Chapter 2: There and Back

Ron Ferguson

Conor Ames

Ron Ferguson

Southwestern Western, ballad, corrido

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[CHAPTER 2 — WESTERN STORY BALLAD — 108 BPM — G MAJOR → E MINOR] [LOW MALE BARITONE NARRATOR — WARM, DRY HUMOR — CLEAR DICTION] [ACOUSTIC GUITAR — UPRIGHT BASS — BRUSHED SNARE — LIGHT FIDDLE] [THIRD-PERSON NARRATION — ALL DIALOGUE SPEAKERS IDENTIFIED] [NO WHISPERS — NO SPOKEN OUTRO]
[INTRO — 4 BARS — EASY GREENVALE COUNTRY] [ACOUSTIC GUITAR + FIDDLE]
[VERSE 1] Billy Baggs had fed the chickens, Shut the barn and swept the floor, Put his supper on the table— Then came knocking at the door. Gideon Grey stood there grinning, Hat in hand and coat brushed neat; Gideon told him, "Evening, Billy." Billy said, "You come to eat?"
[VERSE 2] Grey stepped in without permission, Hung his hat and poured a drink; Billy watched him find the bottle And began to smell a stink. Then another knock came sounding, Abel Boone stood short and wide; Abel said, "Grey sent me, Billy." Billy turned to Grey and sighed.
[INSTRUMENTAL TURN — FIDDLE] [SECOND KNOCK — WOODBLOCK]
[VERSE 3] Wade came next with Finn and Kit, Then two more rode up behind; Every knock produced a Serrano, Every Serrano came to dine. One found ham and one found biscuits, One discovered Billy's beer; Billy asked old Gideon softly, "How many more are coming here?"
[BREAK — INSTRUMENTS DROP]
Gideon answered, "Hard to reckon."
[BEAT]
Someone knocked.
[FIDDLE PICKUP — BAND RETURNS]
[CHORUS — LIGHT, NOT BROAD COMEDY] Billy's chairs were disappearing, Billy's pantry followed fast; Boots were lined along the doorway, Like they meant to make it last. Grey kept smiling, plates kept passing, Someone found another pie— Billy Baggs had planned on supper, Now he prayed they'd tell him why.
[VERSE 4] They weren't rowdy, only hungry, Though their manners varied some; One tuned up a battered twelve-string, One produced an old hand drum. Spanish passed across the table, Mixed with Greenvale frontier drawl; Billy stood beside his fireplace Feeling shortest of them all.
[INSTRUMENTAL — NYLON GUITAR ENTERS] [ACCORDION VERY SOFT — COMEDY BEGINS TO RECEDE]
[VERSE 5] Then the final knock came heavy, And the room grew strangely still; Torren de Robledo entered, Black coat powdered by the hill. Every Serrano rose to meet him, Even Gideon left his chair; Torren nodded once to Billy— And the laughter left the air.
[KEY SHIFTS TOWARD E MINOR] [BRUSHES OUT — LOW GUITAR + UPRIGHT BASS]
[VERSE 6 — DIALOGUE] Torren told him, "Señor Baggs, Grey has praised your name tonight." Billy turned toward Gideon sharply— Grey found something else in sight. Torren said, "He calls you quiet, Says no lock can keep you through." Billy answered, "Mister Torren, Not a word of that is true."
[VERSE 7] Gideon cleared his throat and told him, "Billy's modest to a fault." Torren said, "Then modesty's A mighty useful thing to vault." Billy stared across at Gideon, Gideon calmly drank his rye; Billy knew the Grey Professor Had constructed one more lie.
[SHORT INSTRUMENTAL — GUITAR]
[VERSE 8 — SERIOUS NOW] Then Abel opened up a leather Case he'd carried through the rain; Inside lay one old gold escudo, Blackened partly by a flame. Torren laid it down before them, And the room forgot its cheer; For the mark upon that money Had survived three hundred years.
[CORRIDO PULSE ENTERS — BAJO SEXTO + LOW ACCORDION]
[VERSE 9] Torren spoke of western mountains, Of the halls beneath the stone, Of the scattered sons of Serranos Who had never known their home. He spoke of led turned flat as pennies, He spoke of fire across the snow; And Billy knew the tale from ballads— Sierra del Oro.
[CHORUS — NOW SERIOUS — MALE HARMONY] Ay, Sierra del Oro, Where the hammer used to ring, Gold below and snow above her, And a dragon was her king. No laughter crossed the table, No one reached to pour the wine; For the old song sounded different When the lost men sang the line.
[BRIDGE — SPARSE] Then Torren told him, "Gold is waiting, More than any man could spend. Grey says you can get us near it Where a bigger man would end." Billy answered, "Grey's a liar." Gideon said, "That's often true." Torren almost smiled at Billy—
"But he says he believes in you."
[2 BARS — SOLO SPANISH GUITAR]
[FINAL VERSE] Billy looked around his kitchen, At the strangers gathered there; At the pistols and the bedrolls, At old Gideon's silver hair. Then he looked toward that escudo, Burned but golden in the light—
And told Torren, "No."
[BAND HOLD]
"I'll thank you all. Good night."
[UPTEMPO INSTRUMENTAL STING — FIDDLE + SPANISH GUITAR] [HARD FULL-BAND END] [NO WHISPER — NO FADE — NO VOCAL AFTER FINAL LINE]

