Bob Dylan on Townes Van Zandt - from his book “Philosophy of Modern Song”

 

"Here is a photo of Townes you won’t see very often. It‘s a candid shot snapped by another great songwriter and wordsmith, Butch Hancock, and this copy given to me by Butch’s sweet wife, one of the times he played at the Redbird. It hangs in my office. It’s fitting that Butch will host this evening’s tribute to Townes Van Zandt ( born tomorrow, on March 7, of 1944 ) at the @longcenter in Austin, TX and I am honored to be among the performers. I’ll be doing one of my favorites, “Waitin’ Around to Die,” which as Townes put it “was the first serious song [he] ever wrote.” It’s a perfect example of the crossroads where folk meets the blues, where a desperado finds desperation. Succinct, merciless. 

“One way to measure a songwriter is to look at the singers who sing their songs. Townes has had some of the best- Neil Young, John Prine, Norah Jones, Gillian Welch, Robert Plant, Garth Brooks, Emmylou Harris, and hundreds of others. Another way to measure a songwriter is, are their songs still being sung? Townes’s are. Every night- in small clubs, in lonely bedrooms, and wherever the brokenhearted watch the shadows grow long.” 

- Bob Dylan on Townes Van Zandt - from his book “Philosophy of Modern Song”