Isn't it crazy? There is a line in the Rodney Crowell song 'Eathbound'..."One man's lust for life brings world reknown ....And the next guy can't get two feet off the ground... he's earthbound" ...McMurtry got more than two feet of the ground but should have gone MUCH higher
Many moons ago this was the song that caught my attention & started my admiration of James McMurty's talent. Thanks for all the quality music you have put out over the years. PEACE!
I saw this video exactly once on MTV when it was still "Music Television" in 1989 and the lyric "You work from the neck down..." has stuck with me through 31 years. A great song and album.
I heard this song in a hotel continental breakfast buffet this morning eating a waffle I made poured from a paper cup. I thought it was from that Johnny Cash cover album or something. It's a really good tune. I'm glad I was able to find it.
James McMurtry is one of the most savage and brutally honest artists ever, which is very uncomfortable for a lot of people, but immensely satisfying to those with the nerve to hear what he is saying. He should be a household name, but that's not how this shit works......
Sad part of getting old is you forget more than you can remember. I haven't heard this since I can't remember. Some of best music ever made,not like the stuff today
James McMurtry is talented, which is of little benefit in today's pop slop music industry. The Spice Girls only talents were their mammalry tissue but I bet they have sold a gazillion more records than McMurtry. At least some of appreciate good music when they hear it. Let us be happy, at least, in being in that band of brothers
Mr. McMurtry knows the Virtues Of Pastell Shades but has an uncanny knack for slipping in meaningfull, bold, and colorfull insights. His Guitar can go ahead and cover the earth with thick bright paint.
Was going through some old videos I had recorded on VHS. Came across this song from an old Austin City Limits show. Dunn'o . . . 25-30 years ago? Had never heard of James McMurtry as I did not record the full episode. Love the song!
@@oboogie80 And the late great Jimmy LaFave. Just got to know him when he died last year. Ray Wylie Hubbard is great too as is James McMurtry. Heard of these great musicians via Twitter.
A personal favorite of mine. I discovered this back in middle school and listened on my PSP (portable play station, which were actually really cool for their time, had internet, movies, photos, GTA games, etc). I’m now 30. Crazy how time flies
Takes me back when Grandma would get me Paint By Numbers and the lessons only she could teach. Takes me back to my time in the Army and how it enabled me. Takes me back to my time on the oil rigs and the skills it brings. Takes me back to the lessons in Lonesome Dove and the fact Gus didn't rent pigs. Great song James.
@@nievesreyes8533 I've the book! I will look for James' role. Tommy Lee is like a hawk in a country for old men...a space cowboy! YeeeHawww! Much Love! Thanks!
Really like James McMurtry "alot" and since I am a "Lyrics" kinda guy, more so than the music in general, I knew McMurtry was extremely gifted first time I heard him, in the 80's-early 90's. Became a big fan. However, this video I don't care for as much, because it puts almost a "specific" brand or sect of sheeple, whereas, I feel that this pertains to everyone, cept the "FatCats" watchin us paint by numbers.
Hey James,where in the heck I been? I'm from Premium KY and then grew up mostly in Michigan and have been a trucker most of my life. I gave up trucking 2 years ago as I'll soon be 74 years old and traffic everywhere is getting more insane by the day.I took a part time job in retail for a large super store in Coldwater MI in February of this year, and just quit last week. I was in a family owned Farm and home store in town today(they play mostly country as opposed to the mixes in the other places so as to "please everyone" and it's all about being politically correct and by doing so, get more of your money in their pockets. That is an honest fact!! I heard your song and I'm sure now that I was right. Any business is trying to earn a living for their families and employees sure, but "Big business" has destroyed small businesses as it's so hard to compete with pricing products. The corporate vips make huge salaries and pay workers a fraction of theirs. And as you sing about,they try to program you until you're a company robot !!! Just my southern opinion though... I'm single and have a daughter and one son who's mother died in '16 and I didn't get a big pension and wanted to work till I die for them and my two grandsons. My only son was killed in a robbery in Detroit by a man who assaulted him for his wallet and phone last month. Reckon I'll take the job at the farm store for less money and still count my blessings every day long as I live! Thank God for you and your music and God bless and keep you all safe in this insane world!!!
Luke, so many egotistical, narcissistic prima donnas want to think the era they are living through is somehow more important, more depressing, more hateful than any other time. Tell that to an African-American living in the 1950s, or the Jewish person living in nazi Germany, or, any one of hundreds of other situations in world history.
