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Black River Killer Lyrics
It was just a little while past the sunset strip
They found the girl’s body in an open pit Her mouth was sewn shut, but her eyes were still wide Gazing through the fog to the other side They booked me on a whim and threw me deep in jail With no bail, sitting silent on a rusty pail Just gazing at the marks on the opposite wall Remembering the music of my lover’s call So you make no mistake I know just what it takes To pull a man’s soul back from heaven’s gates I’ve been wandering in the dark about as long as sin But they say it’s never too late to start again Oh when, oh when Will the spirit come a calling for my soul to sin Oh when, oh when Will the keys to the kingdom be mine again? It was dark as the grave, it was just about three When the warden with his key came to set me free They gave me five dollars and a secondhand suit A pistol and a hat and a worn out flute So I took a bus down to the Rio Grande And I shot a man down on the edge of town Then I stole me a horse and I rode it around Til the sheriff pulled me in and sat me down He said, you make no mistake I know just what it takes To pull a man’s soul back from heaven’s gates I’ve been wandering in the dark about as long as sin But they say it’s never too late to start again Oh when, oh when Will the spirit come a calling for my soul to sin Oh when, Oh when Will the keys to the kingdom be mine again? Well the sheriff let me go with a knife and a song So I took the first train up to Oregon And I killed the first man that I came upon Because the devil works quick, you know it don’t take long Then I went to the river ford to take a swim You know that black river water is as black as sin And I washed myself clean as a newborn babe And then I picked up a rock for to sharpen my blade Oh when, oh when Will the spirit come a calling for my soul to sin Oh when, oh when Will the keys to the kingdom be mine again? Oh when, oh when Will that black river water wash me clean again Oh when, oh when Will thee keys to the kingdom be mine again |
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01-06-2009
it's been aired on popular radio stations such as SIRIUS XM U, since at LEAST late november... it's had time to get popular.
anyway, done ranting. this song is great. it's so western-y sounding, and his voice is as wonderfully country as ever.
not to mention the quirkiness of the song. i have no idea what it would be about though, except about a killer...
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01-06-2009
I love that just when you hope our narrator might finally just go up to Oregon to escape his trouble, he "killed the first man that I came upon / Because the devil works quick, you know it don't take long". Definitely a heart and soul of darkness here.
I also hear themes of ingrained character: he can't help himself. I'm reminded of the scene in the movie "The Crying Game" (great film from the 80s if you haven't seen it) where the story is told of the frog and the scorpion.
The scorpion needs to cross the river and asks the frog if he can hitch a ride on his back, and the frog says, 'but Mr. Scorpion, if I give you a ride, you will sting me and we both will surely drown', but the scorpion with his charm convinces the frog to give him a ride. The frog agrees and in the middle of the river the scorpion stings him. As they sink into the water to their death, the frog cries out, 'Why did you sting me Mr. Scorpion, for now we both will surely drown.'
And the scorpion replies, "I can't help it, it's in my nature".
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01-09-2009
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01-27-2009
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02-01-2009
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03-06-2009
"It was just a little while past the sunset strip" and "So I took the first train up to Oregon" place the murders in the pacific northwest, where the green river killer murdered.
"When the warden with his key came to set me free" he was also imprisoned and released before being later sentenced
"And I killed the first man that I came upon" he killed often, and for no real reason
"They found the girls body in an open pit" often dumped bodies into pits off of road sides
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03-24-2009
Also, I don't know if there is any merit to a theory I have, but there was a river called the Black River near Seattle that dried up in 1916 because of manmade activity. If this was the intended river in the song, the "Black River Killer" could be the Lake Washington Ship Canal... but this is a little far-fetched.
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03-31-2009
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04-15-2009
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04-21-2009
he is not a killer at first. in fact, what he thinks about when first imprisoned is the 'music of [his] lover's call.' Not usually the concern of a killer. the narration skips this bit, but it's quite likely that the lover shunned him upon his release, believing him guilty, and then what was left for him to do with himself except use the gun they gave him.
he is made a killer by circumstance and weak will--but he yearns for salvation, obviously. "when will the keys to the kingdom be mine again?" when can he again have something pure in his life?
beautiful!
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04-21-2009
and don't you just love how BT adds a bit of technology (cars, buses) to remind you that they wrote the song, it is modern, and not a long-lost folk song they have simply borrowed. a song like this one could easily have been written one hundred years ago if not for "took a bus" (or "sunset strip," perhaps). ALmost like a tiny signature to keep any lazy listener from thinking such.
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04-24-2009
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08-20-2009
*All of this supports the Frog and The Scorpion story that walkinjingle was talking about.*
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10-11-2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WruodIBlfs
nuts!!! after watching the video I like Zanderman's idea
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10-21-2009
first hear the chourus your like
"O, this is a catchy diddy!" so you
turn it up then you realize that it's
about a friggen sociopathic killer.
So then you feel a little weird because
you still like it. so you look around
roll up your windows and you start
singin' along about how some
guy goes around killen people.
Ahhh nothing like a good KILLIN' song. =P
~when o when?~
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11-20-2009
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