Old Friends

by

Guy Clark

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A deep songwriter's album, both Guy's and his wife's songs as well as the great Townes Van Zandt's song "To Live Is To Fly" Surprisingly "COMES FROM THE HEART" ,the song that has become a cult classic and quoted all over the internet, is written by Susannah Clark and Richard Leigh. The lyrics just connect with people in a positive encouraging way. The chorus is:

"You got to sing like you don't need the money

Love like you'll never get hurt

You got to dance like nobody's watchin'

It's gotta come from the heart if you want it to work"

I believe this is the first recording of it but many singers have recorded it by now. I just wanted to let people know about this amazing song and where it came from.As far as I'm concerned all Guy Clark albums are good and some are great. The songs stick with you and he's mesmerizing live as well. He's an accomplished singer who uses his "lived-in voice" to communicate extremely well. He's sure knows how to write, co-write and pick the best songs of other artist. I've found lots of other artists just by researching the writers and pickers associated with Guy Clark. Check out all his cd's and live shows.

Guy Clark will never be a country superstar. He'd feel ridiculous in music video with a 22 year old female model hanging around his neck. He doesn't sing with an exaggerated country "twange." He may wear a black cowboy hat to keep the sun out of his eyes, but I doubt that he would ever wear one as part of a costume. His voice sounds like Burl Ivies.

What Clark does well, as demonstrated on Old Friends, is write simple and well-crafted songs. It is as comfortable to spend time listening to Old Friends as sitting beside the fireplace with, well, old friends. Childhood is celebrated in `Watermelon Dream,' `Immigrant Eyes' is a song of gratitude, and `Heavy Metal' is a tale of individualism. Clark follows a valuable (but too often forgotten) rule taught in Writing 101; that is, keep it simple. I only wish that I had more Old Friends like Guy Clark.