Joe Ely – Boxcars

I keep going back to the Texas songwriters whenever possible. Joe Ely was the first, other than Townes Van Zandt, who placed me on that road. I think all of them were born with an acoustic guitar, wit, pen, with paper in hand. So many of them write wonderful melodies and lyrics that any songwriter would drool over. Boxcars captures everything great about Texas songwriting in one cold, mournful ride.

Ely was born in Amarillo in 1947 and raised in Lubbock, Buddy Holly’s hometown and a surprisingly fertile ground for musicians. Ely came of age surrounded by dust storms, flat horizons, and rock ‘n’ roll. By the late ‘60s, he was friends with a couple of brilliant kids named Butch Hancock and Jimmie Dale Gilmore. Together, they formed The Flatlanders, a band that barely made a dent at the time but later became a blueprint for alt-country and Americana.

This song was written by Butch Hancock, a close friend and collaborator of Joe Ely. This was on his second solo album called Honky Tonk Masquerade released in 1978. The album is in the book  1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die and was 40 on Rolling Stone’s 50 Essential Albums of the ’70s list. Ely’s first album was released in 1977. He met The Clash the following year in London and both liked each other. They both toured together a bit after that. Ely sang backups on the Clash hit Should I Stay or Should I Go.

He was also involved with a personal favorite pickup band with John Mellencamp called The Buzzin Cousins. He is revered in the music business and by fans alike. He also played in the Los Super Seven. Thanks, halffastcyclingclub, for pointing them out to me a while back. I still need to write one up. 

His voice in this one is golden. It’s in Ely’s delivery, equal parts resigned and reverent, like he’s singing about someone he knew once, or maybe used to be.

Boxcars

Well, I gave all my money to the banker this monthNow, I got no more money to spendShe smiled when she saw me comin’ through that doorWhen I left she said, “Come back again”

I watched them lonesome boxcar wheelsTurnin’ down the tracks out of townAnd it’s on that lonesome railroad trackI’m gonna lay my burden down

I was raised on a farm the first years of my lifeLife was pretty good they sayI’ll probably live to be some ripe ol’ ageIf death’ll just stay out of my way

This world can take my money and timeBut it sure can’t take my soulAnd I’m goin’ down to the railroad tracksWatch them lonesome boxcars roll

There’s some big ol’ Buicks by the Baptist churchCadillacs at the Church of ChristI parked my camel by an ol’ haystackI’ll be lookin’ for that needle all night

There ain’t gonna be no radial tiresTurnin’ down the streets of goldI’m goin’ down to the railroad tracksAnd watch them lonesome boxcars roll

Now, if you ever heard the whistle on a fast freight trainBeatin’ out a beautiful tuneIf you ever seen the cold blue railroad tracksShinin’ by the light of the moon

If you ever felt the locomotive shake the groundI know you don’t have to be toldWhy I’m goin’ down to the railroad tracksAnd watch them lonesome boxcars roll

Yeah, I’m goin’ down to the railroad tracksAnd watch them lonesome boxcars roll

…

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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.

46 thoughts on “Joe Ely – Boxcars”

  1. Thats pretty cool with the Clash connection. I need to look at those credits inside Combat Rock a little closer. Speaking of Boxcars…how about Boxcar Willie!?

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  2. Great song! The walking bass grabs you from the first note, and the guitar, accordion, and vocal don’t let go. Like a freight train, it gradually builds momentum. The kind of song that it’s hard to put a genre label on.

    You’re welcome. He sings Woody Guthrie’s “Train Wreck at Los Gatos (Deportee)” on Los Super Seven and Bobby Fuller’s “Let Her Dance” on Heard it on the X – the first and third Los Super Seven albums.

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  5. Pingback: Joe Ely – Boxcars – MobsterTiger

  7. You’ve really been on a roll with Texas songwriters, Max, and I’m loving it! Apparently, lots of great music there to discover. It was CB (shocker!) who initially point me to Joe Ely, and I featured him in an April 2024 Sunday Six. Obviously, that’s completely insufficient to do the man justice! “Boxcars” is a great song! At the time, I highlighted “Fingernails,” another track from “Honky Tonk Masquerade.”

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    1. Yea dude…I love this guy. His songwriting and voice. Those Texas Songwriters are wonderful.
      Oh I like Fingernails…I remember that!

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  9. A classic in my books. Butch penned a good one. Combines a lot of styles. CB was a railroad guy at one time and he loves train songs and this is one. Haunting. Something about trains gets into a lot of folks blood. Joe had his finger on a lot of music pulses. “If you ever felt a locomotive shake the ground.” What a great guitar solo. You keep posting cuts like this you’ll never get rid of me.

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    1. Thats a deal dude… yea I was surprised the first time I heard it with that electric guitar solo. It fits perfectly but I wasn’t expecting it. Those lyrics just flow.

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  10. great…I only caught Ely live once on a stage with the rest of the Flatlanders; Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock, the late great Nanci Griffin and Lyle Lovett…it was an amazing afternoon

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    1. I would love to see the Flatliners Warren…I’ve heard quite a bit of their debut album…I’ve liked them ever since.

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      1. that whole group of Texans were/are great……there’s a doc I keep looking for called Heartworn Highway with Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell, Guy Clarke and others really really young…that’s my kind of country

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  11. Looks like my comments on this post never made it though either. Wish I could remember my pithy remarks! Love Joe Ely and that ragtag bunch of Texas boys!

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      2. Yea I don’t know what is going on…but nice to talk to you! I think it did Randy because it’s still on there.

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  12. It gets going straight from the off, no waiting. There’s just a touch of Cash in his voice. (Should I punish you by saying ‘Cash in his register?’ Oh well. Sorry. 🙄) Blame that lame comment on hearing his great wordplay. I mean who wouldn’t kill for lines like ‘Death getting in the way?’ And it all so easily just rolls along. He is damned good.

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    1. Punish away! I made a bad one on Randys site. I thought you would like this. I’m still searching for more of those writers so I revisit them. Must be something in that Texas water.

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  13. I have a lot of respect for Joe Ely and his music, and the musicians he chooses to associate himself with. I bought a used CD of his called Love And Danger. I need to listen to it some more. I have a few of his things, but need to look into more. On the subject of Texas songwriters, have you ever listened to Willis Alan Ramsey?

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    1. No I haven’t! You know how I find some of them after CB started me on them? Google Texas Songwriters….thank you I will check him out! Requests are always welcomed and needed here lol.

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      1. He’s quite an interesting character. He’s only released one album in 1972, which is on a lot of GOAT lists. There have been rumors about him getting another one together, but so far, no dice. He has written other songs, just not released in album form. He’s been a great influence on Lyle Lovett.

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      2. I love things like that! This will be interesting to research.
        Not like Connie Converse but she is really interesting as well.

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