Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2017 3:14:52 GMT -5
At the risk of scaring away other songwriters and our Indonesian members, here's the first draft of another song....
Songwriters just seem to like the word "Ohio." There's so much you can do with it, and a lot of words that rhyme with it. I was sitting around last week and the phrase "where the Wabash meets the Ohio" popped into my head. I thought it was a cool line, so I decided to turn it into a murder ballad. I pulled out a map and the confluence of the two rivers is near Old Shawneetown, IL. Went online to try and find if there were any murders there that might lend themselves to song. Found one that happened back in 1995 where some teen killed his stepfather, but while I could find a couple of articles about the guy's arrest, I couldn't find any about the outcome of the case. The kid was charged with first-degree murder, but he doesn't show up in the Illinois Department of Corrections' online offender locator. I figured I could make up a story.
I changed all the names except the suspect's mother, whose name was "Madonna." When you get a chance to use the name "Madonna" in a song, take it.
(I did find some interesting articles about the arrest and conviction of the local sheriff, who was selling dope from the evidence locker, then threatened to kill two snitches who were going to report him to the Feds. That might've made a good song.)
Anyway, here is a first draft. Thoughts/insights/constructive criticism welcome.
Where the Wabash Meets the Ohio
© 2017 by David Hanners
I'll tell you a tale of Old Shawneetown
Young Levi Crowe shot Tim Luttrell down
Here's fair warning, boys, if you ever go
Down where the Wabash meets the Ohio
Men always reap what they sow
Where the Wabash meets the Ohio
Tim Luttrell was a no-account from Arkansas
Gambled and drank and lived outside the law
Married a woman named Madonna Crowe
Near where the Wabash meets the Ohio
Some loves last, some don't
Where the Wabash meets the Ohio
Levi was Madonna's son by another man
And Tim Luttrell he simply could not stand
High on meth, tempers would flow
Like where the Wabash meets the Ohio
Two rising rivers, dam's gonna blow
Where the Wabash meets the Ohio
Madonna and Tim Luttrell quarrelled, who knows what about
Levi learned of it and called Tim Luttrell out
What happened next we don't really know
But it went down where the Wabash meets the Ohio
Farmer found the body, a scene of woe
Where the Wabash meets the Ohio
Sheriff wanted Levi to pay for his sin
Live out his days in Stateville Prison
Levi had other plans, got in his car and drove
Down where the Wabash meets the Ohio
They say he drowned but there's no corpse to show
Where the Wabash meets the Ohio
A patch of tall weeds where the story ends
Corner of a cornfield where the muddy river bends
So boys, fair warning if you plan to go
Down where the Wabash meets the Ohio
They say Levi's soul floated clean to Mexico
From where the Wabash meets the Ohio
Songwriters just seem to like the word "Ohio." There's so much you can do with it, and a lot of words that rhyme with it. I was sitting around last week and the phrase "where the Wabash meets the Ohio" popped into my head. I thought it was a cool line, so I decided to turn it into a murder ballad. I pulled out a map and the confluence of the two rivers is near Old Shawneetown, IL. Went online to try and find if there were any murders there that might lend themselves to song. Found one that happened back in 1995 where some teen killed his stepfather, but while I could find a couple of articles about the guy's arrest, I couldn't find any about the outcome of the case. The kid was charged with first-degree murder, but he doesn't show up in the Illinois Department of Corrections' online offender locator. I figured I could make up a story.
I changed all the names except the suspect's mother, whose name was "Madonna." When you get a chance to use the name "Madonna" in a song, take it.
(I did find some interesting articles about the arrest and conviction of the local sheriff, who was selling dope from the evidence locker, then threatened to kill two snitches who were going to report him to the Feds. That might've made a good song.)
Anyway, here is a first draft. Thoughts/insights/constructive criticism welcome.
Where the Wabash Meets the Ohio
© 2017 by David Hanners
I'll tell you a tale of Old Shawneetown
Young Levi Crowe shot Tim Luttrell down
Here's fair warning, boys, if you ever go
Down where the Wabash meets the Ohio
Men always reap what they sow
Where the Wabash meets the Ohio
Tim Luttrell was a no-account from Arkansas
Gambled and drank and lived outside the law
Married a woman named Madonna Crowe
Near where the Wabash meets the Ohio
Some loves last, some don't
Where the Wabash meets the Ohio
Levi was Madonna's son by another man
And Tim Luttrell he simply could not stand
High on meth, tempers would flow
Like where the Wabash meets the Ohio
Two rising rivers, dam's gonna blow
Where the Wabash meets the Ohio
Madonna and Tim Luttrell quarrelled, who knows what about
Levi learned of it and called Tim Luttrell out
What happened next we don't really know
But it went down where the Wabash meets the Ohio
Farmer found the body, a scene of woe
Where the Wabash meets the Ohio
Sheriff wanted Levi to pay for his sin
Live out his days in Stateville Prison
Levi had other plans, got in his car and drove
Down where the Wabash meets the Ohio
They say he drowned but there's no corpse to show
Where the Wabash meets the Ohio
A patch of tall weeds where the story ends
Corner of a cornfield where the muddy river bends
So boys, fair warning if you plan to go
Down where the Wabash meets the Ohio
They say Levi's soul floated clean to Mexico
From where the Wabash meets the Ohio