Tag: Desperados Waiting For a Train

Nanci Griffith’s Superstars on Letterman: “Desperados Waiting for a Train”

In 1998, Guy Clark, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Eric Taylor appeared on David Letterman’s stage to support a new release from Nanci Griffith.

There are not many times there has been such a collection of talent onstage together since July 21, 1998, when Nanci Griffith, Guy Clark, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell, Jerry Jeff Walker and Eric Taylor appeared together on the Late Show With David Letterman. Griffith had just released the excellent album Other Voices, Too (A Trip Back to Bountiful). And the album featured an all-star version of Guy Clark’s song “Desperados Waiting For a Train.”

Only such an outstanding talent as Griffith could shine even while ceding so much of the song to these other legends of music. On both the album and the Letterman performance, she does not even sing solo until late in the song.

The songwriter Guy Clark starts off the song, and it is clear that the beautiful performance is all about respect. There is Griffith’s respect for Clark’s song and the legendary talent of the other singers. But there is also an amazing amount of respect from those legends for Griffith, coming together for this performance on both the album and on Letterman’s show.

Check out the performance of “Desperados Waiting for a Train” below.

Most who love music of this genre will recognize the big names here for their work as singers and songwriters: Guy Clark, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell, and Jerry Jeff Walker. But you might or might not recognize Eric Taylor, who is probably the least well-known of the group. Taylor also was a well-respected Texas singer-songwriter, and his songs have been covered by people such as Lyle Lovett and Nanci Griffith. He also was married to Griffith for 1976-1982. So it is also cool to see Griffith invite her ex for this amazing performance. Taylor passed away less than two years after this performance from liver disease.

Of the group on stage that night, we have also lost Nanci Griffith, Guy Clark, and Jerry Jeff Walker. Letterman clearly knew he was hosting a special gathering on his show at the time, but many may have missed it. We were certainly lucky to have the music of these folks, and extra lucky to have them together for this song.

Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Happy Birthday Willie Nelson, A Hero of This Country

    Desperados Waiting For a TrainIn what has become an annual tradition on Chimesfreedom, we wish a happy birthday this week to Willie Nelson, who was born in Abbott, Texas late at night on April 29, 1933.  Due to the late hour, the birth was not officially recorded until the next day and his birthday is sometimes reported as April 30.  So, Nelson celebrates his birthday on both dates.  One of his recordings I love is his wonderful interpretation of Guy Clark’s “Desperados Waiting For a Train.”

    The song “Desperados Waiting For a Train” combines themes of memory, aging, history, and mortality. The singer recounts being friend with an old man when he was a boy.

    The singer reports how the old man told him about his youthful days as a drifter working on oil wells.  And the young man watches the old man get older. Anyone who as a child has been close to an elderly person or a grandparent may recognize the relationship and admiration.  The singer sums it up, “Well to me he was a hero of this country.”

    One of the reasons the lyrics ring so true is that Clark based the story on someone he knew. As he explained in a 2011 interview, “It’s a true song about someone in my life – I mean, you couldn’t have made that up. . . . It was about a guy who was like my grandfather.” Clark also recounted how he knew he would write about the man almost as soon as he started writing songs.

    Versions of “Desperados Waiting For a Train”

    There are several excellent recordings of “Desperados Waiting For a Train.”  Guy Clark made a beautiful recording of it, including some live versions. Jerry Jeff Walker released the first recording of the song on his 1973 album Viva Terlingua. Actor Slim Pickens released his own version, where he reads the lyrics like poem over the music.

    Willie Nelson took part in an earlier version recorded with Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson as the Highwaymen. Their version that appeared on the super group’s album Highwayman was a top 20 hit when released as a single in 1985.

    The more recent version by Nelson alone appeared on a wonderful Guy Clark tribute album, This One’s For Him (2010).  At the time, Nelson, like the old man in the song, was “pushin’ eighty.” This version of the singer as an older man looking back on his youthful encounter with old age and death adds a deeper layer to the classic song. Check it out.

    For some additional Willie, the Larry King Now website features a recent episode where Larry King interviewed Nelson about music, marijuana, politics, and aging.

    Happy birthday Willie, and thanks for the presents to us.

    What Willie Nelson song are you playing for his birthday? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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