I'm a poet and I play a mean harmonica. I'm also a writer of thriller novels. I humbly bow down to my superior storytellers. James McMurtry and his daddy are two of them.
It's basically a story he put together by looking out the bus window on his trips from Dallas to Missouri. Definitely brilliant but if you've ever traveled up and down Highway 69 through Oklahoma in the late 90s/early 2000s it all makes sense.
Here is another guy that gets overlooked by all the critics... he's a great songwriter and gets down on that guitar of his. The guys in the band are very talented as well. If you get a chance to go see these guys, do so! 😊
James isn't country, this is (Texas) AmericanA in it's purist form. He is unique and thats the biggest complement an artist can get. I can't get enough... well never tire of, McMurtry.
And here I thought if you knew every place he mentions you were an Okie..and here I'm gonna break my rule and travel more than 50 miles east or west of Mudcreek..
Just saw him open for Jason Isbell a few weeks ago, Can't believe he's been under my radar all these years. I've been binge listening since then and bought all his cds. Not a bad song among them.
Recorded at The Paradiso, Amsterdam in 2009, originally intended for a radio broadcast for Nps radio 6, I was the radio producer along with sound engineer Ronald Trijber on this particular session. FAB Channel tapped our audio feed and the record company issued this as a bonus DVD
First heard this on WEVL, an Indie FM station in Memphis; Damn !! Had to pull over into a convenience store pkg. lot to fully dig the lyrics, I was totally knocked out, now a fan for life...the keyboard dude on this is F'in Tight Tight Tight !! McMurtry for life...
in the '70s yes 1970s, the best music being played was on the college stations. 5 years into FM radio (1972), the FM stations were forming playlists, the only way to hear up and coming bands was on the college stations. I was lucky to live in NJ outside NYC so, besides the vibrant live music scene, WSOU and WFMU and WFUV were free to play whatever they wanted, which led me to seeing Springsteen right after he released The Wild The Innocent and The E Street Shuffle where there were maybe 2000 people there.
Memphis! My town. WEVL! Listening to this song is a religious experience. First heard it driving on Interstate 20 heading from Dallas to Monroe, LA. Like you, I wanted to pull off the road. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Brilliance!!!
@@christopherliston2371 His Dad was an awesome writer - Lonesome Dove a stone cold classic and plenty of other great ones too James is releasing wonderful album after album too … that talent for writing falls very short from the tree sometimes
This is America at this very moment. A big land with a lot of room for freedom of music and thought. Were Americans but not always the same. God bless this country.
James is the best thing performing presently....and this is his signature song....refreshing listening to somebody this good that;s smart...writes and performs his own stuff and plays a pretty damn good guitar....all that plus a social conscience What the hell else is there? I SAY!
Hugh Dunnit: He writes tons of songs. Hell, he even wrote a song for Robert Earl Keen, one of the best song writers ever, but did not write this one. If you like singer/song writers with a social conscious, check out: Hayes Carll, Robert Earl Keen, Cody Canada, Ray Wylie Hubbard and Steve Earl. James is great. I’m a huge fan of “Lights of Cheyenne” “We Can’t Make it Here Anymore” (talk about social conscious about the state of manufacturing in America...speaking of...we can’t even make Meth here anymore. Hah!)
I'm from Baxter Springs and just learned of this song recently when reading the Baxter Springs wikipedia page. This makes me insanely nostalgic, totally reminds me of my family and home - what a great song. I lost it when he mentioned the Vinita McDonalds. I love Cherokee country.
Northern Cherokee County childhood here. Just south of Pittsburg, but went to school in Columbus. I remember the first time I heard this song and catching the Vinita reference and then going crazy when he gave a shout-out to the old Romantic Delights sign.
Someone once asked how he got so good at guitar and he said he never had money to pay a guitar player and he wasn't making much money so he had to learn himself He is GREAT on electric and acoustic, 12 string as well.
