Thursday, August 22, 2019

1000 SONGS - DAY 376 Song #409


Day 376: A Pour Man With a Heart Full of Love
 
If God is watching when I pay for my sin, tell him I'm sorry but I'd do it again:  "Pour man" by Lee Hazlewood (from the album "Love and other Crimes") is a murder ballad that does neither sound like a ballad nor like a tragic song.  Like so many tunes that Hazlewood has written, it is simply great and the way he sings it w/h that voice - who could do that better? There are, nevertheless, cover versions galore of Hazlewod songs, but mostly of the better known like "These boots are made for walking". Tav Falco Panther Burns did a rather minimalistic cover of "Pour Man", renamed as "Poor Man" (the title on the sleeve of the EP that features the song). Hazlewood surely intended a word-play w/h "pour" (pouring down liquor) and "poor". Why Tav Falco chose "poor", I do not know. I do like the version of the latter guy, but - Gorblyme!, if the original is not unmatched until today.
I miss Lee Hazlewood and the little songs he sings.