Townes Van Zandt - "Waiting Around To Die"

Townes Van Zandt was a Texas folk-country singer songwriter who never found the success he deserved. His cult status stayed with him until his death in 1997. His career was littered with setbacks, with many of them self inflicted because of his alcohol and drug addictions. There was shock treatment for his bipolar disorder early on and a few years before his death he had signed his whole catalogue over to his third wife and their children during their separation... which left him broke and living on what he earned from concerts, and they were mostly in dive bars at this point. His drug and alcohol problems also contributed to his death at the age of 52. "Waitin' around to die" was his first single and came from his debut album 'For the Sake of the Song' released in 1968. It is about the life of a rambler and his troubles from an abusive father, to time in prison and the obvious drug and alcohol problems.... which could've been seen as biographical years later, due to his own drug abuse.



"Waiting Around To Die" Lyrics


Sometimes I don't know where
this dirty road is taking me
sometimes I can't even see the reason why
I guess I keep a-gamblin'
lots of booze and lots of ramblin'
it's easier than just waitin' around to die


One time, friends, I had a ma
I even had a pa
he beat her with a belt once 'cause she cried
She told him to take care of me
headed down to Tennessee
it's easier than just waitin' around to die


I came of age and I found a girl
in a Tuscaloosa bar
She cleaned me out and hit in on the sly
I tried to kill the pain, bought some wine
and hopped a train
seemed easier than just waitin' around to die


A friend said he knew
where some easy money was
we robbed a man, and brother did we fly
the posse caught up with me
and drug me back to Muskogee
it's two long years I've been waitin' around to die


Now I'm out of prison
I got me a friend at last
he don't drink or steal or cheat or lie
His name's Codeine
he's the nicest thing I've seen
together we're gonna wait around and die
together we're gonna wait around and die