The elderly black man was a neighbor. When this video was made,the neighbor hadn't told anyone that he had terminal cancer. He passed away a few weeks after the video waws made.
Townes came from a prominent Texas family, but all his adult life, suffered from depression and addiction which informed so many of his songs. He was a master wordsmith who had the ability to create powerfully emotional imagery in songs that were often barely 2 minutes long ("Kathleen", "Rex's Blues" and "Highway Kind" come to mind). Traveling the road, yearning, transitory love and thoughts of despair and death are common themes, but there are notable exceptions ("To Live is to Fly", I'll Be There in the Morning", "If I Needed You"). His melodies are usually pretty simple and hauntingly beautiful. The more you explore Townes' songs, the more you find to love and appreciate about him.
Apparently, Townes had just moved in together with his wife for the first time. She was happy and hopeful in embarking on this new adventure with him and one day he emerged out of his songwriting closet and said ”I wrote a song”. She was so happy for him. Then he played this …
Performance is from the movie Heartworn Highways, which is an awesome doc from the late 70s and I really suggest watching to see what Townes was like as a dude, and to get a feel for that whole era of outlaw country in Texas. After that, watch Be Here To Love Me (2004) for a full, posthumous career retrospective that shows the downside of that lifestyle. And just listen to all of his music.
I love Heartworn Highways. I tear up almost everytime I hear this song. Fun fact: I live in Van Zandt County, TX which is named after the Van Zandt family.
A new friend lent me the DVD around Christmas. It turns out 30 years ago we went to the same shows in Chicago. The cool thing was his copy was signed by Steve Young.
Townes Van Zandt is the purest musician there ever was. He literally lived for his music. He was a vagrant who lived from place to place making sparse live recordings and selling them to support himself. Never seeked fame or fortune. He says in a documentary that “his life will run out before his work will.. I designed it that way” pretty heavy but a beautiful tortured soul. Regarded as one of the greatest songwriters ever. Even Bob Dylan has said that he’s the greatest songwriter ever
You’ve gotta do a video on “Pancho and Lefty.” It’s maybe the most awe-inspiring song I’ve ever heard. It’s not enough to call it a song, it’s a story, and a masterpiece at that.
I was a GED teacher of "at-risk" young men & women for a few years. This song reminds me of how different they thought...& how fruitless much of the established "academics" was geared for them. They had an entirely different culture & mindset...based on surviving in the moment...without the abstract, comfortable morals & reasoning of normal people. They did what they could - often destructive to themselves & others - but at least they were doing something.
Yeah when you're struggling to survive, it's all you can think about. Only when you have what you need can you start to think about other things. Just one of many reasons we should fight as a society to end poverty and homelessness by giving everyone that baseline. Food, clean water, shelter, medicine, and employment shouldn't be something people have to fight tooth and nail for in the 21st century. A better path to citizenship for refugees, internet and phone, transportation, childcare, clothing, and better accomodations for the elderly and disabled should be on that list as well.
It's a crime to humanity that Townes wasn't recognized as he should have been during his lifetime. As a fellow Texan who also suffers from Manic Depression I've always appreciated him and his music. It makes me happy that he's finally starting to be recognized. Do a video of "Nothin" by Townes, an amazing song as well
Townes wrote some amazing songs. Most people will recognize Pancho and Lefty, but other songs I have enjoyed are: If I Needed You, To Live Is to Fly, Snake Mountain Blues - (I could keep on going with over a dozen more). His version of Dead Flowers is so good I heard many people believe he is the writer and not the Stones.
I don't know if a live video of it exists, but "Lungs" is one of the spookiest songs i have ever heard. Steve Earle, who was heavily influenced by Townes, did a tribute album to him a while back. I avoided it for years because I was seriously afraid of hearing Steve do Lungs. I finally listened to it, and actually Townes himself was worse. I will see if I can find a live version of it and post it in Guitargate if I do. Thank you for doing this song, Townes is one of the greatest songwriters I have ever heard.
Steve is a cousin of mine and my very first concert I attended was Steve earle and Bob Dylan in Houston. Townes showed up . Got to meet him and Dylan the same night .
The last time I saw Townes was at the Fine Line in Minneapolis. He performed with Guy Clark and Verlon Thompson. Guy and Townes were quite drunk but it didn’t take anything away from the performance. It was a great show.
I discovered Van Zandt a few years ago, I am a classical guitar player, love all kinds of music. I think he was one of the greatest writers. I have listened to many of his songs, there are some truly powerful lyrics in many of them. The first part of "Pancho and Lefty", a part in "farewell miss carousel" where he says : come and get me when you're sure you don't need me then and I'll proudly call your name. "I'll be there in the morning" is touching. I've always been drawn to stories written in song, Van Zandt tells alot with very few words.
I'm loving watching you dig into one of the best songwriters ever to hop a train. That man was one of a few that changed (saved!) my life on a fundamental basis.
👆👆👆Congratulations❤️❤️, you have been shortlisted among my lucky giveaway winners. Please send me a telegram to the above username to claim our prize...💖
I was so stoked when I saw Townes on your channel I knew this was going to be awesome from the start. This video made my day and possibly month . Cheers!
