Guy Clark: "Dublin Blues"

Music on Sunday @ The Reaction

By Richard K. Barry

Every now and then, I fool around with songwriting. Not that I think I'll ever be any good at it. I don't. But I am so impressed with the craft that I can't help but dabble in the process just on the possibility that something interesting and unexpected might happen when I put words to music.

Mostly I just love great songwriting. If I knew what it was about it that I loved so much maybe I'd be better at it myself, but I do recognize quality when I hear it.

Guy Clark is a phenomenal songwriter. He's had a great career writing mostly in the country / folk / Americana genre. Those who have recored his songs include Jerry Jeff Walker, Johnny Cash, Vince Gill, Ricky Scaggs, Steve Wariner, Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley, Rodney Crowell, Asleep at the Wheel, and Jimmy Buffet. And a lot of artists have charted with songs written by Clark.

He is also known for helping Steve Earle develop his career and for his friendship with the late Townes Van Zandt, whom Clark credits as a major influence in his own songwriting.

There are a lot of names mentioned here that you may know better than Clark's, but he's probably okay with that as long as the royalty checks keep on rolling in.

The song below, "Dublin Blues," performed by Guy Clark, was on my iPod for the longest time. It really does set a mood.

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)