The Barnacle Chronicle - The Adventures of Fletcher Morton
Fletcher is a native of Florida’s Treasure Coast. He started playing guitar at the age of 7 and entertains audiences with a mix of classic rock, reggae, folk, and blues. He also loves science fiction (Especially time travel), fishing, learning about airplanes and taking flight lessons, cooking, computer programing, playing with his dog Bruce, and going to the beach. This blog chronicles his adventures in paradise!
We all know the song 12 Days of Christmas, right? Well, I was scrolling through YouTube trying to find something to write about, and I found this: 13 Nights of Halloween!
Here are the lyrics:
On the (insert number 1-13 here) night of Halloween,
Don't tell all the witches, but I don't know where to put all this stuff. Quick question, what are y'all going to be for Halloween this year? I'm going to be an Unknown Phantom. See y'all tomorrow!
Good question! I've been learning some new songs, like Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher by Jackie Wilson. I've also been playing basketball with some of my friends. I'm alright with playing defense, but don't do too well with gettin' the ball in the hoop. I'm now doing an open mic night with a friend of mine, Jonathan Cummings, on Tuesdays at NOTES Music Room and Wine Bar!
I've also been taking Ballroom Dance lessons at Fred Astaire Dance Studio. I'm going to their Halloween dance party on October 25th. Speaking of October, on October 23rd, I'm going to be one of the performers at the Saint Luke's Episcopal Church Open Mic in Stuart, FL! Come on over to hear myself and other talented musicians. Show starts at 6:45 PM, and here's the address. 5150 SE Railway Ave, Stuart, FL 34997. That's all for now! Hope to see y'all either at the open mic above or in the next blog tomorrow. See ya!
Hello everyone! The Barnacle Chronicle is back! Every day, I will be posting a blog about my adventures of the day. A lot of things have happened since the last blog. I have a new dog, Bruce.
He's a seven month, 50 pound Lab mix. He's been a real handful for us. Here lately, I've started learning more difficult songs, like Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin. It was very hard to learn at first, but I kept going and now I can do the whole thing. I've been taking voice lessons from a good friend of mine, Michael Robbins. He's really helped me with making my voice clearer and better sounding. Thank you, Michael. That's all for now. See y'all tomorrow on The Barnacle Chronicle!
About a month ago, I learned a song called Pancho and Lefty, by Townes Van Zandt. It's a pretty odd song when you first hear it. You think "What the heck is this about?" I am going to tell you. First, read the lyrics down below to maybe get just a little bit of the story and meaning. The story is told in more detail after the lyrics.
“Pancho And Lefty”
Verse #1
Living on the road my friend, was gonna keep you free and clean, Now you wear your skin like iron, And your breath’s as hard as kerosene,You weren’t your mama’s only son, But her favorite one it seems, She began to cry when you said goodbye, And sank into your dreams. Pancho was a bandit boys, his horse was fast as polished steel, wore his gun outside his pants, for all the honest world to feel, Pancho met his match ya know, on the borders down in Mexico, nobody heard his dying words, but that's the way it goes.
Chorus
All the Federales say, they could have had him any day, they only let him hang around, out of kindness I suppose.
Verse #2
Lefty can't sing the blues, all night long like he used to, the dust that Pancho bit down south, ended up in Lefty's mouth, the day they laid old Pancho low, Lefty left for Ohio, where he got the bread to go, ain't nobody knows.
Chorus
All the Federales say, they could have had him any day, the only let him slip away, out of kindness I suppose.
Verse #3
Now the poet's sing how Pancho fell, Lefty's livin' in a cheap hotel, the border's quiet and Cleavland's cold, so the story ends we're told, Pancho need's your prayers it's true, save a few for Lefty to, he just did what he had to do, now he's growin' old.
Chorus
All the Federales say, they could have had him any day, they only let him go so wrong, out of kindness I suppose.
Chorus
Yes a few old gray Federales say, they could have had him any day, they only let him go so long, out of kindness I suppose.
My Mom and I and other sources say that the story is one of betrayal. The story is that Pancho was a bandit in Mexico who robed banks and trains. Lefty was his sidekick who helped set the robberies into place. The Federales were the Mexican federal police, who would offer a reward of say 1,500 pesos to whoever finds and brings Pancho to them, most likely a Dead or Alive situation. Lefty looks at the reward and says to himself "You know, I'm kinda tired of being in Pancho's shadow, plus I could do with a bit more money." Pancho and Lefty figure out their next robbery, then Lefty goes to the Federales and says "Hey, if you guys want to catch Pancho, here's where he is going to be." Pancho goes to the robbery and gets caught and hung on a noose. When they put Pancho in his coffin, Lefty said "I'm out of here" and went to Cleavland, Ohio. A long while later, Lefty is an old man, who still has the guilt of betraying his friend and turning him over to the Federales. All in all, it is a very sad story and if you listen to the Townes Van Zandt original version of the song, you can here the sorrow in his voice, almost as if it's Lefty singing the song.
A great man has
left us. On May 14th, 2015,Riley B. King, BB King, known as the King of the Blues, died at
the age of 89 in his home in Las Vegas.
This man has been a great influence on
me, and was one of the men who made me want to play guitar when I was 7.
BB King, was
born in 1925 in the Mississippi Delta. When he was about 8 or 9 years old, his
mother and father separated. BB went to his Grandmother after his mother died
of diabetes. He went to church, and the Reverend came in with an electric
guitar. Sometimes, when the Reverend was at BB’s grandma’s house, BB would play
that guitar. At twelve years old, he got his first guitar for $15.00. Later on,
he played around the Mississippi Delta and became known as the Blues Boy, or
BB. He got a band together called the BB King Review, filled with horns, a
drummer, a pianist, and another guitarist.
He made a
lot of famous songs, such as “Everyday I Got the Blues”, “The Thrill is Gone”,
and “Rock Me Baby”, and has played with many famous people such as Eric Clapton
and Carlos Santana.
In 1949, he
played at a dance hall with his $30 Gibson. To keep the heat in the hall, there
were barrels of kerosene being burned, a common practice at the time. Two men
were fighting and toppled a burning barrel over and caught the building on
fire. BB rushed outside, and then remembered he had left his guitar in there.
He went back in and got the guitar out. He then found out the two men were
fighting over a woman named Lucille. He named the guitar he had and all further
guitars Lucille to remind him not to fight about women and don’t do anything
stupid like going back in a burning building for a guitar.
In the late
80’s and the 90’s, BB King was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and
the Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame. On January 4th, 2013, my mom and
I saw him live at the Sunrise Theater in Ft. Pierce Florida. I still have the
ticket stubs and some BB King guitar picks from the experience. BB was still
touring in early 2015, but had to cancel the rest of his 2015 tour, because he
had diabetes and blood pressure problems. Later on, he was in hospice care,
which meant that he was tired of all the medication and doctors, and if he’s
going to go, he’s going to do it in the comfort of his own home, with the people
and things he loved. On the night of May 14th, 2015, BB King passed
away peacefully in his sleep. The thrill is gone, but if there’s a rock and
roll Heaven you know they got a Hell of a band, and that band just got a Hell
of a lot better.Thank you BB. Rest in
peace, man. Rest in peace.
