How He Remembered Our Name

7 weeks ago by @nancycunning

How He Remembered Our Name

nancycunning

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Liner Notes

#mystery #americana

I wrote this one for the #songsidekicksongcircle that @unknownbecky runs. This week's prompt was mystery - which took me in a different direction that my usual #familystory songs.

Thank you to my grandfather, my mom, and newspapers.com

Based on the confusion people had about the names, I think I’ll change the first line to be
My grandpa told my mom one time, how he remembered her married name

Lyrics

How He Remembered Our Name

My grandpa told my mom and me, how he remembered our name
He'd had a buddy back in Oklahoma, seems his surname was just the same
His Oklahoma buddy had had himself a little brush with fame
And my grandpa told my mom and me that's how he remembered our name

Grandpa's buddy went by Roger, Roger'd taken him a wife
They'd got married legal, Roger'd taken her for life
They'd done their share of loving, they'd had their share of strife
Grandpa told us all about Roger, about Roger and Roger's wife

Roger's wife was Eudora, one day Eudora disappeared
Eudora's parents got all worked up, they thought it all sounded weird
Roger tried to calm his in-laws down, tried to lay to rest their fears
Grandpa said Roger's wife was called Eudora, but Eudora up and disappeared

Roger told 'em he drove her to the station, told 'em he was not to blame
Clear from California, well, now, here a telegram came
Eudora told her parents don't worry, but Eudora misspelled her name
Grandpa said Roger told 'em he took her to the station, told 'em he was not to blame

The cops took Roger into custody, they grilled him til he cracked
Admitted his friend in San Francisco cabled I'll be coming back
He'd stuffed Eudora's dresses in her suitcases, he dumped 'em at the squatters shack
Grandpa said once he got into custody, the cops grilled Roger til he cracked

Roger squealed I admit I killed her cause the woman nagged me so
But I didn't plan the deed all out, no, I just happened to go
Out to where they'd finished with the highway, finished digging it up you know
Grandpa said, Roger said I killed her but now just because she nagged me so

That same night by flarelight, men dug up a sewer grave
Roger'd marked it with his double X on the ball-point map he made
They recovered Eudora's body, out where the highway'd just been paved
Grandpa said they needed flarelights to dig out Eudora's grave

Roger's lawyer called him crazy, the jury said electric chair
Governor ordered up a sanity test, told the doctors take good care
Roger'd done time in the asylum, but he'd always checked himself in there
So Grandpa said even though he was crazy, Roger died in the electric chair

My grandpa told my mom and me, that's how he could remember our name
On account of this Oklahoma buddy, whose surname was just the same
On account of this Oklahoma buddy, the one that had the brush with fame
Grandpa told my mom and me that's how he could remember our name
Yeah, grandpa told my mom and me that's how he could remember our name

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