Your favourite Guy Clark song

Subject: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: Den
Date: 19 Mar 05 - 09:01 PM

Well really there's so many and sometimes its not the songs themselves but just Guy's way with words. Like "old women with no children holding hands with the clock," from Old Time Feeling. But if I had to pick one it would be Desperados Waiting for a Train. "We just closed our eyes and dreamed us up a kitchen and sang another verse of that old song." Den.

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: GUEST,Wesley S
Date: 19 Mar 05 - 10:15 PM

It would be tough to pick only one - so...

John Riley - a song he wrote with Tim O'Brien
Stuff that Works
Dublin Blues

Those are three of my favorites. Our group does all of them. But there are so many more.

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: Sorcha
Date: 19 Mar 05 - 11:02 PM

Randall Knife, and I WISH I could find it on tape or CD...anyway I think Randall Knife is Guy Clark. Guy someobdy

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: richlmo
Date: 19 Mar 05 - 11:55 PM

I love "New Cut Road", "Heartbroke" and "Home Grown Tomatoes".And "Jack Of All Trades" and "Boats To Build" and........
Guy Clark is too cool!!

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: hilda fish
Date: 20 Mar 05 - 12:19 AM

I'd have to go with Desperados Waiting for a Train but I love the sound of his voice on pretty much anything. He has that nice American sort of quality if that makes sense.

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: GUEST,chinmusic
Date: 20 Mar 05 - 01:00 AM

Some of my favourites have already been mentioned here, but Old Friends is another beauty. Also, Coat From The Cold is a beautifully written tune.

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: GUEST
Date: 20 Mar 05 - 05:49 AM

Funny that
I personally think that Randall knife and HG tomatoes are his worst songs. He can't pronounce tomatoes properly for a start ;-)

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: Midchuck
Date: 20 Mar 05 - 07:33 AM

I think it's probably Dublin Blues because of the great lyric;

I have seen the David, seen the Mona Lisa too;
I have heard Doc Watson play Columbus Stockade Blues.

But then it might be Rita Ballou, because of the great laugh line:

Wild eyed and Mexican silvered, trickin' dumb old Cousin Willard
Into thinking that he's got her this time

On the other hand, it might well be Randall Knife:

If a better blade was ever made, it was surely forged in Hell.

It could also be Virginia's Real, just 'cause it's so much fun to sing and play on the guitar and watch people who don't know it fall further and further behind on the chord changes (sadistic s**t, ain't I?).

It could be LA Freeway Blues, which has such a great chorus to sing;

If I ever get offa this LA freeway, without getting killed or caught - expresses the way I always feel, driving on heavily trafficced urban freeways.

I'll think of more possibilities later, and probably post again.

Peter.

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: Fred (Beetle) Bailey
Date: 20 Mar 05 - 09:47 AM

Has anyone ever recorded Guy's very early one:

Hey, hey, hey -- where have you been?
Down the road and around the bend
Where time has tricked the minds of men
Lonliness is the only sin
And everybody's welcome in
That's where I've been
I just got back today.

Just wondering

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: Beer
Date: 20 Mar 05 - 12:31 PM

There are just so many good one's.
I guess the one that stands out for me is "Stuff That Works".

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: Cromdubh
Date: 20 Mar 05 - 12:45 PM

I think Randall knife is great, but there is another which has the same music. I don`t know it`s name "let him Roll" might be it. "he always said heaven was just a dallas whore" is one of the lines which sticks out for me.

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: Den
Date: 20 Mar 05 - 04:46 PM

Cromdubh, Let Him Roll, is indeed the name of the song and it does share a tune with Randall Knife.

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: GUEST,Greycap
Date: 20 Mar 05 - 04:51 PM

All of 'em

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: GUEST
Date: 20 Mar 05 - 05:00 PM

Randall Knife, and I WISH I could find it on tape or CD...anyway I think Randall Knife is Guy Clark. Guy someobdy

What's your problem in finding it?

It's on three different sets: Dublin Blues, Craftsman (2-CD package of 3 original LP's), and Together At The Bluebird Cafe (with Townes Van Zandt & Steve Earle).

All three sets are easily available at Amazon.

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: Auggie
Date: 20 Mar 05 - 07:24 PM

The Carpenter
Home Grown Tomatoes
Blowin Like a Bandit
Heartbroke

Engaging lyrics, simple chords, and a voice as rough as Texas landscape. What more could you ask for?

