Get all 13 Highway 80 Stories releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
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1. |
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BALLAD OF BLACK JACK KELLEY AND SPOONER MAGEE
(F. D. Leone, Jr.)
Black Jack and Spooner; Red Ball Saloon:
“There’s gold in Californy, let’s go, Spoon.”
“Californy is a long way, why not just Shreveport?”
“Cuz there ain’t no gold in Shreveport, just whiskey, an’ whores.”
“Hey bud, come over here, set us up again:
Two whiskeys for me, and a beer for my friend.
Let’s find a table, Spoon, an’ talk some more;
A quiet little corner, there, away from the door.”
“Jack, I dunno, I ain’t grasped it jes’ yet,
It all sounds to me awful far-fetched.”
“Spoon, it’s a simple plan, just grab a’hold;
Those busters jump at any little whisper of gold.
They need their spade and pan to feed the fever dream.
Spoon, we’ll start a store; fleece those suckers clean.
“We won’t do any panning, that’s to much like work.
Won’t get rich as miners, but make a fortune as clerks.”
The Stranger walked in and interrupted them;
He had trouble written all over him.
“Friends, you look like a couple of sportin’ blokes,”
He sat right down and asked, “do you mind if I smoke?”
“Not if you’ll share one of them fine cigars.
What’re you drinkin’? I was jus’ headed to the bar.”
“Whiskey. I couldn’t help but overhear
Your extravagant plan of gettin’ rich on the frontier.”
“Frankly, son, y’all don’t appear to have the grit
To execute your plan and make a go of it.”
“Fella, you sound schooled so you oughta know
You can’t take the measure of a man by the cut of his clothes.”
“Brother, it ain’t your clothes that give you away,
It’s how you been actin’ and little things you say.”
“Well, I’ve had enough of your jawin’; best you move on,
Before I give you some choice words to chew on.”
“Neighbor, you’re foolish and I think you’re crude,
You’re a little off key and need to change your tune.
I don’t tolerate behavior that I find rude.
There’s your words, freshly chewed.”
“Mister, now you’ve gone and made me mad,
An’ I hope fancy words ain’t all you have.”
Jack kicked back his chair and threw two quick jabs.
The Stranger dodged ‘em both and that’s when Jack saw the badge.
Jes ‘bout that time Spooner went for the door
He didn’t look, Jack was with him, he was sure.
When he got home and Jack was nowhere about,
He went down to the jail house and bailed Jack out.
After this, Jack’s gold talk came to an end;
He never spoke of California to Spooner again.
They remained good buddies, despite this interlude;
But, Jack improved his manners and was hardly ever rude.
© 2023 Frank David Leone, Jr./Highway 80 Music (ASCAP). The songs and stories on the Highway 80 Stories website are works of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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2. |
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A DAY IN THE LIFE OF SPOONER MAGEE
(F. D. Leone, Jr.)
“My Lord, Sally, you’re as pretty as th’ sunrise.”
“And you’re older than my father.”
“C’mon, now, I’m just bein’ nice.”
“Old man, don’t even bother.”
Spooner met each day with good cheer;
He had high hopes for this new mornin’.
First stop: the Faded Rose for his first beer,
And flirtin’ with that sweet, young darlin’.
It’s been ten years since Jack passed on;
Time’s passed, but hardly changed a thing.
A decade and Spoon’s walked his path alone,
Haunted by a California dream.
“Before I die I’d like to see the ocean;
Stick my toe in it, if I can.
Most days, it’s hard to just get myself in motion.
Then, you had to rub it in, callin’ me ‘ol’ man’.”
“Sally gal, you’re bigger than this place
You’re bigger than even Shreveport.
C’mon, Sal, we’ll stage a prison break;
Make a run for the golden western shore.
Won’t be easy gettin’ there, but I’ll find a way;
The last great adventure of my life.”
“Ah, Spooner, careful now, watch what you say.
Here; this one’s on me. An’ jus’ be quiet.”
“Me an’ Jack almost went in ’49,
Long before you were even born.
Frisco’s changed a lot since that time;
I’ll buy you a dress like you’ve never worn.
Did your daddy tell you stories ’bout Black Jack?
Oh, he was a rascal for sure.”
“Spooner, oughten you be headin’ back,
It’s time for me to cash out an’ lock the door.”
“Jack had a plan to get rich in th’ Gold Rush
Said we’d make a fortune clerkin’ a store.
We never staked the cash, not nearly enough.
One day, he jus’ didn’t talk about it no more.”
“Spooner, that was more’n thirty years ago;
Wishin’ won’t bring those days back.”
“I know, Sally girl, I surely know;
But those were the days for me an’ Jack.”
“Sally Ann, what all’s holdin’ you here?
Except for you, there’s nothin’ for me anymore.
If we start now we’ll be there in half a year;
Nobody here’s done nothin’ like this before.”
