# A tribute to a great song writer **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 10, 2004, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tribute-to-a-great-song-writer/263890 "2004-09-10T07:25:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tribute-to-a-great-song-writer/263890/1 "2004-09-10T07:25:58Z")
One of the greatest song writers of all time, Victoria Williams, has a kind of visionary swamp lyrical poetry thing that reminds me a little of Neal Young, a little of William Blake, and a little of Lou Reed: > [@](#): > > **Summer of Drugs** \* > > My sister got bit by a copperhead snake > In the woods behind the house > Nobody was home so I grabbed her foot > And I sucked that poison out > > My sister got better in a month or two > When the swelling it went down > But I started off my teenage years with a poison in my mouth > > . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\* > [@](#): > > **This Moment** \* > > This moment will never come again > I know it because it has never been before > I listen to the rain outside the door > A thousand voices singing songs that ain’t been sung before > Some days while lost in reverie > I find the very hours have slipped away from me > Well as the sunlight dances through the leaves > The patterns they awaken me > And I say hey ho > This moment will never come again > I know it because it has never been before > > . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\* > [@](#): > > **Frying Pan** \* > > One laugh in the middle of a struggle > A diamond at the bottom of a puddle > Did you ever stare at the moon till you saw double? > I hear you walk away from trouble > Good love there, ain’t no denying > I said bad love, somebody ain’t trying > > Did you ever walk someplace just to take time? > Not take the fast road and get going > > When the rules break > There’s no mistake > These are precious times > You and I we walk the line > > I looked in a fryin’ pan > I seen a song > I looked at a dyin’ man > He sang along > > . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .\* OK. That’s all for now. She doesn’t publish her lyrics, and that’s all I’m gonna transcribe for now. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tribute-to-a-great-song-writer/263890/2 "2004-09-10T14:06:00Z")
One of the most disgraceful audience displays I’ve ever seen in my life was when Victoria Williams opened for Richard Thompson at the Fillmore sometime in the late '80s. She was booed off the stage. (Can you imagine a _Richard Thompson_ audience being so boorish?) I thought she was amazing–her performance was so raw and off-kilter that it reminded me of Captain Beefheart. I was kinda disappointed when I picked up her album (_Happy Come Home_) and it was all produced ‘n’ stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tribute-to-a-great-song-writer/263890/3 "2004-09-10T15:59:07Z")
I couldn’t agree more! I’m ashamed to admit that I first became aware of Victoria Williams because she’s married to former Jayhawk Mark Olsen, and I discovered her back catalogue that way. But at least I discovered her work! I think she ranks up there with Lucinda Williams, Julie Miller, Gillian Welch, and Patty Griffin in the singer/songwriter pantheon. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2004, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tribute-to-a-great-song-writer/263890/4 "2004-09-10T23:10:18Z")
> [@Biffy the Elephant Shrew](#): > > One of the most disgraceful audience displays I’ve ever seen in my life was when Victoria Williams opened for Richard Thompson at the Fillmore sometime in the late '80s. She was booed off the stage. (Can you imagine a _Richard Thompson_ audience being so boorish?) I thought she was amazing–her performance was so raw and off-kilter that it reminded me of Captain Beefheart. I was kinda disappointed when I picked up her album (_Happy Come Home_) and it was all produced ‘n’ stuff. I felt the same way for a while, but then I came to really appreciate the production. It’s by Van Dyke Parks, who’s heavily influenced by his sometime collaborator, Brian Wilson. He writes Disney soundtracks and stuff. His over-the-top swirling orchestrations are actually the only way to present her music: it sets the stage for the massive sweep and drama that she manages to pack into such tiny little packages. Most of her songs are stories; the music makes each one a little opera. The contrast between the style of her singing and the style of music creates a totally unique space that I think really, really carries each song to a whole new place.