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When Vernon Raney Put Otis Odum Down

from Mississippi Stories, Vol. 1 by Highway 80 Stories

/

about

Donald Motts (1911-1977) and Bessie Ferguson (1914-1966) married in 1928, and then had a daughter, Molly, in 1931. However by this time Donald had begun an affair with another woman, and ended his marriage to Bessie shortly after Molly was born.

Not long after, Bessie married Otis Odom (1914-1960), a decent enough guy, but one with a nasty streak. Bessie thought he was a good man,. to raise a daughter by another man as his own. And because of this she was prone to accept behavior from Otis that otherwise would be unacceptable. Hence she looked the other way when she had suspicions that Otis paid a little too much attention to Molly as she grew older.

As soon as she was old enough, around the age of 15 or 16, Molly ran away from home in Delta, Louisiana, across the river to Vicksburg, Mississippi. Here she attracted the attention of one of the larger land-owners, Vernon Raney (1910-1997). The Raneys were an old Mississippi family, known primarily for their moonshine, but also as a large farming family.

Vernon loved Molly dearly and when she told him of the abuse she had suffered from Otis Odom, Vernon knew immediately that he would kill Odom, which he did in August, 1960.

lyrics

When Vernon learned about,
How Molly had been abused;
He swore to himself what he'd do.
He knew the one who done it,
Though it could not be proved;
He was sure, Molly told the truth.
Was an August afternoon,
Molly and Vern at the river;
When she began to talk.
Vernon did not interrupt her,
Just let Molly surrender
The whole sordid story as they walked.

Then she just stopped talkin',
They stood at the shore;
The still air held her last words.
They turned for home and supper,
The scratch of knife and fork;
Was the only sound that they heard.
Vernon asked around Vicksburg,
Got the dope on Otis Odom;
He'd choose the right time and place.
Make it look like self defense,
Wouldn't take much to goad him;
Knowin' Otis, he'd wanna save face.

Vernon cleaned his .45,
Said, "I'll be gone an hour;"
Set his jaw, an' walked out to his truck.
Molly finished washin' dishes,
It was full dark now;
Sat down wi' th' corn she'd set aside to husk.
Vern caught up with Odom,
At a dive bar in Vicksburg;
Vern smiled at his good luck.
"You're Otis Odom, ain't ya?"
"Yep, since my birth;"
"I've got somp'n for ya in my truck."

Vern followed Otis out,
Grabbed a hay hook on some lumber;
Split th' bastard's skull in two.
Pulled Odom to his truck,
Chained him to the bumper;
Dragged th' body to the bayou.
Tossed the hay hook out th' windah,
Put his truck in reverse;
Then jus' sat there, the engine runnin'.
After two weeks of lookin',
Vern talked t' th' Shurf;
"This August heat sure is somp'n'."

© 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

credits

from Mississippi Stories, Vol. 1, released December 1, 2023
David Leone: guitar, vocal

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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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