I write this in a strange mood for I usually listen to the song while writing, however now George Jones and Tammy Wynette are on, their best album "Golden Ring". I feel as though I beat that horse to death, like Springsteen I can listen and write about George Jones for years upon years.
But there's other music out there.
Carmelita has one of the smoothest gut string guitar solos in history breaking up the somewhat drole and depressing lyrics. Having a few buddies who battled with addiction I find it always striking to listen to a man write a song about heroin. In some ways this song (though I've never reached out to the junk) reflects the jones and the creepingly horrible sensation of wandering around looking for your next fix.
I think the best testament to this song was a drive I had a month ago with a very good friend who listens to bullshit music. Dance, techno, maybe some Pink Floyd and Tom Petty...strange combination for sure. We were driving back from a weekend in the Hamptons, his girlfriend passed out in the back seat and my iPod on random, Carmelita came on and he was instantly transfixed with the tune. Though he has lived in the states for quite some time his speech is somewhat broken English with the other seven languages he speaks thrown into the mix. After it was over he stuccato-ly said "I like that song, you put it one again."
I did, five more times over and we cruised back into town on 495 in and out of traffic after a sun drenched-Petrus infused weekend in various wheel's estates. It was the perfect decompression after the social scene. And that is one thing I've always dug about the man who sat shotgun. He is part of that scene but, like myself, always had the feeling he would feel much more comfortable away from all the climbing and out west in the country or even in a Bukowski suite wasting away on the outskirts of Hollywood.
So dig this song when you have a bit of a buzz or the next day after a very big one when the anxiety is building and you check your Amex account with one eye open, the sweats and shakes making it all the much more enjoyable. Hopefully there isn't someone else whose name you can't recall laying next to you but if he/she is then let them in on the secret as well for we all need that shot of methadone whether it is proverbial or literal the morning after.