Such incredible live performance.. and wow... what a story and what a fun jam this is.. I have no idea how many times I have watched this but it is more than 20... or 30... no counting.. this is just so brilliant and entertaining musicks :)
I told a guitar player friend of mine years ago that country music would change and more people our age, late 30s at the time, would become interested in it. He agreed and we started a band. Skiimmed through all of our albums to find songs that were acceptable to a country audience and a rock audience at the same time. We played a few bars where we werre damned near kicked out and played a few others where we were cfonsidered to be the best band ever. Pretty strange. T he band didn't last all that long and I found myself livin in Georgia. While down south I discovered McMurtry on XM radio, knew this is where the revolution was going to start. Also got reconnected to Ray Wiley Hubbard, he was always too far left for that Nashville crowd. Short ending, I'm just glad to see that country met rock and became the kick ass music it is today Nashville sucks, Austin rocks!
Just discovered this guy this month and went to see him play in Ferndale, MI. Fantastic! I really love this song; there's something about his vocal delivery in this tune that reminds me of Chuck Berry's "You Can't Catch Me".
Wonderful performance! McLagan just KILLS IT on the keyboard. So sweet it's easy to listen but gets your blood bubbling. McMurtry's voice is superb. - In 2009, Live in Europe was released, capturing The McMurtry Band’s first European tour and extraordinary live set. Along with seasoned band members Ronnie Johnson, Daren Hess, and Tim Holt, the disc features special guests Ian McLagan and Jon Dee Graham. Also, for the first time ever, video of the James McMurtry Band’s live performance is available on the included DVD.
An A-plus backup band. The backup singer is fun to watch, using both bass guitar and vocals. He nails them. Excellent lyrics and storytelling. Is James McMurtry a storyteller? Just like his daddy? Both are perfection on parade.
Almost always my favorite show of the year. Loved seeing him in Texas when we lived there ... may have been my imagination - but he may have cracked a smile once or twice during the Texas shows (the Granada in Dallas was my favorite venue to seem 'em). He, Steve Earle, and Neil Young write great music, create great lyrics, and play great guitar. And you can see McMurtry and Earle twenty times for what it costs to catch one of ol' Neil's shows. I've seen them both about that many times. Have yet to catch Neil Young as my brain stops my fingers as I get close to clicking on "purchase now" on his ticketing website. Just can't fathom paying $300 per seat to see ANYONE - unless Lennon and Harrison came back to Earth and reunited with Paul and Ringo.
I did. He opened for the Indigo Girls at the Wiltern in L.A. back in the late 80s or early 90s - can't remember which. Very tough crowd for him. Whole house of women in comfortable shoes who didn't want to see some dude up on stage. And one of his band members had been stopped at the border when they were coming back from Canada, as I recall, and they had to leave him behind. Still a great show...
This song is an anthem to a great culture. The drugs and incest parts are a little much but hell the whole scene is just reckless abandon. And this live version is awesome, so danceable. I love the lead guitar work. More extensive than in the studio version.
until you been to oklahoma, much less baxter springs you can, although somewhat, understand what JM is talkin' about As one of my better friends who grew up and went to college in Stillwater said-"The best thing about OK is seein' it in your rear view mirror goin' north or to Arkansas Going SW to Midland, Lubbock, or Odessa ain't no big bargain either Old Mexico beats em all What ever God, bless JM We gonna have us a time Na ahoo ee(chicken in Navajo)
Going from Oklahoma to Arkansas isn't a cure. I felt like I lost 15 years when I crossed the river from Nashville into Arkansas on I-40. Hot Springs and Little Rock aren't too bad but outside of those cities is a bit too rural for my taste.
Born and raised there, and I get every reference. Haha. As for the rearview, I prefer to see it as I head West. Looking pretty rough last time I was there. (And being from Western OK, that's saying a lot: never did look "great").
I always tell tele-marketers that I don't own the house my Uncle Slayton does and he's waiting for me to default on his owner financing cause he knows I'm a slacker....I also tell them Uncle Slayton can't come to the phone because he's out in the backyard cooking meth...likes the money doesn't mind the smell...end of call...
I’ve seen the Dead 100 times. Fuck, I saw Warren Zevon. I fucking love this song and it’s top ten in Texas shine don’t sell…. Bang those keys! ROSCO. But he didn’t quite… seriously the best song out of Texas since Stevie Ray Vaughan, and that’s one big ole pistol… made by badass Hebrews. We gonna have us a time. This should be the national anthem. Do some sister twisters till the cows come home. Have us a time.
