Another discovery

Found this the other day

The iTunes music store has introduced me to a ton of stuff I don't think I would've listened to otherwise. One of the cool things is that they do celebrity playlists. Some of them are pretty lame, but every so often, there's one that catches my attention. I'm more interested in what has influenced musicians/bands I like. This week, they (finally) had a playlist from Mike Ness. He had The Clash, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, The Ramones and etc. on his playlist. But it was a song by Billy Bragg and Wilco that caught my attention; I played the sample and immediately wanted to know how the rest of the song went, so I bought it. It kicks ass, and I'm probably going to seek out the CD. Turns out the lyrics are by Woody Guthrie and were never recorded, and Mermaid Avenue was the result (came out in '98).

Anyway, when I listened to this song, I immediately thought of a certain musician in my life. It's the kind of song I think would sound really good if he sang it, and I know he could play the guitar part. Here are lyrics. Sorry, no mp3 this time...

Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key
Billy Bragg and Wilco
Lyrics: Woody Guthrie
I lived in a place called Okfuskee
and I had a little girl in a holler tree
I said, little girl, it's plain to see,
ain't nobody that can sing like me
ain't nobody that can sing like me

She said it's hard for me to see
how one little boy got so ugly
Yes, my little girly, that might be,
But there ain't nobody that can sing like me
Ain't nobody that can sing like me

[chorus:]
Way over yonder in the minor key
Way over yonder in the minor key
there ain't nobody that can sing like me

We walked down by the Buckeye Creek
to see he frog eat the goggle eye bee
To hear that west wind whistle to the east,
there ain't nobody that can sing like me
ain't nobody that can sing like me

Oh my little girly will you let me see,
where over yonder where the wind blows free
Nobody can see in our holler tree
and there ain't nobody that can sing like me
ain't nobody that can sing like me

[chorus]

Her mama cut a switch from a cherry tree
and laid it on to she and me
It stung lots worse than a hive of bees
but there ain't nobody that can sing like me
ain't nobody that can sing like me

Now I have walked a long long ways
and I still look back to my tanglewood days,
I've led lots of girlies since then to stray
saying, ain't nobody that can sing like me
ain't nobody that can sing like me

[chorus x 2]

ain't nobody that can sing like me