Secretly one of the best tracks from a great, great album.
"When they kick out your front door, how you gonna come?
With your hands on your head, or on the trigger of your gun?"
[1] great tune, indeed, ending side 2. That album will never get old.
What's weird is Ive had the start of Side 3, Wrong Em Boyo in my head recently. I've been listening to Josh Ritter's great new spin on the Stagger Lee story, and Wrong Em Boyo keeps popping to mind. The Dead's Stagger Lee comes to mind, too, but Wrong Em Boyo is far more persistent, and compelling.
[2] What makes the Dead's Stagger Lee fun is that its not a new version of the old tune, but rather a brand new song, with a different take on the myth. It's sort of a feminist revision of it.
There are so many great Stagger Lee and Stack o Lees out there. Dylan did a good one on World Gone Wrong, too. Don't ask me how I figured this out, but you can sing Arroz Con Pollo to Wrong 'Em Boyo, too.
As for Guns of Brixton, great song, great album, great band.
[4] the Josh Ritter take is completely different as well. Stackalee isn't so much the bad guy, and Billy Lyons is the judge who sentences him to death. The tune's called Folk Bloodbath. Definitley worth checking out. Ritter's an amazing storyteller/lyricist.
Arroz Con Pollo as Wrong Em Boyo - excellent! I'll try ordering it that way that sometime!
Secretly one of the best tracks from a great, great album.
"When they kick out your front door, how you gonna come?
With your hands on your head, or on the trigger of your gun?"
Damn good stuff.
[1] great tune, indeed, ending side 2. That album will never get old.
What's weird is Ive had the start of Side 3, Wrong Em Boyo in my head recently. I've been listening to Josh Ritter's great new spin on the Stagger Lee story, and Wrong Em Boyo keeps popping to mind. The Dead's Stagger Lee comes to mind, too, but Wrong Em Boyo is far more persistent, and compelling.
Now I'll need to go through my discs to find the version I have with a young kid (someone's kid?) reciting Guns of Brixton
[2] What makes the Dead's Stagger Lee fun is that its not a new version of the old tune, but rather a brand new song, with a different take on the myth. It's sort of a feminist revision of it.
There are so many great Stagger Lee and Stack o Lees out there. Dylan did a good one on World Gone Wrong, too. Don't ask me how I figured this out, but you can sing Arroz Con Pollo to Wrong 'Em Boyo, too.
As for Guns of Brixton, great song, great album, great band.
[3] That's on Sandinista! on Side 6, which was described by Robert Christgau as "Give 'em enough vinyl..."
[4] the Josh Ritter take is completely different as well. Stackalee isn't so much the bad guy, and Billy Lyons is the judge who sentences him to death. The tune's called Folk Bloodbath. Definitley worth checking out. Ritter's an amazing storyteller/lyricist.
Arroz Con Pollo as Wrong Em Boyo - excellent! I'll try ordering it that way that sometime!