Hands down, the greatest story song of all time. I'd have been thrilled to write a single stanza of this song.
Amen brother
I'm a poet and I play a mean harmonica. I'm also a writer of thriller novels. I humbly bow down to my superior storytellers. James McMurtry and his daddy are two of them.
Not sure where you are in the world but I'm right here in central Oklahoma and this song is Okie As Fuck.
Concur 100.
Arlo Guthrie wept when he heard this after thinking he'd told a purty good story about Alice and her restaurant...
This has to be a true story, no way anyone could make up a story like this.
Reminds me of my family except the names were changed to protect the guilty.
No one could make it up, but it makes you think of family relations. that's the genius of his song.
You have to be an Okie to understand, LOL
A movie or mini series!
It's basically a story he put together by looking out the bus window on his trips from Dallas to Missouri. Definitely brilliant but if you've ever traveled up and down Highway 69 through Oklahoma in the late 90s/early 2000s it all makes sense.
Here is another guy that gets overlooked by all the critics... he's a great songwriter and gets down on that guitar of his. The guys in the band are very talented as well. If you get a chance to go see these guys, do so! 😊
Spot On assessment
The incomparable James McMurtry, an American treasure.
I was going to post that, an American Treasure!
YEE YEE! Amen brother!
The first time I heard this song all I could think was "this should be an Emmy award winning HBO series"
Seriously. But maybe on FX or Hulu these days. Too bad his dad didn't do a treatment. he had the connections! Could have been "Lonesome Druggie" :)
James isn't country, this is (Texas) AmericanA in it's purist form.
He is unique and thats the biggest complement an artist can get.
I can't get enough... well never tire of, McMurtry.
you know you are a Okie when this song makes perfect sense
And here I thought if you knew every place he mentions you were an Okie..and here I'm gonna break my rule and travel more than 50 miles east or west of Mudcreek..
@@jtshutzhund6754 I guess I'm just a weird Canadian then. Probably belong down there anyways
Folks from WV are laughing....
I’m a West Arkie. We tried but didn’t make it that far west. 🤷🏼♂️
Or if your from western AR. Or Arklahoma as some of us call it.
Just saw him open for Jason Isbell a few weeks ago, Can't believe he's been under my radar all these years. I've been binge listening since then and bought all his cds. Not a bad song among them.
No he don't write bad ones
Where’s you hide the body is one of the best albums cover to cover ever
under your radar, you need to get out more!
He should NOT be opening for Isbell..damn that's a fucking crime
I wish I was with you, two years ago, before we were all wearing masks to prevent the plague, and binge listening Choctaw Bingo.
Recorded at The Paradiso, Amsterdam in 2009, originally intended for a radio broadcast for Nps radio 6, I was the radio producer along with sound engineer Ronald Trijber on this particular session. FAB Channel tapped our audio feed and the record company issued this as a bonus DVD
Guitar n keys sound is great
Thank you for capturing this performance!!!
@@ericpeabody1555 thx Eric was a great session...the guy is such an innovative and image-laden songwriter
And we all thank you.
Found this a year ago and am hooked. The guy is a genius in an Americana music world lacking this kind of wrtiting and performing!
First heard this on WEVL, an Indie FM station in Memphis; Damn !! Had to pull over into a convenience store pkg. lot to fully dig the lyrics, I was totally knocked out, now a fan for life...the keyboard dude on this is F'in Tight Tight Tight !! McMurtry for life...
in the '70s yes 1970s, the best music being played was on the college stations. 5 years into FM radio (1972), the FM stations were forming playlists, the only way to hear up and coming bands was on the college stations. I was lucky to live in NJ outside NYC so, besides the vibrant live music scene, WSOU and WFMU and WFUV were free to play whatever they wanted, which led me to seeing Springsteen right after he released The Wild The Innocent and The E Street Shuffle where there were maybe 2000 people there.
Memphis! My town.
WEVL!
Listening to this song is a religious experience.
First heard it driving on Interstate 20 heading from Dallas to Monroe, LA. Like you, I wanted to pull off the road.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
Brilliance!!!
