1. Ballads
Key Terms
Ballad (p 1119)
Incremental Repetition (p 1124)
Refrain (p 1129)
The first songs told stories (narratives) of adventure, sadness, tragedy, and other topics.
Why are we so fascinated with the bad news?

2. “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”
Written and performed by Gordon Lightfoot
From the album “Summertime Dream”
Reprise album MS-2246 ©1976
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called 'Gitche Gumee'
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy
With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty.
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early.
The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
With a crew and good captain well seasoned
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland
And later that night when the ship's bell rang
Could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?
The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the captain did too,
T'was the witch of November come stealin'.
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the Gales of November came slashin'.
When afternoon came it was freezin' rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind.

3. When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin'.
“Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya.”
At seven P.M. a main hatchway caved in, he said
“Fellas, it's been good t'know ya.”
The captain wired in he had water comin' in
And the good ship and crew was in peril.
And later that night when his lights went outta sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Does any one know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her.
They might have split up or they might have capsized;
May have broke deep and took water.
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters.
Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
In the rooms of her ice-water mansion.
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams;
The islands and bays are for sportsmen.
And farther below Lake Ontario
Takes in what Lake Erie can send her,
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
With the Gales of November remembered.

4. In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed,
In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral.
The church bell chimed till it rang twenty-nine times
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call 'Gitche Gumee'.
Superior, they said, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early!

5. “Hurricane” by Bob Dylan Written by Bob Dylan and Jacques Levy
Pistol shots ring out in the barroom night
Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall.
She sees the bartender in a pool of blood,
Cries out, "My God, they killed them all!"
Here comes the story of the Hurricane,
The man the authorities came to blame
For somethin' that he never done.
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.
Three bodies lyin' there does Patty see
And another man named Bello, movin' around mysteriously.
"I didn't do it," he says, and he throws up his hands
"I was only robbin' the register, I hope you understand.
I saw them leavin'," he says, and he stops
"One of us had better call up the cops."
And so Patty calls the cops
And they arrive on the scene with their red lights flashin'
In the hot New Jersey night.
Meanwhile, far away in another part of town
Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are drivin' around.
Number one contender for the middleweight crown
Had no idea what kinda shit was about to go down
When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road
Just like the time before and the time before that.
In Paterson that's just the way things go.
If you're black you might as well not show up on the street
'Less you wanna draw the heat.
“Hurricane” by Bob Dylan
Written by Bob Dylan and Jacques Levy
From the album “Desire”
Columbia PC ©1975

6. Alfred Bello had a partner and he had a rap for the cops.
Him and Arthur Dexter Bradley were just out prowlin' around
He said, "I saw two men runnin' out, they looked like middleweights
They jumped into a white car with out-of-state plates."
And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head.
Cop said, "Wait a minute, boys, this one's not dead"
So they took him to the infirmary
And though this man could hardly see
They told him that he could identify the guilty men.
Four in the mornin' and they haul Rubin in,
Take him to the hospital and they bring him upstairs.
The wounded man looks up through his one dyin' eye
Says, "Wha'd you bring him in here for? He ain't the guy!"
Yes, here's the story of the Hurricane,
The man the authorities came to blame
For somethin' that he never done.
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.
Four months later, the ghettos are in flame,
Rubin's in South America, fightin' for his name
While Arthur Dexter Bradley's still in the robbery game
And the cops are puttin' the screws to him, lookin' for somebody to blame.
"Remember that murder that happened in a bar?"
"Remember you said you saw the getaway car?"
"You think you'd like to play ball with the law?"
"Think it might-a been that fighter that you saw runnin' that night?"
"Don't forget that you are white."

