Geronimo's Cadillac

Joe Fan

Joe Fan

10,000+ Posts
Anyone else remember this song?

Partial lyrics from Michael Murphy's Geronimo's Cadillac --

Well they put Geronimo in jail down south
Where he couldn't look the gift horse in the mouth
Sergeant, sergeant, don't you feel
There's something wrong with that automobile
Governor, governor, isn't it strange
They didn?t have no cars on the Indian range
Warden, warden, please listen to me
Be brave and set Geronimo free

* * * *

Warden, warden, don't you know
Prisoners have no place to go
They took old Geronimo by storm
Ripped off the feathers from his uniform
Jesus tells me I believe its true
The red man is in the sunset too
Took all his land, now they won't give it back
And they sent Geronimo a Cadillac

Youtube of MM singing it The Link

Foto, possibly/probably the foto he mentions (and, if so, it was a Locomobile, not a Cad. But what a great name for a car!) ausbcomp.com/~bbott/cars/1905Loco/index.html

Youtube of Michael Murphy singing Cosmic Cowboy (with friends) at a Willie Picnic. This clip gives a good idea of what Austin was like in the early to mid-70s (tonsa fun). He added the "Martin" later when he tried to go mainstream country. I still say that was a mistake ;-) The Link
 
Somebody did an excellent cover of this a few months ago at the Threadgills in South Austin. I think the band was Greezy Wheels, but I'm not sure.
 
I think one of the first times I saw him was in Gregory Gym in '76 or '77. That was about the time that Blue Sky Night Thunder was released with his hit "Wildfire". He used to always ask the crowd not to smoke as he was allergic to it.
 
Hey look, someone as old as me
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Brak, if it was 77, we might have been sitting next to each other in Gregory! That was a pretty good year (go big EARL!!!!!!!!!!)
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The drag after games was a sight. Went to a Jerry Jeff concert that Fall at the place on south Congress (not the Armadillo but further south), he was over 2 hours late, and drunk. But most people stayed.

Thanks for the replies guys. Check out that Cosmic Cowboy vid. Lots of recognizable faces, including Leon Russell, who I once shared an illegal substance with.
 
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Joe...you're talking about the Austin Opry House. I'm pretty sure I waited along with you. The first time I saw MMM do Gereonimo's Cadillac, was at Willie's Abbott Homecoming in 1973. The last time I saw him do it was last year at the Saxon Pub. He did a solo acoustic set, which was GREAT...he hasn't lost it.

Also...that jam version of Cosmic Cowboy was at the 1974 Picnic @ Texas World Speedway, in Bryan-Collie Station. I was somewhere right there at the front of the stage...three days of musical bliss(among other things). I ate hot dogs, back stage, with B.W. Stevenson, who is also in the video.

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His Finest Album:
Also includes :
Natchez Trace
Boy From The Country
What Am I doin Hangin round
Rainbow Man

His only effort close IMO is "Cosmic Cowboy Souvenier"

If you can find either of those on CD lemme know
 
Thanks Litnin. Seems like its hard to find spots like that now. That early version of Austin is my favorite. And what a coincidence with the two tales of same crowdedness with you and Brak?

As to MMM, I never knew the real story but always assumed some record company told him ,"If you ever wanna make it boy, you gotta change your look, your name, your sound and move to Nashville."

I was not at that 4th picnic. Too bad the crowd shots are so dark or maybe there you are! So many cool chicks back then, agree? Austin was full of them. But that was actually my first summer to take on Puerto Escondido, Oxaca. I was 14, or maybe 15. Fly Houston to Acapulco. Taxi to La Flecha Roja station, and 3rd class overniter down the coastal highway (we ran over a horse sleeping in the road). Arrive in the morning face to face with the best, most powerful tube on the continental North American coast. It absolutely rocks. Shakes the ground under your feet. I was hooked and kept going for the most of the next 15 or so summers (including after UT graduation -- starting at San Blas, 4-wheeled it with 3 other Horn surfers all the way to Guatemala. Might not have returned but for the sister's wedding). And, dude, talk about a place that is not the same. Poor Escondido. Que malo.

