bob nolan
Robert Clarence Nobles aka Bob Nolan fronted the famous singing group "Sons of the Pioneers" from 1934 to -49, singing lead vocal, yodeling [ugh] and playing string bass. He composed the group's most famous songs, and I use the term "compose" by intension: he was not a simple songwriter; he combined elements from classic music and jazz with elegant lyrics, and promoted the "barren plain" better than anybody else. Born canadian, his family moved to the midwest, and the kid got stuck way out there. He never left. All his famous songs make you thirsty.
I picked up this from a Hank Snow LP in the sixties, starting practising guitar, because of the thrill. A couple of years after, I heard the original. Omigosh. Yodeling qualifies for severe punishment; syncron yodel means sentencing to death. Way out there, only the prarie dogs and trains make noise. Not humans.
Perform the "chorus" line at own risk.
a lonely spot I know where no man will go
where the shadows have all the room
I was ridin' free on that old SP
humming a southern tune
when a man came along made me hush my song
kicked me off away out there
as she pulled out of sight I turned to the right
the left and ev'rywhere
but all I could see was a cactus tree
and a prairie dog playin' there
I watched the prairie dog feed on the tumbleweed
that's his home away out there
so I threw down my load in the desert road
rested my weary legs too
I watched the sinkin' sun make the tall shadows run
out across that barren plain
then I hummed a tune to the risin' moon
he gets lonesome way out there
so I closed my eyes to the starlit skies
and lost myself in dreams
I dreamed the desert sand was a milk-and-honey land
then I awoke with a start
there's a train comin' back on the one-way track
goin' to take me away from here
as she was passin' by I caught her on the fly
climbed in an open door
then I turned around to that desert ground
saw the spot I would see no more
as I was ridin' away I heard the pale moon say
"Farewell pal : it sure gets lonesome here"
:/:Ee oo eedle dee dee ho oo lay dee ee dee :/:
For the following CHORD section, fullscreen/horizontal mobile is recommended.
Chords in brackets may be omitted.
A E a lonely spot I know where no man will go E7 A where the shadows have all the room E E7 A F#m I was ridin' free on that old SP B B7 E ...E7 humming a southern tune A A7 D Bm when a man came along made me hush my song A E7 A kicked me off away out there D Ddim D A Ee oo ee dle dee dee ho oo lay dee ee dee E Edim E E7 A Ee oo ee dle dee dee ho oo lay dee ee dee
