Van Zandt Blue Ridge Mountains Chords and Lyrics

great way of putting it. I'm always a bit suspicious of artists who claim their songs came from dreams - i know it happens but it also seems to add lustre/legend to the composition and their artistry, and there's a sense of false modesty that the song is some sort of conduit to a deeper consciousness or god. But for If I Needed You I make an exception - it just really sounds as if this came directly from a dream! Although again I don't think he nailed the recording on this album, there's an odd and inappropriate beat to it in my mind.
Well, there was the other side as well - clearly his oldest son in particular was deeply damaged by his father. He was certainly unselfish and there are so many anecdotes of him giving whatever little money he had away to the homeless - but as JT says he was also extraordinarily selfish in abandoning his family. Ultimately JT and others speak of him with awe - but i do think it's a pretty complicated picture. Addictions and fidelity were clearly major issues as well...and I do wonder how someone as seemingly peaceful and caring as Townes ended up with...Jeanene.
Yes....it's complicated.
track 10) Silver Ships of Andilar– 5:07
A Townes long song ...so damn great. Sublime..and those strings
that join in are so perfectly spine tinglingly lovey...well, the whole song is.

Lord Of The Rings reference locations and more....such a cool literary
reference but that is as far as the full song's meaning goes.

"Well, the meaning is subjective. I think it's a plain anti-war song. The troops believe in their 'Holy King' and are eager to sail across the sea and battle the 'Dark Lord'. Yet they all die before even reaching there. They freeze, they starve, they murder each other. The final note the last survivor throws into the sea is for the other young men to try again, and sail under their own proud standards. Young men of every generation keep being willing to fight wars for 'kings' and for glory. Humanity never learns that there is nothing glorious about war.
It believe it does reference some Tolkien. He says the word 'Valinor' as the place with the Dark Lord the army of Andilar is going to fight, but in Tolkien that is where the Valar dwelt and the Elves sailed to. It was the men of Numenor who sailed a great armada to the Undying Lands because they had grown to proud to accept their ban as mortal men. And their entire nation is destroyed as a result. I don't think that's a coincidence."

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-meaning-of-the-Townes-Van-Zandt-song-Silver-Ships-of-Andilar

Well, of those that sailed the silver ships
From Andilar, I am the last
And the deeds that rang our youthful dreams
It seems shall go undone
Well, north for the shores of Valinor
Our bows and crimson sails were made
And our captains were strong and our lances long
And our liege the holy king

Well, the hills did turn from green to blue
And vanish as on the decks, we watched
But every thought in that noble company
Was forward bound
To the lifeless plains of Valinor
Where reigns the dark and frozen one
And with tongues afire and glorious eyes
We pledged our mission be

Well the clime from mild to bitter ran
And the winds from fair to fierce, did blow
Oath and prayer did turn to thoughts
Of homes left far behind
Longed every man for some glimpse of land
And the host that did await us there
But each new day brought only a sea
And sky of ice and gray

Thanks give, no words can drag you through
Those endless weeks, our ships did roll
Thanks give, you cannot see those sails
And faces bleach and draw
Ice we drank and leather did chew
For the oceans are unwholesome there
And the dead that slid into the seas
Did freeze before our eyes

Then a wind did fling the ships apart
Each one to go her separate way
And the sky did howl and the hull did groan
For how long, I do not know
And what men were left when the winds had ceased
Grew dull and low of countenance
For a soldier denied his battle plain
On a comrade soon must turn
track 11) Heavenly Houseboat Blues
(Van Zandt, Susanna Clark)
Lightening up the album with a sweet closer...his famious House Boat In Heaven Blues song...

