How great is this song? Esp. the drum fill that kicks off the lead-up to the chorus (at: "life had kicked him down to the ground...") and the harmonica that connects the end of the chorus to the following verse.... Also Clarence Carter's sublimely odd diction and choice of emphasis ("he done all he coooould"). And the way he shifts between singing and speaking with incredible ease (this is a Clarence Carter trademark). Also that croak in his voice (another trademark).
This song is like everything a good TV miniseries should be.
― ||amateur!st|| (amateurist), Saturday, 7 August 2004 06:30 (twenty-one years ago)
but seriously, i fell in love with this song my freshman year when it was on the jukebox in the poolhall and got played all the time. i especially like how the verses have so many little sections, which i guess could also be miniseries-esque
but really it's all about the story
― jake b. (cerybut), Saturday, 7 August 2004 14:40 (twenty-one years ago)
― sundar subramanian (sundar), Sunday, 8 August 2004 03:02 (twenty-one years ago)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1swk0fcIIsk
― by another name (amateurist), Thursday, 29 April 2010 04:09 (sixteen years ago)
Clarence Carter, Clarence Carter, Clarence Carter
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 29 April 2010 12:43 (sixteen years ago)
that was mama's STRICTEST rule
― by another name (amateurist), Saturday, 10 July 2010 00:48 (fifteen years ago)
I was born and raised down in AlabamaOn a farm way back up in the woods
― Brad C., Saturday, 10 July 2010 01:22 (fifteen years ago)
patches, i'm depending on you, son.
― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Thursday, 2 February 2012 08:50 (fourteen years ago)
god i love this song.
― one dis leads to another (ian), Thursday, 2 February 2012 16:19 (fourteen years ago)
There's a discussion of this song in the Muscle Shoals movie. Producer Rick Hall heard the song and it resembled some of his life growing up with his father who later passed away. He brought it to Clarence Carter and persuaded Calrence to sing it. That's Rick's take.
― curmudgeon, Wednesday, 26 June 2013 15:38 (twelve years ago)
Dickey Lee's recording was one of my grandfather's absolute favorite records of all time, maybe his favorite. It was played at his funeral. Like funerals aren't difficult enough.
― This amigurumi Jamaican octopus is ready to chill with you (Phil D.), Wednesday, 26 June 2013 16:12 (twelve years ago)