Outlaw Songs
Background: After writing my first album of breakup songs in 2010, I told myself I did not want to be known for that (which didn’t take). After writing that batch of tunes, my next project was called Wild Wild West – an album split into two five part sagas, one about a woman in a saloon convincing me to go rob a bunch of banks and the other being a True Grit-inspired story about getting revenge for the man who (fictitiously) killed my father. Though few things in the songs were based on actual events, they did provide me with a valuable lesson in character development, in the tradition of many country stars before me. And while two blogs have focused on making up characters and the details surrounding them, I was inspired to focus a whole blog on outlaw songs, after talking about “Copperhead Road” in a different context in a previous blog.
“Henrietta, Indiana” by Josh Ritter
Lyrically: If you want to talk about artists who don’t write personal songs, Josh Ritter is among the best to do it. “Henrietta, Indiana'' tells the tale of a child, probably a teenager, whose father used to drive over to Putney, a neighboring town that, unlike Henrietta, wasn’t dry. He would bring the liquor back into Henrietta, and would drink it in the dry town. Alcoholism is never explicitly noted, but he says, “Daddy got a taste for the hard stuff,” and you can draw your conclusions from there. Of course the narrator would always tag along, in silence, but he also said, “We used to drive out to Putney, he’d tell me he loved me,” implying that the kid knew it was wrong, but enjoyed spending time with his father. Each verse ends with the child revealing somebody (his father in the first verse, his preacher brother in the second verse), having “The devil in (their) eye.” The bridge tells of the father getting caught as he was coming home from a shift at the Putney store. The final verse reveals that the narrator has gotten caught up into it, saying, “I think I’ll drive over to Putney, the store will be open ‘til 12:00.” But here’s the kicker about the last verse: It’s full of contrast. “At night I’ll leave the bottle on the table, Bible open to the Sermon on the Mount, blessed are the poor of Henrietta, Indiana, but happy are the ones who get out.” So the bottle represents temptation, the Bible represents the clean image he still tries to convey (in the vain of his brother), and for those who stay, there will be an eternal reward. For those who get out, their reward may not be eternal, but they certainly will suffer less while on earth.
Melodically: With the capo on the 5th fret, he uses Am, C/G, G, F, Am, C/G, G, F, Dm, and G, followed by Am, Am/G, and F. The riff in between the first and second verses repeats Am. The song as a whole is written in F major. Instrumentally, the song mainly uses acoustic guitar and a kick drum, with electric guitar licks thrown in for effect. There is also bass, electric piano, and clavinet, as well as organ.
Structurally: This song uses all verses, with a bridge in between the second and third. At the end of each verse is a refrain, the repeating “Like a thorn in the paw, disregard for the law, disappointment to the Lord on high”. In my mind, there are three different types of narrative songs: Story Songs, Example Songs, and Hybrid Songs, which are a hybrid of the first two. The bridge advances the story to show the brother and father had been held accountable, and you breathe a sigh of relief, knowing the kid didn’t get corrupted, and was just an innocent bystander. Until you realize there’s more left in the song. The last verse shows the kid giving into temptation, going back to Putney, and starting the whole process over again. This could not have been achieved without this structure. If there was a long chorus, momentum would be lost. If the bridge gave away what happened to the narrator, the last verse would not have been nearly as powerful. What’s more, this is all done in under four minutes. You do not have to sacrifice a quality story for making a short song, and Josh proves this here.
“Henrietta, Indiana” is linked below, so grab your daddy and your brother and 1600 others and listen to this gem!
2. “Pancho and Lefty” by Townes Van Zant
Background: The interesting thing about outlaw songs is that you tend to find yourself rooting for the outlaw in the story. The key is to give them just the right level of hubris, so they’re cocky enough to think they can do something big, but desperate enough so you’re kind of disappointed if they don’t. In our last analysis, we looked at “Henrietta, Indiana” by Josh Ritter, and much like the other characters on its parent album, Sermon on the Rocks, the characters are in search of something better, after being thwarted in their hometown. And although Josh does this very well, Townes was among the first to write in the genre, as we can see in a song like this.
Lyrically: The song tells a story of a man named Pancho, who was in search of riches on the southern border, leaving his mom behind to find fortune. By the second verse, we see Pancho’s innocence gone, as he was now a bandit down in Mexico. He was killed by the authorities, who were after him for quite some time. The vagueness of the showdown between Pancho and the “Federales” gives us the power to think about what happened in our heads. Less is more, as there was only one way for his story (at least with him physically in it) to end. After Pancho dies, Lefty, another innocent kid, is introduced. However, it is revealed that the outlaw spirit of Pancho was transferred to Lefty: “The dust that Pancho bit down south, ended up in Lefty’s mouth.” The day Pancho was buried, Lefty split, knowing he had to carry on Pancho’s legacy. They never catch Lefty in the song, proving that Pancho’s legacy lives on.