One of my best birthdays involved James at the Mucky Duck (Hou) - I got drunk enough to approach him when they were loading up & get a birthday kiss......My only groupie experience!
I got to see him at Mojo's in Columbia MO it's a very small place and his sound man is the best....I'm rambling anyway after a long first set James took two steps off the stage stuck his hand out to my wife and I and said( Alright Thanks for coming out) I froze up when he says ( I think this is the first time I've ever seen a cowboy with a black girl
@JPStrikesBack - maybe you should listen again, with an open mind. it's not about whining....it's lamenting that so many people (sheeple!) spend their lives taking the safe road, painting by numbers....rather than being true to themselves & trying to live their dreams.
@BassPlayerSusan That's what I meant. Not only did he produce the album, but he and his band also play on the song. And I think John wrote "Painting By Numbers", too.
Angeline, Choktaw Bingo, Holiday, Childish things, & many, many more. Start with the "Too Long in the Wasteland" album & work your way forward. You won't be sorry.
Great video and song. The guy needs to get a personality and get happy once in while. “you jump when they say jump, you don’t ask why. You paint by numbers....”
Something's fucked up with the way "Painting by Numbers" was loaded. It starts out with two different songs playing, then after a few seconds, the only song is Painting and it plays normally.
@drummer1965usa according to rhapsody.com, James wrote the song. "I enjoy his sketches, their weary women especially. But like so many singer-songwriters and so many local-colorists, he tends to a soft fatalism, especially when he tries a big statement: (like) the metametaphorical "Painting by Numbers," -- R. Christgau_Village Voice I concur, but his attitude is central to his style, so...
Mcmurtry’s other song that used to get airplay is about an almost middle aged burnout named johnny, who has decided to live his life unemployed, while mooching off his aging parents. White privilege.
Though I enjoy James McMurtry's music, accusing everyone who has to sell their soul for a paycheck as "painting by numbers" is pretty easy to do when your Fathers money buys you everything need. I guess daddies millions and lying around smoking pot for a living can leave a bitter taste. Who knew?
I think he addresses others like him who " take a position in the old man's firm" as well as those that don't have that opportunity to do so.. the song is more about not living a life outside of the box
@JPStrikesBack Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie and others did their share of "whining" too JP. Without such artists, some people would never stop to think about anything that MATTERS, too busy with their electronic gadgets to connect to the real world. SHAME ON YOU. You've apparently missed the point of the message. Therefore you are borderline between getting it and not quite getting it, I hope you make it over that fence without any suffering, violation of your rights, or hardship involved. peace
I like the song, but damn, it's WHINY. Listen to the lyrics and think about them. All the singer is doing is complaining about not being in charge, not calling the shots. etc, Well, if you're in grad school up at MIT, who the hell do you think is supposed to be taking your orders?
JPStrikesBack He is not whining, he is trying to open your eyes to look at the system in place that oppresses you and you bow down in submission. Think, use reason and logic and quit living inside the box. We're all indoctrinated, first by parents, religion, schools, and then the main stream media. Be free and quit accepting authority.
Видеоклипы
One of the best songwriters you've never heard of.
Isn't it crazy? There is a line in the Rodney Crowell song 'Eathbound'..."One man's lust for life brings world reknown
....And the next guy can't get two feet off the ground... he's earthbound" ...McMurtry got more than two feet of the ground but should have gone MUCH higher
His father was a pretty good writer too.
Uh ... My ex is a huge Mellencamp fan (!) So this lp was a standard in the house when it was released. Wish he re- mix it with out that drummer.
" Too Long In The Wasteland" Is one of the best Southern goth albums ever recorded.
Many moons ago this was the song that caught my attention & started my admiration of James McMurty's talent. Thanks for all the quality music you have put out over the years. PEACE!
The more I listen to James McMurtry....the more I appreciate him....great songwriter and artist.
Well. DUH. lol
Take a flyer and read a few of “the old man,” his Dad, Larry McMurtry’s novels.
Choctaw Bingo
I miss the way they made videos in the 80s. Hell, I miss videos full stop.
I saw this video exactly once on MTV when it was still "Music Television" in 1989 and the lyric "You work from the neck down..." has stuck with me through 31 years. A great song and album.
Heard this song on WHFS and went out to purchase the album. But when I moved, I no longer heard his songs over the radio.
I heard this song in a hotel continental breakfast buffet this morning eating a waffle I made poured from a paper cup. I thought it was from that Johnny Cash cover album or something. It's a really good tune. I'm glad I was able to find it.
chrisslooter I heard in a hotel I used to work. A Hampton inn.
