26, 2010

My Celtic band just started performing this one:

Prefab Pubs

Intro

Oh, I roved out to the shopping mall in search of Celtic pride. Where

anything you want you know can be had for a price.

‘Twas there I found a pricetag on my favorite drinking song.

Authentic Irish Pubs on sale at Irish Pubs dot com.

Chorus:

There’s a place we like to go, near the Costco and Best Buy

where the air-conditioned drywall draws the color from your eyes.

Oh it’s fitting that we’re sitting in a stripmall lit aglow.

We’ll drink in prefab pubs because there’s nowhere else to go.

Yes, we’ll drink in prefab pubs because there’s nowhere else to go.

Well it’s hard to trip fantastic when you’re 30 miles away

from the dirty din of downtown, where the tallywhackers play.

Just beyond the sculpted hedges and the pearly-gated drive,

suburban nightlife flashes though it looks not half alive.

Chorus

Instrumental (same as Intro)

When you get that feeling deeply that you’ve lost for what you’ve gained,

you know there is no treatment, but a pint can blot the pain.

You claim you crave authentic, but you really want convenience.

You brag about tradition, did you ever really mean it?

Chorus

Now you may recall you once had dreams and passion just as well

but you lost your heart and humours living in a bubbled hell.

Do you remember how to ramble, how to dance and laugh and weep?

Can a bank account and xanax grant you conscience while you sleep?

Chorus x2

bkharmony · March 26, 2010

And why not.... here's one more Irish ditty I penned years ago.

Princess of County Cork

Some souls are cursed to live in worlds of things they'll never have.

Your mind, it can convince you your due waits in foreign lands.

Brianna traveled lightly with no hopes to prove her wrong.

A duffel filled with music but no way to hear the song.

Those who wait for love are those who sadly wait in vain.

Why spend a lifetime hoping for a thing that never came?

Over cigarettes and coffee, she'd spin impressive tales,

of family land and castles waiting til she came of age.

Chorus:

The days ahead look cloudy and they offer little more.

We'll pretend we're someplace better and we'll dream of emerald shores.

This grim life that we lead belies the better days in store.

Peer inside her dreams, she's the Princess of County Cork.

Beguiling eyes hid a black soul, that quelled her purity.

Trapped inside a darkness, so she lived in fantasy.

She stared into his clouded eyes, that's all that was required.

The Princess from that moment became all that he desired.

Chorus

For thirteen weeks of ignorance, they blindly played a game.

It takes a fool to look away when truth calls out your name.

the wind blew cold that winter, like an unwelcomed remark.

Though he held her close, no earthly means could warm her blackened heart.

Chorus

Now twenty years went by just like the heaving of a sigh.

And it's been almost as long since he looked in Brianna's eyes.

The pint I hold reminds me of the one that I adored.

I wonder what became of my Princess of County Cork.

Chorus x2

Peer inside her dreams, she's the Princess of County Cork.

Here inside her dreams, she's the Princess of County Cork.

tw2_usa · March 26, 2010

These are awesome. Like the themes, stories and rhymes.

Here's one from the west coast:

She's a question mark, you make up any answer.

Type it up, put her picture on the screen.

If the truth be told, the truth is sold, as mystery.

Once it's fluffed and fold, hyped beyond extreme.

In the public eye, you don't wear an umbrella.

It's a world of unimagined scrutiny.

And it's true her defense rests in equal measure,

Of a ruthless and outrageous mockery.

If you ask her what it's like, you'll leave her cryin'.

Empty promise of a life that's like a dream.

Still she won't know what to say, so please stop tryin'.

It only makes her lose her way, she's just nineteen.

Nineteen. Nineteen. She's just nineteen.

She's no right to shame, regret, or indignation.

The attention's what she begs for, craves the fame.

Solid platinum on her wall, since she was fifteen.

She's so ungrateful for it all, her pain's a game.

(bridge)

Get a picture of her angriest expression.

If her waistline catches sunlight on the sand.

They pay millions for a personal indiscretion.

Captured in these top notch lenses of Japan.

