Lyr Req: Panama Red (Peter Rowan)

Subject: Lyrics to Panama Red
From:
Date: 17 Feb 98 - 10:47 AM

Does anybody have the lyrics to Panama Red??

Shawn

Subject: RE: Lyrics to Panama Red
From: Wolfgang Hell
Date: 17 Feb 98 - 11:11 AM

go here , Shawn
Wolfgang

Subject: RE: Lyrics to Panama Red
From: Jerry Friedman
Date: 17 Feb 98 - 12:56 PM

By Peter Rowan, I believe. (Also a member of Old and in the Way.)

Subject: RE: Lyrics to Panama Red
From: Jerry Friedman
Date: 17 Feb 98 - 01:00 PM

(I see you knew that, Shawn.)

Subject: ADD: Panama Red (Peter Rowan)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 09 Jul 20 - 12:46 AM

Need lyrics to this one.

PANAMA RED
(Peter Rowan)

Panama Red, Panama Red
He'll steal your woman, then he'll rob your head
Panama Red, Panama Red
On his white horse, Mescalito
He come breezin' through town
I'll bet your woman's up in bed with old
Panama Red

The judge don't know when Red's in town
He keeps well hidden underground
But everybody's acting lazy
Falling out and hangin' 'round

My woman said, "Hey Pedro
You're actin' crazy like a clown"
Nobody feels like working
Panama Red is back in town

Everybody's looking out for him
'Cause they know Red satisfies
Little girls love to listen to him
Sing and tell sweet lies

But when things get too confusing, honey
You're better off in bed
And I'll be searching all the joints in town for
Panama Red


Songwriters: Peter Rowan

http://www.chameleons.org/wp-content/uploads/ch/PanamaRed.pdf

Rowan Brothers performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBrRImYi3Qo

New Riders of the Purple Sage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKgB-3aANe0

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Panama Red (Peter Rowan)
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 09 Jul 20 - 01:12 AM

Joe, the lyrics at your link look good to me, and they agree with the Old and In the Way recording at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxtfsGPK7ms except in one or two places:

last stanza, 1st line, Red's should be Red; third line, "you're" sounds more like "we're" to me.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Panama Red (Peter Rowan)
From: GUEST,Jerry
Date: 09 Jul 20 - 05:35 AM

The sheet music for Panama Red is included in The Bluegrass Songbook (published by Hal Leonard), along with Midnight Moonlight. The lyrics above match very closely, apart from the “better off in bed” line, which yes is “we’re better off”, plus the “Red satisfies” line which should be “he satisfies”. However, altering pronouns is generally accepted in song interpretations.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Panama Red (Peter Rowan)
From: GUEST,cnd
Date: 09 Jul 20 - 09:56 AM

The most popular version of the song (and earliest I know of) was done by the New Riders of the Purple Sage, Jerry Garcia's non-Grateful Dead experimental country rock band

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Panama Red (Peter Rowan)
From: GUEST,Ray
Date: 09 Jul 20 - 12:19 PM

...... then there was a version by Telephone Bill and the Smooth Operators where they changed a couple of lines in the final verse to -

“Telephone Bill, Telephone Bill,
They’ll take your women and put them on the pill.”

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Panama Red (Peter Rowan)
From: GUEST
Date: 11 Jul 20 - 06:38 PM

Probably nothing to do with this song, but Panama Red was the street name for a variety of Marijuana. It was around near the same time as Acapulco Gold. I think they got their names from where they entered the underground market for the ne'er-do-wells who smoked such things.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Panama Red (Peter Rowan)
From: GUEST,Gerry
Date: 11 Jul 20 - 06:42 PM

Guest 11 Jul 20 06:38 PM, it surely has *everything* to do with the song.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Panama Red (Peter Rowan)
From: GUEST,cnd
Date: 11 Jul 20 - 08:10 PM

Yes, the song is about driving a shipment of Panama Red weed back from Mexico to the States

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Panama Red (Peter Rowan)
From: cnd
Date: 11 Jul 20 - 08:39 PM

Sorry, let me amend my previous assertion: that song is NRPS's song "Henry" (link). "Henry" was written by John Dawson in 1971, before Panama Red was written, and doesn't actually mention a specific strain of weed. I just combined the songs in my mind.

Apologies for any confusion!