His most famous work is Alice's Restaurant, a talking blues song that lasts eighteen minutes and twenty seconds (in its original recorded version; Guthrie has been known to spin the story out to forty-five minutes in concert). The song, a bitingly satirical protest against the Vietnam War draft, is based on a true incident. In the song, Guthrie was called up for a draft examination, and rejected as unfit for military service as a result of a criminal record consisting in its entirety of a single arrest, court appearance, fine and clean-up order for littering. In reality, Guthrie, though a carrier of the genetically inherited disease Huntington's chorea, was classified as fit (1A); however, his draft-lottery number did not come up.
Buffalo skinners
Arlo Guthrie Lyrics
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By Arlo Guthrie
Come all you old time cowboys
And listen to my song
Please do not grow weary
I'll not detain you long
Concerning some wild cowboys
And spend the summer pleasant
On the range of the buffalo.
Well I found myself in Griffin
In eighteen eighty-three
When a man by the name of Creagho
Come a'walkin' up to me
Sayin "How do you do young fella
And how'd you like to go
And spend the summer pleasant
On the range of the buffalo".
Well me being out of work right then
To that drover I did say
"My goin' out on the buffalo range
Depends upon the pay
But if you pay good wages,
Transportation to and fro
I think I might go with you
On the range of the Buffalo".
Well yes I pay good wages
And transportation too
If you'll agree to work for me
Until the season's through
But if you do get homesick
And you try and run away
You'll starve to death out on the trail
And you'll also lose your pay
Well with all the flatterin' talkin'
He signed up quite a train
Some ten or twelve in number
Of able bodied men
And our trip it was a pleasant one
Through all New Mexico
Until we crossed Pease River
On the range of the buffalo
It was there our pleasures ended
And our troubles all begun
A lightnin' storm come up on us
And made the cattle run
We got full of the stickers
On the cactus that did grow
And the outlaws waited to pick us off
In the hills of Mexico
Well the working season ended
But the drover would not pay
He said "You spent your money boys
You're all in debt to me".
But the cowboys never put much stock
In a thing like a bankrupt law
So we left the bastard's bones to bleach
On the range of the buffalo.
Arlo Guthrie's song, "Buffalo Skinners," is a folk song that tells the story of a group of cowboys who go out to round up buffalo in the late 19th century. The song is a traditional American folk song that has been covered by many artists, including Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger.
The song begins with a call to all old-time cowboys to listen to the story of some cowboys who went out to the range of the buffalo for the summer. The singer of the song, who is also the singer, found himself out of work in Griffin in 1883 when a man named Creagho approached him and offered him work rounding up buffalo. The singer agrees to go, but only if Creagho pays good wages and provides transportation to and from the range.
The song describes the cowboys' journey to the buffalo range, which involves a pleasant trip through New Mexico until they cross Pease River. The journey goes awry when a lightning storm causes the cattle to run and the cowboys become covered in cactus stickers. Outlaws await them in the hills of Mexico, and the cowboys are forced to fight for their lives. In the end, they complete their work but are not paid by the drover, who claims they owe him money. The cowboys leave the drover to die alone on the range of the buffalo.
Line by Line Meaning
Come all you old time cowboys
Arlo Guthrie invites cowboys of old to listen to his song
And listen to my song
Arlo Guthrie urges them to pay attention
Please do not grow weary
He asks them not to lose interest
I'll not detain you long
Assures them the song will be short
Concerning some wild cowboys
Shares a story about unruly cowboys
Who did agree to go
Cowboys who decided to embark on a journey
And spend the summer pleasant
To enjoy a nice summer
On the range of the buffalo.
And traverse the area where buffalo herds roam
Well I found myself in Griffin
The artist found himself in Griffin
In eighteen eighty-three
It was the year 1883
When a man by the name of Creagho
A man named Creagho approached him
Come a'walkin' up to me
Creagho came up to him on foot
Sayin "How do you do young fella
Creagho greeted him
And how'd you like to go
He then offered him an opportunity
And spend the summer pleasant
To have a good and enjoyable time
On the range of the buffalo".
In the area where buffalo graze
Well me being out of work right then
The artist was currently unemployed
To that drover I did say
He responded to the drover
"My goin' out on the buffalo range
Regarding the offer to go on the buffalo range
Depends upon the pay
The deciding factor is the pay
But if you pay good wages,
If the pay is good
Transportation to and fro
Transportation to and from the range
I think I might go with you
He just might come along
On the range of the Buffalo".
To spend the summer on the buffalo range
Well yes I pay good wages
The drover agreed to pay well
And transportation too
And provide transportation
If you'll agree to work for me
If they would commit to working for him
Until the season's through
Until the season has concluded
But if you do get homesick
But if they become homesick
And you try and run away
And attempt to flee
You'll starve to death out on the trail
They won't survive in the wilderness
And you'll also lose your pay
They won't get paid
Well with all the flatterin' talkin'
The drover spoke nicely and convincingly
He signed up quite a train
Thus, he managed to recruit quite a few cowboys
Some ten or twelve in number
Around ten to twelve cowboys
Of able bodied men
They were physically capable
And our trip it was a pleasant one
At first, the trip was enjoyable
Through all New Mexico
As they passed through New Mexico
Until we crossed Pease River
Until they reached Pease River
On the range of the buffalo
On the same buffalo range mentioned before
It was there our pleasures ended
Their enjoyment of the trip ended there
And our troubles all begun
And the difficulties started
A lightnin' storm come up on us
An intense lightning storm hit them
And made the cattle run
The storm made the buffalo scatter
We got full of the stickers
They got covered in spiky prickles
On the cactus that did grow
Which grew on the nearby cacti
And the outlaws waited to pick us off
Outlaws were lurking, waiting to ambush them
In the hills of Mexico
In the Mexican hills
Well the working season ended
The work period ended
But the drover would not pay
The drover refused to pay them
He said "You spent your money boys
He accused them of squandering their earnings
You're all in debt to me".
And claimed they owed him money
But the cowboys never put much stock
The cowboys didn't give credit
In a thing like a bankrupt law
To the concept of bankruptcy
So we left the bastard's bones to bleach
They left the drover's remains to decay
On the range of the buffalo.
On the same land where they worked with the buffalo
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: J BAIRD, PD TRADITIONAL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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