Of Japan. Of Japan. Lenses of Japan.

In the public eye, you don't wear an umbrella.

It's a world of unimagined scrutiny.

And it's true her defense rests in equal measure,

Of a ruthless and outrageous mockery.

So when you see her at that checkstand growin' older.

When you comment on the ugly price of fame.

On that crazy, trashy, bleach-out, turning twenty.

Rest assured that she's got just herself to blame.

Self to blame. Self to blame. Just herself to blame.

Thanks for 'listenin'. I wrote this after watching Britney Spears at Starbucks on the "news".

BTW, I finally got an Apogee and a mic and am looking forward to recording and posting something on Youtube since I've enjoyed seeing so many members do just that lately on through this forum. Now I just have to get the time. Soon I hope.

McDuff · March 26, 2010

Bk harmony what is your Celtic bands set up?

Modac · March 26, 2010

.

Buc McMaster · March 26, 2010

This is good! Thanks for jumping in, one and all! Some good stuff out there that represents a lot of heart, soul and creativity. Hats off to you all! More! More!

Modac: Yes, I can hear barbershop quartet harmonies in that. What tempo is it performed at?

Modac · March 26, 2010

.

jefleppard · March 26, 2010

buc - i liked the one called 'front page'. it has a beautiful meter.

under construction

your lives

could change in an instant it seems

a red light that used to be green

life is just one of death’s brief interruptions

in slow motion and frozen in time

didn’t anyone notice that stop sign?

now you're remembered by the flowers

at the site of the collision

the intersections closed

because its under construction

we used to be bright but now were just faded

We used to be so green

But now were just jaded

Our lives are like a radio

not quite on the station

so young and so carefree

like a mickey passed in the back seat

the jukebox still has our song

but I’ve no coin for a selection

and the dance floor is under construction

you who live

with no reason or rhyme

with the luck of a bird

shot out of the sky

luck is for those with no skills to rely on

but who am I to point fingers at you

as if I have even the slightest clue

every time I do three point back in my direction

the only thing i know is

we are all under construction

dhanners623 · March 27, 2010

Here's another one I'm dusting off and may add to the repertoire again.

The lyrics are pretty self-explanatory. It's a true story.

He got outta school, got some work at a Burger King, upstate New York

Got your Whopper, got your fries, just don’t look into his eyes

Something lost, nothing found; spent some time driftin’ ‘round

Enlisted in the Army, gonna be all he could be

Tyrants rule, it’s just our fate; he drove a Bradley in Kuwait

Soldiers come home eventually, some still need an enemy

Found a crowd saw things his way: extremists and the NRA

Found a place where he belonged, use his skills and build a bomb

chorus:

When Timmy came home from the war

Stupid does as stupid is, he filled his head with bad ideas

History twisted to the right so far you would not recognize

It’s not hard to learn to hate; talk radio says it’s ok

Knock at the door is ATF, just lock and load, aim for the chest

(chorus)

It’s a war, don’t trust in luck; put your faith instead in Ryder trucks

Fertilizer, diesel fuel feed the flames of false renewal

Prison cell, Midwest town, guards come in and strap him down

We take a life, make him pay, tell ourselves that we’re ok

(chorus and end)

bkharmony · March 27, 2010

Bk harmony what is your Celtic bands set up?

The basic lineup is Bodhran, Guitar, Fiddle and Whistle. But the fiddler and I (mostly him) double on Mandolin. He also plays Banjo and Irish Bouzouki. The whistler plays Irish Flute, Small Pipes and Highland Pipes as well.

Glorbon · March 27, 2010

Alrighty I got two songs just finished o'er here.. An' the first one "To protect an' serve" is based on a true story here o'er in sweden.. The second 'un is about a rather popular racist party, they're gainin' new votes now 'vry day..

To protect an' serve

I was walkin' down a lonely street when I saw you cops down there

You were beatin' up this poor young boy, lord his eyes were filled with fear

This poor boy begged for mercy but you kep shovin' him around

A kick unto his broken jaw an' he fell down to the ground

To protect an' serve boys that's your job