Sonora's Death Row

"Sonora’s Death Row" is a story song written by California songwriter Kevin "Blackie" Farrell and published by Drifter Music/Bug Music (BMI), "©"1975."Sing Out!", Vol. 39 #4, pg. 86, Spring 1995 (see [http://www.singout.org/so-song-index.html Sing Out! index] ).] The early Leo Kottke recording lists the publisher as "Asleep at the Wheel/Drifter Music (BMI)" (Farrell was once involved with the band Asleep at the Wheel). Publication, however, is now administered by [http://www.bugmusic.com/frontdoor/links.cfm?SortLetter=f Bug Music] .] Recorded covers of the song have been performed by Robert Earl Keen, Leo Kottke, Michael Martin Murphey, Tom Russell, Richard Shindell, Dave Alvin and others. The song was also printed the spring 1995 issue of "Sing Out!" with the following introduction:

"Legendary Texas Ranger and Arizona Border Guard Jeff Milton once described Sonora as a hell and a paradise, Michael Martin Murphy tells us. Blackie Farrell's classic Old West ballad, Murphy says, "captures the dangers implicit in cowboys on a tequila spree."

Storyline

A plot develops over the song's six verses (the song has no chorus). The song tells the story of a cowboy who rides into the (apparently fictitious) Mexican town of Sonora with his partners from the "Broken 'O'" ranch on a Saturday night. After considerable drinking and gambling in "Amanda’s Saloon" he imagines himself being robbed by his friends. His dream becomes a nightmare when in a drunken rage he shoots and kills one of his friends. He soon finds himself contemplating his situation as he awaits his execution. The story is told in the first person and the final verse touches on many of the song's earlier motifs and ends with a repeated lament by the narrator::"A nightmare of mezcal was all that it was :"No one had robbed me at all:"I wish I was dreamin' the sound of the gallows :"They're testin' just outside the wall:"And the mezcal's still free in Amanda's saloon :"For the boys from the old Broken "O":"I'd pay a ransom to drink there today :"An' be free of Sonora's Death Row:"Yeah I'd pay a ransom to drink there today :"An' be free of Sonora's Death Row

Although the time period is not made clear in the song, a reference to a Winchester rifle suggest the account takes place in the late 19th or early 20th century. Also, though the song describes a town called Sonora, it is difficult to say whether the writer had a specific location in mind. Sonora is actually a Mexican State that accounts for a long stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S. states of Arizona and New Mexico. Regarding his inspiration, Farrell himself has said: "I just envisioned a guy, saddling up his horse, riding off with his pals off the ranch, going into town just to blow off some steam on a Saturday night and winding up living a nightmare." [http://realcountrymusic.org/cgi/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=11781 Songwriter’s art mimics life – and vice versa] (accessed Sept. 13, 2006 from [http://www.realcountrymusic.org/ realcountrymusic.org] ), story about Kevin Farrell by Brooke Bryant, originally published in the "Contra Costa Times", January, 2006, and accessed June 8, 2006 [http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/13746305.htm here] ]

Recordings

The song has been recorded numerous times over the course of a thirty year period. Many of the cover artists are talented songwriters themselves. Versions by Alvin, Murphy, Keen, and Shindell have all received airplay in recent years by folk music DJs throughout the United States. [http://www.folkradio.org/ FolkDJ-L] , the global discussion forum for Folk Djs, (use [http://lists.psu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=FOLKDJ-L search form] to find playlists including "Sonora's Death Row").] The most recent album to include the song, Dave Alvin's "West of the West" reached the top five on the "Americana Chart" in June 2006. [http://www.americanachart.com/ Archieve playlist for week of June 19, 2006] accessed October 12, 2006. Shows "West of the West" ranked 5th (w/ 374 spins on 54 stations), down from 4th (w/362 spins on 53 stations) in the previous week. [http://www.americanaradio.org/ama/displaychart_beforetracks.asp?mode=lw&dtkey= See here] for current chart.] Frequently this song has been included in recordings with other songs having themes dealing with the American Old West.

Most of the recordings present the song in an acoustic or country rock setting, in some cases including an accordion or other instrumentation that give the song a traditional Mexican feel. Some include complex guitar arrangements that employ alternative tunings. In a couple of cases artists have edited out a verse of the song to reduce its length. The individual tracks vary in length from 4:10 to 5:35.Tom Russell's version appears to be the shortest at 4:10, while Dave Alvin's comes in at 5:35.]

