John Townes Van Zandt (March 7, 1944 – January 1, 1997), best known as Townes Van Zandt, was an American singer-songwriter. Many of his songs, including "If I Needed You" and "To Live Is to Fly", are considered standards of their genre. He had a small and devoted fanbase, but never had a successful album or single and even had difficulty keeping his recordings in print. In 1983, six years after Emmylou Harris had first popularized it, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard covered his song "Pancho and Lefty", scoring a number one hit on the Billboard country music charts. Much of his life was spent touring various dive bars, often living in cheap motel rooms, backwoods cabins, etc.
He suffered from a series of drug addictions, alcoholism, and bipolar disorder. When young, insulin shock therapy erased much of his long-term memory.
Van Zandt died on New Years Day 1997 from health problems stemming from years of substance abuse. The 2000s saw a resurgence of interest in Van Zandt. During the decade, two books, a documentary film titled Be Here to Love Me, and a number of magazine articles about the singer were written.
Townes Van Zandt is the third release by country singer/songwriter Townes Van Zandt, released in 1969. It includes re-recordings of four songs from his 1968 debut album, including the first serious song he ever wrote, "Waitin' Around To Die".
Ride the blue wind, high and free
She'll lead you down through misery
Leave you low, come time to go
Alone and low, as low can be
Well, if I had a nickel, I'd find a game
If I won a dollar, I'd make it rain
If it rained an ocean, I'd drink it dry
And lay me down dissatisfied
It's legs to walk and thoughts to fly
Eyes to laugh and lips to cry
A restless tongue to classify
All born to grow and grown to die
So tell my baby, I said so long
Tell my mother, I did no wrong
Tell my brother to watch his own
And tell my friends to mourn me none
I'm chained upon the face of time
Feelin' full of foolish rhyme
There ain't no dark till something shines
I'm bound to leave the dark behind
Well, ride the blue wind, high and free
She'll lead you down through misery
Leave you low, come time to go
Alone and low, as low can be