|
|
|
Ruralite Cafe: Published 06/05/03By Lynn Hotaling - Associate EditorNot quite ready for the hit parade |
|
|
With Saturday's report of suspected Olympic bomber Eric Robert Rudolph's Murphy arrest, one thing was immediately apparent to Carey and me.
It was time to finish those Rudolph songs we'd started back during the great manhunt of '98. Though we pitched the songs relentlessly, we had no takers for the catchy lyrics we expected would hit the top of the charts - if only someone would record them. Until this past weekend's wrap-up of Rudolph's life on the lam, we were leaning toward a renewed effort in July and maybe this time the country music world would pay attention to our masterpieces. It would be the fifth anniversary of Rudolph's last sighting, after all, and we hoped to sell our songs before another fugitive film was shot in Western North Carolina. Our first effort in Rudolph rhyme, "Rudolph the Most-Wanted Fugitive," is set to the familiar strains of that Gene Autry blockbuster, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." The song was left unfinished during the uncertain days when hundreds of federal agents occupied the Nantahala National Forest and Rudolph's capture seemed eminent. Rudolph the Most-Wanted Fugitive Rudolph the most-wanted fugitive had some very cunning ways Hiding deep in the mountains, spending his nights and days. All of the federal agents used to laugh and call him names They never thought old Rudolph could best them at all their games. Then one muggy July day, Rudolph came to say If you'll give me lots of food, I can run away. Then how the agents loved it - they could bring their dogs and men They wouldn't let old Rudolph make such fools of them again. One thing about old Rudolph, he found a good hiding place Agents for years couldn't find him - he disappeared without a trace. What do you think will happen? How will this story end? Rudolph or federal agents, wonder who's going to win?
We added the concluding verses Monday: Finally the story's over, and Rudolph's on the run no more Rudolph the most-wanted fugitive thought he had escaped for sure. Most of the federal agents had packed their bags and headed east They never thought that Rudolph would come to town to find a feast. Then a rookie Murphy cop saw him late one night. He told Rudolph he had to stop and to the ground he needed to drop. Now all the feds are happy, and they're shouting out with glee: Rudolph the most-wanted fugitive, we said you never left Murphy. After our remarkable success at changing the lyrics to the most obvious of tunes, given that both the fugitive and the reindeer are both "Rudolphs," we rose to the song-writing challenge presented when experts concluded in August 1998 that Rudolph-the-fugitive was almost certainly hiding out in a cave. It was Carey who remembered Bobby Bare's 1964 hit "Miller's Cave," but I was the one who had a recording of a version released by the late country-rock pioneer Gram Parsons. After all, "Miller's Cave" is not quite as familiar as that reindeer song, and we needed to listen to the tune a few times before we developed an ear for the proper poetic meter. In keeping with our previous practice of paraphrasing existing song titles, we dubbed this ditty "Rudolph's Cave." Rudolph's Cave Back in the hills of Macon County In the thickets and mountain glades There's a man named Eric Rudolph He's out of sight of the law in Rudolph's Cave. He bombed a clinic in Alabama Babies' lives he wanted to save. Now he's hiding way back in the mountains With the bats and the bears in Rudolph's Cave. They saw him out one Tuesday evening Health food he seemed to crave. The most wanted man in North Carolina Now he's eating apricots in Rudolph's Cave. The feds came in to hunt for Eric Said they'd see him in his grave. He laughed at them and took off runnin'. Dogs and choppers couldn't find him in Rudolph's Cave. Old Eric's sneaky and knows the mountains And he's showed them that he's brave. Most wanted man in North Carolina. They'll never find him cause he's deep in Rudolph's Cave. It's been five years and his hiding's over Rudolph's capture may lead straight to his grave. Most wanted man in North Carolina Should have stayed back with those bears in Rudolph's Cave... Should have stayed back with those bears in Rudolph's Cave. We haven't decided for sure where to turn our song-writing talents next, but we did hear one good story the other day. And it's the stuff of which legends are made. Did you hear about the 21-year-old Murphy police officer? A young man named Jeff Postell who wanted to be a law enforcement officer all his life? Early Saturday morning the rookie did what hundreds of veteran federal agents had been unable to do for more than five years: He nabbed suspected serial bomber Eric Robert Rudolph behind a Murphy grocery store. Now that's a story someone ought to set to music.
|
Back to Homepage. |
|
|