But this simple boy, born on a dirt floor, who can just rip your heart out—for generations to come we’ll always refer back to him. – Holly Williams on her grandfather, Hank Williams.
CJ: “What are you doing?”
Maryland Mark: “Getting my heart ripped out.”
CJ: “Whadaya mean?”
Maryland Mark: "I’m listening to “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”
CJ: ”Why do you do that?”
Maryland Mark: “Rip my heart out?”
CJ: “Yeah, I listen to happy songs that make me feel good!”
Maryland Mark: "…"
Good question, why do I do that? Why do I or anyone listen to sad songs? “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” by Hank Williams just makes me cry…
Certainly, country music is known for sad songs. Certainly, Hank has a library of sad songs: “Long Gone Lonesome Blues,” Cold, Cold, Heart,” “Your Cheatin' Heart,” and “Lovesick Blues” among many others.
To find out why I listen to sad songs I returned to Country Music: An Illustrated History - by Dayton Duncan & Ken Burns. Answers abound.
I’ll let the artists answer. I am always fascinated by artist’s thoughts because they don’t think like me – a financial advisor.
The first answer came from Vince Gill:
“You can’t say it any more plain, or any more poetic, than ‘I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.’”
True enough, country music is built on simple stories. But what makes us come back - playing a sad song over and over. Maybe we hold back much more than we will admit. The feelings are there, and sad songs give them flight. Fred Foster explains:
“Hank Williams had the guts to put into words what we were all thinking and feeling but were too embarrassed to say. He cut right to the bone.”
If artists cut to the bone and we hold back, perhaps radio, videos, records (yes they still make them), and the internet let us share our feelings indirectly with the outside world. Emmylou Harris explains
For me, the sad songs are the best because they make you feel better because, somehow, they connect you to the world: the fact that we’re maybe all in the same boat.
Well, there you have it, sad songs make us (me) feel better. Simple (again) as that.
Taste the Food – Second Helping
“I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” – Hank Williams
Country Music: An Illustrated History - Dayton Duncan & Ken Burns. Based on the film series
Speaking of sad songs, I featured The Carter Family’s “Bury Me Beneath the Willow Willow” in my last blog Three Chords and the Truth.
Feel like crying? Listen to “He Stopped Loving Her Today” sung by George Jones. Malcolm Gladwell featured the song and its writer, Bobby Braddock, in a podcast titled “The King of Tears” On the podcast, Malcolm played the song and then commented, “And if you aren’t crying, I can't help you”
Lest you think I am all melancholy. I found out why I love Rock and Roll from Bobby Braddock:
“There was a saying: “The blues had a baby and they called it rock and roll.” And I always said, “Yeah, and I think the daddy was a hillbilly.”
Talk about a fun baby!
