Tag: This One’s for Him

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.

  • Tribute to Guy Clark CD is “Stuff That Works”
  • Nanci Griffith’s Superstars on Letterman: “Desperados Waiting for a Train”
  • When the World Seems to be Spinnin’ Hopelessly Out of Control
  • Willie Nelson: “Immigrant Eyes”
  • Why “GUY”? (Steve Earle album review)
  • Willie Nelson Is “Still Not Dead”

    • (Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)

    Buy from Amazon

    Tribute to Guy Clark CD is “Stuff That Works”

    This One's For Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark

    One of my favorite recent CD purchases is This One’s For Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark (2011), which I have had on repeat play since I got it in December. This One’s for Him is a solid 2-CD collection of songs by the wonderful Texas singer-songwriter Guy Clark. Although tribute albums often are hit-and-miss affairs with an uneven collection of interpretations by various artists, this one maintains a nice consistency throughout. One reason the CDs work so well is the consistency of Guy Clark’s writing, although tribute albums usually consist of well-written songs. Another reason that the listening experience is like listening to a CD by one artist is because the producers recorded live with the band and a limited number of overdubs, giving consistency throughout. Finally, the great collection holds up due to the group of artists assembled for the project. Although there are some famous singers on the collection, the producers clearly opted for talented musicians who love Clark’s music instead of just seeking big names, and the love comes through the music.

    It is hard to choose a favorite song, but one of mine is Jack Ingram’s version of “Stuff that Works.” In a video no longer available on YouTube, Jack Ingram talked about his love of Guy Clark’s music, noting that the music feels “like the Truth.” The great thing about Clark’s songs is that he writes beautiful words to go with his beautiful music.

    Stuff that works, stuff that holds up;
    The kind of stuff you don’t hang on the wall;
    Stuff that’s real, stuff you feel;
    The kind of stuff you reach for when you fall.

    Artists on the CD include a who’s who of great singers and songwriters: Rodney Crowell, Willie Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker, Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Kris Kristofferson, Robert Earl Keen, Ray Wylie Hubbard, John Prine, and many more. [UPDATE: In a promotional video no longer on YouTube, Hayes Carll, who sings “Worry B Gone” on the tribute CD, talked about hanging out with Clark.]

    If you are already a fan of Guy Clark’s music, you will love the CD. But if you are new to his music, the tribute CD is a great place to start. One of my favorite songs of all-time is Guy Clark’s “LA Freeway.” Radney Foster does an excellent job covering the song on the CD. I could not find his version on Youtube, so here is the songwriter’s version. He does a pretty good job too.

    If I can just get off of this LA freeway,
    Without getting killed or caught;
    I’d be down that road in a cloud of smoke,
    For some land that I ain’t bought — bought — bought.

    “LA Freeway” captures the common longing for running off and being free. Even if you cannot make that kind of escape, you might come a little closer if while you’re on the road you pop in this CD.

  • Why “GUY”? (Steve Earle album review)
  • Nanci Griffith’s Superstars on Letterman: “Desperados Waiting for a Train”
  • Happy Birthday Willie Nelson, A Hero of This Country
  • The Life and Songs of Emmylou Harris
  • Andrew Combs Need Not Be A “Worried Man” (CD Review)
  • If a Song Could Be President

    • (Some Related Chimesfreedom Posts)

    Buy from Amazon