In the 1980s Russell made four albums credited to the Tom Russell Band. These featured Andrew Hardin and accordionist Fats Kaplin.
In the 1990s Russell made a number of solo albums, collaborated with blues singer Barrence Whitfield on two albums, and also recorded an acoustic album mixing original material with his favorite cowboy-themed songs. His albums include several guest appearances from other folk, country, and Americana artists, such as Chris Gaffney and Dave Alvin. His song "Outbound Plane", co-written with Nanci Griffith, became a Top Ten country hit for Suzy Bogguss. His most significant album from this period is the 1999 folk opera, The Man From God Knows Where.
His more recent albums include "Blood and Candle Smoke" (2009) and "Mesabi" (2011).
El Llano Estacado
Tom Russell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And you would have me for a bride
Ride the wild plain and bring
A flask of water from the Mustang Spring
Fly as o'er the eagle's wing
On the Llano Estacado
He smiled and left without a word
Cinched his horse and rode away
through prickly pear and old Maguey,
vanished with the dying day
on the Llano Estacado.
All through the night he gallops on
Daylight broke, he rode alone
Spurred his horse and drew no rein
Across that dry, forsaken plain
Until the Mustang Spring he gained
On the Llano Estacado.
Crazy with love, in Enamorado!
Alone out on the Llano Estacado.
A bitter rest, a few short drinks
Across the spring a buzzard waits
His flask was full and so he turned
To gain the bride he soon would earn
But the sky bright red it burned
On the Llano Estacado
Oh how this shining desert glow
His eyes were burning as he rode
Was this the dream or drunken one
Or was he really riding on
Was that a skull that gleamed and shone
On the Llano Estacado
Oh hold onto his horse he cried
Ignore the devils in the sky
Bear up a little longer yet
His cracked lips he longed to wet
His mouth was black with blood and sweat
On the Llano Estacado
Crazy with love, in Enamorado!
Alone out on the Llano Estacado.
Still against his chest he held
The water flask for her he filled
He longed to drink but well he knew
If empty her love he'd lose
But his raging thirst it grew
On the Llano Estacado
His horse went down he wandered on
Dizzy, blinded and alone
And you out there with watery eyes
Think of how it is to die
Beneath the cruel, uncloudy sky
Of the Llano Estacado
At last he stumbled, then he fell
His race was run he knew full well
Raising to his lips the flask
His face a blistered, painful mask
Drank too, no more could she ask
Of the Llano Estacado
Crazy with love, in Enamorado!
He died out on the Llano Estacado.
That night at the Presido
Beneath the torchlights way below
She danced and never thought of him
A victim of a woman's whim
Lying with that death like grin
On the Llano Estacado
Crazy with love, in Enamorado!
Alone out on the Llano Estacado.
Crazy with love, in Enamorado!
Alone out on the Llano Estacado.
Tom Russell’s song, El Llano Estacado, is a tragic love story set against the backdrop of west Texas. In the lyrics, a woman asks her lover to bring her water from the Mustang Spring on the Llano Estacado, a vast, arid plain. The man rides out, crossing the forbidding landscape in pursuit of his beloved. He reaches the spring, fills his flask, and begins the journey back, but succumbs to the heat and exhaustion. He dies, alone on the Llano Estacado, holding the precious water that would have ensured his love. The song is a poignant illustration of the harsh realities of life in the west Texas frontier.
Line by Line Meaning
If I may trust your love, she cried
She asked him if she can trust his love before asking him to bring her a flask of water from Mustang Spring.
And you would have me for a bride
She would consider marrying him.
Ride the wild plain and bring
She asked him to ride the wilderness.
A flask of water from the Mustang Spring
She asked him to bring her a flask of water from Mustang Spring.
Fly as o'er the eagle's wing
She wanted him to be fast as an eagle.
On the Llano Estacado
On the plains of Llano Estacado.
He smiled and left without a word
He smiled and left without saying a word.
Grabbed up saddle, bit, and spur
He gathered his supplies to ride.
Cinched his horse and rode away
He rode away after saddling his horse tightly.
