Townes van Zandt
“Out in New Mexico, people there they treat you kind…”
(White Freightliner Blues)
“New Mexico ain’t bad, Lord, women there treat me kind
White freight liner, won’t you steal away my mind?”
(Steve Earle)
Just a lick. A simple piece of a song, an echo in the canyons of my mind.
“Well, New Mexico ain’t bad, Lord
The people here, they treat you kind
Oh, white freightliner, won’t you steal away my mind”
A quick search of both my material, and what’s freely available online? No real consensus as to the exact lyrics, and some problem with attributions, ranging from Townes van Zandt to Steve Earle and Lyle Lovett. Seems like a common thread therein. Mostly attributed to Townes van Zandt and his erratic genius.
But as a sense of purity, a sense of place?
Townes van Zandt
“Out in New Mexico, people there they treat you kind…”
(White Freightliner Blues)
In Santa Fe, NM, there’s a side street from the square, and two notions. One is the original Cactus Cafe, the “ground zero” for exporting, in style, New Mexico cuisine. Now, more a tourist trap than a real place, I mean, it’s real and all, but the place lacks the appeal of other landmark joints around town. Still, I tend to pass by and nod in appreciation. It was a fashionable, off-the-beaten track joint, back in the early 90’s. 30 years or more?
Down the street from there, there’s a bookstore called “Collected Works.”
202 Galisteo St
Santa Fe, NM 87501
Always good for questions and answers about books. So few stores have true book lovers in them, anymore.
In a mall, just north of the square, walking distance to me, but not everyone, there’s another bookstore that is also a book lover’s delight. Used books, new books, all tumbled together. Luck of the draw, there. Still, obviously, lovers of books, lovers of the written word in all its formats.
Because I was traveling by air, I couldn’t really afford to buy a stack of books. So the favored stop, this trip? Collected Works.
Townes van Zandt
“Out in New Mexico, people there they treat you kind…”
(White Freightliner Blues)
Badges
“Badges? We ain’t got no badges. We don’t need no badges. I don’t have to show you no stinkin’ badges!”
Treasure of the Sierra Madre
- Warner Bros., 1948
Excerpt From
Pink Cake: The Quote Collection
Pink Cake