Townes is someone I've heard of for ages but for some reason never got around to listening to until early last year and he's been 90% of what I've listened to since then. Just such a pure but broken and tortured human, lots of things didn't go his way but whatever he managed to wring out of life is immortalized in his music and I'm just thankful to hear it. His music has touched me like no other artist have done and I can't really put my finger on why, he's just magic.
dude, Townes is..one of my favorites, along with the many other Texas legendary singer-songwriters he affiliated with and inspired like the incredibly talented Steve Earle who named his late great songwriting son after him, Townes is a TOTAL LEGEND, best writer ever, of course others are better at their particular styles like Rodney Crowell, Billy Joe Shaver and Guy Clark but Townes made every single word count and even wrote a song in his sleep, so cool to see you play this, and like Townes once said "pick it..and it won't ever heal"!!! Yeah man, you just opened up a whole new world of great music. Townes wrote such important and beautiful songs. Truth is he had problems when he was young, suicidal etc and they put him through insulin shock therapy and from what I understand it erased memories of his childhood. He'd sit in a closet writing songs, and really lived what he wrote. Next level stuff. Just to give you an idea of how his mind worked, he'd start a dice game and lose it all..even the coat off his back that his buddy gave him, he'd play Russian roulette for free, he'd fall asleep with glue in his mouth to get high while he slept and have to get his mouth busted open. There was this chance he had with making a huge record deal, I remember hearing a record exec talking about it, but the night prior he ended up getting drunk with some buddies and rolling a jeep. Nearly killed him and gave him a nice facial scar. His songs will show up in films from time to time. What's great about the documentaries he's in, you'll get to see just how little money songwriters were making off royalties..even though he did write Willie and Merle's song Poncho and Lefty which is maybe the greatest country song ever, I mean those 3 men in 1 song together...how do you top that? 3 of arguably the best country songwriters and multi-talents ever in one song...wow. He was never long for this world but he made his mark. You gotta love these old recordings, you'll hear stuff in the background like bottles and their buddies saying something, and encounters with the audience and it really lets you understand the life of the musician. So yeah, check out the films he and other greats are in called "be here to love me", "heartworn highway" and "without getting killed or caught"
There are so many great Townes tunes. If I Needed You. I'll Be Here in the Morning (which is interesting because lyrically it is a promise but musically it ends unresolved), and To Live is to Fly which has this insightful lyric Everything is not enough And nothin' is to much to bear. Where you been is good and gone All you keep is the getting there
The video is a clip from the movie Heartworn Highways, a must see cinematic time capsule of a moment and a place filled with amazing musical talents (the DVD extra features has a great many additional songs that didn't make the movie for one reason or another but are still totally awesome in their own right) , To answer your question, the woman in the video is Susanna Talley Clark, singer-songwriter Guy Clark's wife. The ending fragment of a song at the start of this video clip is Guy Clark singing the last part of his song "That Old Time Feeling." Guy and Townes and Susanna were very close friends, Townes stood as their best man at their wedding. The story goes that on some lonely Texas highway Guy picked up a hitchhiking Townes who promptly reached into his bag, pulled out a vinyl record (his first recording) and gave it to Guy in return for the ride, and a friendship was born. Although not as well known as Guy and Townes, Susanna too was a successful songwriter in her own right with several songs recorded by well known country singers including a number one hit in 1989 "Come From The Heart." She also was a talented artist with a number of her paintings gracing album covers of a number of different well know musicians. Both Townes ans Susanna came from wealthy Texas society families, and I remember seeing an interview with Guy saying something to the effect that Susanna and Townes had some deep stuff between them (which I took to mean common experiences) that nobody else knew about. Along with exploring the music of Townes Van Zandt, I would strongly recommend looking into Guy Clark as well as he is another master songsmith.
The full movie Heartworn Highways is here on UA-cam. The section this song is taken from is wonderfull. Uncle Seymour chats about being The Walking Blacksmith. Townes says “This is the first song I wrote about him.” I’m guessing it was actually about his friend Uncle Seymour’s life which is why the old guy started crying.
If I am mistaken in what you meant, ignore this message, but... No, Townes wrote this song when in college in Colorado. He says it's the first song he ever wrote (On "Live At The Old Quarter," he goes one step farther and says it's the first SERIOUS song he wrote), but wasn't about anyone. It was a fictional story.
When micheal finds out the whole Van Zandt story 🥲🥺 one of the greatest contributors to music ever and got screwed over and never honored. An incredible spirit
Townes tuning just reflects the world he is writing about. actually i used to play a lot with my strings just out of tune.. i liked the sounds. might try it again
A travel and played and lived with towns for a number of years. He was one of a kind, wild and gentle, a cross between Rimbeau, Robert Service and Hank Williams Senior. I miss him.
I feel like I am late to the party as I missed this when Michael dropped this ... Townes is one of my heroes (+ a damaged individual) and his life experiences and the ability to listen to others stories and create music from it ... He and Guy Clark as many have mentioned are the unsung heroes of American songwriting ... I am not a huge fan of remakes but the "Whitey Morgan and the 78's" take on this "CLASSIC" is right up there as one of the best ... The arrangement of blending an Acoustic, Elecric Rhythm, Electric Lead, Peddle-Steel, and rounding out with an incredible bass player and drummer make their version something special ... I find it to be layered beautifully and actually builds maybe even more meaning into the lyrics ... I've seen "WM&78" many times and he has worked their version into many of their encore performances ... Link to live version below ... ua-cam.com/video/7iWSirMwmt8/v-deo.html
You just recognized your own privilege and you should be very proud, some people of a certain status never recognize our privilege. I love you back Michael, well done, I’m sharing this with my 4000 Twitter followers.
Two other great songs from Heartworn Highways with some interesting guitar stuff going on are "Ohoopee River Bottomland" by Larry Jon Wilson and "Bluebird Wine" by Rodney Crowell. Definitely worth a look.
Larry Jon Wilson albums are so good, but they are largely unknown. He recorded four albums for Monument and then took like 30 years or so to record another.
