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June 2023 - Part II Thu 15 Jun 2023 09:24:48 PM CDT
Time for the last half. That would be the second half. Some smartass on a podunk radio station I had the misfortune to hear many times more than I wanted to. Don't ask, anyway the morning show was three hours and one of the guys, probably thought he was bein' funny, began the third hour by sayin' something like "Welcome to the third half of..." Probably would be funny once, maybe even once in a while. Not every day. Anyhow, I a little feller, guess about eleven, bein as I was hearin' "Blackjack County Chain" on the aforementioned radio station ever day. Mom listened to the radio anytime we's in the house. At eleven guess I's in the fifth grade, weird stuff school, bein' autistic and people didn't know much about it back then. Learned the first feller diagnosed with it died yesterday or so. Didn't add Asperger's into the 'spectrum' they call it until later. Reckon Mr. Triplett may have had a touch, we usually super smart. Bein' super smart ain't much fun as a kid, speshly in school. When they divvied us up in the seventh grade (started selecting in the fifth and sixth) and stuck the top twenty in th H section, they called it. Pretty much same bunch, all six years, just one or maybe two changing in a year. Guess out of them there was two genuii, yeah I know that ain't the plural of genius, I'm bein' silly as usual. Some or us do that. Other guy was smarter than me actually, dunno his IQ but figure he had an edge. Thinking probably three others, maybe four or five, it near fifty years ago, fifty-five to the seventh grade. Dunno if I'll do the reunion thang next year, never done one before. Mosta them sumbitches didn't like me then and people don't change. Change the way they act around certain people, but don't change, unless something changes them. So that's that. Anyhow, the other fourteen or fifteen was just above-average. So I got persecuted some, bein as I's a country bumpkin and there several, probably half was the upper class - doctors, lawyers, bankers, stuff kids - and there was some resentment, me going straight As and rarely taking books home to study, and in general just not bein' one of them. Enough of that. So listenin to the radio, heard Willie singin 'Blackjack County Chain' ever day on the radio. Googlin' for the lyics I noticed that the writer died just a few years ago. Willie still kickin' I guess, or whatever he does these days. Rumor was, as they was with a lot of country songs in those days, that it was based on a true story, and some said there was threats of lawsuits from some sheriff or other, dunno. Some probably were, remember Harper Valley PTA was big about that time, dunno if that was supposed to have happened or not. Except every place is Peyton Place, I just didn't know it them.
Anyhow, them southern prisons no joke, don't wanna be on the wrong side of the law in them states even today. A few states I just don't go to. Some I did a few times, on business, wouldn't go back.
Revenge, yeah well, if it's warranted and the law ain't done its job, lot of times it's gonna happen. Figure a feller either gets it or he pretty miserable the rest of his life. Fact is, somebody done to you some of the things they do, and walking around free as a bird, even bein' on TV talking about it, you're busted up - sometimes physically and certainly mentally - you either give up, take to drink and drugs to kill the pain til they kill you, or if you're one of the weaker ones - or your mind got messed up enough - you kill yourself. Know of a case of two there that happened. Know of one where the feller that got busted up got even, removed his tormentor from this world, and walked. Great story, but dunno if I'll ever get around to tellin it.
OK, we about done for tonight. World still goin nuts, preparing for whatever. Hope it's just watching it go up from a safe place, but you never know. No predictions here. Didn't get the body count for Juneteenth , don't care. Joetato called somebody a dog-faced pony soldier again today, didn't mention Corn Pop far as I know. He goin' fast now, seen dementia up close, and dunno what it does when they drugging you up to keep you vertical and verbalizing, he still vertical for the election is something I sure wouldn't bet on. Sat 17 Jun 2023 10:07:07 PM CDT
I's sometimes surprised at the naughty songs they played on that station. I's there in the house, Mom cookin' or cannin' of sumthin, and there it is on the radio, songs 'bout adultery and murder and all. Still surprised they got away with some of it. Heard "Mary's Vineyard" buncha times, knew what was goin on, thinkin' is Mom listenin to this? Now this dude singin about boffin' the daughters of the moonshiner he worked for. All three of'em if you listen to it. Not underage, one presumes, figure if one was 22 and one was 18, t'other three or four years younger.... waitasec. He at least 16, figure he was drivin' the 'shine across the line. The fact that ole man Dill woulda kilt him, he'd have bigger things to worry about than the law.
