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Cassidy and The Kid * Villanelle*

by Alex Smyth

"But I busted a chair right across his teeth, And we crashed through the wall and into the street,
Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer."
~ A Boy Named Sue ©1969 by Shel Silverstein (recorded by Johnny Cash)


They're bigger and they're badder and there's more of them f'shore,
I'm thinkin hard right now we coulda done without that drink~
But I got your back, my friend, as we're headin toward the door.

The odds 'r gainst the stranger when the good ol' boys keep score,
Don't call the hand that's dealin' less you're ready for the stink~
They're bigger and they're badder and there's more of them f'shore.

Right is right, but might makes right on any barroom floor,
When they go to circlin' round you makes your belly start to sink~
But I got your back, my friend, as we're headin toward the door.

We've burned some roads, us two, and if we live to travel more,
Then load that BearCat quickly while my Barlow spills red ink~
They're bigger and they're badder and there's more of them f'shore.

Throw the chair and sling the table, ain't no time to spare decor,
We've got one chance to make it, and we'll miss it if we blink~
But I got your back, my friend, as we're headin toward the door.

We caught em dealin' dirty, somethin no pride could stand for,
No friend of MINE takes crap from some ol' backwoods missin' link.
They're bigger and they're badder and there's more of them f'shore
But I got your back, my friend, as we're headin toward the door.

06/18/2003

Author's Note: Hokey, yes! A dear friend in another state underwent an unfair persecution on her last day at a job. This is my way of saying if I'd been there with her, we would have cut somebody before we backed out of that joint!

Posted on 06/18/2003
Copyright © 2024 Alex Smyth

Member Comments on this Poem
Posted by Mara Meade on 06/19/03 at 12:18 AM

Hokey? uh-uh and no way. Pardner, I'd be honored to call you "friend." Saddle up Ol'Red and let's get the hell out of Dodge.

Posted by Mara Meade on 06/19/03 at 12:22 AM

Smyth, I'm just cracking up. Where did all of this come from? "Backwoods missing link?" Throw the chair and sling the table , ain't no time to spare decor?" These lines are PRICELESS!!

Posted by Charles E Minshall on 06/20/03 at 03:48 AM

Good poem Alex. Might work for a song.....Charlie

Posted by Quentin S Clingerman on 06/20/03 at 03:38 PM

Ole West saga as I live and breathe! Graphic tale of friends and gunfighting! As has been said some really clever lines. Outstanding writing.

Posted by Philip F De Pinto on 06/21/03 at 10:21 AM

old blood an guts would be proud, lose your head but not your heart.

Posted by Graeme Fielden on 06/21/03 at 12:57 PM

there's some wonderfully descriptive & lyrical imagery in this piece Alex. Your friends must feel pretty safe with you watchin their backs! All the best G :)

Posted by Aaron Howard on 06/27/03 at 03:44 AM

I love the way this one flows, takes you back to a time you knew blood was thicker than water... A

Posted by David R Spellman on 07/07/03 at 05:47 PM

Whoa there Nellie! Had to do a re-take on this lively bit o' fun. Each time it just gets better!

Posted by Vimal Rony on 07/08/03 at 06:32 AM

Such a wonderfully outstanding write,Alex.

Posted by Max Bouillet on 07/14/03 at 03:18 PM

They're bigger and they're badder and there's more of them f'shore..... great refrain that should become a mantra for all true friends. Great poem... or country song.

Posted by Jeanne Marie Hoffman on 07/17/03 at 09:42 PM

I'm jealous of your villanelle skills! I love it, the "accent" it is written in and everything

Posted by Mara Meade on 09/16/07 at 02:48 AM

We've burned some roads, us two, and if we live to travel more,
Then load that BearCat quickly while my Barlow spills red ink~


This becomes mo' bettah after the years...

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