Lyr ADD: Gringo Pistolero (Allen Damron)

Subject: Gringo Pistolero
From:
Date: 23 Mar 00 - 10:00 AM

Some years ago I heard a ballad on public radio they said was based on a true story about a US Army officer whose job it was to rescue downed aviators in Mexico during the incursion against Pancho Villa in the 1910's. He was called the "Gringo Pistolero" by the locals (he carried twin Colt government model .45's) and I believe that was the name of the ballad. Anyone have the lyrics or know how to get a recording? Thanks.

Subject: RE: Gringo Pistolero
From: Bert
Date: 23 Mar 00 - 10:56 AM

Allen Damron did a great recording of it. Here's his website.

http://www.fmp.com/damron/

Bert.

Subject: RE: Gringo Pistolero
From:
Date: 23 Mar 00 - 03:21 PM

Thanks, bert!

Subject: Lyr Req: Gringo Pistolero - Allen Damron
From: GUEST,Boo Boo Kitty
Date: 24 Jul 05 - 12:37 PM

Does anyone have them?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gringo Pistolero - Allen Damron
From: Arkie
Date: 24 Jul 05 - 09:04 PM

Sorry, I don't have the words but the song can be played at this site:

Gringo Pistolero

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gringo Pistolero - Allen Damron
From: GUEST, Boo Boo Kitty
Date: 25 Jul 05 - 06:43 PM

Good enough, thank you a bunch.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gringo Pistolero - Allen Damron
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 25 Jul 05 - 09:00 PM

Most of Damron's tapes and cds are no longer available. A shame!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gringo Pistolero - Allen Damron
From: Arkie
Date: 25 Jul 05 - 09:15 PM

It is a shame. I only have one recording of his, but I have enjoyed it time and again over the years. And Miss Kitty, I glad Mudcat could help.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gringo Pistolero (Allen Damron)
From: GUEST,Texas Guest
Date: 07 Sep 05 - 11:12 PM

Most of Allen's CD's and tapes ARE available and Marie, his lovely wife (now widow) would love to sell them to any and all who would be interested - many large medical bills to pay off, you know. I am currently on the road and don't have Marie's contact information with me but you can plug in - Allen Damron - go to his web site, and I believe you'll find all the information you need to get his music will be right there there. G'wan now, git!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gringo Pistolero (Allen Damron)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 07 Sep 05 - 11:28 PM

I tried emailing the Damron site ([e-mail]) July 26. No reply. Any other information on contacting her?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gringo Pistolero (Allen Damron)
From: GUEST
Date: 27 Jun 09 - 09:05 AM

Does anyone know how to get any of his CDs? We have a cassette of "Border Trash" and would give our eye teeth to get a CD of it or even downloadable any of his music. His music is fantastic, beautiful, funny and just plain fun to listen to. We are avid fans and would love to get his music to put on our IPOD.

Subject: Lyr Add: GRINGO PISTOLERO (A Damron, T Henderson)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 28 Jun 09 - 09:25 PM

These lyrics can be found at several places on the Internet:


GRINGO PISTOLERO
(Allen Wayne Damron, Tim Henderson)

When the bandit Chico Cano crossed the river at Boquillas,
Stole the young bride of the rancher Juan Otero,
Juan caught up his fastest mare, and up to Marathon he rode,
To hire himself a gringo pistolero.

Send the word along the river; tell it through the borderland,
That the hound of death is howling after Chico Cano's band.
Juan will seal their fate as surely as the rising of the sun,
With the guns of the Gringo Pistolero.

The round hat of a trooper cast a shadow 'cross his eyes,
As he listened to the tale of Juan Otero.
At the name of Chico Cano there could be no talk of price,
Just the Gringo's vow of vengeance: "Yo arrero."

He oiled his big Colt automatics, and by daylight he was gone.
With the coming cold and darkness he rode into Castollon,
And a drunken bandit caught there read the message, "Talk, or die!"
In the eyes of the Gringo Pistolero.

