Powderfinger (performed by The Beat Farmers)

[Ian David]

Run time: 03:45 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2_xZl3cmj4   Posted on YouTube: November 29, 2006 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: April 09, 2008 By DU Member: Ian David Views on DU: 2463

 
NEIL YOUNG LYRICS

"Powderfinger"

Look out, Mama,
there's a white boat
comin' up the river
With a big red beacon,
and a flag,
and a man on the rail
I think you'd better call John,
'Cause it don't
look like they're here
to deliver the mail
And it's less than a mile away
I hope they didn't come to stay
It's got numbers on the side
and a gun
And it's makin' big waves.

Daddy's gone,
my brother's out hunting
in the mountains
Big John's been drinking
since the river took Emmy-Lou
So the powers that be
left me here
to do the thinkin'
And I just turned twenty-two
I was wonderin' what to do
And the closer they got,
The more those feelings grew.>

Daddy's rifle in my hand
felt reassurin'
He told me,
Red means run, son,
numbers add up to nothin'
But when the first shot
hit the docks I saw it comin'
Raised my rifle to my eye
Never stopped to wonder why.
Then I saw black,
And my face splashed in the sky.

Shelter me from the powder
and the finger
Cover me with the thought
that pulled the trigger
Think of me
as one you'd never figured
Would fade away so young
With so much left undone
Remember me to my love,
I know I'll miss her.

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/neilyoung/powderfinger.html

[givemebackmycountry]

1. IanDB1 thanks for this one...

Yeah - Yeah - I know it's a Neil Young song.
BUT, this is The Beat Farmers the band that gave us "Happy Boy" and "Riverside".
And Country Dick Montana, the most charismatic man in rock and roll.

The Beat Farmers are the most legendary party bar band to come out of the bleak wastelands of Southern California.

I saw them over 10 times and each show was an event like no other.
They would consume cases of beer on stage (most of it spilled over the towering drummer "Country Dick") and the adoring fans clamoring in front of the stage.

I ought to know, I was one of them.

Relentlessly pounding rock and roll party music was their specialty, they tossed in the gimmick of kazoos and sing alongs like "The Swillogy" and "Are you drinking with me Jesus" and the epic "Happy Boy".

"I was walking down the street on a sunny day, hubba, hubba, hubba, hubba, hubba.
Not a care in the world everything was going my way, hubba, hubba, hubba, hubba, hubba.
I'm a happy boy (Happy boy) happy boy (Happy boy) oh ain't it great when things are going your way, hey hey!

My little dog spot got hit by a car, hubba, hubba, hubba, hubba, hubba.
Put his guts in a box and I stuck them in a drawer, hubba, hubba, hubba, hubba, hubba.
I'm a happy boy (Happy boy) happy boy (Happy boy) oh ain't it great when things are going your way, hey hey!

Kazoos! (everyone in the audience that had one played the tune)

Forgot all about it for a month and a half, hubba, hubba, hubba, hubba, hubba.
Then I opened the drawer and I started to laugh, hubba, hubba, hubba, hubba, hubba.
I'm a happy boy (Happy boy) happy boy (Happy boy) oh ain't it great when things are going your way, hey hey!

Hey you had to be there, it was SO much fun.

Sadly, The Beat Farmers are no more.
Country Dick collapsed dead of a heart attack behind his drum set while doing a show in Canada over a decade ago.

Powder-finger was one of their show staples and a great song regardless of who played or wrote it.

But, the BEAT FARMERS?

They live on in my CD collection and every time I throw one of their disc's in, it makes me smile.

IanDB1 - Thanks for the smile.

[Ian David]

2. I bought most of their music on eBay after it was already out of print.

Amazingly (and wondrously!) today I discovered a whole ton of Beat Farmers videos on YouTube!

Also discovered today: You can find at least one song by Beatnik Beatch on YouTube!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHyXhu3dRKA