Hi, M.D. here…

I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into last Thursday night when I went to the first of three monthly series presented by D Magazine’s Front Row called “Dallas, Outlaws, and the American Dream”.

Bringing together the best of both worlds; signature films that feature a subversive outlaw portrayal with a North Texas connection, along with a local music artist who happens to explore similar themes in their own lyrical presentation. On this particular evening, we’re pleased to present talented Dallas-based singer-songwriter Miles Penhall performing early in the front gallery space, and then the film “Bonnie and Clyde” will screen shortly thereafter inside the main showroom.

The themed evening was quite intimate, just as the Kessler always is, even when it is packed (which this particular evening it wasn’t) there is a close ambiance about the theater. This was a great idea of an evening that included great music and a classic movie. I don’t know why people aren’t interested in things like this… maybe it’s cause Bonnie and Clyde gave Dallas a bad name, but they were glorified bank robbers that were in love. The 1967 movie showed just that, it showed two people that were in love and enjoyed being robbers. It showed the humorous side of the Barrow gang and how they lived their lives on the run. The actual poem that Bonnie Parker wrote before her and Clyde Barrow died, “The story of Bonnie and Clyde” (1934) was even mentioned in the movie. She wanted to be famous and glorified, just not that way…

The Story of Bonnie and Clyde

The Trail’s End

You’ve read the story of Jesse James
Of how he lived and died;
If you’re still in need
Of something to read,
Here’s the story of Bonnie and Clyde.

Now Bonnie and Clyde are the Barrow gang,
I’m sure you all have read
How they rob and steal
And those who squeal
Are usually found dying or dead.

There’s lots of untruths to these write-ups;
They’re not so ruthless as that;
Their nature is raw;
They hate all the law
The stool pigeons, spotters, and rats.

They call them cold-blooded killers;
They say they are heartless and mean;
But I say this with pride,
That I once knew Clyde
When he was honest and upright and clean.

But the laws fooled around,
Kept taking him down
And locking him up in a cell,
Till he said to me,
“I’ll never be free,
So I’ll meet a few of them in hell.”

The road was so dimly lighted;
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 gets dimmer and dimmer;
Sometimes you can hardly see;
But it’s fight, man to man,
And do all you can,
For they know they can never be free.

From heart-break some people have suffered;
From weariness some people have died;
But take it all in all,
Our troubles are small
Till we get like Bonnie and Clyde.

If a policeman is killed in Dallas,
And they have no clue or guide;
If they can’t find a fiend,
They just wipe their slate clean
And hand it on Bonnie and Clyde.

There’s two crimes committed in America
Not accredited to the Barrow mob;
They had no hand
In the kidnap demand,
Nor the Kansas City depot job.

A newsboy once said to his buddy;
“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.”

The police haven’t got the report yet,
But Clyde called me up today;
He said, “Don’t start any fights
We aren’t working nights
We’re joining the NRA.”

From Irving to West Dallas viaduct
Is known as the Great Divide,
Where the women are kin,
And the men are men,
And they won’t “stool” on Bonnie and Clyde.

If they try to act like citizens
And rent them a nice little flat,
About the third night
They’re invited to fight
By a sub-gun’s rat-tat-tat.

They don’t think they’re too tough or desperate,
They know that the law always wins;
They’ve been shot at before,
But they do not ignore
That death is the wages of sin.

Some day they’ll go down together;
And they’ll bury them side by side;
To few it’ll be grief
To the law a relief
But it’s death for Bonnie and Clyde.

— Bonnie Parker

The next D Magazine presentation is July 28th at Kessler Theater where Bottle Rocket (1996 – filmed in the DFW area) will be showing with musical performance before by Dallas-based singer-songwriters Kevin Deal and Miles Penhall.

Tickets can be purchased in advance here.