Indeed.
In point of fact, it might well have been better had they not decided to touch instruments, let alone that of the musical variety.
Real Lynott, Feel Phil...............
Whiskey In The Jar, is all vey well.
Far Deeper, Than That!
One can tell the real boozer from the suds-san, when one plays this track:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svg_tvwW4po
Grateful Dead - Brown-Eyed Woman
Gone are the days when the ox fall down,
Take up the yoke and plow the fields around.
Gone are the days when the ladies saidā āPlease,
Gently, Jack Jones wonāt you come to me.ā
Brown-eyed women and red grenadine,
The bottle was dusty but the liquor was clean.
Sound of the thunder with the rain pourinā down,
And it looks like the old manās gettinā on.
1929 when he stepped to the bar, drank to the dregs of the whiskey jar.
1030 when the wall caved in, he made his way selling red-eyed gin.
Brown-eyed women and red grenadine,
The bottle was dusty but the liquor was clean.
Sound of the thunder with the rain pourinā down,
And it looks like the old manās gettinā on.
Delilah Jones was the mother of twins,
Two times over and the rest were sins.
Raised eight boys, only I turned bad,
Didnāt get the lickinās that the other ones had.
Brown-eyed women and red grenadine,
The bottle was dusty but the liquor was clean.
Sound of the thunder with the rain pourinā down,
And it looks like the old manās gettinā on.
Tumble down shack on Big Foot country.
Snowed so hard that the roof caved in.
Delilah Jones went to meet her God,
And the old man never was the same again.
Daddy made whiskey and he made it well.
Cost two dollars and it burned like hell.
I cut hickāry just to fire the still,
Drink down a bottle and be ready to kill.
Brown-eyed women and red grenadine,
The bottle was dusty but the liquor was clean.
Sound of the thunder with the rain pourinā down,
And it looks like the old manās gettinā on.
Gone are the days when the ox fall down,
Take up the yoke and plow the fields around.
Gone are the days when the ladies saidā āPlease,
Gently, Jack Jones wonāt you come to me.ā
Brown-eyed women and red grenadine,
The bottle was dusty but the liquor was clean.
Sound of the thunder with the rain pourinā down,
And it looks like the old manās gettinā on.
And it looks like the old manās gettinā on.
Grateful Dead - Easy Wind
Iāve been balling a shiny black steel jack-hammer
Been chipping up rocks for the great highway
Iāll live five years if I take my time
Balling that jack and drinking my wine
I been chipping them rocks from dawn till doom
While my rider hide my bottle in the other room
Doctor say better stop balling that jack
If I live five years Iām gonna bust my back, yes I will
Easy wind, cross the Bayou today
'Cause thereās a whole lotta women, Mama
Out in red on the streets today
And the river keeps a talking
But you never heard a word it said
Gotta find a woman be good to me
Wonāt hide my liquor try, to serve me tea
'Cause Iām a stone jack baller and my heart is true
And Iāll give everything that I got to you, yes I will
Grateful Dead - One More Saturday Night
I went down to the mountain, I was drinking some wine
I looked up into heaven, lord I saw a mighty sign
Writ in fire across the heaven, plain as black and white
Get prepared, thereās gonna be a party tonight
Uh huh, hey, Saturday night
One more Saturday night
Hey, Saturday night
Everybodyās dancing down at the local armory
With a basement full of dynamite and live artillery
Temperature keeps rising, everybody getting high
Come the rocking stroke of midnight, the whole place is gonna fly
[chorus]
I turn on Channel Six, the President comes on the news
Says I got no satisfaction, thatās why I sing the blues
His wife says donāt get crazy, Lord you know what to do
Just crank that old Victrola, put on your rocking shoes
[chorus]
Then God way up in heaven, for whatever it was worth
Thought heād have a big old party, thought heād call it planet earth
Donāt worry about tomorrow, Lord, youāll know it when it comes
When the rocking, rolling music meets the rising, shining sun
Grateful Dead - Jack Straw
We can share the women, we can share the wine
We can share what we got of yours, 'cause we done shared all of mine
Keep on rolling, just a mile to go
Keep on rolling, my old buddy, youāre moving much too slow
I just jumped the watchman right outside the fence
Took his rings, four bucks in change, aināt that heaven sent
Hurts my ears to listen, Shannon, burns my eyes to see
Cut down a man in cold blood, Shannon, might as well be me
We used to play for silver now we play for life
And oneās for sport, and oneās for blood at the point of a knife
And now the die has shaken, now the die must fall
There aināt a winner in the game
