There’s no shortage of great music being made in Texas, by Texans: from slide guitars to 808s, from accordions to distortion pedals, the tapestry of Texas includes the traditions of George Strait, Pantera, UGK, At the Drive-In, and Freddy Fender. Today’s burgeoning artists are tomorrow’s legends, and on the Daily Post’s song premieres, artists explain why their latest tracks are worthy of your time and attention.
This week, Texas icon, Jewish cowboy, and occasional gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman offers “The Loneliest Man I Ever Met,” the title track to his first new album in 40 years, and answers our song premiere questionnaire:
Can you walk us through the songwriting process on this song?
“The Loneliest Man I Ever Met” is a song I co-wrote with my old pal Will Hoover. Hoover also wrote Freedom To Stay, which was recorded by everyone from Waylon Jennings to Tina Turner, and is also included on this record. “Loneliest Man,” the title track, was written as an homage to Tompall Glaser, one of the founding fathers of what was to become the outlaw movement in country music. Hoover and I were friends with Tompall, and it is safe to say we were both inspired by him, but not crazy enough (or successful enough) to become totally enmeshed in his lifestyle.
There is a magic in songwriting that seems to get lost when the song is written in teams of three or four people, as often happens today in Nashville. Hoover and I were struggling songwriters when we wrote this, and we’re happy to see that it appears to be connecting with so many people.
When did you know that this song was finished?
I knew this song was finished when I got the first royalty check.
Is this the best song you’ve ever written?
No. It’s always the next one.
If you had to compare this song to a food, what food would that be?
If I had to compare “The Loneliest Man I Ever Met” with a food, the food would be an adult portion of Jack Daniels, straight up, with a Coke on the side. The toast would be, “may the best of your past be the worst of your future.”
