1. |
Badlands #1
02:15
|
|||
Despair is a tight rope and when you slip it slits you in two
Leaving one for the highway & one for getting through
Now I live out in the badlands, just my dog & me
It's only been two summers since Edna left me
Just you wait & just you see
These godforsaken badlands don't make for such good company
The knife is forthright & it'll sing when it sinks deep
I feel the winter in my bones; I hope the night, it takes me
Just you wait & just you see
These godforsaken badlands, well, they'll be the death of me
|
||||
2. |
James Kelly
04:00
|
|||
I’ve escaped the hangman’s noose
And I’ve escaped from Broadmore too
Left England’s foggy plains
Across the ocean and into your dreams
I bring a holy war unto your shores
My whole life I’ve been down on whores
Got the pox when I was 16
Hand on their mouth so I don’t hear them scream
Jersey City was loud and brash
New Orleans, heard the girls laugh
Went upstream just as far as I could
Headed west, looking for blood
The Lord only knows what our future holds
Ain’t nobody knows what our future holds
By Rapid City I was feeling bad
Voices in my head, wonder if I’m mad
Feel a fever coming on
Rent a room right before dawn
The next night I met Carrie Brown
She’s an old whore who hung around
Sent her to rent room 208
Little did she know what was her fate
The Lord only knows what our future holds
Ain’t nobody knows what our future holds
Woke up next to Carrie at morning’s light
She’d been ripped open during the night
Blood all over her and me
My knife slit her throat, swift and clean
I was horrified by what I’d done
The voices in my head, they told me to run
Headed east, out of town
Back to England is where I’m bound
The Lord only knows what our future holds
Ain’t nobody knows what our future holds
Made it to England in a week or so
Voices in my head were screaming NO
Knocked on Broadmore’s giant door
Wanted in before I hurt anyone more
Before I die I must tell my tale
Of how I bloodied the American trail
I’ll die here locked in chains
Hope history will forget my name
The Lord only knows what our future holds
Ain’t nobody knows what our future holds
|
||||
3. |
Badlands #2
03:49
|
|||
I got a pickup; I got a gun
I'm wearing a black mask 'cos I'm on the run
Well, I'm heading out to the badlands 'cos they ain't no place else to go
So I'll hang around but I'll hang low
Ask me no more questions & I'll tell you no more lies
Don't you stand in my way, buddy, 'cos I gots to hide
Well, I shot that sheriff just outside the bank
He's kind to my momma but I shot him just the same
Now it's getting hard out here
I think my safety net's done come unglued
Now I took that money but I didn't want to shoot
Yeah, well, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do
Now ain't that the truth?
Now, Sweet Lucinda, don't you rag on me
I just did what I had to do so you & them babies could eat
Now, ain't nobody seen my face so you don't have to fret
You can't stand the sight of blood? Well, don't look at it
|
||||
4. |
Flood of '81
03:26
|
|||
We left our home near Harper’s Ferry
The heat there got a little too hot
We decided to get back to our roots
And be where the revenuers are not
We settled on the Missouri outside of Yankton
And built the biggest still that we could
The people around town they were friendly
Yeah, the summer of ’80, it was good
Me and my brother were happy
Keeping those folks full of our shine
Going into town to see the ladies
But the Missouri never makes up her mind
The winter of ’81 was a rough one
It snowed like you never have seen
It shut down the town and the river
But by the end of March it hit 60 degrees
Hour by hour we watched that water rise
As we grabbed what we could for higher ground
Soon that water was you to our knees
And parts of the still could not ne found
<CHORUS>
By evening that river was twice as wide
That copper pot started floating downstream
My brother grabbed our stiff and set out
Trying to hold on to our dreams
The next morning I started walking downstream
That river was angry and full
3 miles in I found that copper pot
But my brother and the skiff they were gone
<CHORUS>
|
||||
5. |
Badlands #3
03:35
|
|||
I got a job in the badlands working in the mines for a spell
I up & married this redhead, well, she knows how to give me hell
I got this truck & this bad buzz real cheap & it'll take them both just to carry me on down
Down the road, away from the river where you first laid hands on me
Held me down, pushed me under, nary a light did I see
The sky was blue, the faces were smiling, your mother was singing to me
You cried & so did I, I tried, but I couldn't believe in you
You & me just dancing under them cigarette trees
Smoking Big Rock Candy Mountains
Wishing we had something to eat
And now we don't even roll 'em up
We just sit around & have entire conversations without making a sound
I gotta leave these badlands, I gotta get out now
When they find your body, I'll be well on my way south
I think I took the wrong stuff, now I cannot see
Is this your ghost choking the life out of me?
|
||||
6. |
Estella's Lament
03:48
|
|||
Hoss was a Rapid City cowboy
He drove a big truck and went to the rodeo
Mama always said he was her favorite
He rarely got drunk and he almost never stole
Estella worked all day in the bakery
She sold empanadas and listened to the radio
Her brother Ramon picked her up at 6.30
Protecting his sister’s reputation was his goal
Where oh where is my true love?