Melodically: “Pancho and Lefty” is written in D, using D, A, G in the first verse, which gets repeated twice. It then goes to D, G, Bm, G, D, A, G, Bm, and A/C# . The subsequent verses all end in A, instead of A/C#. The chorus uses G, D, G, Bm, G, D, A, G, Bm, Gmaj7, A, and D. The last chorus uses G Bm Gmaj7 A, D. Townes plays guitar on the track, and is accompanied by Vassar Clements on fiddle.
Structurally: The song follows a verse, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, chorus format. Again, less is more here, so a chorus does not take away from the momentum the song gained in the verses. If anything, it strengthens it, because you have two outlaws with one thing in common: The federales could have caught them sooner, but decided not to, in order to let their legend grow. However, at the end, it was revealed that this generosity came back to bite them – since Lefty was able to grow old as an outlaw, getting away with his misdeeds. The verses are examples of that, rather than providing more details about what they did or what happened specifically.
“Pancho and Lefty” is embedded below.
3. “Doolin’ Dalton” by Eagles
Background: In 1972, Eagles released their self-titled debut to critical and commercial success. For their follow up, they wanted to make a record that showed their prowess as artists and songwriters, and thus, Desperado was born: a concept album about outlaws in the old west. So take another shot of courage and let’s dive in!
Lyrically/Structurally: This song tells the tale of an outlaw duo known as Doolin’ Dalton, consisting of Bill Doolin and Bill Dalton, and begins right as the authorities surround him. Like “Pancho and Lefty,” the song thrives on its vagueness, but still allows us a little glimpse into their potential desperation in the nowhere town where it takes place. Structurally, the song uses a verse, verse, verse, chorus format, but more interestingly, the first verse, as stated earlier, begins with their capture, while the second verse talks about how and why they got to the point where they even wanted to be outlaws in the first place.
Melodically: Overall, the song is written in A major with the capo on the second fret. the intro uses G G/F# Em, G, and Em followed by G, G7, C, Em, A, C, G, and D/F# When the verses kick in, the first one uses Em G Em, G, G7, C, Em,and A, C, G, and B7. Verse 2 does the same thing, but cuts out the B7 at the end and ends on G. Verse 3 uses D/F#, Em, G, and B7 followed by C, Em, A7, C, and G. Verse 4 uses Em, G, B7, Em, G, G7, C, Em, A7, D, and G. The chorus uses Bm, G, C, C/B, Am, Em, G, Am, G/B, C, C/B, Am, D, B7. Finally, the outro uses G, D/F#, Em, G, C, G/B, Am7, D9, and E.
4. “Outlaw Pete” by Bruce Springsteen
Lyrically: This song tells about Outlaw Pete, who “At six months old (had) done three months in jail.” It then flashes forward to stealing a Mustang at the age of 25, before going out on the run and finally settling down. After he settles down, he gets caught by Bounty Hunter Dan, who tells Pete, “You think you’ve changed, but you have not,” and right as Dan is about to shoot Pete, Pete ends up stabbing Dan. As Dan lays dying, he whispers, “We cannot undo the things we’ve done.” Pete’s fate remains a mystery, but it’s supposed that he jumped over a ravine to his death, or that he was found somewhere on an icy ledge. In keeping with our theme of outlaws we kind of root for, we see someone who has been troubled since the day they were born. They seem like a bad seed, until you get to the part where he gets married and tries to turn his life around. By the time the bounty hunter comes, Pete has changed, and killing Dan is perhaps meant to be self-defense. Nonetheless, this is never explicitly stated, and therefore when the bounty hunter is crying out to outlaw Pete, you kind of feel for him. It’s a lose situation, without closure, and that’s what makes it so well done.
Melodically: The song is written in the key of G major. The verses switch off between Am, D and Em, Am with the chorus using C, G, Am, and D. The bridge (starting with “They cut his trail of tears across the countryside”) uses F, C, G, D, and E, and the instrumental break, before Bounty Hunter Dan comes in, uses C, F, Am, and F, which gets played twice. Before the last verse, the instrumental break uses C, Am, C, Am, G, Am, G, F, E, and Am. The last verse also uses Dm in the second to last line, as opposed to the D major that was played in all other verses. In the last chorus, when he’s crying out, “Can you hear me?”, it uses Am, D, E, Am, D, C, F, Am, F, C, F, Am, and F, as opposed to the straight Am, D, E pattern used for the same line earlier in the song. As the song ends, C, F, Am, and F get repeated.
Structurally: The song uses a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, verse, chorus, solo, verse, verse, chorus, verse, solo, verse, chorus format. There are multiple cool things about this format. First, it does not follow the same pattern. Sometimes there is one verse before the chorus, sometimes there are two. The bridge comes in a normal spot, but to me, the information in the bridge is not what I would have used – him almost getting caught. I would have used the Bounty Hunter Dan verse as a bridge, and yet that’s exactly what makes this bridge so great and rather unpredictable. Finally, the chorus is super simple, and therefore it does not take away from the story. In fact, it adds to the legend without adding any new information. Everyone knows his stature as an outlaw and that’s indisputable, whether he tries to leave that life behind or not.
“Outlaw Pete” is embedded below.