“Spooner, I just might take you up on th’ offer;
Leavin’s all I think about some days.”
Standin’ in the tide; knee-deep in salt water;
Sally said, “Spoon, I can’t believe those waves.”
© 2023 Frank David Leone, Jr./Highway 80 Music (ASCAP). The songs and stories on the Highway 80 Stories website are works of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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3. |
Sally Ann
05:46
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SALLY ANN
(F. D. Leone, Jr.)
Sally Ann had dreams she never talked about;
Dreams that would take her far away.
Livin’ in the shadow, of what she could only imagine.
She had grown accustomed to doing without;
Sleepwalkin’, in a kind of daze.
Still, she believed in magic that could suddenly happen.
It kept her yearnin’ heart strong;
It kept her just barely keepin’ on,
A tiny voice whispers, “believe, and it’s yours.”
Sally saw it in her mother’s immigrant eyes;
Who stood on a shore in Sicily,
Starin’ at th’ ocean thirstin’ for a second start.
Askin’ only for a chance at a better life;
Tradin’ all she knew for mystery;
Riskin’ all on somethin’ that seemed so far.
Goin’ where dreamers belong;
Hopin’ for a beckonin’ song;
A tiny voice whispers, “this can be yours.”
Sally Ann worked in a bar, th’ Faded Rose;
She would leap at th’ first chance to escape,
Th’ same old, same old, ev’ry night and mornin’.
One evenin’ as she was just about to close,
Spooner talked about his dream place;
That bar, that night, Sally saw California.
Where she was sure she could belong;
Where she’d hear a welcomin’ song,
A tiny voice whispers, “believe, and it’s yours.”
But Spoon was old and might not ever follow through,
Sally Ann would not be denied;
Some how, some way, she’d end up west.
Even if it all went bust, her heart had been tattoo’d;
Then Spooner said, “Sal, let’s go; let’s ride.”
Th’ best day of her life was th’ next day; they left.
Findin’ where she could belong;
It was there, drawin’ her on,
A tiny voice whispers, “this will be yours.”
A burstin’ heart beatin’ strong;
Finally to start, movin’ on.
Right then, right there, God’s green earth was hers.
Right then, right there, God’s green earth was hers.
© 2023 Frank David Leone, Jr./Highway 80 Music (ASCAP). The songs and stories on the Highway 80 Stories website are works of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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4. |
L'Maison d'Amour
04:07
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L’MAISON D’AMOUR
(F. D. Leone, Jr.)
“Sally gal
Come over here
Sit in my lap
Whisper in my ear.
You know I love you,
Like a daughter;
Not like those other fellas,
Who don’t treat you like they oughta.”
“Harvey, get on,
You ol’ pervert;
You don’ smell good,
An ‘ need to change your shirt.
“Sally gal,
You used t’ be so prim ‘n’ proper;
You were as green,
As a grasshopper.”
“Didn’t take you long,
Before you learned th’ ropes;
Now you give us crusty buzzards,
Th’ straight dope;
Sally gal,
Come on ‘n’ sit in my lap.
Aw now, girl,
Don’t look at me like that.”
Next mornin’ now;
Outside a soft grey drizzle.
Sally is wonderin’,
How a dream can fizzle.
No time for that, no, no no;
No second or third thoughts.
Sally don’ waste time,
Dwellin’ on what she lost.
One by one,
Her girls come downstairs,
As usual, complainin’;
Sally silently swears.
She’s still young ‘n’ pretty,
But not a girl no more.
She’s th’ madam now:
L’maison d’amour.
Well, ol’ Harvey,
He ain’ so bad,
Better’n most of ’em;
He makes her laugh.
“Mary, ya’ll get started, and
Wash your coffee cups.
Get yourselves together, b’fore
They start showin’ up.”
© 2023 Frank David Leone, Jr./Highway 80 Music (ASCAP). The songs and stories on the Highway 80 Stories website are works of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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5. |
Aftermath
05:40
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AFTERMATH
(F. D. Leone, Jr.)
I got the news on a Fridy,
Spooner Magee had died.
Been years since I seen him,
I don’ say that wi’ pride.
Spooner’s how I got to Frisco,
It was his hare-brained scheme.
Well, that’s not exactly true,
He just fanned the flames of my own dream.
I never planned on staying,
But I did, seven years.
Nice bein’ back home again;
Tha’ Louisiana drawl in my ears.
Fried chicken, corn, ‘n’ creamed potatoes,
Folks gatherin’ outta the rain.
Teaspoon brought a plate over
Said, “I’m so glad you came.”
“Y’know, y’meant the worl’ to Daddy;
He talked ’bout you all th’ time.
He never quite believed you were ‘Eye-talian,’
But swore that’s why y’shined.”
“Was just 16 when we rode west;
Y’know, I’ve changed a lot since.”
“Y’made it back for the funeral;
“Look’s like Henry’s ready to commence.”
