I hadn’t heard this song for a while, but it popped up on my player and I can’t get it out of my head now – Gram Parsons’ “A Song For You”.
He may know what the song is about, but for me those lyrics have always been more about a general sense of longing and loss than anything more specific. What really kills me about the song, though, is the poignancy of his vocals. Parsons’ life was like something out of a Southern Gothic novel, and you can feel the pain and his inability to deal with life leaking out of every line he delivers.
When Emmylou Harris joins in, it sounds like how I imagine the angels harmonize. Sadness has never been delivered more beautifully.
Get The Picture 
Senator – you have the most amazing and diverse musical interests…while we are on an upbeat note, Emmylou’s tribute to Gram, “Boulder to Birmingham”, still makes my pop (nearly 80) weep.
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I don’t care if people stop and stare, I’m still gonna watch the bowl game, but I might change the color of my front door before kickoff, there.
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I guess this is a sacrilege, but I like this one better….
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I like Whiskeytown and Lucinda Williams, but I find both of their covers fall a little short of the original. I dunno, maybe a little too reverential. Or maybe just that they don’t have Emmylou’s singing.
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“Or maybe just that they don’t have Emmylou’s singing”. That’s the problem with every song that doesn’t have Emmylou’s singing. 🙂
Thanks for posting this, Senator. The last time I heard this song, it was spinning on my brother’s turntable.
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Another thing about this song that catches my ear every time I listen is the way Parsons pronounces “dance”. Pure south Georgia.
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Not quite as bad as Earnest T. Bass, but almost.
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Watch it there Bubba!
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one of my all time favorite songs , just incredible –I am so impressed with your taste in music
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She could sing the phone book and I would love it. Of course, Boulder to Birmingham is a killer song.
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I dunno boss, Adams presentation of the song is a bit different…
BTW: Return of the Grievous Angel is a superb compilation album…too damn bad it was never released, as far as I can tell, on vinyl.
Lotsa great voices.
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Adams has that “high lonesome” thing going.
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pretty sure I had it on vinyl
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This is my favorite version. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDqEgiKVOHQ
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Thank you.
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Been meaning to compliment you on your selections. I got turned on to Parsons my freshman year at UGA. About 20 years later while living in Austin, I met Neil Flanz, the pedal steel player with the Fallen Angels. Obviously, I had to ask all the fanboy questions, and he was only too happy to fill in the blanks. Sadly, much of his experience with Gram was of Parsons being too mashed with chemicals to have a relationship with most days. But he reiterated what a lot of people have said about him, that it was time to turn it on, regardless of the circumstances, he could have the whole room sobbing. Amazing command.
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When the Rolling Stones ask you to leave because you’re abusing drugs and alcohol, you’re really abusing drugs and alcohol.
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GTP. Come for the music. Stay for the sports.
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Wish I coulda been a fly on the wall when he played with Stafford and Lobo. That must’ve been some kinda sound.
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What a shame he couldn’t have kept it together long enough to get where he was going.
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Incidentally, I think he went to Bolles in Jacksonville, where my dad went in the late forties, and where we’ve pulled a couple Dawgs from since.
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He did. A friend of mine went to school with him there. Gram was an amazing talent.
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Time to go and listen to some Burrito Brothers. Sneaky Pete on steel guitar. Turn it up. G ot to see them one time, a great show.
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