Lyr Req: Gallo Del Cielo (sung by Joe Ely)

Subject: Gallo Del Cielo (sung by Joe Ely)
From: GUEST,genie
Date: 14 Aug 01 - 02:41 AM

I heard Joe Ely sing this song on Austin City Limits. I'm not sure it's the title, but it's about a man who steals a prize fighting cock named Gallo Del Cielo and tries to make his fortune, only to come to ruin.
I didn't find it in the DT by searching for "Gallo," so I don't know what other name to try.
Do any catters have it?

---

Click for Lyrics in Related Thread

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gallo Del Cielo (sung by Joe Ely)
From: Pene Azul
Date: 14 Aug 01 - 02:48 AM

The lyrics are here (click) in the Forum.

Jeff

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gallo Del Cielo (sung by Joe Ely)
From: kendall
Date: 14 Aug 01 - 03:46 AM

Tom Russell does a bang up job on this one.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gallo Del Cielo (sung by Joe Ely)
From: Tedham Porterhouse
Date: 14 Aug 01 - 09:03 AM

That's becuase Tom wrote it. On August 24, I'm driving up to Montreal for a double bill of Tom Russell and John Prine. Should be a great night.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gallo Del Cielo (sung by Joe Ely)
From: GUEST,genie
Date: 14 Aug 01 - 10:45 PM

Thanks, Pene. Genie

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gallo Del Cielo (sung by Joe Ely)
From: Sorcha
Date: 14 Aug 01 - 11:09 PM

Rooster of the Sky? I'm gonna have to go check out Jeff's link............

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gallo Del Cielo (sung by Joe Ely)
From: Sorcha
Date: 14 Aug 01 - 11:38 PM

Holy Cow! El es un papagayo!! Reminds me of the time I was in Mexico and we wanted a parrot. Our dictionary said "parrot" was "papagayo" so we went looking for un papagayo.......

We heard many no's and lots of "eh's ?"........then one day in the Oxaca market this girl asked

"Bibo?" (Alive??)
"Of course, why would I want a dead one?"

After I was home we had an Open House and invited all our friends, one of whom was a Cuban professor of Spanish. I was telling this story, still at a loss as to what was so funny, when he told me:

"Your dictionary is a Castillian one and papagayo is Castilian for parrot but Mexican for fighiting cock"..........turns out I was asking for a live fighting cock........never have lived that one down. Taught me to try to speak Spanish, huh?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gallo Del Cielo (sung by Joe Ely)
From: GUEST,Genie
Date: 04 Sep 01 - 03:28 AM

Per your leads, here's what I found:
GALLO DEL CIELO Tom Russell, 1979
Carlos Zaragoza 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 del Cielo,"
Then he crossed the Rio Grande with that rooster nestled deep beneath his arm.

Gallo del Cielo was a warrior born in heaven, so the legends say.
His wings, they had been broken, he had one eye rollin' crazy in his head.
He's 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 27 dollars and the locket with your picture framed in gold.
Tonight I'll bet it all on the fighting spurs of Gallo del Cielo,
Then I'll return to buy the land that Villa stole from father long ago."
Outside 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 Zaragoza pulled the one-eyed del Cielo from beneath his coat,
But they cried when Zaragoza 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 put it all behind the fighting spurs of Gallo del 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 del Cielo in the night,
And Carlos Zaragoza fears the tiny crack that runs across his 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 now your good luck framed in gold.
And everything we dream of is riding on spurs of [Gallo] del Cielo,
Then 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 del Cielo sunk a gaff into Zorro's shiny breast.
They were separated quickly and they rose and fought each other thirty seven time,
And the legends say that everyone agreed that del Cielo fought the best.
Then the screams of Zaragoza filled the night outside the town of Santa Clara,
As the beak of del Cielo lay broken like a shell within his hand.
And they say that Zaragoza screamed a curse upon the bones of Pancho Villa
When Zorro rose up one last time and drove del 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 del Cielo.
I'll not return to buy the land that Villa stole from father long ago.
"Do the rivers still run muddy outside of 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 del Cielo?
Tell my family not to worry, I will not return to cause them shame.

In addition to Tom Russell, it's been recorded by Joe Ely and Ian Tyson.

^^^

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gallo Del Cielo (sung by Joe Ely)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 04 Sep 01 - 03:46 AM

Hi, Genie - if the lyrics have already been posted in the Forum or the Digital Tradition (see links in the first two messages), it's usually not a good idea to post them again. The best search engine to use is the "Digitrad and Forum Search" (also called SuperSearch) on the Forum Menu page. It searches both the Digital Tradition and the Forum.



If you post a song, we assume it should be considered for inclusion in the Digital Tradition. We have to search and see if it's already there or not. If we find it has already been posted, we give your lyrics the dreaded three-winged redundant harvesting birdie, which looks like this:

^^^

Thanks.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gallo Del Cielo (sung by Joe Ely)
From: GUEST,Mike Strobel
Date: 04 Sep 01 - 04:17 PM

This is just a wonderful song written bt Tom Russell. Might anyone have the guitar chords for this classic. I 've just recently gotten into Tom Russell and I can see need to make up for lost time. He's a terrific songwriter. Also, is Tom Russell , Canadian ?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gallo Del Cielo (sung by Joe Ely)
From: Midchuck
Date: 04 Sep 01 - 04:37 PM

I think I figured the chords out, and I'll post them as I found them maybe later tonight.

