LETTER TO LAREDO
Copyright 1995 MCA Records (MCAC/D-11222) Universal City, California
Produced by Joe Ely
Run, Preciosa, Run
Music and Lyrics by Joe Ely
I saw her in the barrio
In the town where the brothers fought
Across the river from the Moorish Mosque
That the Spanish Christians bought
Her hair was dressed by Vesps
Woven in the leather wind
She grew up int the country
You could see it in her innocent grin
Run Preciosa, Run for love
The olive trees need rain
Memories of your gypsy past
Still ride on the midnight train
Your lover's heart was way too wild
You saw it in his face
You walk the graveyard with his child
In a veil of Spanish lace
The son of Tony Camborio
Drove a souped up Red Renault
With a muffler rusted as the red wrought iron
Around his father's burial vault
The Civil Guards raise their sleepy heads
When she spins to watch the car change lanes
Tho so many years have passed
Not that much has changed
Run Preciosa, Run for love
The olive trees need rain
Memories of your gypsy past
Still ride on the midnight train
Your lover's heart was way too wild
You saw it in his face
You walk the graveyard with his child
In a veil of Spanish lace
The hours paint the whitewashed walls
In shadows of Lavender-grey
Preciosa counts the ring of bells
From the church where the white doves lay
The flashing lights of the Civil Guard
Around a red renault they flash
Not that much has really changed,
Tho so much time has passed...
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I'm a Thousand Miles From
Home
Music and Lyrics by Joe Ely
Travelin' down this weary road
Travelin' down this weary road
Travelin' down this weary road
A troubled min'd is a heavy load
Travelin' down this weary road
Hold my ticket in my hand
Hold my ticket in my hand
Hold my ticket in my hand
Lookin for the Promised Land
Hold my ticket in my hand
I'm a thousand miles from home
I'm a thousand miles from home
I'm a thousand miles from home
Georgia rain blows through my bones
I'm a thousand miles from home
Told my love my last good bye
My very, very last good bye
Told my love my last good bye
Hang my head and the tears just cry
Told my love my last good bye
I'm a thousand miles from home
I'm a thousand miles from home
I'm a thousand miles from home
Georgia rain blows through my bones
I'm a thousand miles from home
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I Saw It In You
Music and Lyrics by Joe Ely
1)
I opened the blinds in a Texas Motel room
When the sun blasted in I Saw It in You
I been a rollin' and a ramblin' all over Creation
Rollin' down the highway lookin' for the truth
I Saw It in You
I Saw It in You
2)
I woke up my sidekick, "It's a long way to LLano
I'll see you next summer when the peach trees are ripe."
I'll follow my dreams where ever they take me
Now I'm headed home, I saw the light
I Saw It in You
I Saw It in You
I saw it all in you
The Sun, The Wind,
The Trees that Bend
I Saw It in You
I Saw It in You
I Saw It in You
3)
Sometimes I listen To the fool inside me
Sometimes I follow The song in my heart
Sometimes I swear There's an angel beside me
Guiding my footsteps On through the dark
I Saw It in You
I Saw It in You
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Saint Valentine
Music and Lyrics by Joe Ely
Saint Valentine drove a red Continental
With a headlight out and a dent in the side
He said it wasn't his; it was only a rental
But he drove it every single night
Saint Valentine wore shades and a Cowboy Hat
He looked straight outa Lonesome Dove
You never saw his eyes but you knew down deep inside
He was longin for a long lost love
The Origional Lover had a broken heart
To the ground his blood did flow
And for every drop that fell to the earth
A red, red rose did grow
Saint Valentine ate pizza every Monday night
And chased it with Johnny Walker Black
The waitresses would stare but he just didn't care
He just wanted his lover back
Saint Valentine wore a t-shirt of the Virgin Madonna
With the sleeves cut out and a tear through the heart
He wore it like a shield to protect his pride and honor
He was tired of livin' so far apart
The Origional Lover had a broken heart
To the ground his blood did flow
And for every drop that fell to the earth
A red, red rose did grow
Saint Valentine would Circle the Shoppin' Center Mall
With his radio wailin' the Blues
He'd park outside the door of the Video Store
Like he was one of the chosen few
Saint Valentine drove a red Continental
With a headlight out and a dent in the side
He swore it wasn't real; it was only mental
