Posted 4-6-25
NOTE: Several Eerie, Arizona stories are here at TFTGS; others will be found at Fictionmania and Big Closet. Go to the bottom of this article for an extra feature.
EERIE, ARIZONA, A Song
By Christopher Leeson
Chorus:
Gather 'round and hear a story
Of justice strange and statutory
In the southwest territory,
Eerie, Arizona!
What do they do with their owlhooters?
Some are killers, all are looters!
How do they handle rough freebooters,
Eerie, Arizona?
Turn them into gals with angel faces.
Put them in stays with whalebone braces;
Teach them to walk with lady's grace,
Eerie, Arizona!
Dance, my pretty one, I do love thee,
More than all the stars above me.
You own my heart, so why not love me,
Eerie, Arizona?
How d'ya tame them? They're plum crazy!
How d'ya stop them being lazy?
Or make them sweeter than a daisy?
Eerie, Arizona!
Ride 'em like broncos till they're broken.
Stop their cussing, spitting, smoking!
Soap and scrub them till their soaken,
Chorus:
A gal can change when she's love-bitten
Wild cats become like kittens
Warmer than a pair of mittens,
Eerie, Arizona!
Jane's the one I find best looking;
Love her laughter, love her cooking!
She's got stays that need unhooking,
Eerie, Arizona!
My Jane's soul is warm and tender.
When she's troubled, I defend her!
She likes going where I send her,
Eerie, Arizona!
Chorus:
Speak of love, my fair-haired beauty.
Flash me smiles; don't stay moody.
Them lips of yours are fresh and fruity,
Eerie, Arizona!
I'm for the one that they call Jessie;
She makes trouble, things get messy.
I adore her hair so tressy,
Eerie, Arizona!
Jessie is Shamus' canary,
But she's sly and so contrary.
Bless the man she'll take to marry,
Eerie, Arizona!
Chorus:
Hey there, girlie, let's be wedded;
Change your name before you're bedded.
Our youngsters will be born towheaded,
Eerie, Arizona!
At Shamus' place, Bridget's the dealer.
She's been sad, but love can heal her.
Cuss the card sharks who would steal her,
Eerie, Arizona!
Bridget knows the rules of Hoyle.
She's a friend who's always loyal!
For that gal I'd work and toil,
Eerie, Arizona!
Chorus:
Cuddle up, belle, and call me "dearest."
Speak your whims, even the merest.
Use dirty words, no one can hear us,
Eerie, Arizona!
Laura was the first gal married.
To the bedroom she was carried.
Her outlaw days are dead and buried,
Eerie, Arizona!
I like Laura's strength and stature;
None but me will ever match her.
Where she itches, I can scratch her,
Eerie, Arizona!
Chorus:
Love me true and I'll be faithful.
Let's not fight, or say things hateful.
Life is sweet; we should be grateful,
Eerie, Arizona!
An icon dressed in Spanish fashion.
I love the way she cooks my ration.
Eerie, Arizona.
Maggie's nature's soft as butter.
Once a pa, she's now a mother.
That voice of hers makes hard hearts flutter,
Eerie, Arizona.
Cat House Wilma, hot and purdy,
Thrills men like a hurdy-gurdy.
She'll break hearts, but mine is sturdy,
Eerie, Arizona!
Wilma wears what's scant and naughty;
In men's arms she's always bawdy.
Her promises aren't worth a zloty,
Eerie, Arizona!
Chorus:
Shamus' girls are like no others,
Nuggets like those found at Sutter's.
Loving hard will make them mothers,
Eerie, Arizona!
Patrick O'Hanlan was Elmer's father. When the boy refused to take the magic potion, his father pretended to take the potion with her. This was a ruse, but the strong medicine in Pat's mouth started him choking and he swallow the dose. Pat took the form of a beautiful model seen on a cigar box card who looked man-hungry. When Pat took her form, he/she also took on the cigar girl's assumed promiscuous ways.
Arnaldo Diaz was a sad sack of a boy damaged by his father's early death. He was heading for an life of idle drunkenness when he drank from a bottle of Shamus' magic potion, mistaking it for whiskey. He became the image of his favorite girl, the Virgin Mary.
Arnoldo adopted the name of Annie. By some strange chemistry, his attitude toward life improve as in girlhood, especially after meeting a handsome boy from a good family.
Forry Stafford was the spoiled son of a land baron of East Texas. In childhood, he became a bully who liked tormenting Will and Jesse Hanks. Jesse drifted away, but Forry made life hard for Will. When a threat arose in Eerie, Forry's father sent him West to deal with it. Forry ambushed the enemy, but was captured by the law. Forry and his accomplice were sentenced to take the magic potion. Shamus thereafter had the two of them trained to be cancan girls.
Myron Caldwell was an Eerie area farm boy traumatized by the sudden death of his parents. Embittered, he became a delinquent who ran away at 16 to join an outlaw gang. He led the gang back to rob the Eerie stage, but was shot. Wounded, he made his way to his aunt's house. She took him to the doctor, who could see he was dying. The doctor called Shamus to give Myron the magic potion to call him back from the brink of death. Myron's aunt christened him Myra.
If Myra had to be a girl, she at least wanted to be rich one. Her first scheme was to find the buried stage loot for herself, but the town deputy got it first. Later, she learned of a different cache of loot buried near Eerie, and decided to play the long game to get it. She is now pretending to be a "good girl" until she can locate the gold and finally cut free of Eerie. It's more than likely that Myra is heading for some a troubled future.