I don’t know if you know anything about F1 but Ayrton Senna use to describe these moments when he was no longer in his body,while he was doing the impossible. I wonder if this is like that.
Dude I know what he’s talking about. I had the same thing last week. A song came to me and at best I was dictating the lyrics. I don’t even know what the hell it’s about.
He said it was wrote in college in this, then in another he says it was wrote in his "wild days" when he was making as much money gambling as he was playing guitar
His lyrical prowess is sublime. Along with this, Townes has a palpable musicality to his voice; it's truly heaven sent.Townes, your talent was annointed by God, and for this we are eternally grateful.
Well the wicked king of clubs awoke And it was to his queen turned His lips were laughing as they spoke His eyes like bullets burned The sun's upon a gambling day His queen smiled low and blissfully Let's make some wretched fool to play Plain it was she did agree He send his deuce down into diamond His four to hart, and his trey to spade Three kings with their legions come Preparations soon where made They voted club the days commander Gave him an army face and number All but the outlaw jack of diamonds And the aces in the sky Well, he gave his sevens first instructions Spirit me a game of stud Stakes unscarred by limitation Between a man named Gold and man named Mud Club filled Gold with greedy vapors Till his long, green eyes did glow And Mud was left with the sighs and trembles Watching his hard earned money go Flushes fell on Gold like water Tens they paired and paired again But the aces only flew through heaven And the diamond jack called no man friend Now, the Diamond Queen saw Muds ordeal Began to think of her long lost son Fell to her knees with a mother's mercy And prayed to the angels every one Now, the Diamond Queen, she prayed and prayed And the Diamond Angel filled Muds hole The wicked King of Clubs himself Fell in face down in front of Gold Now, three kings come to Clubs command But the angels from the sky did ride Three kings up on the streets of Gold Three fireballs on the muddy side The club queen heard her husband's call But Lord, that Queen of Diamond's joy When the outlaw in the heavenly hall Turned out to be a wandering boy Now, Mud he checked and Gold bet all And Mud he raised and Gold did call And the smile just melted on his face When Mud turned over that diamond ace Now, here's what this story's told If you feel like Mud you'll end up Gold If you feel like lost, you'll end up found So amigo, lay them raises down
@4Q2 smith how about the flute on waitin around to die? It doesn’t sound raw to me😂 I absolutely love Townes, he’s my favorite artist of all time! I can absolutely poke some fun at the production side
@4Q2 smith 😂😂😂 I’m glad we can agree that flute sucks! Man, that’s awesome you got to see him play, I never had the pleasure... he died a couple years before I was born.
@4Q2 smith I’m up in northwest Arkansas! Grew up on Townes, cash, Waylon, hank, prine, doc, just to name a few. They’re the reason I first picked up a guitar!
I never saw a live performance from him either, but I met him when I was 8 maybe 9 years old backstage at the first concert I went to. Bob Dylan and Steve Earle in Houston. He was just there to visiting
How can you pick one? We got Guy Clark, Billy Joe Shaver, James McMurtry and so many more.Townes is def up there in my book. AINT IT FUN BEING FROM TEXAS!
Shakespeare himself could not have written a more extraordinary set of words. What an amazing song with layer upon layer of meaning in it. No-one can match Townes's songs.
45 years ago I was getting bent and drifting along to mr tambourine man, Spanish boots et all. now 67 getting bent still to van Zandt, a peer of Dylan and liam Clancy god bless them all
you are in some good company there Dylan Townes Liam....just have Leonard Cohen drop bye to round it out.... Greetings from IRELAND 😉 salamat for this gem we love it when a giant pencil just drops from the sky......
The crying shame is that we had this and goddamn Kenny Rodgers gambler got the damn radio play. I guess the Same people who voted McDonald's hamburger the best in the world voted for Kenny. Damn shame.
Super human is what it is. Simple song? A card game... I saw TVZ play the opry house, and saw him Sunday morning playing 6th street for dollars. I lived through those golden years watching this being shattered through light. I miss Austin, I miss TVZ and the duct taped messiah too. Jah bless TVZ! And this is like the most difficult song to do ever! There are sooooo many damn words lol!!
