TRACK LISTING
1. Introduction: Desert Basin
2. Tularosa
3. Interlude I: Crows Speak
4. Oh Gallows
5. Rolling Away
6. Last Ride to Las Cruces
7. Interlude II: American Dreamtime
8. No Peace at Appomattox
9. Interlude III: Yee Haw, Caw Caw!
10. Eugene Manlove Rhodes
11. Outro: Diluvian Hymn
LYRICS, Volume I
TULAROSA
On the banks of a leper white desert
The cattlemen claimed Tularosa
The farmer then fought with the herder
In the distance I stood with my father
He said, "Son I must bid you go hither,
For we've betrayed by our brothers
They have placed us between Tularosa
And a band of the dreaded Comanches"
No father, I will not be parted
Like you I would walk as a warrior
I will take up the bow and the arrow
Side by side we will fight the Comanches
"Son you must lay down your weapons
And walk down this pass with heart open
For there in the town Tularosa
We are known as the wicked Apaches
When you come to the gates of Tularosa
You must pray to the sky, desert, eagle
Then look into each eye with your kindness
And walk straight to eyes that reflect you
I will stay and watch on from this distance
Til I see you have reached Tularosa
Then I will turn my face to the Comanches
And I know they will not show me mercy"
So I walked down the hill and a farewell
Saved my tears til I faced Tularosa
And I held my head high like my father
A hard wind dried my face at the outskirts
As I walked down the road to Tularosa
The eagle I felt on my shoulder
I offered my prayer to the desert
As I stared through the fog of their hatred
There they stood in the sunset's warm halo
A woman holding hands with her daughter
And they called me from something inside them
So I answered and walked to their side
And I made my home there with this family
And I worked with glad heart to repay them
For to walk alone never would they let me
To the angry crowds never betrayed me
And I came to be ready for marriage
With joy took the hand of the daughter
And we made our home there in Tularosa
And the sky blessed our house and our children
But I knew all but one had forgotten
The first day that I walked in Tularosa
For whenever the times that he passed me
He would still call out "wicked Apache!"
The day I was killed in the desert
I was gathering fruit of the yucca
As they faced me they saw a man smiling
Left my body in white sands of gypsum
As my breath floated over the canyons
And o'er the mountains of Sierra Blanca
I remembered the pink desert flower
I remembered the cheeks of my sweetheart
I have seen a man shed blood for water
Offer gold to the sky for the rain
My people too prayed for three rivers
To visit our desert again
To my people they call the Apache
The desert is old holy dust
To the cattleman, Mexican, Yankee
The desert will do what it must
To my son I will not leave a rifle
Nor my daughter the dry Tularosa
To my killers I leave only wisdom
To the desert my blood and my bones
My blood and my bones
To the desert my blood and my bones
OH GALLOWS
Oh gallows, oh gallows
My Lord knows what you do
Your carrion crows so tender, so tender
My darling son I wonder
How did you end this way
What fault of me, thy mother, thy mother
Did not my teachings teach you
To walk straight in your way
My words of faith not reach you, not reach you
Oh gallows, oh gallows
My Lord knows what you do
Your carrion crows so tender, so tender
What did possess you brother
We'd made our fair escape
To render your confession, confession
This wicked town doth judge us
Unworthy to forgive
Would rather see us hungry and beggars
Oh gallows, oh gallows
My Lord knows what you do
Your carrion crows so tender, so tender
All eyes fall on you father
Oh carrier of disdain
Your shame our only fetter, our fetter
For though we walk with honor
You taint our family name
And cause us now to wander
Oh gallows, oh gallows
My Lord knows what you do
Your carrion crows so tender, so tender
ROLLING AWAY
Your principles fly on the cold northern wind
High hungry Sierra come a-hunting again
Swallow the silence, try your last chances on
She'll blow and she'll tarry till you're all dead and done
You're rolling away
In fur and black satin and wife in black silk
Oh rich man you suffer alongside poor bellies to fill
Your gold-heavy pockets no they can't find a till
Lay coins on eye sockets, pay the reaper and he’ll
Help you roll away
You’re rolling away, rolling awah
I don’t wanna die here on this mountain
Tell me Lord, did you bring me this far just to fall
Don’t wanna die
See only sky, don’t want to die
Don’t want to to roll…
LAST RIDE TO LAS CRUCES
Last ride
Last ride to Las Cruces
Last ride
Last ride to Las Cruces
Out here nobody gets the last laugh
They only die by a beginner's hand
Like Patty Garret did to Billy the Kid
Just like the killers Billy's bullets did in
Last ride
Last ride to Las Cruces
Las ride
Last ride to Las Cruces
There ain't no business is your business
Unless your making it your business
And if your business is to get paid
You may be doing business in your grave
Last ride
Last ride to Las Cruces
Last ride
NO PEACE AT APPOMATTOX
I found no peace at Appomattox
And only ghosts to ride the field
Take my soul and plow me under
Before the devil takes hold of me
No peace...
I gave it all for my Viriginia
My youth, my children, oh lonely wife
And now a scarecrow I stand before you
Behold my heart of straw, my hollowed eyes
For love of country I wooed the pistol
Dragoon revolver and bayonet
And witnessed dread foe and brave companion
Romance the black soil with blood and breath
No peace... no peace... no peace...
At Appomattox
And thoughts lay heavy upon a memory
The words of old hag Magdalene
Her cough and cackle "My boy be careful now
I see your demon, he wants his way
I see him perched there upon your shoulder
The angry wolf say the Cherokee
I see your gentle wolf goes hungry now
The wolf that wins will be the one you feed
You feed... you listen now... to old Magdalene...”
I found no peace at Appomattox
And only ghosts to ride the field
Take my soul and plow me under
Before the devil takes hold of me
EUGENE MANLOVE RHODES
On the flows of the sea did the Trojans meet
Their foes from Sparta come
And when betrayed by a horse, as a matter of course
Fought brave for their kingdom
So a cowboy lives by the sword of his word
Though the sword be of guns and smoke
And he's a noble man, for adored by the pen
of Eugene Manlove Rhodes
Eugene Manlove Rhodes!
To the new world's shores conquistadors
Brought hopes for treasures untold
When they landed there chiefs knelt in prayer
Then were killed for glory and gold
So a cowboy takes what he knows is his right
Be it steer, water, life or steed
And it's a well known fact, indeed an honorable act
As written in Gene Rhodes' creed
Eugene Manlove Rhodes!
To the promised land Joshua led by the hand
The sons of Israel
And by the mighty song of that mighty throng
The walls of Jericho fell
So a cowboy rides by the force of his will
Over land that no mercy doest show
For it's a cold blue gaze tames the desert's blaze
Sayeth Eugene Manlove Rhodes
Eugene Manlove Rhodes!
With iron fists did the soldiers lift
That glorious empire of Rome
But on the by and by far foreign tribes
Came a'conquerin' it for their own
So a cowboy learns that every empire falls
And was held by no great height
But if you're looking for fight, you’re just looking for a fight
Looking for a fight
So raise a long slow gin to the black an bloody with sin
To the white hot sun, to the barrel of a gun
To the palomino horse and to warm bordello doors
To scorpions and snakes, to the regals and the rakes
Both the jaded and the just writ large in the dust
Of the gambler and the card, ol' Tularosa's bard
Eugene Manlove Rhodes
Eugene Manlove Rhodes!
Eugene Manlove Rhodes!