Spade Cooley got raised down in Oklahoma
Fiddle in his hand, good ole country boy persona
In the dirty Dust Bowl, he moved to California
A young Okie boy, natural born performer

The man was an ace with a face you could trust
Fiddlin’ his was out of the dirty bowl dust
And down in L.A. well, Spade was getting paid
Fiddling out a living on the Venice Ballroom Stage

Everybody in town would come down to see him
A crowd of three thousand on any given weekend

Well soon enough Spade had his very own band
Playing the Down Home Rag on the biggest bandstands
Building a brand on the backs of his hands
He’d come a long way from Oklahoma, Grand

Spade took a liking to booze and money
He had number one hits right across the country
Well, you take what you can while the getting is good
And he got himself a show out in Hollywood

Everybody in town would tune into see
The King of Western Swing live on TV
Live on TV

Spade was riding high on a horse called fame
Everybody in the country knew his first and last name
He played for the cops and he played for politicians
He’d paid away the babies of ten or more women

Spade had a wife by the name of Ann
She can tell you first-hand how fame can change a man
’Cause Spade was a drunk, and Spade was mean
But he had the hottest band in the country scene

And everybody in town knew Spade was insane
But nobody came around while there was money to be made

Spade met a singer by the name of Ella Mae
She had a pretty good voice but a prettier face
He asked Ella Mae if she would sing in his band
And later that year he divorced his wife Ann

Spade and Ella Mae, they got married straight away
But Ella Mae caught Spade having a roll in the hay
So she packed all her bags went to her sister’s to stay
Spade tracked down and made a mess of her face

Everybody in town, they knew what went down
But nobody came around, the cops were nowhere to be found

Well Melody got born in 1946
A year after Spade and Ella Mae got hitched
And later that year, a son named John
Momma stayed home while Spade rambled on

By ’58 the family moved out of L.A.
Spade was getting onto his glory days
But when he wasn’t on stage, the man could fly into a rage
He’d always take it out on the lovely Ella Mae

Everybody into town, could see her black eyes
But nobody came around, nobody even tried

Well the years grew long and money grew tight
Spade would end up drinking almost every single night
When he’d get drunk, he would get suspicious
Thinkin’ his wife was getting up to funny business
But she’d never cheat, no she’d never lie
Even though Spade would say she’d been with other guys

And everybody in town, they all knew the truth
But when Spade was around, oh they didn’t have a clue

April 3rd, 1961
Spade would beat his wife ’till she could no longer run
Melody walked in, stepped through the broken glass
Found her mother on the floor next to an empty flask

Though Melody tried, Ella Mae closed her eyes
Spade made her watch as he took her mother’s life
Melody ran out the door and escaped
Spade put in on his boots and tried to clean up the place

Everyone in town, knew what went down
When the Sheriff came around, Spade was standing proud

It took a long dark month to get a conviction
Spade got life without parole in state prison
He spent just 9 years living life behind bars
When he got out early thanks to his Hollywood star.
The first show he played when he was released
Was a benefit gig for the local police

And that very same day Spade’s old friend
The governor of California, Ronald Reagan,
Came to offer him life as a free man again
Spade Cooley received a full pardon

A full pardon

But before he could taste the freedom he’d found
He had a heart attack, the Lord struck him down

Everybody in the crowd covered their mouths and gasped
The King of Western Swing brought to justice at last
long long last