Discography / notes

*The Moonlighters (Bill Kirchen, Nick Lowe, et al.) [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:iaud6jph71e0 The Moonlighters] entry at Allmusic] : "Moonlighters", 1977; "Midnight in Memphis" 1999. [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:gv6ftr69klkx "Moonlighters" album] entry at Allmusic] :The first to record this classic song, singer and guitarist Bill Kirchen has become a long-time collaborator with songwriter Kevin Blackie Farrell. Kirchen describes their first meeting::

"I met him in 1969 when I went back to a girl's apartment to reclaim the Hank and Merle albums that I'd left a couple of months before. I was going up the stairs for 'em just as he was heading down with 'em under his arm, and after some circling and sniffing, we've been fast friends ever since." [http://www.crosstownarts.com/CrosstownArts/client_music/kirchen/tied.html Bill Kirchen, "Tied to the Wheel" notes] ]

:Kirchen's 2001, "Tied to the Wheel", inclucdes two new recordings of songs by Farrell and features Farrell on several tracks.
*Leo Kottke: "Burnt Lips", 1978; "Essential Leo Kottke", 1991; "The Leo Kottke Anthology", 1997.: Kottke performs the song solo on guitar, apparently tuned to open G and using a mix of fingerpicking and slide work. [http://www.guitarseminars.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/002406.html Leo Kottke's Cover of "Sonora's Death Row"] from the Acoustic Guitar Fourm]

*Robert Earl Keen: "West Textures", 1989; "No. 2 Live Dinner", 1996; "No. 2 Live Dinner" (DVD), 2004.: Keen has recorded the song twice, first as a largely acoustic studio performance and then years later in a live concert employing his full electrified band. His recording has been transcribed for guitar in E-flat, placing a capo at the 3rd fret and playing the chords in C-position [http://getsome.org/guitar/olga/cowpie/k/keen_jr_robert_earl/sonoras_death_row.crd Robert Earl Keen lyrics and chords] from getsome.org]
*Tom Russell: "Cowboy Real", 1991. [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:x8q8b5n4tsq4 Tom Russell, "Cowboy Real"] entry at Allmusic] :As with Kottke's recording, Russell omits the first verse of the song. Russell once referred to the song as "the best cowboy twist-of-fate song ever written." [http://members.cox.net/ronsfolkchords/shindell/courier.htm#sonora Richard Shindell lyrics and chords] ]
*Michael Martin Murphey, "", 1993. [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:ockpu32gan4k Michael Martin Murphey, "Cowboy Songs 3"] entry at Allmusic] : (See comments above in introduction.)
*Ronnie Glover [http://www.ronnieglover.com/ Ronnie Glover] , official web site] , "Nothing Ever Changes", 1999 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:dpfyxqlkldfe Ronnie Glover, "Nothing Ever Changes"] entry at Allmusic] : [http://billsbeerandbait.net/customimage/glover-sonoras.mp3 Hear a sample recording] (mp3) by Ronnie Glover from [http://store.billsbeerandbait.net/cdglover1.html Bills Beer and Bait Shop]
*Dave Stamey, "Campfire Waltz", 2001 (CD) [http://www.davestamey.com/mercantile.html Dave Stamey discography] ]
*Richard Shindell, "The Sonora Sessions" (a live bonus EP offered with "Courier" [http://www.fishrecords.co.uk/rs.html Richard Shindell] at fishrecords.co.uk] ), 2002.: Shindell performs a version on guitar in DADGAD tuning with a capo positioned at the third fret (key of F).
*Dave Alvin, "West of the West", 2006. [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:5su36jo571w0 Dave Alvin, "West of the West"] entry at Allmusic] : Alvin's recording omits the song's second verse. [http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/Issues/2006-06-22/music/shrapnel2.html "Under Cover: Dave Alvin paints it blue"] by Andrew Marcus, "Phoenix New Times" June 22, 2006 (accessed October 12, 2006)] Regarding his own recording Alvin has stated: "'Sonora's Death Row' has been recorded by people like Robert Earl Keen, Leo Kottke and Michael Martin Murphy, and they all did fantastic interpretations. I tried to make my version different than the others by giving it less of a Mexican border song groove. I wanted it to sound more like a traditional Appalachian folk song that somehow got lost in the middle of Death Valley on the hottest day of August with no water and no sun screen." [http://hello.apo.nmsu.edu/~sjnk/bullwinkle/dquest.html Interview with Dave Alvin] from hello.apo.nmsu.edu, (accessed September 2006)]

External links

*allmusicguide | id = 17:1434039 | label = "Sonora's Death Row"
*allmusicguide | id = 11:rk90s33ia3rg~T3 | label = Kevin Blackie Farrell

Sources and notes