Late in 2016, former Grateful Dead member Bob Weir came out with an album titled Blue Mountain. The chorus of the song is identical to what we know, but the verses are new. Don't know if any of the literature accompanying the CD gives any credit to Bob Keller and the history of this song. -Joe- As usual, the Grateful Dead Lyric and Song Finder does a great job of giving the background of this song (giving credit to Mudcat, too). Thanks to Bill Wagman (Davis, California) for pointing out this new recording to me. Blue Mountain Lyrics: Bob Weir, Josh Ritter, Josh Kaufman/[Fred Keller] Music: Bob Weir, Josh Ritter, Josh Kaufman/[Fred Keller] One of the songs on Bob Weir's new album Blue Mountain. He played an extract in an interview with Dan Rather in August 2015, introducing it:. "It's an old cowboy tune that I've wanted to pull together for ... I first learnt it in the bunkhouse, I think, or I first heard it, and I've wanted to pull it together for fifty some years, and finally I'm doing it. In order to do that, I've had to write some of the verses that I didn't remember, and just go back - I guess it's the thought process." "That's called 'Blue Mountain' [Dan Rather: And this is on a new album?] It's gonna be, yeah. This is sort of the bedrock - I'm probably gonna write maybe a dozen more verses for it." The portion he sang was as follows: I was born in a manger in Texas The doggies and paints come round My days there were troubled and restless All the trouble I looked for, I found My welcome wore thin, down in Texas For reasons you won't want to know Well I roped and I broke and I rambled To where the sage and the pinon do grow Blue mountain, you're azure deep Blue mountain, your sides are steep Blue mountain with a horse head on your side You've stolen my love to keep You've stolen my love to keep The full lyrics on the recorded version are: Blue mountain, you're azure deep Blue mountain, your sides are steep Blue mountain with a horse head on your side You stolen my love to keep You stolen my love to keep Well I was born in a manger in Texas All the pintos and paints come round My days there were troubled and restless All the bad news that I looked for, I found My welcome wore thin down in Texas For reasons you probably know Well I roped and I broke and I rambled To where the sage and the pinon grow Blue mountain, you're azure deep Blue mountain, your sides are steep Blue mountain with a horse head on your side You stolen my love to keep You stolen my love to keep Here is a snake in the rainbow And here is the balsom and bow And here are the ladders of light up to heaven But blue mountain is all I need now Oh, what kind of cut purse is the evening To scatter her diamonds behind We're all given a first and a last one And blue mountain will be both of mine Blue mountain, you're azure deep Blue mountain, your sides are steep Blue mountain with a horse head on your side You stolen my love to keep You stolen my love to keep The chorus and some lines in the first two verses come from a song written by Judge Fred Keller. There's an account of the origins of the song here. The full lyrics of the original version are: My home it was in Texas My past you must not know I seek a refuge from the law Where the sage and pinon grow Chorus Blue Mountain, you're azure deep Blue Mountain with sides so steep Blue Mountain with horse head on your side You have won my heart to keep For the brand "LC" I ride And the sleeper calves on the side I'll own their hip side and shoulder, before I grow older "Zapotaro", don't you tan my hide I chum with Latigo Gordon I drink at the Blue Goose Saloon I dance at night with the Mormon girls And ride home beneath the moon I trade at Mons' store With bullet holes in the door His calico treasure my horse can measure When I'm drunk and feeling sore Yarn Gallus with shortened lope Doc Few-Clothes without any soap In the little green valley have made their sally And for Slicks there's still some hope In the summer time it's fine In the winter the wind doth whine But say, dear brother, if you want a mother There's Ev on the old chuck line
|