2019 Best Songs Of The Meeting Semifinalists and Winners

2019 SONG OF THE YEAR SEMIFINALIST

THE STORY OF BONNIE and CLYDE - Barbe McMillen

WATERING HOLE - Harry Hewlett

 MONAHANS by Randy Overton

I FOUND LOVE by David Lewis

RED YELLOW BLACK AND WHITE - Harry Hewlett

SANTA ALWAYS HIT EAST TEXAS LAST - Don Wall

GONNA LOVE ON YOU - Harry Hewlett

HE LOOKED LIKE WAYLON BUT SOUNDED LIKE CASH - Rickey Gene Wright

I NEVER CRIED - Rio King

MADISON ELIZABETH'S DAY - David Lewis

THE MUSIC WAS A MIRACLE - Alexis Tapp

THOUGHTS OF YOU - Barbe McMillen

WINNER OF BEST SONGS OF THE MEETING

SONG OF THE YEAR

THE STORY OF BONNIE AND CLYDE - Barbe McMillen

VERN DAILEY SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR AWARD - Harry Hewlett

Jack Allday - judge, Barbe McMillen, Harry Hewlett

The Story of Bonnie and Clyde ©2019 Barbara McMillen

You've heard the story of Jesse James Of how he lived and died

If you're still in need

Of some outlaw deeds
Here's the story of Bonnie and Clyde

Now Bonnie and Clyde and the Barrow gang 
Were said to be worth their weight in lead
Oh they’d rob and steal

And those who squealed

Were usually found dying or dead

Well you can’t believe, the fake news
 
The gang wasn’t so ruthless as that


Their nature was raw

And they hated the law
 Stool pigeons, spotters, and rats

CHORUS. 
Oh yeah, Oh yeah
Doodle doodle, what’ll they do? On a wild ride

Needin’ a place to hide
That’s the story of Bonnie and Clyde

They were called cold, cold-blooded killers
 
It was said they were heartless and mean

But Bonnie said with pride


That she once knew Clyde

When he was honest, upright and clean

But the law fooled around, kept taking him down
 
And locking him up in a cell

Till he said to Bonnie,

"I'll never be free,

So I'll meet a few of ‘em in hell."

A newsboy said, to his associate,

"I wish old Clyde would get jumped

In these awful hard times

We'd make a few dimes

If five or six cops would get bumped."

CHORUS
OH! Oh yeah, Oh yeah
Doodle doodle, what’ll they do?
On a wild ride
Needin’ a place to hide
That’s the story of Bonnie and Clyde

Some people have suffered, from heart-break
 
From weariness some people have died

But take it all in all

Our troubles are small
 
Compared to Bonnie and Clyde. 

If a copper was bumped, in Big D
 
And they have no clue or guide

If they couldn’t find a fiend

They just wiped their slate clean
 
And blame it on Bonnie and Clyde 

There were two crimes, in the USA
 
Not credited to the Barrow mob

They had no hand

In the kidnap demand

Nor the Kansas City depot job

CHORUS
OH! Oh yeah, oh yeah
Doodle doodle, what’ll they do?
On a wild ride
Needin’ a place to hide
That’s the story of Bonnie and Clyde

BRIDGE 
The Times hadn’t gone to press 
With the crime report yet
When Clyde called Bonnie one day 
He said, "Don't start any fights 
We ain't working nights
We're joining the NRA."

From over in Irving, to West Dallas viaduct
 
Was known as the Great Divide

Where the women were kin

And the men were men

And they didn’t "stool" on Bonnie and Clyde

If they tried to act, like honest citizens
 
And rent them a cozy little flat

About the third night

They were invited to fight
 
By a sub-gun's rat-tat-tat

They didn't think they were too tough, or desperate,
 
They knew that the law always wins

They’d been shot at before

But they could not ignore
 
That death is the wages of sin

CHORUS
OH! Yeah! Oh yeah!
Doodle doodle, what’ll they do?
On a wild ride
Needin’ a place to hide
That’s the story of Bonnie and Clyde

The road was winding, and so dimly lit
 
There were no highway signs to guide

But they made up their minds

If all roads were blind

They wouldn't give up till they died 

The road got dimmer, and dimmer
 
So dark you could hardly see

But they fight man to man

And do all they can

For they know they can never be free 

And in the end, they went down together
 
But they weren’t buried side by side

To few there was grief
To the law a relief
That’s the story of Bonnie and Clyde

Online audio link coming 

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR - HARRY HEWLETT

Michael Brandenberger presenting Harry Hewlett with the Songwriters of The Year Award

JUDGES COMMENTS

FROM:  Jack Allday

  SUBJ:  2019 Song Critiques

It was a privilege and a pleasure to be chosen to review the 2019 DSA song submissions.  Each of the songs I heard had its strengths, and it is encouraging to see so much talent devoted to the very difficult craft of songwriting.

The best submissions this year tended to be what might be called “novelty tunes,” as opposed to the more classical love songs.  In reviewing the 32 submissions, I looked for something that was special or stood out in each one:  a striking melody, lyric that told a story, a sense of humor, approach that touched on the human condition.  The submission receiving the only score of 10 very much told a story, and did so with a lyric that was clever but direct, and offered at a tempo that was a perfect complement to the narrative of the lyrics.  The tune receiving nine points dealt with a piece of Americana most of us can relate to, and the tune that scored eight points featured a lyric that was compelling and believable.  

Listening to these submissions reminded me of how terribly difficult it is to write a good song, and why so many evergreens are the work of not a single writer, but a team of two collaborators.

Thanks again for allowing me to participate in this important DSA initiative.  It was an enjoyable, instructive exercise.

Cordially,

JACK ALLDAY