Saw him do this many times at Poor David's Pub in Big D.Got to sit and hang with him after the doors were locked at 2:00 am.....Fun times in the old days.
No other song quite like this one .., a demonstration of songwriting prowess ... Sad there isn't a movie about these characters along with Pancho and Lefty. 😀
This one needs one of those animated videos along with it. Mixing in snippets of Townes’ life on video. Kind of like Johnny Cash’s Hurt video. You guys get on it.
It doesn't get any better. If in all your life writing songs and playing if you don't have at least one song that makes people feel like you're supernatural then you ain't shit. That's why this man's the real deal.
I'm a songwriter. I have won 12 contests (1st place) and a dozen or so 2nd and 3rd. I have sold publish rights to 17 songs. Still, when I hear a great song, I think, "Damn, I wish I would have wrote this!" But when I hear a Townes song, all I can think is, "Damn, I couldn't have ever wrote this!" That's how great he was. I hope people understand.
Like Steve Earle said Townes an Zandt is the best damn songwriter ever & I will climb up into Bob Dylan’s coffee table in my Cowboy Boots & tell him 🤠🤠 Mr Van Zandt u r & will always be the king 👑 Love ya Man & I will see Guy, John P & you sir soon RIP Bramafear
Roman Brown it's because it's everything music once had, pure artisty, honest human expression lost today in the name of profit, it brings me tears too...
Roman Brown I’m not sure if you’ll see this comment a year later but give “She came and she touched me” a listen if you do, another beautiful and very moving song by Townes
lol.... its so annoying usually but for Townes..............- IN HIS PRIME NO ONE FU@# WITH TOWNSE VAND ZANDT IF TOWNES WALKED INTO A DARK ALLEY AGAINST % NINJAS>>> THERE WOULD BE ONLY ONE MAN WALKING OUT ALIVE AND WOULD WRITE SONG ABOUT AFTER WARD>
I knew an old man that claimed he had to memorize the whole of "Song of Hiawatha" when he was a kid. I thought of that when I heard this song. It would be a double-barreled bitch to memorize.
If a person follows Townes’s breath with his line of poetry and don’t have their soul singing along. I believe that persons heart and brain must not be connected. That’s just my observation.😏
gripping, well-worked tale of playing cards conspiring to bring a gambler down - until the queen of diamonds is reminded of her lost son and starts to pray.
"A Giant Pencil From The Sky" A giant pencil from the sky Fell on me todayTook me from my sordid solace Put my soul upon displayFor you I guess or maybe meBut I digress it could be threeOr many more in days to comeCould be the last best chance for someone Deep in life's unholy mireWaiting for all to expireVainly reaching higher and higher till he sinks down to the truthWhat is the truth now no one knowsExcept what you feel down in your toesUp through your heart and out your nose and into the ethers bosom A giant pencil from the sky don't say when she's stopping byJust takes over like good drugs doAnd writes the words that carry you You can't believe what's on the pageSurely you ain't no drunken sageSurely there ain't no one to hear your rhapsody in time Till one day you get a callYour toil is done your mountain tallYou can climb it now with just your songsNo longer will you not belongWhen you die they'll cry your name And hear your voice through all their painsAnd never know or recognise A giant pencil from the sky
Obviously this is a highly contentious and debatable opinion, but from the very first time I ever laid ears on this masterpiece I've considered it the best song ever written.
I've listened to songs about card games before, but the personification of the cards themselves is absolutely brilliant. I believe Pete Bernhard gave this tune a better performance, musically, but all credit to the original writer for the concept. Fantastic.
This is a lot like Dylan's Lily, Rose and The Jack of Hearts, but I love it! Townes' and Guy were awesome. I wish they were still around. I'm happy Bob is!❤️💗❤️💔
I'm working on learning to sing and play this right now. It's really tough . I don't sing but this song is so good I figured I'd try . I got the guitar part by itself and I sing it albeit horrible voice. I've been at it for about 3 weeks and can't get but 3 or 4 verses in . Townes was a phenomenal solo performer when he was on point. And this is maybe the cleanest I've heard . This is a insanely good performance and you never knew what townes would so up , this guy that closes his eyes and blows everyone's mind when they hear him , or the guy that shows up drunk . I spent my whole life listening to him and I think he is hands down the greatest songwriter and solo performer to ever live. I love Bob Dylan, and he deserves to be up there but in my opinion TVZ is #1 . I met Townes at my first concert. Which happen to be Bob Dylan and Steve Earle in Houston at the summit. We were on the guest list so me , my brother , and my mom were back stage . And Townes was just there visiting Steve and probably Dylan too. They were huge fans of each other. When we were introduced to him "and this is the best songwriter ever." That was Steve telling us that . I never saw him perform though . This is my favorite song of his too.
