# Gram Parsons' "$1000 Dollar Wedding" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 2, 2020, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gram-parsons-1000-dollar-wedding/850901 "2020-04-02T18:06:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gram-parsons-1000-dollar-wedding/850901/1 "2020-04-02T18:06:44Z")
[“$1000 Dollar Wedding”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD1PA1kUwTk) is one of the highlights of Gram Parsons’ posthumous album “Grievous Angel” from 1974, but he had written the song quite some years before. There exists a [piano demo from around 1967](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkuf4VzBAUI) that has been released on the anthology “Early Years”. It’s a beautiful song, one of the saddest I know of in which nobody dies. My question has always been: what did a $1000 dollar wedding signify in that time? Was is exceptionally cheap? In today’s money, you couldn’t do anything with that little money for a wedding, but what did it mean in the 60s? ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gram-parsons-1000-dollar-wedding/850901/2 "2020-04-02T20:12:48Z")
Well, I went [to this site](https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1967?amount=1000) and today’s worth of $1000 in 1967 is $7,744.85. As I learned [in this thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=893137) (which inspired this thread), that still seems like a meager sum for a typical US wedding. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gram-parsons-1000-dollar-wedding/850901/3 "2020-04-02T20:18:52Z")
Sorry for posting so much, but I just noticed that I fucked up the song title :smack:. Of course it’s “$1000 Wedding”. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gram-parsons-1000-dollar-wedding/850901/4 "2020-04-02T20:19:30Z")
Can’t answer your question, EH; just to say, thanks for posting. j ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2020, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gram-parsons-1000-dollar-wedding/850901/5 "2020-04-02T20:33:25Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Well, I went [to this site](https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1967?amount=1000) and today’s worth of $1000 in 1967 is $7,744.85. As I learned [in this thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=893137) (which inspired this thread), that still seems like a meager sum for a typical US wedding. You can have a reasonable wedding for that amount ($7.5K), of course, but that it considered a bit on the lower side here in Chicago. No idea what it was like in 1967, though. I feel like the industry (which I am a part of–hell, I’ve photographed weddings where my fee for all the services and products alone has topped that number) has rocketed up the costs over the years-- when I listen to stories of weddings of my parents and my uncles and aunts, they seemed to be much more meager affairs: church ceremony and then a reception at a tavern was not unusual at all, so a thousand dollar wedding in that era feels like it may be somewhat a decent to-do. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gram-parsons-1000-dollar-wedding/850901/6 "2020-04-03T18:12:40Z")
I don’t know the answer to your question, but I have always loved this song even though I don’t quite know what’s happening. Did the bride die? Runoff and leave the guy at the altar? It is a sad song, that’s for sure. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2020, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gram-parsons-1000-dollar-wedding/850901/7 "2020-04-03T18:27:41Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > I don’t know the answer to your question, but I have always loved this song even though I don’t quite know what’s happening. Did the bride die? Runoff and leave the guy at the altar? > > It is a sad song, that’s for sure. _Was a thousand dollar wedding, supposed to be held the other day And with all the invitations sent The young bride went away_ I’ve always interpreted it that the bride run off. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gram-parsons-1000-dollar-wedding/850901/8 "2020-04-04T05:13:53Z")
Gram did a few. Don’t think twice, it’s alright. Don’t let it pull you away. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gram-parsons-1000-dollar-wedding/850901/9 "2020-04-04T17:20:23Z")
It was chump change to Gram. He was an OJ heir. He did a few songs about money too. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gram-parsons-1000-dollar-wedding/850901/10 "2020-04-04T19:08:47Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > It was chump change to Gram. He was an OJ heir. He did a few songs about money too. I know that he came from a wealthy family, though I remember that they made their money with citron plants, but that’s not really important. But I draw a blank thinking of any other of his songs dealing with money. What songs did you think of? ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gram-parsons-1000-dollar-wedding/850901/11 "2020-04-04T21:24:36Z")
My daughter got married by reserving a restaurant and having a meal for 40 people. Pretty modest affair and I think that in 1967 it could have been done for $25 a plate. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2020, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gram-parsons-1000-dollar-wedding/850901/12 "2020-04-04T21:44:43Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > I know that he came from a wealthy family, though I remember that they made their money with citron plants, but that’s not really important. But I draw a blank thinking of any other of his songs dealing with money. What songs did you think of? [“Cash on the Barrelhead”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bqf9p9MpZBU), [“Ooh Las Vegas”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0NfYZN_LRo)