The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #112126 Message #2370604
Posted By: Grab
20-Jun-08 - 08:12 AM
Thread Name: Lyr Add: Three Chords and the Truth (Ry Cooder)
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Three Chords and the Truth (Ry Cooder)
Song was written by Ry Cooder.
When he released the album, there was a fairly extensive interview with him on Radio 2 in the UK about it - the concept behind the album is of a cat (that's of the feline variety, not the "hey you crazy cats" variety) travelling across the US. This might explain the "character" voice in the song.
Lindisfarne used the phrase relatively recently on their song "This guitar never lies". The verse could refer to either Dylan or Guthrie, and goes:-
There was a man before me, and he was the living proof Of just how far a boy can get with three chords and the truth Sure he had had his share of low-down ways you might despise But everywhere he played they all said, this guitar never lies