7. Arthur Dexter Bradley said, "I'm really not sure."
Cops said, "A poor boy like you could use a break
We got you for the motel job and we're talkin' to your friend Bello
Now you don't wanta have to go back to jail, be a nice fellow.
You'll be doin' society a favor.
That sonofabitch is brave and gettin' braver.
We want to put his ass in stir
We want to pin this triple murder on him
He ain't no Gentleman Jim."
Rubin could take a man out with just one punch
But he never did like to talk about it all that much.
“It's my work,” he'd say, “and I do it for pay
And when it's over I'd just as soon go on my way
Up to some paradise
Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice
And ride a horse along a trail.”
But then they took him to the jailhouse
Where they try to turn a man into a mouse.
All of Rubin's cards were marked in advance
The trial was a pig-circus, he never had a chance.
The judge made Rubin's witnesses drunkards from the slums
To the white folks who watched he was a revolutionary bum
And to the black folks he was just a crazy nigger.
No one doubted that he pulled the trigger.
And though they could not produce the gun,
The D.A. said he was the one who did the deed
And the all-white jury agreed.

8. Rubin Carter was falsely tried.
The crime was murder "one," guess who testified?
Bello and Bradley and they both baldly lied
And the newspapers, they all went along for the ride.
How can the life of such a man
Be in the palm of some fool's hand?
To see him obviously framed
Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land
Where justice is a game.
Now all the criminals in their coats and their ties
Are free to drink martinis and watch the sun rise
While Rubin sits like Buddha in a ten-foot cell
An innocent man in a living hell.
That's the story of the Hurricane,
But it won't be over till they clear his name
And give him back the time he's done.
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world.

9. “The Killing of Georgie (Part I and II)” by Rod Stewart
In these days of changing ways
so called liberated days
a story comes to mind of a friend of mine
Georgie boy was gay I guess
nothin' more or nothin' less
the kindest guy I ever knew
His mother's tears fell in vain
the afternoon George tried to explain
that he needed love like all the rest
Pa said there must be a mistake
how can my son not be straight
after all I've said and done for him
Leavin' home on a Greyhound bus
cast out by the ones he loves
A victim of these gay days it seems
Georgie went to New York town
where he quickly settled down
and soon became the toast of the great white way
“The Killing of Georgie (Part I and II)” by Rod Stewart
Written by Rod Stewart
From the album “A Night on the Town”
Warner Bros. album BSK-3116 ©1976

10. A leather kid, a switchblade knife
He did not intend to take his life
He just pushed his luck a little too far that night
The sight of blood dispersed the gang
A crowd gathered, the police came
An ambulance screamed to a halt on Fifty-third and Third
Georgie's life ended there
but I ask who really cares
George once said to me and I quote
He said, "Never wait or hesitate
Get in kid, before it's too late
You may never get another chance
'Cos youth’s a mask but it don't last
live it long and live it fast."
Georgie was a friend of mine
Oh Georgie stay, don't go away
Georgie please stay you take our breath away
Georgie, Georgie please stay you take our breath away
Oh Georgie stay
Accepted by Manhattan's elite
in all the places that were chic
No party was complete without George
Along the boulevards he'd cruise
and all the old queens blew a fuse
Everybody loved Georgie boy
The last time I saw George alive
was in the summer of seventy-five
he said he was in love I said I'm pleased
George attended the opening night
of another Broadway hype
but split before the final curtain fell
Deciding to take a short cut home
arm in arm they meant no wrong
A gentle breeze blew down Fifth Avenue
Out of a darkened side street came
a New Jersey gang with just one aim
to roll some innocent passer-by
There ensued a fearful fight
screams rang out in the night
Georgie's head hit a sidewalk cornerstone

11. “Ballad of Dwight Fry” by Alice Cooper
“Mommy where's daddy?
He's been gone for so long.
Do you think he'll ever come home?”
I was gone for fourteen days
I coulda been gone for more
Held up in the intensive care ward
lyin' on the floor
I was gone for all those days
but I was not all alone
I made friends with a lot of people
in the danger zone
See my lonely life unfold
I see it every day
See my only mind explode
Since I've gone away
I think I lost some weight there
and I---I'm sure I need some rest
Sleepin’ don't come very easy
in a straight white vest
Sure'd like to see that little children
She's only four years old---old
I'd give her back all of her play things
even, even the ones I stole
“Ballad of Dwight Fry” by Alice Cooper
Written by Michael Bruce & Alice Cooper
From the album “Love It to Death”
Warner Bros. WS-1883 ©1971

