Songs and Places
Steve Earle, Fort Worth Blues and the Roisin Dubh, Galway
words Jess Codd, Joanna Serraris, Vic King
pictures Jess Codd, Vic King
Compiled by Mike Plumbley

Fort Worth Blues by Steve Earle

In Fort Worth all the neons're burning bright
Pretty lights of red and blue
But they'd shut down all the honky tonks tonight
And say a prayer or two if they only knew

You used to say the highway was your home
But we both know that that ain't true
It's just the only place a man can go
When he don't know where he's travelling to

Colorado's always clean and healing
And Tennessee in Spring is green and cool
It never really was your kind of town
But you went around with the Fort Worth blues

Somewhere up beyond the great divide
Where the sky is wide and the clouds are few
A man can see his way clear to the light
Just hold on tight that's all you got to do

They say Texas weather's always changing
And one thing change will bring is something new
And Houston really ain't that bad a town
So you hang around with the Fort Worth Blues

It's a Full moon over Galway Bay tonight
Silver light over green and blue
And every place I travel through I find
Some kind of sign that you've been through

Well Amsterdam was always good for grieving
And London never fails to leave me blue
And Paris never was my kind of town
So I walked around with the Fort Worth Blues

Copywright Steve Earle from his album El Corazon
Fort Worth Blues was written in February/March 1997 - Townes Van Zandt died on 1st Jan, Steve came over the pond about 10 days later, did a European tour - acoustic, and did not give himself or get the time to think about Townes' death until he got to Galway, where he wrote that song and finished his songs for El Corazon. He went into the studio in Nashville on April 15th. - Joanna Serraris, author of Steve Earle In Quotes

The intent of this piece is to look at Steve Earle's song Fort Worth Blues in relation to the place where it was written, Galway on the West coast of Ireland. Also to draw attention to another unique watering hole in the Western world where the poet, songwriter and subject of Fort Worth Blues, the late Townes Van Zandt is highly regarded.

Take me to page two
'Townes Van Zandt Texan Singer Songwriter and Gentleman'
Take me to page 3
Steve Earle at the Roisin Dubh, November 1998
Take me to page 4
Steve Earle at the Rosin Dubh, December 1998

Steve Earle website: http://www.steveearle.net
E-squared: http://www.e2records.com/n-home.html
Townes Van Zandt: http://www.townesvanzandt.com
also check out Joanna Serraris promotions
at Happy Days in the Hague at
http://www.musemix.demon.nl
Vic King's Galway Diary 1999