Mr. Scott, your comment almost sounds like a Waylon Jennings song . . .
The Wuhan flu is ragin’
And they make me wear a mask.
Just to drink my beer in peace,
It’s about all that I can ask.
There are statues crashing down,
with protests on the streets.
And my new old washer broke again,
And I ain’t got no clean sheets.
Thank you for this episode. Very enjoyable. Of course, Waylon and Willie did much to play up the “outlaw” persona. They even made a terrible western with Kris Kristofferson and Travis Tritt and Waylon played an “outlaw” in some terrible tv movies. But I think Waylon always regarded the “outlaw” image as ridiculous. He never falsely claimed to be some hardened criminal. That was the false persona of Johnny Cash. Waylon wrote and recorded “Don’t You Think This Outlaw Bit’s Done Got Out of Hand” with the lines “Don’t you think this outlaw bit’s done got out of hand. What started out to be a joke the law don’t understand.” Waylon was not as prolific a songwriter as Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver, David Allan Coe, etc., but he wasn’t merely an entertainer. He wrote many of his biggest hits and he could actually play the guitar, unlike Cash. To me, Johnny Cash’s ridiculous “Man in Black” persona, and his desire to turn violent criminals into folk heroes, is far more grating. The reason for rebelling against the slick, string-laden, corporate Nashville sound was just. So much of the “country” music coming out of Nashville at the time was truly awful. Merle had the advantage of being from the West coast and having his own scene in Bakersfield, with Buck Owens, Red Simpson, etc. They didn’t really need Nashville. But, if you were from the South, after the demise of the Louisiana Hayride, you had to migrate to Nashville. Texas / Red Dirt music, which is the most genuine form of country music today owes a great debt to Waylon and Willie, as well as lesser-known guys like Bob Childers and Billy Joe Shaver.
The Reign of Love, a sequel to The Morality of Everyday Life, proposes a constructive alternative to the abstract ideologies that dominate both Left and Right. Now available from the TFF Store. Hardcover now available!
Sorry friends, Covid/Wuhan/? and BLM and my new used washer have all been giving me heartaches. all is well now. as well as it can be….
Mr. Scott, your comment almost sounds like a Waylon Jennings song . . .
The Wuhan flu is ragin’
And they make me wear a mask.
Just to drink my beer in peace,
It’s about all that I can ask.
There are statues crashing down,
with protests on the streets.
And my new old washer broke again,
And I ain’t got no clean sheets.
Thank you for this episode. Very enjoyable. Of course, Waylon and Willie did much to play up the “outlaw” persona. They even made a terrible western with Kris Kristofferson and Travis Tritt and Waylon played an “outlaw” in some terrible tv movies. But I think Waylon always regarded the “outlaw” image as ridiculous. He never falsely claimed to be some hardened criminal. That was the false persona of Johnny Cash. Waylon wrote and recorded “Don’t You Think This Outlaw Bit’s Done Got Out of Hand” with the lines “Don’t you think this outlaw bit’s done got out of hand. What started out to be a joke the law don’t understand.” Waylon was not as prolific a songwriter as Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver, David Allan Coe, etc., but he wasn’t merely an entertainer. He wrote many of his biggest hits and he could actually play the guitar, unlike Cash. To me, Johnny Cash’s ridiculous “Man in Black” persona, and his desire to turn violent criminals into folk heroes, is far more grating. The reason for rebelling against the slick, string-laden, corporate Nashville sound was just. So much of the “country” music coming out of Nashville at the time was truly awful. Merle had the advantage of being from the West coast and having his own scene in Bakersfield, with Buck Owens, Red Simpson, etc. They didn’t really need Nashville. But, if you were from the South, after the demise of the Louisiana Hayride, you had to migrate to Nashville. Texas / Red Dirt music, which is the most genuine form of country music today owes a great debt to Waylon and Willie, as well as lesser-known guys like Bob Childers and Billy Joe Shaver.