12. I grabbed my hat and I got my coat
and I, I ran into the street
I saw a man that was choking there
I guess he couldn't breathe
Said to myself this is very strange
I'm glad it wasn't me
But now I hear those sirens callin'
and so I am not free
I DIDN'T WANNA BE
(See my lonely life unfold)
(I see it every day)
LEAVE ME ALONE I DIDN'T WANNA BE
DON'T TOUCH ME!!!!
See my lonely mind explode
when I've gone
INSAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNE!
See my lonely life unfold
I see it everyday
See my lonely mind explode
when I've gone insane
I wanna get out of here
I wanna, I wanna get out of here
I gotta get out of here
IgottagetoutahereIgottagetouta
hereIgottagetoutahere
Ya gotta let me out of here
Let me outta here
I gotta get outta here
See my only mind explode
Blow up in my face

13. I knew a man Bojangles and he danced for you,
in worn out shoes.
With silver hair and ragged shirt and baggy pants,
the old soft shoe.
He jumped so high, jumped so high,
Then he lightly touched down.
I met him in a cell in New Orleans I was down and out.
He looked at me through the eyes of age as the smoke ran out.
He talked of life, talked of life, he laughed slapped his leg a step.
He said his name, Bojangles,
then he danced a lick, across the cell.
He grabbed his pants in feathered stance oh he jumped up high,
He clicked his heels, he let go a laugh, let go a laugh,
Shook back his clothes all around.
Mister Bojangles, Mister Bojangles,
Mister Bojangles, dance.
He danced for those at minstrel shows and county fairs throughout the south.
He spoke with tears of fifteen years how his dog and him traveled about.
The dog up and died, up and died,
After twenty years he still grieves,
He said, I dance now at every chance in honky tonks for drinks and tips.
But most of them I spend behind these county bars, He said, I drinks a bit.
He shook his head and he shook his head,
I heard someone ask him please,
Please
“Mr. Bojangles” by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Written by Jerry Jeff Walker
From the album “Uncle Charlie and His Dog Teddy”
Liberty album LS-7642 ©1970

14. She comes down from Yellow Mountain
On a dark, flat land she rides
On a pony she named Wildfire
With a whirlwind by her side
On a cold Nebraska night
Oh, they say she died one winter
When there came a killing frost
And the pony she named Wildfire
Busted down its stall
In a blizzard he was lost
She ran calling Wildfire
By the dark of the moon I planted
But there came an early snow
There's been a hoot-owl howling by my window now
For six nights in a row
She's coming for me, I know
And on Wildfire we're both gonna go
We'll be riding Wildfire
On Wildfire we're gonna ride
Gonna leave sodbustin' behind
Get these hard times right on out of our minds
Riding Wildfire
“Wildfire” by Michael Murphey
Written by Michael Murphey & L. Cansler
From the album “Blue Sky-- Night Thunder”
Epic KE ©1975

15. Some punk with a shotgun
Killed young Danny Bailey
In cold blood, in the lobby
Of a downtown motel.
Killed him in anger,
A force he couldn't handle,
Helped pull the trigger
That cut short his life.
And there's not many knew him
The way that we did,
Sure enough he was a wild one
But then aren't most hungry kids?
Now it's all over Danny Bailey,
And the harvest is in.
Dillinger's dead
I guess the cops won again.
We're running short of heroes
Back up here in the hills.
Without Danny Bailey
We're gonna have to break up our stills.
“The Ballad of Danny Bailey” by Elton John
Written by Bernie Taupin
From the album “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”
MCA MCA ©1973
So mark his grave well
'Cause Kentucky loved him.
Born and raised a proper
I guess life just bugged him.
And he found faith in danger,
A lifestyle he lived by.
A runnin' gun youngster
In a sad restless age.

