Here's one that demonstrates that the fine art of ballad writing is far from dead. The song has been recorded several times by Tom Russell himself, and also by many other artists. Tom's versions are good, but my personal favourite is Ian Tyson's on his 'Old Corrals and Sagebush, & Other Cowboy Culture Classics' album.

GALLO DE CIELO

Carlos Zaragosa left his home in Casas Grandes when the moon was full
No money in his pocket, just a locket of his sister framed in gold
He headed for El Sueco, stole a rooster called Gallo de Cielo
Then he crossed the Rio Grande with that chicken nestled deep beneath his arm

Gallo de Cielo was a rooster born in heaven so the legends say
His wings they had been broken, he had one eye rollin' crazy in his head
He had fought a hundred fights, and the legends say that one night near El Sueco
They'd fought Cielo seven times and seven times he'd left brave roosters dead

Hola, my Theresa, I am thinking of you now in San Antonio
I have twenty seven dollars and the locket with your picture framed in gold
Tonight I'll bet it all on the fighting spurs of Gallo de Cielo
Then I'll return to buy the land that Villa stole from father long ago

Outside of San Diego in the onion fields of Paco Monteverde
The Pride of San Diego lay sleeping on a fancy bed of silk
And they laughed when Zaragosa pulled the one-eyed de Cielo from beneath his coat
But they cried when Zaragosa walked away with a thousand dollar bill

Hola, my Theresa, I am thinking of you now in Santa Barbara
I have fifteen hundred dollars and the good luck of your picture framed in gold
Tonight I'll bet it all on the fighting spurs of Gallo de Cielo
Then I'll return to buy the land that Villa stole from father long ago

Now the moon has gone to hiding and the lantern light spills shadows on the fighting sand
A wicked black named Zorro faces de Cielo in the night
And Carlos Zaragosa fears the tiny crack that runs across the rooster's beak
And he fears that he has lost the fifty thousand that is riding on the fight

Hola, my Theresa, I am thinking of you now in Santa Clara
Oh, the money's on the table, I am holding your good luck framed in gold
And everything we dreamed of is riding on the spurs of Gallo de Cielo
I pray that I'll return to buy the land that Villa stole from father long ago

Then the signal it was given and the cocks they rose together far above the sand
Gallo de Cielo sunk a gaff into Zorro's shiny breast
They were separated quickly but they rose and fought each other thirty seven times
And the legends say that everyone agreed that de Cielo fought the best

Then the screams of Zaragosa filled the night outside the town of Santa Clara
As the beak of de Cielo lay broken like a shell within his hand
And they say that Zaragosa screamed a curse on the bones of Pancho Villa
When Zorro rose up one last time and drove de Cielo to the sand

Hola, my Theresa, I am thinking of you now in San Francisco
There's no money in my pocket, I no longer have your picture framed in gold
I buried it last evening with the bones of my beloved de Cielo
I'll not return to buy the land that Villa stole from father long ago

Do the rivers still run muddy outside my beloved Casas Grandes?
Does the scar upon my brother's face turn red when he hears mention of my name?
Do the people of El Sueco still curse the theft of Gallo de Cielo?
Tell my family not to worry, I will not return to cause them shame

Author: Tom Russell
Copyright 1982 End of Trail Music CAPAC

Source: Tom Russell 'Heart on a Sleeve' Bear Family BCD15243