Lyr Req: The Highwayman (Jimmy Webb)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Highwayman (Webb)
From: GUEST,highlandman
Date: 21 Nov 07 - 12:42 PM

"Soldiers don't carry guns, they carry rifles (at least in my army - I stand corrected if it's not so in the U.S. Army)."

As I was taught, a soldier _does_ carry a "gun," but it's not part of the government issue equipment... 'course nowadays you have to specify that you're talking about _male_ soldiers... I'll stop here...

-Glenn

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Highwayman (Webb)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 21 Nov 07 - 11:45 AM

"I sailed a schooner round the Horn to Mexico"

I wonder which way he was sailing, east or west?

"I went aloft to furl the main sail in a blow. And when the yards broke off, they said that I got killed"

For the record there were "topsail" schooners which typically had a square sail high on the foremast. However, a schooner's "mainsail" would be located on the main mast and if so would be "fore an' aft" rigged rather than "square." One could change "yards" to "booms" but there is little reason to go aloft to furl the main sail in a schooner unless something jams; one just lowers the boom so to speak from the deck.

Still, songwriters are not the only ones who compose nonesense lines about sailing vessels. I was amused to come across this line in a recent publication (SIGNALS) of the Australia National Maritime Museum:

Tuesdays in November - Life aboard a Tall Ship

Let's unfurl the masts and set sail on a frolicking adventure on the high seas...

Barnacle Bill would be most amused.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Highwayman (Webb)
From: GUEST,bob mc dermott
Date: 21 Nov 07 - 10:18 AM

here here ,fair play Aaron ,makes perfect sense ,

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Highwayman (Webb)
From: GUEST,Aaron
Date: 08 Nov 06 - 05:41 PM

To the people complaining about their perceived error in the lyrics about a schooner: Not so. There is technically nothing wrong with the song, just in the way you're interpreting it.

Just because the two lines are one after the other, that doesn't mean they have to have happened in the same incident, or on the same day, or on the same ship, etc.

The sailor was listing his accomplishments, and stated:

1. I was a sailor.
2. I was born upon the tide.
3. With the sea I did abide.
4. I sailed a schooner round the Horn to Mexico.
5. I went aloft to furl the main sail in a blow. And when the yards broke off, they said that I got killed. (the "And" obviously connects these two lines together)


Just because he did sail a schooner, that doesn't mean he WAS still on the schooner when the next incident happened. They could be two separate incidents, and the song doesn't state otherwise. Sure, you can infer it happened on a schooner if you want, but you might as well assume he was on a schooner all through the verse then.... Was he also born on a schooner? Doubt it. And obviously, if you can't "go aloft to furl the main sail" on a schooner, then he wasn't on a schooner when item 5 from the list above happened, and it happened some time after item 4 happened....


Just like the Highwayman didn't do all his things in one day... He didn't steal baubles, kill men, and get hanged all during the same incident in his life; he recounted doing different things at different times of his life.... probably over many years, just like the sailor's experiences happened over many years.... Yes, the song doesn't waste any time with segues between each line and jumps right from one incident to the next, but you can assume there was time in between each line... Like the Highwayman didn't get hung the same day he killed many a soldier, even though the lines happen right after one another....

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Highwayman (Jimmy Webb)
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Nov 05 - 05:47 PM

For many years ago, I borrowed a record called "Highwayman" by Glen Campbell and want get it now, but can't find it anywhere. Can someone help me? It also contains a song called "Thinking about you", just to make sure it's the same record.
Jack W

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Highwayman (Jimmy Webb)
From: CET
Date: 06 Nov 05 - 06:20 AM

I like the verse too, Brian. Just a couple of points, though. Soldiers don't carry guns, they carry rifles (at least in my army - I stand corrected if it's not so in the U.S. Army). Also, a soldier on active service would probably not go on a fighting patrol like "it was just another day", at least not if he hoped to stay alive. Since you need the line to end with "day", how about "I was on patrol before the break of day"?

Edmund

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: The Highwayman (Jimmy Webb)
From: GUEST
Date: 05 Nov 05 - 08:36 PM

I was a Soldier
The nation's safety was my life
holding my gun against my side
I went on patrol like it was just another day
I took a bullet and my body hit the clay
I'm in Virginia a-resting in the ground
But I'm still around...

-----------------------------

Damn, that's good.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Highwayman (Webb)
From: GUEST,Brian
Date: 08 Aug 05 - 04:24 PM

Here's a verse for the soldiers...