16. From a town known as Wheeling, West Virginia
Rode a boy with a six-gun in his hand
And his daring life of crime
Made him a legend in his time
East and west of the Rio Grande
Well, he started with a bank in Colorado
In the pocket of his vest, a Colt he hid
And his age and his size
Took the teller by surprise
And the word spread of Billy the Kid
Well, he never traveled heavy
Yes, he always rode alone
And he soon put many older guns to shame
And he never had a sweetheart
And he never had a home
But the cowboy and the rancher knew his name
Well, he robbed his way from Utah to Oklahoma
And the law just could not seem to track him down
And it served his legend well
For the folks, they'd love to tell
'Bout when Billy the Kid came to town
Well, one cold day a posse captured Billy
And the judge said, "String 'im up for what he did!"
And the cowboys and their kin
Like the sea came pourin' in
To watch the hangin' of Billy the Kid
“Ballad of Billy the Kid”
Written and performed by Billy Joel
From the album “Piano Man”
Columbia Records PC © 1973
Well, he never traveled heavy
Yes, he always rode alone
And he soon put many older guns to shame
And he never had a sweetheart
But he finally found a home
Underneath the boothill grave that bears his name
From a town known as Oyster Bay, Long Island
Rode a boy with a six-pack in his hand
And his daring life of crime
Made him a legend in his time
East and west of the Rio Grande

17. “You Don't Mess Around with Jim” Written and performed by Jim Croce
From the album “You Don't Mess Around with Jim”
ABC Records ABCX-756 (May 1972)
Uptown got its hustlers
Bowery got its bums
And 42nd street got big Jim Walker
He's a pool shootin' son of a gun
Ya, he's big and dumb as a man can come
But stronger than a country hoss
And when the bad folks all get together at night
You know they all call big Jim boss, just because, and they say
You don't tug on Superman's cape
You don't spit into the wind
You don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger
And you don't mess around with Jim,” da do da do...
Well out of south Alabama come a country boy
He said, "I'm looking for a man named Jim
I am a pool shootin' boy, my name is Willie McCoy
But down home they call me Slim
And I'm looking for the king of 42nd street
He's driving a drop top Cadillac
Last week he took all my money, and it may sound funny
But I've come to get my money back," and everybody said,
“Jack, don't you know

18. You don't tug on Superman's cape
You don't spit into the wind
You don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger
And you don't mess around with Jim,” da do da do...
Well a hush fell over the pool room
When Jim he come boppin' off the street
And when the cuttin' was done
The only part that wasn't bloody was the soles of the big man's feet
And he was cut in 'bout a hundred places
And he was shot in a couple more
And you better believe they sung a different kind of story
When big Jim hit the floor
And you don't mess around with Slim, da, do, da, do...
Yeah, big Jim got his hat
Find out where it's at
And not hustling people strange to you
Even if you do got a two piece custom made pool cue

19. Written and performed by Jim Croce From the album “Life and Times”
Well the south side of Chicago
Is the baddest part of town
And if you go down there
You better just beware
Of a man name Leroy Brown
Now Leroy more than trouble
You see he stand bout six foot four
All the downtown ladies call him treetop lover
All the mens just call him sir
And it’s bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog
Now Leroy he a gambler
And he like his fancy clothes
And he like to wave his diamond rings
In front of everybody’s nose
He got a custom Continental
He got an El Dorado too.
He got a 32 gun in his pocket for fun
He got a razor in his shoe
“Bad, Bad Leroy Brown”
Written and performed by Jim Croce
From the album “Life and Times”
ABC Records ABCX-769 (January 1973)

20. Well Friday bout a week ago
Leroy shootin' dice
And at the edge of the bar
Sat a girl named Doris
And ooh that girl looked nice
Well he cast his eyes upon her
And the trouble soon began
And Leroy Brown learned a lesson
bout messin' with the wife of a jealous man
And it’s bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damn town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog
Well the two men took to fightin
And when they pulled them from the floor
Leroy looked like a jigsaw puzzle
With a couple of pieces gone

