Rosie Dunn Rd.
Rosie Dunn Rd.: Echoes of Forbidden Love and Forgotten Secrets
Lyrics
There was an old whore house down Rosie Dunn Road
Refers to an old brothel on Rosie Dunn Road.
But it's all torn down now
The brothel no longer exists; it's been demolished.
Replaced with the new auction barn
Replaced by a new auction barn where cows are sold.
Where they sell them cows
Describes the current activity in the area, selling cattle.
Well it ain't funny how on that same strip of land
Reflects on the irony that souls of women were sold in the past, now replaced by the sale of cattle.
They sold so many souls of the women back then
Highlights the historical exploitation of women in the same location.
And there selling them cattle just the same
Draws a parallel between the past sale of women and the current sale of cattle to the highest bidder.
To the highest bidder
Emphasizes the competitive nature of selling cattle to the highest bidder.
Set yourself free she'd say
Repetition of Rosie encouraging someone to set themselves free, lay with her, and fall in love, suggesting a desire for liberation and intimacy.
Come lay with me she'd say
-Fall in love with me she'd say
-Set yourself free she'd say
-My grandpa told me the stories
Grandfather's stories about Rosie and her friends catering to military boys and city councilmen, leading to legal consequences.
Of how Rosie and her friends
-Would take care of all them military boys
-And the city councilmen
-I guess that's why that judge swung his gavel down
Explains the judge's decision to shut down Rosie's house due to pressure from jealous wives who wanted to expose her activities.
On Rosie's house just out on the edge of town
-And all them jealous wives they screamed
-We got to flush her out
-Set yourself free she'd say
Repetition of Rosie's calls for freedom and love.
Come lay with me she'd say
-Fall in love with me she'd say
-Set yourself free she'd say
-Rosie Dunn she just ran away
Rosie Dunn's escape from DeWitt County.
From DeWitt County
-But now my thoughts are hot and my love's gone cold
Expresses the speaker's emotional state, longing for Rosie to return and set them free from emotional distress.
Rosie come back to me
-Won't you come back to me
-To set me free
-Set yourself free she'd say
Repetition of Rosie's phrases urging freedom and love.
Come lay with me she'd say
-Fall in love with me she'd say
-Set yourself free she'd say
-
Comment