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[CHAPTER 2 — WESTERN STORY BALLAD — 108 BPM — G MAJOR → E MINOR] [LOW MALE BARITONE NARRATOR — WARM, DRY HUMOR — CLEAR DICTION] [ACOUSTIC GUITAR — UPRIGHT BASS — BRUSHED SNARE — LIGHT FIDDLE] [THIRD-PERSON NARRATION — ALL DIALOGUE SPEAKERS IDENTIFIED] [NO WHISPERS — NO SPOKEN OUTRO] [INTRO — 4 BARS — EASY GREENVALE COUNTRY] [ACOUSTIC GUITAR + FIDDLE] [VERSE 1] Billy Baggs had fed the chickens, Shut the barn and swept the floor, Put his supper on the table— Then came knocking at the door. Gideon Grey stood there grinning, Hat in hand and coat brushed neat; Gideon told him, "Evening, Billy." Billy said, "You come to eat?" [VERSE 2] Grey stepped in without permission, Hung his hat and poured a drink; Billy watched him find the bottle And began to smell a stink. Then another knock came sounding, Abel Boone stood short and wide; Abel said, "Grey sent me, Billy." Billy turned to Grey and sighed. [INSTRUMENTAL TURN — FIDDLE] [SECOND KNOCK — WOODBLOCK] [VERSE 3] Wade came next with Finn and Kit, Then two more rode up behind; Every knock produced a Serrano, Every Serrano came to dine. One found ham and one found biscuits, One discovered Billy's beer; Billy asked old Gideon softly, "How many more are coming here?" [BREAK — INSTRUMENTS DROP] Gideon answered, "Hard to reckon." [BEAT] Someone knocked. [FIDDLE PICKUP — BAND RETURNS] [CHORUS — LIGHT, NOT BROAD COMEDY] Billy's chairs were disappearing, Billy's pantry followed fast; Boots were lined along the doorway, Like they meant to make it last. Grey kept smiling, plates kept passing, Someone found another pie— Billy Baggs had planned on supper, Now he prayed they'd tell him why. [VERSE 4] They weren't rowdy, only hungry, Though their manners varied some; One tuned up a battered twelve-string, One produced an old hand drum. Spanish passed across the table, Mixed with Greenvale frontier drawl; Billy stood beside his fireplace Feeling shortest of them all. [INSTRUMENTAL — NYLON GUITAR ENTERS] [ACCORDION VERY SOFT — COMEDY BEGINS TO RECEDE] [VERSE 5] Then the final knock came heavy, And the room grew strangely still; Torren de Robledo entered, Black coat powdered by the hill. Every Serrano rose to meet him, Even Gideon left his chair; Torren nodded once to Billy— And the laughter left the air. [KEY SHIFTS TOWARD E MINOR] [BRUSHES OUT — LOW GUITAR + UPRIGHT BASS] [VERSE 6 — DIALOGUE] Torren told him, "Señor Baggs, Grey has praised your name tonight." Billy turned toward Gideon sharply— Grey found something else in sight. Torren said, "He calls you quiet, Says no lock can keep you through." Billy answered, "Mister Torren, Not a word of that is true." [VERSE 7] Gideon cleared his throat and told him, "Billy's modest to a fault." Torren said, "Then modesty's A mighty useful thing to vault." Billy stared across at Gideon, Gideon calmly drank his rye; Billy knew the Grey Professor Had constructed one more lie. [SHORT INSTRUMENTAL — GUITAR] [VERSE 8 — SERIOUS NOW] Then Abel opened up a leather Case he'd carried through the rain; Inside lay one old gold escudo, Blackened partly by a flame. Torren laid it down before them, And the room forgot its cheer; For the mark upon that money Had survived three hundred years. [CORRIDO PULSE ENTERS — BAJO SEXTO + LOW ACCORDION] [VERSE 9] Torren spoke of western mountains, Of the halls beneath the stone, Of the scattered sons of Serranos Who had never known their home. He spoke of led turned flat as pennies, He spoke of fire across the snow; And Billy knew the tale from ballads— Sierra del Oro. [CHORUS — NOW SERIOUS — MALE HARMONY] Ay, Sierra del Oro, Where the hammer used to ring, Gold below and snow above her, And a dragon was her king. No laughter crossed the table, No one reached to pour the wine; For the old song sounded different When the lost men sang the line. [BRIDGE — SPARSE] Then Torren told him, "Gold is waiting, More than any man could spend. Grey says you can get us near it Where a bigger man would end." Billy answered, "Grey's a liar." Gideon said, "That's often true." Torren almost smiled at Billy— "But he says he believes in you." [2 BARS — SOLO SPANISH GUITAR] [FINAL VERSE] Billy looked around his kitchen, At the strangers gathered there; At the pistols and the bedrolls, At old Gideon's silver hair. Then he looked toward that escudo, Burned but golden in the light— And told Torren, "No." [BAND HOLD] "I'll thank you all. Good night." [UPTEMPO INSTRUMENTAL STING — FIDDLE + SPANISH GUITAR] [HARD FULL-BAND END] [NO WHISPER — NO FADE — NO VOCAL AFTER FINAL LINE]

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