21. Now Smackwater Jack, he bought a shotgun
'Cause he was in the mood for a little confrontation
He just let it all hang loose
He didn't think about the noose
He couldn't take no more abuse
So he shot down the congregation
You can't talk to a man
With a shotgun in his hand
Shotgun
Now Big Jim the chief stood for law and order
He called for the guard to come and surround the border
Now from his bulldog mouth
As he led the posse south
Came the cry, “We got to ride
Clean up the streets for our wives and our daughters”
When he don't want to understand
No, no, no, no, no, no
The account of the capture wasn't in the papers
But you know, they hanged ol’ Smack right then instead of later
You know the people were quite pleased
'Cause the outlaw had been seized
And on the whole, it was a very good year
For the undertaker
“Smackwater Jack” by Carole King
Written by Gerry Goffin & Carole King
From the album “Tapestry”
Ode SP ©1971
You know, you know, you can't talk to a man
With a shotgun in his hand
Shotgun in his hand

22. “Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner” by Warren Zevon
Written by David Lindell & Warren Zevon
From the album “Excitable Boy”
Asylum 6E-118 ©1976
Roland was a warrior from the land of the midnight sun
With his Thompson gun for hire, fighting to be done
The deal was made in Denmark on a dark and stormy day
So he set out for Biafra to join the bloody fray
Through '66 and 7, they fought the Congo war
With their fingers on their triggers, knee deep in gore
For days and nights they battled the Bantu to their knees
They killed to earn their living and to help out the Congolese
Roland the Thompson gunner
His comrades fought beside him, Van Owen and the rest
But of all the Thompson gunners, Roland was the best
So the CIA decided they wanted Roland dead
That son of a bitch Van Owen blew off Roland's head
Roland the headless Thompson gunner
Time, time, time, for another peaceful war
Norway's bravest son
But time stands still for Roland, 'til he evens up the score
They can still see his headless body stalking through the night
In the muzzle flash of Roland's Thompson gun

23. Roland searched the continent for the man who'd done him in
He found him in Mombassa, in a barroom drinking gin
Roland aimed his Thompson gun, he didn't say a word
But he blew Van Owen's body from there to Johannesburg
Roland the headless Thompson gunner
Roland the headless Thompson gunner, talking about the man
The eternal Thompson gunner
Still wand'ring through the night
Now it's ten years later, but he still keeps up the fight
In Ireland, in Lebanon, in Palestine and Berkeley
Patty Hearst heard the burst
Of Roland's Thompson gun and bought it

24. “Rocky Raccoon” by The Beatles Written by Paul McCartney
From the album “The Beatles”
Capitol C ©1968
Now somewhere in the black mountain hills of Dakota
There lived a young boy named Rocky Raccoon
And one day his woman ran off with another guy
Hit young Rocky in the eye, Rocky didn't like that
He said, “I'm gonna get that boy”
So one day he walked into town
Booked himself a room in the local saloon
Rocky Raccoon checked into his room
Only to find Gideon's bible
Rocky had come equipped with a gun
To shoot off the legs of his rival
His rival it seems had broken his dreams
By stealing the girl of his fancy
Her name was McGill and she called herself Lil
But everyone knew her as Nancy
Now she and her man who called himself Dan
Were in the next room at the hoedown
Rocky burst in and grinning a grin
He said, “Danny boy, this is a showdown”
But Daniel was hot, he drew first and shot
And Rocky collapsed in the corner, ah
D'da d'da d'da da da da
D'da d'da d'da da d'da d'da d'da d'da
Do do do do do do

25. D'do d'do d'do do do do
D'do d'do d'do do do d'do d'do d'do d'do
Do do do do do do
Now the doctor came in stinking of gin
And proceeded to lie on the table
He said, “Rocky, you met your match”
And Rocky said, “Doc, it's only a scratch
And I'll be better, I'll be better doc as soon as I am able”
And now Rocky Raccoon he fell back in his room
Only to find Gideon's bible
Gideon checked out and he left it no doubt
To help with good Rocky's revival, ah
Oh yeah, yeah
D'do d'do d'do do do do, come on, Rocky boy
The story of Rocky there