He captured the spirit of the mid 1970's so well. After a long battle with cancer he came to the end of a life lived, so far as I can tell, entirely on his own terms.
I saw him play three times, most recently about six years ago. My favorite song of his is about life, about growing old....and about death. From "Desperados Waiting for a Train".
"One day I looked up, he's pushin' 80. Got brown tobacco stains all down his chin. To me he's one of the heroes of this country.....so why's he all dressed up like them old men?" "Drinkin' beer and playin' Moon and Forty Two?'
"Like a Desperado waitin' for a train. Like a Desperado waitin' for a train...."
"Day before he died I went to see him. Well I was grown, and he was almost gone. We closed our eyes and we dreamed us up a kitchen....played another verse to that old song"
"Yeh Jack, that sonnofabitch is comin'....."
Jerry Jeff, dead at 78 (pushin' 80 as promised). One of the heroes of this country.
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