Music for the unwashed of the offshore

listen to the man

Whistling Past The Graveyard
During this industry downturn you may have worried, prayed, or lost sleep wondering when and where your next paycheck will come from, but I bet what you haven’t done yet is smiled, laughed, and sang about it. Until now…

So crank up your volume and listen to this old oilfield cowboy call it like he sees it.

//youtu.be/TLyes-bixzY

We think the above video “Boom or Bust” by Wes St. Jon, “The Oilfield Cowboy” is more relatable now than ever. In a succinct 3 minutes and 45 seconds, Wes sums up perfectly what so many are going through in the oilfield right now. Wes sings about how quickly a booming oil patch (filled with new Harleys and boats) can turn into a bust with these same items being sold to pay off the notes.

If you’re like us and can’t get enough of Wes St. Jon’s oilfield rhythm, check out this performance of “Frac’in The Hole” on a radio station in Oklahoma.

Who Is The Oilfield Cowboy?

Having an early interest in the guitar at age 14, Wes St. Jon grew up in Maryland and spent a short stint in data processing after graduating high school. Wes then went on to join the Navy where he did a four year tour of duty stationed aboard the U.S.S. Belmont at Guam. While on tour, Wes played in a band entertaining the sailors aboard the ship.

After his release from the Navy, Wes met his wife, Faye. Wanting to move closer to the music scene in Nashville, the two settled in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Four years later, Wes told his wife to pack enough clothes for two weeks as he was offered an opportunity to go on the road to Jacksonville, Florida to entertain at a Holiday Inn. Eight years later the duo was still traveling which eventually led them to Louisiana during the late 1970’s when oil was boomin’ and times were good.

Wes quickly fell in with the oilfield crowd and started learning some of their terminology. Their repeated request to Wes when he was performing was always, “Play us an oilfield song!” only, at the time, there weren’t any…

Wes decided his friends in the patch needed some music that talked of their unique way of life giving them all something only they could relate to and enjoy while winding down from a long hard day in the patch. Over the next year Wes visited rigs, met the people of the patch and learned their language. Wes then wrote ten songs from these experiences and went back to Nashville to record them. Roughnecks in the patch have been enjoying and relating to his music ever since.

While Wes may not have actually worked in the oilfield himself, people who have still seem to really identify with his words and music. Here at Oilpro, we tip our hats to Mr. St. Jon for long ago recognizing the exceptional individuals that make up our oilfield community.

Many right now are learning hard lessons about what it takes to be in the oil business. While this topic is currently a sensitive one to many, Wes manages to broach the topic in a way that makes the listener smile, laugh and recall the good times they enjoyed not too long ago. Even when Wes is sitting alone in a dark room, hiding from creditors, and singing of his wife and kids leaving him- he does so in a way that makes you chuckle at the situation, something I don’t think a lot of us have done lately.

In times like these maybe all we really need to do is put Mr. St. Jon’s music on repeat and enjoy his all too familiar lyrics till we start to see things rise once more. We have a hunch you may start to smile and laugh a little more than you thought you could during times likes these. After all, at this point it may be that laughter really is the best (and only) medicine…

If the music of The Oilfield Cowboy isn’t enough, we’ll leave you with the immortal words of The Oilfield Cowboy…

"Gimmie one more boom before I die. One more boom I promise I won't let this one go by. I'll put away a lot of money so when the bust comes I'll be fine. Gimme one more boom, one more boom before I die!

Good song!

just bumping it back to the top of the charts

now if only Johnny Cash were still alive…imagine his version.

Nice song.

Nature of the beast. I missed out on the big money but I hope the guys who got lucky saved for a rainy day.

I’m seeing a lot of desperation in my Facebook feed from people looking for work.