Do you know this writer?

Hank Williams my search engine tells me... but I know nothing about him - I have heard the name...

Deb, You're correct, but mainly I posted the lyrics to his song because I felt it was stunning poetry. I never realized what a talent the man was until I looked at the lyrics without the musical distraction. You Aussies probably have a comparable genre of American Country music. Hank Williams was only 29 years old and died in the back seat of a car on his way to a New Year's Eve performance in Ohio. Poetry doesn't have to be complicated to strike a nerve. does it?

Happy New Year, my friend

Hank remains one of the rarest commodities. A country singer I can appreciate.

Hey, Rog.

Indeed, HW was a rare commodity, but like so many delicate and beautiful things, too fragile to withstand the frosts of success. The music business is a "coy mistress" and luck is not always a "lady"


Happy New Year, Rog

I've never been much of a fan of country music. However, that song always gave me chills. The music and lyrics together are some of the best I've ever heard. Thanks for posting this, Letty.

Memories ... light the corners of my mind ...

Hi, chatoyant,

Interesting that I was never a fan of country music when I was young. Not trendy, I guess. Now I realize just how beautiful and plaintive it was.

Glad you appreciated the lyrics to Hank's song, and, yes, very chilling.


Ring out the old--ring in the knew.

he was one of dylan's heroes and greatest influeces, i think, as well as woodie guthrie

Well, Mikey. I certainly did not know that he was Dylan's idol. Thanks for that bit of info. I tried playing it on piano, and the changes are deceptively simple....so very haunting.

i might be way off here, if i am, correct me,

his writing smack's of bob

i know woody was

Frankly, Mikey, I never put two and one together here, but in retrospect, I understand your comparison. All lyric poetry was originally meant to be set to music, hence the wandering bards of yore. America still has her wandering bards, and to paraphrase Leonard Bernstein, that is what makes music American.

When I was but a lad, back in the late 40s and early 50s, my Mom listened to country music all day long. I was a fan of Hank Williams all the way back then. The years have only served to enhance the greatness of his songs. I have several collections of his music. Some of it unspeakably sad, some of it much more light hearted, poignant - a wide range of effects and emotions. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to discuss him.

Hey, edgar. I grew up in a home constantly filled with music--music of all kinds. Eventually, I may even try and appreciate hip-hop and rap.
I am delighted that this thread touched a chord for you.

Ah Letty. I'm So Lonesome...must be one of the saddest songs of all time. I first heard it performed by Johnny Cash on his TV show. I bought recordings of it by B.J. Thomas and Elvis Presley, but hadn't made the Hank Williams connection. The only Hank Williams song I was familiar with at that time was "Your Cheatin' Heart". One day, while playing a record of it for a friend who appreciated lyrics, (at that time voice and music were my priority), he said: "I'm picturing a robin crying. Did you ever see a robin cry?" And I visualized a robin with a tear drop falling as leaves fell to the ground, and that is one sad image and to this day the image that comes to mind every time I hear a lonesome song. Great lyrics. Can you picture it, too.?

Raggedy, That line really got to me as a masterpiece in imagery, as well as the phrase, "...whining low"....WOW!

This song was one that an old friend loved... we listened to it just before he went to Viet Nam. He came home and shot himself dead. Like that Robin, he couldn't take the change of seasons.

It is beautiful poetry, but the melody is so beautiful I wouldn't want to separate it from the lyrics.

of course, Piffka. That is the reason that I sat at the piano today and played it. They do go together--the words and the music. I just wanted to show that poetry is not just words on a page..it can stand alone or together. Tragic about your friend. I cannot express the horror that I feel over suicide. We have had so many friends go that way. Hank Williams, in his own way, did the same. Battles are not always fought on the battlefield.

Really, Letty, I tried but I can't separate them. When I first read the words, the melody snuck right in and it stays there, lilting, in the background. Was this one of the songs that Squeedleboink sang on his Butterfly CD?

I'm so grateful that you posted it though. I'm going to look for other lyrics by Hank Williams and may add them, if it's OK with you. My friend had one other song that I associated with him... I want to see who wrote it.

Don't think HCE did any Hank Williams. Where is that cowboy from Boston, anyway?

Sure wish he'd show up on A2K. Y'know, Peace & Love and I met him in late October. Wonderful, generous, lovely man. BTW, he spoke highly of you!

Well I checked, and the other song my friend wanted to hear (to sing with me really) was... When You Walk Through a Storm... turns out to be from Carousel, Rodgers lyrics. Similar feeling, I guess -- my friend was worried.