[Chorus]
Well, I'm building a houseboat in heaven
To sail them deep and holy seas
Well, I'm building a houseboat in heaven
And it's welcome aboard your sweet, sweet peace

[Verse 1]
Oh, the bow, she is made of solid silver
And the hull, she is made of solid gold
Now, she ain't too much along the lines a-floating
But she's yours, babe, to have and to hold

[Verse 2]
I rode my old guitar to heaven
Ah but heaven didn't feel too much like home
So I'm headed out on to them lonesome oceans
In my ruby-studded houseboat to roam
[Chorus]
Well, I'm building a houseboat in heaven
To sail them deep and holy seas
Well, I'm building a houseboat in heaven
And it's welcome aboard your sweet, sweet peace

[Outro]
Well, I'm building a houseboat in heaven
To sail them deep and holy seas
Well, I'm—
Sky Blue , recorded in 1973, neatly fits here although those recorded tracks weren't released until 2019.
Yet it needs to be here anyway to put his time on earth and his songs into the context of all things Townes here...
album by album, track by track.

Sky Blue is a posthumous album by Texas singer and songwriter Townes Van Zandt, recorded in 1973 but not released until 2019.[1] All tracks were recorded in early 1973 at the Atlanta, Georgia, home studio of Bill Hedgepeth, a journalist, musician, and longtime friend of Van Zandt.[2] Its 2019 release was conceived by Townes' surviving family—his wife and literary executor Jeanene, along with his children, J.T., Will, and Katie Bell.[1]
Sky Blue consists of 11 previously unreleased recordings, including two tracks which had never been released, "All I Need" and "Sky Blue."[3] The album also features three covers, the traditional folk song "Hills of Roane County", Richard Dobson's "Forever For Always For Certain", and Tom Paxton's "The Last Thing on My Mind".[4] There are three original tracks which had been released on previous albums, a version of "Blue Ridge Mountains Blues (Smokey Version)" titled simply "Blue Ridge Mountains" first appeared on Townes' 1972 album High, Low, and in Between.[5] Recordings of "Pancho and Lefty" and "Silver Ships of Andilar" had initially appeared on his 1972 album The Late Great Townes Van Zandt. A recording of "Rex's Blues" was included in Van Zandt's 1977 live album Live at the Old Quarter[6] and on 1978's Flyin' Shoes.[7] "Snake Song" was also released on Flyin' Shoes. "Dream Spider" (as "The Spider Song") would not be released until 1993 as part of The Nashville Sessions, a collection of recordings intended to be on his seventh album, Seven Come Eleven.[4]

Sky Blue received positive reviews from critics noted at review aggregator Metacritic. It has a weighted average score of 79 out of 100, based on 10 reviews.[8] Writing for Pitchfork Media, Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the release a 6.9 out of 10.[9] Jim Allen of NPR considers it a document of Van Zandt's best work.[10] Fred Thomas of The editorial staff of AllMusic Guide gave the album four out of five stars with reviewer Fred Thomas writing that "glimmers of brilliance" can be heard on it.[11] In Rolling Stone, Jonathan Bernstein gave the album 3.5 out of five stars.[12] Elisabeth Woronzoff of PopMatters gave it a positive review in light of the artist's enigmatic career,[13] as did Matt Mellis of Consequence of Sound.[14]

Track listing
All lyrics and music by Townes Van Zandt except where noted.

"All I Need" – 2:52

"Rex's Blues" – 2:15

"Hills of Roane County" (traditional) – 3:53

"Sky Blue" – 2:34

"Forever, For Always, For Certain" (Richard Dobson) – 2:28

"Blue Ridge Mountain Blues" (Smoky Version) – 2:58

"Pancho and Lefty" – 3:54

"Snake Song" – 2:08

"Silver Ships of Andilar" – 5:30

"Dream Spider" – 1:57

"The Last Thing on My Mind" (Tom Paxton) – 3:42
Last edited: Apr 26, 2022
Sky Blue ( 1973/2019)

By Stephen Thomas Erlewine / Pitchfork

A posthumous 1973 solo album from the Texas singer-songwriter,
released the week he would've turned 75, displays his careful sense
of craft across a set of covers, favorites, and unheard songs.

