Shake the Dust Off Your Wings and the Sleep Out of Your Eyes

I post Townes Van Zandt here on New Years’ Day, and that is all we do on the first day of the year. Because he left the world on Jan. 1, 1997, much too early, and I miss him.

I make all kinds of allowances for Townes. The videos can be longer than two-and-a-half minutes and they do not need to include a live performance, as long as the audio is good.

“To Live is to Fly” is his best song.

These demo sessions are his greatest musical accomplishment. The voice and strings work together here in a way that is all too rare. This was recorded the year I was born.

We’re back to business tomorrow.

For today, enjoy your greens and black-eyed peas.

Nostalgia

This song was on every jukebox in every dive south of the Mason-Dixon line and east of El Paso for a long time. It lasted into the late 90s.

I suggest listening while you read what I have to say about it.

• The woman in this story is one of my favorite characters in all of creative literature.
• This is a very Catholic song. I am not up enough on Ray Charles to know what his beliefs are, but we can talk about Catholic undertones, and overtones, and subtext all day long with it.
• Ray really outdoes himself in the last minute,and I wish I’d seen him live just once.
• It is not a real tragedy, because everyone involved knows exactly what they are doing.
• “If they take me back to Texas, they won’t take me back alive” is just awesome.
• This is so old, Willie said “phonograph record.” How cool is that?

Posted for my friends My Wild Surmise, Peace, Love, & Great Country Music, and Alva.