I love Townes. If you haven't heard about his upbringing and his history it is absolutely worth ten minutes on google. He was such a human, I know that is completely lost these days. I urge you to look up the story about a young Townes Van Zandt and his lobster dinner. As much as I admire the man, this song is about getting laid. Good for him. I have no proof. I just think that he got caught in a Sorority.
If I had 1,000 years I couldn't write a song this clean, and even if I did, it would take me 1,000 more to play it that clean.
I don’t know if you know anything about F1 but Ayrton Senna use to describe these moments when he was no longer in his body,while he was doing the impossible. I wonder if this is like that.
Dude....I so get ya.
I so get you dude.
I feel like this is one of the best songs ever written by one of the greatest songwriters that ever lived.
Sure you could
Steve Earle said Townes hated that Epiphone guitar so much he finally shot it full of holes.
Let's give some praise to Ms. Bullet for entrapping Townes and making him work as a tool for The Giant Pencil From the Sky.
''That song came to me in a flash.. all at once.. It wasn't me that was writing it.. It was a giant pencil from the sky''
Dude I know what he’s talking about. I had the same thing last week. A song came to me and at best I was dictating the lyrics. I don’t even know what the hell it’s about.
The Muse at work.
He said it was wrote in college in this, then in another he says it was wrote in his "wild days" when he was making as much money gambling as he was playing guitar
His lyrical prowess is sublime. Along with this, Townes has a palpable musicality to his voice; it's truly heaven sent.Townes, your talent was annointed by God, and for this we are eternally grateful.
Great praise for Townes. Anyone that likes towns is a friend. Merry Christmas.
if I had a time machine I'd go back and listen this with my grandpa
Well the wicked king of clubs awoke
And it was to his queen turned
His lips were laughing as they spoke
His eyes like bullets burned
The sun's upon a gambling day
His queen smiled low and blissfully
Let's make some wretched fool to play
Plain it was she did agree
He send his deuce down into diamond
His four to hart, and his trey to spade
Three kings with their legions come
Preparations soon where made
They voted club the days commander
Gave him an army face and number
All but the outlaw jack of diamonds
And the aces in the sky
Well, he gave his sevens first instructions
Spirit me a game of stud
Stakes unscarred by limitation
Between a man named Gold and man named Mud
Club filled Gold with greedy vapors
Till his long, green eyes did glow
And Mud was left with the sighs and trembles
Watching his hard earned money go
Flushes fell on Gold like water
Tens they paired and paired again
But the aces only flew through heaven
And the diamond jack called no man friend
Now, the Diamond Queen saw Muds ordeal
Began to think of her long lost son
Fell to her knees with a mother's mercy
And prayed to the angels every one
Now, the Diamond Queen, she prayed and prayed
And the Diamond Angel filled Muds hole
The wicked King of Clubs himself
Fell in face down in front of Gold
Now, three kings come to Clubs command
But the angels from the sky did ride
Three kings up on the streets of Gold
Three fireballs on the muddy side
The club queen heard her husband's call
But Lord, that Queen of Diamond's joy
When the outlaw in the heavenly hall
Turned out to be a wandering boy
Now, Mud he checked and Gold bet all
And Mud he raised and Gold did call
And the smile just melted on his face
When Mud turned over that diamond ace
Now, here's what this story's told
If you feel like Mud you'll end up Gold
If you feel like lost, you'll end up found
So amigo, lay them raises down
This is, hands down, the best performance there will ever be of this song.
Give a listen to the version on Live At The Whole Coffeehouse if you haven't. The whole album is on RUclips. That's the best if you ask me
I say try The Cover by Colter Wall; he does a good clean job and his voice fits the song well.
The Live at the Old Quarter version is great too.
Very relaxed but slick at the same time.
