I woke up this morning to the news that Nancy Griffith country folk singer that I like had died at age 68.… She was a great singer t I grew up listening to… Kinda More easy listening than my tastes but she did write one of my favorite songs it’s called “Gulf Coast Highway”… It’s about the time that the bluebonnets come out In East Texas Where I grew up… i used to say it’s the only time that east Texas was pretty… I kept listening to that song all day. Here’s how it goes
Gulf Coast Highway by Nanci Griffith
Gulf coast highway, he worked the rails
He worked the rice fields with their cold, dark wells
He worked the oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico
The only thing we’ve ever owned is this old house here by the road
He worked the rice fields with their cold, dark wells
He worked the oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico
The only thing we’ve ever owned is this old house here by the road
And when he dies he says he’ll catch some blackbird’s wing
And we’ll fly away to heaven
Come some sweet blue bonnet spring
And we’ll fly away to heaven
Come some sweet blue bonnet spring
She walked through springtime when I was home
The days were sweet, our nights were warm
The seasons changed, the jobs would come
The flowers fade, and this old house felt so alone
When the work took me away
The days were sweet, our nights were warm
The seasons changed, the jobs would come
The flowers fade, and this old house felt so alone
When the work took me away
And when she dies she says she’ll catch some blackbird’s wing
And she will fly away to heaven
Come some sweet blue bonnet spring
And she will fly away to heaven
Come some sweet blue bonnet spring
Highway 90, the jobs are gone
We tend our garden, we set the sun
This is the only place on Earth blue bonnets grow
And once a year they come and go
At this old house here by the road
We tend our garden, we set the sun
This is the only place on Earth blue bonnets grow
And once a year they come and go
At this old house here by the road
And when we die we say we’ll catch some blackbird’s wing
And we will fly away to heaven
Come some sweet blue bonnet spring
And we will fly away to heaven
Come some sweet blue bonnet spring
Yes when we die we say we’ll catch some blackbird’s wing
And we will fly away together
Come some sweet blue bonnet spring
And we will fly away together
Come some sweet blue bonnet spring
Hope you caught that black birds wing Nanci RIP
Nite all, nite sam
Me
Hey John, Willie Nelson and Emmy Lou Harris sing a wonderful duet of this song. Sumner and I would dance around the kitchen to this. Will always be a favorite and a sweet memory. I am in Atlanta with Katharine and John helping with my first grandchild, Sumner Byrd Courtland. Byrd is John’s mother’s maiden name. Mary Clay’s mother died when she was just 4. So a nice tribute all around. Katharine was in Labor for 42 hours…Having said all that I look forward to getting home and out of the unending heat!