TR was originally from California, I think; lived in NYC for quite a while (I think he said he first got together with Andrew Hardin, his incredible guitar player, when they were both driving NYC cabs); and now lives way the heck down in the bottom of Texas, almost in Mexico.

Lot of biographical material in the notes to "The Man From God Knows Where" which you should have if you don't.

Peter.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gallo Del Cielo (sung by Joe Ely)
From: GUEST,Genie
Date: 04 Sep 01 - 04:37 PM

Joe, Sorry for the inadvertent reduncancy. I thought, when I first started the thread, that I had looked for "Gallo..." in the DT and not found it. So when the thread produced the lyrics and I formatted them, I thought I would close the loop, as it were. I guess I should have re-checked the DT.

Genie

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gallo Del Cielo (sung by Joe Ely)
From: GUEST,Genie
Date: 04 Sep 01 - 05:02 PM

Joe, I just tried to find "Gallo Del Cielo" in the DT, looking under "Gallo," "Cielo," and "Gallo del Cielo." No luck.

What am I doing wrong? Is that not the title?

Genie

Subject: Lyr/Chords Add: GALLO DEL CIELO (Tom Russell)
From: GUEST,Genie
Date: 27 Sep 01 - 03:42 AM

I finally found both lyrics and chords on Cowpie. Here they are:

Gallo Del Cielo,
by Tom Russell [Written in a garage in Mountain View, CA in 1979]
Transcribed by Dean Munyon
This version from the "Poor Man's Dream" album. Tom Russell has several different versions of this song on his various albums. This is one is characterized by a very strong alternating bass line.

Each [chord] or "/" indicates one measure. (The "/" means repeat the last-notated chord).

Key of F: play in D and capo at third fret

Intro: [G]///[A]///[Em][A][G][A][D]///

[D]Carlos Zaragoza left his home in Casas Grandes when the [Em]moon was full,
No [A]money in his pocket, just a locket of his sister framed in [D]gold.
He rode into El Sueco, stole a rooster called Gallo Del Ci[Em]elo.
Then he [A]swam the Rio Grande with that [G]fighter nestled [A]deep beneath his [D]arm.

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

[G]"Hola, my Theresa, I am thinking of you now in San An[A]tonio.
I have [Em]twenty-seven [A]dollars
and the [Em]good luck of your picture framed in [A]gold.
[G]Tonight I'll put it all on the fighting spurs of Gallo Del Ci[A]elo,
And then [Em]I'll return to [A]buy the land [G]Villa stole from [A]father long [D]ago."

Out[D]side of San Diego, in the onion fields of Paco Monte[Em]verde,
The [A]Pride of San Diego lay sleeping on a fancy bed of [D]silk,
And they laughed when Zaragoza pulled the one-eyed del Cielo from [Em]beneath his coat,
But they [A]cried when Zaragoza walked a[G]way with a[A]thousand dollar [D]bill.

[G]"Hola, my Theresa, I am thinking of you now in Santa [A]Barbara.
I have [Em]fifteen hundred [A]dollars and the [Em]good luck of your picture framed in [A]gold.
[G]Tonight I'll put it all on the fighting spurs of Gallo Del Ci[A]elo,
And then [Em]I'll return to [A]buy the land [G]Villa stolefrom [A]father long [D]ago."

Now the [D]moon has gone to hiding and the lantern light spills shadows on the [Em]fighting sand
Where a [A]wicked black named Zorro faces Gallo del Cielo in the [D]night.
But Carlos Zaragoza fears the tiny crack that runs across his [Em]rooster's beak
And he [A]fears he has lost the fifty [G]thousand dollars [A]riding on the [D]fight.

[G]"Hola, my Theresa, I am thinking of you now in Santa [A]Clara.
Yes, the [Em]money's on the [A]table, I am [Em]holding to your good luck framed in [A]gold,
And [G]everything we've dreamed of is riding on the spurs of Del Ci[A]elo.
I pray that [Em]I'll return to [A]buy the land [G]Villa stole from [A]father long [D]ago."

Then the [D]signal it was given, and the cocks rose together far [Em]above the sand.
El [A]Gallo del Cielo sunk a gaff into Zorro's shiny [D]breast.
They were separated quickly but they rose and fought each other thirty [Em]seven times,
And the [A]legends say that everyone [G]agreed that Del Ci[A]elo fought the [D]best.

Then the [D]screams of Zaragoza filled the night outside the town of Santa [Em]Clara
As the [A]beak of del Cielo lay broken like a shell within his [D]hand,
And they say that Zaragoza screamed a curse upon the bones of Pancho [Em]Villa
When [A]Zorro rose up one last time and [G]drove del Ci[A]elo to the [D]sand.

[G]"Hola, my Theresa, I am thinking of you now in San Fran[A]cisco.
I have no [Em]money in my [A]pocket, I no [Em]longer have your good luck framed in [A]gold.
I [G]buried it last evening with the bones of my beloved Del Ci[A]elo,
And I'll [Em]not return to [A]buy the land [G]Villa stole from [A]father long [D]ago.

"Do the [G]rivers still run muddy outside of my beloved Casas [A]Grandes?
Des the [Em]scar upon my [A]brother's face turn [Em]red whenhe hears mention of my [A]name?
Do the [G]people of El Sueco curse the theft of Gallo del Ci[A]elo?
Well, [Em]tell my family [A]not to worry, [G]I will not [A]return to cause them [D]shame."

Outro: [G]///[A]///[Em][A][G][A][D]///