Songs About New Mexico: Clovis, New Mexico
written and performed by Hank Williams, Jr. (1975)
Hank Williams Jr. tells the story of his 700-mile Southwestern odyssey in a 1975 song called “Clovis New Mexico.” Williams recounts how he and his bronc-riding pal, Billy, head out on a very-low-budget adventure that takes them from Bossier City, La., to Abilene, Tex., and finally to Clovis, N.M., where Williams is smitten by a black-haired beauty with green eyes — who just happens to be the local purveyor of silver and turquoise jewelry.
Clovis, New Mexico is the 6th song on the album “Hank Williams Jr. & Friends” which is Hank’s twenty-sixth studio album. It’s Williams’ breakthrough album featuring a transition toward country rock and Williams’ own unique style. The album was issued by MGM Records as number M3G5009 and was later reissued by Polydor Record as number 831 575-4 Y-1. The album was also reissued on CD in 2000 by Mercury Records, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Lyrics
Decided that we’d head out west
We’ve been east and south but it didn’t workout
We were getting’ nowhere fast
Me with my guitar and him with his saddle
Tryin’ to out do the rest
I sang my heart out and he rides them broncs now
And that’s what me and Billy do best
We took ‘Interstate 20′ ’til we ran out of money
In a place just past Abilene
So I sang at a honky-tonk and he broke the bad bronc
And we bought some gas and some beans
With a whole lot of luck and an old pickup truck
We made it to New Mexico
We pulled up in Clovis and I sure didn’t know this
Was as far as I ever would go
I needed some strings, Billy wanted a ring
The kind that the Indians made
A voice said, ? Hello boys, I’ve got silver and turquoise
And that’s when I saw her face?
That’s when I noticed that girl down in Clovis
A black haired beauty, she set a fire to me
A green eyed lady in old jeans that were faded
No, I didn’t notice what happened in Clovis but I called her baby
I asked her with care if she’d like to share
An evening with someone like I
I said, ? I ain’t a winner just a hard livin’ singer?
She smiled and said, ? Meet me at nine?
We ate tacos and talked and then we took a walk
In the clean southwestern air
Then we went back to her house, I took my guitar out
And sang of my joy and despair
She served me her wine and she helped me write lines
To songs I could not complete
And her eyes seemed to say, put that guitar away
That’s somethin’ that both of us need
What a beautiful site was her face in the light
And the candles there on the wall
And we reached the height of good love on that night
And I hope we never will fall
And I’m glad I noticed that girl down in Clovis
Daughter of a driller, she’s a born thriller
A green eyed lady, kinda wild, kinda lazy
I didn’t notice what happened in Clovis but I called her baby, baby
1975 ~ Hank Williams, Jr.
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