The Wagonmaster

In the news today was a story about Porter Wagoner, dead of lung cancer at 80 after a long career in country music.

I know some of you don't care very much for country music. True, a lot of it is crap--like when the fiddles are replaced by violins. But a lot of it is great stuff, about the rich tapestry of life, and it's sung with such honesty and a passion and a sincerity that you don't find anywhere else. The school of Hank Williams and Ernest Tubb and Loretta Lynn and Porter Wagoner.

I've known Porter for much of my life, thanks to his TV show, which my family liked. Then we all moved on. I moved on with my life but occasionally would touch base with Porter. He sang many songs like I liked. "The Carroll County Accident." "The Cold Hard Facts of Life," especially "A Satisfied Mind." At times we would hear him on the Grand Ole Opry while driving here or there on a Saturday night.

Earlier this year, I touched base with Porter again, with his new album, "Wagonmaster" on the Anti label. "Real artists creating great recordings on their own terms," according to the Anti website. He recorded "Wagonmaster" at the age of 79, and I got it. His voice wasn't as strong or powerful as it used to be, but the straight-on view of life, warts and all, was still there. In many ways, "Wagonmaster" was a lot like Johnny Cash's American Records releases. Instrumentation was pretty sparse. But the singing was direct and penetrating. It's on my iPod; later today, I'm going to listen to it again.

Many great songs, bracketed around a "Wagonmaster's coming" song by Marty Stuart. But right at the end was the highlight for me: Porter and Stuart singing two classic Hank Williams songs, "Men With Broken Hearts" and "I Heard That Lonesome Whistle Blow." Just the two of them with an acoustic guitar. I was transfixed.

From the AP news story: [I]Wagoner's final album, "Wagonmaster," was released in June and earned him some of the best reviews of his career. Over the summer, he was the opening act for the influential rock duo White Stripes at a sold-out show at New York's Madison Square Garden.

"The young people I met backstage, some of them were 20 years old. They wanted to get my autograph and tell me they really liked me," Porter said with tears in his eyes the day after the New York show. "If only they knew how that made me feel — like a new breath of fresh air."[/I]

Porter was known for helping launch the career of Dolly Parton and for his rhinestone-studded Nudie suits that he wore on stage. But he also released an album called "Skid Row Joe: Down in the Alley." It showed a Skid Row drunk on the cover, trying to stand up in a doorway, wearing an ugly, dirty, worn suit on his back. It was Porter.

Here are the lyrics of "Satisfied Mind." A nice song to think about when things don't go your way ...
[CENTER]
[I]How many times have you heard someone say
If I had his money I could do things my way
But little they know that it's so hard to find
One rich man in ten with a satisfied mind

Once I was waiting in fortune and fame
Everything that I dreamed for to get a start in life's game
But suddenly it happened, I lost every dime
But I'm richer by far with a satisfied mind

Money can't buy back your youth when you're old
Or a friend when you're lonely or a love that's grown cold
The wealthiest person is a pauper at times
Compared to the man with a satisfied mind

When life has ended my time has run out
My friends and my loved ones I'll leave there's no doubt
But there's one thing for certain when it comes my time
I'll leave this old world with a satisfied mind[/I][/CENTER]

Sleep well, Porter.