The Rodeo Song is a famous underground hit of American country music. The song appeared in 1980 and never made it to the official charts because of the abundance of foul language. But the folk fame of the composition spread far beyond North America. It turned out, that this kind of “homemade” country music has always been lacking for the lovers of the genre.
Everything about The Rodeo Song is unusual: the circumstances of its appearance, the lyrics, and the message of the song. Even the story of the band that performed the song is highly unusual. In the stable country music genre, where musicians usually stay on stage for many decades, the band Garry Lee & Showdown burst into life and quickly went out, becoming a classical example of a one-hit wonder, as they say in English-speaking countries.
Creation history
Back in 1980, the newly formed band Garry Lee & Showdown performed in the Canadian town of Drayton Valley. The concert ended late, and the band’s lead singer (the same Garry Lee from the name) didn’t remember his coat until the next day. He went to a local bar, where he left his outerwear.
Right at that moment, guitarist Gay Delorme was performing on the bar’s small stage. Stopping to listen to the music, Harry Lee heard someone at the bar yell out: “Hey, friend, play that song!”
Delorme played it. “That song” turned out to be The Rodeo Song.
Meanwhile Charles Holly, another member of Showdown, showed up at the bar. And he didn’t come empty-handed, but with a tape recorder, on which the guys recorded Gay Delorme’s performance. And then, in the hotel room, they took the lyrics of The Rodeo Song and came up with another arrangement. Naturally, no one planned to pay royalties to the author.
Already at the next concert the band performed the song four times. The public liked the song very much – it became the main hit of Showdown. One of the musicians offered to release the cassettes and in a few months the band sold 20 thousand copies.
Garry Lee & Showdown were just recording their debut album Welcome to the Rodeo. The Rodeo Song was included in the tracklisting literally at the last moment and made the record an unprecedented success. And simultaneously with the album’s release, a censored version of the song was sent out to Canadian radio stations and jukeboxes, which led to even greater popularity.
The song soon came to the attention of the Saskatchewan Alcohol and Gambling Authority. The authorities tried to ban the obscene song, but, as expected, it had the exact opposite effect. Showdown eventually won the title of Best Country Band in Canada at the prestigious Juno Awards in 1982.
Alas, the band broke up just a few months after the award. The reason was trivial financial disputes – even legal proceedings between the band members.
But The Rodeo Song did not lose its popularity. For example, in 1992 it was included on the soundtrack of the horror film “Moonrakers” based on the script by Stephen King. Country music fans still recognize the musicians on the street and ask for autographs. And the author of the original lyrics, Gay Delorme, although he has built a successful, solid career, is most often associated in the press with his hilarious hit.
A little bit about the rodeo
Rodeo is a traditional North American sport that originated among cowboys. In fact – it is a competition to tame bulls and horses. The event is similar to the Spanish bullfighting, but participants do not fight with the animals, and just try to tame them and stay on the horse as long as possible.
The first such tournament under the sporting rules was held in 1883 in the town of Pecos in West Texas. Along with horse racing, rodeos instantly became a popular folk entertainment. To this day, the Professional Rodeo Association holds annual tournaments – more than 650 qualifying rounds and the grand finale in Los Angeles. And then there are other organizations and many unofficial rodeos.
The meaning of The Rodeo Song.
Each tournament draws a very diverse crowd – there are rodeo fans even among the intelligentsia. But the most noticeable part of the audience is middle-aged men who love drinking and gambling and lead a village and slightly marginal lifestyle. It is to them that The Rodeo Song is dedicated.
In the first verse, the lyrical hero decides to go to the rodeo, despite the cold weather. According to him, it is about -40°C outside, but thanks to the heater in the truck, he is not afraid of any frost.
The chorus of the song is an extremely obscene reference to the cowboy. Already as an audience member (and probably in a state of alcoholic intoxication), the hero complains about the poor performance of the rodeo contestant and demands to get off the stage so as not to irritate his precious nerves.
In the next verse, the hero turns his attention to a certain Johnny. The strange man (and even a bit of an invalid) has arrived at the rodeo with a rooster in his hand-apparently straight from cockfighting, another underground gambling show.
The whole composition describes the noisy and unpredictable atmosphere of the rodeo. At a cowboy rodeo you see the most unexpected people making noise, swearing, drinking, and debauchery, despite the bad weather.
Written on behalf of a typical rodeo enthusiast, The Rodeo Song’s lyrics evoke nostalgia for many people whose childhoods and youths were spent in small American towns and villages. The special farmer’s way of life, the atmosphere of the cowboy holiday, the sea of alcohol and gambling entertainment – all this wonderful fun is devoted to The Rodeo Song. Everyone who has been to a rodeo at least once (if they enjoyed it, of course) relives this unusual experience while listening to the bright and pounding song.