Through prickly pear and old Maguey
He rode through prickly pear and old maguey on his journey.
Vanished with the dying day
He disappeared along with the sunset.
On the Llano Estacado.
On the plains of Llano Estacado.
All through the night he gallops on
He kept on riding all night long.
Daylight broke, he rode alone
He continued to ride alone when the day broke.
Spurred his horse and drew no rein
He spurred his horse without giving it any rest.
Across that dry, forsaken plain
He crossed the dry and abandoned plain.
Until the Mustang Spring he gained
He finally reached Mustang Spring.
On the Llano Estacado.
On the plains of Llano Estacado.
Crazy with love, in Enamorado!
He was madly in love.
Alone out on the Llano Estacado.
He was alone on the Llano Estacado.
A bitter rest, a few short drinks
He rested for a short time and had a little to drink.
Across the spring a buzzard waits
There was a buzzard waiting across the spring.
His flask was full and so he turned
His flask was full, and he turned back towards his love.
To gain the bride he soon would earn
He was eager to gain his bride's love.
But the sky bright red it burned
The sky burned bright red as he rode.
On the Llano Estacado
On the plains of Llano Estacado.
Oh how this shining desert glow
The desert glowed beautifully.
His eyes were burning as he rode
His eyes were burning as he rode.
Was this the dream or drunken one
He wondered if it was a dream or a drunken vision.
Or was he really riding on
He questioned whether he was truly riding.
Was that a skull that gleamed and shone
He saw a skull that shone and glimmered.
On the Llano Estacado
On the plains of Llano Estacado.
Oh hold onto his horse he cried
He desperately asked his horse to keep going.
Ignore the devils in the sky
He asked his horse to ignore the devils in the sky.
Bear up a little longer yet
He asked his horse to bear up for a little longer.
His cracked lips he longed to wet
He desperately wanted to wet his cracked lips.
His mouth was black with blood and sweat
His mouth was black with blood and sweat.
On the Llano Estacado
On the plains of Llano Estacado.
Still against his chest he held
He held the flask tightly against his chest.
The water flask for her he filled
He filled the water flask for his love.
He longed to drink but well he knew
He wanted to drink but knew that his love's empty flask would be a problem.
If empty, her love he'd lose
If her flask is empty, he would lose her love.
But his raging thirst it grew
But his thirst kept growing.
On the Llano Estacado
On the plains of Llano Estacado.
His horse went down he wandered on
His horse went down, and he was left wandering alone.
Dizzy, blinded and alone
He was dizzy and blinded, left alone.
And you out there with watery eyes
The listeners were teary-eyed.
Think of how it is to die
The listeners were encouraged to think about how it feels to die.
Beneath the cruel, uncloudy sky
The cruel, uncloudy sky was the last thing he saw before death.
Of the Llano Estacado
On the plains of Llano Estacado.
At last he stumbled, then he fell
Finally, he stumbled, and fell.
His race was run he knew full well
He knew that his race had been run.
Raising to his lips the flask
He lifted the flask to his lips.
His face a blistered, painful mask
His face was a painful blistered mask.
Drank too, no more could she ask
He drank the water too; his love would never ask for more.
Of the Llano Estacado
On the plains of Llano Estacado.
Crazy with love, in Enamorado!
He was madly in love.
He died out on the Llano Estacado.
He died alone on the plains of Llano Estacado.
That night at the Presido
That night at the Presido.
Beneath the torchlights way below
Below the torchlights, people were celebrating.
She danced and never thought of him
She danced and didn't think of him.
A victim of a woman's whim
He was a victim of her whim.
Lying with that death like grin
He died with a death-like grin.
On the Llano Estacado
On the plains of Llano Estacado.
Crazy with love, in Enamorado!
He was madly in love.
Alone out on the Llano Estacado.
He was alone on the plains of Llano Estacado.
Crazy with love, in Enamorado!
He was madly in love.
Alone out on the Llano Estacado.
He was alone on the Llano Estacado.
Contributed by Tristan I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.