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The Lives of the Cowboys (WESTERN THEME) SS: THE LIVES OF THE COWBOYS....brought to you by Paradise Brand
Air Freshener for use on the trail.....As we join Dusty and Lefty, they're
camped near the frontier town of St. Peter, along with a herd of ten-thousand
turkeys. (GOBBLING, HORSES IN DISTANCE, OUTDOOR NIGHTTIME AMBIENCE. GOBBLING
CONTINUES SPORADICALLY) GK: Don't forget, this is the Midwest, pal. Not the Wild West.
If you think of the mind as a highway, here it's limited-access. Lot of
guard rails. And a speed limit of 25. TR: No saloon with buckets of beer and cheap floozies with painted
faces ready to throw their arms around a stranger and make him feel welcome?
GK: You're thinking of Mankato. Just down the road. Different
town. No floozies in St. Peter. Only thing open all night is the mailbox.
TR: Kind of a conservative town, huh? (TURKEYS) GK: Yeah. That's why we're herding turkeys instead of beef. And
people who are that concerned about cholesterol are not people who go
in for impulsive romantic liaisons. TR: No wonder the population ain't growing. (TURKEYS) Hey, shut
up, you turkeys! Qwitcher gobbling or I'm coming out there with a stick!
(TURKEYS) Guess we better save our frequent rider miles for a trip to
Vegas. GK: I came to St. Peter to see a woman named Amber. TR: Who's she? GK: Woman I used to know. Years ago. Cheyenne. Beautiful woman.
TR: She's here in St. Peter now? GK: Yep. TR: Fell in love with her, didja? GK: Yep. TR: One of those weekend romances? GK: Yep. TR: And you're still carrying a torch for her, twenty years later?
GK: Yep. TR: She musta been some woman. GK: Yep. (TURKEYS) TR: Hey, I said to shut up out there! (TURKEYS) GK: You know if you want turkeys to be quiet, you don't yell at
them. TR: What are you doing? (GUITAR CHORD) Oh no. You're not going
to sing to em---- please---- GK: It's an old turkey herding song. (STRUMS) Lay your heads down, all your turkeys. YODEL An old turkey herding song. See? They're all quiet. Dusty? --- Where'd
you go, Dusty? (BRIDGE) GK: Well, we got to St. Peter and sold the herd and I headed down to
the Mozart Café to meet Amber. It was a classy place. Sort of old
and dim. Books and magazines. (STRING QUARTET) Good strong coffee. Interesting
people. Conversation. And a string quartet playing. ---- When you're out
on the trail, you sort of come to miss string quartet music. I know I
do. (QUARTET PLAYS, THEN FADES SLIGHTLY) SS: Lefty? GK: Huh? SS: Lefty, it's me. Amber. GK: Amber----amazing to see you. SS: Same here. GK: Twenty years, and you've only become more beautiful. SS: You're sweet. GK: Haven't seen you since that party. Arbor Day. 1983. In Yellow
Gulch. A town with no trees. SS: I remember. You brought me flowers. A whole pot of begonias.
GK: It was kind of dangerous for a cowboy to go riding around
with begonias back in those days. I had to stop a couple times and defend
my honor. So you remember? SS: I remember everything. GK: Everything? SS: Yes. GK: I must say it was a high point in my life. SS: I remember you sang "Nessun dorma." And an aria
from Mozart. GK: It must've been the wine. SS: You were standing on a boulder, holding a flaming torch, with
begonias in your hair. . GK: I remember. La ci darem la mano. Vorrei e non vorrei. SS: It was nice. GK: A great night. SS: You were pretty amazing. GK: You too. SS: Then you left town. GK: I told you I was coming back. SS: I waited. For six months. GK: Yeah. SS: Then I met Norman. From St. Peter. GK: Somebody told me he was nice. SS: He is. I love him. We have three beautiful kids together.
I like my life a lot. GK: Good. Glad to hear it. SS: How about you? GK: What about me? SS: You happy? GK: I'm okay. SS: Ever think of settling down? GK: Yep. All the time. SS: Ever try settling down? GK: Briefly. SS: What happened? GK: It made me nervous. You like it here? SS: Yes. GK: You don't miss Wyoming and all that carefree revelry and sheer
excess and……….. SS: Nope. GK: I brought you something, darling. A little souvenir from our
weekend together. SS: What's this? (UNFOLDS PAPER) Looks like a marriage license.
---- Is this--- (STING) ---- oh my gosh. Oh Lefty. (STING) I must've been
terribly drunk. GK: I guessed maybe you'd forgotten. SS: How did this ever------ GK: It was the morning after I sang you "Nessun Dorma".
We went to that justice of the peace's house and---- SS: I don't know what to say. ----oh my gosh----- I'm so ashamed.
GK: Don't worry about it. SS: Don't worry about it? What am I going to tell my husband?
GK: Don't tell him a thing. I'm sorry I showed it to you. SS: We've been married all these years and you never came to find
me? GK: I just wasn't sure how I felt about marriage. SS: Oh my gosh. What am I going to do? My kids are illegitimate.
I'm living in sin with a Lutheran minister and I've had three kids out
of wedlock. What if people find out? I'll be tarred and feathered and
ridden out of town on a rail. GK: No, you won't. SS: You don't know these people. I do. They'd never forgive this.
GK: They're never going to know about it. SS: I've got to tell them. GK: You don't either have to. It was a dumb thing we did twenty
years ago. It means nothing. SS: But we're married--- you and I---- GK: No, we're not. We just shared a little whiff of begonia, long
ago and far away. Your true love is the one you make a life with. Everything
else is just an interesting story. But you sure were a wonderful story.
SS: What's that? GK: A match. (STRIKES MATCH) SS: What are you doing? GK: Setting things right. ---- There. It's all gone. SS: Lefty? GK: What? SS: Behind you. GK: Oh. TR: Hi. I'm Norman. Marilyn's husband. You must be Louis. GK: Yes. TR: Marilyn's told me about you. You were classmates at Concordia.
Right? GK: Concordia? Oh right. Concordia. TR: Nice to meet you. So you're a singer? You were in choir together?
GK: Yes. Right. Sort of, yes. TR: And you write poetry? GK: You could say that. SS: Louis has a lovely voice. TR: Oh, really. You sing in church? GK: No. - ---- I sing to my horse. SS: Sing us a song, Louis. TR: Sure. We'd like to hear one. GK: Well, I don't know much sacred music. Just music about what
I think of as sacred. SS: Sing me "My love is like a red red rose." GK: Okay. (TO QUARTET) You folks know the cowboy version of "My
love is like a red red rose"? Not too fast. (QUARTET: WHOOPI TI YI)
Well, my love is like a red rose that's sprung in June There was a time when grove and stream WHOOPI TI YI YO SAY FAREWELL TO ME SS: So long, Lefty. GK: Did I really sing "Nessun dorma"? Puccini? SS: Not real well, but you sang it. (THEME) © Garrison Keillor 2003 |
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Singer and songwriter Andra Suchy talks about singing duets with Garrison, and her latest album, Little Heart.
Old Sweet Songs: A Prairie Home Companion 1974-1976
Lovingly selected from the earliest archives of A Prairie Home Companion, this heirloom collection represents the music from earliest years of the now legendary show: 1974–1976. With songs and tunes from jazz pianist Butch Thompson, mandolin maestro Peter Ostroushko, Dakota Dave Hull and the first house band, The Powdermilk Biscuit Band (Adam Granger, Bob Douglas and Mary DuShane).
