I came to Nashville in 1984 to be a songwriter. After failed attempts to write commercial songs I just quit. This past year (2023 )I discovered Townes and he’s inspired me to write again and not worry about commercial boundaries. He moves me, changes me ,challenges me and inspires me ! I listen to him everyday.
Good luck Tim, the world needs soulful heartfelt music that will never make you enough money. Do it anyway, we need it now more then ever. Come to Terlingua if nothing else works out !
When i began writing poetry, I was writing with no aspiration of sharing with a single other soul than my own. When a woman finally convinced me to share at an open mic, the audience was blown away. When I left, I went home and for 3 months I kept trying to write with the audiences's reaction in the front of my mind. The result was writers block. Nothing I wrote felt right. One day, I stopped myself and reminded myself of who I was. I started writing again what I felt. Not what I thought folks wanted to hear. I have since published 4 books. well over 600 poems between them all. Write as though the darkened room will be your only audience. Let your heart pump the life that courses through your soul, and you can't go wrong.
You know that Steve Earle said that Townes van Zandt was the best song writer ever and he would stand on Bob Dylans coffe table and say so. When Townes was asked what he thought about what Steve Earl had said, Townes replied, I have met Bob Dylan and have seen his body gaurds and I don't think Steve could get within a mile of his coffe table.
Later on Steve Earl said he was misunderstood when he said that. Regarding Townes and Dylan, its known that Dylan asked him a few times to do a song together, but Townes politely refused, not wanting the fame he will get being around Dylan.
I dunno if anyones gonna see this but i just wanna say that im not an american, im all the way from the east side of asia, i really enjoy his songs, i have an old mind and givin my all in this soul of being american, thank you Townes, u inspired and made joy of an 18 year old, i'll visit texas one day, i promise
I stumbled upon Townes shortly after my wife left me. I can’t stress how important it is when you’re deep in heartache to find something out there that resonates. The way this man wrote and performed helped me process my profound grief like nothing else.
I met Townes after he and a few friends drove their car off of the top of Independence Pass in the middle of the night in a snow storm and dropped several hundred feet down off the edge. Some friends of mine discovered them by tracks going off the side of the road. This was way before cell phones, so some of my group hung out with them while others went down the hill for help. It was morning before help arrived, and Townes and his group ended up staying with us for a few weeks - good times.........
Finding this man's music probably saved my life when I stumbled upon it several years back. Beautiful pain that sucks you in long enough to remind you that you are not the only person who hurts. Townes was great and is so very underrated and under-appreciated. I'm so happy more people have begun to find him.
Thanks for summarizing my thoughts. I am ASHAMED I have just discovered TVZ; but I'm going through my first real heartbreak @ 54....and this collection I've made of his songs just might have saved my life tonight.
"Shall I cast my dreams upon your love, babe? And lie beneath the laughter of your eyes... " - Townes Van Zandt, a helplessly romantic partisan of beauty until the bitter end.
That guy in the audience yelling "Wooo!" after Townes says 'babe' always makes me smile. Something about the whole Texas macho stereotype getting obliterated by a simple, perfectly placed line gets me every time.
I play a lot of vinyl records at our cabin. I experiment, drift, gamble with new artists etc. But at the end of the night when the beer cans are empty, I always return to Townes. He is my north star.
This is the song that I played and played and played after my beloved died. Telling myself that I would get through it. By morning I would be through those hills and gone. So four years later.. it was a such a comfort.
I met Townes In NYC in the late 70's he was there for a meeting with a record company I was instructed not to let the man drink for the two hours he was to stay in my apartment before his meeting. Needless to say that did not fly with Mr Van Zandt I had to go out and get a couple quarts of beer and we had a lovely time together. At the time I knew only his song Poncho and Lefty he was a superb song writer.
Townes was doing this song once and was having trouble and Blaze Foley got up and sang a few verses with him and then sat back down when he had it...classic
The Walt Whitman of American songwriting. He always painted a beautiful picture of experiences, or of time & place that not everyone has been but can relate to. Who can't appreciate the Man for what he spent his whole life trying to do?
Bob Dylan and Townes Van Zandt are both amazing song writers, the only difference is, Townes did it all while not giving a shit if he was famous or not.....Townes is THE American song writer. Then there is everyone else.
Look at any album from the 70s through the 1980s.... Townes Van Zant is gonna be there...that's how I discovered him years ago and thanks to RUclips I get to discover the man again ♥️
Wow. That is a bit condescending toward everyone else's taste. I agree Townes was great. I still give John Prine a huge amount of credit for his abilities too. No apologies.