Same radio station, years later, I datin' a DJ there, pretty girl a year younger (I 19 so it legal) and she said they couldn't play Lyin' Eyes cause it about adultery. Seems she said Run Joey Run wasn't allowed on account of the gal was knocked up. She had a night show, played music for youngsters 'stead of the country the rest of the day. Dang, they tryin to protect the tender ears of the kids? Okey-dokey. Miss her, sweet kid, perfect voice for radio and good DJ with no experience. Dunno if it better or worse she didn't go to one of the big stations, stuff you get exposed to there, better to marry some local dude and work in a bank, I go enlist in the Air Force, I did pretty well. Better leave it there. Mon 19 Jun 2023 11:24:06 PM CDT
Curly another one passed on few years ago. Reckon when I was hearin' it on the radio back then it was probably Porter, he gone too. Like a lot of'em I'd listen, not payin much attention, background music. Be a long time 'fore I figured out he wasn't goin' home to see Mom and Dad and whoever Mary is - sister, wife, girlfriend - guessing it was his squeeze, cuz he dead. They gonna wake him up in the morning they gonna take him to pay for whatever crime he done, probably murder, it bein' a country song. Country pretty morbid at times, lot of killin, and people bein executed for things.
Wed 21 Jun 2023 09:08:51 PM CDT
David pretty rough at times, not sure what to make of him. Definitely a lot of non-family-safe stuff. He pretty humourous, in his rough way. So there 'tis, his contribution to songs about gettin' executed. Like David, Merle Haggard did some time, meeting Caryl Chessman - who got the death penalty without actually killing anyone, but then so did Cameron Todd Willingham - while in San Quentin, and wrote our next entry. Reportedly it was inspired by another inmate. Fri 23 Jun 2023 10:46:08 PM CDT
I got this one right away, first line. Somebody goin' to the chair. Not electric though, since he was probably thinkin' of Rabbit, and they used gas then. Still a chair, maybe not quite as ugly way to die, some says. Sure the electric bad sometimes for sure. But there's the gas is bad too. Story about the killer, who was that? Made a movie, couple actually. It'll come to me. Barbara Graham. Check Wickedpedia and see if I spelt it right. Yep. Didn't figger it to be some exotic version like Grahame, something like that. Story is, as Cody was always sayin', someone tole her just take a deep breath right quick when you hear the eggs drop (that's what some call the cyanide pellets) and get it over quick. She said something like "How would you know?" Well, could be someone watched a few executions, wouldn't want to be that somebody. Quick digression - not really a digression, we talkin' about judicially killin' people - in John D. MacDonald's "The End of the Night" the prologue is a letter from a prison guard describing four 'lectric chair executions, all in one show, makes you feel kinda weird. John had a way of doin' that, in some of his Travis McGee stories. Speakin of movies, the newer one, they used Lindsay Wagner, she OK, the Bionic Woman kinda dumb, but so was the Six Million Dollar Man, just worse. Biggest problem with SMDM was that silly sproinging sound when he jumped. Worse in TBW, anytime she was usin' her bionic ear to hear something, had the camera zoom in on her ear. Was TV sillier then that now? Dunno, ain't watched it in years.
This one pretty somber, thinkin' about people on death row, knowin' it comin' and always tryin to get out of it until there's no more to be done, sometimes now they twenty, thirty years older time they do'em. No sense to capital punishment, no sense to the way of who gets it and who don't, and very few of them deserving it get it, and plenty who don't do. Like them that didn't do what they bein' killed for. Can't do better that that, lot better, shouldn't be doin it at all. Sat 24 Jun 2023 08:47:28 PM CDT
Lot of Johnny's songs was humorous, maybe most of'em. He could be serious pretty well though. Little of both there. He also recorded "Long Black Veil", which is our next entry. So did a lot of other folks, and ain't sure which I was hearin' on the radio back in the day. Coulda been Lefty Frizzel, recorded it in '59 or thereabouts, since that'd be mid-sixties I reckon. One of the more unnerving ones, tryin to think on a feller bein' in that fix. If he'd do it, why? To save the lady's reputation and marriage? Probably, but how she gonna let him do it? He have a wife? Hard to figure. Okey-dokey. Mon 26 Jun 2023 09:50:47 PM CDT
A contribution from Tom T. Hall (Harper Valley PTA) that's kinda dark. A guy that didn't go war when most others did, that'd be WWII and it was considered shameful, and so he was shamed in his community. Dad went, we used to talk about people his age, I'd ask what they did in the war and he'd tell me where they served, in the Pacific, or North Africa and Italy like he did, or wherever. One or two, I'd ask, he'd just say that as far as he knew that feller didn't go. Didn't pass judgment, just said how it was, whyever it was he didn't speculate. Later I knew a guy, same age, he didn't go either. Never said why, but said he worked in a powder factory in Memphis, makin' powder for the big guns, artillery, battleship guns and such. Dunno why he wasn't sent, said some folks got killed working where he was, accidents. So dunno if Johnny was a draft-dodger (some of the guys Dad knew got out on account of their social position, but he didn't tell me. Figured it out later.) or there was a medical reason or something. Anyhow, they give him trouble and he didn't like it. Killed a bunch of'em.
