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Bravado Pete (featuring The Dirt Preachers Union)

by Lea Nelson

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about

Peter Nelson was a great man. The King of San Diego County, in fact. When we heard of his diagnosis we set about telling his life story, with appropriate hyperbolic license. His daughter Lea did the artwork for this tall tale. Myself, the rest of the boys from Big Medicine Head and Allen Johnston threw paint at a musical canvas to see what would stick. Peter Nelson is the spoon player.

Peter Nelson is on the open prairie now, giving God a bad time. If you’re ever passing through San Diego and happen to see the Cuyamaca range against the fading twilight, tip your hat to Pete - those mountains belong to him.

lyrics

A dericho in the Wisconsin sky
on the night the baby arrived
The doctor gave him a slap
and he slapped the doctor back
he was swaddled in a jaguar hide

Young Pete grew to be as lean as a plank
Tall enough to pull down the moon
When he was still a boy
he left his home for Illinois
got in some trouble now he’s gone gone gone

Don’t shine a light down the well
leave the shovel where it fell
you’ll never find Bravado Pete

A shadow on the road he travelled all alone
rang the Brethren bells in Ecuador
In a Barcelona bar
a sailor taught him to play cards
Won a Spanish pistol with a Queen of Hearts

He danced the Donkey Steps under Santorini skies
An English gypsy taught him to read palms
drank with Picasso in Migennes
Absinthe until dawn
and bongo solos all night long

Don’t shine a light down the well
leave the shovel where it fell
you’ll never find Bravado Pete

On an Arizona night
gun shots splashed the sky with light
flashed the windows in Palo Verde West
Sally and the girls
were upstairs taking out their curls
where the shots came from was anybody’s guess

Pete met Sally in an Indio cafe
A swimsuit model in another life
there were sparkles in the air
she was unaware
Bravado Pete had pulled the trigger that night

Don’t shine a light down the well
leave the shovel where it fell
you’ll never find Bravado Pete

Bravado Pete and Smoke Show Sally hit the road for El Cajon
he started up a hiker gang
he rounded up a crew
some educators that he knew
The Bravado Club was their name

There was Hombre Tom and Craig Le Champion
Truck Stop Dave and Boston McQuaid
Bravado Pete and Jailbird John
trouble haunted every road they travelled on

Don’t shine a light down the well
leave the shovel where it fell
you’ll never find Bravado Pete

It was on a summer night beneath the yawning desert sky
the boys were holed up for a rendezvous
A one hour drive
took Pete twenty five
where he spent those hours no one knew

A hundred years ago a Julian miner disappeared
now there’s a ghost on Banner Grade
as the story is told
he roams the mountain poaching souls
many travellers have been waylaid

They say Pete and Sally left
and disappeared into the west
precisely where nobody knows
their silhouettes have been seen
against the Cuyamaca Range
and on the bluffs above the San Diego coast

Don’t shine a light down the well
leave the shovel where it fell
you’ll never find Bravado Pete

credits

released June 5, 2023
Bob Gemmell - vocals, guitar, banjo
peter Nelson - spoons
JD Devros - guitar
Bruce Rockwell - Spanish guitar, saxophone
Allen Johnston - bongos
Dave Murray - washtub bass
Johnny McGuire - piano
JeffyD - drums

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about

Bob Gemmell image

Bob Gemmell Sacramento, California

I've been on the planet for 21,182 days. I've seen some stuff. Fortunately, I take good notes - which have ended up in the verses of songs.

I spent along time as the singer and songwriter with the band Big Medicine Head. Check us out: bigmedicinehead.com.

So, welcome to my blanket fort. Towels are down the hall; please don't use my toothbrush. ... more

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