In early August, I was watching random music on KZread, when I happened to think of how my friend Sam Ensley, along with his son Sam, Jr. and Wayde Powell, III, used to have a music show on a local cable channel. They called their band Roots & Branches. There's another band by that name now, but to me, I'll always remember them as the original Roots & Branches, even though they are disbanded now. Their show was running in the late 90's and early 2000's. They always made good music, and their show was a lot of fun. They played a wide range of music, including some of the most creative originals I've ever heard from a local band. There was just no telling what kind of songs or music you would hear when you tuned into the show. Anyway, when I remembered their show, I searched KZread and was surprised to find nothing at all from their show. However, I found several uploads of Sam singing some of his original songs, such as "Brasstown Boy" and "Everywhere I've Ever Been." I commented favorably on every video I found. These videos were on various channels, rather than on one single channel. The next day, to my surprise, Sam called me. Talk about coincidences. We had planned to do a song together for the 2023 Story Song Series back in March, but Sam came down ill. Since that time, he has been battling cancer and also had a bout with Covid. We talked about trying again, and I met with Sam at Martins Creek School on Friday 8/11 to try a story song together. We wound up talking for about 4 hours, mostly music stories. One of the cool things for me, when it comes to talking to Sam, is that he knows some Louvin Brothers stories that I don't know, and I know some that he doesn't know, so we get to swap. :-) We planned to play a short set together the following day at the Byron Herbert Reece Center in North Georgia. Sam let me borrow an old Roots & Branches CD to learn some of the songs we would play in the show. Unfortunately, we had to cancel the show because Sam was feeling poorly. I was blown away by the CD. I already had a copy somewhere in my house, which I had gotten back in the 90's, but it was far better than I realized back then. When I heard track 6 (Hank's Still 29), I knew I had to use it on Hank's birthday. I remember hearing it back when Sam wrote it. At that time, I tried to convince him to enter it into a songwriting contest, but he never did. Back in 2019, I wrote a song about Pap, called "A Wonder." I think the format that Sam created in "Hank's Still 29" probably had a subconscious influence on my song. If you're familiar with "A Wonder," you know that it describes ascending ages and associated events in Pap's life. Though in my song, no one is frozen in time, like Hank is in Sam's song. I think Sam's song is brilliant, especially the way he used touchstone lines from Hank's songs and connected them to his own life events. I appreciate him letting me share the song with you. Lord willing, I hope to share more from Sam next March during our story song series. Thank you for watching. Tune in for another video tomorrow. I put Sam's lyrics below:
On New Year's, 1953, my grandmaw and I cried,
When we heard the news on the radio, they said Hank Williams died.
I only knew him through his songs, but he seemed like a friend of mine.
I was barely 12 years old, and Hank was 29.
Goodbye, Joe. Me gotta go. Me-oh-my-oh.
About to fail in college, had make a speech 'bout who we thanked.
Some thanked Abe; some thanked George; I just thanked 'ole Hank.
We'd sit around and listen to him during study time.
I was in my nineteenth year, and Hank was 29.
Say Hey, goodlookin', how's about cooking something up with me?
With a marriage wrong and wife long gone, I thought I couldn't win.
I dug out all Hank's old records and listened to 'em over again.
We drank and sang about how love hurts until I finished cryin'.
I was 31 years old and Hank was 29.
Your cheatin' heart... will tell on you.
Life slowed down going up love's hill. On the downside, it took off.
If the passing years were lightpoles, they'd look like corduroy cloth.
With grayin' hair and fadin' eyes, got the mid-life 40 blues.
Hank was still just 29 when I turned 42.
I was moanin', moanin' the blues.
Now time just keeps on clickin' along, like ties on a railroad track.
I pay more attention to where I am, 'cause I probably won't be back.
Now, I might die tomorrow or live to 109.
It won't matter how old I get, Hank'll still be 29.
No matter how I struggle and strive, I'll never get out of this world alive.
Just a picture from life's other side...
Listen to original singles released on Spotify:
open.spotify.com/artist/5VX6Z...
Listen to original singles on KZread:
/ @paulwilson6260
Listen to Shepherd of My Soul (Album released in 2016):
open.spotify.com/album/4VnoOy...