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Hank Never Got To Charleston
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Tells the story of the deaths of Hank Williams and my son, Tad, on West Virginia roads.
acoustic folk humorsee latest songs her
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Cosmic American music See latest songs here: www.reverbnation.com/vicfitzsimmons
February 25, 1973 as a college senior an 18-year-old kid came left of center and hit me head-on in a car crash. Hospitalized it kept me from graduating with my classmates. I had to attend summer school to complete my degree. I took with me to summer school an old guitar along with the album and songbook "The Silver Tongued Devil And I" by Kris Kristofferson. As I tried to learn my first song I realized the practice time had been the longest I had gone without thinking about the wreck and all the problems it had caused. It had killed the kid who had crashed into me and he was an only child. Since learning "The Silver Tongued Devil And I," I have turned to the songs of Kris Kristofferson during times of trouble in my life. In 1999 I lost my older son, Tad, in a car wreck during his junior year at Fairmont State College and in 2003 my wife decided to divorce me. When I got into an apartment of my own I turned to the songs of Kristofferson, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Jimmy Buffet and others. After a few months I began writing my own songs and "Uranus" is the result. www.reverbnation.com/vicfitzsimmons Other sites: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=101838296 http://cdbaby.com/cd/vicfitzsimmons Contact Info: fitzuranus@yahoo.com Phone: (304) 758-2305
Song Info
Charts
Peak #1,080
Peak in subgenre #291
Author
Vic Fitzsimmons
Rights
Fitzsimmons 2005
Uploaded
January 01, 2007
Track Files
MP3
MP3 3.4 MB 128 kbps 3:45
Story behind the song
I wanted to accurately tell the story of how Hank Williams died on a WV road. I also wanted to write a song about Charleston, WV for a Mountain Stage contest. The day before Mother's Day 2005 I was supposed to meet a woman from Fairmont and go see David Alan Coe at a VFD fund raiser in Hundred. She cancelled out and the most practical way to Hundred then became the route my son was on when he lost his life on WV Route 7, not far from Hundred. I had not been on the road and have no idea of the exact location of his death. I decided to stay home and work on the song for the contest. I told the story as I wanted in the first two verses and chorus. The song was too short and I needed a third verse. It occurred to me that Hank and Tad both died on WV roads. The next day, Mother's Day 2005, I composed the melody.
Lyrics
Never Got To Charleston by Vic Fitzsimmons 5/7/05 Copyright Protected © 2005 I dreamed of playing Mountain Stage, a gig I did not deserve I did not have the talent I did not have the nerve My songs echoed off hilltops into the Tyler County sky They never got to Charleston and neither did I He left Knoxville for Charleston and Canton Ohio Bad weather cancelled his Charleston Show A snowy doom fell from the New Year’s Eve sky Hank never got to Charleston and neither did I We never knew a future legend was supposed to be our guest On a West Virginia road Hank found his final rest In our majestic mountains came his time to die Hank never got to Charleston and neither did I I tried to get to Charleston and could not stand the load Like Hank my son died on a West Virginia road He loved to piano but it came his time to die He never got to Charleston and neither did I We never knew a future legend was supposed to be our guest On a West Virginia road Hank found his final rest In our majestic mountains came their times to die Hank never got to Charleston Tad never got to Charleston They never got to Charleston and neither did I
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