Song Origins
Honky Red
Following the debut of 'Honky Red' in L.A., Dave Schools stepped to the mic and he said - "that was a song my daddy showed us." Well, here's Uncle Tom's version, featuring Eddie Ponder of the Flying Burrito Brothers on the cajon and vocals, Steve Smith on harp and vocals and on guitar and lead vocals, John Rhys. Music producer, engineer, singer-songwriter… and father to one David Allen Schools. (Video: http://bit.ly/1AiK0La)
So, what is Honky Red? Those stains on a sink are red rings of cheap “Honky Red" wine. This is a wino song, and about one who apparently left quite an impression on song-writer Murray McLauchlan. Note that the lyrics have changed over the years - JB is using Uncle Tom’s lyrics “when I need a drink I’m chained to a sink” in place of “stains on a sink” from the original version. Also, the wounded veteran's persona evolves in accordance with history, having left his leg in ‘Nam, France, and now Iraq.
-Burnthday (Uncle Tom story thanks to captainHAT)
This is an old Murray McLauchlan song which Murray doesn't perform anymore. Some would see it as politically incorrect but, like Murray's "Louisa Can't Feed another Child", which some took to be a pro-choice anthem, it's really just a portrait and draws no conclusions. I think it says more about the listener than the writer if someone thinks it 'glorifies drinking' or censures the unfortunate.
Murray tells the story of opening the "Tonight's the Night" tour with Neil Young in the '70's and the other band on the bill was the Everly Brothers whose band included a piano player named Warren Zevon. Warren and Murray swapped songs and each found a favorite in the other's repertoire. Murray 'traded' Honky Red to Warren for 'Carmelita' which he recorded on his self-titled album. When we had Warren on the CBC radio show we did in the early 90's Murray had a chance to remind Warren that the deal had been to each record the other's song and received a heart-felt apology. One can only imagine the version Warren might have come up with.
Calgary songwriter extraordinaire Tom Phillips and I were sitting around playing acoustic guitars one night when we both lived in the same three-story walk-up apartment building a few years ago and he asked me if I could remember the song. I did and sang it a number of times over the next months and people always commented on how much they liked it. So here it is, it's fun to sing and the third verse has one of the greatest 'when I die' perspectives ever written.
With Murray's permission I updated the war in which our protagonist had lost his leg by thirty years.
-Kit Jonson (See original article: http://bit.ly/1AiKRvD)
# of times played: 10
First time played: 04/05/14
Frequency: 1 in every 5.6
Longest drought: 16 shows (06/28/14 > 10/11/14)
Most common lead in: Hatfield (2 times)
Most common lead out: N/A
Most common set position: Encore, Song 1 (3 times)
Notes: Written by Murray McLauchlan; Appears on Murray McLauchlan’s ‘Only the Silence Remains'; Appears on Kit Johnson’s 'Pretty Lies' Chords &
Lyrics: http://bit.ly/1AiTOou
Burnthday's Picks:
04/05/14 The Orpheum, Los Angeles, CA http://bit.ly/1AiKL72
11/02/14 First Bank Center, Broomfield, CO http://bit.ly/1AiKFfP
01/27/15 Hard Rock Hotel, Punta Cana, DO http://bit.ly/1AiKwc7