The 5 Question Meme and our Song Lyric For The Day

Well, Says Uncle posted my 5 question's the other day and i responded to them yesterday morning. Now, of course, its my turn to unleash the 5 Questions Meme on the blogsphere and first up is Cowboy Bob, who so graciously volunteered to be the first guinea pig.

But first, our obligatory song lyric, something I used to post here all the time. As some of you might have guessed by know, I've always been a bit of a Dead head and while most don't seem to be particular fans of the Bob Weir stuff, I have always relished the first set appearances of Cowboy Bob amongst his other great tunes. Now, while most will accuse the Dead of being a bunch of peace loving hippies (they are, sort of), their fondness for firearms makes them a perfectly acceptable band around here. In fact, Bob Weir actually survived being hit by the bullet from a .357 magnum that was shot by his long time writing partner John Barlow when the esteemed Mr. Barlow was trying to get Weirs attention as they prepared for the Barlow nuptials. As he relayed the story to me (in comments on his blog):

I shot him early in the morning of June 21, 1977 - upon which day I would later be married. Actually, it would be more accurately said that he was nicked with ricocheted shrapnel from a .357 magnum round I'd blanged off into the floor in order to get his attention. I'd forgotten that the floor in that room was concrete... He sustained minor flesh wounds and was still able (and willing) to act as my best man later that day.

Excellent and a mighty tough trooper Cowboy Bob has turned out to be. Here's a picture of him with Barlow.


Anyway, one of those Cowboy Bob songs happens to be a cover of a John Philips (as in the Mamas and the Papas) song that he composed one night with Judy Collins while drunk on Tequila. The story goes he had no recollection of penning it until he started to receive royalty payments from Ms. Collin's production company.

At some point, Cowboy Bob picked it up, and the rest - as they say - is history.

Here it is for you, in honor of Says Uncle and Cowboy Bob

Me and My Uncle

Me and my uncle went riding down
South Colorado, West Texas bound
We stopped over in Santa Fe
That being the point just about half way
And you know it was the hottest part of the day

I took the horses up to the stall
Went to the bar-room, ordered drinks for all
Three days in the saddle, you know my body hurt
It being summer, I took off my shirt
And I tried to wash off some of that dusty dirt

West Texas cowboys, they's all around
With liquor and money, they're loaded down
So soon after pay day, you know it seemed a shame
You know my uncle, he starts a friendly game
Hi-lo jacks and the winner take the hand

My uncle starts winning, cowboys got sore
One of them called him, and then two more
Accused him of cheating, well no it couldn't be
I know my uncle, he's as honest as me
And I'm as honest as a Denver man can be

One of them cowboys, he starts to draw
Well I shot him down, Lord, he never saw
Shot me another, hot damn he won't grow old
In the confusion my uncle grabbed the gold
And we high-tailed it down to Mexico

Now I love those cowboys, I love their gold
I love my uncle, God rest his soul
Taught me good, Lord, taught me all I know
Taught me so well, I grabbed that gold
And I left his dead ass there by the side of the road