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: Barbara
Date: 20 Mar 05 - 10:59 PM

I'm with Greycap, all of 'em, and what's your problem, Guest? I'm a homegrown Michigander and I just love the way Guy says tuh-MAY-ders. I bought my first Guy Clark recording after hearing "Little Bit 'A Both" on the radio, and I was amazed to discovered how many other good songs he'd written (and how many I already knew).
What about that one about the kid with the cape? That's cool, too.
He'a got so many good lines, it's hard to pick out one that's better.
In the "L.A. Freeway" song, I love "Say goodbye to the landlord for me/Sons a bitches always bore me"
He paints so many portraits. "She ain't goin' nowhere, she's just leaving". The drunk in "Let 'em Roll", his gramma's boyfriend(s), the Shrimpers heading out into the storm, singing "adios jolie blonde".
And that laid back delivery. What a gift he is.
Blessings,
Barbara

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: Roger in Baltimore
Date: 21 Mar 05 - 03:33 PM

I particularly like what he calls his "wrist slitters" like "Let Him Roll" and "The Randall Knife".

Roger in Baltimore

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: Beer
Date: 21 Mar 05 - 08:16 PM

Did a little diggin' and came up with an old A/P "Texas Cookin" Great stuff. Also love the song from another A/P titled "Comfort and Crazy".
Beer

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: 14fret
Date: 21 Mar 05 - 09:44 PM

The wise and wonderful Mr Clark.
One of the best writers on the planet. And probably a few others too.

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: Once Famous
Date: 21 Mar 05 - 09:49 PM

I perfrom "Jenny Dreamed of Trains" written by Guy Clark and Vince Gill.    The song is truly captivating.

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: open mike
Date: 21 Mar 05 - 10:57 PM

It has got to be "Home Grown Tomatoes"
which, i bvelieve was penned by a team
of Susanna Clark and Guy.

Also Boats to Build it is s one he sings with
his accompanist Verlon Thompson who wrote it
(http://www.verlonthompson.com/)
with Guy.   http://www.guyclark.com/

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: GUEST,Welsh Weasel
Date: 27 Mar 05 - 05:24 PM

For me it's Cold Dog Soup.Excellent song,great backing. The last two albums have been Guy's best. Long may he continue!

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: burntstump
Date: 28 Mar 05 - 05:20 AM

His wife Susanah also writes very good songs.

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: GUEST,Tony G
Date: 16 Feb 11 - 03:31 PM

I have always loved Desperados Waiting for a Train ( listen also to Martin Simpson do it) and would probably have put it down as the favourite until I heard "Maybe I can paint over that" from
"Somedays the Song Writes You" The second verse
"I've tracked blood in on the floor
I put my first through the wall
I've dragged trouble through the door
And I've spilled wine on it all".

Well I got that tee shirt!

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: Roger in Baltimore
Date: 16 Feb 11 - 04:01 PM

Sussanna Clark wrote one that Guy sings and is a favorite of mine, "Come From the Heart". According to something I read, Sussanna and another writer (Richard Leigh) went into a room at Guy's house and about 1/2 hour later came up with the song. Guy was jealous 'cause they made it look easy. They started out with a saying that I have heard elsewhere as base for the chorus:

"You've got to sing like you don't need the money;
Love, like you'll never get hurt;
You've got to dance, dance, dance like nobody's watching.
It's gotta come from the heart, if you want it to work."

The lyrics contain two different lessons I try to keep upfront:

"If you want to have someone to hold onto
You're gonna have to learn to let go."

"When everything is falling apart:
In life as in love, what I need to remember,
There's such a thing as trying too hard."

First Guy Clark song I ever heard was "LA Freeway." The most requested song I have is probably "Home Grown Tomatoes".

Roger in Baltimore

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: sharyn
Date: 16 Feb 11 - 05:01 PM

For me, it's "Dublin Blues":

I wish I was in Austin, mm-mm,
In the Chili Parlor Bar,
Drinkin' mad dog margaritas
And not carin' where you are.

He tells a fabulous story about "L.A. Freeway," though, which is also a very good song.

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: GUEST,Alan Whittle
Date: 16 Feb 11 - 06:35 PM

Any Clark song sung by Jack Hudson. To be honest, after Jack, Guy Clark himself was a bit of a disappointment. In Jack, he found the ultimate interpreter of his songs. Or perhaps they never found each other - perhaps they've never met. Now that would be sad.

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 16 Feb 11 - 06:43 PM

John Riley

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: open mike
Date: 17 Feb 11 - 12:03 PM

If you are not familiar with him and his music...check him out!
http://www.guyclark.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Clark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTwUpkEK6yk
there are a bunch of videos on you tube

the best performance of his i have seen was with Terry Allen.