I've been to most of the places he mentions in this song. He's highly under-rated. He'a one of my top-ten for sure.
Nah, brah. Highly respected among his peers. Underrated is over used. Just cause he isn't a household name doesn't mean he's underappreciated.
Me too
Stephen King has this on his top 10 sing list
This dude is hitting it on the head with his knowledge on the regions of this great country!
Yes. Sense of place is tops!
Real good people are in every corner. Stop watching the news. Start making friends 🌄
First time I heard about this guy was this song 4 or 5 years ago such a great story telling song Awsome
James McMurtry and J.J Cale..........Two of the Greatest.
Agreed! Cale is such an underrated artist. He was a musicians musician
Songwriter for REAL…..He is right on with this song, I love it for reelz!!!!!!👍🫶🏻✌🏼😎
Most people have know idea that this is one of the greatest pieces of Music/Literature ever written....
Most people….
He is a genius writer
This song is awesome
Totally agree, runs in the Family his Old Man wrote Lonesome Dove.
@@christopherliston2371
His Dad was an awesome writer - Lonesome Dove a stone cold classic and plenty of other great ones too
James is releasing wonderful album after album too … that talent for writing falls very short from the tree sometimes
This is America at this very moment. A big land with a lot of room for freedom of music and thought. Were Americans but not always the same. God bless this country.
This song should in a museum -- an open air one.
I've had the privilege of seeing him twice now in Charlotte Nc!! He's an amazing guitarist especially on the 12 string!!
Much better lyricist/songwriter than guitar player.
@@mariai9549 As good a guitarist as he is a singer/songwriter.
James is the best thing performing presently....and this is his signature song....refreshing listening to somebody this good that;s smart...writes and performs his own stuff and plays a pretty damn good guitar....all that plus a social conscience What the hell else is there? I SAY!
Live? You should hear the Subdudes live. Different groove, but just as straight forward.
Ray Wylie Hubbard’s song
Hugh Dunnit: He writes tons of songs. Hell, he even wrote a song for Robert Earl Keen, one of the best song writers ever, but did not write this one.
If you like singer/song writers with a social conscious, check out: Hayes Carll, Robert Earl Keen, Cody Canada, Ray Wylie Hubbard and Steve Earl. James is great. I’m a huge fan of “Lights of Cheyenne” “We Can’t Make it Here Anymore” (talk about social conscious about the state of manufacturing in America...speaking of...we can’t even make Meth here anymore. Hah!)
@@clinttaylor1596 James absolutely did write Choctaw Bingo. RWH covered it, just like REK covered Levelland and Out Here in the Middle.
Listen to this tune live on a loop while I ride my bike.The guy is unique and talented.Come to LA someday
I'm from Baxter Springs and just learned of this song recently when reading the Baxter Springs wikipedia page. This makes me insanely nostalgic, totally reminds me of my family and home - what a great song. I lost it when he mentioned the Vinita McDonalds. I love Cherokee country.
Northern Cherokee County childhood here. Just south of Pittsburg, but went to school in Columbus.
I remember the first time I heard this song and catching the Vinita reference and then going crazy when he gave a shout-out to the old Romantic Delights sign.
Is there a pair of Rolling Stones lips that burn all night really there, that everyone can see them?
Someone once asked how he got so good at guitar and he said he never had money to pay a guitar player and he wasn't making much money so he had to learn himself
He is GREAT on electric and acoustic, 12 string as well.
Hell, I want to hear this song as I am dying, and I will die happy.
Such incredible live performance.. and wow... what a story and what a fun jam this is.. I have no idea how many times I have watched this but it is more than 20... or 30... no counting.. this is just so brilliant and entertaining musicks :)
I told a guitar player friend of mine years ago that country music would change and more people our age, late 30s at the time, would become interested in it. He agreed and we started a band. Skiimmed through all of our albums to find songs that were acceptable to a country audience and a rock audience at the same time. We played a few bars where we werre damned near kicked out and played a few others where we were cfonsidered to be the best band ever. Pretty strange. T he band didn't last all that long and I found myself livin in Georgia. While down south I discovered McMurtry on XM radio, knew this is where the revolution was going to start. Also got reconnected to Ray Wiley Hubbard, he was always too far left for that Nashville crowd. Short ending, I'm just glad to see that country met rock and became the kick ass music it is today Nashville sucks, Austin rocks!