Sat 29 Jun 2023 10:08:36 PM CDT
Text in pics I was sittin' beside the road in Blackjack County Not knowing that the sheriff paid a bounty For men like me who didn't have a penny to their names So he locked my leg to thirty-five pounds of Blackjack County chain All we had to eat was bread and water Each day we had to build that road a mile and a quarter Black snake whip would cut our backs when some poor fool complained But we couldn't fight back wearin' 35 pounds of Blackjack County chain And then one night while the sheriff was a sleepin' We all gathered round him slowly creepin' And heaven help me to forget that night in the cold cold rain When we beat him death with thirty-five pounds of Blackjack County chain Now the whip marks have all healed and I am thankful That there's nothing but a scar round my ankle Most of all I'm glad no man will be a slave again To a black snake whip and thirty-five pounds of Blackjack County chain To a black snake whip and thirty-five pounds of Blackjack County chain Blackjack County Chain (Red Lane)  The grapes in Mary's vineyard are the sweetest on the vine Old man Oscar Dill lived back in the Tennessee hills He's got him two or three stills and he makes heavy water Oh I worked for him one time runnin' sour mash across the line And he warned me to pay no mind to his three daughters Yeah one was eighteen and one was twenty two one was just my age One by one I opened the door to the gilded cage (yes I did now) He don't know and I ain't gonna tell him what I've done one time Cause he thinks he raised three little angels ah I think that's fine I made love to his sweet Martha and pretty little Caroline But the grapes in Mary's vineyard are the sweetest on the vine Now old man Oscar Dill said he wouldn't hesitate to kill Anybody messin' round his stills or his three daughters But even so late at night when the moon wasn't shining too bright I'd sneaked around get brave all right sippin' his heavy water Yeah one was eighteen... I made love to his sweet Martha... Mary's Vineyard (Claude King) The old hometown looks the same As I step down from the train And there to meet me is my mama and papa Down the road I look and there runs Mary Hair of gold and lips like cherries It's good to touch the green, green grass of home Yes, they'll all come to meet me Arms reaching, smiling sweetly It's good to touch the green, green grass of home The old house is still standing Though the paint is cracked and dry And there's that old oak tree that I used to play on Down the lane, I walk with my sweet Mary Hair of gold and lips like cherries It's good to touch the green, green grass of home Green Green Grass of Home Then I awake and look around me At four grey walls that surround me And I realize, yes, I was only dreaming For there's a guard and there's a sad, old padre On and on, we'll walk at daybreak Again, I'll touch the green, green grass of home Yes, they'll all come to see me In the shade of that old oak tree As they lay me 'Neath the green, green grass of home (Claude "Curly" Putman Jr.) Sittin here on death row, Behind a ton of steel. They say before I die, I gotta eat my last meal. I wanna double yolked egg from an albino pigeon with fried bat wings over easy. The left hind leg of a black giraffe cooked medium rare, not too greasy. Smoked rhinoceros, pickled ant-eaters a plate of elephant stew. One mandrake root and a rabbit's tongue and a jaw of cockaroo. Oh Warden! Now you know how I feel! I'll be ready to die now, Just as soon as I eat my last meal! I hear yuh! I want fresh tear-drops from a new-born child in a glass made in Timbuktu. If you can't get that, try a stewed pole-cat smothered with catfish brew. Take the ears from a rat-tailed monkey mixed with a spider's left eye. And make me a salad of jungle roots and I'll be ready to die! Oh Warden! Now you know how I feel! I'll be ready to die now, Just as soon as I eat my last meal! Death Row (David Allan Coe) The warden led a prisoner down the hallway to his doom I stood up to say goodbye like all the rest And I heard him tell the warden just before he reached my cell "Let my guitar playing friend do my request" Let him sing me back home with a song I used to hear Make my old memories come alive Take me away and turn back the years Sing me back home before I die I recall last Sunday morning a choir from off the streets Came to sing a few old gospel songs And I heard him tell the singers, "There's a song my mama sang Could I hear it once before you move along?" Sing me back home, the the song I used to hear Make my old memories come alive Take me away and turn back the years Sing me back home before I die Won't you sing me back home, the the song I used to hear Make my old memories come alive Take me away and turn back the years Sing me back home before I die Sing me back home before I die Sing Me Back Home (Merle Haggard - 1968) Well they're building a gallows outside my cell I've got 25 minutes to go And the whole town's waitin' just to hear me yell I've got 24 minutes to go Well they gave me some beans for my last meal I've got 23 minutes to go But nobody asked me how I feel I've got 22 minutes to go Well I sent for the governor and the whole dern bunch with 21 minutes to go And I sent for the mayor but he's out to lunch I've got 20 more minutes to go Then the sheriff said boy I gonna watch you die got 19 minutes to go So I laughed in his face and I spit in his eye got 18 minutes to go Now hear comes the