Images of the West in Rock Music

If everybody had an ocean
Across the U. S. A.
Then everybody'd be surfin'
Like Californi-a
You'd seem 'em wearing their baggies
Huarachi sandals too
A bushy bushy blonde hairdo
Surfin' U. S. A.

You'll catch 'em surfin' at Del Mar
Ventura County line
Santa Cruz and Trestle
Australia's Narrabeen
All over Manhattan
And down Doheny Way

Everybody's gone surfin'
Surfin' U.S.A.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Mexicali Blues"
Grateful Dead (Barlow/Weir), 1972 or before

Laid back in an old saloon, with a peso in my hand,
Watchin' flies and children on the street,
And I catch a glimpse of black-eyed girls who giggle when I smile,
There's a little boy who wants to shine my feet.

And it's three days ride from Bakersfield and I don't know why I came.
I guess I came to keep from payin' dues.
So instead I've got a bottle and a girl who's just fourteen,
And a damn good case of the Mexicali Blues. Yeh!

Is there anything a man don't stand to lose,
When the devil wants to take it all away?
Cherish well your thoughts, and keep a tight grip on your booze,
Cause thinkin' and drinkin' are all I have today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"California Dreamin'"
The Mamas and the Papas (Phillips-Phillips), released 1966

All the leaves are brown and the sky is gray
I've been for a walk on a winter's day
I'd be safe and warm if I was in L.A.
California dreamin' on such a winter's day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Rocky Mountain High"
John Denver (Denver/Taylor) c. 1972

He was born in the summer of his 27th year
Comin' home to a place he'd never been before
He left yesterday behind him
You might say he was born again
You might say he found a key for every door

When he first came to the mountains his life was far away
On the road and hangin' by a song
But the string's already broken and he doesn't really care
It keeps changin' fast, and it don't last for long

But the Colorado Rocky Mountain high
I've seen it rainin' fire in the sky
The shadow from the starlight is softer than a lullabye
Rocky Mountain high

He climbed cathedral mountains, he saw silver clouds below
He saw everything as far as you can see
And they say that he got crazy once
and he tried to touch the sun
And he lost a friend but kept the memory

Now he walks in quiet solitude the forests and the streams
Seeking grace in every step he takes
His sight has turned inside himself to try and understand
The serenity of a clear blue mountain lake

And the Colorado Rocky Mountain high
I've seen it rainin' fire in the sky
You can talk to God and listen to the casual reply
Rocky Mountain high

Now his life is full of wonder
But his heart still knows some fear
Of a simple thing he cannot comprehend
Why they try to tear the mountains down
To bring in a couple more
More people, more scars upon the land

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Sweet Baby James"
James Taylor c. 1970

There is a young cowboy he lives on the range
His horse and his cattle are his only companions
He works in the saddle and he sleeps in the canyons
Waiting for Summer, his pastures to change

And as the moon rises he sits by his fire
Thinking about women and glasses of beer
And closing his eyes as the doggies retire
He sings out a song which is soft but it's clear
As if maybe someone could hear

Goodnight you moonlight ladies
Rock-a-bye sweet baby James
Beat dreams and blues are the colors I choose
Won't you let me go down in my dreams
And rock-a-bye sweet baby James

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Buffalo Soldier"
Bob Marley (Marley/Williams), released 1983

Buffalo soldier, dreadlock Rasta
There was a buffalo soldier in the heart of America,
Stolen from Africa, brought to America,
Fighting on arrival, fighting for survival.

If you know your history,
Then you would know where you're coming from,
Then you wouldn't have to ask me,
Who the 'eck do I think I am.

I'm just a buffalo soldier, in the heart of America
Stolen from Africa, brought to America
Said he was fighting on arrival, fighting for survival
Said he was a buffalo soldier
Win the war for America.

Woy yoy yoy, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"We've Got a Bigger Problem Now"
Dead Kennedys (1981)

Happy trails to you
Happy trails to you

I am Emperor Ronald Reagan
Born again with fascist cravings
Still, you made me president

Human rights will soon go 'way
I am now your Shah today
Now I command all of you
Now you're gonna pray in school
I'll make sure they're Christian, too

California uber alles
Uber alles California

Ku Klux Klan will control you
Still you think it's natural
N***** knockin' for the master race
Still you want a happy face
You close your eyes--can't happen here
Alexander Haig is near
Vietnam won't come back you say
Join the army or you will pay
Join the army or you will pay

California uber alles
California uber alles

 

"Rawhide"
Dead Kennedys (1981)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?"
Paula Cole (1996)

Oh you get me ready in your 56 chevy
Why don't we go sit down in the shade
Take shelter on my front porch
The dandy lion sun scorching,
Like a glass of cold lemonade
I will do laundry if you pay all the bills
CHORUS:
Where is my John Wayne
Where is my prairie song
Where is my happy ending
Where have all the cowboys gone
Why don't you stay the evening
Kick back and watch the TV
And I'll fix a little something to eat
Oh I know your back hurts from working on the tractor
How do you take your coffee my sweet
I will raise the children if you pay all the bills

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Cowboy"
Kid Rock, Devil Without a Cause (1998)

Cowboy...Cowboy

Well I'm packing up my game and I'm a head out west
Where real women come equipped with scripts and fake breasts
Find a nest in the hills chill like Flynt
Buy an old drop top find a spot to pimp
And I'm a Kid Rock it up and down your block
With a bottle of scotch and watch lots of crotch
Buy a yacht with a flag sayin' chillin the most
Then rock that bitch up and down the coast
Give a toast to the sun, drink with the stars
Get thrown in the mix and tossed out of bars
Sip the Tiajuana ...I wanna roam
Find the old town chillin fools then come back home
Start an escort service, for all the right reasons
And set up shop at the top of Four Seasons
Kid Rock and I'm the real McCoy
And I'm headin' out west sucker...because I wanna be a

Cowboy baby
With the top let back and the sunshine shining
Cowboy baby
West coast chillin with the Boone's Wine
I wanna be a Cowboy baby
Ridin' at night cause I sleep all day
Cowboy baby
I can smell a pig from a mile away

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Maria"
Rage Against The Machine(1999)

The sun ablaze as Maria's foot
Touches the surface of sand
On northern land
As human contraband
Some rico from Jalisco
Passed her name to the boss
She stuffed ten to a truckload
She clutches her cross
Here comes the exhaust
And it rips through her lungs
She's off fast to tha pasture
Like cattle she'll cross
Degree 106
Sweat and vomit are thrown
And she prays and suffocates
Upon tha memories of home
Of Yanqui guns for blood debts on tha loans
Of smoldering fields rape rubble and bones
Of graves hidden trapped up in visions of war
Of nothing no one nobody no more
These are her mountains and skies and
She radiates
And through history's rivers of blood
She regenerates
And like tha sun disappears only to reappear
She's eternally here
Her time is near
Never conquered but here