That was both poetically descriptive and depressing AF.
@@chancemiller9340lol
Just a damn good ballad with some patented McMurty clever lyrics and his great guitar. Thanks James!
I'm mostly into death metal and hardcore rap, but McMurtry's song writing and guitar work has made me a new fan of him.
James McMurtry is one of the most savage and brutally honest artists ever, which is very uncomfortable for a lot of people, but immensely satisfying to those with the nerve to hear what he is saying. He should be a household name, but that's not how this shit works......
Talent and intelligence don't get you very far in country music😉
Sad part of getting old is you forget more than you can remember. I haven't heard this since I can't remember. Some of best music ever made,not like the stuff today
this video should have many more millions of views
James McMurtry is talented, which is of little benefit in today's pop slop music industry.
The Spice Girls only talents were their mammalry tissue but I bet they have sold a gazillion more records than McMurtry.
At least some of appreciate good music when they hear it. Let us be happy, at least, in being in that band of brothers
Mr. McMurtry knows the Virtues Of Pastell Shades but has an uncanny knack for slipping in meaningfull, bold, and
colorfull insights. His Guitar can go ahead and cover the earth with thick bright paint.
McMurtry is the troubadour that has paid all of the dues. He is a living legend and continues to kick ass.
Was going through some old videos I had recorded on VHS. Came across this song from an old Austin City Limits show. Dunn'o . . . 25-30 years ago? Had never heard of James McMurtry as I did not record the full episode. Love the song!
fabulous James on this album together with the great Cougar drummer
He's the son of the late great Larry McMurtry who wrote Lonesome Dove, it's no surprise James McMurtry is a master with words as well.
This album was recorded in John Mellencamp's studio in Bloomington, Indiana. You can hear his voice in the chorus.
“Abby Normal”, 👍🏻😂👍🏻😂
And Kenny Aranoff's drums I believe.
Mellencamp was a big fan
A one of a kind.
You jump when they say jump and you don't ask how high.
Beautiful
One of the most real songs you'll ever hear and can relate to.😎
You work from the neck down; You don't call the shots.
I LOVE IT!
got lucky to hear on local station the dj played his copy of this so good yet so few have got to hear this kind of stuff.
Why is his music never played in England, this is the first time i have heard of his great music.
That's why it's called "Americana"....lol. Other great artists are...Ray Wylie Hubbard, Jason Isbell, The Mavericks....check them out.
Bob Harris does.
@@oboogie80
And the late great Jimmy LaFave. Just got to know him when he died last year. Ray Wylie Hubbard is great too as is James McMurtry. Heard of these great musicians via Twitter.
the man has insight into the human condition as it is right now in the western world and comments on it. good stuff.
Poignant lyrics.
I never get sick of listening to this guy!! What a Legend!!!
This song is so thought provoking
A personal favorite of mine. I discovered this back in middle school and listened on my PSP (portable play station, which were actually really cool for their time, had internet, movies, photos, GTA games, etc). I’m now 30. Crazy how time flies
Wore this album out when deployed for Gulf War...and later...great to hear it again.
Takes me back when Grandma would get me Paint By Numbers and the lessons only she could teach. Takes me back to my time in the Army and how it enabled me. Takes me back to my time on the oil rigs and the skills it brings. Takes me back to the lessons in Lonesome Dove and the fact Gus didn't rent pigs. Great song James.
Red Desert here.
Funny you mention lonesome dove. His dad wrote that movie and james had a small part in it. Look for him
@@nievesreyes8533 I've the book! I will look for James' role. Tommy Lee is like a hawk in a country for old men...a space cowboy! YeeeHawww! Much Love! Thanks!
Great video - great tune you the man
We were big fans in the 80s. Glad that we found him here on RUclips. We still know all the words!! It's like coming home.
Love this brave and talented artist !
"you work from the neck down as often as not"......just excellent.
Brilliant as only James can be
Early classic
Pure blasting sound !
brilliant!
Found an unopened cassette of this from my Grandma, This is the first song on the album.
when I connect the numbers with lines I get one big,fat politician staring down at me.
sundar mann Look back up at him and tell him to f-off.
^ probably your best bet
Two sides to the coin -- there is JOY in honest work as well as there's drudgery and tedium. James McMurtry manages to make me realize both....!
One of my favorites. Thanks James!
"you work from the neck down".....how appropriate these days.
Egotistical, aren’t you?
Loved it. Thanks for doing it Jim.
