A friend of mine commented once, that for a guy living in north Idaho, I sure had a Texas star hanging over my garage, and wasn’t I a little far north for that sort of thing. I replied to my friend, that being a Texan is kind of like being a Marine; some may get out and go on to do other things with the rest of their life, but you never really quit being one. I should be honest here, and point out that I was never a Marine, but I have known a few Marines (and a whole bunch of Texans), so I feel confident in making that comparison. A week or two after I made that flippant comment, I wrote this similarly flippant song, called “I Take Texas With Me”. Maybe it was just a coincidence, because there was never any logical conscious thought about trying to write a song based on that conversation, but creativity often works like that, one thing leading to another, so I believe them to be connected.
As a song, it has a fun Texas boogie kind of back beat groove, with snappy lyrics chocked full of attitude (that kind of attitude is a Texas tradition, in case you didn’t know). But, then, hiding underneath that wonderful good time, is the very serious idea that we all carry with us wherever we came from. See, I think this is maybe a problem I have; excessive seriousness. I can’t even write a fun song like this without something serious in it. What is that about? I do not know.
I have awesome (to me) fantasies of hearing this tune done up right with a full band cranking out a hard thumping (country line-danceable) beat, and someone who can really (really) wail on a harmonica taking over in place of my rather haphazard and less than impressive acoustic guitar solo. Also, I could see it turning into a long Free Bird esque band jam if we were doing it live; that 12/8 shuffle groove has so much room to play in, it can go on a long long time if you let it. Plus if I was the singer, I could take a break and get a beer while the band laid it down (I did mention this was a fantasy, right?).
On a more mechanical level, most of the lyrics and melody to this I wrote back in 2011 in one of those all-in-a-flash moments. Then a year or so later, I finally got around to figuring out a workable guitar part that I could actually play myself, and polishing up the verses so that it more/less all hangs together lyrically (speaking of lyrics, you can find them below after the links).
Click the link below to listen to the MP3 (Right Click + Save As to snag a copy).
I Take Texas With Me
Or you can just check out the YouTube Video:
(see footnote below about A.L.Lambert)
Lyrics
I Take Texas With Me, by Jack Lambert
It’s been ten years since I last lived in the Lone Star
Ten long years since I packed up and rolled
An I have traveled ’round
But I’ve finally settled down
In the mountains up in northern Idaho
People up here ask about my accent
An where it was I learned to talk like this
When I say just south of Dallas
They almost all say tell us
“Do you miss Texas?”, but I say “hey, not a bit”..
‘Cause I take Texas with me, everywhere I go
I have got it somewhere deep down in my soul
And you can hear it ooze
Every time I sing the blues
I take Texas with me, everywhere I do
[Guitar solo]
Now, I use ‘yes mam’ and ‘yes sir’ in conversations.
I often hold the door, for people I don’t know
But if I catch you theivin’ my place
I will sing Amazing Grace
When I bury you six feet down in a hole
‘Cause I take Texas with me, everywhere I go
I have got it somewhere deep down in my soul
It’s in my attitude
It’s all through my point of view
I take Texas with me, everywhere I do
Yeah, I take Texas with me, everywhere I go
I have got it somewhere deep down in my soul
And you can hear it ooze
Every time I sing the blues
I take Texas with me, everywhere I do
Yeah, I take Texas with me, everywhere I do…
Yeah…
Note: You may notice references to A.L.Lambert in the videos above. This is because Jack is the same guy named Adam who used to bill himself as A.L.Lambert. However, in an effort to avoid any association (or legal trouble) with the super-famous guy who shares that name, he is going by his long time nickname ‘Jack’ (or ‘Brother Jack’) these days.