When the Santa Fe railroad reached Las Vegas, New Mexico, a new era began. In the shadows of the growing railroad town, Hoodoo Brown rose to power in East Las Vegas. This ballad tells the story of the mayor, his Dodge City associates, the violence surrounding his rule, and the vigilantes who eventually turned against him.
The Ballad of Hoodoo Brown
The Santa Fe railroad came through Las Vegas, cutting through the landscape as the railroad town grew around the railhead.
But alongside the promise of the railroad came another side of Las Vegas.
The ballad of Hoodoo Brown tells of a man who rose to power in East Las Vegas and took the mayor’s chair. He gathered a posse associated with the Dodge City Gang, including J.J. Webb and Dave Mather.
They wore badges and carried guns, presenting themselves as men of law while the ballad portrays their world as one of gambling, violence, and corruption.
The story also brings in Doc Holliday and Mike Gordon, describing the shooting of Gordon and the subsequent actions of Hoodoo Brown’s court. The ballad portrays a justice system dominated by Brown’s own men.
Eventually, the people of the plaza have had enough.
The vigilantes rise in the darkness, armed with rope, and Hoodoo Brown’s grip on the town begins to collapse. He flees through the night, leaving behind the badge, the money, and the power that once protected him.
The final verses return to the railroad and the Las Vegas plain.
The train continues to roll through the landscape, while the ballad asks listeners to remember the name of the mayor who wore a false crown—the king of the gamblers, Hoodoo Brown.
This is The Ballad of Hoodoo Brown, a musical telling of Old Las Vegas, New Mexico.
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