For Bandy the Rodeo Clown, his final record for GRC, Moe Bandy didn't depart from the musical template his first two albums created, but he did lighten the mood a little bit, beginning to hint at the good-natured persona that would dominate his Columbia Records. Much of this is, of course, telegraphed in the title track, written by Lefty Frizzell and Sanger Shafer, which literally casts Moe Bandy as a clown who laughs through the tears, but the music also reflects a shift toward lighter material. The beginnings of this were heard on his previous It Was Always So Easy (To Find an Unhappy Woman), and this follows through on that move, boasting a set of songs that feel lighter than the late-night honky tonk of his debut. That's not to say that it's poppier, since it is still straight country, but it is hurt by a somewhat inconsistent set of songs; a flaw that is particularly striking considering how uniformly excellent his first two records were. Still, this is an enjoyable platter, particularly compared to some of the Columbia Records that followed.
MOE BANDY
BANDY THE RODEO CLOWN
GRC GA-10016August/1975
Produced by Ray Baker
Dave Kirby, Jimmy Capps - guitarRay Edenton - rh.guitar
Bobby Thompson - rh.guitar/banjo
Weldon Myrick - steel
Bob Moore - bass
Kenny Malone - drums
Johnny Gimble, Buddy Spicher - fiddle
Hargus Pig Robbins - piano
Charlie McCoy - harmonica
The Jordanaires - vocals
Recorded:
1975, in Nashville
1.
BANDY THE RODEO CLOWN
(Lefty Frizzell - Sanger D. Shafer)« © '75 Acuff-Rose Music, BMI / Peer International, BMI »
Who was once a bull hooking son of a gun
Now who keeps a pint hid out behind chute No 1
Who was ridin' high till a pretty girl rode him to the ground
Any kid knows where to find me I'm Bandy the rodeo clown
In the ridin' and a ropin' I was closin' in on No 1
Now in dreams at night I ride on that silver saddle I never won
Since she left me the whiskey takes me to the rodeo grounds
Where the cowboys think I'm handy I'm Bandy the rodeo clown
I could ride 'em all the bulls and the broncos knew I was boss
But the ride that woman took me on
Broke a whole lot more than this ole cowboy's bones
While the tears on my make-up melts my painted smile into a frown
The crowd thinks I'm a dandy I'm Bandy the rodeo clown
And I could ride 'em all the bulls and the broncos knew I was boss...
**********
2.
SOMEWHERE THERE'S A WOMAN
(Rex Gosdin - Vernon L. Reed)« © '75 Act One Music, BMI »
Somewhere there's a woman who needs me tonight
And I know where to find her where the lights shine so bright
She'll be sitting at the table with a chair that's left for me
Somewhere there's a woman who needs all of me
I thought I had a woman who's love was mine alone
But sometimes love was blinding it's so hard to see the wrong
Her lips were warm and tender but now they're cold as can be
Somewhere there's a woman who needs all of me
Someone's been neglected like me
Who's felt the hand of pain and misery
Who's dreams have been shattered just like mine
Somewhere there's a woman who needs all of me
[ fiddle ] Somewhere there's a woman who needs me tonight...
**********
3.
GIVE ME LIBERTY (OR GIVE ME ALL YOUR LOVE)
(Dallas Frazier)« © '75 Acuff-Rose Music, BMI »
Give me liberty or give me all your love
Darling lately you've been talkin' in your sleep
Your old used to be has tempted you to leave
If you think you want him more than you want me
Let me know so I can go my separate way
Give me liberty or give me all your love
Darling being almost true ain't good enough
Either set me free sweetheart or give him up
Give me liberty or give me all your love
[ steel ] Darling let your love light shine or turn it off
Even fools like me grow tired of climbin' walls
If you're tired of holdin' me then let me fall
I want all the love you've got or none at all
Give me liberty or give me all your love...
Give me liberty or give me all your love
**********
4.
NOBODY'S WAITING FOR ME
(Sanger D. Shafer - Warren Robb)« © '75 Acuff-Rose Music, BMI »
Talk about your good times Lord I've had me some
Laughter comes easy to a man when he's young
But I've growed too far on this ole whiskey dream
And nobody's waiting for me
Nobody's waiting for me to come home nobody's waiting for me
I'm just somebody nobody needs and nobody's waiting for me
I used those who loved me and I've spent all my friends
Never thinking beginnings would come to an end
Now I'm not a part of anyone's dream
And nobody's waiting for me
Nobody's waiting for me to come home...
