El Paso Es Pasado

1959 was a special year one for pop music. After Buddy Holly's death and Elvis's hiatus, the initial flood of rock and roll ebbed. An undercurrent of American ballads, surf music, and folk music briefly flourished until the British invaded.

Marty Robbins' ballad tells the story of man who commits a crime of passion. He returns to the scene, still driven by passion and meets justice. The story romanticizes a simpler time when justice was meted out locally. That West is long dead. The East successfully foisted its values and mores. But where does the passion go?