# Vic Chesnutt (1964-2009)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vic-chesnutt-1964-2009/522602>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [December 26, 2009, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vic-chesnutt-1964-2009/522602 "2009-12-26T03:24:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2009, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vic-chesnutt-1964-2009/522602/1 "2009-12-26T03:24:29Z")

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[This](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/26/arts/music/26chesnutt.html) makes me sad. I love his music, and I thought he had a great handle on his own unfortunate circumstances.

\*I should’ve seen that you were stewing  
I was absent when you blew in,  
by the time I knew it, it was already in full fabulous swing

Motorboating through our lives  
Only gradually gaining rudimentary  
navigational skills  
And even sometimes offended by very friendly  
lighthouses … \*

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**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2009, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vic-chesnutt-1964-2009/522602/2 "2009-12-26T03:28:03Z")

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A friend of mine turned me on to his music. I was never a big fan, but I appreciated his songwriting skills. I have a vague memory of seeing him live in the early 90s. As you note he had a good handle on the bad deck he’d been dealt.

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**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2009, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vic-chesnutt-1964-2009/522602/3 "2009-12-26T03:44:30Z")

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I was turned onto his music by the band Widespread Panic, who covered several of the eclectic songs from his catalog.

R.I.P. Vic…

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**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2009, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vic-chesnutt-1964-2009/522602/4 "2009-12-26T16:49:49Z")

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humble and gracious, the gravity of the situation…

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**Author:** ![Kneepants\_Erasmus\_the\_Humanist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/54ee81/32.png) [@Kneepants\_Erasmus\_the\_Humanist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kneepants_Erasmus_the_Humanist)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2009, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vic-chesnutt-1964-2009/522602/5 "2009-12-26T22:54:51Z")

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Argh. I saw him live a bunch of times and always really enjoyed his sense of humor. I was always amazed how this little guy in a wheelchair could have such huge stage presence. The last time I saw him he was with Elf Power, promoting the album they recorded together (which is quite good). I meant to go see him when he came up a month ago or so, but I was busy. Damn.

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**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\
**Post date:** [December 26, 2009, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vic-chesnutt-1964-2009/522602/6 "2009-12-26T23:23:44Z")

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He joins Dean Martin in cashing out on Christmas Day…TRM (trying not to make a “Chestnutt roasting on an open fire” joke)