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.
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