CHRIS LeDOUX
SING ME A SONG MR. RODEO MAN
(ACS 5524)
1977
Produced by Al LeDoux

Recorded: Ray Srevens Sound Lab, Nashville
1.
YELLOW STUD
(Chris Ledoux)
« © '77 Lehsem Songs, BMI »
Somewhere on the prairie a yellow stud runs free
Runnin' through the sage brush down through the coolies
And there not far behind him a cowboy rides along
He's gonna try to catch him and break him for his own
The chase goes on all morning and late into the day
The cowboy changes horses he staked along the way
The studd is growin' weaker now and gettin' short of wind
He runs into the trap corral the cowboy shuts him in
The yellow stud with wild eye the feared hated man
Finally standin' face to face in the hot dusty sand
The battle starts and rages on eneath the burning sun
The cowboy tried but couldn't ride the yellow outlaw stud
He sold him to a rodeo and it spread throughout the land
The legend of this yellow stud the baddest of the bad
And then one day in Cheyenne we knew it had to come
The best of all bronc riders he drew that yellow stud
The wooden gate flew open and the stud had bailed out high
An explosion of yellow horse seemed to fill the sky
The sud kept getting stronger and thrashing up the earth
The cowboy blew a stirrup and crashed into the dirt
So violently the stud had bucked that he slipped and fell
As he went back his backbone snapped the yellow stud lay still
As the cowboys gathered round him I heard one of 'em say
There'll never be another bronc like the one that died today
But out there on the praire there's a mare with mustang blood
And a colt runs close behind her a yellow outlaw stud
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2.
ALL AROUND COWBOY
(Jack Wesley Routh - Len Pollard)
« © '75 Song Of Cash Music, ASCAP »
Just a broken down cowboy all down on his luck
Been through the best of his friends
On a long lonesome highway in an old pick-up truck
Cross Texas like a hot dusty wind
He was all around cowboy back in forty-nine
From the top it's been a long way down
Since the whiskey and the women started winning his time
They rode him high and hard to the ground
He remembers the thrill of being a winner
and the days of his first rodeo
There's something 'bout winnin' that don't last forever
Maybe tomorrow things will get better
If the devil lets loose of his soul
He'll be the All Around Cowboy again
So he rolls up a smoke and he sips his Old Crow
Wipes the whiskers that cover his chin
And he grins as he dreams of old rodeos
He's the All Around Cowboy again
He remembers the thrill of being a winner
and the days of his first rodeo
There's something 'bout winnin' that don't last forever
Maybe tomorrow things will get better
If the devil lets loose of his soul he'll be the all around cowboy again
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3.
LAWMAN REVEREND BROWN
(Joe Allen)
« © '77 Tree Publishing, BMI »
I can still recall the day my uncle Chester caught religion
The reverend took him swimmin' and the devil must have drown
Uncle Chester he was big mean and even vicious
But he didn't stand a chance against the lawman Reverend Brown
The lawman Reverend Brown was the sheriff of Pitman County
His hair was long and black like the dusty suit he wore
In the pockets of his coat were the tools of his profession
A tattered old black bible and a loaded 44
And all across the mountain you could hear the children singin'
Bout the peace down in the valley like there never was before
The reverend had a special way of healin' wicked sinners
He only had to shoot a few to save a whole lot more
I don't know where he came from but I do know where he gone
He's gone to meet his maker and to guard the masters thrown
And to keep a home fire burnin' for the ones lost in the night
The kind of fire he lit in me to help me see the light
And all across the mountain...
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4.
OUR FIRST YEAR
(Chris Ledoux)
« © '77 Lehsem Songs, BMI »
The winter wind was blowin' when we loaded that old truck
With a few things that we had and all our dreams
With my new bride there beside me we headed down the road
I would show her places and things she'd never seen
First we went to Denver Fort Worth then San Antone
She cheered me on at every rodeo
But Houston finally ended and then San Angelo
I didn't want to tell her but she knew that we were broke
But she never complained when the winnin's didn't come
She just took it all in stride
And if I rode good or bit the dust she was just as proud
She was happy bein' by my side
Then in California the baby started showin'
And all her clothes were gettin' way too small
We couldn't spare the money to buy her any new ones
She just wore my shirt and jeans and didn't mind at all
And early in the mornin' we'd wake up by the roadside
I'd build a fire and she'd get out the eggs
She'd cook us up some breakfast then we'd sit down there on the grass
Lord those were the best meals I guess I ever ate
But she never complained...
