Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Streets of Laredo

Continuing with a relatively heavy posting schedule this week, I now offer for your approval my version of the next Alfred's Book 2 assignment. I actually had this one completed before Introduction and Dance (a pox on it), but the purist in me wouldn't allow the blogger in me to post it (Laredo) without having completed the earlier piece (Intro) first.

Box.net link - My recording


Streets of Laredo - Aw2pp

My favorite version, of the hundreds scores dozens one or two recordings I've heard comes from Nashville musician and self-proclaimed Last of the Full Grown Men: Webb Wilder*.

* - Not his real name, I'm sure.


By this point, my 30 second version of the song is surely done (you listened, right?), so why not hear a professional's take.

Box.net link - Webb's version


Streets Of Laredo (The Cowboys Lament) - Webb Wilder

It's simultaneously an interesting, sad, and perplexing song. Apparently all the following is true:

A cowboy is a drunken gambler lowlife. Said gambler is also a cheat, and got caught. So somebody shot him. At which point, while dead ("dressed in white linen and cold as the clay"), he wanders the Streets of Laredo, and comes across the, uh, narrator. Whom he doesn't know ("I see by your outfit* that you are a cowboy..."). So he (the now dead cowboy cheating gambler) spends the rest of the song describing what happened to him, finishing up with very specific funeral arrangements. Which the narrator (again, a stranger, mind you) dutifully follows, even arranging for a sextet of prostitutes to sing a song in his memory. And why? Because, shucks, that kid, that's just the way he rolled, and they all loved him like that.

* I can just imagine this conversation between two rough characters.

"Nice outfit!"
"Oh this? Just something I threw together this morning."
"No, really, it's simply dashing** the way it conveys your cowboy-ness."
"Uh, thanks. Say, your outfit is... unusual. Looks like some bedsheets. And come to think of it, you also look kinda pale. Is that a new base you're working with? Or is there a toga party I am missing somewhere?"
"Oh, that. Well, funny you should mention it..."

** Yes, they actually use the word "dashing" in this song.


That's quite a bit of inconsistency to try to digest. And yet? It's still vastly superior to "Those Were The Days". (I know, it's time to move on.)

The Streets of Laredo (The Cowboy's Lament)

As i walked out in the streets of Laredo
As i walked out in Laredo one day
I saw a young cowboy dressed in white linen
Dressed in white linen and as cold as the clay

"I see by your outfit that you are a cowboy"
These words he did say as I boldly stepped by
"come sit down beside me, hear my sad story
Shot in the breast and i know i must die

Play the drum slowly, play the fife lowly
Sound the dead march as you bear me along
Take me to the green valley, lay the sod o'er me
I'm a young cowboy and i know i've done wrong.

It was once in the saddle i used to go dashin'
Once in the saddle i used to go gay
Off to the dram house, off to the card house
Shot in the breast and i'm dying today

Beat the drum slowly, play the fife lowly
Sound the dead march as you bear me along
Take me to the green valley, lay the sod o'er me
I'm a young cowboy and i know i've done wrong.

Get six strong cowboys to carry my coffin
Six pretty whoregals to sing me a song
Place bunches of roses on top of my coffin
So they can't smell me as they bear me along"

We played the drum slowly, played the fife lowly
Played the dead march as we bore him along
Took him to the green valley and laid the sod o'er him
We all loved our comrade even though he'd done wrong

As i walked out in the streets of Laredo
As i walked out in Laredo one day


- Aw2pp, who tends not to let his freak flag fly.

3 comments:

ral said...

All right, there, cowboy, how about this from Allan Sherman?


The Streets Of Miami

As I wandered out
On the streets of Miami
I said to meinself
This is some fancy town

I called up mein partner
And said, "Hello, Sammy
Go pack up your satchel
And mosey on down"

...

GranDeb said...

Your cowboy used to go dashin' and he used to go gay.....
saving this topic for another day?

I'm applauding your performance! Yeehaw!

Monica K. said...

Oh, what a wonderful romp down memory lane. My mom used to sing "Streets of Laredo" all the time when I was little, and us girls would sing along. She taught us a sanitized version, though... no 'whoregals', just 'pretty ladies.' ;