He donāt go home with all, not with all
Leaving Texas, fourth day of July
Sun so hot, the clouds so low, the eagles filled the sky
Catch the Detroit Lightning out of Santa Fe
The Great Northern out of Cheyenne, from sea to shining sea
Gotta go to Tulsa, first train we can ride
Gotta settle one old score, one small point of pride
There aināt a place a man can hide, Shannon, will keep him from the sun
Aināt a bed can give us rest now, you keep us on the run
Jack Straw from Wichita cut his buddy down
And dug for him a shallow grave, and laid his body down
Half a mile from Tucson, by the morning light
One man gone and another to go
My old buddy youāre moving much too slow
We can share the women we can share the wine
I think there are three ways of looking at this category:
A)Songs about booze
B)Songs that break out around the campfire while boozed
C)Quotable line
A) The Piano Has Been Drinking
B) Bohemian Rhapsody
C)āIām a juvenile product of the working class whoās best friend floats in the bottom of a glassā
youtube.com/watch?v=26wEWSUUsUc
[quote=āToe Saveā]I think there are three ways of looking at this category:
A)Songs about booze
B)Songs that break out around the campfire while boozed
C)Quotable line[/quote]
I agree! This is fun 
Grateful Dead - Mexicali Blues
Laid back in an old saloon, with a peso in my hand
Watching flies and children on the street
And I catch a glimpse of black-eyed girls who giggle when I smile
Thereās a little boy that wants to shine my feet
And itās three days ride from Bakersfield
And I donāt know why I came
I guess I came to keep from payinā dues
So instead Iāve got a bottle and a girl whoās just fourteen
And a damned good case of the Mexicali blues
Chorus
Is there anything a man donāt stand to lose
When the devil wants to take it all away
Cherish well your thoughts, keep a tight grip on your booze
'Cause thinking and drinking are all I have today
She said her name was Billie Jean and she was fresh in town
I didnāt know her stage-line ran from hell
She had raven hair, a ruffled dress, a necklace made of gold
And all the french perfume youād care to smell
She took me up in to her room and whispered in my ear
Go on my friend, do anything you choose
Now Iām payinā for those happy hours I spent there in her arms
With a lifetimeās worth of the Mexicali blues
[chorus]
And then a man rode in to town, some thought he was the law
Billie Jean was waiting when he came
She told me he would take her if I didnāt use my gun
And Iād have no one but myself to blame
I went down to those dusty streets, blood was on my mind
I guess that stranger hadnāt heard the news
'Cause I shot first and killed him, Lord he didnāt even draw
And he made me trade the gallows for the Mexicali blues
Is there anything a man donāt stand to lose
When he lets a woman hold him in her hands
You just might find yourself out there on horseback in the dark
Just riding and running across those desert sands
D) Songs Best Heard While Drunk:
What exactly defines a good drinking song? Iāve listened to everything here so far and some have struck me more as drinking songs than others. For me a good drinking song is usually one that most folks know the words, or at least the chorus. It doesnāt neccessaily have to be about drinking, but that helps. Here are a couple by Toby Kieth that qualify.
Summerā¦those days of soda, and pretzels, and beer .
Best Taiwanese drinking song! By é³å°é².
Same song performed by A-mei.
Itās nearly impossible to overestimate how good Dwight Yoakamās music is when played on a fine Friday night in a great American honky tonk - covered, house sound, who cares. Dwight Yoakam is the real deal, Nashville be damned. Yāall booze hounds just sit back now and enjoy beinā American for 3:02 + 2:49 - if you can stand it.
[quote]And all Iāve done for want of wit,
To memory now I canāt recall,
So fill to me the parting glass:
Good night, and joy be with you all.[/quote]
[quote]I said, āOld men, have you been drinking long?ā
They said, āJust long enough to be singing this song:
Lord preserve us, Saints protect us,
Weāve been drinkinā whiskey 'fore breakfast.ā[/quote]
Amen.
If You Donāt Love Jesus, Go To Hell - Billy Joe Shaver. Songs from Shaverās Old Five and Dimers Like Me and Salt of the Earth are as good as anything Townes Van Zandt ever wrote.
Iām So Lonesome I Could Cry - Hank Williams; Jimmy Dale Gilmore (cover). Gilmoreās high nasal twang is second only to Hank III when it comes to covering Hank Sr.
Small Yāall - Bobby Braddock; Kenny Chesney and George Jones (cover). In another twenty years, Chesney will be huge in American music; he gets kudos for courage here as the possum takes him to school when it comes to old school country vocals.