How will I ever get to heaven now?

On the road again
Lost my wife and girlfriend
I want to go home with the armadillo
How will I ever get to heaven now

As I walked out in the streets of Laredo
It was my last time
In that Texas sky
How will I ever get to heaven now

I remember dancing all night at the Farmer’s Daughter
I guess I was just a honky tonk angel
Oh, cowboy that I am, far away from home
How will I ever get to heaven now

Carry me back to the lone prairie
To the land for which I yearn
I’m a child and I am drifting ’round
How will I ever get to heaven now

The sun goes down and leaves me sad and blue
Its nobody’s fault but mine
How will I ever get to heaven now
How will I ever get to heaven now

Introduction

The lyrics above highlights a common theme found across several songs: a lonesome cowboy traveling far away from home and missing Texas. In these lyrics, I implied that heaven is Texas and the cowboy had to leave Texas for their work, and is now worried that they would never be able to return back to heaven (Texas).

My primary goal through this creative project was to combine the lyrics of multiple songs.

Analysis

How will I ever get to heaven now

The lyric was taken from the controversial rock song “Lubbock or Leave It” which was released on April 7, 2006 by the The Chicks, formerly known as The Dixie Chicks. The piece was created as a direct response to Maines’ hometown after its involvement in shunning the group following her anti-Iraq war sentiments that she expressed in their 2003 UK performance (Hight; Watson 49).

On the road again

The lyric was taken from the song, “On the Road Again” by Willie Nelson. Willie starred as an aging rocker in the film Honeysuckle Rose. While on an airplane flight, he was asked to write a song about ‘being on the road’ for the film by director Jerry Schatzberg and executive producer Sydney Pollack, so he grabbed a barf bag and proceeded to write “On The Road Again” on it.

The song topped the US Country Chart and crossed over to pop, peaking at #20 in late 1980. The song won a Grammy the following year for Best Country Song.

Lost my wife and girlfriend
In that Texas sky

The lyric was taken from the country song “Amarillo By Morning” by George Strait. It was released in 1982 on the album Strait from the Heart with MCA Records. Strait’s song had a neotraditional approach which was a byproduct of the modern country movement.

I want to go home with the armadillo

The lyric was taken from the song London Homesick Blues by Gary P. Nunn. When Gary Nunn traveled to London for the first time, he realized just how different it was from his home in Austin, Texas. He had spent his time in the UK sleeping in his brother’s flat, with barely any money to spend, no heater and nowhere to go. On one of these miserable heatless days, he took out his guitar and wrote a song about the hardships he faced in London.

As I walked out in the streets of Laredo

The lyric was taken from the song “Streets of Laredo” by Marty Robbins. It is a popular song about cowboys and the Old American West. The song “Streets of Laredo” tells the story of a dying cowboy who, in his last breaths, laments to another cowboy about the life he had led. Texas culture, and especially the culture of American country/folk music, is largely influenced by stories of cowboys settling and taming the Old “Wild” West.

It was my last time/This is my last time

Teenaged Barbara Lynn was devastated when she found her boyfriend Sylvester talking to another girl. As she recalls, “He said, ‘Wait, this is my friend’ or ‘my sister’ or something. I said, ‘Sylvester, if you lose me, you’ll lose a good thing.’ I cried that night, but I woke up the next morning and wrote that song.” She put her ultimatum to a catchy melody, punctuated in the middle by a confident “oh, yeah.”

I remember dancing all night at the Farmer’s Daughter/ You could dance all night at the Farmer’s Daughter

The lyric was taken from the song, “I Like Austin, But I Love San Antone”. The song I picked to analyze was “I Like Austin, But I Love San Antone” by Garret T. Cappps. The song was released not long ago, on August 20th, 2021, and was written in the singer’s hometown of San Antonio, Texas. As Garrett Capps puts it, the new music genre he created is “Kraut-Country.” Which he calls a mix of the electronic hum of synth pop and the classic twang of Texas country music.

I guess I was just a honky tonk angel/No, well, I guess I’m just a honky tonk angel

The lyric was taken from the song “The Wild Side of Life” by Freddy Fender.

Oh cowboy, that I am, far away from home/Oh, cowboy far away from home
Carry me back to the lone prairie

The lyric was taken from the song “Carry Me Back To The Lone Prairie” by Carson Robinson in 1934. Carson represents Texas in many ways. Through his lyrics, music, and appearance he portrays himself as Cowboy from Texas. When he mentions the “lone prairie” there is speculation that the origin of this place was originally in a small town called Lohn, Texas. Eventually, cause the lyrics have been altered so many times, it became lone.

To this land for which I yearn/To the land for which I yearn

n the 1947 film Bells of San Angelo, Lee Madison (played by singer and actress Dale Evans) sings the original song “I Love The West”. Between 1940-1950, Evans was the leading lady for Hollywood’s most iconic musical westerns which glorify a false narrative of cowboy culture. The cowboys that are portrayed in the film are much different than the Tejano cowboys of Texas’s true origins, which is telling of the deliberate erasure of history, and the political and social conflicts that Tejano, black, and indigenous people had to face at the hands of white (anglo) Texans.

The sun goes down and leaves me sad and blue

This song was written about the post-World War II era, and I believe is Tillman’s most powerful lyrical song. Many people say that this song is about the war involving the United States, but some people say this song is actually about the challenges of marriage. I think that Floyd might have purposely created this song to have multiple meanings to reach all sorts of people. Much like in the first song I mentioned, you cna hear Tillman’s unique and swanky voice, especially in the occasional long high notes that he sings.

Nobody’s Fault but Mine

The words in “Nobody’s Fault but Mine” is simple in nature but it is delivered powerfully. The earthy voice of BWJ combined with the steely bluesy music gives a sense of serenity and spirituality. His voice is similar to that of a preacher giving out a sermon in a street corner.