Hookjaw, Wayne, and the old guys

[Penz2nz]

Hookjaw Brown (no relation that I know of) quoted from a Townes van Zandt song in his reply to one of my first posts.

That got me to thinking about what we older writers can bring to the table for the,,, (don't like to call'em newbies) budding writers who share this passion.

Townes, and Hank Williams were two of the greatest writers of the 20th century. They both shared troubled lives and died young on the same day 44 years apart. I sometimes wonder if we have to lead those troubles lives to reach that level of great writing skill. Then I examine my work and the answer is no. Even if we never have a "hit" that does not define a great song. A great song is one that reaches into the soul of any other person and brings to them that gut reaction that leaves them moved. Laughing, crying, or just thinking; Wow!

If you want to write Great songs it might help to listen now and then to the work of writers like Townes, Hank, or any writer you consider great.

Here is a link to a video sample of what I'm talking about. http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/t/town ... lefty.html