Hangin' Out In 100b

Willie Nelson may look like your friendly, neighborhood, hippie troubadour, but he is and always will be a badass outlaw to me. He claims to have been smoking weed since he was ten, and that he even did it in the White House while visiting Jimmy Carter. Now, who else has the balls to do that? Before I get angry comments from concerned parents: All you kids out there, drugs are bad and all that but, come on, that is pretty badass … Besides a true outlaw is not meant to be a role model, so don’t do as Willie does. Though, he may be a law breaking, pigtail sporting, pot smoker, he’s also an environmentally conscious, anti-war, animal loving, philanthropist, and a talented artist to boot. You know what, angry comments be damned. If the rest of the world was more like Willie Nelson, it’d be a better place. Or ar least a very laid-back, chilled out place.

“Sad Songs And Waltzes” from his 1973 album Shotgun Willie is one of my favorite songs. It makes me laugh, because the lyrics are self-depricating, clever and vindictive, but at the same time it’s a beautiful, sad country song as well. All the country essentials are represented, it has a healthy dose of self-pity, heartache and even disappointment in the record industry, but he also manages to take a jibe at his lover turned nemesis. The Ryan Adams produced Songbird, which came out in 2006 has a reworking of the song. The older version highlights the heartache and sadness whereas, the latest seems to be sung with a wink and a smile and relishes in the bitterness of lyrics like: ‘I’ll tell all about how you cheated, I’d like for the whole world to hear’. Here’s the Songbird version, simply because my old Shotgun Willie CD doesn’t sound that good anymore and we’re all about quality, folks.

   Willie Nelson – Sad Songs And Waltzes

And as a bonus, check out this really great cover by CAKE from their 1996 album Fashion Nugget. In this version the lonely trumpet compliments the gloom beautifully.

   CAKE – Sad Songs And Waltzes