And nobody's waiting for me
**********
5.
I STOP AND GET UP
(Paul Huffman - Joane Keller)« © '75 Antiphon Music, BMI »
Why can't she stop and get up and go out of my mind
Well I finally made it through a day without her
I don't feel her presence anywhere
I don't sit around and think about her anymore
Now I've convinced myself that I don't care
Until I lay my head down on my pillow
Everything starts building up inside
Then a slow realization and a hurtin' sensation
Makes me stop and get up and go out of my mind
She's back here in my memory just like the night before
She's got me talking to the walls and walking the floor
Lord why can't she leave me alone for just one night
And just stop and get up and go out of my mind
And just stop and get up and go out of my mind
**********
6.
OH LONESOME ME
(Don Gibson)« © '58 Acuff-Rose Music, BMI »
Well everybody's going out and having fun
I'm just a fool for staying home and having none
I can't get over how she set set me free
Oh lonesome me
A bad mistake I'm making by just hanging round
I know that I should have some fun and paint the town
A lovesick fool is blind and just can't see
Oh lonesome me
Well I'll bet she's not like me she's out and fancy free
She's flirtin' with the boys and all her charms
But brother don't you know that I still love her so
And I'd welcome her right back here in my arms
There must be some way I can lose these lonesome blues
Forget about the past and find me somebody new
Well I've thought of everything from A to Z
Oh lonesome me
[ guitar ] Well I'll bet she's not like me...
There must be some way I can lose these lonesome blues...
Oh lonesome me oh lonesome me oh lonesome me
**********
7.
I SURE DON'T NEED THAT MEMORY TONIGHT
(Eddy Raven)« © '75 Milene Music, ASCAP »
I need a great big bottle of VO's to go
I need two long loving arms to roll up in
Some fool just played your song on the jukebox
And that same ole hurt is hurtin' me again
I need to go on home with my bottle and watch TV
If I hang around here I'm bound to make a fool of me
There's a girl who looks like you holdin' some fool tight
No I sure don't need that memory tonight
I sure don't need that memory tonight
Blues and booze don't mix and I'll get high as a kite
I gotta a glass full of beer and a heart full of misery
One or the other always gets the best of me
If I stay five minutes more I'll stay all night
And I sure don't need that memory tonight
No I sure don't need that memory tonight
**********
8.
FAIS DO DO
(Eddy Raven)« © '75 Milene Music, ASCAP »
Listen to the fiddles from the fais do do playin' all of my favorite songs
Papa Thibodaux Belinda hey Jole Blon
Cher Cherie you're the one for me I told you long time ago
I came here to get you take you to the fais do do
Fais do do let the good times roll let the music move your soul
Hey hey bon con dula dancin' at the fais do do
Fais do do let yourself go dance to the fiddle and the bow
Hey hey bon con dula dancin' at the fais do do
[ fiddle ] That look in your eye means love on your mind I wasn't born yesterday
You're a crazy Cajun with a fire a ragin' but what can I say
Cher Cherie you're the one for me I told you long time ago
I've been waitin' all day for you to take me to the fais do do
Fais do do let the good times roll...
**********
9.
GOODBYE ON YOUR MIND
(Eddy Raven)« © '70 Milene Music, ASCAP »
That far away look in your eye
Gets farther as each day goes by
I feel like I'm wasting your time
There ain't nothing but goodbye on your mind
How long can I keep hanging on
My hope for us is all but gone
I'm so sick and tired of tryin'
There ain't nothing but goodbye on your mind
Nothing but goodbye on your mind I don't know why
Nothing but goodbye I wanna cry
That leaving look's all over you and I 'm just wasting time
There ain't nothing but goodbye on your mind
There ain't nothing but goodbye on your mind
**********
10.
SIGNS OF A WOMAN GONE
(Rex Gosdin - Vernon L. Reed)« © '75 Act One Music, BMI »
There's an empty jar of make-up on the nightstand by the bed
It keeps bringin' all the mem'ries of the love that we once had
Vacant closet in our bedroom where her clothes used to hang
And all the pictures that we had lyin' there in broken frames
There's an ole pair of slippers a forgotten brush and comb
And the goodbye note she left me signs of a woman gone
I miss the sounds of early morning and the gentle things she'd say
Suddenly the stillness finds me as I start another day
I can't recall a sadder situation
Where everything I see is out of place
I miss her warmth and beauty as I stand here alone
And all these things are signs of a woman gone
There's an ole pair of slippers...
**********
