Tom Paxton: “The Last Thing On My Mind”

Paxton Last Thing On My Mind

Folksinger and songwriter Tom Paxton was born on October 31, 1937 in Chicago, Illinois. We celebrate today with one of his classic songs, “The Last Thing On My Mind.”

“The Last Thing On My Mind” first appeared on Paxton’s 1964 album Ramblin’ Boy. It has been covered by numerous artists, recently appearing on the soundtrack to Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) in a version by Stark Sands with the Punch Brothers.

In this video, Paxton introduces “The Last Thing On My Mind” as a love song, but it is also a song about loss. The singer’s lover has left him, and while he contemplates what he did wrong, he realizes it is “a lesson too late for the learnin’.” He realizes he could have loved the person better, and the last thing on his mind was being unkind.

We do not know what happened to the narrator and his former lover, but Paxton is still going strong. He recently completed a successful Kickstarter campaign for a new CD, Redemption Road, and he continues to tour around the country. Happy birthday Mr. Paxton!

What is your favorite Tom Paxton song? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Author: chimesfreedom

    Editor-in-chief, New York.

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