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Rating: Every self-respecting musician tries to "exorcise" their fears through their songs. Some of them manage to achieve a certain balance that allows them to definitively defeat these "demons" that, after all, lurk, ready to harm at the most unexpected moments, in everyone's soul. Others are not able to establish this balance on their own and, therefore, fall into the abyss of self-destruction. Townes Van Zandt undoubtedly belongs to this latter category. His selfless dedication to the art of music, the recognition of critics and insiders (today, the names of musicians who hold this solitary songwriter in high regard are numerous), and the affection of a small but loyal audience were not enough for him. Depression and drugs wore him down and contributed to accelerating his premature disappearance in 1997.
This duality of his music, suspended between timid lightheartedness and radical melancholy, emerges unambiguously in "Delta Momma Blues," a dense and poetic album released in 1971 (two adjectives that, for me, can be attributed to any of his creations). Hope pervades the titular song, an optimistic narrative marked by the duet between the clear arpeggio of the acoustic guitar and the fiddle, the ramshackle blues of "Where I Lead Me" and "Turnstyled, Junkpiled," the latter with a joyful instrumental framework. One of the most significant tracks on the album is "Come Tomorrow," an open-hearted prayer where the protagonist confesses to his beloved that he is unable to face life's difficulties alone ("A thousand bridges sadly burning, And light the way I have to walk alone, Come tomorrow"), communicating the need to fight together against external adversities ("it's only That I ain't used to being lonely Like I'm gonna be without you, Come tomorrow"). The contradictory nature of Van Zandt's music becomes evident in "Only Him or Me," a calm song about a betrayal that leaves a wound never to heal. The same applies to "Tower Song," (objectively) a poignant masterpiece, a bittersweet arrow that leaves the listener petrified. Here, the vicissitudes of separation are faced with quiet resignation, without room for feelings like anger and resentment. However, the ever-present disillusionment unsheathes its claws and engraves its effigy in the last two songs (of undeniable depth): "Rake" and "Nothin'." The first is a parable (with dramatic pathos conferred by the interventions of strings and horn, which serve as counterpoint to the usual, yet always "emotional" narration entrusted to Van Zandt's guitar and deep voice) about a young man who decides to abandon himself to a dissolute life to escape the harsh reality that will later reveal itself, making him unfit for life. The second is a "bluesy" song that states that, from birth, man is exposed to suffering ("As brothers our troubles are, locked in each other's arms; and you better pray they never find you"), and ends with a "cold" and paradigmatic statement of this author's poetics ("Sorrow and solitude these are the precious things and the only words that are worth rememberin'").
Regarding Van Zandt's songs (simple yet profound artistic expressions that deserve greater exposure), there is little, very little to say (and I have spoken more than enough... so I'll stop here) and much to listen to.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
04 Turnstyled, Junkpiled (03:24)
By townes van zandt
Well, I've been turnstyled,
Junkpiled
And railroaded too
I've been laid low
But don't you know
I'm still in love with you
I've been took down many a road
If anybody says I ain't day lie
But ain't got no plans
Except to be your man
And love you till I die
Well you got me under your spell
Won't you tell
Me all 'bout your wonderful charms
I got time to burn
And a lot to learn
Mama, take me in your lovin' arms
Well, I know that probably
You feel quite oddly
'bout you hear say
But if you hold me tight
It's gonna be all right
Mama, chase my blues away
08 Where I Lead Me (02:50)
By townes van zandt
Where I lead me I will travel
Where I need me I will call me
I'm no fool, I'll be ready
God knows I will be
And in the meantime make a little money
And buy a little mercy
Met this morning, now he loves me
Say's he loves me
It must be easy, look around you
All around you
But you see the motion, you're not movin'
You don't know how to hold on
Just keep it loose
Don't get excited, it'll pass before long
Now one is goin' one is stayin'
One is silent one is saying'
Here's your coat, take care of yourself
Sorry you're leavin'
A little sad you're all I had
Will you be returnin'
The boys upstairs are gettin' hungry
You can shout in the wind about how it will be
Or you can clench your fist, shake your head
And head to the country
I got no doubt about it my friend
That's where they'll find me
That's where they're gonna find me
Ask the boys down in the gutter
Now they won't lie cause you don't matter
The street's just fine if you're good and blind
But it ain't where you belong
Roll down your sleeves, pick up your money
And carry yourself home
Roll down your sleeves, pick up your money
And carry yourself home
09 Rake (04:05)
By townes van zandt
Proofread and authorized by jeanene van zandt
I used to wake and run with the moon
I lived like a rake and a young man
I covered my lovers with flowers and wounds
My laughter the devil would frighten
The sun she would come and beat me back down
But every cruel day had it's nightfall
I'd welcome the stars with wine and guitars
Full of fire and forgetful
My body was sharp the dark air clean
And outrage my joyful companion
Whisperin' women how sweet did they seem
Kneelin' for me to command them
And time was like water but I was the sea
I'd have never noticed it passin'
Except for the turnin' of night into day
And the turnin' of day into cursin'
You look at me now, and don't think I don't know
What all your eyes are a sayin'
Does he want us to believe these ravings and lies
They're just tricks that his brains been a playin'?
A lover of women he can't hardly stand
He trembles he's bent and he's broken
I've fallen it's true but I say unto you
Hold your tongues until after I've spoken
I was takin' my pride in the pleasures I'd known
I laughed and thought I'd be forgiven
But my laughter turned 'round eyes blazing and
Said my friend, we're holdin' a wedding
I buried my face but it spoke once again
The night to the day we're a bindin'
And now the dark air is like fire on my skin
And even the moonlight is blinding
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