I was a Soldier
The nation's safety was my life
holding my gun against my side
I went on patrol like it was just another day
I took a bullet and my body hit the clay
I'm in Virginia a-resting in the ground
But I'm still around...

Brian~

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Highwayman (Webb)
From: Once Famous
Date: 03 Dec 04 - 11:39 AM

Joe Offer, either way it's a boat.

Who cares what kind of boat?

Subject: RE: GREY VS GRAY
From: Gene
Date: 03 Dec 04 - 11:35 AM

FWIW department - found online

It appears that the "gray" varient appeared later, as an American
English varient of "grey". Both have mostly the same many meanings:

"gray1 also grey    ( P ) Pronunciation Key (gr)
adj. gray·er, also grey·er gray·est, grey·est
Of or relating to an achromatic color of any lightness between the
extremes of black and white.

Dull or dark: a gray, rainy afternoon.
Lacking in cheer; gloomy: a gray mood.

Having gray hair; hoary.
Old or venerable.
Intermediate in character or position, as with regard to a subjective
matter: the gray area between their differing opinions on the film's
morality.

n.
An achromatic color of any lightness between the extremes of black and
white.
An object or animal of the color gray.
often Gray
A member of the Confederate Army in the Civil War.
The Confederate Army. "

Dictionary.com
[ http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=gray ]

So yes, "grey" is a color, and was always so. Us Americans had to go
and be different with "gray."

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Highwayman (Webb)
From: Gene
Date: 03 Dec 04 - 04:01 AM

interesting link for lyrics/chords...

http://www.chordie.com/chord.pere/www.guitartabs.cc/fetchurl.php?filename=/h/highwaymen/highwayman.crd

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Highwayman (Webb)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 03 Dec 04 - 02:38 AM

No question about Webb's songwriting ability; but that mistake does detract from the song, for anybody who knows schooners. I think I'd rather squeeze the meter a bit and insert "square-rigger" instead of "schooner." If you can make it right without much effort, why not?

Of course, where I come from in Wisconsin, a schooner is a glass that holds a helluvalotta beer.

I am a Wisconsinite.
Useta drive to Chicago to get
Oleo at the border
Every day I drink a schooner,
and that's a helluvalotta beer
And I hunt each fall for deer
And still I drink my beer...

-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Highwayman (Webb)
From: Once Famous
Date: 02 Dec 04 - 04:43 PM

amos, big deal.

You should be half the writer Jim Webb has been the last 30+ years.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Highwayman (Webb)
From: GUEST
Date: 02 Dec 04 - 02:59 PM

I like Cheif Chaos' new verse. Especialy the end part.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Highwayman (Webb)
From: Amos
Date: 08 May 04 - 12:44 PM

It's unfortunate Jimmy Webb didn't do his homework about sailing vessels. Those which are fore-and-aft rigged, such as schooners, do not have yards aloft, and do not require one to go aloft to furl the main sail, since the reefpoints are down near the boom. So the verse makes no sense. He'd have done better to call the ship a bark or a "square-rig" or some other accommodation that would scan.

A

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Highwayman (Webb)
From: Charley Noble
Date: 08 May 04 - 12:12 PM

Nice verse, Chief.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Highwayman (Webb)
From: Big Jim from Jackson
Date: 08 May 04 - 12:04 PM

I have Steve's book, and I second the above statement.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Highwayman (Webb)
From: GUEST,Eric
Date: 07 May 04 - 09:31 PM

One more correction, concrete is gray in color, hence gray tomb.

They buried me in that GRAY tomb that knows no sound

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Highwayman (Webb)
From: Cluin
Date: 14 Aug 03 - 12:51 PM

I still like Glen Campbell's recording of the song best, maybe because it was the first I heard, but mostly because he always had a special affinity for Jimmy Webb's songs.

And Steve Gillette's book Songwriting and the Creative Process is pretty damn good too.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Highwayman (Webb)
From: Chief Chaos
Date: 14 Aug 03 - 12:26 PM

** New Verse**

I am a high iron worker
The nation's skyline is my pride
Across the frame work I did stride
Working the gantry from my throne up in the sky
Driving the rivets watch the molten sparks all fly
They say the ground shook when my body hit the ground
But I am still around

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Highwayman (Webb)
From:
Date: 13 Aug 03 - 04:22 PM

who knows the guitar chords for this song?

