Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Cash Checks In at Church

There are many reasons to love my church, but one of them is certainly the opportunity to hear the lines "But I shot a man in Reno/Just to watch him die" played from the stage as people are milling around after worship. It wasn't a record. It was the worship band doing Johnny Cash. Very well, too, I might add, with Grant doing a note-perfect rendition of Luther Perkins' guitar solo.

Here's a suggestion for next week:

I turned twenty-one in prison doing life without parole
No one could steer me right but Mama tried, Mama tried
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading I denied
That leaves only me to blame 'cause Mama tried

10 comments:

Karen said...

love that song! just heard it for the first time this weekend!

John McCollum said...

I'll have to visit your church some day. It sounds awesome!

Andy Whitman said...

I just wanted to note that the Word Verification for this comment is "joyrat." I'm feeling very, very special.

teddy dellesky said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
teddy dellesky said...

I'm most familiar with the Grateful Dead's version of this song, but Merle does a great version as well. I'll play it if someone lets me (with a Bobby Weir voice).

Andy Whitman said...

Karen, which song, "Folsom Prison Blues" or "Mama Tried"?

John, please come!!! It would be great to meet you in person!!!

Teddy, I haven't heard the Dead version, but Merle's song is a classic. In fact, I've undergone a major Merle conversion in my middle age. He used to be an object of ridicule. Now I think he's a great songwriter with a great voice.

Andy Whitman said...

Okay, Fred, here's what I think:

I think emoticons are evil. They are the lazy person's shortcut to expressing emotion, which ought to come through in the written words. They are the equivalent of using five exclamation points to indicate that you're really excited!!!!! So there. Oh, okay:

:-)

Damn, I hate it when I have to do that.

I think that John is a smartass.

I think that Karen, and the human race in general, needs more exposure to the music of Johnny Cash. And Merle Haggard. And Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Stop me before I list a thousand more.

I think Grant's a wonderful guitar player, but that he didn't teach Luther Perkins.

John McCollum said...

Me? A smartass?

I used to be a dumbass, so I can't complain, I guess.

Karen said...

andy,
"mama tried."

teddy dellesky said...

john-

yes you can complain about being a dumbass once. i mean its a simple matter of nature vs. nurture. in both cases the option for complaining is wide open.

if it nature, you can blame it all on you parents as being a product of "bad stock".

if its nurture, you can also blame this on your parents or on yourself as a result of a series of poor mistakes made.

in any case, i;m glad you are no longer a dumbass.