Showdown (Spaghetti Western Style)

“Showdown” goes back to the old Omaha days. The basic chord progression came from my friend Alan, and I started layering these frantic, Spanish-flavored guitar riffs over the top, mostly trying to keep up with what he was doing. Somewhere along the way the two parts became inseparable, and the tune evolved into something we both had a hand in composing. One night, while we were playing around Omaha’s Old Market, we came across a roving bass player and talked him into coming back and jamming with us. That’s where the low, droning bass/cello-like part entered the song. It was much more noticeable in one of the old live versions than it is here. The funny part was that the guy was obviously a very capable musician, but he seemed bored out of his mind playing it. He told us he was really more interested in classical music. Meanwhile, Alan and I were pounding away at this repetitive, increasingly frantic thing while he calmly supplied the bottom end. There’s another family memory permanently attached to the tune. My mother and stepfather were visiting from Italy and heard us play a number of quieter pieces. Those were fine. “Showdown,” however, drove my mother crazy. It was loud, repetitive, frantic, full of guitar riffs, and we kept singing “SHOWDOWN” over and over again. She absolutely hated it. In retrospect, that may mean the music was doing exactly what it was supposed to do. The rhythm of “Showdown” is deliberately tough and somewhat abrasive. It keeps advancing, almost like something coming toward you that eventually has to be faced. The newer lyrics grew out of that feeling. The song moves through different showdowns over the course of a life: the schoolyard bully, the breakup, the soldier awaiting the command, the boss who finally pushes too far, neighbors fighting over a property line, a marriage reaching the moment when something has to be said, and eventually the confrontations with yourself, illness, and death. The opponent keeps changing, but the basic moment doesn’t: sooner or later there comes a point when there’s nowhere left to retreat. That’s the showdown. And against that harder refrain is the lighter, rising section: “Somewhere you’re reminded Of a dream that’s for real…” Maybe that’s the other side of a showdown. Sometimes what forces you to stand your ground is remembering what mattered to you in the first place. Lyrics: Showdown Showdown Showdown Welcome To the showdown Welcome To the light Welcome To the shakedown Pay here With your life Somewhere You’re reminded Of a dream That’s for real Your dream Is real Three o’clock, the school bell breaks An empty parking lot You ran from him all winter Today you show him what you’ve got Welcome To the showdown Welcome To the light Welcome To the shakedown Pay here With your life Somewhere You’re reminded Of a dream That’s for real Your dream Is real Seventeen and shaking She’s crying by the car “Tell me that you love me Or tell me who you are” Dawn along the ridgeline A picture in his hand He checks his rifle Then comes the command Showdown Showdown Showdown Boss man calls you in Lays an order down Says, “You do it my way” You say, “Not this time around” Then along the backyard fence A survey stake goes down “Move it back six inches” “No, it’s always been my ground” Welcome To the showdown Welcome To the light Welcome To the shakedown Pay here With your life Somewhere You’re reminded Of a dream That’s for real Your dream Is real Keys are on the table The children are asleep Twenty years between you And promises to keep She says, “Are we still living Or just afraid to leave?” Some questions come like bullets Some answers make you bleed Parking lot Car door Ridgeline Office floor Fence line Kitchen Mirror Bed Sooner or later You choose where you stand Gray hair in the mirror Old dreams on the shelf After all the others Now you face yourself No fists No excuses No one left to blame The man you meant to be The man who wears your name Doctor shuts the doorway Settles in his chair You know before he tells you By the way he meets your stare Night against the window Someone holds your hand One last shadow waiting One last place to stand Welcome To the showdown Welcome To the light Welcome To the shakedown Pay here With your life Somewhere You’re reminded Of a dream That’s for real Your dream Is real Showdown Showdown Showdown Welcome To the light