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When I was a kid I was about to start learning bull riding when my dad found out and put a stop to it before my first lesson. As an adult I wanted to try bull dogging, but the night before I was scheduled for the arena I got into a car wreck with long lasting injuries. I've always liked rodeo, but it seems my rodeoing was always stopped before it started. The dream, however, did not. Here's a song I wrote in honor of some of my friends who did make it -

https://soundcloud.com/user-722422510/the-devil-wrapped-in-rawhide The Devil Wrapped In Rawhide

You better hold on …
‘Cause every cowboy knows when you rodeo
you want to draw a bronc that’s tough and meaner than sin.
You want ‘em wild and high, ‘cause if you hold on tight,
you might make the ride and that’s your only way to win.
But, down in Mexico, well there’s a trail of broken bones
left behind by cowboys that tried and lost
to a rugged ol’ roan that’s evil to the bone.
They all say, ‘man, that’s the Devil, that ain’t no hoss!”

Yeah, he’s the Devil, the Devil wrapped in rawhide
with hate in his heart and blood in his eye.
He’s the Devil, good for nothin’ but causing pain.
He’s the Devil, the Devil wrapped in rawhide.
The meanest, toughest bronc a cowboy ever tried to ride.
He’s the Devil wrapped in rawhide,
they should have left him out on the range.

‘Cause he can jump so high he can touch the sky,
and when he comes down, he’ll stomp you in the ground.
And he can turn and twist, and make a cowboy wish
that he’d stayed at home and never laid his money down.
All except Dan Linn, ‘cause he’s the best that’s ever been.
He’s rode near and far and always kept his seat.
You know he’s seen them all and never took a fall
‘cause he’s the best that’s ever been or will ever be.

So when Dan came to town, well all the cowboys gathered round,
they knew that soon there’d be a sight to see.
Dan cinched the saddle down tight, pulled his hat low over his eyes,
said ‘Turn him loose now boys, ‘cause I came here to ride!”

When they opened the gate, ol’ Dan was hopin’ for eight,
but by the count of three he was sprawled out on the ground.
And through the dirt and dust, well, he began to cuss
that ol’ Devil wrapped in rawhide that went and threw him down.

‘Cause he’s the Devil, the Devil wrapped in rawhide
with hate in his heart and blood in his eye.
He’s the Devil, good for nothin’ but causing pain.
He’s the Devil, the Devil wrapped in rawhide.
The meanest, toughest bronc a cowboy ever tried to ride.
He’s the Devil wrapped in rawhide,
they should have left him out on the range.
You know he’s the Devil, the Devil wrapped in rawhide
with hate in his heart and blood in his eye.
He’s the Devil, good for nothin’ but causing pain.
He’s the Devil, the Devil wrapped in rawhide.
The meanest, toughest bronc a cowboy ever tried to ride.
He’s the Devil wrapped in rawhide,
they should have left him out on the range.

Oh, he’s the Devil wrapped in rawhide
they should have left him out on the range.
He’s the Devil wrapped in rawhide,
They should of left him out on the range.

And the Biab band is:

DRUMS: Brian Fullen, _STEPUP.STY
BASS: Craig Young, _STEPUP.STY
1st RHYTHM GUITAR: Brent Mason, _STEPUP.STY
2nd RHYTHM GUITAR: Darin Favorite, _HKYTJON.STY
LEAD GUITAR: Brent Mason, _CTRFSBM.STY
ORGAN: Mike Rojas,_STEPUP.STY

All comments, critiques and ideas are welcome!

Brad,

Great song! Love the way you handle all those words! Good vocal and good mix.

Bob

Cool tune...

I have always liked rodeo songs.

Your mix is good. I think, for me personally, the vocals are a bit too upfront and could be turned down a bit to set into the mix a bit better. Just my 2 centavos.

Back in the early gigging years several of my early bands tended to play gigs in the cowboy bars in the area. Being a military town, there were bars of every kind. Those cowboy bars were wild and crazy places at times and we'd get to know some of those guys pretty well. Lots of cowboy and rodeo stories came out of those bars. Some were fabricated and others were mostly true. Your song nailed it when you mentioned the rider wants a crazy horse or bull.... the easy rides are not the money rides and nothing is worse than a contender for the silver buckle drawing a tame horse. 8 seconds is a lifetime when they pull that gate.

I have written a few tunes based on those guys and gals I met in those cowboy bars..... Where does a cowboy go....and The road to Cheyenne, are two.

I enjoyed the energy and imagery in the song. Well done.

Brad...you keep amazing us with these story songs...I don't see how anyone can put a small novel into a 4 minute song...but you do it...when do you breathe? the track sounds like a kickin' country radio tune...great job on it brother...you are a master storyteller!

Catchy country song that tells a story and hammers in the chorus. Sort of Jim Croce meets rodeo.

Your vocals really sell the song.

The mix is good to my ears, but it lacks the "sheen" of a pro mix. I'd be hard pressed to say exactly what it's missing. Maybe a bit of vocal processing and something to glue it all together? I'm not sure.

Well worth several listens.