Love this, really moves me - Towne s had that vulnerability and longing in his voice, a sense of great hurt and loneliness, channelling the spirit of Hank Williams. His words are like poetry too, what he conveys in such simple language.
I've listened to this song so many times that I think I may have even been an instigator of the Dylan / TVZ discussion in these comments 12+ years ago, on a now deleted account. I'm almost in my 30s now and this song comes into my mind all the time.
Great to hear that younger people are discovering Townes. I am 66 and was there at the beginning. When I first saw him perform, I was so moved by this man's music that the next day I went out and purchased a cheap used guitar and spent all my days learning to play just so I could eventually play his songs. Took some years and days of practice but I reached my goal and now I pick up the ol' guitar and play his songs. An inspiration to many. RIP, my good friend. Yours was a life, however truncated, well lived.
Years ago, I worked and lived in Trinidad. I traveled between Trinidad and Raton more times than I can count. The pass can get pretty nasty in winter. This song brings back many memories.
I heard Butch Hancock do this one in Austin in 1981, coming off my carpentry job and knocking back a longneck in the bar of the old Alamo Hotel, and I would not trade that time for anything.... It took two wrecking balls six months to knock that hotel down, but these songs will be here forever.
Lyrically, Townes had a way that thumbed his nose, threw the finger and laughed in the face of conventional hit makers. You hear it in all of his songs but this is a really good example of it. Deep AND wide.
Drove through that pass on my way from Lubbock to Pueblo. A pretty desolate place. Wish I knew of this song back then, I might have looked at the landscape differently. What a great song writer.
There are only two things I regret, and one of them is I never went to listen to Townes - just around the corner here in the south of the Netherlands, our little Texas. Hopelessness that sounds so beautiful... ;(
I used to play alot of Dylan, I haven't learned any more songs of his in a while, I've learned about 15 Townes songs and a couple Blaze Foley songs in the last 6 months. I can't find lyrics I like to sing more than Townes'
My all-time fave Townes song - like all his music beautifully layered. First time I heard this I dragged out the old atlas and found Raton. Great music is always a discovery.
Truly sublime. “Until quite modern times all teachers and even all men believed the universe to be such that certain emotional reactions on our part could be either congruous or incongruous to it-believed, in fact, that objects did not merely receive, but could merit, our approval or disapproval, our reverence or our contempt.” CS Lewis
I used to drive from Amarillo, where I grew up, to my Uncle Jigg's house on Colorado street in Trinidad. Many dark nights I got caught in a snowstorm on Raton Pass.
I ran that road and you can feel that song it is one of the most powerful songs about struggling in life and the beauty of the roads with the weather changing . Robert Earl King does this version too and it’s great .
I remember meeting the Great Steve Earle in Jacksons Hotel in Co Donegal ROI and he was everything i always thought he was and i asked if he had seen Townes lately and he just said ya i seen him and he is just the same as he always was. I diden't take to much from that. RIP Townes never will you leave me .........
Ha that's funny, I hitched across, well, up, that time, listening mostly to Townes some years back and it fit so perfectly with everything in my life, and I'm guessing that's what you mean too.
Видеоклипы
I came to Nashville in 1984 to be a songwriter. After failed attempts to write commercial songs I just quit. This past year (2023 )I discovered Townes and he’s inspired me to write again and not worry about commercial boundaries. He moves me, changes me ,challenges me and inspires me ! I listen to him everyday.
Good luck Tim, the world needs soulful heartfelt music that will never make you enough money. Do it anyway, we need it now more then ever. Come to Terlingua if nothing else works out !
When i began writing poetry, I was writing with no aspiration of sharing with a single other soul than my own. When a woman finally convinced me to share at an open mic, the audience was blown away. When I left, I went home and for 3 months I kept trying to write with the audiences's reaction in the front of my mind. The result was writers block. Nothing I wrote felt right. One day, I stopped myself and reminded myself of who I was. I started writing again what I felt. Not what I thought folks wanted to hear. I have since published 4 books. well over 600 poems between them all.
Write as though the darkened room will be your only audience. Let your heart pump the life that courses through your soul, and you can't go wrong.
@@PoetClbrown thanks for sharing this and for the advice! Good luck on your creative journey!
Best of luck
He's such a talent loss way to early
Townes songs never fail to touch those of us who are lonely in a crowd.
The haunting sorrows & misses of yesterday .
Every time and I just love him so much. The road is truly one of my best friends.😭💕
well said
Word
@@mapples007 i cry and ima fairly hard man
You know that Steve Earle said that Townes van Zandt was the best song writer ever and he would stand on Bob Dylans coffe table and say so. When Townes was asked what he thought about what Steve Earl had said, Townes replied, I have met Bob Dylan and have seen his body gaurds and I don't think Steve could get within a mile of his coffe table.
