# old songs-revisted-El paso **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 22, 2019, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-songs-revisted-el-paso/840635 "2019-09-22T01:46:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2019, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-songs-revisted-el-paso/840635/41 "2019-10-13T18:06:45Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > It’s clear that the singer realizes immediately that he’s made a big mistake, and that the townspeople think it was murder. I doubt that the townspeople would be so quick to take sides on behalf of someone who just rode into town, vs someone who had been there six weeks. More likely the posse was made up of friends of the victim, who just wanted revenge for the killing whether it was self defense or not. And if anyone in the song committed murder, it was the members of the posse. The cowboy wasn’t trying to escape, but to return to Feleena. There’s a bit of discrepancy in the timing of the cowboy’s return. In El Paso, it’s implied that he stays away for some time. > [@](#): > > It’s been so long since I’ve seen the young maiden > My love is stronger than my fear of death. In Feleena, it’s the next day: > [@](#): > > The next day at five o’clock, she heard a rifle shot > Quickly she ran to the door, that was facin’ the pass > She saw her cowboy, her wild-ridin’ cowboy > Low in the saddle, her cowboy was ridin’ in fast; ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2019, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-songs-revisted-el-paso/840635/42 "2019-10-13T19:47:33Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > You’re really invested in this, against all logic. Did Marty Robbins kill your dog or something. B.B. King’s tour bus ran over my wife’s neighbor’s German Shepard. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2019, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-songs-revisted-el-paso/840635/43 "2019-10-13T19:48:49Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I doubt that the townspeople would be so quick to take sides on behalf of someone who just rode into town, vs someone who had been there six weeks. More likely the posse was made up of friends of the victim, who just wanted revenge for the killing whether it was self defense or not. And if anyone in the song committed murder, it was the members of the posse. The cowboy wasn’t trying to escape, but to return to Feleena. > > There’s a bit of discrepancy in the timing of the cowboy’s return. In El Paso, it’s implied that he stays away for some time. > > In Feleena, it’s the next day: Yes, but the next day makes more sense since why would there be a posse waiting if it had been some time? Esp a 17 man posse. That always made me wonder, how long is a posse gonna sit outside of town and wait for a man who committed manslaughter and horse theft? (with horse theft possibly the worse crime). But now the sequel song clarifies this and makes sense. In El Paso _“Back in El Paso my life would be worthless. Everything’s gone in life; nothing is left. It’s been so long since I’ve seen the young maiden My love is stronger than my fear of death.”_ _“It’s been so long since I’ve seen the young maiden”_ could well be the next day for this love smitten dude. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2019, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-songs-revisted-el-paso/840635/44 "2019-10-13T19:55:22Z")
_Come a little Bit closer_ is kinda similar: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/V0JlLOmphjQ/maxresdefault.jpg "JAY AND THE AMERICANS-"COME A LITTLE BIT CLOSER"(LYRICS)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0JlLOmphjQ) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2019, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-songs-revisted-el-paso/840635/45 "2019-10-13T20:00:30Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > _“It’s been so long since I’ve seen the young maiden”_ could well be the next day for this love smitten dude. Actually, he must have started back the same night he fled: > [@](#): > > I saddled up and away I did go, > Riding alone in the dark. But then the guy seems like he might be ADHD…😉 If the posse is waiting for him, it does seem that the next day makes more sense. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2019, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-songs-revisted-el-paso/840635/46 "2019-10-14T12:55:46Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > B.B. King’s tour bus ran over my wife’s neighbor’s German Shepard. But, do you hate all women named Lucille? ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2019, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-songs-revisted-el-paso/840635/47 "2019-10-14T13:37:14Z")
He got “Out to the badlands of New Mexico” and back in a couple of days? Both the Zuni-Banderas malpais and the Carrizozo malpais are a significant distance from El Paso. As a critic once said of Louis L’Amour’s writings, “He had strange ideas about how far a horse could travel in a day.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2019, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-songs-revisted-el-paso/840635/48 "2019-10-14T13:56:34Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > I only know it because the Grateful Dead played it live about 350 times. Actually, they only played it once. There was just a LOT of improv and jammin’ thrown in. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-songs-revisted-el-paso/840635.md?page=2)