The coolest makeup of a band, the damndest lyrics ever, and the heaviest backup singer you could ask for and get.
James is always a featured artist on KPIG here in Calif. Great stuff!!
first heard it on kpig, fecepost to fencepost
Saw this live in OKC and powerful performance
Amazing! Great musicians! Great story! James' guitar playing and voice are so unique.
Funniest song I've heard in a long time. Heard it on XM one day and couldn't quite believe my ears. ;)
Appreciate everything James puts out there...real talent comes easy for him...what a great song...
IAN! Miss my friend so much.
I saw James perform @ the downtown waterfront in Bangor, Maine. I wish McLagan was there, he was killin' it on the keyboard in this performance.
Same. Also saw him at the Grand in Ellsworth. Great shows!
This is the ultimate performance.
this just gets better the 3rd time listening to it'
Just discovered this guy this month and went to see him play in Ferndale, MI. Fantastic! I really love this song; there's something about his vocal delivery in this tune that reminds me of Chuck Berry's "You Can't Catch Me".
How do they remember all those words??? Fantastic!
I remember all the words, but to be fair I’ve probably listened to it more times than he’s played it live…
I'm not a big country fan, but I definitely like this band. This is one of my favorite songs. You should check out his other songs.
This isn't country, it's Americana
Genius. Really.
Gonna have us a time !
Great song - killer band
Please note the man on the keys.......a fucking 60's legend!!!
Wonderful performance! McLagan just KILLS IT on the keyboard. So sweet it's easy to listen but gets your blood bubbling. McMurtry's voice is superb.
-
In 2009, Live in Europe was released, capturing The McMurtry Band’s first European tour and extraordinary live set. Along with seasoned band members Ronnie Johnson, Daren Hess, and Tim Holt, the disc features special guests Ian McLagan and Jon Dee Graham. Also, for the first time ever, video of the James McMurtry Band’s live performance is available on the included DVD.
Damn man. Gonna have us a time.
Jay
******@****
Love me some Choctaw James
Love and miss you Paul
Epic storytelling. Cool quartet version.
Great rockin' version. Love it.
An A-plus backup band. The backup singer is fun to watch, using both bass guitar and vocals. He nails them. Excellent lyrics and storytelling. Is James McMurtry a storyteller? Just like his daddy? Both are perfection on parade.
the man....man kills me all the time...proper legend
Only song EVER....to include a lyric about Badass Hebrews...✡🕶✊
Bc he's the only songwriterr brave enough to mention them by name lol
That keyboard though!!!
Badass....what more can be said.
…and They’ll be coming down from Kansas
..And from West Arkansas…
It’ll be one great big ol party..
Like you never saw
He co wrote the song with Ray Wylie Hubbard in the back of a mini van between shows. Ray Wylie told me this.
Ray lied to you.
@@kelliesalome1115 anything is possible. But I believe him.
I didn't realize Ray had a hand in this. His cover of it is pretty rad tho
Cinema/editor/director/sound man, this is an awesome record of a perfromance. Great job. Oh yeah McMurtrey Band, good job. F-ing great tune!
From pittsburg ks. This song makes perfect sense.
Almost always my favorite show of the year. Loved seeing him in Texas when we lived there ... may have been my imagination - but he may have cracked a smile once or twice during the Texas shows (the Granada in Dallas was my favorite venue to seem 'em). He, Steve Earle, and Neil Young write great music, create great lyrics, and play great guitar. And you can see McMurtry and Earle twenty times for what it costs to catch one of ol' Neil's shows. I've seen them both about that many times. Have yet to catch Neil Young as my brain stops my fingers as I get close to clicking on "purchase now" on his ticketing website. Just can't fathom paying $300 per seat to see ANYONE - unless Lennon and Harrison came back to Earth and reunited with Paul and Ringo.
all the lines in this one kill me, today it's the part about the stop at the gunshop.
The one they stopped at, to buy a gun made by "badass Hebrews?"