The best songwriter to ever do it. period. Susanna Clark (Guy Clark's wife) was such a beautiful woman. She and Townes were close friends. and the black guy is Seymour Washington was called The Walking Blacksmith. This video was an out take from HeartWorn Highways, Guy Clark and Steve Earle were angry at the film makers because the movie was supposed to focus mostly on Guy Clark. They sent the crew to see Townes thinking Townes would drive them nuts. Steve Earle wound up saying and "of course, Townes stole the movie"
Holy moly. I have never seen someone react to this. I am eight seconds in, and I just had to say how happy I am to see someone react to this. It’s one of my favorite things on earth. That whole documentary. It’s fantastic. Oh man. If you take suggestions do the first scene in this documentary. But back to this video. It’s one of the most powerful things I’ve ever seen in my life. Thank you. Edit: but you are also not seeing it for what it is. Do you think it’s him being calloused and uncaring? No. It’s him feeling hopeless. Edit number two: I love your thing at the end. And I think you realize this, that it is really hard for people to turn around from where they are. Especially if they are socialized by their environment. But I absolutely agree. I just want to know how to get people out of that mindset. Love this, dude.
You have to hear the live at the old quarter album. It’s him at hood his greatest. Before they way he lived started to catch up with him. Tecumseh Valley, Rex’s Blues, To Live is to Fly… the whole damn album is absolutely perfect. Would love to hear what you had to say about him in his prime. You don’t regret it.
The fellow is "Uncle” Seymour Washington. The footage is taken from the documentary Heartworn Highways. The lady is Susanna Clark (RIP) - she was a painter and Guy Clark's wife. I believe this is the filmed in their home? You can hear Guy in the beginning of the video.
Probably 1 of, if not the greatest songwriter the US has produced, imho. If you're digging into Townes, I would lean more on his live recordings, such as "Rearview Mirror" or "Live at the Old Quarter" to capture his true brilliance. A lot of his studio recordings are over produced and feature the Nashville Sound; something that producer Cowbody Jack Clement later lamented doing. Notable cuts include: "Pancho & Lefty"; "Rex's Blues", "Flying Shoes"; "To Live Is To Fly"; "Rake"; "Lungs"; Dollar Bill Blues"; "No Place To Fall". To learn more of his very sad life's story, check out the documentary on his life called "Be Here To Love Me". Enjoy the rabbit hole - it's a deep one.
I agree, both those live albums are great. Much as i love the presence of the young woman and the old man in this video, it's not really the best quality... for one thing, the sound and video don't sync, and also Townes forgets or just re-makes a verse or two. The versions i am more familiar with (not sure which album they might be from) are more satisfying, at least in the audio sense!
Townes was one of a kind. He's considered the greatest singer/songwriter ever. The greatest of the greats all consider him the greatest. Townes felt every pain you ever felt.
He has that old country music sound like Hank Williams Senior. I can hear my grandmother in this song, every time she heard “I’m so lonesome I could Cry” she cried for her late mother, my great grandmother. I think it made her think of her Mom or some long lost lover she didn’t want to share with me but wow this song puts me back there.
My dad (who doesn't study music- just a fan) didn't know Townes wrote Poncho and Lefty. It was the greatest moment of my life, getting to teach him something! Rest in Paradice TVZ!
You really should watch the entire Heartworn Highways film. Townes, Guy Clark, Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris, Charlie Daniels Band and more. Amazing!
I LOVE his version of his song "Pancho and Lefty" that he sings from this same Heartworn Highway documentary. I found someone who taught his version of it, and I bought the video lesson for it and learned how to play it. Although it was a lesson for his original recorded version, instead of the Heartworn Highway version.. I badly wish I could play it exactly how he plays it on the Heartworn Highway documentary. The specific notes and picking pattern he hits in it feel perfect on my ears. There's some kind of hammer-on sounding action when he switches to an A-minor chord, but I can't figure out how it's done.
Great, I love Townes Van Zandt. Like you, I was recently turned on to "Hi Ren", which is indescribably honest, fresh, compelling. I started watching some reaction videos of Hi Ren, and yours was one of the best. As a guitar enthusiast myself, I then watched a few more of your reaction videos, and discovered some great artists I hadn't heard of. Thanks so much for that! I felt compelled to share one of my favorite guitarists with you. He's rarely on any lists of guitar greats that include some of my favorites like Jeff Beck, SRV, Jimi, Danny Gatton, Andy Timmons, Roy Buchanan, etc., but he's in the same class. His guitar licks are unmistakably his own. His grasp of melody is incredible. He crosses over nearly every genre from blues rock to jazz, to classical, and is clearly at home in all of them. I had the pleasure of seeing him in his home country of the Netherlands, and was even invited backstage with the band during an intermission. His live performances are riveting, so I've included a link to a song from what I consider to be the best example of his music, from a live album released in 1997 called "10,000 Clowns on a Rainy Day". As an excellent guitarist yourself, you're probably familiar with Jan Akkerman, likely through his most well known song with the band Focus, called "Hocus Pocus". Here's a link to "Am I Losing You" from the aforementioned live LP. ua-cam.com/video/hwamZPzbPlI/v-deo.html
from german wikipedia disscusion(google translated): Citation not supported by published sources Audience question: "Can we help you?" as van Zandt fumbled for his dropped pick. Van Zandt: "I guess it's too late" Cologne, concert club "Underground", November 29, 1996 Hello, I posted the quote. I was in the audience at the time - I haven't seen it written down anywhere. It could at most be confirmed by other concert-goers.--Kreismeister 17:08, 12 Aug 2008 (CEST) Hello District Masters, I have no doubts about the correctness of the quote. It's just his type of humor. It's just Wikipedia with its claims to the sources... --Schorle 22:27, 13. Aug. 2008 (CEST)
If anyone was wondering, the song that was ending at first was “Old Time Feeling” by Guy Clark, which was Townes Van Zandts best friend. I live in nashville and listen to the old timers at the dive tell me stories of them two. To me, Guy’s music resonates with me more than Townes. The version you heard here of “Old Time Feeling” has Steve Young playing lead behind Guy. Guy is in an open tuning. Edit: the elderly black man is “Unc” as Townes and the other local hippies called him. Uncle Seymour Washington was a self imposed Pastor, especially after a couple drinks. He was dying in this video. He was battling cancer. He was born in the 1890s and every book I’ve read said that he was a great man and a great person to the folk singers in austin. She said “This is my favorite song of his” So lets talk about the truth of Townes. Its tragic, he’s substance abuse was a rough battle. He did NOT die of an overdose. But he abuse his body so much he passed away Jan. 1st, 1997 at the age of 51. Guy Clark and his wife Susanna Clark were truly the closest people to Townes. Soon after Townes passing Susanna, who claimed Townes was her soulmate and Guy was her husband, had a mythical back pain and just laid down and didnt get up until she died roughly 15 years later. She wanted to die slowly like Townes. That how he impacted others. Townes was not the greatest guy to be around either. When he was sober, he was usually manic depressed. He suffered from Manic Bipolar disorder. When he was a kid (late teens) his family put him in a electric AND insulin shock therapy. Completely making his condition worse. Thats when he turned to drinking. And he started writing. When he was drunk and/or high, he was a loving person. When younger, as seen here, he was an absolute pleasure to be around when he was in that state. When he was older, he couldn’t handle the amount he was using. He couldnt play half the time and he’d usually end up crying a lot. Sadly, all the guys I know only knew him from the 80s on. To be fair I’ve heard nothing but truth about him and Guy Clark. They are two legends in this area and I wish I couldve met them. But these people here keep them alive in their hearts.
