July 22, 2007
Country/Western Trivia (Gunfighter Ballads Edition)
[Last of the answers added]
Am I falling into a pattern? Well mebbe so, but I prefer to think of it as a theme. And speaking of themes, some of our more traveled readers may detect a theme (and I hope I got the original theme correct).
1) There was forty feet between them when? [Angie: When they stopped to make their play (and the swiftness of the Ranger is still talked about today) - one thing I've always liked about the way this song was written is the way the protagonist is "stranger", becoming "Ranger" when the folks know who he is]
2) He's a devil, not a man, and what does he do? [Julie: He spreads the burning sand with water]
3) Way out in New Mexico long, long, ago, what was a man's only chance? [Mike: A man's only chance was his own .44]
4) I've got an old stove that'll cook three square. Where? [Answer: On my 160 acres in the valley]
5) They'll bury Flo tomorrow. What are they doing tonight? [Mike: They're hanging me tonight]
6) He's a sun-fishin' son of a gun, and I lights in a cussin' the day of his birth. Who is he? [Angie is on the right track] [Mike: The Strawberry Roan]
7) Five cowboys ride to my right. How many ride off to my left? [Angie knows it but gracefully bows out to let others answer] [Mike and Joel: Off to my left ride a dozen or more]
8) I'm as sad as the willow that weeps where? [Answer: In the valley]
9) This kind of sinful living leads only to a fall. I learned that much and more the night I heard what? [Mike: The night I heard the Master call]
10) A woman's love is wasted when she loves what? [Answer: A Running Gun]
11) Where will my homesick heart trouble me no more? [Answer: The little green valley]
12) Run in your ponies closer and I'll tell to you my tale of whom? [Answer: I'll tell you my tale of Utah Carol]
Bonus Question: What is the theme, exactly? [Mike nails the bonus question, it's the album pictured below]
And in the interest of full disclosure, I myself would not have gotten several of these. I've heard them all but it's been a long time and I didn't recall the lyrics to some.
Posted by Ken S at July 22, 2007 06:11 PM | TrackBack (0) | Category: Country/Western Trivia2- He spreads the burning sand with water
Posted by: Julie at July 22, 2007 06:43 PMIndeed, Julie.
Posted by: Ken S, Fifth String on the Banjo of Life at July 22, 2007 06:51 PM1) The stranger stopped to make his play. (I don't remember if "stranger" is the right word, but it could be, since the next line is, "And the swiftness of the Ranger is still talked about today.") ("Big Iron", by the way.)
6) Well "he" is probably a horse, a bronco, but I don't know the song.
7) One of my favorite songs! But I couldn't guess it (well, I sort of did, but I'll leave it to someone else), because it should be "five mounted cowboys". Of course, if they weren't mounted, they wouldn't be riding now, would they?
Posted by: Angie Schultz at July 22, 2007 09:30 PM1) As I remember the line, it's "when they stopped to make their play, and the swiftness..."
6) On the right track
7) Yeah, I deliberately did that because it's so well known that it sounded too easy
Posted by: Ken S, Fifth String on the Banjo of Life at July 23, 2007 05:45 AM3) His old .44
5) Hanging me. (In those days, the wheels of justice clearly moved a bit faster).
6) The strawberry roan
7) a dozen or more.
9) The Master call.
I should know the rest of them. Gunfighter ballads and trail songs is an old favorite Marty Robins tape. I haven't linstend to it in a few years. I guess I'll just be forced to dust it off again :).
Mike
Posted by: Mike Dubost at July 23, 2007 08:52 AMI'm not as gracious as Angie.
7. Off to my left ride a dozen or more. As much as I love Marty Robbins, it's always Bobby Weir's voice I hear in my head singing this one. (That can probably be handled with medication.)
I'm taking a stab at number 12, but would it be a man called Shorty?
Posted by: Joel, President of Catholics for Xenu at July 23, 2007 08:58 AMExcellent, Mike, and the bonus question too!
Joel, I like the album version of the Dead singing it, but I have heard it in concert and they did a VERY countrified, almost Marty Robbins-esque rendition. Very good. That was in 1977, IIRC.
Posted by: Ken S, Fifth String on the Banjo of Life at July 23, 2007 09:20 AMAnd before you say it, that album version was also a concert, but some years earlier and very different in tempo and feel.
Posted by: Ken S, Fifth String on the Banjo of Life at July 23, 2007 09:21 AM...one thing I've always liked about the way this song was written is the way the protagonist is "stranger", becoming "Ranger" when the folks know who he is
I was unsure about that "stranger" thing, since as you say that's how the Ranger is referred to earlier in the song. Well, I could have googled it to be sure, but that would be dishonest...
Hey! What happened to "The Hanging Tree"?
Posted by: Angie Schultz at July 23, 2007 01:41 PMI wasn't going to get picky about the Dead recording, Ken. I actually like Marty Robbins' version better (damn, but that man could sing!), but I've heard the other so much that it sticks in my head more.
Posted by: Joel at July 24, 2007 08:09 AM