Where the Canyon Colorado twists its way among the rocks
And the ribbon of the sky is long and narrow,
In a jacal of adobe bruised and tied up on the floor
Wept the sweet wife the rancher Juan Otero.

Bandit mirrors in the cliff top flash the message "Now he comes"
Asked the number of his followers, the number of their guns.
The aviso flashed to Chico like the falling of a stone:
"He comes alone, the Gringo Pistolero."

Hidden high above the canyon where the falcon rides the wind,
Chico's best hawkeyed aviso, Juan Romero,
Tucked his mirror in his shirt and gazed with worry towards the rocks
Where he last had seen the Gringo Pistolero.

Put the sights up to eight hundred, hold a yard left for the wind,
And there's one by-god aviso that will never flash again.
Weeping red tears from a third eye that's a gift he cannot feel
From the Springfield of the Gringo Pistolero.

"Chico Cano, you have stole your last damn US dollar bill.
I have come for you and all your companjeros.
You can fight and do your damnedest or just send the lady out,"
Came the echo of the Gringo Pistolero.

Bandit rifles down the canyon to the left and to the right,
Fearful eyes that watch and waited till the falling of the light,
Angry cutthroats who ignore the weeping lady on the floor,
And through the back door came the Gringo Pistolero.

Big Colt autos spitting thunder death at everything that moved,
Flashing lightning in the jacal long and narrow,
Ending hate and greed and cruelty with final flying truth
From the sure hand of the Gringo Pistolero.

One hot and smoking pistol dropped down empty in the dirt
And another flashed like magic from inside the Gringo's shirt,
And the lead storm never stopped 'til there was no one left unhurt,
But the lady and the Gringo Pistolero.

Word is spread to Ojinaga where the Conchos tumble down
And a man's death can come swifter than an arrow,
That although the law can be empty words until justice could be found,
For no border stopped the Gringo Pistolero.

And the old wives tell how Juan's bride came back beautiful and fair,
Lived happily through children and years of silver hair,
But the young girls said that Otero did not treat her well back there
So she left him for the Gringo Pistolero.

Allen Damron recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GbTbxijGbo

Michael Martin Murphey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvxSDpQDsPg

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gringo Pistolero (Allen Damron)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 28 Jun 09 - 09:57 PM

Allen Damron's performance of GRINGO PISTOLERO can be found on 2 compilation albums:

"Kerrville Folk Festival: The Silverwolf Years," Silverwolf CD 1030, 2002

"Texas Songwriters," SWC CD 1025, 2000.

I don't know whether there is any truth to the story, but apparently Francisco "Chico" Cano was a real person.

He is mentioned several times in:

The Texas Rangers and the Mexican Revolution: The Bloodiest Decade, 1910 – 1920 by Charles H. Harris, III, and Louis R. Sadler (Albuquerque: Univ. of New Mexico Press, 2007)

See also:

Bandido: The True Story of Chico Cano, the Last Western Bandit by Tony Cano and Janet Sochat (Canutillo, Tex.: Reata Press, 1997)

And:

Glenn's Texas History Blog

You can hear a fittingly macho performance by Andy Stanford at YouTube.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gringo Pistolero (Allen Damron)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 29 Jun 09 - 12:53 PM

Chronicles of the Big Bend, A Photographic Memoir of Life on the Border, W. D. Smithers, Texas A&M University Press, has pictures of Chico Cano and others involved in raids during the Mexican Revolution. Smithers many photographs are at The University of Texas.

The Big Bend is still little visited, although much is beautiful; the gorge is a fine boat trip.

