Now somewhere in the Black Mountain Hills of Dakota
There lived a young boy named Rocky Raccoon,
And one day his woman ran off with another guy,
Hit young Rocky in the eye.
Rocky didn’t like that
He said, “I’m gonna get that boy”.
So one day he walked into town
Booked himself a room in the local saloon.
Rocky Raccoon checked into his room,
Only to find Gideon’s Bible.
Rocky had come, equipped with a gun,
To shoot off the legs of his rival.
His rival it seems, had broken his dreams,
By stealing the girl of his fancy.
Her name was Magill, and she called herself Lil,
But everyone knew her as Nancy.
Now she and her man, who called himself Dan,
Were in the next room at the hoe down.
Rocky burst in, and grinning a grin,
He said, “Danny boy, this is a showdown”.
But Daniel was hot, he drew first and shot,
And Rocky collapsed in the corner.
Now the doctor came in, stinking of gin,
And proceeded to lie on the table.
He said, “Rocky, you met your match”.
And Rocky said, “Doc, it’s only a scratch.
And I’ll be better, I’ll be better, Doc, as soon as I am able”.
Now Rocky Raccoon, he fell back in his room,
Only to find Gideon’s Bible.
Gideon checked out, and he left it, no doubt,
To help with good Rocky’s revival.Rocky Raccoon, Lennon & McCartney 1968
As you might know I'm a big fan of The Beatles (it's right up there in my blogger profile). The song Rocky Raccoon is a combination of a Folk song and a traditional Murder Ballad. It can be found on the White Album.
The song seems to suggest Rocky is a cowboy in a typical western setting but I wanted to place it slightly later, somewhere in the 1920's. (I envision that Nancy's new beau Dan is an outlaw, not unlike Clyde Barrow or John Dillinger.) While I was working on these I actually wasn't listening to the song, instead I listened to the soundtrack of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
Digital.