Classic act, just like Phil Ochs.
Priceless anecdote. Thank you.
RIGHT!
Later on Steve Earl said he was misunderstood when he said that. Regarding Townes and Dylan, its known that Dylan asked him a few times to do a song together, but Townes politely refused, not wanting the fame he will get being around Dylan.
Doesn't mean he wasn't better
I dunno if anyones gonna see this but i just wanna say that im not an american, im all the way from the east side of asia, i really enjoy his songs, i have an old mind and givin my all in this soul of being american, thank you Townes, u inspired and made joy of an 18 year old, i'll visit texas one day, i promise
Come visit Texas, you will be welcome.
You’re a sharp mind with a appreciation of true art. Contact me. I’d love to share some beers.
I hope you’re able to keep that promise; Texas is a wonderful place and should be experienced (especially Hill Country).
Right on
My husband came across Townes music shortly before my husband passed away. He played his music everyday.
Your Husband had impeccable taste. And now he's at that Big Gig out there. Townes will more than likely be on the Bill.
I stumbled upon Townes shortly after my wife left me. I can’t stress how important it is when you’re deep in heartache to find something out there that resonates. The way this man wrote and performed helped me process my profound grief like nothing else.
look
Wishing you recovery from the heartache ❤
In May of 2014 I rode my Harley through Raton Pass. It snowed. I can relate to every word in this song.
he saved my life many times. wish he could have saved his own.
Awwww
💔
I know what you mean.
There are times when only Townes will do. Tonight is one of those times.
Amen
I met Townes after he and a few friends drove their car off of the top of Independence Pass in the middle of the night in a snow storm and dropped several hundred feet down off the edge. Some friends of mine discovered them by tracks going off the side of the road. This was way before cell phones, so some of my group hung out with them while others went down the hill for help. It was morning before help arrived, and Townes and his group ended up staying with us for a few weeks - good times.........
Finding this man's music probably saved my life when I stumbled upon it several years back. Beautiful pain that sucks you in long enough to remind you that you are not the only person who hurts. Townes was great and is so very underrated and under-appreciated. I'm so happy more people have begun to find him.
him and Gary Stewart
better songwriter than dylan/anyone
I agree
agree. Sort of like the movie "melancholia", pain/depression often seems beautiful from an outside perspective.
Thanks for summarizing my thoughts. I am ASHAMED I have just discovered TVZ; but I'm going through my first real heartbreak @ 54....and this collection I've made of his songs just might have saved my life tonight.
"Shall I cast my dreams upon your love, babe? And lie beneath the laughter of your eyes... " - Townes Van Zandt, a helplessly romantic partisan of beauty until the bitter end.
That guy in the audience yelling "Wooo!" after Townes says 'babe' always makes me smile. Something about the whole Texas macho stereotype getting obliterated by a simple, perfectly placed line gets me every time.
I play a lot of vinyl records at our cabin. I experiment, drift, gamble with new artists etc. But at the end of the night when the beer cans are empty, I always return to Townes. He is my north star.
This is the song that I played and played and played after my beloved died. Telling myself that I would get through it. By morning I would be through those hills and gone. So four years later.. it was a such a comfort.
I met Townes In NYC in the late 70's he was there for a meeting with a record company I was instructed not to let the man drink for the two hours he was to stay in my apartment before his meeting. Needless to say that did not fly with Mr Van Zandt I had to go out and get a couple quarts of beer and we had a lovely time together. At the time I knew only his song Poncho and Lefty he was a superb song writer.
God, this song is something special. I must have listened to this a couple hundred times. I can't get enough.
❤I came to America recently. and now I listen to country music, I really like it 😊
The line" You cannot hold a lover that has gone.." is one of my favorites of all times.
I logged in just to like this comment. I'm also a big Bob Dylan fan, but I also love Townes Van Zandt much, much more. A legend.
Townes van Zandt was a huge talent, absolutely huge.
Townes was doing this song once and was having trouble and Blaze Foley got up and sang a few verses with him and then sat back down when he had it...classic
The Walt Whitman of American songwriting. He always painted a beautiful picture of experiences, or of time & place that not everyone has been but can relate to. Who can't appreciate the Man for what he spent his whole life trying to do?
2024 and still keeping this beautiful song alive
Amazing what Townes could with three chords, one guitar, and that proud but desolate voice.
The two best versions of this song I ever heard were by Towns and my father. Such a sad feeling knowing neither one of them will ever play it again...
This song, this melancholy celebration of lost love , life and adventure, just means so much to me.
