TRACK TALK #32 Brownsville Girl

BROWNSVILLE GIRL
ALBUM : Knocked Out Loaded (1986)
Recorded : Mai 1986
Released : 14 Juillet 1986



Lyrics
Well, there was this movie I seen one time,
About a man riding `cross the desert and it starred Gregory Peck.
He was shot down by a hungry kid trying to make a name for himself.
The townspeople wanted to crush that kid down and string him up by the neck.

Well, the marshal, now he beat that kid to a bloody pulp
as the dying gunfighter lay in the sun and gasped for his last breath.
Turn him loose, let him go, let him say he outdrew me fair and square,
I want him to feel what it`s like to every moment face his death.

Well, I keep seeing this stuff and it just comes a-rolling in
And you know it blows right through me like a ball and chain.
You know I can`t believe we`ve lived so long and are still so far apart.
The memory of you keeps callin` after me like a rollin` train.

I can still see the day that you came to me on the painted desert
In your busted down Ford and your platform heels
I could never figure out why you chose that particular place to meet
Ah, but you were right. It was perfect as I got in behind the wheel.

Well, we drove that car all night into San Anton`
And we slept near the Alamo, your skin was so tender and soft.
Way down in Mexico you went out to find a doctor and you never came back.
I would have gone on after you but I didn`t feel like letting my head get blown off.

Well, we`re drivin` this car and the sun is comin` up over the Rockies,
Now I know she ain`t you but she`s here and she`s got that dark rhythm in her soul.
But I`m too over the edge and I ain`t in the mood anymore to remember the times when I was your only man
And she don`t want to remind me. She knows this car would go out of control.

Brownsville girl with your Brownsville curls, teeth like pearls shining like the moon above
Brownsville girl, show me all around the world, Brownsville girl, you`re my honey love.

Well, we crossed the panhandle and then we headed towards Amarillo
We pulled up where Henry Porter used to live. He owned a wreckin` lot outside of town about a mile.
Ruby was in the backyard hanging clothes, she had her red hair tied back. She saw us come rolling up in a trail of dust.
She said, `Henry ain`t here but you can come on in, he`ll be back in a little while.`

Then she told us how times were tough and about how she was thinkin` of bummin` a ride back to where she started.
But ya know, she changed the subject every time money came up.
She said, `Welcome to the land of the living dead.` You could tell she was so broken-hearted.
She said, `Even the swap meets around here are getting pretty corrupt.`

`How far are y`all going?` Ruby asked us with a sigh.
`We`re going all the way `til the wheels fall off and burn,
`Til the sun peels the paint and the seat covers fade and the water moccasin dies.`
Ruby just smiled and said, `Ah, you know some babies never learn.`

Something about that movie though, well I just can`t get it out of my head
But I can`t remember why I was in it or what part I was supposed to play.
All I remember about it was Gregory Peck and the way people moved
And a lot of them seemed to be lookin` my way.

Brownsville girl with your Brownsville curls, teeth like pearls shining like the moon above
Brownsville girl, show me all around the world, Brownsville girl, you`re my honey love.

Well, they were looking for somebody with a pompadour.
I was crossin` the street when shots rang out.
I didn`t know whether to duck or to run, so I ran.
`We got him cornered in the churchyard,` I heard somebody shout.

Well, you saw my picture in the Corpus Christi Tribune. Underneath it, it said, `A man with no alibi.`
You went out on a limb to testify for me, you said I was with you.
Then when I saw you break down in front of the judge and cry real tears,
It was the best acting I saw anybody do.

Now I`ve always been the kind of person that doesn`t like to trespass but sometimes you just find yourself over the line.
Oh if there`s an original thought out there, I could use it right now.
You know, I feel pretty good, but that ain`t sayin` much. I could feel a whole lot better,
If you were just here by my side to show me how.

Well, I`m standin` in line in the rain to see a movie starring Gregory Peck,
Yeah, but you know it`s not the one that I had in mind.
He`s got a new one out now, I don`t even know what it`s about
But I`ll see him in anything so I`ll stand in line.

Brownsville girl with your Brownsville curls, teeth like pearls shining like the moon above
Brownsville girl, show me all around the world, Brownsville girl, you`re my honey love.

You know, it`s funny how things never turn out the way you had `em planned.
The only thing we knew for sure about Henry Porter is that his name wasn`t Henry Porter.
And you know there was somethin` about you baby that I liked that was always too good for this world
Just like you always said there was something about me you liked that I left behind in the French Quarter.

Strange how people who suffer together have stronger connections than people who are most content.
I don`t have any regrets, they can talk about me plenty when I`m gone.
You always said people don`t do what they believe in, they just do what`s most convenient, then they repent.
And I always said, `Hang on to me, baby, and let`s hope that the roof stays on.`

There was a movie I seen one time, I think I sat through it twice.
I don`t remember who I was or where I was bound.
All I remember about it was it starred Gregory Peck, he wore a gun and he was shot in the back.
Seems like a long time ago, long before the stars were torn down.