Townes Van Zandt often seemed indifferent to his recording career—or anything resembling a career, really. He certainly gave the music business his best shot, traveling from his native Texas to Nashville to cut a series of albums for the tiny label Poppy between 1968 and 1972, frequently collaborating with Jack Clement, a producer who decided to ostentatiously augment the songwriter's eccentricities instead of accentuate them. It wasn't a winning formula commercially, and his lack of success during his only prolific period helped fate him to decades of wandering on the margins of country and Americana. Hits came for other people—Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson took "Pancho and Lefty" to the top of Billboard's country charts in 1987—but not for Van Zandt, who wound up amassing not so much a body of work as a deep, varied songbook, which could be brought to life either by himself or other singers.
On Sky Blue, a posthumous album released the week he would've turned 75, underscores the notion of a songbook, Townes Van Zandt rifles through his drafts and recent work, punctuating his original work with covers. Van Zandt recorded the 11 tracks that comprise Sky Blue in 1973 with Bill Hedgepeth, a journalist who also was one of the singer-songwriter's buddies. At the time, Van Zandt had just wrapped up his run at Poppy with The Late Great Townes Van Zandt. Nobody knew it at the time, but there was more than a kernel of truth in that title. It took him five years to return to action with 1978's Flyin' Shoes—the same span of time in which he had churned out six records for Poppy. Such long gaps between albums became standard operating procedure for Van Zandt, with the singer-songwriter buying time and generating cash by putting out the occasional live album, such as the celebrated 1977 LP Live at the Old Quarter, Houston, Texas.

The set captured on Live at the Old Quarter was recorded in 1973, the same year Van Zandt cut the material that wound up on Sky Blue. Both albums were made at the outset of Van Zandt's years of rambling, so they share a sense of freshness and immediacy; he's hardly brimming with optimism but he's yet to be hardened by the alcoholism that later took his life. On Live at the Old Quarter, he's blessed by the addition of an audience, whose very presence cajoles Van Zandt to display the wry sense of playfulness that's so often overlooked within his work. There's no such chance of such understated humor surfacing on Sky Blue, however. Recorded on his lonesome at Hedgepeth's home studio, Van Zandt is singing to himself. He runs no risk of unexpected digressions, unless the choice of songs counts.

On that front,
Sky Blue offers a few surprises, chief among them two unheard Van Zandt originals. "All I Need" opens the album on a soft, wistful note, achieving a comforting melancholy sway that's countered by the delicate, bruised "Sky Blue," which barely keeps the sadness at bay. Neither are major items but that's their appeal: They're finely-etched yet modest, the product of a songwriter who remains dedicated to the craft. In that light, it's easy to hear his covers of Richard Dobson's "Forever for Always for Certain" and Tom Paxton's "The Last Thing on My Mind," along with the traditional folk tune "Hills of Roane County," as roundabout inspirations, song where Van Zandt began exploring ideas he'd later develop on his own, but within the context of Sky Blue , they help make the album feel a bit like an intimate live set. Van Zandt may not be playing for punters but he's playing songs that would suit a small, attentive crowd, balancing covers, favorites ("Pancho and Lefty," then new but already seeming like a classic) and newer songs.
Much of Sky Blue's charm derives from how it doesn't quite slide into any particular category. It's neither a live album nor an album of its own, yet it's also not a set of demos for a forthcoming record. Instead, it's a vivid snapshot of a particular moment, preserving a time when he had yet to fritter away his good will, and capturing Townes Van Zandt when it still seemed like he was on the verge of great things.

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track 1) All I Need (previously unreleased)
A wistful and melancholy opener, all new to Townes fans...
so sweet to hear this for the first... and last time.

Tried everything to set me free
But my chains keep playing tricks on me
And all I need is a place to lay 'em down

My friends, they speak, and the words ain't lies
Like clouds of fish, they fly
And all I need is a boat to take 'em home

And girls I see, and they see me
Then we say goodbye
All I need is a bed to call my own

Ah, my baby's eyes, see how they shine
Will his life be like mine?
All I need is a way to take his load

Ah, but when good times come falling over me
Breath turns to melody
All I need gonna fall away like rain
Thanks LK for guiding us beautifully through TLGTVZ. Like its predecessor it's a very varied album, but it hangs together better as a whole. A satisfying album.
Sky Blue next- that's cool, as it's an album I've been meaning to get better acquainted with..
Wasn't this a limited pressing for RSD a few years ago? How is it?
Listen here....a stunning document!!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kElfIck0P44WQfVdufRf5_HuG8VTKlNFU

