The Highwaymen (active between 1985 and 1995) were a Country music supergroup comprising four of the genre’s biggest artists well known for their pioneering influence on the outlaw country subgenre:
Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson & Kris Kristofferson.
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«I met Waylon Jennings one night in Phoenix, Arizona, at an all-night restaurant next to the Holiday Inn where I was staying. We hit it off pretty good right from the start. We were both from Texas and were already called ‘outlaws.’ I don’t know about Waylon, but I ate it up. It was good for my image. Waylon asked me if I thought he should go to Nashville. I asked him how much money he was making in Phoenix, and he said four hundred a week. I told him to stay where he was. I was getting like five hundred a night, but the commissions, hotel, fuel, food, and traveling took it all. I thought he had a better gig than I did. Fortunately, he didn’t listen to me.
We stayed great friends all the way. We disagreed on almost everything and argued like old married people. We were on different drugs. He liked speed, and I didn’t like speed. I was going too fast already.
The Highwaymen tours were the most fun I ever had before or since. Kris and Waylon would argue about politics; and I would laugh a lot. Later on they would call me just to hear a good joke. I loved John and Waylon. They are dearly missed to this day. Kris and his wife, Lisa, came by this week on his way to somewhere. He looked great. We laughed a lot, burned one down and solved all the world’s problems. I love you, Kris; you’re the real deal!»
Willie Nelson
•→ «Highwayman» ⇓ [1985]
With sword and pistol by my side
Many a young maid lost her baubles to my trade
Many a soldier shed his lifeblood on my blade
The bastards hung me in the spring of twenty-five
But I am still alive.I was a sailor. I was born upon the tide
And with the sea I did abide.
I sailed a schooner round the Horn to Mexico
I went aloft and furled the mainsail 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 on the wild 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..I’ll always be around..and around and around and
around and aroundI fly a starship 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 and again and again..
•→ ‘Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys’ ⇐
•→ ‘ Trouble Man’ ⇓
Verse 1:
I was so ugly the doctor slapped my momma when i was born
Then he took out his pocket knife and cut off my horns
He said lady if you ain’t already picked out a name
Go ahead on and call him trouble man
He’s gonna be wild,i’m giving you warning
He’s gotta have room,keep an eye on him
Verse 2:
I grew up with long and lean and hungry looks
I learned you can’t go nowhere when you go by the book
People all around me earthbound,i learned how to fly
Upside, downside, ouside, sailing on by
Out of my reach,out of my hands
Out of control,trouble man
Verse 3:
I’ve been so far in all directions as you can get
I ain’t never had enough of anything yet
I had women that tore me apart without any reason
I say baby i don’t get mad i just get even
I don’t explain if you don’t understand
I’m my own man, trouble man – Trouble man
•→ ‘The best of all possible worlds’ ⇔ (lyrics)
•→ ‘Night Life’ ⇔ [lyrics] ⇔ w/ Wynton Marsalis ⇐
•→ ‘Desperados Waiting For A Train’ ⇓
[Kristofferson:]
I played the Red River Valley
And he’d sit out in the kitchen and cry
An’ run his fingers through 70 years of livin’
An’ wonder Lord, as ever, will that drill run dry?
We were friends, me an this old man
[All:]
Like desperados waiting for a train – Like desperados waiting for a train
[Jennings:]
He’s a drifter, and a driller of oil wells
And an old-school man of the world
He’d let me drive his car when he’s too drunk to
And he’d wink, and give me money for the girls
And our lives were like some old western movie
[All:]
Like desperados waiting for a train – Like desperados waiting for a train
[Nelson:]
From the time that I could walk, he’d take me with him
To a bar, called the Green Frog Cafe
And there were old men, with beer-guts and dominoes
Lying about their lives while they play
And I was just a kid, they called his sidekick
[All:]
Like desperados waiting for a train – Like desperados waiting for a train
[Cash:]
One day I looked up, and he’s pushing 80
And there’s brown tobacco stains all down his chin
To me he’s one of the heroes of this country
So why is he all dressed up like them old men?
Drinkin’ beer and playing Moon in 42
[All:]
Like desperados waiting for a train – Like desperados waiting for a train
[Nelson:]
The day before he died, I went to see him
I was grown, and he was almost gone
[Cash:]
So we just closed our eyes and dreamed of supper kitchens
And sang another verse to that old song
(Jennings spoken)
Come on Jack, that son-of-a-gun’s a-comin’.
[All:]
Like desperados waiting for a train – Like desperados waiting for a train . . .
