Lyr Add: Brown-Eyed Lee

Subject: Lyr Add: BROWN-EYED LEE
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 14 Oct 06 - 01:15 AM

Lyr. Add: BROWN-EYED LEE
(traditional)

1
Kind friends, if you will listen,
A story I will tell
About a final bust-up
That happened down in Bell.
2
I courted a brown-eyed angel
That goes by the name of Lee;
And when I popped the question,
She said she would marry me.
3
She told me that she loved me,
And loved no one but me;
And I pressed a kiss upon the lips
Of my darling angel, Lee.
4
My rapture at that moment
No human could explain,
To know that I had loved her
And had not loved in vain.
5
I went and bought my license,
March, eighteen ninety-nine,
Expecting in a few more days
That darling would be mine.
6
Her mother grew quite angry
And said it could not be;
She said she had picked another man out
For brown-eyed Lee.
7
She talked to friends and neighbors,
And said that she would fight;
She said she'd get her old six-shooter
And put old Red to flight.
8
But lovers laughed at shooters
And the old she-devil, too;
I said I would have my darling
If she didn't prove untrue.
9
I borrowed Dad's old buggy
And got Jim's forty-one;
I started down to Kerns's,
Thinking I would have some fun.
10
And passing Mr. O'Dell's,
Out came Frankie's son
To bring a letter from the old folks,
Saying, "Harry, don't you come."
11
I thought the matter over
Not knowing what to do,
When something seemed to whisper,
"Are you going to prove untrue?"
12
I am not one to craw-fish
When I am in a tight;
I said, "I will have my angel
And not be put to flight."
13
I went on down to Kern's
With the devil in my head;
I said I'd have my darling
Or leave the old folks dead.
14
Good fortune fell upon me;
My darling proved untrue;
I gave her back her letters
And bid her kind adieu.
15
I pressed her to my aching heart
And kissed her last farewell,
And prayed a permanent prayer to God
To send her Ma to hell.
16
She stood and gazed upon us,
As if she thought it were fun;
I caught myself a time or two
A-reaching for my gun.
17
I went back home all broken-hearted
And almost wished I was dead,
Till something seemed to whisper,
"It was best for you, Old Red."
18
I sold my cows to J. M. G.,
My corn to K. M. P.,
And cursed the day that I first met
That darling angel, Lee.
19
I sold my horse and saddle
And caught a north-bound train,
Leaving the darling girl behind
That I had loved in vain.
20
I landed in Paul's Valley
All right-side-up-with-care,
And dreamed of the girl I loved that night
With dark brown eyes and hair.
21
When I got up next morning
To see what I could see,
And every sound that I could hear
Would speak the name of Lee.
22
I stepped into a billiard hall,
Thinks, "I'll have a game,"
And every ball that I would knock
Would speak the same dear name.
23
I drank two glasses of whiskey
And emptied a bottle of wine,
And cursed the very day that I first met
That darling girl of mine.
24
I hopped a freighter's wagon,
Went to Midland town,
And hired to a man by the name of Smith
And quietly settled down.
25
Although I am broken-hearted,
There is one thing I know well,
That the one that caused this bust-up
Will someday scorch in hell.
26
She will cast her eyes to heaven
To Jesus on His throne,
And ask for a drop of water
To cool her scorching tongue.
27
But Jesus will answer her:
"Go to the old Scratch;
You are the very hypocrite
That busted up this match.
28
"Depart from me, you cursed;
You are the devil's own.
Old Red shall find a resting place
On the right hand of my throne."
29
Now, kind friends, remember
The H. M. P.
I could not help but love the girl
That wore the name of Lee.
30
I loved her, oh, I loved her,
Yes, more than tongue can tell;
I know that there is no other
That I could love so well.
31
And in my dreams at night,
My darling's face I see;
And it seems to whisper,
"Dear one, remember me."
32
And every night I go to bed,
I pray a permanent prayer
For the girl I loved so well
With dark brown eyes and hair.

Text and music from Payne, L. W., 1927, pp. 217-220, "Songs and Ballads- Grave and Gay," Texas Folklore Society Pub., VI, pp. 209-237.
Reproduced in Lingenfelter, R. E., Richard A. Dwyer and David Cohen, 1968, "Songs of the American West," pp. 396-397, with music.
I don't have the TFSP volume, and don't know what notes Payne included in his article.

Several variants, mostly much shortened, have been made from this Texas classic.
A version in six verses appeared in the Amsco paperback, W. J. Glassmacher, "Sing 'Em Cowboy Sing 'Em!, Songs of the Trail and Range," 1934 and other printings, pp. 50-51, with music and chords, and holes for harmonica. The text of this version was posted by Arkie, 2003, in thread 18855: Favorite Cowboy Songs

Margaret Larkin, 1931, 1963, "Singing Cowboy, A Book of Western Songs," printed a version in twenty verses which she obtained from Robert H. Wruble. This varies from the original Payne text only in that the remaining verses are excised from the text.

Lomax and Lomax, 1938, "Cowboy Songs and other Frontier Ballads," reduced the text to ten verses, taking six from "Sing 'Em Cowboy Sing 'Em," and the last four from Larkin. They do not mention the original collector, Payne, and his Texas Folklore Society Publication.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: BROWN-EYED LEE
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 14 Oct 06 - 01:40 AM

During the 1860's, the Chisholm Trail cut through Bell County (estab. 1850), close to the County seat, Belton. The Bell County Courthouse, a magnificant structure, is restored close to its original appearance after 'modernization' destroyed the bell and clock tower in the 1950's.

Pauls Valley could be the small town in Oklahoma, north of the Red River.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: BROWN-EYED LEE
From: GUEST,Dale
Date: 14 Oct 06 - 06:19 AM

Interesting that you should add this today, Q. Just last night while researching for a project, I was listening to the Gillette Brothers version of Brown-Eyed Lee. It is available on their Ridin' With Dayton CD, which can be purchased from their website. http://www.campstreetcafe.com/store.htm

I would recommend all of their albums quite highly, by the way. Guy and Pip Gillette are Texas ranchers who are great entertainers as well.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: BROWN-EYED LEE
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 14 Oct 06 - 12:21 PM

Thanks for the recommendation, Dale. I listened to some of their sound clips, and they sing the songs the way I like to hear them.