Chords for Blaze Foley, Prostitutes & Politicians

Hey friends, I'm Otis Gibbs and this is Stanley Smith.
He's going to tell you a great story about Blaze Foley.
First memory of Blaze was I would go downtown [N] and there was a place called the Raven's Garage,
which later turned into [E] Emo's, the famous Emo's Club.
But when it was Raven's Garage, they had a big beer garden and I knew that I had gone
to sit in several times with this family band.
[D] They played kind of countryish music with some Georgia on my mind and stuff.
[E] It was the Supernatural Family [Bb] Band.
I [F] just had a good time [N] playing my clarinet with these people.
And I think the second or third time I sat in with them, it was at a time when the state
legislature of Texas had been held over for a special session, which is a big deal down
there, you know.
So the Raven's Garage was crawling with politicians [B] and it was also crawling [Db] with prostitutes.
And we're [Gb] playing along there and I look through the middle of the crowd and I see these people
coming down this aisle way and it's Blaze with a little bit of an entourage with him.
[E] And he's coming down the, in between the seats there was a grassy area.
[F] He's walking [Ab] down through there and Connie sees him and she says, Blaze, you know, southern accent, Blaze.
Because the Hancock [E] family was from Lubbock, Texas.
Just another group of musicians from Lubbock [Ab] that took over Austin.
Thank goodness.
And so it was just, in no time, she [N] had Blaze up there and handed him her acoustic guitar
and says, do one, Blaze.
And I, you know, there's no way he would have had time to realize that the place was full
of politicians and prostitutes.
But I did.
And I'm going, oh, geez.
And I was familiar with who Blaze was because I'd heard all the Curville stories [Db] and everything
about wearing the dress to get in.
[Ab] So [B] Blaze picked up the guitar and he just starts strumming the Oval Room, which was
a perfect song for me.
I mean, I, [Em] and I'd heard that [F] one, but only maybe once or twice.
But [Db] I was overjoyed that that song he kicked in on [Eb] because it's kind of a little minor key thing.
In fact, that song, [G] it reminds me of a Bob [N] Dylan song, You Gotta Serve Somebody.
You gotta serve somebody, you know.
And this one's, he's the president, you know, in his rocking chair, you know.
The song, the clarinet just fit in perfectly for that song.
So I'm like getting chills while we're playing it, you know.
[Eb] And Blaze is just, he's got a rock solid way of finger picking, you know, that [D] when he
gets into that kind of, I don't know if it's a Travis [E] pick or whatever it is, but, you
know, alternating bass thing.
When he [G] got locked into that, he was on time.
When I got home that night, that whole scene started ganging up on me in my head, you know.
I says, geez, did I just, [E] I mean, did he just do that song in that setting with that place
full of all these politicians [D] and prostitutes?
And [Ab] I said, yes, he did.
And I got to play on it, you know.
And so I've, over the years, I've told that I've became good friends [D] with Connie Hancock
[Eb] and some of those [E] people.
And I told her, I says, do you realize back then when Blaze sat in that what was going on?
And [Gb] she said, oh, yeah.
And [Em] I think I mentioned it maybe to Gerf.
[G] I did [Db] a recording session at his house one [A] time for somebody.
But I, [Db] you know, I still, that's kind of my favorite song, even though he's written some
that are probably better.
But that song where the [Gb] hits, Rings of Bells, I listened to it earlier today, you know.
And I even, I have the vinyl [Eb] record, [D] the Muscle Shoals record, out in my garage [Db] somewhere.
So that was my introduction to actually meeting Blaze.
[E] The next time I remember seeing Blaze was, Shidel and I lived in that Floyd Domino rental house.
It was a nice [F] big, big old nice house.
I think one night we were sitting out on the porch, [E] just hanging out, kind of getting late,
[Eb] and Blaze come [B] walking by.
And Dave says, Blaze, Blaze, come on up.
Come on up on the porch, you know.
And he came up [E] and sat there and we just [F] did small talk, [E] like just a bunch of old men sitting
on [G] a porch, you know.
And then we [E] went in and Blaze had a little [D] half pint or a pint of [E] vodka in his jacket,
you know.
[B] But he was just, just as, it was, we didn't even [Db] talk music, I don't [Eb] think, that much,
you know.
It was just like, just talking stuff, you know.
And it got kind of [F] late and I think we [Eb] agreed that he could sleep on the couch.
I worked at a hardware store in the daytime, so [B] the next morning I was going to [F] work and
I walked through the house and there was Blaze, [E] sans Z's, on the couch and I went [N] on to work.
So that was the next time I had an encounter with Blaze.
And then he slept on our couch [Db] maybe twice, I think.
He didn't [C] take full [Ab] advantage of it.
Because, [Abm] and I'd heard, [Db] by then, you know, I'd heard so many stories.
Like, I think Shidel told me, he says, [Db] he says, you know what that BFI stands for on the dumpsters?
I says, what?
He says, Blaze Foley inside.
You've probably heard that before.
But I think another time I met Blaze [F] was, it was another one of his birthdays.
And I went down there, I'd been to the [A] Half Price bookstore, which is right up the street.
[F] And I [Eb] walked on down to the outhouse, [E] through my, down my alley, through the, so I couldn't get [Ab] lost.
And I noticed everybody [E] was giving Blaze little presents and stuff.
And I didn't have anything, or I didn't [F] think I did.
But I just bought a cassette tape at the [Db] Half Price bookstore.
But it was of Woody Herman, you know, jazz clarinet player, you know.
So I said, well, what the hell?
[Gb] And I walk up to Blaze and I says, Blaze, this is for you.
Little jazz for you.
He said, oh, man.
[B] And he looked at me, I could tell it, the look in his face.
He says, you poor dude, you didn't have anything, but you gave me what you have.
And that [Ab] means a lot.
[Bm] And that's exactly what it was, [Ab] you know.
I don't know, I remember [B] that night, like seeing his expression on his face, that [Eb] is
when I decided, this [G] guy's kind of like a little boy.
Part of him, he's got a little boy thing.
[E] And then I, you know, stories I've heard about him always like [B] buying little trinkets, toys,
[E] little tiny things that he had always given to people.
And I can just see his face somehow like that, sort of like a little mischief.
I never saw Blaze in his, when he was [Eb] supposedly being a bad boy.
Because I know [B] it happened because he's [E] kicked out of everywhere on the street, on the drag
and a hole in the wall or, you know, the Texas Showdown.
And