Saturday Morning in Idabel (Sunday Morning Coming Down)

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Saturday Morning in Idabel

There’s a dead armadillo
On the side of the road
Empty beer can in his claws
That joke just never gets old

There’s a dog on the shoulder
Trying to bite his own tail
I’m in the motel parking lot
Watching that dog fail

And I can’t remember
When I ever felt this low
Saturday morning in Idabel
Saturday morning in Idabel
Saturday morning in Idabel
And I ain’t got no place to go.

Down at the Piggly Wiggly
There’s no one in the aisles
No one at the check-out counter
Hasn’t been for a while

There’s a big box store sitting
Out of town, someplace
People are moving towards it
Like it came from outer space

And I can’t remember
When I ever felt this low
Saturday morning in Idabel
Saturday morning in Idabel
Saturday morning in Idabel
And I ain’t got no place to go

And Cookie he is worried
His wife’s leg has turned black
He’s got a concealed weapon’s license
A shotgun and a rack

And he has no idea
How he’ll pay the hospital bill
He says: guns never hurt nobody
only people kill

And I can’t remember
When I ever felt this low
Saturday morning in Idabel
Saturday morning in Idabel
Saturday morning in Idabel
And I ain’t got no place to go

 

Amaya, over at dVerse has asked for a poem about or based on a song to which we have a strong emotional connection. The above piece is a song lyric I wrote thinking of Kris Kristofferson’s “Sunday Morning Coming Down”. I used to travel in my work, and I got stuck in strange towns and cities on Sunday mornings quite a lot. Being away from my family was a depressing experience at times and Kris Kristofferson’s song lyrics resonated. On the upside, being stuck in Idabel, Oklahoma, generated a poem, and a song lyric which my friend, John Mitchell wrote music for, (I have previously posted about that process).

 

 

“On a Sunday morning sidewalk
I’m wishing, Lord, that I was stoned
‘Cause there’s something in a Sunday
That makes a body feel alone
And there’s nothin’ short of dyin’
That’s half as lonesome as the sound
Of the sleepin’ city sidewalk
And Sunday mornin’ comin’ down”

18 thoughts on “Saturday Morning in Idabel (Sunday Morning Coming Down)”

  4. Gospel Isosceles

    I can hear Kristofferson singing your tune. Or Cash. It was a joy to hear your collaboration as you captured the desolation of the place and your mind on a lonesome Saturday morning. Funny how it’s all relative — I’d kill for a Saturday morning all to myself, Idabel, wherever.

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  6. Margaret Elizabeth Bednar

    You captured a town affected by interstates and big business chains – I’ll take old-time charm any day but they are hard to find.

    Liked by 1 person

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  7. Lona Gynt

    So good, bought the music, now all I need is the T-shirt! this is funny, but it also makes me cry, I have been in many Idabel’s… they have always been with us. I think they have a vitality that outsiders may not see, but then again, maybe not.

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      2. sdtp33 Post author

        You wouldn’t want to hear me sing Lona, the singer is my friend John Mitchell who is a talented composer, singer and multi instrumentalist, I wrote the lyrics for 5 of the songs on the album (Idabel, Emma Jean, The Note, The Road and Willie’s Oasis). It was a lot of fun!Thanks again for listening, much appreciated…JIM

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