Waylon

"Hello high life hello highway
Here come a big old semi my way
Stick up my thumb hear the truck come
Trees going by looking like a fly
On my big legs are my Levi's
Woo woo woo woo"

-Waylon Jennings

Had the I-Pod on shuffle last night on the way home and this song came on during my final stretch.  The part of my commute where convenience stores light my path and rednecks block my way. You know when you hear a song and the electricity you get from it really gets your body into a frenzy?  Well, this song does it for me.  Keep in mind, there are really only two songs that get such a response from me, this is one and the other is the Jerry Reed classic from Smokey and the Bandit "Eastbound and Down". Forgot to mention the entire soundtrack from Rocky IV.  Getting back to Waylon, he had such a great voice.  Say what you will about Willie, Johnny,and Merle, this guy brought something else entirely to the table; honesty.

Not to say,the country gods listed above didn't provide honesty in their many works of art, but Waylon did it differently. No matter what he was singing about, I hear almost a humor in his voice.  Nothing tongue in cheek, but someone who views life as an unpredictable force that can change any minute, so why sweat the details and just enjoy.  I like that.  Can't say I've converted to Waylon's mantra just yet, but I'm proud to be a disciple if someone is starting a new movement.  Listen to "Let's Turn Back the Years", "Wurlitzer Prize", "Rainy Day Woman", I mean those songs have soul to spare. I went to the most reliable source on the internet, Wikipedia, and found some great quotes from the man himself.  Waylon said the following in regard to the record industry "They wouldn't let you do anything. You had to dress a certain way: you had to do everything a certain way [...] They kept trying to destroy me.... I just went about my business and did things my way[...] You start messing with my music, I get mean." I totally get that from every song he sang, the man loved what he did and when you have that type of passion it comes through whether people want it to or not.

I think it's important to add a piece of yourself to everything to you do, like Waylon.  Sometimes I look back at what I say and do on a daily basis and a lot of times I don't see the piece of myself that I should be adding.  It's something all of us forget to do, but we all need our voice, vision, and insight to come out. Not an easy thing to do, but an important one to say the least.  Thank you Waylon for reminding me of that.