Buc McMaster Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 I have no idea from whence the inspiration for this lyric came. Just one of those things for which I relied on imagination and imagination alone ( I swear it's not a true story to my knowledge!) With the band it was a very swampy sounding rave up with the rhythm guitar and bass throbbing while the solo guitar ripped nasty fills and riffs in the vocal spaces. It's quite a bit different on acoustic guitar. Krassi did a version of this lyric sometime last year that was much more involved than my simple guitar line here.........I like them both! I see a bit of camera shake here.........got the house rockin'! This should be played LOUD! One hour old set of Pearse PB New Medium gauge (I might like these), a Red Bear pick and lots of palm muting and string pulls gets a pretty spanky, growly tone from the guitar. My old Gretsch 6119 sounded even spanky-er through the Carr Rambler 2X10 - wow I loved that tone! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PRlG7Bf2SQ&list=UU3tT5jzCvMj17IIpw3oVL9w&index=1&feature=plcp Tom E Lee/Copyright MBB 2006 Late at night on a two lane road outta Nowheresville The headlights cuttin' the dark like a knife as we topped the hill There in the dirt with a hole in his shirt lay our best friend Bill Slammin' the brakes made the tires scream and we saw him run A shadowy man runnin' fast over land escapin' what he'd done Tom E Lee reached under the seat and wrapped his hand around a gun Blood on his shirt and that look on his face 'twas a fatal attack Breathin' his last he said "tell her I love her" and his eyes rolled back Tom E's eyes got as dark as the sky and he vanished into the black Out in the dark there were boots runnin' rocks and muffled shouts Deep dark boomin' and flashes of light as the shots rang out Again and again and as the silence crept in it didn't leave no doubt Stumblin' out on the edge of the road in the glare of the lights Tumblin' into the driver's seat and he wound it up tight Smokin' the tires with the headers on fire Tom E vanished into the night Break of dawn on a two lane road through the desert sand "That '37 Chevy was a burned out hulk" said the policeman It's a mystery to me you know we never did see Tom E Lee again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Buc, you are VERY good at this stuff!!! Quite the wordsmith, too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Yeah, that's a great song, Buc! Keep them coming. BluesKing777. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dchristo Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 another good one Buc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Del Nilppeznaf Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 keep em rolling Buc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Oh I definitely enjoyed that a lot Buc ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyecon Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Terrific, nice wake up tune to get me going this morning! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
57classic Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Great song Buc. I can imagine that with reverb and tremolo and a blistering lead break. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 . Great story telling! Making a little sound like a lot on that beautiful 'Bird. And great performance to boot. . B) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiny Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 That is great. Such a cool vibe to it. Well done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tman Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Excellent. You have a real knack for those story telling songs. And you don't even have to read the words! (unless you have them posted behind the camera!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock and Reel Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 That's very cool Buc.\:D/ Did you consider a bridge or a hook of some sort? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted January 19, 2012 Author Share Posted January 19, 2012 Did you consider a bridge or a hook of some sort? Thank you, sir! No, I did not think this rather lengthy story song need a repetitive bridge/chorus thing in it. And, to my way of thinking, this kind of song does well without a hook.........it's just a rhyming story set to music. Thanks to all for the love! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ol fred Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I'M TELLIN YOU, the man can TELL a story Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdd707 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Wonderful Buc ... keep 'em coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chasAK Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Sorry, coming in late on this one. This and the prior oneyour posted are amazing pieces! Thanks, I appreciated them. chasAK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR GIBS Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Buc, I admit: If I have ever heared this I never would start making my version. This one is just perfect! On the other hand I am really proud with my "Helldorado" and "The balad of Tomie Lee" versions - these are my very american songs. Some day I'll record them into a studio and will post them here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guth Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Freakin' awesome. I almost didn't catch this one before it slipped away off of the first page. That would have been a real shame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 Freakin' awesome. Thanks, Guth! I appreciate everyone's encouraging comments! Next month I'm taking a couple tunes to the studio with some friends to get a proper recording. It will be a live session, no dubbing and we hope to catch it on video. And, as a side note, the Pearse New Mediums are not quite right on the Hummingbird. The .055 low E does not intonate right on this guitar, but the slightly heavier B and high E are great. So for now it's wearing a crossbred set: lights with the .013 and .017 on the high side....perfect! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Thanks, Guth! I appreciate everyone's encouraging comments! Next month I'm taking a couple tunes to the studio with some friends to get a proper recording. It will be a live session, no dubbing and we hope to catch it on video. And, as a side note, the Pearse New Mediums are not quite right on the Hummingbird. The .055 low E does not intonate right on this guitar, but the slightly heavier B and high E are great. So for now it's wearing a crossbred set: lights with the .013 and .017 on the high side....perfect! thats like the opposite of their bluegrass gauge sets of strings why would one string not intonate ?? or is that a hard one to explain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 why would one string not intonate ?? or is that a hard one to explain Up around the 7th fret the .055 began to go sharp. It's just a gauge v. diameter v. string length thing........just not right on this particular guitar. The heavy string also seemed to choke the top a bit, robbing it of much of it's warmth and sustain. The .053 in the lights set is just the right low E for this guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Up around the 7th fret the .055 began to go sharp. It's just a gauge v. diameter v. string length thing........just not right on this particular guitar. The heavy string also seemed to choke the top a bit, robbing it of much of it's warmth and sustain. The .053 in the lights set is just the right low E for this guitar. That's an interesting problem. The light/medium hybrid string sets I've seen have medium lows and light highs. Just shows how different each guitar responds to strings, and maybe how different our ears are when it comes to what sounds "best". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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