•→ ‘Luckenbach Texas (back In The Basics Of Love)’ ⇐
It was a picture perfect wedding – We had the whole world at our feet
Everyone thought we were heading down a lovers easy street
We’d have a house out in the country, a picket fence, the whole nine yards
They said our love would last forever – It was written in the stars
Wrong – I should have known it all along
When the future looks too bright can’t be anything but right – Wrong
I was all but devastated when she told me we were through
In a while the heartache faded and I found somebody new
I swore that this time would be different – I had it all figured out
I wouldn’t make the same mistakes – I knew what love was all about
Wrong – I should have known it all along …
Everything was going strong – The sky was always blue
I thought my dreams had all come true
Wrong – Wrong.
♥ ‘Good Hearted Woman’ ↓
A long time forgotten the dreams that just fell by the way
The good life he promised ain’t what she’s livin’ today
But she never complains of the bad times or the bad things he’s done, lord
She just talks about the good times they’ve had and all the good times to come
(She’s a good hearted woman in love with a good timin’ man)
She loves him in spite of his ways that she don’t understand
(With teardrops & laughter they walk through this world hand in hand)
(A good hearted woman, in love with a good timin’ man)
He likes the bright lights and night life and good time friends
And when the party’s all over she’ll welcome him back home again
Lord knows she doesn’t understand him but she does the best that she can
A-this good hearted woman, in love with a good timin’ man
(She’s a good hearted woman in love with a good timin’ man)
(She loves him in spite of his ways she don’t understand)
(With teardrops & laughter they walk through this world hand in hand)
A good hearted woman, in love with a good timin’ man
•→’The Last Cowboy Song’ ⇔ [lyrics]
⇔ ‘Against the wind’ ⇐ [B. Seger]
It seems like yesterday but it was long ago
She was lovely she was the queen of my nights
There in the darkness with the radio playing low
The secrets that we shared
The mountains that we moved
Caught like a wildfire out of control
‘Til there was nothing left to burn and nothing left to prove
And I remember what she said to me
How she swore that it never would end
I remember how she held me oh so tight
Wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then
Against the wind – We were runnin’ against the wind
We were young and strong, but just runnin’ against the wind
The years rolled slowly past and I found myself alone
Surrounded by strangers I thought were my friends
I found myself further and further from my home
And I guess I lost my way – There were oh so many roads
I was living to run and running to live
Never worried about paying or how much I owed
Moving eight miles a minute for months at a time
Breaking all of the rules that would bend
I began to find myself searching
Searching for shelter again and again
Against the wind – We were runnin’ against the wind
I found myself seeking shelter against the wind
All those drifter’s days are past me now
I’ve got so much more to think about
Deadlines and commitments
What to leave in and what to leave out
Against the wind – we were runnin’ against the wind
We found ourselves seekin’ shelter against the wind
Against the wind . . .
♦ ‘America Remains’ ⇓
[Cash:]
I am a shotgun rider, for the San Jacinto line,
The desert is my brother – My skin is cracked and dry.
I was ridin’ on a folk coach and everything was fine,
Till we took a shorter road to save some time.
The bandits only fired once – They shot me in the chest.
They may have wounded me but they’ll never get the best of better men.
‘Cause I’ll ride again.
[Jennings:]
I am a river gambler – I make a livin’ dealin’ cards.
My clothes are smooth and honest – My heart is cold and hard.
I was shufflin’ for some delta boys on a boat for New Orleans,
I was the greatest shark they’d ever seen.
But the captain bumped a sandbar, and an ace fell from my sleeve.
They threw me overboard, as I swore I didn’t cheat.
But I could swim.
And I’ll ride again.
[All 4:]
We are heroes of the homeland, American remains.
We live in many faces and answer many names.
We will not be forgotten, we won’t be left behind.
Our memories live on in mortal minds and poets pens.
We’ll ride again.
[Nelson:]
I am a mid-west farmer, I make a livin’ off the land,
I ride a John Deere tractor, I’m a liberated man.
But the rain it hasn’t fallen since the middle of July,
And if it don’t come soon my crops will die.
The bank man says he likes me, but there’s nothin’ he can do.
He tells me that he’s comin’, but the clouds are comin’ too.
He ain’t my friend.
And I’ll ride again.
[Kristofferson:]
I am an American Indian, My tribe is Cherokee.
My forefathers loved this land. They left it here for me.
But the white man came with boats and trains and dirty factories,
An’ poisened my existence with his deeds.
Nature is our mother – We are sucklin’s at her breast.
And he who tries to beat her down, Will lose her to the rest.
They’ll never win.
I’ll ride again.
[All 4:]
We are heroes of the homeland, American remains.
We live in many faces and answer many names.
We will not be forgotten, we won’t be left behind.
Our memories live on in mortal minds and poets pens.
We’ll ride again.
÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷
¤ The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band ⇓
One of the few bands to have success on both the rock and pop as well as the country charts, The Nitty Gritty Dirt band has had hit records in five different decades and has lasted longer than virtually any other country-based rock group of their era. The band has existed in various forms since its founding in Long Beach, California in 1966. The group’s membership has had at least a dozen changes over the years, including a period from 1976 to 1981 when the band performed and recorded as The Dirt Band.