Where oh where is my sign?
Where oh where is my justice?
The Lord is vengeful; He’ll cheat you and rob you blind
Ramon took Estella to the rodeo
She noticed the gringo with the big brown boots
Hoss walked over to sat hello
When she looked into his blue eyes she almost swooned
Hoss and Estella sere sitting in his truck
Listening to what George Jones said
Hoss was asking Estella out on a date
When Roman’s snuck up and put a .38 in Hoss’ head
<CHORUS>
Estella worked all day at the bakery
She had walked home cause now Roman’s in jail
Hoss was the only chance at love she’d have
She cries herself to sleep thinking that she’s failed
<CHORUS>
|
||||
7. |
Badlands #4
03:03
|
|||
Johnny got the keys to the store
I didn't ask him how
I didn't need to know more
I thought: here's a payday
I just said: let's go
I set it up for the next night
Johnny, Marcus, & me didn't even bring masks
We thought we'd come off clean
They were waiting at the door
6 cops or more
I didn't need to see more
I started dropping them
One after the next
I saw Marcus fall too
I put another badge on the deck
Back in the car, Johnny bleeding out under them badland stars
I seen men gut-shot before
I knew there was no hope for him
I said: take this Vicodin
He started in on his rosary
I told him we had one last stop to go
The Little Missouri: up & running from the rain
The Little Missouri: carry him away from the pain
|
||||
8. |
Eloise
04:12
|
|||
Standing on the corner of the dark store, The air was warm and sweet
Waiting for the man with the money, so he can give it to me
He wouldn’t give me the money, He wouldn’t give me shit
So I shot him dead and took it, Guess I’m on the run for a bit
Eloise will be angry
Eloise will cry
I Know we got 3 little kids
But baby I’m afraid to die
Baby I’m afraid to die
The sheriff would be happy to grab me, The judge would see me hang
I don’t want to see either of them, so I’m leaving town again
Left my woman in White Rock, Stopped in Aberline
Sent Eloise all my loot in the Badlands you don’t need money
<CHORUS>
Left the Badlands for Pine Ridge, On the rez I will be safe
Sheriff’s posse met me at the border, Guess we’ll have a little race
My tired horse is slowing down, But the posse is keeping pace
30 feet from freedom I pulled my empty gun, And met my maker face to face
Eloise will be angry
Eloise will cry
I Know I left you with 3 little kids
But baby I’m afraid to die
Baby I’m afraid to die
|
||||
9. |
Badlands #5
03:15
|
|||
The crossing was hard
Oh how that rain had fallen
The stream swelled to swollen to burst
First went the young steer
Then snapped the wheel
The wagon washed down the Cheyenne
The plains wouldn't settle
Oh how them arrows found home
Winter struck early: catching us off-guard
The stock had to go
Oh how that baby did cry
The ice spread over the Cheyenne
We lost your mother then Little Sally Mae
We peppered our barley gruel with little dobs of clay
We lost your mother then Little Sally Mae
The mountains they loomed
Oh how the wolves they called
We lived with great horned owls
All sorts of claws
The living was risky
Even them kids grew hard
We named the youngest after the Cheyenne
|
||||
10. |
3 Angels
03:15
|
|||
Three Angels
I saw 3 angels on a pillar of fire
Gonna prove to God I ain’t no liar
Left my home and set out for the Badlands
The Lord has given me a plan
The blood of the Lamb will lead to the slaughter
Doesn’t matter if their sons or daughters
Madness and righteousness go hand in hand
I answer the Lord’s demand
Killed a lot of savages living on my land
Jesus was guiding my hand
A vengeful Lord has wrought blood upon the land
Through his grace I’ve made my stand
|
If you like A.S. Coomer & Z.P. Kunkle, you may also like:
Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp