As I look back upon these old songs written back in the 60s and 70s I realize how reactive they were. The only time I would get inspired to write a song was when some song I heard on the radio offended me. Too bad I rarely listened to the radio. I used to have a reel-to-reel tape deck and would set it on slow speed and tape a whole afternoon's worth of a local C&W station. Then I'd fast-forward through it stopping at each song to hear a measure or two -- long enough to hear if it was something we would want to learn for the bar. That was the extent of my radio listening.
Written: Melendres Street, Las Cruces NM 1977
Knees Calhoon was an
agreeable contrarian and when the country world was “…getting back to the
country…” with “…Willie and Waylon and the boys…” he felt he had to stand up for
the inner city. So he dusted off his James Brown chords and wrote what he
thought was a sophisticated defense of city living. City living in
Dallas
yet!
This dusty life I’m
livin
S’got its own special
rhythm
But the city keeps
callin my name out loud
Sayin leave it all
behind
I got the land I
thought I wanted
But I still feel like
I’m haunted
By the uptown women in
the downtown bars
Dancin cross my mind,
cross my mind.
I’m gonna count my
blessings, pack my bags
Stash some grass and
haul my ass to Dallas
I’ll be a city-slicker,
sailor
And a salesman all in
one
Well I wanna be where
There’s always music
playin
Where the neon lights
me up
Like a midnight sun
Midnight sun.
So let the suburbs keep
on growin,
Let the farmers keep on
crowin
Let everybody in their
own way
Ride the devil down
I got my mind all made
up;
I’m tired of feelin
laid up
After I hit every bar
in Dallas
Look out Cowtown.
Pittsburgh
The CALHOON BROTHERS LIVE VERSION
(Sometime in the late 70s at the Las Cruces Inn, Las Cruces NM)