Seems I read where those that knew him said he was possibly in one of his best places shortly before his death and had big plans, but unfortunately the damage to his body was already done and resulted in his passing.
The woman is Susanna Clark and the old black man is Uncle Seymour Washington ( Walking Blacksmith ). Uncle Seymour Washington wanted to be a preacher. This is from the documentary Heatworn Highway about Townes Van Zandt.
I loved watching your facial expressions while listening for the first time. Now you’ve learned about the Great Townes , check out his good friend Blaze Foley. But Townes was the greatest at for those of us who have lived through such things.
Townes ain’t out’a tune… the worlds out’a tune. He was spot on.
Legend
I’m like I want Townes to tune my guitars lol
Best comment ever.
Brother, I salute you.
Yes’ir
Townes was once interviewed and he said "I don't write sad songs, I write hopeless ones".
Sheesh
Audience member-"Why don't do a funny song?"
Townes-"those were the funny songs"
@@PootTootPod He told jokes inbetween sets
'Rake' was a complete turnover for the piece of shit I was in younger days
The elderly black man was a neighbor. When this video was made,the neighbor hadn't told anyone that he had terminal cancer. He passed away a few weeks after the video waws made.
He was known as Uncle Cy.
@@1polonium210 Nope. Uncle Seymour Washington. And he died in a nursing home two years after Heartworn Highways was filmed in 1976.
Townes came from a prominent Texas family, but all his adult life, suffered from depression and addiction which informed so many of his songs. He was a master wordsmith who had the ability to create powerfully emotional imagery in songs that were often barely 2 minutes long ("Kathleen", "Rex's Blues" and "Highway Kind" come to mind). Traveling the road, yearning, transitory love and thoughts of despair and death are common themes, but there are notable exceptions ("To Live is to Fly", I'll Be There in the Morning", "If I Needed You"). His melodies are usually pretty simple and hauntingly beautiful. The more you explore Townes' songs, the more you find to love and appreciate about him.
I believe I read where his great grandfather or uncle was a prominent governor of the Texas Republic way back when.
The gut punch is seeing the tears streaming down Uncle Seymour's face.
Apparently, Townes had just moved in together with his wife for the first time. She was happy and hopeful in embarking on this new adventure with him and one day he emerged out of his songwriting closet and said ”I wrote a song”. She was so happy for him. Then he played this …
Yep. Literal closet too. Kurt Cobain even when he had a huge house would write in a closet trying to avoid his wife stealing his shit, lol.
...I assume a much nicer larger closet.
lol why is this a thing? I remember hiding in my closet and playing guitar when I lived with my ex wife
Performance is from the movie Heartworn Highways, which is an awesome doc from the late 70s and I really suggest watching to see what Townes was like as a dude, and to get a feel for that whole era of outlaw country in Texas. After that, watch Be Here To Love Me (2004) for a full, posthumous career retrospective that shows the downside of that lifestyle. And just listen to all of his music.
I love Heartworn Highways. I tear up almost everytime I hear this song.
Fun fact: I live in Van Zandt County, TX which is named after the Van Zandt family.
A new friend lent me the DVD around Christmas. It turns out 30 years ago we went to the same shows in Chicago. The cool thing was his copy was signed by Steve Young.
Townes Van Zandt is the purest musician there ever was. He literally lived for his music. He was a vagrant who lived from place to place making sparse live recordings and selling them to support himself. Never seeked fame or fortune. He says in a documentary that “his life will run out before his work will.. I designed it that way” pretty heavy but a beautiful tortured soul. Regarded as one of the greatest songwriters ever. Even Bob Dylan has said that he’s the greatest songwriter ever
💯
Bob never said that
He didn’t need to seek fortune because he came from a monied, Texas oil family
@Frankie Northtrop Triton Dylan was definitely a fan. But Townes was a super fan of Dylan.
@ADX-Three and it is true his family were old money philanthropist but it never mattered much to TVZ . He care nothing for ut
I’ve been waiting years for this one. Townes’ melodic fingerpicking is unparalleled.
Such a classic
Same. Blaze Foley, John Prine, Steve Earle and Townes VanZandt are a few of the coolest artists ever to pick up a guitar. American icons.
💜
@HieronymusBosch Excellent choice of art.
love to hear some Blaze Foley. gonna find a Blaze song now.@@hieronymusbosch6255
Townes Van Zandt and Shane MacGowan are the absolute kings of breaking your heart with a song.
You’ve gotta do a video on “Pancho and Lefty.” It’s maybe the most awe-inspiring song I’ve ever heard. It’s not enough to call it a song, it’s a story, and a masterpiece at that.
