James McMurtry – Choctaw Bingo

Strap them kids in, give ’em a lil bit of vodkaIn a cherry Coke, we’re goin to OklahomaTo the family reunion for the first time in yearsIt’s up at Uncle Slaton’s ’cause he’s getting on in years

I ran across McMurty’s name when I wrote up a post about a temporary band that John Mellencamp put together called The Buzzin’ Cousins. I listened to Sweet Suzanne by them and YouTube recommended a member named James McMurtry. I listened to this song and liked it right away. It has some great writing with a big dose of Americana. It’s not a long folk song…it has some kick to it. His other music is well written as well.

McMurtry is another Texas songwriter who I admire. He was born in Fort Worth Texas in 1962. He is the son of the famous novelist and screenwriter Larry McMurtry, known for works like “Lonesome Dove,” and Jo Scott McMurtry, an English professor and writer. Growing up in a literary family, McMurtry was exposed to storytelling from a young age.

He began playing guitar at seven years old. His early exposure to literature and music heavily influenced his later work as a songwriter. McMurtry has released 13 albums over the years, each contributing to his reputation as a keen observer of America.

James released his first album, Too Long in the Wasteland, in 1989. It was produced by none other than John Mellencamp. His debut album showed everyone just how good he was at writing songs that feel like mini-movies.

When he sings this song live he sometimes says it’s about “the North Texas-Southern Oklahoma crystal methamphetamine industry.” Choctaw Bingo was released in 2002 on his Saint Mary of the Woods album.

Ray Wylie Hubbard covered the song as well.

Choctaw Bingo

Strap them kids in, give ’em a lil bit of vodkaIn a cherry Coke, we’re goin to OklahomaTo the family reunion for the first time in yearsIt’s up at Uncle Slaton’s ’cause he’s getting on in yearsYou know he no longer travels but he’s still pretty spryHe’s not much on talk and he’s just too mean to dieAnd they’ll be comin’ down from Kansas and West ArkansasIt’ll be one great big old party like you’ve never saw

Uncle Slaton’s got his Texan prideBack in the thickets with his Asian brideHe’s got an airstream trailer and a Holstein cowStill makes whiskey, ’cause he still knows howHe plays that Choctaw Bingo every Friday nightYou know he had to leave Texas but he won’t say whyHe owns a quarter section up by Lake EufaulaCaught a great big ol’ Bluecat on a driftin’ juglineSells his hardwood timber to the chippin’ millCooks that crystal meth because his shine don’t sellHe cooks that crystal meth because his ‘shine don’t sellYou know he likes that money, he don’t mind the smell

My cousin Roscoe, Slaton’s oldest boyFrom his second marriage up in IllinoisHe’s raised in east St. Louis by his mamma’s peopleWhere they do things different, thought he’d just come on downHe’s goin’ to Dallas, Texas in a semi truckCaught from that big McDonald’sYou know that one that’s built up on thatGreat big old bridge across the Will Rogers turnpikeTook the big cabin exit, stopped and bought a carton of cigarettesAt that Indian smoke shop with the big neon smoke ringsIn the Cherokee nation, hit Muskogee late that nightSomebody ran the stoplight at the Shawnee BypassRoscoe tried to miss ’em but he didn’t quite

Bob and Mae come up fromSome little town way down byLake Texoma, where he coaches footballThey were two-A champions for two years runningBut he says they won’t be this yearNo, they won’t be this yearAnd he stopped off in Tushka at the pop knife and gun placeBought a SKS rifle and a couple full cases of that steel core ammoWith the Berdan primers from some East bloc nationThat no longer needs ’emAnd a Desert Eagle, that’s one great big old pistolI mean, fifty caliber made by bad-ass HebrewsAnd some surplus tracers for that old BAROf Slaton’s as soon as it gets dark, we’re gonna have us a timeWe’re gonna have us a time

Ruth-Anne and Lynn come from Baxter SpringsThat’s one hell-raisin’ townWay up in Southeastern KansasGot a biker bar next to the lingerie storeThat’s got the Rollin’ Stones’ lipsUp there in bright pink neonAnd they’re right downtown where everyone can see ’emAnd they burn all nightYou know they burn all nightYou know they burn all night