preacher for to save my soul with 13 minutes to go And he's talking bout' burnin' but I'm so cold I've 12 more minutes to go Now they're testin' the trap and it chills my spine 11 more minutes to go And the trap and the rope aw they work just fine got 10 more minutes to go Well I'm waitin' on the pardon that'll set me free with 9 more minutes to go But this is for real so forget about me got 8 more minutes to go With my feet on the trap and my head on the noose got 5 more minutes to go Won't somebody come and cut me loose with 4 more minutes to go I can see the mountains I can see the skies with 3 more minutes to go And it's to dern pretty for a man that don't want to die 2 more minutes to go I can see the buzzards I can hear the crows 1 more minute to go And now I'm swingin' and here I go-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o! Songwriter: Shel Silverstein Ten years ago, on a cold dark night There was someone killed 'neath the town hall light There were few at the scene, but they all agreed That the slayer who ran looked a lot like me The judge said, "Son what is your alibi? If you were somewhere else then you won't have to die" I spoke not a word though it meant my life For I had been in the arms of my best friend's wife She walks these hills in a long black veil She visits my grave when the night winds wail Nobody knows, nobody sees Nobody knows but me The scaffold is high, and eternity nears She stood in the crowd and shed not a tear But sometimes at night when the cold wind mourns In a long black veil she cries over my bones She walks these hills in a long black veil She visits my grave when the night winds wail Nobody knows, nobody sees Nobody knows but me, nobody knows but me, nobody knows but me Long Black Veil Songwriters: Danny Dill / Marijohn Wilkin Johnny got up one mornin' he went down to the company store Got him a big box of bullets to fit into his 44 The storeman said son are you gonna work you know you owe me too much to stop John said I got a little working to do but I ain't goin' by your clock People said John was a slacker cause he wouldn't fight in their war A man wasn't much if he wouldn't fight back in nineteen forty and four The doctor said John was just too sick to go But the people said that he was a coward And one of the men makin' fun of him was a feller named a Milton Howard Milton was down at the Cold Spring a drinkin' from a Mason jar He said John you better get yourself to work you gonna fool around till you get fired John blew the dust from his old 44 put two holes in Milton's head When Johnny walked off to get some more shootin' done That old Cold Spring was a runnin' with red Next guy he met was a Steagall boy and the boy had a hammer in his hand John said son you should've built yourself a box 'Cause you're aheaded for the Promised Land Steagall fell down to his knees to pray and he cried Lord Johnny please don't shoot Before he got half way to sayin' amen well old John shot him out of his boots Word went out through the County that old John had lost his head The people were running and screaming there were seven of 'em layin' there dead Johnny hid out in a farmhouse he had satisfaction in his eyes He said I know they're coming to get me boys but they ain't a gonna take me alive People gathered round that old farmhouse was the relatives of all them dead Now John said if the sheriff comes through that door I'm gonna fill him plum full of lead The sheriff kicked down that old farmhouse door but old John's gun would not shoot Johnny just smiled at the sheriff and said the Lord must think a lot of you They took old John to the jailhouse he entered in a guilty plea The judge said death in the electric chair cause it's murder in the first degree John's last meal was a lot of fried chicken cold beans and a baby squash He ate every bite that they brought him then he smiled and said I thank you all a lot They put old John in the electric chair they shaved his ankles and his head The preacher said son you got something to say in a minute you're a gonna be dead John said I ain't no coward and the people know that I won't run Then Johnny smiled up at the warden and said turn it on turn it on turn it on Tom T. Hall Hang down your head, Tom Dooley Hang down your head and cry Hang down your head, Tom Dooley Poor boy, you're bound to die I met her on the mountain There I took her life Met her on the mountain Stabbed her with my knife Hang down your head, Tom Dooley Hang down your head and cry (poor boy) Hang down your head, Tom Dooley Poor boy, you're bound to die This time tomorrow Reckon where I'll be Hadn't been for Grayson I'd-a been in Tennessee Well now, boy Hang down your head, Tom Dooley Hang down your head and cry (oh, boy) Hang down your head, Tom Dooley Poor boy, you're bound to die Well now, boy Hang down your head, Tom Dooley Hang down your head and cry (poor boy) Hang down your head, Tom Dooley Poor boy, you're bound to die This time tomorrow Reckon where I'll be Down in some lonesome valley Hangin' from a white oak tree Hang down your head, Tom Dooley Hang down your head and cry (poor boy) Hang down your head, Tom Dooley Poor boy, you're bound to die Well now, boy Hang down your head, Tom Dooley Hang down your head and cry (poor boy) Hang down your head, Tom Dooley Poor boy, you're bound to die Poor boy, you're bound to die Poor boy, you're bound to die Poor boy, you're bound to die |
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