in DADGAD tuning with a capo positioned at the third fret (key of F). Dave Alvin, West of the West, 2006. Alvin's recording omits the song's second verse. Regarding his own recording Alvin has stated: "'Sonora's Death Row' has been recorded by people like Robert Earl Keen, Leo Kottke and Michael Martin Murphy, and they all did fantastic interpretations. I tried to make my version different than the others by giving it less of a Mexican border song groove. I wanted it to sound more like a traditional Appalachian folk song that somehow got lost in the middle of Death Valley on the hottest day of August with no water and no sun screen." Jeffrey Foucault & Mark Erelli on Seven Curses (2010) Sources and notes External links American folk songs Culture of the Western United States Leo Kottke songs Robert Earl Keen songs Appalachian music