Guy Clark: He Ain't Going Nowhere

December 27, 2013 6:06 PM

"A tall man with regal posture, [Guy Clark has] got an angular white mustache and soul patch, wavy gray hair that curls up at his collar, and a woodblock of a forehead that looms over deep-set blue eyes. His general expression is that of someone who’s thinking about something more important than you are. Or at least more interesting." Texas Monthly profiles the legendary songwriter.

From the profile:

Guy occupies a unique place among Nashville writers. His reputation is much like John Prine’s—a songwriter who has maintained a long creative career without an outlandish number of big hits. They both get referred to as songwriter’s songwriters, though as Guy told Garden and Gun last year, “It’s flattering, I guess, but you can’t make a f—ing living being a songwriter’s songwriter.” To be clear, Guy has written two country number ones, and his songs have been charting since the seventies, covered by everyone from Johnny Cash and Bobby Bare to Brad Paisley and Kenny Chesney. But it’s the way Guy has conducted his career, his refusal to write songs to anyone’s taste but his own, that has made him one of the most revered figures in Nashville.

Whether you're a longtime fan or new to Guy Clark's music, this short performance is worth hearing: Guy Clark and Verlon Thompson at The Tennessee State Museum.

posted by MonkeyToes (7 comments total)

Son of a bitch, don't scare me like that.

Took my wife to a Guy Clark show at a rural concert hall/lodge. 1.5 hour drive, $50 a ticket. She generally rolls her eyes at my sad folkie stuff, but I'd missed seeing Townes by about six months and I'd be damned if I would miss out on Guy Clark.

She still talks about that show.
posted by notsnot at 6:11 PM on December 27, 2013 [3 favorites]

his out in the parking lot, is the fondest, sweetest, and sexiest song about pick up truck sex, tried to add it to a list of that genre i wrote for buzzfeed, and it was taken out in editing.
posted by PinkMoose at 6:47 PM on December 27, 2013 [1 favorite]

God, I just love Texas Monthly. I will read anything they post because everything is worth reading.
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 6:54 PM on December 27, 2013 [1 favorite]

Guy Clark is one of my three favorite songwriters. I only got to see him once and he doesn't seem to get up my way very often, so I love seeing these videos. Thanks for posting this.
posted by maurice at 4:53 AM on December 28, 2013

I've been a Guy Clark fan for as long as I can remember, and have been lucky enough to see him perform several times. One thing he never seems to get any credit for, though, is the production value on his albums. From Boats To Build on, the sound quality on his albums has been pretty spectacular. Definitely heads and shoulders above most output these days.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 6:52 AM on December 28, 2013 [1 favorite]

Also a huge Guy Clark fan. I've seen him a bunch of times, met him once in person, and studied his songwriting like a schoolboy reading Shakespeare.

Thank you for the post.
posted by spitbull at 9:02 AM on December 28, 2013

Excellent post. Thank you.
posted by blob at 10:45 AM on December 28, 2013