SHADES  OF  GRAY

Written by Robert Earl Keen Performed by Robert Earl Keen

We made Oklahoma a little after 3 Randy, his brother Bob and my old GMC We had some moonshine whisky And some of Bob's homegrown We were so messed up we didn't know If we were drunk or stoned Randy was a sad-sack, tall kinda frail Bob was a raving maniac, crazy in the head They been kicked out of high school Several years ago For pushin over port-a-cans At the 4-H rodeo Since then they've done their little dance Right outside the law Popped twice in Oklahoma, Once in Arkansas And I don't know what possessed me To want to tag along Cause I was raised a Christian And I knew right from wrong CHORUS: Right or wrong, black or white Cross the line your gonna pay In the dawn before the light Live and die by the shades of gray We stole two Charolais heifers from Randy's sweetheart's paw Sold them at the livestock sale Outside of Wichita We got 900 dollars  And never did suspect The world of hurt we'd be in Once we cashed that check Next day we heard the story On the local radio Made our plans that very night To go to Mexico I swear we would have made it If it wasn't for that shine I got sick about the time we crossed That Kansas line CHORUS I was layin in the bar ditch Prayin I would die When a light come on above us And a voice come from the sky A half a dozen unmarked cars Came screeching to a halt They grabbed Bob, he started screamin It was all my fault There were men and dogs And helicopter buzzin all around They had the brothers on the Pickup hood and me down on the ground Bob flew all to pieces But Randy he held tight When a black man in a suit and tie Stepped out into the light He told his men to turn us loose They put down their guns He said these are just some Sorry kids, they ain't the ones CHORUS They left us by the roadside Down hearted and alone Randy got behind the wheel Said boys I'm going home We turned around to face our fate Downhearted but alive On that mornin in late April, Oklahoma, 1995 . CHORUS

This song really makes me appreciate the Internet.  I was living in El Paso, and driving in to work, when this song came on the radio and caught my attention.  The chorus is catchy and easy-to-remember, and when I got home that evening, I was able to search for the lyrics, and so discovered Robert Earl Keen.  I went on Morpheus, and listened to several other songs by him, and liked what I heard, and bought Picnic.  I now own about 5 REK CD's.

I picked this song for this week to complement last week's Shades of Grey by Billy Joel.  There is black and white, innocence and evil, but most of the day-to-day choices we make are not so clearcut.  But the cumulative effect of many misdemeanors or petty crimes or even failures to do good may be to live one's entire life in shadows. I think the message of this song is that 3 young men, when confronted with true evil, faced up to their bad choices, and decided to get back onto the straight and narrow.

Robert Earl Keen page

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