I’ll second this.
The lyrics are brilliant. It wasn't out of kindness.
I like fair the well miss..for the sake of the song Colorado girl and tecumsah valley. I like those way better
@@jakeasterisk2694 yes great tunes
Pancho & Lefty to me is akin to an epic Greek ballad or Western saga.
I was a GED teacher of "at-risk" young men & women for a few years. This song reminds me of how different they thought...& how fruitless much of the established "academics" was geared for them. They had an entirely different culture & mindset...based on surviving in the moment...without the abstract, comfortable morals & reasoning of normal people. They did what they could - often destructive to themselves & others - but at least they were doing something.
Yeah when you're struggling to survive, it's all you can think about. Only when you have what you need can you start to think about other things. Just one of many reasons we should fight as a society to end poverty and homelessness by giving everyone that baseline. Food, clean water, shelter, medicine, and employment shouldn't be something people have to fight tooth and nail for in the 21st century. A better path to citizenship for refugees, internet and phone, transportation, childcare, clothing, and better accomodations for the elderly and disabled should be on that list as well.
Pancho and Lefty
has a great line ...
" they let him go ...
out of kindness, I suppose "
Pancho had so many good lines: And now you wear your skin like iron / And your breath as hard as kerosene
The dust that Pancho bit down south, ended up in Lefty's mouth
Since he wrote this song he actually did spend his life waiting round to die.
This was the song that made me decide to start playing guitar. Such a good sound.
Do you know a Tutorial to learn it? could you please let me know how you managed to play it?
If we’re gonna do Townes. We have to do Blaze Foley! Him and Townes were connected and played together. Blaze has a story like non other
Can't sleep on blaze. His song writing was up to par with Townes
They were definitely connected, in more ways than just musical. Townes was never the same after Blaze was shot and killed.
❤❤❤❤
It's a crime to humanity that Townes wasn't recognized as he should have been during his lifetime. As a fellow Texan who also suffers from Manic Depression I've always appreciated him and his music. It makes me happy that he's finally starting to be recognized. Do a video of "Nothin" by Townes, an amazing song as well
This song has helped me through so many tough ones... back when I was young. I was almost to the end and now we're here. Cheers.
Townes wrote some amazing songs. Most people will recognize Pancho and Lefty, but other songs I have enjoyed are: If I Needed You, To Live Is to Fly, Snake Mountain Blues - (I could keep on going with over a dozen more). His version of Dead Flowers is so good I heard many people believe he is the writer and not the Stones.
White freightliner blues is my favorite
He did write Dead Flowers
I don't know if a live video of it exists, but "Lungs" is one of the spookiest songs i have ever heard. Steve Earle, who was heavily influenced by Townes, did a tribute album to him a while back. I avoided it for years because I was seriously afraid of hearing Steve do Lungs. I finally listened to it, and actually Townes himself was worse. I will see if I can find a live version of it and post it in Guitargate if I do. Thank you for doing this song, Townes is one of the greatest songwriters I have ever heard.
“Grab all the gold you can you fool it’s only moonlight”
@@jeffking887 Yup, that one ...
@@jeffking887 “Fill the sky with screams and cries, bathe in fiery answers”
Here’s a version I recorded in April 2020, when collapsing lungs were more of a concern: ua-cam.com/video/u-GOG-GB7eM/v-deo.html
Steve is a cousin of mine and my very first concert I attended was Steve earle and Bob Dylan in Houston. Townes showed up . Got to meet him and Dylan the same night .
Heartworn Highways is the movie this scene is from...highly recommended viewing!
Got the DVD.
I can hardly believe you made it through this song without a tear. That line he beat her with a belt cuz she cried is just brutal.
Totally. Terrible.
@@Guitargate
You really need to find how
"out of tune"
you are...
Guy Clark's "That Old Time Feeling" is the first song. "The Craftsman" wrote tons of great lines.
Guy Clark needs a hello lot more love and respect on reaction/review channels.
Absolute damned American master.
Yes you are spot on!
Yep I cried 😢absolutely beautiful
The last time I saw Townes was at the Fine Line in Minneapolis. He performed with Guy Clark and Verlon Thompson. Guy and Townes were quite drunk but it didn’t take anything away from the performance. It was a great show.
The intro to that song was the legend Guy Clark. Great job thanks for a great breakdown on Townes guitar chords and interpretation on this .
I discovered Van Zandt a few years ago, I am a classical guitar player, love all kinds of music. I think he was one of the greatest writers. I have listened to many of his songs, there are some truly powerful lyrics in many of them. The first part of "Pancho and Lefty", a part in "farewell miss carousel" where he says : come and get me when you're sure you don't need me then and I'll proudly call your name. "I'll be there in the morning" is touching.
I've always been drawn to stories written in song, Van Zandt tells alot with very few words.
YES! I’ve been waiting for this for so long!
I'm loving watching you dig into one of the best songwriters ever to hop a train. That man was one of a few that changed (saved!) my life on a fundamental basis.
The tears of Uncle Seymour get me every time. 😢. Uncle Seymour lived next door. He was the last of the blacksmiths. Cindy was his young girlfriend.
I thought that was Susanna Clark, but maybe I was wrong?
I’ve seen him sing Pancho & Lefty in this same setting 👍
Me too….me too😢
Thank you. I've loved this for decades.
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These clips from Heartworn Highways are just amazing.
I was so stoked when I saw Townes on your channel I knew this was going to be awesome from the start. This video made my day and possibly month . Cheers!
Blaze Foley If I Could Only Fly - Hit the button!
Yes!!!
Townes is someone I've heard of for ages but for some reason never got around to listening to until early last year and he's been 90% of what I've listened to since then. Just such a pure but broken and tortured human, lots of things didn't go his way but whatever he managed to wring out of life is immortalized in his music and I'm just thankful to hear it. His music has touched me like no other artist have done and I can't really put my finger on why, he's just magic.