But he drove it every single night
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All Just To Get To You
Music and Lyrics by Joe Ely
I have stumbled on the plains
Staggered in the wind
Stood at a crossroad or two
Cried to a river
Swept to the sea
All just to get to you
I have flagged a yellow cab
Hopped a rusty freight
Sang till my lips turned blue
Flown a silver bird
On the tops of the clouds
All just to get to you
I ran too hard
I played too Rough
I gave my Love
Not near Enough
I bled too red
I cried too blue
I beat my fist
Against the moon
All just to get to you
I have run from St. Paul
To Wichita Falls
Call'd you from sunny Baton Rouge
Hocked everything
From my watch to my ring
All just to get to you
I ran too hard
I played too Rough
I gave you Love
Not near Enough
I bled too red
I cried too blue
I beat my fist
Against the moon
All just to get to you
From the California Shore
Where the mighty ocean roars
To the lands of the Hopi and the Sioux
I walked the desert sands
Crossed the Rio Grande
All just to get to you
I have stumbled on the plains
Staggered in the wind
Stood at a crossroad or two
Cried to a river
Swept to the sea
All just to get to you
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Ranches and Rivers
Music and Lyrics by Joe Ely
In the cool of the evening
She calls me to dance.
My back's about broken.
From choppin' the plants
My soul is so thirsty,
I can't sleep at night
She walks in my dreams
and brings me delight
I was born to the workers
To toil and to strife
My father before me
He worked all his life
He took nothing for granted
He said son never bend
This heart that's been broken
Only her love can mend
Some men could give you
Ranches and Rivers
With fences of Barbed Wire
To keep out the cold
But me, I got nothin'
No Titles to nothin'
Just a Love and a Fire
More Precious than gold
Your daddy works me in the ground
He knows something's goin' down
Will you pack your things and ride with me?
Tomorrow at sunrise,
With the dew on the cotton,
They cut loose the watchdogs
When they see that we're gone
The smile of my sweet one
Asleep on the car seat
Ten miles to the border
Where we will be free
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That Ain't Enough
Music and Lyrics by Joe Ely
How many times did you
tell me "I need you"?
How many times did I
Try to belive you
(That ain't enough)
How many roads did I
Ride just to find you
How many fires did you
burn there behind you
(That ain't enough)
That ain't enuf to satisfy my love
I'm so greedy
No that ain't enuf you called my bluff
When I was bleeding
You knew me so well
I trusted your power
Now that you're gone
It's my darkest hour
(That ain't enough)
That ain't enuf to satisfy my love
I'm so greedy
No that ain't enuf you called my bluff
When I was bleeding
I was losin my head
over somethin' you said
But I don't blame you
I was falling apart
About to break my heart
I was the same as you
You know I care
I combed your hair
with my fingers
If that ain't enough
I'm givin' up
I won't linger
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Gallo Del Cielo
Music and Lyrics by Tom Russell
Carlos Saragosa left his home in Casas Grandes when the moon was full
He had no money in his pocket, just a locket of his sister framed in Gold
He headed for el Sueco, stole a rooster named Gallo Del Cielo
Then he crossed the Rio Grande with that roosted nestled deep within his arm
Galllo del Cielo was a warrior born in heaven so the legends say
His wings they had been broken, he had one eye rollin crazy in his head
He'd fought a hundred fights and the legends say that one night near El Sueco
He fought Cielo seven times, seven times he left brave roosters dead
Hola my Teresa I'm thinkin of you now in San Antonio
I have 27 dollars and the good luck of your good luck of your picture framed in gold
Tonight I'll put it all on the fighting spurs of Gallo Del Cielo
Then I'll return to buy the land Pancho Villa stole from father long ago
Outside of San Diego in the Onion fields of Paco Monte Verde
The Pride of San Diego lay sleeping on a fancy bed of silk
Adn they laughed when Saragosa pulled the one-eyed Del Cielo from beneath his shirt
But they cried when Saragosa waked away with a thousand dollar bill
Hola my Teresa I'm thinkin of you now in Santa Barbara
I have 27 dollars and the good luck of your good luck of your picture framed in gold
Tonight I'll put it all on the fighting spurs of Gallo Del Cielo
Then I'll return to buy the land Pancho Villa stole from father long ago