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: GUEST,999
Date: 17 Feb 11 - 12:06 PM

Fried Green Tomatoes.

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: open mike
Date: 17 Feb 11 - 12:14 PM

great recipe, but the song is HOMEGROWN tomatoes...
Terry Allen(co-conspirator, TX songwriter) wife
was in the movie Fried Green Tomatoes...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101921/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0020658/

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: GUEST,999
Date: 17 Feb 11 - 12:16 PM

Yeppers. Thanks.

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: pdq
Date: 17 Feb 11 - 12:16 PM

I like "LA Freeway" by Jerry Jeff Walker better that Clark's own, but than I heard it first.

"Stuff That Works" is so simple and basic that it must be the work of a genius, but the song is actually is credited to Rodney Crowell and Guy Clark.

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Feb 11 - 12:29 PM

This is my latest favourite Guy Clark song (actually co-written with Verlon Thompson)...

This is the sort of storytelling you rarely hear. Listen to the cheers when he gets to the pay-off final line....

The Guitar

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: frogprince
Date: 17 Feb 11 - 12:34 PM

Not easy to say, but maybe, just maybe, by a nose, "Dublin Blues".

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: Jeri
Date: 17 Feb 11 - 12:43 PM

I like a lot of his songs. Here's a vid on YouTube of the Letterman Show: "Desperados Waiting for a Train", sung by Nancy Griffith (it was her CD), Guy Clark, Jerry Jeff Walker, Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell, Jimmy Dale Gilmore, and Eric Taylor. I first heard the song when I bought the album for "LA Freeway".

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: G-Force
Date: 17 Feb 11 - 12:58 PM

Guest, love 'The Guitar'. Life's still worth living when you think you might still hear a song like that one day.

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: evansakes
Date: 17 Feb 11 - 01:23 PM

Guest was me, G-Force.

Actually I think the guy with the camera must have heard the song before....he zooms in at exactly the right point.

Thanks also to Jeri above.....I'd never seen that video before. Top quality stuff....and the stuff that works.

That was obviously when Rodney was still in his Shakin Stevens phase :-)

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: The Beast of Farlington
Date: 18 Feb 11 - 09:15 AM

The Cape

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: Janie
Date: 17 May 16 - 10:18 PM

Seems worth refreshing now.

Like others, I don't think I can choose a favorite. Tonight, and where my attention has been lately, these two resonate. In a day, week or month, might be something else from among his remarkable offerings.

Hank Williams Said It Best

Die Tryin'

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: PHJim
Date: 18 May 16 - 10:34 AM

I couldn't choose a favourite, but yesterday I sang Old Time Feeling, Like A Coat From The Cold, Let 'Em Roll and Picasso's Mandolin.

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 18 May 16 - 02:22 PM

Be Gone Forever seems to fit.

Do Lord oh do remember him
Yes, yes, remember him
There will be a singer
Whenever his time has come to die
Be gone forever

Subject: ADD: Stuff That Works (Guy Clark)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 07 Jun 21 - 06:35 PM

Here's a good one.

Thread #143611   Message #3316509
Posted By: michaelr
03-Mar-12 - 02:19 AM
Thread Name: BS: Old Stuff - Still Good
Subject: Lyr Add: STUFF THAT WORKS (Guy Clark)

STUFF THAT WORKS
(Guy Clark)

1. 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

2. I got an ol' pair of 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 ain't Ever gonna 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

3. 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

4. I got a woman I love She's crazy and paints like God
She's got a playground sense of justice She won't take odds
I got a tattoo with her name Right through my soul
I think everything she touches Turns to gold

CHORUS

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: GUEST,LarrytheRadioGuy
Date: 07 Jun 21 - 09:14 PM

The whole Dublin Blues album.

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: Andy M
Date: 08 Jun 21 - 09:23 AM

As someone said previously I'd agree that Randall Knife, and possibly Stuff That Works are my least favourite songs from this exquisite songwriter, with their tendency towards the sentimental. 'Old No !' doesn't have a song on it anywhere near poor; it's the album I have probably played most consistently (and bought 3 times) since its 70s release. 'Desperados waiting...' if I have to pick just one.

Subject: RE: Your favourite Guy Clark song
From: voyager
Date: 08 Jun 21 - 05:33 PM

In a lifetime of music (performance, song-writing, anthologizing and appreciation) ... I missed the Guy Clark train altogether. 'Like Desperados Waitng for a Train' - see also Once Upon a Time in the West (Sergio Leone - 1968)

voyager