Tag: SLS

Gene Vincent – Red Blue Jeans And A Pony Tail

She can make cold chills run up ‘n’ down my spine
Make me feel warm in the wintertime

This song is for Song Lyric Sunday for Jim Adams’s blog. This week, the theme is to find a song that mentions Cold.

I could listen to that 50s reverb all day long. Vincent gets overlooked by many who only know Be Bob A-Lula. His voice goes with that slapback echo better than any other singer. The more I listen to him, the bigger a fan I become. He could go from ballad to rocker in a split second.

This is one of those cuts that lives in that sweet spot between early rockabilly and straight-up teen rock ’n’ roll. After Be-Bop-A-Lula hit big in 1956, Gene’s life sped up fast, touring, TV spots, label pressure, and the constant push to follow up on that song. By the time he was recording this, he wasn’t just an up-and-coming artist anymore; he was a well-known performer.

In the bigger picture, this song shows Gene doing what he did best in the studio, grabbing a basic idea and turning it into something that feels alive for two minutes. The song was on the album Gene Vincent and the Blue Capsreleased in 1957. The song was written by Jack Rhodes and Bill “Tex” Davis.

If you’re building a Gene Vincent playlist beyond the big hits, this one earns its spot. It’s not a history-changing single; it’s a solid piece of teenage rock ’n’ roll that shows how good Gene could be

Red Blue Jeans and a Pony Tail

Got a crazy little cat that works down town
Cuts an awful lot of capers when I come around
She’s got the westbound Diesel with the evening mail
And a ooh-wee, red blue jeans and a pony tail

She can do more tricks to this heart of mine
Than ten little monkeys on a long grapevine
I know when she holds me, why I get so weak and pale
Ooh-wee, red blue jeans and a pony tail
(Rock!)

Yeah, she’s got more rhythm than a ten piece band
She can rock ‘n’ roll to the clapping of your hand
I know why they watch her like a train does a rail
It’s a ooh-wee, red blue jeans and a pony tail

She can make cold chills run up ‘n’ down my spine
Make me feel warm in the wintertime
She packs a lot of wallop, can be so small and frail
It’s ooh-wee, red blue jeans and a pony tail
(Rock again now!)

Warren Zevon – Lawyers, Guns and Money

I went home with a waitress the way I always doHow was I to know she was with the Russians, too?

This song is for Song Lyric Sunday for Jim Adams’s blog. This week’s prompt is (drum roll please…) A song with a great opening line suggested by Max of PowerPop. 

By the time Zevon was recording Excitable Boy in late 1977, he’d already built up a reputation in Los Angeles as a brilliant but different character. He’d been Linda Ronstadt’s piano player, he was pals with Jackson Browne, and he was that rare songwriter who could write a melody that would stick, but it would have a line that would make you laugh nervously. The sessions were stacked with heavy hitters—Danny Kortchmar on guitar, Waddy Wachtel as the sonic glue, Russ Kunkel on drums, and Leland Sklar on the bass. Basically, the best of the 1970s L.A. session scene.

Zevon wanted grit, menace, and the feeling that the whole thing could go off the rails at any second. That’s exactly why this song ended up as the closer; it wasn’t made for a radio single, but it was played quite a bit. The track closes the record with a bang after the short story songs of Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner and Werewolves of London. Where those songs work like short stories, Lawyers, Guns, and Money plays like a situation in escalating panic.

Zevon once stated in an interview that this was based on a true story. Zevon and his manager were partying in Mexico when the party decided to take to the road, and it looked like it was “about to hit the fan.” Zevon’s manager feigned a phone call: “Send lawyers.” Zevon jumped in: “And guns… and money.”

I’ve always liked Zevon’s dark songs with a sense of humor. His universe contains a lot of colorful characters. Zevon would go on to write subtler, more introspective songs, but this one, like Werewolves of London, made sure no one could ever mistake him for another singer-songwriter. 

This song is on the great album Excitable Boy, released in 1978. The album peaked at #8 on the Billboard Album Charts and #12 in New Zealand. It was Zevon’s highest-ranking album.

Lawyers, Guns, and Money

I went home with a waitress the way I always doHow was I to know she was with the russians, too?

I was gambling in havana, I took a little riskSend lawyers, guns, and moneyDad, get me out of this, hiyah!

An innocent bystanderSomehow I got stuck between a rock and a hard placeAnd I’m down on my luckYes, I’m down on my luckWell, I’m down on my luck

I’m hiding in Honduras, I’m a desperate manSend lawyers, guns, and moneyThe shit has hit the fan

Send lawyers, guns, and moneySend lawyers, guns, and money

Send lawyers, guns, and money, hiyah!Send lawyers, guns, and money, ow!

…