Thursday, May 8, 2014

ATF: Panhandlin'

This weekly series will include as many of my all-time favorite tunes as I can get my grubby little hands on (so to speak).  Now, each one included in each edition will have some connection with the other—albeit only as a figment of my imagination, but they will not be numbered.  For I just cannot bring myself to rate some higher than others.  So, this will not be a countdown, but if you are enjoying them as much as I do, it won’t matter.  Besides, with no countdown, this could go on forever and ever!  Oh, and despite the fact that there is absolutely no way that your musical tastes can be as exquisite as mine, I welcome any suggestions that you might dare to make.  I am, after all, quite magnanimous by nature.



Texas in My Rearview Mirror
Mac Davis
I was just fifteen
And outta control
Lost to James Dean
And rock and roll
I knew down deep
In my country soul
That I had to get away
Hollywood was
A lady in red
Who danced in my dreams
As I tossed in bed
I knew I'd wind up
In jail or dead
If I had to stay

I thought
Happiness was Lubbock Texas
In my rear view mirror
My momma kept callin’ me home
But I just did not want to hear her
And the vision was getting’ clearer
In my dreams

So I laid out one night in June
Stoned on the glow of the Texas moon
Hummin’ an old Buddy Holly tune
Called Peggy Sue
With my favorite jeans
And a cheap guitar
I ran off chasin’ a distant star
If Buddy Holly could make it that far
I figured I could too

And I thought
Happiness was Lubbock Texas
In my rear view mirror
My momma kept callin’ me home
But I just did not want to hear her
And the vision was getting’ clearer
In my dreams

But the Hollywood moon didn't smile
The same old smile
That I'd grown up with
The lady in red
Just wanted my last dime
And I cried myself to sleep at night
Too dumb to run
Too scared to fight
And too proud
To admit it
At the time
So I got me some gigs
On Saturday nights
Not much more
Than orchestrated fights
I'd come home drunk
And I'd try to write
But the words came out wrong
Hell-bent and bound
For a wasted youth
Too much gin
And not enough vermouth
And no one to teach me
How to seek the truth
Before I put it into song

I still thought
Happiness was Lubbock Texas
In my rear view mirror
My momma kept callin’ me home
But I just could not
Would not hear her
And the vision was gettin’ clearer
In my dreams

Well I thank God
Each and every day
For givin’ me the music
And the words to say
I'd a never made it any other way
He was my only friend
Now I sleep a little better at night
When I look in the mirror
In the mornin’ light
The man I see
Was both wrong and right
He's goin’ home again

I guess
Happiness was Lubbock, Texas
In my rear view mirror
But now
Happiness is Lubbock Texas
Growin’
Nearer
And dearer
And the vision is gettin’ clearer
In my dreams
And I think I finally know
Just what it means
And when I die
You can bury me
In Lubbock Texas
In my jeans



Amarillo By Morning
George Strait
Amarillo by mornin'
Up from San Antone
Everything that I've got
Is just what I've got on
When that sun is high
In that Texas sky
I'll be buckin' at the county fair
Amarillo by mornin'
Amarillo
I'll be there

They took my saddle in Houston
Broke my leg in Santa Fe
Lost my wife and a girlfriend
Somewhere along the way
But I'll be lookin’ for eight
When they pull that gate
And I hope that judge
Ain't blind
Amarillo by mornin'
Amarillo’s on my mind

Amarillo by mornin'
Up from San Antone
Everything that I've got
Is just what I've got on
I ain't got a dime
But what I've got is mine
I ain't rich
But Lord
I'm free
Amarillo by mornin'
Amarillo's where I'll be
Amarillo by mornin'
Amarillo's where I'll be

Lyrics From: [elyrics.net]

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12 comments:

  1. We always thought Mac's song "Lord It's Hard to Be Humble " was so funny! Haven't listened to country music for years now.

    Jerry, our Lee County workshop was like a class ... All free, but we had to register for it. There were about 40 people signed up for our session.

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  2. Thanks for stopping by, my dear Sallie!!! Be assured that Mac Davis will have that song and at least one other included in this series later on.

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  3. Makes me think of Branson down there. Didn't Mac Davis perform there regularly? Never been so I don't know.

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  4. I always liked Mac Davis, although I haven't thought about him or his music in a long time. Maybe I should brush the dust off my old vinyls.

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  5. Thanks for stopping by, my dear Big Dave T!!! We live around 45 miles straight north of Branson, but we have never attended any of the music shows. I looked, but I failed to find anything about Mac Davis ever performing in Branson. Now, The Gatlin Brothers, who were included last week in this series, have been down there quite a bit. In fact, the image I used for them is a promotional one for the Branson's Starlite Theatre.

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  6. Thanks for stopping by, my dear Stephen!!! He has never received as many accolades as he should have, as far I am concerned. His In The Ghetto, as performed by Elvis, is an incredibly profound song.

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  7. You have some amazing pics.

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  8. good tunes. :)

    jan used to open friday's fences on thursday nights. when i took it over, i renamed it good fences and opened it on thursday mornings.

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  9. Thanks for stopping by, my dear Lady Lilith!!! Thanks to Wikipedia! (LOL?)

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  10. Thanks for stopping by, my dear TWG!!! Well, you-all you should not be messing with us, who have a hard time knowing which day it is from minute to minute. (LOL?)

    Oh, and I am really glad you enjoyed this. South Texas is scheduled to be represented in a much more hard-rockin' fashion later on.

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  11. Two of my favourites. Someone else put up a Mac Davis song on their blog the other day. I love Mac Davis...but haven't played his music for ages.

    I've always been a fan of George Strait, too.

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  12. Thanks for stopping by, my dear Lee!!! I am really glad you liked this. If you have never seen George Strait's "Pure Country" movie, I think you will really enjoy it. By the way, part of it takes a fairly obvious shot at Garth Brooks' concert presentations at the time.

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