The Ballad of Me and Josie (1982) (NSFW)
Words and Music ©1982, 2013 by Dallas Denny
Source: Denny, Dallas. (1982). The ballad of me and Josie. Unpublished song.
Me, 6 December, 2013 (160 MBPS MP3)
The Ballad of Me and Josie
By Dallas Denny
There used to be a place in Texas
Where a man could always go
When he was feelin’ lonesome
And he’s far away from home
All the truckers called it Mercy
And the preachers called it Sin
Though I suppose there’s truckers never went
And I know there’s preachers did
The name of the place was the Chicken Ranch
It was a whorehouse first damned class
Where all the love was strictly business
All transactions strictly cash
There was girls to thrill and fly you
And a net to catch your fall
As long as you had money
And there was ashes left to haul
(Optional Verse)
In the parking lot of the Chicken Ranch
There’d be every kind of rig
Lexuses and Cadillacs
And semis hauling pigs
Bringin’ men both nondescript
And men of great renown
But they all would get their furnace stoked
‘Till the passion melted down
My favorite girl was Josie
But I hung that romance up
‘Cause she was seeing senators
And I just drove a truck
She was my one-and—only
I was her one-of-quite—a—few
‘Cause on any one night at the Chicken Ranch
There’s a lot of fellers to do
Refrain:
Oh, Sweet Josie
What future can there be
For a working girl from Texas
And a boy from Tennessee
Because, oh, Sweet Josie
After all is done and said
When a girl works at the Chicken Ranch
There’s a price tag on her bed
I dreamed about Josie
Through a million trucker’s miles
Lyin’ in the sleeper
Whenever I hit Texas
As I was wearin’ out them tires
I’d stop by to see Josie
Like it was I.C.C. required
On the wall beside of Josie’s bed
Hung a framed and gilded sign
It read, “The Customer Always Comes First
And He Pays for it Every time”
Whenever I saw Josie
She would never take a dime
She was sending me a message
It escaped me at the time
Oh, Sweet Josie
What future can there be
For a working girl from Texas
And a boy from Tennessee
Because, oh, Sweet Josie
After all is done and said
When a girl works at the Chicken Ranch
There’s a price tag on her bed
I dreamed about Josie
Stood my share of one-night stands
Cried a lot arid talked it up
On all the CB bands
And one night down on Bourbon Street
As a whore took all my pay
Suddenly it hit me
Just what Josie’d tried to say
When I got to the Chicken Ranch
It was a busy Friday night
I busted into Josie’s room
I was sure I’d have to fight
But the man who was there with her
(He’s a man you all might know)
And he didn’t want no publicity
So he didn’t mind to go
Well, the Chicken Ranch is closed now
And the place has run to dust
But for twenty years it was a damned good place
For a man to take his lust
And Josie and me, we’re married
But I don’t mind the life she led
As long as she gets supper
And keeps the meter off the bed
Oh, Sweet Josie
What a future there can be
For a pretty girl from Texas
And a boy from Tennessee
Because, oh, Sweet Josie
After all is said and done
You could have had all the men in Texas
And you settled for just one
To put a moral to this story
Add a meaning to this tale
For all you crooks out on the street
And all you innocents in jail
All you drunkards on the highway
And you truckers in the lounge
Some things just gets better
The second time around