More great music from James McMurtry.
great artist, mucho thnxxx for posting :)))
His Daddy is Larry McMurtry who wrote Lonesome Dove and North Dallas 40.
RIP
You and whoever produced this video are geniouses. Love you guys.
This song was so huge.
good stuff!
Really liked when the cow wagged its tail
This century's Prine.
I've seen James play in Chicago at least 20 times since the late 90s. Can't wait for him to your again.
distinctive Kenny Aronoff drumming really propels the song!
That Caprice looks almost exactly like my first car. Mine was a '74.
Agradeço a Stephen King conhecer este artista. Sob a Redoma (p. 96). Adorei.⭐⭐⭐
This is from the LP 'Too Long In the Wasteland', which was produced by John Mellencamp.
With Kenny Aranoff on dru m s
The gates of the school yard are padlocked and chained...
Really like James McMurtry "alot" and since I am a "Lyrics" kinda guy, more so than the music in general, I knew McMurtry was extremely gifted first time I heard him, in the 80's-early 90's. Became a big fan. However, this video I don't care for as much, because it puts almost a "specific" brand or sect of sheeple, whereas, I feel that this pertains to everyone, cept the "FatCats" watchin us paint by numbers.
I don;t think I want to live "Painting" by numbers.. just be yourself, and think "outside" of the "BOX"; what a life, right?
What also makes this such a brilliant song is that it's got John Mellencamp's fingerprints all over it. :)
Hey James,where in the heck I been? I'm from Premium KY and then grew up mostly in Michigan and have been a trucker most of my life. I gave up trucking 2 years ago as I'll soon be 74 years old and traffic everywhere is getting more insane by the day.I took a part time job in retail for a large super store in Coldwater MI in February of this year, and just quit last week. I was in a family owned Farm and home store in town today(they play mostly country as opposed to the mixes in the other places so as to "please everyone" and it's all about being politically correct and by doing so, get more of your money in their pockets. That is an honest fact!! I heard your song and I'm sure now that I was right. Any business is trying to earn a living for their families and employees sure, but "Big business" has destroyed small businesses as it's so hard to compete with pricing products. The corporate vips make huge salaries and pay workers a fraction of theirs. And as you sing about,they try to program you until you're a company robot !!! Just my southern opinion though... I'm single and have a daughter and one son who's mother died in '16 and I didn't get a big pension and wanted to work till I die for them and my two grandsons. My only son was killed in a robbery in Detroit by a man who assaulted him for his wallet and phone last month. Reckon I'll take the job at the farm store for less money and still count my blessings every day long as I live! Thank God for you and your music and God bless and keep you all safe in this insane world!!!
As Miles Davis said, it's all in the notes you don't play.
Good song to summarize mankind in the the United States
Luke, so many egotistical, narcissistic prima donnas want to think the era they are living through is somehow more important, more depressing, more hateful than any other time.
Tell that to an African-American living in the 1950s, or the Jewish person living in nazi Germany, or, any one of hundreds of other situations in world history.
Great song and this song hurts!😂
One of my best birthdays involved James at the Mucky Duck (Hou) - I got drunk enough to approach him when they were loading up & get a birthday kiss......My only groupie experience!
I got to see him at Mojo's in Columbia MO it's a very small place and his sound man is the best....I'm rambling anyway after a long first set James took two steps off the stage stuck his hand out to my wife and I and said( Alright Thanks for coming out) I froze up when he says ( I think this is the first time I've ever seen a cowboy with a black girl
@JPStrikesBack - maybe you should listen again, with an open mind. it's not about whining....it's lamenting that so many people (sheeple!) spend their lives taking the safe road, painting by numbers....rather than being true to themselves & trying to live their dreams.
Hunters new anthem
@zhansen8 Thanks for your suggestions! Awesome tunes! Thanks!!!
When the next American Revolution comes--sooner than the 1% could ever imagine--this tune will be the theme song.
Hey, NSA, are you listening?
Pretty much
You said it man
John Cougar Mellencamp on background vocals
Sounds like it he reminds a lil of Bruce Cockburn
Only singer songwriter record that features drums as the lead instrument.
Kenny Aronoff!
@BassPlayerSusan That's what I meant. Not only did he produce the album, but he and his band also play on the song. And I think John wrote "Painting By Numbers", too.
The imagery is fantastic. Welcome to the American menagerie. But, whoops! James McMurtry is a rather grim tour guide. Enjoy!
@drummer1965usa And that's Kenny Aranoff (sp?) on drums I believe, Mellencamp's former drummer.
