a labor of love; a collaboration between Lou Quarmwater, JCMosquito, Michael Hughes, and Road Apples; an Americana epic journey (I hope).
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Story behind the song
It started as a John Steinbeck-esque Americana tune - the co-writers steered it into Tex-Mex country...and now it's done.
Lyrics
Verse 1
On a cold dark Sunday I drove past the church standing naked bereft and forlorn
I left at dawn knowing somewhere out west I might find some salvation from where I was born
There is nothing as black as the soil the wind stole as it scorched the earth and our dreams
Left us pale and heartbroken and lost to the future - the future’s for others it seems.
Verse 2
We met on the road trying to get to Salinas avoiding the border patrol
We found pretty soon by the light of the moon our desires were joined at the soul
Wandering through valleys as green as her eyes and the deserts as blond as her hair / we laid it
all on the line, we were destined to find paradise waiting for us somewhere.
Chorus:
Born to Whiskey and Sin
Wherever I’m going, wherever I’ve been
Born to Whiskey and Sin
I have a hard time these days taking out what I tried to put in
Born to Whiskey and Sin.
Verse 3
The local boys raided a shanty town camp that we happened to be passing through
A stray bullet shot from the back of a truck shattered everything we ever knew
There is nothing as black as the soul that was stolen and scorched on the day that she died
In many a bottle I’ve tried to forget tried to make sense of it tried to hide
Chorus:
Born to Whiskey and Sin
Wherever I’m going, wherever I’ve been
Born to Whiskey and Sin
I have a hard time these days taking out what I tried to put in
Born to Whiskey and Sin.
Verse 4
As I stood in the sand with my back to the land of Steinbeck’s milk and honey lies
I felt each soothing wave replenish and save me from digging my grave at sunrise.
Well I guess if you’re blessed then the west is the best while the rest of us live hand to mouth
A hard lesson to learn but then I took a left turn, found my dreams were still burning down south.
Verse 5
Now its hot as a mother in a San Something-or-other bordello - I‘ve been here awhile.
As I told her my tale my senorita for sale pulled me closer, caressed me and smiled
She said your journey’s been risky let me buy you a whiskey and to her surprise I shook my head
I blame whiskey and sin for the shape that I’m in....but I’ll have a tequila instead.
Chorus:
Born to Whiskey and Sin
Wherever I’m going, wherever I’ve been
Born to Whiskey and Sin
I have a hard time these days taking out what I tried to put in
Born to Whiskey and Sin.