Bob Dylan and Townes Van Zandt are both amazing song writers, the only difference is, Townes did it all while not giving a shit if he was famous or not.....Townes is THE American song writer. Then there is everyone else.
Looking down you nose at fame used to be a fixture of Texas culture. Now Texas has become California like the rest of them.
Look at any album from the 70s through the 1980s.... Townes Van Zant is gonna be there...that's how I discovered him years ago and thanks to RUclips I get to discover the man again ♥️
Spot on!
Wow. That is a bit condescending toward everyone else's taste. I agree Townes was great. I still give John Prine a huge amount of credit for his abilities too. No apologies.
I love Dylan's music when done by someone else. Townes could sing.
Love this, really moves me - Towne s had that vulnerability and longing in his voice, a sense of great hurt and loneliness, channelling the spirit of Hank Williams.
His words are like poetry too, what he conveys in such simple language.
You like the obvious, thanks for sharing your obvious.
Man, I love this song. Townes was the greatest of them all.
"you can not turn the circle of he sun, you can't not count the miles until you feel them and you can not hold a lover that is gone" WTF that is good!
Most underrated singer/songwriter. Townes was amazing and deserved much more recognition.
I am grateful for many things in my life... this is one of them...
Can't hold a lover that is gone. . . Love it, Home!!!
tvz is America's best writer and I love to hear him too!!!!!!!!
I relate to this song driving to Trinidad and back from Texas for some green. Peace and Love.
3rdcoastnyucka Me too. I made a lot of trips over Raton Pass Colorado to Texas & New Mexico and back .
I've listened to this song so many times that I think I may have even been an instigator of the Dylan / TVZ discussion in these comments 12+ years ago, on a now deleted account.
I'm almost in my 30s now and this song comes into my mind all the time.
Beautiful. His voice is soothing.
I still miss Townes....what a talent.
An infinite combination of words were possible, and Townes chose the perfect combination every time!!! Blows my mind
He died 2 days before the day I was born. Today as a musician and songwriter I think Townes is my best inspirer
Francesco Petrucci, still waiting for you to post a song... Would love to hear what Townes inspired. Play on, hermano!
Great to hear that younger people are discovering Townes. I am 66 and was there at the beginning. When I first saw him perform, I was so moved by this man's music that the next day I went out and purchased a cheap used guitar and spent all my days learning to play just so I could eventually play his songs. Took some years and days of practice but I reached my goal and now I pick up the ol' guitar and play his songs. An inspiration to many. RIP, my good friend. Yours was a life, however truncated, well lived.
He died 16 days before I was born. Kinda feel the same way!
Years ago, I worked and lived in Trinidad. I traveled between Trinidad and Raton more times than I can count. The pass can get pretty nasty in winter. This song brings back many memories.
Just as I was getting used to Townes being gone- no more Guy and Townes @ funky dives-can't believe Guy's gone!
It shakes me
I heard Butch Hancock do this one in Austin in 1981, coming off my carpentry job and knocking back a longneck in the bar of the old Alamo Hotel, and I would not trade that time for anything.... It took two wrecking balls six months to knock that hotel down, but these songs will be here forever.
Marvellous. Sad that he found no one to save him. A great loss to this genre of music.
A true artist. Every song touches your soul. A beautiful person gone way to soon. Thank you.
Roy in Knoxville Tennessee
Pure gold.
This version is definitely the best version
A finer poem shall never be written.
Man, I've made that drive a bunch of times.
Me too
Lyrically, Townes had a way that thumbed his nose, threw the finger and laughed in the face of conventional hit makers. You hear it in all of his songs but this is a really good example of it. Deep AND wide.
Townes is certainly one of the top 10 songwriters ever. I wish we had him here for longer.
Oh he's number 1 my friend
Drove through that pass on my way from Lubbock to Pueblo. A pretty desolate place. Wish I knew of this song back then, I might have looked at the landscape differently. What a great song writer.
My favourite Townes song for a while now but it changes. The best songwriter ever ❤
Townes and Raton Pass both national treasures!😻
A talent for the Ages ... this one & "Loretta" & "Pancho & Leftie" & on & on & on ...
Allways loved Townes,,,,Allways will. A truely beautiful man.
They both have their place in history. Townes is my drug.
There are only two things I regret, and one of them is I never went to listen to Townes - just around the corner here in the south of the Netherlands, our little Texas. Hopelessness that sounds so beautiful... ;(
One of America's greatest songwriters. Thanks for the upload.
Love this song, takes me back home. "Don't want to be through them hills and gone."
One of my favorite songs by him right here. Thank you Townes.
You cant hold a lover that is gone
You can feel his soul when he sings or mine either way love this man
THE greatest country artist that ever walked this planet, hands down.
