Joe Ely – Gallo Del Cielo

I’ve been waiting to write about this one. There are songs…and then there are SONGS. This one was written by Tom Russell. It is like watching/hearing a movie. The song is about adventure, loyalty, honor, and gambling all set against the backdrop of a time before California joined the U.S.

I’ve talked about these kind of songs before. How songwriters would be happy to write one song like this. I write power pop/rock songs and a song like this would make me insanely happy. It doesn’t matter if it’s not a huge hit…it’s quality. The attention to detail is incredible. It would never be a pop hit and maybe that is a check in its favor.

Tom Russell wrote this in 1979 in California. It’s not just a song…it’s an epic song. It’s been covered by four other artists. Ian Tyson in 1983 (its first release), Tom Russell in 1984, the version at the bottom is Joe Ely’s version released in 1995, and Ian Siegal in 2014.

Ely has 16 studio albums and 20 singles in his career so far. The song was released in 1996 and was on the album Letter To Laredo. This album charted at #68 on the Billboard Country Charts. He has charted quite a few in the Charts.

Gallo Del Cielo

Carlos Saragosa left his home in Casas Grandes when the moon was fullHe had no money in his pocket, just a locket of his sister framed in GoldHe headed for el Sueco, stole a rooster named Gallo Del CieloThen he crossed the Rio Grande with that roosted nestled deep within his arm

Galllo del Cielo was a warrior born in heaven so the legends sayHis wings they had been broken, he had one eye rollin crazy in his headHe’d fought a hundred fights and the legends say that one night near El SuecoHe fought Cielo seven times, seven times he left brave roosters dead

Hola my Teresa I’m thinkin of you now in San AntonioI have 27 dollars and the good luck of your good luck of your picture framed in goldTonight I’ll put it all on the fighting spurs of Gallo Del CieloThen I’ll return to buy the land Pancho Villa stole from father long ago

Outside of San Diego in the Onion fields of Paco Monte VerdeThe Pride of San Diego lay sleeping on a fancy bed of silkAdn they laughed when Saragosa pulled the one-eyed Del Cielo from beneath his shirtBut they cried when Saragosa waked away with a thousand dollar bill

Hola my Teresa I’m thinkin of you now in Santa BarbaraI have 27 dollars and the good luck of your good luck of your picture framed in goldTonight I’ll put it all on the fighting spurs of Gallo Del CieloThen I’ll return to buy the land Pancho Villa stole from father long ago

Now the moon has gone to hiding and the lantern light spills shadows on the fighting sandA wicked black named Zorro faces Del Cielo in the sandAnd Carlos Saragosa fears the tiny crack that runs across his roosters beakAnd he fears that he has lost the 50, 000 dollars riding on the fight

Hola my Teresa I’m thinkin of you now in Santa ClaraThe money’s on the table, I’m holding now your good luck framed in goldEverything we dream of is riding on the spurs of Del CieloThen I’ll return to buy the land Pancho Villa stole from father long ago

The signal it was given and the roosters rose together far above the sandGallo Del Cielo sunk a gaff into Zorro’s shiny breastThey were separated quickly but they rose and fought each other time and time againAnd the legends all agreed that Gallo Del Cielo fought the best

But then the screams of Saragosa filled the night outside the town of Santa ClaraAs the beak of Del Cielo lay broken like a shell within his handAnd they say that Saragosa screamed a curse upon the bones of Pancho VillaAs Zorro rose up one more time and drove Del Cielo in the sand

Hola my Teresa I’m thinkin of you now in San FranciscoI have no money in my pocket I no longer have your good luck framed in goldI buried it last evening with the bones of my beloved Del CieloI will not return to buy the land that Villa stole long ago

Do the rivers still run muddy outside of my beloved Casas Grandes?Does the scar upon my brother’s face turn red when he hears mention of my name?And do the people of El Sueco still curse the theft of Gallo Del Cielo?Tell my family not to worry, I will not return to cause them shame.

…

Unknown's avatar

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

29 thoughts on “Joe Ely – Gallo Del Cielo”

    1. I’m just amazed on the scope of this…I’ve wanted to write about it for a while since CB sent me a link. It’s hard to describe it so I didn’t…it describes it self.
      Cool Christian! He has so many good songs.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  6. By now I’ve spent enough time in Texas to see ‘gallo’ and know it was going to be a chicken song, LOL. Nasty subject matter but well-written in a sort of outlaw cowboy tradition. Only recently did it occur to me why his name long seemed familiar to me- he was the guy doing the Spanish vocals behind the chorus on The Clash’s ‘Should I Stay or Should I Go’

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Yes he was…he was good friends with The Clash…plus Springsteen and about everyone else. He has some great songs. As a songwriter….a small amateur power pop writer I will say….but a song like this is just amazing to me.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  7. I am afraid I have a very recent connection on this post also Max. I was talking about Corb Lund in my post on Monday who just did a tribute album to Ian Tyson and Corb sang a Tom Russel song at the show I just attended Sunday Night. We are well acquainted with Tom Russell here in Canada (OK rural Canada) as Ian and Sylvia Tyson did a few Russell songs. I’m a big fan of that whole gang from Texas but truth is I know less about Joe’s music than some of his contemporaries. Really enjoyed this post today!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Thanks Randy. I’ve had this in my draft folder but could never finish it…there is not a lot of info on the song out there….but I wanted to finish it. No way would I even try to describe it.
      That gang could write incredible songs. I just look at songs like this in amazement. It’s like what Robbie Robertson said about writing songs that were essentially screen plays.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  8. Yeah I get caught up in Carlos’s plight. The story grabs me and Russel had his finger on that time and place and on the life Carlos lived. Ely brings it to life. Love and life riding riding on the “fighting spurs of Gallo Del Cielo” Harsh and cruel. A favorite story song with great musical accompaniment.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  10. Pingback: Joe Ely – Gallo Del Cielo – MobsterTiger

  12. I am surprised that there is no mention of Robert Hunter, lyricist for the Grateful Dead, in this post about Gallo Del Cielo. Once upon a time, Tom Russell was driving a taxi cab in New York City. He picked up Hunter. Russell did Gallo Del Cielo for Hunter. To say Hunter was blown away, well, Hunter was in NYC for a gig and he brought Russell up to the stage to do the song.

    This is the first I’ve heard reference to the song’s actions taking place before California was a state. I don’t think that’s correct. Cock fighting, as horrible as it is, still takes place. I’ve always assumed the song was contemporary.

    Tom Russell is one of the great American songwriters. Well worth checking out

    Like

    Reply

    1. As for when the song takes place. The motivation is to buy the land that Pancho Villa stole from father long ago. Pancho Villa was born in 1878 and died in 1923. California became a state in 1850. The song is not specific as to the time Carlos Saragosa left his home in Casas Grandes, but it was after Villa stole the land, which means after Villa’s birth in 1878. California was a state already.

      It could happen today as cockfighting, unfortunately, still exists today.

      Great song and Tom Russell is well worth your investigation.

      Like

      Reply

Leave a reply to christiansmusicmusings Cancel reply