I got a gig Monday from 6-11 PM...first hour is outside playin' the annual re-enactment of the Luke Short/Long Hair Jim Cartright shootout...it was February 8th, 1887 and was the last famous gunfight to occur in Fort Worth.....over the past few years, they have started having a re-enactment...we play for about the first 20 minutes of the re-enactment then go inside (thank god) the white elephant form 7-11....should be a fun night even thought it will be cold for the first hour...
wrote a song about the gunfight...(I know I am off topic but will get back on after this post), and I get to play it one time a year...it is as original to the actual incident as I could make it...
That night way down in Fort Worth, there was violence in the air
Luke Short was gonna hear from the man with the long black hair
Long Hair Jim, no more the law on that fateful night
He was sellin' protection, just like he had the right...
Collectin' from the Elephant, had become a chore
Luke Short said "Hell, I ain't payin' it no more"
Out into the streets they went, their voices got much louder
The signs they all pointed to the smell.....GUN POWDER..
Standing there face to face and nearly toe to toe
Luke had a big gun hid, poor Jim he did not know
Anger turned straight to fear, and Jim grabbed for his side
Luke reached back and shot ol' Jim with his hidden forty five
Jim's hammer thumb was taken off by Lukes first shot
Second shot was to the heart, Jim's lead, it never got hot
As he looked upward to the sky and he shook his head...
Three more shots from ol' Luke made sure that Jim was dead
Gunfight down in cowtown, they're crowded in the streets
Smell of blood in the air, makes entertainment cheap
Luke Short killed ol' Long Hair Jim on that fateful night, seven after noon
Right out here in front of...The White Elepant Saloon....
for those interested...here is a link to the information about the gunfight...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luke_Short