@drummer1965usa He produced the album.
Angeline
@PlanTonto Choktaw bingo, lights of cheyene, hurricane party
My Cat sits in my lap while yoou play
Can someone recomend other songs by this cat to listen to, please? I put him up there with John Prine and Jon Astley...Obscure, but great!
PlanTonto several. are "song for a deckhands daughter' cheneys toy, we can't make it here any more
Outskirts, Stancliff's Lament, No More Buffalo, Out Here in the Middle, Song for a Deckhand's Daughter, Rachel's Song, Where's Johnny....
Angeline, Choktaw Bingo, Holiday, Childish things, & many, many more. Start with the "Too Long in the Wasteland" album & work your way forward. You won't be sorry.
Mellencamp all over this including the vid
Great video and song. The guy needs to get a personality and get happy once in while. “you jump when they say jump, you don’t ask why. You paint by numbers....”
Something's fucked up with the way "Painting by Numbers" was loaded. It starts out with two different songs playing, then after a few seconds, the only song is Painting and it plays normally.
The gates of the schoolyard
are padlocked and chained
to keep all the children in out of the rain
the art teacher's preaching
the virtues of pastel shades
you pay no attention but it won't hurt your grades
'cause you're painting by numbers
connecting the dots
they don't have to tell you
you don't call the shots
you jump when they say jump
and you don't ask how high
'cause painting by numbers they know you'll get by
painting by numbers they know you'll get by
you take a position
in the old man's firm
he signs all the papers
you agree to the terms
they ley you run errands
and you don't get days off
you take off the garbage and hope it pays off
'cause you're painting by numbers
connecting the dots
you work from neck down
you might be in grad school
up ut M.I.T.
you might be down in the canal zone
being all that you can be
you might get to thinking you're ahead of the game
but when you break it all down
it all comes out the same
'cause you're painting by numbers
connecting the dots
you work from neck down
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: J Mcmurtry
Painting by Numbers lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Gee whiz golly Beev! Interrobang ⁉️
@drummer1965usa
according to rhapsody.com, James wrote the song.
"I enjoy his sketches, their weary women especially. But like so many singer-songwriters and so many local-colorists, he tends to a soft fatalism, especially when he tries a big statement: (like) the metametaphorical "Painting by Numbers," -- R. Christgau_Village Voice
I concur, but his attitude is central to his style, so...
@jesus185517 some CEO
DAD JUST DIED.
looks like lennon!
sounds like cash!
This song really explains every aspect of oppression
Luke Brown It only hurts you if you don't comply. It will kill you if you don't. All of government is obey or else. What planet are you living on?
Really something how james got the Obiden era ahead of its time
Whatever. Funny, I have all of Jimmy McMurtry's records, none of Johnny Cougar's.
Mcmurtry’s other song that used to get airplay is about an almost middle aged burnout named johnny, who has decided to live his life unemployed, while mooching off his aging parents.
White privilege.
My comment is factual, “tippsy.”
I finally met a village idiot. I could have waited.
Let me guess, “tippsy,” you identify with Johnny.
Chump.
Though I enjoy James McMurtry's music, accusing everyone who has to sell their soul for a paycheck as "painting by numbers" is pretty easy to do when your Fathers money buys you everything need. I guess daddies millions and lying around smoking pot for a living can leave a bitter taste. Who knew?
I think he addresses others like him who " take a position in the old man's firm" as well as those that don't have that opportunity to do so.. the song is more about not living a life outside of the box
5 years ago. But still - like Ray Wylie Hubbard said, the trouble with irony is that some people don’t get it.”
@JPStrikesBack Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie and others did their share of "whining" too JP. Without such artists, some people would never stop to think about anything that MATTERS, too busy with their electronic gadgets to connect to the real world. SHAME ON YOU. You've apparently missed the point of the message. Therefore you are borderline between getting it and not quite getting it, I hope you make it over that fence without any suffering, violation of your rights, or hardship involved. peace
I like the song, but damn, it's WHINY. Listen to the lyrics and think about them. All the singer is doing is complaining about not being in charge, not calling the shots. etc, Well, if you're in grad school up at MIT, who the hell do you think is supposed to be taking your orders?
JPStrikesBack He is not whining, he is trying to open your eyes to look at the system in place that oppresses you and you bow down in submission. Think, use reason and logic and quit living inside the box. We're all indoctrinated, first by parents, religion, schools, and then the main stream media. Be free and quit accepting authority.
This and too long in the wasteland.....