A reimagined collection available on vinyl for the first time in the USA. Includes classic Townes Van Zandt songs, "If I Needed You", "Pancho & Lefty", "Waiting Round To Die", and "I'll Be Here in The Morning", (duet with Barb Donovan).
Include digital download containing bonus interview tracks with KUT's Larry Monroe.
"Homegrown imprint Chicken Ranch Records worked with TVZ archivist Harold Eggers Jr. for a 12-song live cull, an intimate in-ear audience with the Lone Star storytelling martyr levitating through his holy songbook, moments including a rippling "Tecumseh Valley" and lucid "Cowboy Junkie's Lament," not to mention the title track and an almost late-life Billie Holiday time-stopper in "Brand New Companion."- Raoul Hernandez, Austin Chronicle

From the liner notes by Harold Eggers Jr.:

"These recordings are as close to the bone of Townes as you can get. They give the listener a very unique and detailed insight into and overview of his songwriting, music, and life as no other.

Townes often made light of the dark, living in the shadows more than not.

This album and Townes spoken words (bonus tracks) are significant because Townes personally chose each track, and in his own words revealed the private person and singer/songwriter/artist he was.

These recordings and spoken words were very important to Townes for the world to hear his music and life story as he lived it, as told from the man himself."

Townes Van Zandt- Somebody Had to Write It LP

Last edited: Apr 28, 2022

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Townes' voice may be a bit weather worn here, but such emotion and beauty can't hide...wonderful and a must have!

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Thank you. Are these tracks taken from previously released performances, or are they later released performances of songs previously recorded? If I'm understanding correctly, it's the latter.
The latter some of his last recordings is my take...so sweet to hear it.
"This album and Townes spoken words (bonus tracks) are significant because Townes personally chose each track, and in his own words revealed the private person and singer/songwriter/artist he was.
These recordings and spoken words were very important to Townes for the world to hear his music and life story as he lived it, as told from the man himself."

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EliF Well-Known Member

This TVZ very stripped down and close to the bone. I'm not sure about the history of the recordings, but I do like them quite a bit. My vinyl copy is arriving soon.
track 2) Rex's Blues
A wonderful stripped down song...so lovely.
Devastatingly beautiful lyrics.

Ride the blue wind high and free
She'll lead you down through misery
Leave you low, come time to go
Alone and low as low can be

If I had a nickel I'd find a game
If I won a dollar I'd make it rain
If it rained an ocean I'd drink it dry
And lay me down dissatisfied

Legs to walk and thoughts to fly
Eyes to laugh and lips to cry
A restless tongue to classify
All born to grow and grown to die

So tell my baby I said so long
Tell my mother I did no wrong
Tell my brother to watch his own
And tell my friends to mourn me none

I'm chained upon the face of time
Feelin' full of foolish rhyme
There ain't no dark till something shines
I'm bound to leave this dark behind

Ride the blue wind high and free
She'll lead you down through misery
Leave you low, come time to go
Alone and low as low can be
Sky Blue...some more notes on the sessions. Wonderfully stripped, lean and emotionally realized. The way I like Townes!