Perfect song. Beautifully constructed. And it's obvious that this song is for Joanna. Undoubtedly the love of his life. And his best friends wife.
Love this song and Raton pass is no place to be when it snows
I was just out that way last fall. Hoboing. "So thankful that old road's a friend of mine." Townes was brilliant.
Townes will never disappoint you.
01 01 1997 to early. Rest in peace Townes.
Justin Townes Earle for life. Pay your respects. Townes is the legend. Justin is one that life cut short. It's a shame. Justin Townes Earle for life.
I used to play alot of Dylan, I haven't learned any more songs of his in a while, I've learned about 15 Townes songs and a couple Blaze Foley songs in the last 6 months. I can't find lyrics I like to sing more than Townes'
I agree. I'm learning several TVZ songs, I just wish I could sing when I play. Well I can but no one wants to hear me except the dogs.
@@thegolfnut812 😄
Keep on singing 🙂
My all-time fave Townes song - like all his music beautifully layered. First time I heard this I dragged out the old atlas and found Raton. Great music is always a discovery.
I've driven Raton Pass many times in the snow, coming home at Christmas to see my mom in Pueblo, Colorado
Raton is my Dad’s home town
Truly sublime. “Until quite modern times all teachers and even all men believed the universe to be such that certain emotional reactions on our part could be either congruous or incongruous to it-believed, in fact, that objects did not merely receive, but could merit, our approval or disapproval, our reverence or our contempt.” CS Lewis
Gillian Welch (David Rawlings) version is the only thing I've ever heard come close to capturing Townes sentiment and passion
I used to drive from Amarillo, where I grew up, to my Uncle Jigg's house on Colorado street in Trinidad. Many dark nights I got caught in a snowstorm on Raton Pass.
Small world
@Robert Shorthill Not fun, especially in my Mom's 61 Cadillac.
@@michaelcollins9698 I thought you were in Ireland fighting for Irish independence, sir.
@@wildeyedherman3102 Did you recognize my Corkonian accent? Driving to Trinidad was very much like the rocky road to Dublin.
When these types of songs are led better, Townes will lead them.
I thank my son for giving me the chance to get to know and appreciate Townes Van Zandt"s music! What a fabulous singer/songwriter!
A buddy of mine died a couple months ago for some reason this song helps me think of him being at peace and not in this shit world anymore
THE ONLY ARTIST THAT BRINGS EMOTION AND HEART RENDING VIBES IN THE HISTORY OF RECORDED MUSIC .
Townes brought me his new album when I was a dj at kokefm austin 1974.......so I picked this one to play on the air..poncho and lefty too !!
Can't listen to this without my eyes welling up and don't know why.
I ran that road and you can feel that song it is one of the most powerful songs about struggling in life and the beauty of the roads with the weather changing . Robert Earl King does this version too and it’s great .
I remember meeting the Great Steve Earle in Jacksons Hotel in Co Donegal ROI and he was everything i always thought he was and i asked if he had seen Townes lately and he just said ya i seen him and he is just the same as he always was. I diden't take to much from that. RIP Townes never will you leave me .........
Ha that's funny, I hitched across, well, up, that time, listening mostly to Townes some years back and it fit so perfectly with everything in my life, and I'm guessing that's what you mean too.
Just found him April 2017. Love the artistry and appreciate all videos uploaded by RUclips contributors.
Flying shoes and this song are my favorite TVZ songs. those 2 songs have got me through some real dark moments. Thanks and RIP Townes.
I love this song because I am from Raton New Mexico
Likewise
I drove through Raton Pass just yesterday and this song was ringing in my mind.
I miss this guy.
Thank you for posting this beautiful song by a brilliant songwriter.
A hauntingly beautiful and gripping song here sung by its composer the great Townes van Zandt❤
this is a gem that you have shared
Kudos to this audience for laying back and listening....
I only wish I could like this again.. I came here looking to hear it again
I am so thankful I got to see him play in his prime.
Brilliant.just brilliant. What i would have given to have shared a beer with Townes and Blaze. Two of the most honest guys i never got to meet
If you like this you might also like John Prine, Steve Goodman and Michael Hurley!
@@jasminaogrady7470 good morning. Love all those guys too. John Prine,was a poetic Genious,loved the years he did together with Steve Goodman
So many Sundays driving over Raton Pass. Thanks for reminding me of the memories.
THANK you!! for converting the tapes, Townes is gone but he was a great writer and singer.
Shall I cast my dreams upon your love babe? and lie beneath the laughter of your eyes........
An original could always reminded me of Hank Williams.
I like to see him live. Thanks.