Eoin Butler: writer, journalist and Mayoman of the Year
Tripping Along The Ledge
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BROWNSVILLE GIRL (1986)
Co-written with playwright Sam Shepard, Brownsville Girl is one of Bob Dylan’s greatest ever songs. Click on the wide, elongated rectangle above to hear it – the video is too lame to bother sharing. I had a notion once that every single line of this song would make a really badass Twitter update. And, you know, I might have had a point……shot down by hungry kid trying to make a name for himself
…was thinkin’ of bummin’ a ride back to from where I started
…was looking for somebody with a pompadour
…was crossin’ the street when shots rang out
…didn’t know whether to duck or to run, so I ran (my favourite, favourite line ever)
…saw yr picture in Corpus Christi Tribune. Underneath, it said, “A man with no alibi”
…went out on a limb to testify, said you were with me
…saw you break down in front of the judge and cry real tears, it was the best acting I saw anybody do
…always been the kind of person that doesn’t like to trespass but sometimes just find myself over the line
etc. etc. etc.
An epic, by any standard…
September 22nd, 2009 at 10:02 am
Nice one Eoin. Dylan is a bottomless pit of excellence
September 22nd, 2009 at 10:23 am
Not very often I’d say I agree with a YouTube comment Sean, but someone on there has written “more a movie than a song” – which is pretty accurate…
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Really epic track and some nifty work on the You Tube front there Butler!
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Thanks Fintan. I mean, Tina Turner… wtf?
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:46 pm
What’s Tina Turner got to do with it, you might even say!!
September 23rd, 2009 at 11:57 am
“What’s Tina Turner got to do with it”
Well it is a bit on the 80’s side. Big drums and poxy reverb.
A brilliant song though, it rises above all that. Great vocal too.
September 23rd, 2009 at 2:39 pm
A lot of people criticise the production Peter, but I actually kinda like it… & the backing vocals esp.