Well now those days are over and somehow we got ahead
That little gal I married's still here with me
We finally got the house we planned down there beside the stream
And all those old hard times are just cherished memories
But she never complained...
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5.
GRANGE HALL DANCE
(Chris Ledoux)
« © '77 Lehsem Songs, BMI »
Have you ever been down to a country dance
And listend to the music of a hillbilly band
And danced with your darlin' all through the night
And don't go home til the morning light
Well if you ain't you don't know what your missing
Laughter and dancin' a huggin' and a kissin'
Everybody there's just havin' a ball
A dancin' all night at the old Grange Hall
The people they come from miles around
The ranchers farmers folks from town
There's bald headed men and old fat women
Kids in their teens and little bitty children
So put on your boots and stomp on the floor
And have more fun than ever before
Man we're really havin' a ball
A dancin' all night at the old Grange Hall
Well, the sun's comin' up and it's time to go home
The band they're playin' that final song
Everyone's leavin' and sayin' good night
But you're lookin' forward to next Saturday night
So put on your boots...
So put on your boots...
**********
6.
BILLY THE KID
(Charlie Daniels)
« © '76 Songs Of Universal, BMI »
In the Southern part of Texas East and West of El Paso
Where the mighty Franklin Mountains guard the trail to Mexico
There's a new made widow cryin' and a hearse a rollin' slow
And I guess that Devil's passed this way again
There's a lathered sorrel stallion runnin' through the Joshua Trees
A young man in the saddle with his coattails in the breeze
Got a six-gun on his right hip and a rifle at his knee
And he's dealin' in a game that he can't win
Poor Billy Bonney you're only twenty-one
Pat Garrett's got your name on every bullet in his gun
Each notch you carve on your six-gun's got has a bloody tale to tell
Well you're a mile ahead of Garrett and a step outside of hell
Them fancy clothes you're wearin' and the women in your bed
Can't take away the faces of the men that you left dead
As you ride across the Badlands with a price upon your head
Now the wheel of fortune starts to turn
Your reputation's grown till it's the biggest in the land
And there ain't a lot of people left who wanna call your hand
And I guess you'll go down shootin' just like all brand of men
And when you shake hands with the Devil you get burned
Poor Billy Bonney...
**********
7.
DADDY'S BIGGEST DREAM
(Duke Pack - Robert Pack)
« © '77 Rocker Music, BMI »
I parked my old pickup behind the holdin' fence and rosined up my riggin
Cause my old daddy said if I ride hard and take care of my gear I'd make it big
But lookin' back I see that I've been on this circuit since i turned eighteen
And now I'm crowdin' thirty and I've yet to fill my daddy's biggest dream
He gave me the hatband from the tail of that old bronc that broke him up
And he said that if I'd wear it every time that I rode that it would bring me luck
His superstitions must be comin' true cause i drew the best dang horse that's in the string
And here in Oke City with some luck I'll fill my daddy's biggest dream
My riggin's set I'm all siked up I nod my head to turn him loose and limb
He blowed out the chute and come down on all fours and started in a spin
Then he came around the other way but I'm ready for just dang near anything
And if I can stay five seconds more I'm gonna fill my daddy's biggest dream
The pickup mans beside me and Lord I can't really believe my ears
Well I rode him past the buzzer and the crowd Lord just listen to the cheers
They announced I have won the finals and I reckon that makes me the bareback king
But above all that I know that I've filled my crippled up old daddy's biggest dream
With the help of that old hat band and the lord I filled my daddy's biggest dream
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8.
