Let Him Roll
Guy Clark hit my radar after I got into Steve Earle in the 90’s. I started digging deeper into the “outlaw” singer/songwriters from the state of Texas. People like Clark, Jerry Jeff Walker, Joe Ely, and Townes Van Zandt. I still have a long way to go with exploring the rich catalogs of these guys. My most recent pick-up on eMusic was The Essential Guy Clark, which I will make a point of spending plenty of time with in the near future.
I heard “Let Him Roll” on Sirius a while ago, and was struck – as I always am with these guys – by the vivid, colorful, and genuine imagery in the storytelling.
Like:
It was white port that put that look in his eye,
Grown men get when they need to cry.
We sat down on the curb to rest,
And his head just fell down on his chest.He says: “Every single day it gets,
“Just a little bit harder to handle and yet. . .”
Then he lost the thread and his mind got cluttered,
And the words just rolled off down the gutter.
It’s a tale of a down on his luck wino – in love with a prostitute from Dallas. He’s at the end of his road, and the narrator tells the story of his sad demise…
Guy Clark – Let Him Roll – from The Essential Guy Clark
4 Comments
Judd6149
Pete: I fell into Guy Clark the same way you did. He quickly moved up my ranks from “i need to be listening to more of this guy” to “I can’t get enough of this guy”.
Have you heard his new one (“Some Days the Songs Write You”)? The bow-down track off of that is “The Guitar”…cliched but brilliantly told. Fave line” “…So I just reared back and burned it”. Have a listen…the way he delivers it is cool.
Other “outlaws” I got into this year: Jerry Jeff & Doug Sahm.
Pete
Haven’t heard his latest, Judd. But I’ll pick it up based on your rec… thx
cclifford
I’m brushing on my Guy Clark, (I’m going to see him in SLC tonight) and I found your post (seven months late). Have you heard the version of this song on his live album Keepers? It is a slowed down version with an older, remorseful voice. Amazing.
Pete
I hadn’t heard the live version (or the Keepers album). Thanks, sounded great!