Last Chance Colorado (Demo)
I'm a 5th-Generation Coloradoan who left, 40 years ago, and can't move back; this one's tough to share.
Vermont singer/songwriter; transplanted from the plains of Colorado over forty-five years ago.
Singer/songwriter living in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom with strong connections to the plains of Colorado, my childhood home.
Story behind the song
There is actually a town on the plains of Colorado named "Last Chance" that I've driven through many a time. For years, I've wanted to craft a song with that title, it sounds as desolate as the Town has become. The first draft was "Last Chance Colorado for this desperate desperado..." However, I'm not a desperado and not too desperate. My early songs weren't personal with imaginary characters in situations I'd not experienced. Now, I'm trying to follow the instruction of Nietzsche and "Write with blood" and this one took about a pint of mine; this one is personal. Yes, there is a Lakey Canyon (my Great Grandparents homesteaded there)--Google it.
The song was stuck, a work-in-progress for a couple of years until I had the opportunity to attend a Songwriter's Workshop hosted by Jeffrey Pepper Rogers. He, and the group, encouraged me to add the second bridge and that allowed the story and song to move forward.
Lyrics
LAST CHANCE COLORADO
By Dwight Lakey
IntroAsus2 Cmaj7/GAm11Am
Am G/C
Verse 1You know that Rome is more than fancy fountains
(spoken) FAsus2
Well Colorado's more than Rocky Mountains
Am G/C
(sung)I grew up on the Colorado Plains
F Asus2
Where farmers grow those amber waves of grain
Am G/C
Verse 2I left the state soon after getting wed
F Asus2
Headed East to try to get ahead
AmG/C
The years have passed; the future is unknown
F E7
This feels like my last chance to go home
G F
Refrain Last Chance, Colorado, last chance
E7 Asus2
Last chance to call you my home
InterludeAsus2 Cmaj7/GAm11Am
F
Bridge 1Trail Ridge Road and Pawnee Buttes
C
Lucy's Place and cowboy boots
G Dm
Cornfield shadows; orange alpenglow
F
Buckhorn Creek and Lakey Canyon
C
Old homestead so long abandoned
G E7
Ghosts still ride the Chinook winds that blow
(E7)Am G/C F E7
Solo Chinook winds that blow…ow…
Am G/C
Verse 3The prairie towns are rolling up their Main Streets
F Asus2
The little ones like Julesburg, Haxtun and Peetz
AmG/C
Loveland's growin’ like crazy; Greeley, too
FE7
Denver and the suburbs are a zoo
G F
Refrain Last Chance, Colorado, last chance
E7 Asus2
Last chance to call you my home
InterludeAsus2 Cmaj7/GAm11Am
F
Bridge 2Forty years in retrospect
C
From Larry Bird to Belichick
G Dm
Turret mornings; winter rain on snow
F
Maple leaves and Cabot cheese
C
Three children on cross country skis
G E7
I’m planted in the place my kids call home
(E7) Am G/C F E7
Solo Place my kids call home…om…
Am G/C
Verse 4The Front Range is the envy of the Nation
F Asus2
But it looks to me like Californication
AmG/C
The whole State's on a Rocky Mountain High
F E7
(slowly)I don’t fit in…I can’t move back…(spoken) good bye
G F
Refrain Last Chance, Colorado, last chance
E7 Asus2/E
This was the last chance to call you my home
InterludeAsus2 Cmaj7/GAm11Asus2
