Choctaw Bingo
This article possibly contains original research. (November 2021) |
"Choctaw Bingo" | |
---|---|
Song by James McMurtry | |
from the album Saint Mary of the Woods | |
Released | 2002 |
Genre | Southern rock |
Length | 8:49 |
Label | Sugar Hill |
Songwriter(s) | James McMurtry |
"Choctaw Bingo" is a southern rock song written and performed by musician James McMurtry and appears on his album Saint Mary of the Woods and Live In Aught Three. The song is an up beat, honky-tonk narrative ballad, having no chorus, but only alternating verse and instrumental sections. The melody, tempo, and instrumentation, as well as the theme of highway driving, are very similar to the verses in Chuck Berry's 1956 hit "You Can't Catch Me," and the naming of specific towns across America is another element borrowed from Berry's oevre.
Lyrics
The lyrics are told by a narrator to someone else, presumably his wife or, at least, the mother of his children. The narrator starts the song by asking the other person to pack up their children and sedate them with
Uncle Slayton: The whole song revolves around Slayton and his lifestyle. Slayton is described as being too old to travel yet "still pretty spry." He owns property near
Cousin Roscoe: Slayton's oldest son from his second marriage. He was raised in
Bob and Mae: Husband and wife couple whose status in the family is unknown. Bob coaches a football team at a small town near
Aunt Rita: There is an extra verse that McMurtry sings, which is not heard in Saint Mary of the Woods or Live in Aught-Three, about a character called Aunt Rita. Despite the fact that she is his aunt, she is about the narrator's age. She lives off of
Ruth-Anne and Lynn: Sisters and second cousins to the narrator. They live in Baxter Springs, Kansas which is described as "one hell-raisin'town". The Loners MC run a biker bar there, next to a lingerie store with big neon sign depicting lips burning in the window. (The biker bar was actually a motorcycle parts store, Bikers Dream, which closed in 2001 and now houses Keystone Academy, while the lingerie shop, Romantic Delights, moved to Joplin, Missouri. Bikers Dream was owned by Tim (Pony) Cline and the lingerie shop by his wife.)
The narrator describes, in some detail, that he is incestuously attracted to his cousins, who wear scanty clothes, which arouses him. (James McMurtry calls this the "Good Part", and at live performances, encourages audiences to dance to it.) The narrator references a bodark fence post in this verse, which is one of the hardest woods in North America. The Bodark (Bois d’arc, or Osage orange) tree was used for fence posts for many years in some parts of the country due to its exceptionally hard, long lasting wood.
Legacy
The song appears on the soundtrack for the movie Beer for My Horses.[1]
In 2009, American writer
"Choctaw Bingo" has been covered by Ray Wylie Hubbard on his album, Delirium Tremelos, 2005.
A live version of this song appears on McMurtry’s album "Live in Europe" on a special bonus DVD
References
- About.com. Archived from the originalon 2009-07-28. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
- ^ Rosenbaum, Ron. "Choctaw Bingo : A modest proposal for a new national anthem". SLATE. Retrieved 13 March 2009.