The Dead South -- Broken Cowboy [REACTION] 

Hey Don. I enjoy your reaction videos very much. CPR is "Canadian Pacific Railway". Wadena is a town in southeast Saskatchewan about 200 or so miles from the U.S. border. Wadena is a town in Southeast Saskatchewan, 200 or so miles north of the U.S. Border. Milligan Creek is a seasonal stream South of the town flowing into Big Quill Lake. FYI, up here in Canada we pronounce "Regina" like the intimate female body part. You did do well on Saskatchewan though. Cheers.

This and is so awesome

You need to check out The Dead South, Colter Wall and Blake Berglund singing Roger Millers song my uncle used to love me but she died.

morning Don i'm 3 hours from home rolling with 2 bald tires and a oversize load good song be safe HAKAD

I read the lyrics to see if I gained a better understanding of the song. The meaning is still ambiguous but I got the sense his son killed himself with his father's gun. The person that informed him of the death called him brother but he felt was also slandering his name; maybe because of his guilt at having kept the gun. Thought provoking!

I love the band and the song is awesome. So here I what I got. The fist stanza sets the stage. He is old , alone and full of regret. He is in a peace full place where nothing can bother him “except” Then he recaps his life of living wild. He says he thought he would live forever with his heart in his pocket and the gun by his side. The second line of the song tells us that he has gold in his pocket. It is the gold that he loves. He then marries and has two kids but the way he describes giving her a daughter and she gave him a son makes me think that he was closest to the son. He then says they “rode those horsed till then had none” and “Oh, I should have put that old gun away” , implying that his son followed him into a life of crime. He regrets bringing his son into the lifestyle and he should have changed his ways. “ Racing cars and robbing trains” , I think , refers trying to catch up with train cars in order to rob them. Robbing trains may refer to running up to a moving train and throwing the content off vs the old western version of robbing trains. Trying to catch up to a moving train would be the “racing (train) cars”. The song does not say how the son died, but by saying his son “went down” it brings thoughts of falling. Perhaps and accident or he died robbing a train, maybe in a shoot out. “As I see grey” may refer to the color of a police uniform that was informing him of his sons death. The portion about calling him brother while slandering him at the same time , may refer to the police consoling a father even if he was a known criminal. The last stanza brings us back to the original setting. Old , alone and full of regret. His son is dead and family gone but he has the gold. The last line is the most telling. After recanting the fist stanza he finally tells us what was the only thing that could bother him. It was “that old taunting tree”. I believe the whole story is about a regretful old man in a serene place at the end of his life contemplating taking his own life.

Ukiuk, this is something different. I took away that was the cowboy life? No sure. Great music! Thanks for posting, Captain. Love and hugs for all~stay safe!

This is what I get. He was born in 1955, was married in 1977, and had two kids. He was a hell raiser and outlaw his entire life even after he was married I assume that he blamed himself or at least his lifestyle for his son's death which is why he should've put his gun down. I think the person who told him that his son was killed was a preacher who called him brother when he delivered the bad news. However, the same preacher also "slandered" his name becasue of his outlaw ways. Assuming he didn't have anything to do with his son's death, and he didn't kill the preacher, the old taunting tree is where he's considering suicide. Or it could be the tree that he is about to be hanged from if he did. [Verse 1] It's been a long dark dirty road And pocket full of gold And I've been out here now All on my own Well it's real quiet here Just the way I like it here There's no one to bother me Except... In 1955, born into Wadena's pride I laid my head on that Milligan creek bed When I was a young man I helped build these land I laid down these rails as a CPR man Thought I'd live forever With my heart in my pocket Oh, my gun by my side And my feelings in a locket Well, that was a cold year in 77 But I married my wife We had 2 kids I gave her a daughter She gave me a son And we rode those damn horses til we had none Fists still like flyin' Doing things for dyin' Oh I should have put that old gun away [Chorus] But I, I am me, a broken cowboy And I don't feel right no more 'Cause I am a broken cowboy [Verse 2] Livin' life in the fast lane Racing cars and robbing trains I thought I had it all Then one day I got the call A father's worst dream My son went down and I The colours deceive me As I see grey Oh you're cutting me down with those Cold words you're saying Then you called me brother But this can't be so 'cause you slander my name Anywhere the wind will blow [Chorus] But I, I am me, a broken cowboy And I don't feel right no more 'Cause I am a broken cowboy [Outro] It's been a long dark dirty road But a pocket full of gold And I've been out here now All on my own Well it's real quiet here Just the way I like it here There's no one to bother me Except that old taunting tree

I'll post the lyrics as well but this is what I get. He was born in 1955, was married in 1977, and had two kids. He was a hell raiser and outlaw his entire life even after he was married I assume that he blamed himself or at least his lifestyle for his son's death which is why he should've put his gun down. I think the person who told him that his son was killed was a preacher who called him brother when he delivered the bad news. However, the same preacher also "slandered" his name becasue of his outlaw ways. Assuming he didn't have anything to do with his son's death, and he didn't kill the preacher, the old taunting tree is where he's considering suicide. Or it could be the tree that he is about to be hanged from if he did. [Verse 1] It's been a long dark dirty road And pocket full of gold And I've been out here now All on my own Well it's real quiet here Just the way I like it here There's no one to bother me Except... In 1955, born into Wadena's pride I laid my head on that Milligan creek bed When I was a young man I helped build these land I laid down these rails as a CPR man Thought I'd live forever With my heart in my pocket Oh, my gun by my side And my feelings in a locket Well, that was a cold year in 77 But I married my wife We had 2 kids I gave her a daughter She gave me a son And we rode those damn horses til we had none Fists still like flyin' Doing things for dyin' Oh I should have put that old gun away [Chorus] But I, I am me, a broken cowboy And I don't feel right no more 'Cause I am a broken cowboy [Verse 2] Livin' life in the fast lane Racing cars and robbing trains I thought I had it all Then one day I got the call A father's worst dream My son went down and I The colours deceive me As I see grey Oh you're cutting me down with those Cold words you're saying Then you called me brother But this can't be so 'cause you slander my name Anywhere the wind will blow [Chorus] But I, I am me, a broken cowboy And I don't feel right no more 'Cause I am a broken cowboy [Outro] It's been a long dark dirty road But a pocket full of gold And I've been out here now All on my own Well it's real quiet here Just the way I like it here There's no one to bother me Except that old taunting tree

Something i could see Colter singing.

So here is what I got..

Thats a cool hat

After listening to this, I did what Tupelo did - looked up the lyrics. The only thing I could gather from this was that his son killed himself with the gun. Other things didn't make much sense to me. Racing cars, robbing trains, working for the railroad, and calling himself a cowboy. I do like this group because they are different - not quite bluegrass - not quite country - and they sometimes sing with Colter Wall.

Nice!

What I heard was there was a guy who called him brother but then slandered his name everywhere the wind blowed. Not sure if he was referring to his fallen son or someone else. But overall the lyrics carry a lot of weight & have a haunting quality that we don't get enough of these days.

I like the song a lot, but I think it was written to be inconclusive and disquieting. Kind of like how some people’s lives are.

Regina Re - jie - na (jie as in eye) :-)

He got the terrible call that his son was dead...he lost his shit and couldnt see colors. He apparently got the call from his brother who called him brother and that pissed him off because there must have been some history

Paul Cauther please. The Big Velvet. Any song.

Enjoyed your reaction. But it’s pronounced Regina, not Regena, long I.

Don why can’t I find any reaction on your page for the jompson brothers????

Not sure why see u in video, With simple comments

i see no implication his son died by gunshot his death seems ambiguous