Now the moon has gone to hiding and the lantern light spills shadows on the fighting sand
A wicked black named Zorro faces Del Cielo in the sand
And Carlos Saragosa fears the tiny crack that runs across his roosters beak
And he fears that he has lost the 50,000 dollars riding on the fight
Hola my Teresa I'm thinkin of you now in Santa Clara
The money's on the table, I'm holding now your good luck framed in gold
Everything we dream of is riding on the spurs of Del Cielo
Then I'll return to buy the land Pancho Villa stole from father long ago
The signal it was given and the roosters rose together far above the sand
Gallo Del Cielo sunk a gaff into Zorro's shiny breast
They were separated quickly but they rose and fought each other time and time again
And the legends all agreed that Gallo Del Cielo fought the best
But then the screams of Saragosa filled the night outside the town of Santa Clara
As the beak of Del Cielo lay broken like a shell within his hand
And they say that Saragosa screamed a curse upon the bones of Pancho Villa
As Zorro rose up one more time and drove Del Cielo in the sand
Hola my Teresa I'm thinkin of you now in San Francisco
I have no money in my pocket I no longer have your good luck framed in gold
I buried it last evening with the bones of my beloved Del Cielo
I will not return to buy the land that Villa stole long ago
Do the rivers still run muddy outside of my beloved Casas Grandes?
Does the scar upon my brother's face turn red when he hears mention of my name?
And do the people of El Sueco still curse the theft of Gallo Del Cielo?
Tell my family not to worry, I will not return to cause them shame.
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Letter to Laredo
Music and Lyrics by Joe Ely
As I was rolling across the Mississippi
I stopped there and I cried
No use for a man to keep a mighty river
All dammed up inside
I jumped bail from the Sweetwater County
Now I'm on the run
On my head is a five number bounty
For a crime I never done
Take this letter to Laredo
To the one I love
Tell her to stay low
Beneath the stars above
Her love is my only alibi
It's for her love I lied
Yeah, yeah, yeah
"Why did Frankie have to pull that trigger?
Why did you have to hide?
The sheriff still thinks I was standing with her
It's for your love I lied."
"Love will make a free man a prisioner
Will make an honest man lie
Love can be tough, love can be tender
It's my only alibi"
Take this Letter to Laredo
To the one I love
Tell her to stay low
Beneath the stars above
Her love is my only alibi
It's for her love I lied...
Yeah,, yeah...
Take this letter to letter to Laredo
Tell her to stay low
Her love is my only alibi
It's for her love I lied...
Yeah,
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She Finally Spoke Spanish
to Me
Music and Lyrics by Butch Hancock
Waiting for the train to France
I hung my head in shame
Feeling for all purposes like a
man without a name
Adios that's all she said
I knew it had to be
But she Finally Spoke Spanish to Me
Life just passed by on the sly
I tried to live mine over
It's been a cold dark lonesome night
On the White Cliffs of Dover
Adios that's all she said
It echoed across the sea
But She Finally Spoke Spanish to Me
Wine and dreams
She blew the candle out
I came to her for something
I went away without
Adios, that word will always haunt my memory
But She Finally Spoke Spanish to Me
I left my boots in Italy
Souls wore out in Spain
I left my guns in London Town
Just smokin' in the rain
Adios that's all she said
I knew it had to be
But She Finally Spoke Spanish to Me
But She Finally Spoke Spanish to Me
Wine and dreams
She blew the candle out
I came to her for something
I went away without
Adios, that word will always haunt my memory
But She Finally Spoke Spanish to Me
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I Ain't Been Here Long
Words and music by Bruce Gambill
I Ain't Been Here Long
I ain't sung my song
But light the road and kiss me on my way
About leavin' I ain't strong
But darlin' before long
You'll close your eyes and kiss me home to stay
I rolled down under a fat sun
Just knowin' you're the one
The miles were taken from me for a while
But the one consolin' thought
That my wheels a spinnin' caught
Was the reasurance of your partin' smile.
I Ain't Been Here Long
I ain't sung my song
But light the road and kiss me on my way
About leavin' I ain't strong
But darlin' before long
You'll close your eyes and kiss me home to stay
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