I’ve got some Townes lyrics on my chest “ Born to grow. Grown to die.”
The Be Good Tanyas did a lovely version of this
Townes is heart and soul
dude, Townes is..one of my favorites, along with the many other Texas legendary singer-songwriters he affiliated with and inspired like the incredibly talented Steve Earle who named his late great songwriting son after him, Townes is a TOTAL LEGEND, best writer ever, of course others are better at their particular styles like Rodney Crowell, Billy Joe Shaver and Guy Clark but Townes made every single word count and even wrote a song in his sleep, so cool to see you play this, and like Townes once said "pick it..and it won't ever heal"!!!
Yeah man, you just opened up a whole new world of great music. Townes wrote such important and beautiful songs. Truth is he had problems when he was young, suicidal etc and they put him through insulin shock therapy and from what I understand it erased memories of his childhood. He'd sit in a closet writing songs, and really lived what he wrote. Next level stuff. Just to give you an idea of how his mind worked, he'd start a dice game and lose it all..even the coat off his back that his buddy gave him, he'd play Russian roulette for free, he'd fall asleep with glue in his mouth to get high while he slept and have to get his mouth busted open.
There was this chance he had with making a huge record deal, I remember hearing a record exec talking about it, but the night prior he ended up getting drunk with some buddies and rolling a jeep. Nearly killed him and gave him a nice facial scar. His songs will show up in films from time to time. What's great about the documentaries he's in, you'll get to see just how little money songwriters were making off royalties..even though he did write Willie and Merle's song Poncho and Lefty which is maybe the greatest country song ever, I mean those 3 men in 1 song together...how do you top that? 3 of arguably the best country songwriters and multi-talents ever in one song...wow.
He was never long for this world but he made his mark. You gotta love these old recordings, you'll hear stuff in the background like bottles and their buddies saying something, and encounters with the audience and it really lets you understand the life of the musician. So yeah, check out the films he and other greats are in called "be here to love me", "heartworn highway" and "without getting killed or caught"
Oh… I’ve been waiting for this one!!!! A all time favorite version of this song
ive been waiting for you to react to this for years, thank you
Man...this was the 1st time I've ever heard this song, and it was enough to put a tear in my eye.
I've heard it before, and I'm gonna listen to it more, now til I'm waiting around to die
every songwriter in the world would sell their soul to be half as good as van zandt was
Heartworn Highway is the movie in which this scene came from, there are a lot of wonderful tunes in this masterpiece 😅
so emotional 😢 so beautiful
There are so many great Townes tunes. If I Needed You. I'll Be Here in the Morning (which is interesting because lyrically it is a promise but musically it ends unresolved), and To Live is to Fly which has this insightful lyric
Everything is not enough
And nothin' is to much to bear.
Where you been is good and gone
All you keep is the getting there
This song shook my world the first time I heard it. Towns maybe understood the human condition better than any other songwriter I've ever known.
Soft as glass is a great one
Holy shit, man! Townes has been my favorite songwriter for years and I'm so happy to see you do a video on him!
Man, I just plain feel better after watching your reaction videos, you are giving so much more than just guitar insight, its very real, thank you!
Wow. Beautiful. Thank you for guiding me into it.
One of the most gripping docs I've ever seen!
Oh man, this was down memory lane…Townes certainly was a part of my “melancholic” youth 🙈😂
The video is a clip from the movie Heartworn Highways, a must see cinematic time capsule of a moment and a place filled with amazing musical talents (the DVD extra features has a great many additional songs that didn't make the movie for one reason or another but are still totally awesome in their own right) , To answer your question, the woman in the video is Susanna Talley Clark, singer-songwriter Guy Clark's wife. The ending fragment of a song at the start of this video clip is Guy Clark singing the last part of his song "That Old Time Feeling." Guy and Townes and Susanna were very close friends, Townes stood as their best man at their wedding. The story goes that on some lonely Texas highway Guy picked up a hitchhiking Townes who promptly reached into his bag, pulled out a vinyl record (his first recording) and gave it to Guy in return for the ride, and a friendship was born. Although not as well known as Guy and Townes, Susanna too was a successful songwriter in her own right with several songs recorded by well known country singers including a number one hit in 1989 "Come From The Heart." She also was a talented artist with a number of her paintings gracing album covers of a number of different well know musicians. Both Townes ans Susanna came from wealthy Texas society families, and I remember seeing an interview with Guy saying something to the effect that Susanna and Townes had some deep stuff between them (which I took to mean common experiences) that nobody else knew about. Along with exploring the music of Townes Van Zandt, I would strongly recommend looking into Guy Clark as well as he is another master songsmith.
There’s lots of great song writers out there but none of them cut down deep into my soul quite like Townes.
The full movie Heartworn Highways is here on UA-cam. The section this song is taken from is wonderfull. Uncle Seymour chats about being The Walking Blacksmith.
Townes says “This is the first song I wrote about him.”
I’m guessing it was actually about his friend Uncle Seymour’s life which is why the old guy started crying.
If I am mistaken in what you meant, ignore this message, but...
No, Townes wrote this song when in college in Colorado. He says it's the first song he ever wrote (On "Live At The Old Quarter," he goes one step farther and says it's the first SERIOUS song he wrote), but wasn't about anyone. It was a fictional story.
my second vid of you and i dig your appreciation. bravo.
This is a very thought provoking post, unuasual. I liked it. It was well done and it's about more than the music. Thanks.
