This whimsical portrait of Tom Russell's celestial fighting rooster came to live at Casa Q for my 61st birthday, as Tom and Libby conspired. Or as he put it, "...that was one we kept in our private collection but it wanted to move to Magdalena near the other wild birds."
(In addition to his being a songwriter Tom is an acclaimed artist who does many of his album covers-- see "Wounded Heart" below-- and book covers as well).
Gallo joins the Hans Windgassen portrait of Les Girls, by my left elbow at this desk where I write.
Tom sings what is to my knowledge the only corrida about a brave rooster here.
Two albums with the song: Tom here; Joe Ely's Border- flavored cover, with Mexican- style guitar and accordion here.
(Got a link to that version too, recorded in Italy--!! One must wonder what the Italian audience made of a bunch of Texans singing about a heroic chicken...)
5 comments:
I've got to offer up a little love for the Ian Tyson version, first I heard and it still works for me, though I definitely like hearing Tom and Joe Ely sing it too.
The first time I heard Tom Russell perform that tune on the radio, Jim and I were driving. We arrived at our destination and sat in the truck listening, captivated, until the song ended.
If my Italian friends are any indication they were probabily way into it. Apparenlty parts of Italy may as well be Texas- based on the picutres and videos I've seen we grew up doing the same things- mudding, listening to skynard, and whistling Dixie. The iceing on the cake was a video from my friends hometown showing kids getting towed behind a truck in the snow...
I grew up in El Paso and Tom Russell has done few songs that take me back to places I'd nearly forgotten. Back to the shadow lands of Juarez, Zaragosa and Chihuahua.
I'd like to meet Tom some day and and swap stories about the Kentucky Club and his uncle Tommy. I may have even know Tommy.
One of my favorites-I'm partial to Ely's version.
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