I'm very partial to Justin Townes Earle doing it live in Sydney
This is like Algebra, Calculus, Trigonometry and Geometry. This shit is gold. Genius.
Solid golden artist
I've never heard a bad Townes Van Zandt song... as he said "everything has to be perfect, every song has to be perfect"
They all were.
He was just about perfect. The production on his work is another story.
@4Q2 smith how about the flute on waitin around to die? It doesn’t sound raw to me😂 I absolutely love Townes, he’s my favorite artist of all time! I can absolutely poke some fun at the production side
@4Q2 smith 😂😂😂 I’m glad we can agree that flute sucks! Man, that’s awesome you got to see him play, I never had the pleasure... he died a couple years before I was born.
@4Q2 smith I’m up in northwest Arkansas! Grew up on Townes, cash, Waylon, hank, prine, doc, just to name a few. They’re the reason I first picked up a guitar!
Will never live a complete life seeing I wont be able to experience Townes Live. Born a year after his passing.
I never saw a live performance from him either, but I met him when I was 8 maybe 9 years old backstage at the first concert I went to. Bob Dylan and Steve Earle in Houston. He was just there to visiting
First time I saw him sing this in a little grungy outdoor bar in Austin long time ago and was blown away then and I still am.
Townes is a wonder. I can't get enough of him.
Robert Plant and his Band of Joy doing Townes "Harms Swift Way".
HAPPY LISTENING!
The lyrics in this are next fucking level.
Insane. The vocals like the drums. The precise picking volume of those root strokes. Amazing lyrics.
Townes Van Zant is by far the best songwriter to ever live,in my opinion.No one else is even close,His words are poetry for the common man.
I agree.
How can you pick one? We got Guy Clark, Billy Joe Shaver, James McMurtry and so many more.Townes is def up there in my book.
AINT IT FUN BEING FROM TEXAS!
Amazing. even after 1,284 times of listening to the song
Fo Real.
It's a masterpiece
Shakespeare himself could not have written a more extraordinary set of words. What an amazing song with layer upon layer of meaning in it. No-one can match Townes's songs.
45 years ago I was getting bent and drifting along to mr tambourine man, Spanish boots et all. now 67 getting bent still to van Zandt, a peer of Dylan and liam Clancy god bless them all
you are in some good company there Dylan Townes Liam....just have Leonard Cohen drop bye to round it out....
Greetings from IRELAND 😉 salamat for this gem we love it when a giant pencil just drops from the sky......
Sgtgewart smith hey,you n I have heard glory...Bless u 2!x
The crying shame is that we had this and goddamn Kenny Rodgers gambler got the damn radio play. I guess the Same people who voted McDonald's hamburger the best in the world voted for Kenny. Damn shame.
The guy who introduced me to Townes' music back in 1973 used to play this song. Thank you, Fred.
Devine poetry and guitar play !
Super human is what it is. Simple song? A card game... I saw TVZ play the opry house, and saw him Sunday morning playing 6th street for dollars. I lived through those golden years watching this being shattered through light. I miss Austin, I miss TVZ and the duct taped messiah too. Jah bless TVZ! And this is like the most difficult song to do ever! There are sooooo many damn words lol!!
Many folks have ruined their record starting and stopping to learn this tune.
AINT IT FUN BEING FROM TEXAS!
This is a GEM!
Awesome to see this legend play ! Townes was a prodigy and a songwriter genius.
I can’t imagine being in Austin in his day watching this drunk play this masterpiece
Saw him do this many times at Poor David's Pub in Big D.Got to sit and hang with him after the doors were locked at 2:00 am.....Fun times in the old days.
Came to me in a flash all at once. That's epic!
No other song quite like this one .., a demonstration of songwriting prowess ... Sad there isn't a movie about these characters along with Pancho and Lefty. 😀
I would love a movie about that!
This one needs one of those animated videos along with it. Mixing in snippets of Townes’ life on video. Kind of like Johnny Cash’s Hurt video. You guys get on it.
It doesn't get any better. If in all your life writing songs and playing if you don't have at least one song that makes people feel like you're supernatural then you ain't shit. That's why this man's the real deal.