When micheal finds out the whole Van Zandt story 🥲🥺 one of the greatest contributors to music ever and got screwed over and never honored. An incredible spirit
The first tune in this video is actually Guy Clark
one of my all time favorites
Townes tuning just reflects the world he is writing about. actually i used to play a lot with my strings just out of tune.. i liked the sounds. might try it again
A travel and played and lived with towns for a number of years. He was one of a kind, wild and gentle, a cross between Rimbeau, Robert Service and Hank Williams Senior. I miss him.
that townes biography movie is amazing and will answer all your questions. The music in it is insane! Heartworn Highway, I think?
the man in the back realising this song’s about him is amazing footage
I feel like I am late to the party as I missed this when Michael dropped this ... Townes is one of my heroes (+ a damaged individual) and his life experiences and the ability to listen to others stories and create music from it ... He and Guy Clark as many have mentioned are the unsung heroes of American songwriting ... I am not a huge fan of remakes but the "Whitey Morgan and the 78's" take on this "CLASSIC" is right up there as one of the best ... The arrangement of blending an Acoustic, Elecric Rhythm, Electric Lead, Peddle-Steel, and rounding out with an incredible bass player and drummer make their version something special ... I find it to be layered beautifully and actually builds maybe even more meaning into the lyrics ... I've seen "WM&78" many times and he has worked their version into many of their encore performances ...
Link to live version below ...
ua-cam.com/video/7iWSirMwmt8/v-deo.html
You just recognized your own privilege and you should be very proud, some people of a certain status never recognize our privilege. I love you back Michael, well done, I’m sharing this with my 4000 Twitter followers.
Two other great songs from Heartworn Highways with some interesting guitar stuff going on are "Ohoopee River Bottomland" by Larry Jon Wilson and "Bluebird Wine" by Rodney Crowell. Definitely worth a look.
And Stay a Little Longer! Love that one too
Larry Jon Wilson albums are so good, but they are largely unknown. He recorded four albums for Monument and then took like 30 years or so to record another.
Such powerful music
The best songwriter to ever do it. period. Susanna Clark (Guy Clark's wife) was such a beautiful woman. She and Townes were close friends. and the black guy is Seymour Washington was called The Walking Blacksmith. This video was an out take from HeartWorn Highways, Guy Clark and Steve Earle were angry at the film makers because the movie was supposed to focus mostly on Guy Clark. They sent the crew to see Townes thinking Townes would drive them nuts. Steve Earle wound up saying and "of course, Townes stole the movie"
Townes. Oh thank you Michael!
The song at the start of the video is from the film Heartworn Highways, Guy Clark singing. Listen to Guy.
As you've said many times, "Three chords and the truth". Love Townes music and your videos. Thanks!
Holy moly. I have never seen someone react to this. I am eight seconds in, and I just had to say how happy I am to see someone react to this. It’s one of my favorite things on earth. That whole documentary. It’s fantastic. Oh man. If you take suggestions do the first scene in this documentary.
But back to this video. It’s one of the most powerful things I’ve ever seen in my life. Thank you.
Edit: but you are also not seeing it for what it is. Do you think it’s him being calloused and uncaring? No. It’s him feeling hopeless.
Edit number two: I love your thing at the end. And I think you realize this, that it is really hard for people to turn around from where they are. Especially if they are socialized by their environment. But I absolutely agree. I just want to know how to get people out of that mindset. Love this, dude.
There are songwriters then there's Townes. no one compares
You have to hear the live at the old quarter album. It’s him at hood his greatest. Before they way he lived started to catch up with him. Tecumseh Valley, Rex’s Blues, To Live is to Fly… the whole damn album is absolutely perfect. Would love to hear what you had to say about him in his prime. You don’t regret it.
The fellow is "Uncle” Seymour Washington. The footage is taken from the documentary Heartworn Highways. The lady is Susanna Clark (RIP) - she was a painter and Guy Clark's wife. I believe this is the filmed in their home? You can hear Guy in the beginning of the video.
I believe the female is Townes girlfriend Cindy
@@avalondreaming1433 Having a second look at old pictures I'm thinking you may be right but the two women definitely have a similar look.
and now I'm looking at more pictures and I'm thinking it's Susanna again. LOL
oh hell yeah. the Pancho and Lefty from this show is my favorite
Probably 1 of, if not the greatest songwriter the US has produced, imho. If you're digging into Townes, I would lean more on his live recordings, such as "Rearview Mirror" or "Live at the Old Quarter" to capture his true brilliance. A lot of his studio recordings are over produced and feature the Nashville Sound; something that producer Cowbody Jack Clement later lamented doing. Notable cuts include: "Pancho & Lefty"; "Rex's Blues", "Flying Shoes"; "To Live Is To Fly"; "Rake"; "Lungs"; Dollar Bill Blues"; "No Place To Fall". To learn more of his very sad life's story, check out the documentary on his life called "Be Here To Love Me". Enjoy the rabbit hole - it's a deep one.
I agree, both those live albums are great.
Much as i love the presence of the young woman and the old man in this video, it's not really the best quality... for one thing, the sound and video don't sync, and also Townes forgets or just re-makes a verse or two. The versions i am more familiar with (not sure which album they might be from) are more satisfying, at least in the audio sense!
This is one of my favorite documentaries ever. I love this moment
Townes was one of a kind. He's considered the greatest singer/songwriter ever. The greatest of the greats all consider him the greatest. Townes felt every pain you ever felt.
He has that old country music sound like Hank Williams Senior. I can hear my grandmother in this song, every time she heard “I’m so lonesome I could Cry” she cried for her late mother, my great grandmother. I think it made her think of her Mom or some long lost lover she didn’t want to share with me but wow this song puts me back there.
this is from heartworn highways. great movie that gives some context to who the people in this video are
My dad (who doesn't study music- just a fan) didn't know Townes wrote Poncho and Lefty. It was the greatest moment of my life, getting to teach him something! Rest in Paradice TVZ!
Watch willie nelson and merle haggards version with the music video, Townes is in it !
Such an absolute classic. The entire documentary is pure gold.
You really should watch the entire Heartworn Highways film. Townes, Guy Clark, Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris, Charlie Daniels Band and more. Amazing!