SILVER TONGUED DEVIL AND I
(Kris Kristofferson)
« © '71 Resaca Music, BMI »
I took myself down to the Tally-Ho Tavern to buy me a bottle of beer
I sae me down by a tender young maiden
Whose eyes were as dark as her hair
And as I was searchin' from bottle to bottle
For something unfoolish to say
That silver tongued devil just slipped from the shadows
And smilingly stole her away
I said hey little girl don't you know he's a devil
He's everything that I ain't
Hidin' intentions of evil under the smile of a saint
All he's good for is gettin' in trouble
And shifting his share of the blame
And some people swear he's my double and some even say we're the same
But the silver tongued devil's got nothing to lose
I'd only live till I die
We take our own chances and pay our own dues
The silver tongued devil and I
Like all the fair maidens who've laid down beside him
She knew in her heart that he'd lied
But nothing that I could have said could've saved her
No matter how hard that she tried
Cause she'll offer her charms to the darkness and danger
Of something that she's never known
And open her arms at the smile of a stranger
Who'll love her and leave her alone
I said hey little girl...
**********
9.
RODEO FAN
(Marion F. Dycus)
« © '77 Velvet Apple Music, BMI »
The rodeo cowboys came to town
They done their thing at the rodeo ground
They rode the horses the steers and the bulls
Then they came to the tavern to drink their bellies full
She thought that I was a hell of a man that she became a rodeo fan
It must have been the smell of the cows that turned her on to theme callous hands
The last time I seen that woman of mine was in a pickup truck with a plastic sign
Said Buck Bennett wild horse rider area code 307 373 2280 just call anytime
Lord he's always at home
She thought that I was a hell of a man that she became a rodeo fan
It must have been the size of his hat that turned her on to that cowboy cat
The last time I seen that woman of mine
Was in a pick-up truck with a trailer behind
Yea she was twirling a rope out tha window
Hollerin'' bye bye hon ride 'em cowboy hang in there let it rip
Well you should have seen the belt buckle on that dude
Lord I didn't stand a chance
The meanest thing I ever rode was a Honda 125
And they don't even bite or kick
Well old Buck he just blew dust in my face
As he spun his tires out of the parkin' lot
I lost that woman to one of those rodeo cowboys
I should have known better to have take her to that rodeo
If I ever get me another woman
I'm gonna keep her away from those cowboys
Keep her pregnant bare footed at home
Dog gone it that was the best gal I ever have had
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10.
BAD BAHAMA BULL
(Curly Fletcher)
« © '77 Lehsem Songs, BMI »
I was snappin out broncs at the Old Flyin' U
At fourty a month a plum good buckaroo
Well the boss came around and he says
Hey my lad well you look pretty good ridin' horses that's bad
You see, I in't got no more outlaws to break
But I'll buy you a ticket and give you a stake
At ridin' them bad ones well you ain't slow
And you might do some good at the big rodeo
While they're puttin' the bull in the chute
I'm strappin' my spurs to the heels of my boots
I looks that bull over and to my suprise
Well he's a foot and a half in between his two eyes
On top of his shoulders he's got a big hump
I lands in his middle and I lets out a scream
He comes out with a beller and the rest is a dream
Well he jumps to the left and jumps towards the right
But I ain't no green horn I'm still sittin' tight
The dust starts to foggin' right out of his skin
He's a wavin' them horns right under my chin
At sunnin' his belly he couldn't be beat
He's showin' the buzzards the soles of his feet
He's a dippin' so low that my boots filled with dirt
He's a makin' a whip of the tail of my shirt
He's snappin' the buttons right off of my clothes
He's a buckin' and a bawlin' and a blowin' his nose
The crowd starts to cheerin' both me and that bull
Well he needed no help but I had my hands full
Then he went to fence rowin' and a weavin behind
My head went poppin' I sorta went blind
He starts in high divin' I lets out a groan
We went up together but he came back alone
Up high I turns over and below I can see
He's a pawin' up dirt just a waitin' for me
I can picture a grave and a big slab of wood
Sayin' here lies a twister who thought he was good
I notices somethin' don't seem can be true
But the brand on his hip was a big Flyin' U
When I landed he charged but I got enough sense
So I ran that old bull to the hole in the fence
I dives through that hole and I want you to know
I ain't goin' back to no big rodeo
At a straddlin' them brahmas you can bet I'm all through
So I'm sore footin' it back to the old Flyin' U
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