All lyrics and music by Townes Van Zandt except where noted.
1. "All I Need" – 2:52
2. "Rex's Blues" – 2:15
3. "Hills of Roane County" (traditional) – 3:53
4. "Sky Blue" – 2:34
5. "Forever, For Always, For Certain" (Richard Dobson) – 2:28
6. "Blue Ridge Mountain Blues" (Smoky Version) – 2:58
7. "Pancho and Lefty" – 3:54
8. "Snake Song" – 2:08
9. "Silver Ships of Andilar" – 5:30
10. "Dream Spider" – 1:57
11. "The Last Thing on My Mind" (Tom Paxton) – 3:42
Sky Blue is a posthumous album by Texas singer and songwriter Townes Van Zandt, recorded in 1973 but not released until 2019.[1] All tracks were recorded in early 1973 at the Atlanta, Georgia, home studio of Bill Hedgepeth, a journalist, musician, and longtime friend of Van Zandt.[2] Its 2019 release was conceived by Townes' surviving family—his wife and literary executor Jeanene, along with his children, J.T., Will, and Katie Bell.
Sky Blue consists of 11 previously unreleased recordings, including two tracks which had never been released, "All I Need" and "Sky Blue."[3] The album also features three covers, the traditional folk song "Hills of Roane County", Richard Dobson's "Forever For Always For Certain", and Tom Paxton's "The Last Thing on My Mind".[4] There are three original tracks which had been released on previous albums, a version of "Blue Ridge Mountains Blues (Smokey Version)" titled simply "Blue Ridge Mountains" first appeared on Townes' 1972 album High, Low, and in Between.[5] Recordings of "Pancho and Lefty" and "Silver Ships of Andilar" had initially appeared on his 1972 album The Late Great Townes Van Zandt. A recording of "Rex's Blues" was included in Van Zandt's 1977 live album Live at the Old Quarter[6] and on 1978's Flyin' Shoes.[7] "Snake Song" was also released on Flyin' Shoes. "Dream Spider" (as "The Spider Song") would not be released until 1993 as part of The Nashville Sessions, a collection of recordings intended to be on his seventh album, Seven Come Eleven.[4]

-wiki
I've known and loved Pancho & Lefty since it was covered in the 70's by other artists. I'm embarrassed to say it was only in the past few weeks that I discovered Townes. I think it was a suggestion from YouTube as I was checking other stuff out. Then I found this and another thread here on him and have been obsessed since.
Yesterday I received Heartworn Highways on Blu-ray and watched the entire film plus the additional footage and was floored.
I get it & suspect I'll be attempting to duplicate your collection as best I can. I also prefer vinyl. Received "Somebody had to write it" today and I'm mesmerized. Live at the old quarter should arrive sometime next week.
Been listening to a bunch of Blaze and Guy's stuff via YouTube also. Will be following up on them as well.

I'm not a country music fan per se. my tastes run a wide spectrum though from folk to opera. I know what I like and like music with heart & soul; guess that explains it. I feel sick it's taken 68 years for me to find this, but better late than never.

Thank you for this thread and all that contributed.
Good to have you here @Zafu

I never think of Townes a country artist a la Nashville's glitter, or even the Outlaw Country that swept the country in the 70's...he's in a class of his own.
Though to me Townes is the Godfather of Alt Country/Americana/Roots...
He is the one and only of a small group of Texas/Oklahoma legends (Jerry Jeff , Guy Clark, Hoyt Axton, Willie...)
Townes--the definitive legendary Texas troubadour...I think of him being in a country folk style.
Another one of my favourites (and only got its official release several years later). I met Wrecks and Janet Bell at the Old Quarter (the Galveston one) about 10 years ago, not long after hurricane Ike that devastated the area - Wrecks (whom the song is dedicated to) was an absolute gent and walked me through the bar and memorabilia that he managed to save from the storm. A fond memory, and plenty of Townes covers on show that night.
I love the circular sequence of the chords/melody - it seems to mimic the lyric, especially this part, which I've always found mesmerising, philosophical:

If I had a nickel I'd find a game
If I won a dollar I'd make it rain
If it rained an ocean I'd drink it dry
And lay me down dissatisfied
track 3) Hills of Roane County" (trad. / sometimes credited to Willis Maberry)
Townes gives us a wonderful and heartfelt reading of this traditional folk song.

.......................................................
Willis Maberry
Born 1867
Died 1925
Musician and convicted murderer
Video quality isn't great, but this is really cool and cool of Nancy .
Don't be embarrassed, you are getting to go down the rabbit hole with an incredible artist, one of the best experiences on earth. Enjoy!
Other Voices Other Rooms...such a stunning album by the lovely Nanci...who cares about video quality...so wonderful to see and hear!
Almost too heartbreaking to see these two late greats together...but grateful to have it.
Had to share this before we move on to the next track...
Rare live at Texas Connection 1990

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