Who are we? We are our stories.

Monday, July 4, 2022

Dust in a Baggie - Billy Strings

I am really not a huge fan of Bluegrass music, but even I can recognize genius level talent. We will see where the young man goes with it. Bluegrass music used to be about moonshine and corn liquor. He took that tradition to the world he grew up in.

Cellphone concert at a party before anyone other than friends had heard of him:

 

I ain't slept in seven days, haven't ate in three
Methamphetamine has got a damn good hold of me
My tweaker friends have got me to the point of no return
I just took the lighter to the bulb and watched it burn

This life of sin has got me in
Well, it's got me back in prison once again
I used my only phone call to contact my daddy
I got 20 long years for some dust in a baggie

Well, if I would have listened to what mom and papa said
I wouldn't be locked up in prison, troubled in the head
I took that little pop and suck until my mind was spun
I got 20 years to sit and think of what I've done
This life of sin has got me in
Well, it's got me back in prison once again
I used my only phone call to contact my daddy
I got 20 long years for some dust in a baggie
Sometimes, I sit and wonder where my little life went wrong
These old jailhouse blues have got me singing this old song
My life is a disaster, Lord and I feel so ashamed
In here where they call me by a number, not a name
This life of sin has got me in
Well, it's got me back in prison once again
I used my only phone call to contact my daddy
I got 20 long years for some dust in a baggie
I used my only phone call to contact my daddy
I got 20 long years for some dust in a baggie


A few years later, Billy Strings and Marcus King. Strings with a '1936 000-28 and Marcus a '1954 Telecaster. Over time, guitars simply haven't gotten any better.

   

Still not 30 years old, selling out 10,000 ticket venues with a Grammy, nominated for two more, and older musicians - county, blues, jazz want to play with the kid. It will be interesting to see if he can stand the heat.

We'll see, 
- Gunnar