Brownsville girl with your Brownsville curls, teeth like pearls shining like the moon above
Brownsville girl, show me all around the world, Brownsville girl, you`re my honey love.

***

- "Brownsville Girl" est une chanson de onze minutes co-écrite avec le dramaturge, romancier et acteur Sam Shepard, ami de longue date de Dylan depuis qu'il a couvert la Rolling Thunder Revue. Malgré le mauvais accueil réservé à l'album "Knocked Out Loaded" par la critique, certains d'entre eux ont apprécié le morceau. Robert Christgau le décrit ainsi : "one of the greatest and most ridiculous of Dylan's great ridiculous epics. Doesn't matter who came up with such lines as 'She said even the swap meets around here are getting pretty corrupt' and 'I didn't know whether to duck or to run, so I ran' — they're classic Dylan."
- Le western avec Gregory Peck mentionné à plusieurs reprises dans le texte est probablement "The Gunfighter" ('La Cible Humaine", sorti en 1950). Le film "Duel In The Sun" ("Duel Au Soleil", 1946) est également référencé.
- Une première version de travail a été enregistré lors des sessions de "Empire Burlesque". Débarrassé du sur-plein de production, elle intitulée "New Danville Girl" est disponible sur différents bootlegs.
- La chanson est également disponible sur les compilations "Greatest Hits Vol.3" (1994) et "Dylan" (2007).
- Il n'existe pas reprises notables de la chanson et Dylan l'a jouée une seule fois en concert, le 6 août 1986 à Paso Robles, en Californie.

parait qu'ils sont entrain d'en faire un film de cette chanson..A mon avis une chanson à l'image de l'album ..inécoutable

Tant qu'il est regardable.

Oui, on en avait parlé ici du projet de film : https://bdylan.forumactif.com/t1390-brownsville-girl-le-film

"Le morceau épique de onze minutes co-écrit avec Sam Shepart en 1984, qui avait sauvé "Knocked Out Loaded" du désastre total, sera adapté au cinéma avec Brad Pitt dans le rôle titre.
Réalisé par Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart) et écrit par le scénaristes de Gangs of New York, on ne sait pas vraiment quand le film va sortir mais c'est en projet.

Plus d'infos ici : http://www.cinemateaser.com/?p=15835"

Alors je l'avais pas forcément dit à l'époque du topic, mais j'adore cette chanson. Malgré une production qui aurait pu gagner à être moins pompeuse et gonflée, malgré les choeurs féminins un peu fatiguants sur la longueur, elle est loin d'être inécoutable. Le texte est très beau, Sam Shepard ne déçoit pas. Elle aurait eu de la gueule à l'époque de "Desire" dans le style de "Desire" je pense. Une histoire américaine épique avec des cow-boy. Je l'adore et je l'écoute une fois par mois avec toujours autant de plaisir.

Si tu connais une version live ou une démo mieux produite ca m'interesse car à la réécoute, l'originale est pour moi une vrai catastrophe
Je parle de la musique, pas du texte
Désolé si je choque encore la communauté mais les avis différents font la richesse d'un forum

Ne t'inquiètes pas, ton avis sur "Brownsville Girl" fait pour une fois l'unanimité je crois.
Il y a bien "New Danville Girl", version de travail en studio, mais elle est finalement assez proche, il y a juste les choeurs féminins plus en retrait et je n'ai jamais écouté la seule version live qui existe.

Knocked Out Loaded est définitivement pour moi le pire album de Dylan.

"I don`t have any regrets, they can talk about me plenty when I`m gone"
"Oh if there`s an original thought out there, I could use it right now."

Vous croyez que ce genre de répliques est une mise en abyme de la période creuse de Dylan ? Je ne pense pas mais le doute est permis. C'est beau en tout cas :

Je viens de tomber là dessus. Je suis sur les fesses.

used_spoon a écrit:

Je viens de tomber là dessus. Je suis sur les fesses.

Pourtant, je fais de l'évangélisme autour de ça depuis des lustres. Heureux pour toi en tout cas.
Chaque chef d'oeuvre raté cache un chef d'oeuvre pas totalement raté.

vox populi a écrit:

Si tu connais une version live ou une démo mieux produite ca m'interesse car à la réécoute, l'originale est pour moi une vrai catastrophe  
Je parle de la musique, pas du texte
Désolé si je choque encore la communauté mais les avis différents font la richesse d'un forum  

Et il existe aussi une unique version live de 1986:



Sans grand intérêt. Seul le refrain est chanté avec les chœurs féminins. Bref, on passe notre chemin et on se remet la version studio qui est loin d'être la pire chanson de Dylan ! Je prends plaisir à l 'écouter en tout cas