Ballad of Blind Joe
Stranded on the edge of the South Dakota plains
With the Indian cowboys and the rival Chinese gangs
I was searchin’ for a purpose, a purpose to ease my mind
Just on legitimate fact I knew I’d never find
When I heard:

Hey there boys we’ve got you surrounded
We’ll smoke you out before dawn
Hey there boys we’ve got you surrounded
Hand over Blind Joe and then we’ll be gone

In the corner Blind Joe sat amidst the hustle and bustle
Hell, you would’ve thought Blind Joe was deaf fore he never moved a muscle
A scar ran down the middle of his eye and that eye was milky white
He sat up to speak and the whole room went quiet
He said:

Listen boys, they’ve only got us surrounded
We’ve gotten out of worse jams before
Listen boys, we’re only surrounded
Calm yourselves and act like the criminals that you are

Well he always plays it so cool don’t he said Red Feather to Danny Lee
I say we toss him out the front door and right on to his knees
Blind Joe tipped back his hat and said
“You better think twice on that idea,
See I got Anna Lee and Tiger Lilly tied to the railroad tracks
And that train is rollin’ near…”:

And all of them boys got all up in commotion
Pointing their knives at Blind Joes throat
All of them boys stopped in their commotion
When they heard the whistle blow and that locomotive choke

Now Sheriff McGinn was a mighty man who never took no flack
He intentionally donned a gold tooth and he paints his ceilings black
So when he awakes in the morning and that light comes shining through
He knows exactly what’s in store, what’s in store for me and you

Back at the bar Joe was pinned to the wall, picture frame dug in his spine
He said “I’ll take care of your needs, if you take care of mine
Get me out of here quickly and I’ll take you to the girls
Before the only thing that’s left are Tiger Lilly’s curls:

And Danny Lee and Red Feather abided
Letting loose their grip of Blind Joe
Danny Lee and Red Feather resigned to the idea
Of getting Blind Joe out that door

The cowering barkeep shouted “There’s a trap door in the basement!
A long an treacherous passage way that leads to the railway station”
Red was clutching on to a lock of Tiger Lilly’s hair, the rage that once was in his eyes was now riddled with despair
“We’ll never make it on time, my baby’s surely done”
Danny gave him a slap and said “this ain’t no time for crying boy, we’ve gotta run”:

There and then the Sheriff knew something was awry
You could hear a pin drop on the plains
No wind was blowing, the dust stood still
The only sound was that locomotive train

As they dashed and they darted through the underground caverns
McGinn and his boys were on the chase they knew exactly what was happening
For Red and Danny and Blind Joe who were traveling through the dark-
Up ahead a speck of light, a little glimmer of hope
They gasped for air as they fell into the sun
Covered in soot from head to toe
Joe walked out unfazed staring down the Sheriff’s .44:

The story then goes all dark from there
There’s lots of talk going round about the truth
Some say it was all a fix
That the two men were working in cahoots
But I couldn’t say which way or that
Nor could I say I really care
You can fuss over the Who, Why or When
The What, the How or Where

Now I’m still sitting at this bar working on a three-pronged point of view
I know that there’s more angles but I’ve pared it down to the essential few
I’m waiting on Mr. J he said we’re gonna take a little ride
Another man who’s sailed Virgils river, died and come back to life
The kind of man you want in your corner, the kind of dude you want on your side
Another man who has seen death first hand and knows how precious is this life:

Another man who’s shaken deaths hand and said
“Well thank you kindly for thinking of me
But not this time, I’ve got too much to do
I’ll see ya when I’m a hundred and three”

©James Arlowe 2012