Devil's Elbow

The Lost Dogs

Compositor: Terry Taylor

There by the sumac and the thicket of the evergreen,
carved our names next to the others in Pacific CIty Beams
We passed the faded billboards and all the tumbleweed dreams
It's on to Devil's Elbow

Had a sizzlin' t-bone, a vegatable and fries
and a Roquefort side-salad for a buck twenty five
We can fill our bellies, watch the river rise
down at Devil's Elbow

And Dotty the waitress says "When we quit,
we'll put a lock on the door
and that'll be it
No more chicken-in-a-basket
or Chili-Supper benefits
Getting' out of Devil's Elbow"

The lumberjacks gave it its infamous name
The Big Piney River has the bend to blame
(log jams bein' it's claim to fame)
Trapped in Devil's Elbow

And it's a threat to the old folks
and it's death to youth
Jammed up so badly you can't get loose
and the only escape is in known' this truth:
You're lost in Devil's Elbow

God knows I love you baby and I loved you well
but the water kept risin' and the timber fell
You left to find heaven, I got squeezed in hell
All alone in Devil's Elbow

There by the sumac and the thicket of the evergreen
Carved our names next to the others in Pacific City beams
Passed the faded billboards and all the tumbleweed dreams
It's on to Devil's Elbow