We just covered Billy Joel’s “The Ballad of Billy the Kid,” so I thought we would stay with the same outlaw for another song. This time it’s Joe Ely with Me and Billy the Kid. I’ve always liked Ely and his mixture of country and rock. This song has a great sense of humor, and unlike Billy Joel’s version, the narrator actually knows Billy. The problem is that he can’t stand him! I love the pacing of Ely’s writing. He makes you want to hear another verse and then another.
The song was written by Ely and appeared on his 1987 album Lord of the Highway. Ely got the idea while passing through Fort Sumner, New Mexico, where Billy the Kid was killed. He stopped at a museum and found very little about the outlaw himself. Since so much of Billy’s life was already surrounded by legend, Ely decided to make up his own story. He imagined himself riding with Billy and competing with him for the same woman. He said he wrote the lyrics on the drive from Fort Sumner to Clovis.
What I like about this song is that Ely doesn’t try to make Billy the Kid into some heroic figure. He’s a thoroughly unpleasant character, and the narrator isn’t exactly innocent either. There are jealousies, a Chihuahua, a robbery scheme, and a rather dark ending. All of it is delivered with a driving country-rock sound and Ely’s wonderful storytelling. It certainly isn’t a history lesson, but it’s one entertaining song. And between Billy Joel and Joe Ely, I think we’ve established that Billy the Kid was a pretty popular fellow with songwriters!
In the past few years, I have learned about some incredible artists, and I thank all of you. Joe Ely, Dave Alvin, Doug Sahm, Augie Meyers, Guy Clark, The Flatlanders, and many more. These artists didn’t pop up on the radio as much, and it’s a damn shame.
Me and Billy The Kid
Well, me and Billy the Kid never got along
I didn’t like the way he cocked his hat and he wore his gun all wrong
But we had the same girlfriend and he never forgot it
She had a cute little chihuahua ’til one day I up and shot it
He rode the hard country down the New Mexico line
He had a silver pocket watch that he never did wind
He crippled a piano player for playing his favorite song
No, me and Billy the Kid never got along
Well, me and Billy the Kid never got along
I didn’t like the way he buckled his
Belt and he wore his gun all wrong
He was bad to the bone, all hopped up on speed
I would’ve left him alone if it wasn’t for that senorita
He gave her silver and he paid her hotel bill
But it was me she loved, she said she always will
I’d always go and see her when Billy was gone
No, me and Billy the Kid never got along
Well, me and Billy the Kid never got along
I didn’t like the way he tied his shoes and he wore his gun all wrong
One day I said to Billy, “I got this foolproof scheme
We’ll rob Wells Fargo, it’s bustin’ at the seams”
I admit that I framed him but I don’t feel bad
‘Cause the way I was livin’ was drivin’ me mad
Billy reached for his gun but his gun was on wrong
No, me and Billy the Kid, we never got along
No, me and Billy the Kid never got along
But I did like the way he swayed in the
Wind while I played him his favorite song
Now my baby sings harmony with me to “La Cucaracha”
She winds her silver pocket watch and pets her new chihuahua
I moved into the hotel, I got a room with a shower
We lay and listen to that watch tick hour after hour
Outside I hear the wind blowin’ oh so strong
No, me and Billy the Kid never got along
We never got along
We never got along
We never got along
Never got along
He’d been in the sun too long
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A great song and an incredible array of talent on that stage. I love how the chorus changes slightly each time.
He wrote it in a way where we want to hear more and more…he really did a great job on this one….as always.
Great pick, Max. I mostly know Joe Ely by name. You won’t be much surprised this song is right up my alley.
I was particularly drawn to the live clip. I never get tired of John Hiatt. It would have been fun for him and Lyle Lovett to chime in. Having all three artists on the same stage certainly looks like a great show!
Thanks Christian! Yea man this is awesome. I love the storytelling and the way he delivers it….it makes you want more story…you want him to keep going.
Uhm, there was often a fourth. Lovett, Hiatt, Ely and a lot of times Guy Clark. I’m not correcting you, not at all. There is a devilish grin on my face cause even though you missed the shows, what you missed was greater than you imagined. Unfortunately, I missed ’em too.
I would have loved to see John Hiatt who I believe toured a couple of years ago, playing smaller venues, including at least one that would have been within geographic reach. I generally define the latter as anything within a radius of up to two car hours.
That song moves along briskly, not bad. Given that it was Ely and the subject matter, I could easily imagine Joe Strummer wanting to cover it back in the day.
It’s a trip that him and the Clash were so close…but both liked a lot of the same kind of music.
This seems more like a story than a song, but it is very interesting.
Yea It thought it would be cool to have another Billy the Kid song…plus I like Ely a lot.
I love this song. But I never thought the character he was singing about was the outlaw. I still don’t.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Like I said, I love this song. I love the song, and I love the lyrics. Incredible images.
Yes, Max, your selection of Joe Ely and this song shows great taste. THANKS
Thanks Arthur…I found this not long ago because of a recommendation…a very cool one! I’m still going through his timeline.
Now you’re nudging me towards Peckinpah’s film. I love this stuff. Joe took the story to a personal level and it works. I get jacked when I hear it. Joe’s character sure didnt like Billy nup until he was “swaying in the wind” So many images in this song. Ely left us a vast number of great songs.
Thats it…I didn’t express that enough…or at all…it’s the images that you see like a movie in your head…that is great about this song…you just want to hear another verse and then another.
I’m sure Joe played around with a few other verses and had fun with it. Maybe his 3 cohorts chimed in with a few. I would have like to sat in with that.
Yea me as well dude! His songwriting really came out in this…not that it doesn’t in other songs…but you are tuned in on this one for the next verse.