Love Townes!!!!! Thanks for doing this. Amazing talent 👍🏻
I LOVE his version of his song "Pancho and Lefty" that he sings from this same Heartworn Highway documentary.
I found someone who taught his version of it, and I bought the video lesson for it and learned how to play it. Although it was a lesson for his original recorded version, instead of the Heartworn Highway version.. I badly wish I could play it exactly how he plays it on the Heartworn Highway documentary. The specific notes and picking pattern he hits in it feel perfect on my ears. There's some kind of hammer-on sounding action when he switches to an A-minor chord, but I can't figure out how it's done.
I have been tepid as to who I follow. But, you my friend are a true honest end real human. Thank you for existing. We all benefit from good energy.
This song is a gut punch, “Marie” is a punch through the sternum that grabs your heart and pulls it from your chest.
Great, I love Townes Van Zandt. Like you, I was recently turned on to "Hi Ren", which is indescribably honest, fresh, compelling. I started watching some reaction videos of Hi Ren, and yours was one of the best. As a guitar enthusiast myself, I then watched a few more of your reaction videos, and discovered some great artists I hadn't heard of. Thanks so much for that! I felt compelled to share one of my favorite guitarists with you. He's rarely on any lists of guitar greats that include some of my favorites like Jeff Beck, SRV, Jimi, Danny Gatton, Andy Timmons, Roy Buchanan, etc., but he's in the same class. His guitar licks are unmistakably his own. His grasp of melody is incredible. He crosses over nearly every genre from blues rock to jazz, to classical, and is clearly at home in all of them. I had the pleasure of seeing him in his home country of the Netherlands, and was even invited backstage with the band during an intermission. His live performances are riveting, so I've included a link to a song from what I consider to be the best example of his music, from a live album released in 1997 called "10,000 Clowns on a Rainy Day". As an excellent guitarist yourself, you're probably familiar with Jan Akkerman, likely through his most well known song with the band Focus, called "Hocus Pocus". Here's a link to "Am I Losing You" from the aforementioned live LP.
ua-cam.com/video/hwamZPzbPlI/v-deo.html
Yep, townes was and is great💜🎸🤘
Interviewer: “Your songs are always so sad…”
TVZ: “Nah, my songs ain’t sad, my songs are hopeless.”
from german wikipedia disscusion(google translated):
Citation not supported by published sources
Audience question: "Can we help you?" as van Zandt fumbled for his dropped pick. Van Zandt: "I guess it's too late" Cologne, concert club "Underground", November 29, 1996
Hello, I posted the quote. I was in the audience at the time - I haven't seen it written down anywhere. It could at most be confirmed by other concert-goers.--Kreismeister 17:08, 12 Aug 2008 (CEST)
Hello District Masters, I have no doubts about the correctness of the quote. It's just his type of humor. It's just Wikipedia with its claims to the sources... --Schorle 22:27, 13. Aug. 2008 (CEST)
'You don't think lifes sad???'
Masterpiece
Townes is the GOAT.
If anyone was wondering, the song that was ending at first was “Old Time Feeling” by Guy Clark, which was Townes Van Zandts best friend. I live in nashville and listen to the old timers at the dive tell me stories of them two. To me, Guy’s music resonates with me more than Townes. The version you heard here of “Old Time Feeling” has Steve Young playing lead behind Guy. Guy is in an open tuning.
Edit: the elderly black man is “Unc” as Townes and the other local hippies called him. Uncle Seymour Washington was a self imposed Pastor, especially after a couple drinks. He was dying in this video. He was battling cancer. He was born in the 1890s and every book I’ve read said that he was a great man and a great person to the folk singers in austin.
She said “This is my favorite song of his”
So lets talk about the truth of Townes. Its tragic, he’s substance abuse was a rough battle. He did NOT die of an overdose. But he abuse his body so much he passed away Jan. 1st, 1997 at the age of 51. Guy Clark and his wife Susanna Clark were truly the closest people to Townes. Soon after Townes passing Susanna, who claimed Townes was her soulmate and Guy was her husband, had a mythical back pain and just laid down and didnt get up until she died roughly 15 years later. She wanted to die slowly like Townes. That how he impacted others. Townes was not the greatest guy to be around either. When he was sober, he was usually manic depressed. He suffered from Manic Bipolar disorder. When he was a kid (late teens) his family put him in a electric AND insulin shock therapy. Completely making his condition worse. Thats when he turned to drinking. And he started writing. When he was drunk and/or high, he was a loving person. When younger, as seen here, he was an absolute pleasure to be around when he was in that state. When he was older, he couldn’t handle the amount he was using. He couldnt play half the time and he’d usually end up crying a lot. Sadly, all the guys I know only knew him from the 80s on. To be fair I’ve heard nothing but truth about him and Guy Clark. They are two legends in this area and I wish I couldve met them. But these people here keep them alive in their hearts.
Seems I read where those that knew him said he was possibly in one of his best places shortly before his death and had big plans, but unfortunately the damage to his body was already done and resulted in his passing.
Clicked so fast brother. This whole Heartworn highways movie is really profound all the way through. Definitely try to get your hands on it.
The woman is Susanna Clark and the old black man is Uncle Seymour Washington ( Walking Blacksmith ). Uncle Seymour Washington wanted to be a preacher. This is from the documentary Heatworn Highway about Townes Van Zandt.
Love this song 💙
I loved watching your facial expressions while listening for the first time. Now you’ve learned about the Great Townes , check out his good friend Blaze Foley. But Townes was the greatest at for those of us who have lived through such things.
One of my all time favorite songs and one of the first ones I learned to play. Absolutely awesome that you are covering this classic.
ua-cam.com/video/KydgB9yNopQ/v-deo.html
His guitar is tuned in 432hz. Lots of discussion out there but it appears to be the natural frequency that touch the heart...