I like it and the overall mood, even though it's hard for me (as a non-native speaker) to follow the vocals because the song is pretty fast.


Maybe that's one of the reasons why you're still alive... the chances of getting killed writing a song are much lower

Hey thanks for stopping by for a listen Bob. Mixing is always difficult for me, this one was particularly tough because it has such a busy lead guitar. It may still be too busy, part of the reason I wanted to post this and see what y'all think. Thanks for the comment.

Yeah, Herb, I've played a few of those type of places in the past too. They can be, well ... interesting. I learned once that a silver belt buckle can be more than decoration. It does a pretty good job of getting you out of a fix when you're swinging it out from a few inches of your belt at a few somebody's who've had a bit too much fun and become unfriendly, but like I said that was in the past - thank goodness. I checked out those songs you mentioned on your page - those are some good songs, man. I think it might be fun to put together a cowboy or western album someday. Those would be good ones to start with.

Thanks for the comment Dan, your opinions mean a lot to me. I've got a short attention span, if I ever read a novel it's got to be 4 minutes or less!

Thanks for listening and commenting David. Yeah, I know what you mean. I think all of my attempts are lacking and I'm still trying to get there. There's a lot of experimenting going on. It's a lot of fun learning though. Jim Croce meets rodeo - maybe a bit of a stretch, but a heck of a compliment. Thanks!

B.D., thanks for taking the time man. I'll bet trying to keep up those lyrics without it being your native language would be especially tough. You cracked me up. I think my wife and mama would agree with you about rodeo, but they weren't that fond of how I settled in on to make a living anyway. Now I'm retired and tucked safely away in my music room. I should be okay, as long as I don't break a guitar string and put my own eye out. As an aunt of mine once said, You know, you just never know!

Brad,

The vocals on this are great.

Really good job.

Excellent Mix!!

First of all, I love the title. It got my attention.

High energy story telling song that kept my toe tapping. You assembled the perfect band for this song.

The band is mixed well, but I agree with Herb: Pull back the vocal a bit in the mix.

I always look at your lyrics before listening and say, "that'll never work. Too many words." But you always prove me wrong and sing it just right. Your vocal performance keeps the tune lively. Brent doesn't step on your singing, did you have to do a lot of splicing to make that guitar work? Great song, not a fan of rodeo, but well done otherwise.

Very entertaining song, Brad. Quite some story!
And you've got exactly the right voice for this kind of song!
Great band too.

Rob and Anne-Marie

Brad,

A nice story song. Upbeat Rodeo Country. Cool tracks.
A nice vocal.
I thought that the vocal "sat above the tracks". That gave the impression that either the vocal was too loud or the tracks (as a whole) were too soft. All that you need is to find a way to get those vocals to "sit in the mix" better. That night be a volume issue, but it is sometimes simple a need for more reverb and/or delay (or sometimes a different reverb choice. Hard to say without doing a bit of mixing experimentation... Souldn't take much, I don't think.

That being said...I enjoyed the ride!

fj

Hi Brad ...

Great and catchy title! A driving beat with some really nice guitar work throughout. I agree the vocal was a little too much in front of ther band, but it was a good listen regardless.

Many years ago, I wrote a song about the rodeo simply titles "Eight Seconds". I might try to redo it in BIAB sometime soon.

I lived in San Antonio a little over six years and played lots of those cowboy bars. About ten or fifteen percent pof the dudes in Tony Lamas and Stetsons were real cowbioys. Most of the others, with their tricked out pickups and gun racks would crap all over themselves if you put them on a horse! But,m they were pretty good at drinking beer and crawling oin the dance floor! I wrote a song about that, too, called "Don't Dnace When You're Drunk".

Anyway ... a really good cowboy song well worth the listening time!

Alan

That was a fun story song, Brad, and your enthusiastic vocal had us on the edge of our seats!

As mentioned it's a cool story and how you fit that into less than four minutes is a marvel.
I'm forever trying to fit a few more words into a line

Good choice of BiaB tracks to propel it along also.

Kudos!

J&B

Gotta love a rodeo song! Great energy, Brad. I rode bareback in the day and did a little non-competitive roping. Did you compete in rodeo? If so, what events?

Brad,
You tell a good, convincing story and keep the energy high. I like your vocals on this- crystal clear despite all the words.
The style fits the subject and those Brent guitar fills are very good.
Excellent!

Robert

Brad,

This is a great sounding tune with awesome lyrics! After reading your description, it made me wonder about all the forces in play that kept you off that bull! The wreck you mentioned had to be bad, but it made wonder if it kept you from suffering a worse fate! God only knows the answer to that though! Man, this tune is movin' and I enjoyed it!

Thanks, Torrey

Hi Brad
Cool song
Your way of singing makes your songs so special
It's really fun to listen to you
Great work Brad
Many greetings
Andi ;-)

Hi Brad,

It's good rock as I like. It's very catchy. I appreciated.

Kindly regard
Derochette
alias JaniJackFlash

LOVE that title!!! A very lively and well told story!!! The guitar licks fit perfectly!! Nicely done!! Take care. Greg