• Lineup 1983 – 1986:
- Jeff Hanna – Guitars, washboard, vocals
- Jimmie Fadden – Guitar, harmonica, vocals
- John McEuen – Guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin
- Bob Carpenter – Keyboards, accordion, vocals
- Jimmy Ibbotson – Bass, guitars, keyboards, accordion, vocals
♦ ‘Long Hard Road’ ⇓
Way back in my memory there’s a scene that I recallOf a little run-down cabin in the woods
Where my dad never promised that our blue moon would turn gold
But he laid awake nights wishin’ that it would. When the world was on our radio, hard work was on our minds.
We lived our day-to-day in plain dirt fashion,
With ol’ overalls and cotton balls all strapped across your back
Man, it’s hard to make believe there ain’t nothing wrong. But momma kept the Bible read and daddy kept our family fed,
And somewhere in between I must have grown
Cause someday I was dreamin’ that a song that I was singin’
Takes me down the road to where I want to go. Now I know, it’s a long hard road
Sometimes I remember when I stay up late at night,
When the sun-up came, we got up and went
In the shadows of a working’ day, our moonlight hours spent
Singin’ songs along with gramma’s radio. Now I’m beatin’ down a ol’ blacktop road, sleepin’ in a sack,
Livin’ in my memories all in vain
‘cause those city lights ain’t all that bright, compared to what it’s like
To see lightning bugs go dancin’ in the rain. Momma played the guitar then, and daddy made the saw blade bend,
And raindrops played the tin roof like a drum.
But I just kept on dreamin’ that a song that I was singin’
Takes me down the road to where my name is known. Now I’m gone, and it’s a long hard road
Yes, I know, it’s a long hard road.
∇ ‘Partners, Brothers, Friends’ ⇓
The promoter says he wants to cancelCause there ain’t enough tickets sold
The air conditioner on the bus just broke
And I can’t shake this cold The single lost the bullet,
The singer’s losin’ his wife;
Well I might be crazy but I wouldn’t change
A single thing about this life. Sometimes we feel like champions,
Sometimes we just can’t win,
Sometimes our records hit the top of the charts
Or the discount bargain bins. Through 30 years of touring
We’ve remained partners, brothers, and friends
We keep it together cause we love it and we’re sure
We’ll be big time before it all ends. Just as long as Johnny got his band Jo
And Jimmy’s got his drums along
Then Jeffrey and me and Bobby will be
Singing all our favorite songs Catch the fire from the folks in the front row
Fan the flames as the beat gets strong
It’s great to be a part of something
So good that’s lasted so long Well I saw a story in the paper
Suddenly the band’s big news
The critics all like our records just fine
But they seem a bit confused Is it folk or rock or country
Seems like everybody cares but us
So just leave us an early wakeup call
So we don’t miss the bus Just as long as Johnny got his band Jo … The band says it can’t stand my latest song, it’s too personal
But my first wife’s second marriage blew up
She had to get the dang thing annulled
Well if that ain’t something to sing about
Well you tell me what is
And we’ll give it a beat and put it on the street
And we just might have another hit Just as long as Johnny got his band Jo …
♦ ‘When It’s Gone’ ⇓
I want to stand upon a rock, and watch the river flow
With the blue sky above me and the valley down below.
I want to hold my head up high, and listen to the wind
‘cause when it’s gone, it won’t be back again
I want to sing the kind of songs that my dad sang to me,
And try to be the man he hoped that I would be
He said you only get one chance, you’d better do the best you can,
‘cause when it’s gone, it won’t be back again.
I want to wear my Sunday coat, and hold your hand in mine,
And hear you say you’ll love me until the end of time.
I want to find forever in every moment that we spend,
‘cause when it’s gone, it won’t be back again.
I wanna wear my Sunday coat and hold your hand in mine
And hear you say you’ll love me until the end of time
I want to stand upon a rock, like I did when I was young,
And hold you close beside me, and watch our children run
You only get one chance to listen to the wind,
And when it’s gone, it won’t be back again
We only get one chance to listen to the wind,
Cause when it’s gone, it won’t be back again.
⇓ ‘The Lowlands’
I’m headed for the lowlands, would you please direct my way The train is leaving shortly there’s no time for delay She told me she’d be waiting, I’m not so sure she is I heard that there’s another man who claims that she is his The lowlands were my home when I was but a child They will be my deathbed when I’ve passed my time I remember one summer day the clouds began to build We gathered the cattle that had scattered cross the fields It started to rain and continued several days The river overflowed and the crops all went to waste The lowlands were my home when I was but a child … You know that I’m no failure through my victories are few I’m trying my best but there’s too much here to do That girl I loved once told me I made her feel secure It’s hard to think I’ve been replaced. Nothing does endure.•→ ‘Randy Lynn’ ⇐[1982]
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