I'm a songwriter. I have won 12 contests (1st place) and a dozen or so 2nd and 3rd. I have sold publish rights to 17 songs. Still, when I hear a great song, I think, "Damn, I wish I would have wrote this!" But when I hear a Townes song, all I can think is, "Damn, I couldn't have ever wrote this!" That's how great he was. I hope people understand.
damn i am loving him and his music since the first second i listened to it. This music is pure dope
The dice are rolling, good things are gonna happen, I can feel it.
Lay them raises down, amigo.
Like Steve Earle said Townes an Zandt is the best damn songwriter ever & I will climb up into Bob Dylan’s coffee table in my Cowboy Boots & tell him 🤠🤠 Mr Van Zandt u r & will always be the king 👑 Love ya Man & I will see Guy, John P & you sir soon
RIP
Bramafear
Townes is a genius
One of his best songs. I love Kathleen, waiting around to die, and Pancho and Lefty. But Mr Mudd and Mr Gold is my personal favourite.
"To Live is to Fly" is truly great too
"Sanitarium Blues" and "Marie" are two of his most cheerful little ditties!
Don't forget "Tecumseh Valley" w/ Nanci Griffith
My favorite.
This is an otherworldly level of good
brilliant!! pencil in the sky..
this is the first time i ever heard this. started crying. have no idea why.
Roman Brown it's because it's everything music once had, pure artisty, honest human expression lost today in the name of profit, it brings me tears too...
For the same reason you told us you cried. You’re stupid.
Roman Brown I’m not sure if you’ll see this comment a year later but give “She came and she touched me” a listen if you do, another beautiful and very moving song by Townes
Townes just has that effect on people.
Townes tends to have that effect on people. Have you heard waiting around to die?
He had the guts to say her name. Good song too
Thank You Giant Pencil.
Someone needs to write a song with that title about Townes.
Just...wow!
Guitar singing and playing to perfection. Wow!
Thanks for sharing! Such a talented guy.
The bar, permanently placed
So many pretenders, equally erased
the first notes played are so pretty
amazing, townes is great
Extraordinary
i think capital letters are generally obtuse, but, BEST GAMBLING SONG EVER!
oh yeah!!!
lol.... its so annoying usually but for Townes..............- IN HIS PRIME NO ONE FU@# WITH TOWNSE VAND ZANDT IF TOWNES WALKED INTO A DARK ALLEY AGAINST % NINJAS>>> THERE WOULD BE ONLY ONE MAN WALKING OUT ALIVE AND WOULD WRITE SONG ABOUT AFTER WARD>
You are a wonderful artist and very underappreciated by the larger CW audience
It's not Country.Its Americana.
I knew an old man that claimed he had to memorize the whole of "Song of Hiawatha" when he was a kid.
I thought of that when I heard this song. It would be a double-barreled bitch to memorize.
Mind blowing lyrics.
Amazing song
If a person follows Townes’s breath with his line of poetry and don’t have their soul singing along. I believe that persons heart and brain must not be connected. That’s just my observation.😏
This was amazing
thanks Josh
Amazing
the aces in the sky
Extraordinary song
Nothing is nothing once you hear Townes.
Garrett Harmon and that's a GOOD thing is it???
Brendan DeGal well you're talking about SOMETHING... so you wanna' be "Dishonest", or "Confused"
I fully understand writing a song that way. Townes had to sing what came out. Nice.
Giant Pencil from the Sky
Incredible song. I'm going to be on the look out for this DVD.
Damn... that's a mouthful.
gripping, well-worked tale of playing cards conspiring to bring a gambler down - until the queen of diamonds is reminded of her lost son and starts to pray.
just amazing!
Damn, I wish I came across TvZ earlier. However, his songs remain also for those late to the party.
Just discovered him. Very late to the party but wow!
He said his songs were designed to outlast him
@@melliecloninger And they did. Good on his troubled soul.
Townes at his very best
Not a gambling song. It is about depression, suicide, hope, life and God.
and gambling..
@@millerezra8 Well played, Sir.
