Brian Hendrix

My girlfriend will not be pleased I posted this here. It's her favorite song of mine that I've written. It's a western-style song, about a charlatan, a con artist, living in the old west before modernity settled in during the early 1900s. This guy runs his scams as a preacher, using saloon girls, to outright robbery, and realizes that the "west" he knows is almost gone. I really enjoy this song. Out of all I've ever written, it's my #2 favorite song. I don't want anyone else to have it, but it's time...

I started writing this song when I was 19, in '99, and found it folded up on a piece of paper in an old book when I was doing some cleaning. I only had the chorus, but a note at the bottom of the page said "Give it a whirl," which is part of the lyrics. I decided to finish it up, after all these years. The song is really about how similar we all are, no matter where we come from, and how we all have a life to live, so live it while we still can. It's a chorus-driven song, even though the chorus isn't very long. In my head it sounds like Keith Urban singing it, for what it's worth.

This started as a talking blues song, with every forth line saying "On my way to leave you," but it ended up sounding too much like Townes' "Dollar Bill Blues" in cadence. So I reworked it here. It has a bit more of a talking-blues song cadence but certainly doesn't have to. It's about a guy who wants to leave his woman but can't bring himself to do it, so he gets around this by ensuring himself that today's the day... though he keeps finding excuses not to leave.

A song I wrote to rally against the idea of collectivism, in any form, be it on the right or left, as it has wrought much pain and damage and millions upon millions dead. This is a song that speaks about the strength of individualism that stands for America. It's more anthem-themed. When it opens, it's a chant. "Ohh, ohh, ohh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh--oh-oh, ohh, oh-oh, ohh, oh-oh." Then after every line, I imagine a bit of a clap, or a thump on a bass drum, twice. E.g. "We stand up (boom, boom) We don't kneel (boom, boom)." I think people can get the gist when they read it.

This is definitely a throwback to the days of olden country. The "chorus" in this song is basically a few bars of guitar while speaking "I said it's fine." More than anything, think of this as a talking-blues sort of song. It's guided very much by a rhythmic cadence that evokes something like an old Johnny Cash tune, though the lyrics are all mine.