Simple Songwriter

M

munk

Joined
Mar 22, 2002
Messages
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I like Guy Clark a lot. His lyrics are very simple, and it is easy to miss the nuance and juxaposition without the benefit of hearing him sing and play his twelve string. But I thought I'd post a couple songs anyway.

Doctor Good Doctor

I was feelin real depressed, I was feelin
real low down
I just felt so bad I could not get my
butt up off the ground
I was mopin around the house, I was
bumping into walls
I was crying at the Andy Griffith Show
and I was snapping at the dog
I was starting to fear for my sanity
I could not find my ego with both hands
So I decided professional help was the
only hope for me
So I called up this number which I'd
gotten off TV
They said, "Are you having marital
problems Are you emotionally
impaired
Are you sure you're being followed
or are you just scared of being scared?
Well, if so you'd better come on in have a
little talk with the doc"
So I did.
I said Doctor, good Doctor, I got
trouble on my mind
Listen to me Doc, I don't have too
much time
I've got a feeling down inside me and it
will not go away
You know it hangs on and bangs on
my soul every day
Doctor, good Doctor, I'm grabbing
at loose ends
and haven't felt like I used to since
I don't remember when
Yesterday got past me, today
is the same
and Tomorow really scares me, I just
can't play the game

He said quit whining
He said straighten up and fly right
He said life is not a peice of cake
He wanted to know if my insurance was
paid up
Well, I'm OK, you're OK, if the
checks OK

Second best hundred dollars I ever spent


>>>>>>>>>>>

Old Friends

It's like when you're making conversation
and you're trying not to scream
and you're trying not to tell them
You don't care what they mean
And you're really feeling fragile
and you're trying to get home
and you really feel abandoned
but you want to be alone

Chorus:
Old Friends, they shine like diamonds
Old Friends, you can always call
Old Friends, Lord you can't buy them
You know it's old friends after all

And when the house is empty
and the light begins to fade
and there's nothing to protect you
except the window shade
and it's hard to put your finger
on the thing that scares you most
and you can't tell the difference
between an Angel and a Ghost

Chorus


>>>>>>>>>>>

Stuff That Works


I got an ol' blue shirt
And it suits me just fine
I like the way it feels
So I wear it all the time
I got an old guitar
It won't ever stay in tune
I like the way it sounds
in a dark and empty room

I got a pair of old boots
And they fit just right
I can work all day
and I can dance all night
I got an ol' used car
and it runs just like a top
I get the feelin it aint ever
going to stop

chorus:

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

I got a pretty good friend
who's seen me at my worst
He can't tell if I'm a blessing
Or a curse
But he always shows up
When the chips are down
That's the kind of stuff
I like to be around

Chorus


>>>>>>>>>>>>

He's got a song about a Randal knife that's great, and so many more. When I hear him sing about stuff you don't hang on the wall, I think of HI khuks.



munk
 
God, that was wierd. As soon as I read the thread title, I thought of Guy.
I have been a fan of his since 77. I have seen him 5 or 6 times, at least.

So many tunes, so many twists of a phrase, I never grow tired of his work.

The Randall Knife, a tribute to his father, and one of his best ever.

Black Haired Boy, LA Freeway, Instant Coffee Blues, Home Grown Tomatoes,
Ballad of Capt Flint, Texas Cookin' always makes me want to head for the Hill Country.

DaddyDett
 
I'm willing to head to the Hill country anytime, with or without Guy.




munk
 
Been about 25 years since for me.
Texas seemed so important, back then. Like a home found, a place to finally
be from. Now, it's where I used to be, like so many places before it.
It calls me now and then, but I find a reason not to go, like never meeting up with an old girlfriend, she just can't be the same.

DaddyDett
 
Hell, there's 'hill country' everywhere, I didn't think it had to be in Texas.


munk
 
I can think of a few, Colo, NM, Central Calif..
Funny how that's where the AF is/was.

DaddyDett
 
Munk,

I love that album! Did you know Emmylou and Nanci Griffith sing backup on it?

In a similar vein to that song is one I'm sure you know:

I told Althea I was feeling lost
Lacking in some direction
Althea told me upon scrutiny
That my back might need protection
I told Althea that treachery
Was tearing me limb from limb
Althea told me, now cool down boy
Settle back easy, Jim

You may be Saturday's child all grown
Moving with a pinch of grace
You may be a clown in the burying ground
Or just another pretty face
You may be the fate of Ophelia
Sleeping and perchance to dream
Honest to the point of recklessness (note 1)
Self-centred to the extreme

Ain't nobody messin' with you but you
Your friends are getting most concerned
Loose with the truth, maybe its your fire
Baby, I hope you don't get burned
When the smoke has cleared, she said
That's what she said to me
You're gonna want a bed to lay your head
And a little sympathy

There are things you can replace
And others you cannot
The time has come to weigh those things
This space is gettin' hot
You know this space is gettin' hot

I told Althea, I'm a roving sign
That I was born to be a bachelor
Althea told me, OK that's fine
So now I'm trying to catch her
Can't talk to you without talking to me
We're guilty of the same old thing
Thinking a lot about less and less
And forgetting the love we bring

Lyrics: Robert Hunter
Music: Jerry Garcia(I miss Jerry!)
 
Guy Clark, Rodney Crowell, and Emmylou Harris have had a musical association going since the mid-70's. I saw them together in 76 in Colo Springs, with Willie Nelson, and in London, England, in 78-79 or so, at Hammersmith Odeon.
Guy's then wife, Suzanna, sang on Luxury Liner, Emmylou and Rodney on Guy's Old No.1 and Texas Cookin'.
I have heard some of Townes' stuff, and yup, I like it.

DaddyDett
 
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