It has a couple of layers but gambling is the surface meaning
Wish I had a giant pencil in the sky. Lol
"A Giant Pencil From The Sky"
A giant pencil from the sky Fell on me todayTook me from my sordid solace Put my soul upon displayFor you I guess or maybe meBut I digress it could be threeOr many more in days to comeCould be the last best chance for someone
Deep in life's unholy mireWaiting for all to expireVainly reaching higher and higher till he sinks down to the truthWhat is the truth now no one knowsExcept what you feel down in your toesUp through your heart and out your nose and into the ethers bosom
A giant pencil from the sky don't say when she's stopping byJust takes over like good drugs doAnd writes the words that carry you You can't believe what's on the pageSurely you ain't no drunken sageSurely there ain't no one to hear your rhapsody in time
Till one day you get a callYour toil is done your mountain tallYou can climb it now with just your songsNo longer will you not belongWhen you die they'll cry your name And hear your voice through all their painsAnd never know or recognise A giant pencil from the sky
Legend
Made me cry too.
Leonard Cohen of reckless outlaws
a poet.
PLAY THE WABASH CANNONBALL!!!!
priceless
Pure soul gem!
Yeah, and that is why he’s king.
im all in...
Only the best
Wow! Just Wow!
Obviously this is a highly contentious and debatable opinion, but from the very first time I ever laid ears on this masterpiece I've considered it the best song ever written.
Nope, you’re wrong. It’s Townes’ “Nothin’” that wins that prize. This is #2, though, so maybe we can call it even : )
I thought magic wasn't real, than I found this song.
Great song!
I've listened to songs about card games before, but the personification of the cards themselves is absolutely brilliant. I believe Pete Bernhard gave this tune a better performance, musically, but all credit to the original writer for the concept. Fantastic.
You take that back now nobody plays this song better than Townes!!!....
Probably the most complicated song ever wrote
🙏
Good job !! Podoba mi się.
Truely before his time
The best one
Towns may we meet some day
This is a lot like Dylan's Lily, Rose and The Jack of Hearts, but I love it! Townes' and Guy were awesome. I wish they were still around. I'm happy Bob is!❤️💗❤️💔
Yeah but Bob ain't from Texas! Kinky Friedman can tell some great Dylan stories.He opened for Bob's most famous tour.
My favorite TVZ song. If anyone has worked this out on guitar I'd love to seen a tutorial.
a minor, C, D minor
@@lukesutherland6285 with capo on 2nd fret
I'm working on learning to sing and play this right now. It's really tough . I don't sing but this song is so good I figured I'd try . I got the guitar part by itself and I sing it albeit horrible voice. I've been at it for about 3 weeks and can't get but 3 or 4 verses in . Townes was a phenomenal solo performer when he was on point. And this is maybe the cleanest I've heard . This is a insanely good performance and you never knew what townes would so up , this guy that closes his eyes and blows everyone's mind when they hear him , or the guy that shows up drunk . I spent my whole life listening to him and I think he is hands down the greatest songwriter and solo performer to ever live. I love Bob Dylan, and he deserves to be up there but in my opinion TVZ is #1 . I met Townes at my first concert. Which happen to be Bob Dylan and Steve Earle in Houston at the summit. We were on the guest list so me , my brother , and my mom were back stage . And Townes was just there visiting Steve and probably Dylan too. They were huge fans of each other. When we were introduced to him "and this is the best songwriter ever." That was Steve telling us that . I never saw him perform though . This is my favorite song of his too.
This is the best place to learn Townes, Blaze Foley, Prine etc - Mikes Music Method ruclips.net/video/J6_8jFWpt5M/видео.html
Love Steve Earle's story about this song on the documentary.
The Late Great Towns Van Zandt!!
Dang❤
giant pencil from the sky in f'in deed!
BAD. ASS
Some storytellers in that family tree.
3 fireballs on the muddy side....
AMIGO LAY THEM RACES DOWN
Love this song... But if Gold bet all why would Mudd raise and Gold then call?
That poker
pete bernhard (devil makes three) has an awesome cover of this song
The devil makes three also covered waiting around to die
Great, great, great band.
I love Townes. If you haven't heard about his upbringing and his history it is absolutely worth ten minutes on google. He was such a human, I know that is completely lost these days. I urge you to look up the story about a young Townes Van Zandt and his lobster dinner. As much as I admire the man, this song is about getting laid. Good for him.
I have no proof. I just think that he got caught in a Sorority.