Ruth-Anne and Lynn, they wear them cut-off britchesAnd then skinny little halters and they’re second cousins to meMan, I dont care, I want to get between themWith a great big ‘ol hard-onLike an ol’ Bodark fencepostThat you can hang a pipe rail gate fromDo some sister twisters till the cows come homeAnd we’ll be having us a time

Uncle Slaton’s got his Texan prideBack in the thickets with his Asian brideHe’s cut that corner pasture into acre lotsHe sells ’em owner financed strictly to themIt’s got no kind of credit ’cause he knows they’re slackersAnd they’ll miss that payment and then he takes it backHe plays that Choctaw Bingo every Friday nightAnd drinks his Johnny Walker at that club 69

We’re gonna strap them kids in, and give ’em a lil’ bitty bitIn a cherry Coke, we’re goin to OklahomaGonna have us a timeGonna have us a time

….

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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.

27 thoughts on “James McMurtry – Choctaw Bingo”

  1. Buzzin’ Cousins is a great name for a band. Mellencamp would keep a low profile on this stuff which you have to give him credit for I suppose.

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  2. He comes from the same farm as Ray Wylie. I identify with a lot this song because it’s pure Texas moved to Oklahoma. He could clearly be a writer like his Pop, but those boots might be a little big for him. Good read and good pick.

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    1. Thanks Phil… it’s hard not to like this…those lyrics are amazing and yes I agree..he could be a writer. You guys grow these songwriters down there!

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      2. Maybe the combination of the two.
        Oh Phjl…off topic but I was wondering if you remember The Texas Troubadours? That was Ernest Tubb’s backing band I believe. Their guitar player was a family friend and a great guitar player named Leon Rhodes.

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    1. Yea, not a family I would like to visit but I do love the descriptions and how he turns phrases. I really like songs like this that has no standard chorus.
      I remember hearing Tangled Up In Blue for the first time…and I thought…yea it has a chorus but the verses are what matters in this one…that started my love for these types of descriptive songs.

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  7. Quite a story-teller indeed, no surprise his dad was a famous novelist. I hadn’t heard of James until I think just last week when someone else, likely Christian, mentioned him.

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    1. He is quite a songwriter….such great descriptions. I was telling someone else…I always liked these story type of songs…Tangled Up In Blue got me really liking them.

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  8. Damn, what a family portrait he paints/sings. Country gentry of the finest kind. The song just keeps on rolling along, nice piano punches into the mix late on.

    The guy sure can turn a phrase.

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    1. Well I look for interesting lyrics on weekends…we got it with this one. I do like it…it’s like how some talks and it just flows together. I do like the music as long with it.

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  9. Ive been listening to James the last few years. He’s good. I finally got around to giving him the time he deservers. Good cut Max. I dont do as much research on artists like I used to. I thought there might be a connection to Larry and sure enough you educate me again. Larry is a favorite of mine. Texas is a big place so it’s no wonder the talent just keeps coming. Thumbs up Max.

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    1. Thanks CB…I’ve been trolling, the fishing term….for more Texas songwriters…you got me hooked on their lyrics so I keep digging.

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      2. CB…you just had me rolling on the floor laughing dude…my dog Martha thinks I’m insane. Don’t put it past me….really.

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  10. That’s a serious jam. He sings those lyrics like a family mantra. Everybody has branches in the tree they could write songs about lol Glad to meet this good ol’ boy and his music.

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  11. Great song! My father actually turned me on to this one close to 20 years ago, though in all honesty I’d kinda forgotten about it!

    My mother’s mother’s family hailed from Oklahoma and family lore claims there is Choctaw in our woodpile a number of generations ago…I expect that’s what caught my dad’s ear back in the day.

    Thanks for bringing this one back into my consciousness, I have a much bigger affinity for Americana music now than I did 20 years ago, and has urged me to take a deeper dive into McMurtry!

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    1. Thanks for listening man…I appreciate it. I just heard it a few months ago and I thought…man this man knows how to tell a story. Just the lyrics alone are great.

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