Subject: RE: Lyr req: Highwayman (Webb)
From: GUEST,Tunesmith
Date: 28 Jun 03 - 02:46 PM

It's probably been mentioned before, but Jim( The Highwayman ) Webb's book "Tunesmith - Inside the art of songwriting" is a fascinating read - even if you don't write songs.

Subject: RE: Lyr req: Highwayman (Webb)
From:
Date: 28 Jun 03 - 01:17 PM

" a place called boulder on the wild colorado"

Subject: RE: Lyric request: Highwayman
From: GUEST,Gene
Date: 27 Mar 02 - 05:06 PM

+ + + ANOTHER HIGHWAYMAN + + +

Subject: RE: Lyric request: Highwayman
From: GUEST,Gonzo
Date: 27 Mar 02 - 04:10 PM

It's not marbles, it's BAUBLES, as in Baubles, bangles and beads. It means jewelry.

The other line is "a place called Boulder on the wild Colorado

Subject: RE: Lyric request: Highwayman
From: belter
Date: 13 Apr 97 - 01:24 PM

I once heard of "marbles" being used as a euphemism for maiden head (another euphemism), so I thought that might explain its usage hear.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE HIGHWAYMAN (Jimmy Webb)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 13 Apr 97 - 03:21 AM

I've cleaned it up a bit, but exactly what the maiden lost is still a bit of a mystery.

HIGHWAYMAN
(Jimmy Webb)

I was a highwayman. Along the coach roads I did ride,
Sword and pistol by my side.
Many a young maid lost her baubles (?) to my trade.
Many a soldier shed his life blood on my blade.
The bastards hung me in the spring of '25,
But I am still alive.

I was a sailor. I was born upon the tide.
With the sea I did abide.
I sailed a schooner round the Horn to Mexico.
I went aloft to furl the main sail in a blow.
And when the yards broke off, they said that I got killed.
But I am living still.

I was a dam builder across the river deep and wide
Where steel and water did collide,
A place called Boulder o'eron the wild Colorado.
I slipped and fell into the wet concrete below.
They buried me in that great grey tomb that knows no sound.
But I am still around.
I'll always be around and around and around...

I fly a star ship across the universe divide
And when I reach the other side,
I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can.
Perhaps I may become a highwayman again,
Or I may simply be a single drop of rain,
But I will remain,
And I'll be back again and again and again.

Subject: RE: Lyric request: Highwayman
From: belter
Date: 12 Apr 97 - 09:03 PM

I suplied the lyrics for this one a while back, but I still doen't know that one bit about collorado. Can anyone figure out what the words are.

Subject: RE: Lyric request: Highwayman
From: belter
Date: 16 Jan 97 - 04:01 PM

the first verse should read

I am a highwayman along the coach roads I did ride sword and pistel by may side many a maiden lost her marbles to my trade many a soldger shed his life blood on my blade ect.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE HIGHWAYMAN (Jimmy Webb)
From: belter
Date: 14 Jan 97 - 01:33 PM

I am a highwayman
Along the coach roads I did ride
Sword and pistol by my side
The bastards hung me in the spring of twenty-five
But I am still alive

I am a sailor
I was born upon the tide
I sailed a schooner round the horn to Mexico
I went aloft to furl the main sail in a blow
And when the yardarm broke off they said that I got killed
But I am living still

I am a dam builder
Across the river deep and wide
Where steel and water did collide
A place called bolder? mile high Colorado?
I slipped and fell into the wet concrete below
They buried me in that great tomb that knows no sound
But I am still around and around and around and around

I'll fly a star ship
Across the universe divide
And when I reach the other side
I'll find a place to rest my weary spirit if I can
Perhaps I will become a highwayman again
Or I may simply be a single drop of rain
But I will remain
I'll be back again and again and again

Note: Glen Campbell said he thought this song was about the spirit of America. I thought I saw it on the DT under a different name, but I couldn't find it now.

HTML line breaks added. --JoeClone, 29-Mar-02.

Subject: RE: Lyric request: Highwayman
From: Alisdair
Date: 31 Dec 96 - 10:46 PM

Hallo !

The sister's a country fan - I'll check ... It's the sang whaur they talk aboot bein' a dam builder in Colorado, being an sailor, and then a cowboy I think ...

Slainte'!

Ali

Subject: Lyric request: Highwayman
From: Coralena
Date: 31 Dec 96 - 04:22 PM

I am looking for the lyrics to a song sung by Cash, Jennings, Nelson, and Kristofferson, they each sing a part. There's a part that goes "I'll come back again......or maybe as a single drop of rain...."

Thank you for any help you can give.