So Max and I started talking about my grandmother and grandfather. We talked about the brother that he had lost, and other people we had known. We were on our way to Utah to open for the Judds, and we talked all night long.
There are elements of the song that are based on true events. I was very much affected by my grandfather. He was a thoroughbred horse rancher in California — kind of a John Wayne type. He treated my grandmother very well. He always called her “mother.” There was no note left in a tree or anything like that, but there were elements of that kind of love and connectedness in their relationship in the song. The line about “I’ll meet you when my chores are through” is really reflective of their relationship when you consider he lived on a ranch.
When we first wrote it, I was so excited and wanted to record it myself, but I had a producer who told me that it was basically junk. He said, “Nobody wants to hear that. Give me something that will play on the radio and sell records.” For years and years, nobody wanted to record that song. So we just put it away.
Then one day, we got a call and someone told us there was this new artist named Bubba Wray (that was actually the name he was going to record under) and he was interested in “Love, Me.” I said, “Well, does he sing pretty well?” And they said “yes.” So I said, “Well, go ahead and let him cut it.” Bubba turned out to be Collin Raye, of course, and it ended up being a big hit for him. It was the last single released from the first album that he did and they almost didn’t release it. But it hit #1 and stayed there for several weeks and was nominated for Song of the Year.
Love, Me
I read a note my grandma wrote back in nineteen twenty-three.
Grandpa kept it in his coat, and he showed it once to me.
He said, “Boy, you might not understand, but a long, long time ago,
Grandma’s daddy didn’t like me none, but I loved your grandma so.”
We had this crazy plan to meet and run away together.
Get married in the first town we came to, and live forever.
But nailed to the tree where we were supposed to meet, instead
I found this letter, and this is what it said:
“If you get there before I do, don’t give up on me.
I’ll meet you when my chores are through;
I don’t know how long I’ll be.
But I’m not gonna let you down, darling wait and see.
And between now and then, till I see you again,
I’ll be loving you.
Love, me.”
I read those words just hours before my grandma passed away,
In the doorway of a church where me and grandpa stopped to pray.
I know I’d never seen him cry in all my fifteen years
But as he said these words to her, his eyes filled up with tears.
If you get there before I do, don’t give up on me.
I’ll meet you when my chores are through;
I don’t know how long I’ll be.
But I’m not gonna let you down, darling wait and see.
And between now and then, till I see you again,
I’ll be loving you.
Love, me.
Between now and then, till I see you again,
I’ll be loving you.
Love, me.
Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys
Story by Patsy Bruce
Song written by Ed and Patsy Bruce
Recorded by Ed Bruce, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, and others
I wrote “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” with my husband, Ed Bruce. Ed started it on the way home from a recording session in Nashville in 1975. It actually started out to be “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Guitar Players,” which didn’t sound very commercial. By the time he got home, he had a verse and part of a chorus, but it lay around for a while and he could never finish it. So, one night we sat down together to work on it and we finished it that night.
If you listen to the lyrics closely, you can tell it’s really about being a musician. Ed recorded it, and then later it got pitched to Waylon while he was recording in Nashville. Willie just happened to be there, as he was on lots of things with Waylon. I was at lunch and I got a phone call from someone who I knew in the studio who said, “Waylon is cutting a song of yours.” I asked them which song, and this person said, “It’s ‘Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.’” And the next thing I knew, Waylon had added Willie to the track. They made it sound live, but it was in the studio.
Ed saw them perform it in Memphis for the first time and I went to see them perform it in Fort Smith, Arkansas, at a retail convention, I believe. Since then, I’ve seen them sing it hundreds of times. These days, it’s always interesting to me to see the reaction to that song, because the song is older than most of the fans in the audience.
That was one of the first collaborations that Ed and I wrote together and we went on to write a few hundred songs after that. After a while, people forget that you wrote any other song, because you become so closely identified with one like that. You almost seem like a one-song wonder, even though you have this huge catalog.
It’s still one of my favorite songs, though, and it’s definitely one of my banker’s favorites! It’s been cut over 300 times, and there are tons of different parodies on it: “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Ad Agency Men,” and “Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Programmers.” We get requests like that all the time.
One of the most amazing things is that when the song turned 20 years old, I got calls from people wishing me and the song a happy birthday. Now that tells you something about the impact it had. A dean of one of the major law schools told me once that he was painting a building in Philadelphia the first time he heard it. He told me what day it was and what color he was painting the building. Tom Brokaw always said it was his favorite song, too.
One day, a lady stopped me in a Kroger store and asked me for an autograph. She had a pen but nothing to write on. She said, “My husband Leroy is just never going to believe I ran into you unless I take him an autograph,” Then she reached into her buggy and picked up a box of Kotex and asked me to sign it for her, and I did. Now that was a first.
Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys
Cowboys ain’t easy to love and they’re harder to hold.
They’d rather give you a song than diamonds or gold.
Lone Star belt buckles and old faded Levis,
And each night begins a new day.
If you don’t understand him, and he don’t die young,
He’ll prob’ly just ride away.
CHORUS:
Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys.
Don’t let ’em pick guitars or drive them old trucks.
Let ’em be doctors and lawyers and such.
Mamas don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys.
’Cause they’ll never stay home and they’re always alone.
Even with someone they love.
Cowboys like smoky old pool rooms and clear mountain mornings,
Little warm puppies and children and girls of the night.
Them that don’t know him won’t like him and them that do,
Sometimes won’t know how to take him.
He ain’t wrong, he’s just different, but his pride won’t let him
Do things to make you think he’s right.
CHORUS
To purchase the original demo of this song,
go to www.countrysongdemos.com
Man of Constant Sorrow
Story by Dan Tyminski
Song originally attributed to Dick Burnett (Soggy Bottom Boys arrangement by Carter Stanley)
Recorded by Ralph Stanley, The Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Dan Tyminski (for O Brother Where Art Thou?), and various other artists
“Man of Constant Sorrow” is a song that I’ve heard for years. I grew up with bluegrass music and I’ve
heard Ralph Stanley do it in person many times and, of course, knew about his recordings of it. I was somewhat surprised to hear that it was going to be used in a Coen brothers movie, and that George Clooney would be singing it. I just couldn’t imagine it, but then I don’t make movies, so that’s no shocker. But I got a big grin when I found out they were going to make that happen.
The Coen brothers had been in contact with our manager, Denise Stiff, and had slotted us in for an audition to play some of the soundtrack music. We did that at a studio in Nashville. At that point, they still had to cast a few of the parts, Clooney’s voice on the song being one of them. They said they were still looking, and my manager mentioned that I might be a candidate. I was asked to come back the following day to audition separately for the Clooney role, and I got it.
It was the first time I ever had to record anything that way. Part of the deal was that there could be no overdubs and no studio magic. It had to be one take, start to finish, and that scared me. I’m used to being able to listen to tracks over and over and, if there is something that you don’t feel you did your best performance on, you can go back and play it over or sing a certain part again. So it was a little intimidating to do this kind of live version with one microphone in front of me and no headphones and no monitor.
We did it as if we were back in the 1930s, with an old microphone and old instruments. They (the Coen brothers and producer T Bone Burnett) were very particular that it be authentic and pure. The whole point of the soundtrack was to make it as organic as possible. That’s one record where you don’t hear any overdubs or people who have fixed anything. That was completely raw, untouched music.
It was definitely a surprise to see the level of enormous popularity that it attained. It was amazing to watch all the heads from outside that genre turn to look at some new music — at least new music to them. For us, of course, it’s been here forever.
We had the Ralph Stanley version of the song that we drew on, but through the process of working it up for the movie, it was changed and it morphed into something completely different. They were giving visuals and trying to explain where in the movie this was taking place. They said, “You just escaped from prison. Your fingers are flying and you’re trying to play rock and roll, but it hasn’t been invented yet. You know if you knock it out of the park singing into this can, you’re going to get a big payday.”
That was the first time I had ever cut anything where they were so insistent upon what we were thinking about and what the visual was to go along with it. Then they said, “You just stole a chicken, too.” I’m not sure how that makes you want to play or sing, other than the fact that you are so hungry that you’re really reaching for it hard, but I think they were able to capture what they were looking for in our recording.
T Bone Burnett produced the soundtrack but I was really surprised at how much involvement the Coens had with the soundtrack. When we walked into that first audition, T Bone and Joel and Ethan Coen had every recorded piece of music they could find from the 1930s: boxed sets from the most obscure artists you would ever imagine. Literally, if it was recorded during that time, they had researched it and heard it. They did some pretty extensive work to come up with the feel of that soundtrack, and there was definitely a continuity to it.
A lot of the cuts on the soundtrack were original recordings from the 1930s, but I guess they decided to do a few new versions like this one because they wanted to keep to the premise that it was George Clooney singing, so his vocal would have to be someone who is a little younger than some of the older recordings.
I remember the initial talks we had at Mercury with Luke Lewis and T Bone. I think we went to play golf and T Bone was still trying to shop this project. It was really neat to see the level of confidence he had even then. He foresaw that it was going to be a huge record and he kept saying over and over how big it was going to be. Luke and I were listening and I think we were both thinking, “I know you think this is going to be big, but we all know the type of music this is and what the ceiling is on those kinds of records.” He was predicting millions in sales, which is insane for that type of music, but sure enough, he was right.