Some interesting material on Cano and the times of the revolution are in the posts in this site:
Somos Primos

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gringo Pistolero (Allen Damron)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 30 Jun 09 - 02:39 PM

Some Damron cds, casettes, available from Canadian River Music, Amarillo, TX, but hurry, they are closing.

email- [e-mail]
phone/fax- 806-372-4203

Lists at the website.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gringo Pistolero (Allen Damron)
From: Michael Harrison
Date: 30 Jun 09 - 07:17 PM

A sound-tech friend of mine - David Glass - introduced me to Allen several years back and he is now doing some compilations of Allen's stuff. I haven't talked to Marie since doing the Kerrville show the year after Allen's death - she has been on the road and is very hard to get ahold of. You can email David at: [e-mail]. Tell him that I gave you his email and told you to contact him. If, for some reason, that does not work, send me a personal message here and I'll see what I can do. Cheers,.....................mwh

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gringo Pistolero (Allen Damron)
From: GUEST,Larry Carlin Harris
Date: 23 Oct 09 - 02:17 PM

Well Folks, I met Allan Damron in 1964 at the ID Coffee House in Austin, behind the old theater on the Drag,

I also have been trying to find Marie.

I have several of the original albums of Allen in my collection.

Although many of you folks won't remember a slim teenager from the early 60's in Austin;

Allen and Larry Carlin traveled around Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas and Colorado playing music for years. Early on we had Big Bill Moss' 1964 blue Ford Galaxy convertible. I even still do a couple of Tim Henderson's songs from the 60's and 70's too!

If anyone knows where is Marie, have her call Larry Carlin @ 830-522-0590. Or call and fill me in.

LCH

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gringo Pistolero (Allen Damron)
From: Amos
Date: 24 Oct 09 - 02:33 PM

The link above to a performance is dead now. Youtube has an amusing performance by an actual gringo pistolero instructor at the end of a gun handling course.


Unfortunately I did not capture Phil's execution of this exciting song!


A

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gringo Pistolero (Allen Damron)
From: GUEST,guest, Marian
Date: 05 Apr 10 - 11:18 PM

If you are interested in getting some of Allen Damron's cassettes, like Border Trash, that were made into Cds, look up: Canadian River Music's webpage on google. Danna Garcia runs this small company. Her email is: [e-mail].

Just to bring attention to the authorship of The Gringo Pistolero, Tim Henderson originally wrote the words and music to the song, but did not consider it finished. When Allen heard the song, he loved it. He suggested adding eight lines, which were mostly the wonderful gun images. So the song was co written by Tim and Allen. Tim was the primary writer. Allen's additions to the imagry of the song were great. That's the way it was.

Allen played this song all over the country. He also recorded about 25 of Tim's songs during about that many years... Allen was a friend that we sorely miss.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gringo Pistolero (Allen Damron)
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Mar 11 - 09:59 AM

You can buy the MP3 from Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Gringo-Pistolero/dp/B000QVN8KC.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gringo Pistolero (Allen Damron)
From: bobad
Date: 04 Mar 11 - 10:11 AM

Gringo Pistolero along with two other songs are available for listening or download under creative commons license here.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gringo Pistolero (Allen Damron)
From: GUEST,Friend of Allen D and Tim H
Date: 14 Jun 11 - 01:35 PM

It should be noted that Allen Damron is not the principle author of Gringo Pistolero, Tim Henderson is, and should get credit (and any mechanical licensing fees) for the song. I believe Allen contributed one line in the song, which is published by Snake Hollow Music, Tim and Marian's publishing company for Tim's music. Contrary to what seems to be common opinion on the Internet, this song is not in the public domain.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gringo Pistolero (Allen Damron)
From: GUEST,Mike baron
Date: 25 Oct 14 - 03:26 PM

Who is rhe gringo pistelero?

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gringo Pistolero (Allen Damron)
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Apr 19 - 07:41 AM

Michael Martin Murphey has a recording of it now.
I like Allen's better, but so far as I know, it's not available.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Gringo Pistolero (Allen Damron)
From: GUEST
Date: 01 Jul 22 - 03:31 PM

[e-mail]
I have the words does anyone have the music? I have two guitars and I have been searching the web and all I can find is the words. I have a c.d. with the song on on it and I play it often and sing along with so I pretty much know the song I just can't find the music. Anyway that's my dalema so if someone can help let me know.