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lyrics

1884 – Doug Allen
Things were different in 1884
We were taking a country and fightin’ Indian wars
Territorial Marshalls rarely travelled this far north
And law took a different face and a different form
This is a story of an evil deed and a native boy’s soul
He rode south to Nooksack through the February cold
There was work there for the asking he was told
Cuttin’ trees, clearin’ land, maybe haulin’ coal
Well maybe rumor maybe lie but no job and no alibi
So he rode his pony north, into a bloodshot sky

Louie ride, Louie ride
Across the Frasier River, don’t stop at the borderline
Louie ride, Louie ride
Across the Frasier River, don’t stop at the borderline

Somebody found a shopkeeper dead in his burnin’ store
With a bullet in his brain lying on the bloodstained floor
An Indian boy was seen nearby with a rifle in his hand
Soon 200 men were ridin’ north with a cruel and hateful plan
The constable took the boy in for suspicion at his farm
But the posse found them later to the constable’s alarm
They raised their guns against him, and they threatened mortal harm
So he stepped aside and saved his hide, but left a shameful scar
At dawn they found the riderless horse and the tree that bore the lifeless form
If the boy had known his plight, he could have crossed the river late that night

Louie ride, Louie ride
Across the Frasier River, don’t stop at the borderline
Louie ride, Louie ride
Across the Frasier River, don’t stop at the borderline

Evidence implicates two men in both crimes
One took the shopkeepers business and the other took his wife
No one knows the dirty details, no one knows the awful truth
Except the long-since dead and the buries few
What if he were yours, how would you feel
What’s done is done, wrong is wrong, they knew better all along
Now they are burning, burning in hell
Now the Sto-lo say the boy is not at peace
Somehow we’ve got to fight for his release
It took 20 hears to analyze, 100 more to apologize
With this song I agonized and I’m sorry, I’m sorry for what we’ve done

Louie ride, Louie ride
Across the Frasier River, don’t stop at the borderline
Louie ride, Louie ride
Set your spirit free, set your spirit free
Set your spirit free to fly, to the other side

Things were different in 1884

credits

from Big Timber, released August 28, 2011

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Doug Allen Bellingham, Washington

Big Timber is my second recording, reflecting what life has been like for me in the northwest corner of Washington state. It was long in coming but I'm proud of it and The Union Wage. Please listen to some of the tracks - I hope you like it.

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