Sam Lee’s been preachin’ for decades,
He’s got sof’ words for grief.
He touched on Spooner’s highlights
Then testified to Spoon’s belief.
That sure was news to me;
On our trip west, th’ whole four months,
Spoon never ceased talkin’,
Didn’t mention God even once.
I felt someone siddle up next t’ me,
Teaspoon; in the near dusk.
I smiled and wiped away his tear;
That’s how it started for us.
We were married 64 years,
Raised six kids together.
Of course, one was named for Spooner;
Th’ spittin’ image, an’ so clever.
I got the news on a Fridy,
Spooner Magee was dead.
Been years since I seen him,
Such was the life I led.
Tea pass’d in ’46: his liver;
He lies next to Spoon; dust t’ dust.
I’m with them, too, by the river,
A cyprus watches over us.
© 2023 Frank David Leone, Jr./Highway 80 Music (ASCAP). The songs and stories on the Highway 80 Stories website are works of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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6. |
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A bundle of dried roses by her side,
The night Luellen Knox died.
Once, she was a happy bride;
Twice, happiness was stolen from her.
In her life, Luellen loved three men:
Johnny, Wesley, and Ben.
After tonight she won't love again;
That part of her story is over.
Johnny was just back from The Great War,
When he met Lu at a "coming home" dance.
Lips brush a cheek, fingertips touch an arm;
Summer kisses under rice paper lamps.
Johnny needed someone, he was haunted,
He thought Lu was who he wanted,
But Johnny ended up disappointed;
Theirs was just a fleeting romance.
Wesley was wealthy and older;
Since his wife died his heart had grown colder.
Luellen made the embers smoulder;
Wesley felt like a new man.
He used his money to impress:
Cartier bracelet, Chanel evening dress.
On one knee he asked Luellen to say yes;
The market crashed; Wesley was ruined.
Ben sent Lulu a red rose every day,
Home from the sea he captured her heart.
A small wedding was planned for May;
Honeymoon in the Ozarks.
Ben loved Lulu from the day they met,
For thirty years they shared the same bed.
Then suddenly her Ben was dead;
Their time together seemed cut short.
A bundle of dried roses by her side,
It's been ten years since Ben died.
She remembered her three loves and cried;
It had all gone by so fast.
With Ben's photograph in her hand,
Whiskey and pills on the bedstand;
The last few months Luellen planned,
To say goodbye to it all at last.
Ben's death, the last cruel twist of fate;
Third time around Luellen found true love.
The other two were not mistakes;
Each one perfect, for what it was.
Whiskey spilled as her head collapsed;
A few pills scattered as her hand relaxed.
The final curtain closed on her third act;
Luellen is forever with her three loves.
© 2023 Frank David Leone, Jr./Highway 80 Music (ASCAP). The songs and stories on the Highway 80 Stories website are works of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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7. |
Mama's Thanksgiving
04:22
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This year let's make Thanksgiving,
Like Mama used to do:
Turkey and cornbread dressing,
And rice dressing too,
English peas with pearl onions,
Spiced peaches and candied yams,
Cranberry sauce on a plate,
With th' outline of the can.
I loved Shreveport in November,
Clay pigeons at The Place with Daddy;
You would ride Big Red,
I'd do my best on Lady.
I remember playing catch with him,
In the soft glow of sunset;
The only sound you could hear,
Was th' pop of th' ball in' th' mitt.
After Daddy in died,
Mama wasn't the same no more;
She complained of a back pain,
That she never had before.
She got some pills from Dr. Thomas,
And took to her bed;
She went into a haze and hardly came out,
No matter what we said.
But she loved her grandkids,
For them, she really tried;
They're the only ones who could
Touch her right mind.
But even they could tell,
Somethin' wasn't right with gramaw;
They would get upset those times,
When she didn't know 'em at all.
I spoke to mama that week,
But didn't get a clue;
Where she was headin',
Or what she would do.
Over those last ten years,
She lived in her memories.
Was in th' kitchen when the phone rang;
It was Aunt Emmalee.
This year let's make Thanksgiving,
Like Mama used to do:
Turkey and cornbread dressing,
And rice dressing too.
English peas with pearl onions,
Spiced peaches and candied yams,
Cranberry sauce on a plate,
With th' outline of the can.
© 2023 Frank David Leone, Jr./Highway 80 Music (ASCAP). The songs and stories on the Highway 80 Stories website are works of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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Highway 80 Stories Whitleyville, Tennessee
Frank David Leone was born in Shreveport, Louisiana and has lived in the South his entire life with the exception of eight
years in NYC. Leone has also lived and worked at music in Dallas and Nashville. He currently resides in rural Tennessee with his wife and three cats.
His songs have been recorded by Lee Ann Womack, Chris Knight, Rebecca Lynn Howard, and Joy Lynn White, among others.
... more
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