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'El Paso' at Murder Ballad Monday

06 Oct 12 - 10:27 AM (#3415361)
Subject: 'El Paso' at Murder Ballad Monday
From: GUEST

This week, Murder Ballad Monday turns to the Marty Robbins classic "El Paso" and other gunfighter ballads.

El Paso : This week finds us in Rosa's Cantina, where a lovely young woman twirls along that bright line between life and death - Love. Marty Robbins' "El Paso" may not be a British or Appalachian murder ballad, but the strings on this cowboy's guitar spill out a sound that seeps into our hearts just as surely. If you don't believe it, Ken will help you find the ears to listen. And like the dancer's dark eyes, he gives us a promise of more to come...

My love was deep for this Mexican maiden : Her birth calmed thunder and lightning in the desert. Her eyes bewitched a cowboy who killed, and died, for her love. And with his own six-gun, she laid herself to rest across his body. Today Ken leads us through Marty Robbins' magical retelling of "El Paso" from Faleena's point of view. If you ever wondered what happened after that last kiss - if she ever really loved him - read on!

Life is no more, but we're together : "Blindly I search, but it isn't in vain." Today Ken looks for, and finds, redemption in a B-grade movie. More precisely, it's the music of Marty Robbins that can set us free, that reveals to us the truth - love conquers death. Maybe we need more often to ask ourselves the question, "What would a lovesick cowboy do?"

One little kiss, and Faleena goodbye : We finish our week with "El Paso" like a dying cowboy in the West Texas dust... Performances by Grady Martin, The Grateful Dead, Raul Malo, and The Old 97's pass before our eyes as we drift into darkness tonight. Resurrection though comes in the guise of Steve Martin - with the help of some chimpanzees, a pony, donkey, orangutan, and an elephant... Seriously.


06 Oct 12 - 10:37 AM (#3415364)
Subject: RE: 'El Paso' at Murder Ballad Monday
From: SINSULL

I love this song. Thanks for the insights. LOL Does Steve Martin have his banjo?