Groovy Baby [ I Like The Beat Easy To Dance 2 ] 10-4
This guy is GREAT. Reminds me of JJ Cale
Better chops, but yes.
He and his daddy - true artists...must be in their genes
The writing came from both his dad and mom. His mom started him on the guitar.
Check out that guitar. He’s playing the discontinued(even at the time of this video) PRS Swamp Ash. Great tone. Go see him if you are able.
for family dysfunction check out Robert Earl Keen's "Merry Christmas from the Family" !!
Immortal groove
It's a great driving song.
Great cover of the Ray Wylie Hubbard tune.
Not a cover. McMurtry wrote this.
@@paulmitro1402 I stand corrected.
When I listen to this song, sondo my neighbors.
songs from my local area :) love this one
He can sure belt out a tune
Gotdamn. That's Good shit. Roy Buchanan and JJ Cale.
Why hasn’t this song been made into a movie?
That's soooo great!!!
Would Love to see James and his crew in So Cal....
I did. He opened for the Indigo Girls at the Wiltern in L.A. back in the late 80s or early 90s - can't remember which. Very tough crowd for him. Whole house of women in comfortable shoes who didn't want to see some dude up on stage. And one of his band members had been stopped at the border when they were coming back from Canada, as I recall, and they had to leave him behind. Still a great show...
SAW HIM DO THIS SONG AT RHYTHM AND BREWS WAPAKONETA, OHIO.
Love that choctaw bingo.
woooooo
Really good.
This song is an anthem to a great culture. The drugs and incest parts are a little much but hell the whole scene is just reckless abandon. And this live version is awesome, so danceable. I love the lead guitar work. More extensive than in the studio version.
What a song!! Love it!!
Thats a wild crowd.
sounds like fun people.
That was awesome!!
That's sheer fucking genius...
Great version! Sure wish there was video from Ought Eight....
until you been to oklahoma, much less baxter springs you can, although somewhat, understand what JM is talkin' about
As one of my better friends who grew up and went to college in Stillwater said-"The best thing about OK is seein' it in your rear view mirror goin' north or to Arkansas
Going SW to Midland, Lubbock, or Odessa ain't no big bargain either
Old Mexico beats em all
What ever God, bless JM
We gonna have us a time
Na ahoo ee(chicken in Navajo)
lol now thats no way to talk about baxter springs. ive met the sisters and hes right. to bad the "stones" sign is gone.
Going from Oklahoma to Arkansas isn't a cure. I felt like I lost 15 years when I crossed the river from Nashville into Arkansas on I-40. Hot Springs and Little Rock aren't too bad but outside of those cities is a bit too rural for my taste.
Born and raised there, and I get every reference. Haha.
As for the rearview, I prefer to see it as I head West. Looking pretty rough last time I was there. (And being from Western OK, that's saying a lot: never did look "great").
Born and raised in Pittsburg KS
True legend.
I always tell tele-marketers that I don't own the house my Uncle Slayton does and he's waiting for me to default on his owner financing cause he knows I'm a slacker....I also tell them Uncle Slayton can't come to the phone because he's out in the backyard cooking meth...likes the money doesn't mind the smell...end of call...
Brilliant!
I'm guilty of similar actions.
I like the way you think
Uncle Slayton also loves his Asian bride.
That's absolutely fucking genius...
We're goin to Oklahoma
Great song writing and musician,..asl long you can "Walk thru the rain drops dry as a bone".
😎🇨🇱
The state song for all the Red States in the Union.
You're gonna give it back too
I’ve seen the Dead 100 times. Fuck, I saw Warren Zevon. I fucking love this song and it’s top ten in Texas shine don’t sell…. Bang those keys! ROSCO. But he didn’t quite… seriously the best song out of Texas since Stevie Ray Vaughan, and that’s one big ole pistol… made by badass Hebrews. We gonna have us a time. This should be the national anthem. Do some sister twisters till the cows come home. Have us a time.
That was TIGHT!
what a great story put to song
Just Awesome
all his songs are "hitssssssssss"
Yer a peein's gotta trip on 'Murican's~! Thanks James!~
YEE YEE!
Holy shit!
well mr. armstrong this is what country music is supposed to sound like