I have a great fondness for the folk artists of the Sixties, particularly for the ones who started out with nothing but a guitar and a folder full of song lyrics. Most faded away and were forgotten. A couple of them became famous. A handful failed to reach Dylan’s heights but retained a following. Some are still active today. One of my favorites from those years was Eric Andersen.
Just now, it being Martin Luther King Day, damned near everyone is probably posting, playing, or humming “Thirsty Boots.” It’s a nice song – I used to play it when I was a semi-pro performer – but it’s also kind of dreary and over-exposed. The following is Andersen’s lively side, which he reached occasionally when he had a few other musicians to play with.
Truth with all its far out schemes
Lets time decide what it should mean;
It’s not the time but just the dreams that die
And sometimes when the room is still
Time with so much truth to kill
Leaves you by the window sill so tiredWithout a wing, to take you high
Without a clue to tell you whyNow, I just want to keep my name, not bother anybody’s game
Without ideas of gold or fame or insane heights
I don’t need a lot of money, I don’t want a Playboy Bunny
Just a love to call me honey late at nightIn my arms, by my side,
In my arms, late at nightWell, I don’t know, I ain’t been told
Everyone is so alone
Ev’rybody wants a hand to hold
They’re so afraid of being old
So scared of dying, so unknown
And so alone, rollin’ homeThere’s nothing big I want to prove
No mountains that I need to move
Or even claim what’s right or true for you
My sights, my songs are slightly charred
You might think they miss their mark
But things are only what they are and nothing newBut for me, I think they’ll do
But for me, I know they’ll doNow if you care what people think
Like you were some missing link;
They’ll just stand back and watch you sink slow
They’ll never help you to decide
They’ll only take you for a ride
After which they’ll try and hide the fact that they don’t knowWhat you should do, where you should go
What you should do, where you should goWell, I don’t know, I ain’t been told
Everyone is so alone
Ev’rybody wants a hand to hold
They’re so afraid of being old
So scared of dying, so unknown
And so alone, rollin’ homeI can’t claim I know my father,
I been lookin’ for my brother,
And I end up just another one.
Fantasies and prophecies fill my head like fallen leaves,
And underneath I don’t believe a one!Not to do what’s been done,
You can try, try, or you can run.Well, I can see a king and queen, a beggar falling at my feet;
They all must see the same sad dreams at night;
Futility and senseless war, pit the rich against the poor
While cause is buried long before the fightFor what was wrong, for what was right
It’s just the strong, with a sense of what’s rightWell, I don’t know, I ain’t been told
Everyone is so alone
Ev’rybody wants a hand to hold
They’re so afraid of being old
So scared of dying, so unknown
And so alone, rollin’ home(Eric Andersen)