But I took Cosmic Cowboy with me on a casette tape. Recorded from the record player speakers into a tabletop recorder though a mic. Put two car speakers in my backpack and connected them with alligator clips. Laugh but I had the only music in English in town! The Californians did not like MMM. Pobrecitas. But the Venezuelans learned some of the words. And they liked Ger's Cad. So take that Pacific Palisades.
 
JoeFan:
"Alleys Of Austin" was on Cosmic Cowboy. Another fine song was "North Canadian River Song", which being from Amarillo held some feeling.

He had one other really good song on his next album called "Southwestern Pilgramige" kind of forshadowing his move to NM and te Cowboy genre, I was never a big fan of "Wildfire" and stuff after that.

To stray a bit??? My favorite Jerry Jeff album is "Jerry Jeff Walker". Recorded and produced in Austin in 71 or 72. MMM sang along on most somgs. An album with little or no production, and included:
"Hill Country Rain" ( my fave)
"Charlie Dunn"
"LA Freeway" ( written by Guy Clark)
" David and Me" ( about David Bromberg w/ great acoustic guitar)
This album says " Austin" to me.
 
Agree on the JJW pick. LA Freeway put him on the map as a singer. Mr. Bojangles as a writer, I guess. He can still put on a good show too. How could one not appreciate these lyrics --

When friends come for Saturday night
It's nice to make up some Sangria wine
It's organic and it comes from the vine
It's also legal and it gets you so high
* * * * *
In Texas on a Saturday night
Everclear is added to the wine sometimes
Some nachos, burritos and tacos
Who knows how it usually goes, it goes


And a friend of mine knew Charley pretty well. His name is Charley too.

Well, if you're ever in Austin, Texas
A little run down on your sole
I'm gonna tell you the name of a man to see
I'm gonna tell you right where to go
He's working in Capitol Saddlery
And he's sewing in the back of the place
He's old Charlie Dunn, the little frail one
with the smilin' leathery face
 
One quick Amarillo story. Coming back from skiing Steamboat, 3am, dog tired, my turn to drive. Exit for gas, and intersection was completely iced over. I did not reduce speed quick enough on the ramp. Tried hard to rein it in, but it made one quick, little backend side step. The crap in the back of the truck shifted just enough, and we went through the intersection spinning sideways. Had anyone been coming though at that moment, fuglee. As it was, I ended up pointed right at the gas station.
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My sister's picture is in the LP album jacket for Geronimo's Cadillac. It opened like a book and she's a little blond girl about 5 years old or so with a yellow dress on. Her Mom (my Dads first wife) dated Gary P. Nunn (and others) for a while and my sister knows them all.

My Dad still has that LP somewhere.
 
hey Litnin:

here is a clip of the opening credits of a movie somebody made of that 1974 Willie Picnic, with a few more crowd shots. maybe you will find yourself in one of them. wouldnt that be a hoot? The background song is BW Steveson Texas Morning, a song i have on my ipod rotation The Link

and here is another of my fav singer/songwriters from that era -- Highland Park grad Willis Allen Ramsey doing part of Spider John The Link
 
Sure, I am old enough to remember hearing Geronimo's Cadillace on the radio
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My favorite MMM song will always be: "Carolina in the Pines"
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BTW: Capitol Saddlrey is no longer on Lavaca.

They up and moved to a strip mall in just the last couple of months. Their classic sign, which I wanted to photograph, is gone.
 
350 days out of the year Amarillo has the best weather in Texas. Take a look at the temps around Texas for a year and check it out.

The other 15 days are bears. Or for bears.

I lived there long ago for a few years and occasionally miss the place. Occasionally like all summer long in Corpus.


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