the flying burrito brothers, “sin city,”
from, The Gilded palace of Sin, 1969
“This old town is filled with sin
It’ll swallow you in
If you’ve got some money to burn
Take it home right away
You’ve got three years to pay
But Satan is waiting his turn
This old earthquake’s gonna leave me in the poor house
It seems like this whole town’s insane
On the thirty-first floor a gold plated door
Won’t keep out the Lord’s burning rain
The scientists say
It will all wash away
But we don’t believe any more
’Cause we’ve got our recruits
And our green mohair suits
So please show your I.D. at the door
This old earthquake’s gonna leave me in the poor house
It seems like this whole town’s insane
On the thirty-first floor a gold plated door
Won’t keep out the Lord’s burning rain
A friend came around
Tried to clean up this town
His ideas made some people mad
But he trusted his crowd
So he spoke right out loud
And they lost the best friend they had
This old earthquake’s gonna leave me in the poor house
It seems like this whole town’s insane
On the thirty-first floor a gold plated door
Won’t keep out the Lord’s burning rain
On the thirty-first floor a gold plated door
Won’t keep out the Lord’s burning rain”
There are many high points in the history of country rock, but this record in my humble opinion is the loftiest one. Country themes married to the rock innovations by a coterie of the savviest musicians of the time. Easy as it is to experience, listen to it when you get a chance. Especially in your car or truck on a trip somewhere. Gram Parsons delivers the dry goods, heartbreak and a vocal chimera rarely equalled. By the way chimera is a thing that is hoped or wished for but in fact is illusory or impossible to achieve. Chris Hillman is no slouch of a singer either. While pedal steel player Sneaky Pete Kleinow wasn’t called sneaky for nothing. His nuances drape the sessions. And from it “Sin City,” separates itself from the others with its warnings, its admonitions to the blind ambitions and materialism of the uncaring take your pick.
The American tailor Nudie Cohn, pictured here with Gram Parsons, created the suits worn on the lp cover