There was a lot of publicity as far as that record being tied to the movie and the Coens and the actors, so radio stations started picking it up. I’m not sure it was even released as a single initially, but when it started getting some action, the label started pushing it. It’s just rare to see something of that genre break into the field it was in and get that much attention, whether it be from the awards shows or country radio or pop radio. It was phenomenal to watch that unfold.
It took a lot of stars to line up for this to happen. It was more than just a movie, or just the music, or just the actors. More people than not were fooled into thinking that George Clooney was singing, and it got a lot of attention just for that. That’s hard for me to imagine, but you believe what you see. When you see someone open their mouth and you hear something come out, you don’t ever question whether it’s them or not. You just believe it. And he did a fantastic job in the way that he performed it, too.
The song was also an amazing thing for me personally. It brought a spotlight to me that I had never seen before. The press factor went up a thousand times after the movie came out. When you play the type of music that I do, and you’re able to obtain a song of that magnitude, you’re just very grateful.
Man of Constant Sorrow
I am a man of constant sorrow
I’ve seen trouble all my day.
I bid farewell to old Kentucky
The place where I was born and raised.
(The place where he was born and raised)
For six long years I’ve been in trouble
No pleasures here on earth I found
For in this world I’m bound to ramble
I have no friends to help me now.
(He has no friends to help him now)
It’s fare thee well my old true lover
I never expect to see you again
For I’m bound to ride that northern railroad
Perhaps I’ll die upon this train.
(Perhaps he’ll die upon this train.)
You can bury me in some deep valley
For many years where I may lay
Then you may learn to love another
While I am sleeping in my grave.
(While he is sleeping in his grave.)
Maybe your friends think I’m just a stranger
My face you’ll never see no more.
But there is one promise that is given
I’ll meet you on God’s golden shore.
(He’ll meet you on God’s golden shore.)
Marie Laveau
Story by Bobby Bare
Song written by Shel Silverstein and Baxter Taylor
Recorded by Bobby Bare
The first time I met Shel Silverstein was at a party at Harlan Howard’s house in the late 1960s. I thought he was brilliant. The following week, he came in from Chicago and he brought me a whole bunch of songs. A couple of years later, we put them on an album called Legends, Lullabies, and Lies and “Marie Laveau” was part of that album. It also had “Daddy, What If?” and a bunch of other great songs.
“Marie Laveau” was about a voodoo witch in Louisiana and a suitor who tries to get her to use her powers for his gain. I thought it was a great song, but I wasn’t sure how big a hit it would be. Chet Atkins knew, though. He produced Legends, Lullabies, and Lies and he said it would be the biggest song on the album and it was. Chet always knew what he was talking about. It hit #1 and stayed there for about thirteen weeks.
When we went to record “Marie Laveau,” there is a part where Marie screams this god-awful witch’s scream, and Shel was the one that did that scream. That was about the extent of his singing ability. He was an incredible songwriter, but he couldn’t sing worth anything.
Marie Laveau
Down in Louisana, where the black trees grow
Lives a v
oodoo lady named Marie Laveau
Got a black cat’s tooth and a Mojo bone
And anyone who wouldn’t leave her alone
She’d go (scream) another man done gone.
She lives in a swamp in a hollow log
With a one-eyed snake and a three-legged dog
She’s got a bent, bony body and stringy hair
If she ever seen y’all messin’ ’round there
She’d go (scream) another man done gone.
And then one night when the moon was black
Into the swamp come handsome Jack
A no-good man like you all know
He was lookin’ around for Marie Laveau.
He said “Marie Laveau, you lovely witch
Gimme a little charm that’ll make me rich
Gimme a million dollars and I tell you what I’ll do
This very night, I’m gonna marry you
Then it’ll be (scream) another man done gone.”
So Marie done some magic, and she shook a little sand
Made a million dollars and she put it in his hand
Then she giggled and she wiggled, and she said “Hey, Hey
I’m getting’ ready for my weddin’ day.”
But old handsome Jack he said, “Goodbye Marie
You’re too damned ugly for a rich man like me.”
Then Marie started mumblin’, her fangs started gnashin’
Her body started tremblin’ and her eyes started flashin’
And she went (scream) another man done gone.
So if you ever get down where the black trees grow
And meet a voodoo lady named Marie Laveau
If she ever asks you to make her your wife
Man, you better stay with her for the rest of your life
Or it’ll be (scream) another man done gone.
Maybe It Was Memphis
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Country Music: The Inspirational Stories behind 101 of Your Favorite Country Songs Page 16
