(1) A country singer an… Read Full Bio ↴There are at least two artists by this name:
(1) A country singer and songwriter from Texas.
(2) An alias of techno producer Thomas Wendel.
(1) Don Williams (Born May 27, 1939, in Floydada, Texas - Died September 8, 2017) spent much of his childhood in Corpus Christi, Texas. His father was a mechanic whose job took him to other regions, his mother played guitar and he grew up listening to country music. He and Lofton Kline formed a semi-professional folk group called the Strangers Two, and then, with the addition of Susan Taylor, they became the Pozo-Seco Singers, the phrase being a geological term to denote a dry well. Handled by Bob Dylan's manager Albert Grossman, they had major pop hits in the U.S. with "Time," "I Can Make It With You" and "Look What You've Done." Following Kline's departure, they employed several replacements, resulting in a lack of musical direction. After Williams had failed to turn the trio towards country music, they disbanded in 1971.
He then worked for his father-in-law but also wrote for Susan Taylor's solo album via Jack Clement's music publishing company. Clement asked Williams to record albums of his company's best songs, mainly with a view to attracting other performers. In 1973, Don Williams, Volume 1 was released on the fledgling JMI label and included such memorable songs as Bob McDill's apologia for growing old, "Amanda," and Williams' own "The Shelter of Your Eye." Williams' work was reissued by Dot Records, and Don Williams, Volume 2 included "Atta Way to Go" and "We Should Be Together." Williams then had a country No. 1 with Wayland Holyfield's "You're My Best Friend," which has become a standard and is the perennial sing-along anthem at his concerts. By now, the Williams' style had developed: gently paced love songs with straightforward arrangements, lyrics and sentiments. Williams was mining the same vein as Jim Reeves, but he eschewed Reeves' smartness by dressing like a ranch-hand. Besides having a huge contingent of female fans, Williams counted Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend among his admirers. Clapton recorded his country hit "Tulsa Time," written by Danny Flowers, a member of Williams' band.
Williams played a band member himself in the Burt Reynolds film W.W. & the Dixie Dance Kings and also appeared in Smokey and the Bandit 2. Williams' other successes include "Till the Rivers All Run Dry," "Some Broken Hearts Never Mend," "Lay Down Beside Me" and his only U.S. solo pop hit, "I Believe in You." Unlike most established country artists, he has not sought duet partners, although he and Emmylou Harris found success in 1981 with their version of Townes Van Zandt's "If I Needed You." Among the highlights of Williams' recording career is his interpretation of "Good Ol' Boys Like Me," McDill's homage to his southern roots. Moving to Capitol Records in the mid-'80s, Williams released such singles as "Heartbeat in the Darkness" and "Senorita," but the material was not as impressive. He took a sabbatical in 1988, but subsequent RCA Records recordings showed that nothing had changed.
In 1998, Williams released I Turn the Page on Giant Records, but the label soon closed its country music division. Following a live album in 2001, Williams retuned in 2004 with My Heart to You.
Maintaining his stress-free style, Williams continues to be a major concert attraction, especially in the U.K. and South Africa.
Williams initially started out as a songwriter for Jack Music Inc., since he lacked belief about going solo but then signed with JMI as a solo artist. His 1974 song "We Should Be Together" reached number five and he was signed on with ABC/Dot. His first single with ABC/Dot, "I Wouldn't Want to Live If You Didn't Love Me," became a number one hit, and was the first of a string of top ten hits he had between 1974 and 1991. In fact, only four of his 46 singles didn't make it to the Top Ten. Recently (as of 2012), he released the album And So It Goes.
From His Own Website.
They came to call Don Williams “the Gentle Giant” in the decades he was a dominating country hit maker because of his unique blend of commanding presence and that laid-back, easy style that has appealed to adult men and women alike—cutting across national and genre boundaries. If those personal and musical qualities stood out strongly across the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s, they are all the more distinctive in 2012, when so many country and pop records seem to work as check off lists of somebody’s idea of how to be a man, or hard-sell attempts to indicate affection for a woman. Don Williams has never sounded like he felt the need to sell somebody something, or to prove anything.
On And So It Goes, available from Sugar Hill on June 19th, that winning, self-assured ease is again front and center, and the musical style that has made Don a ballad vocal model for performers ranging from Eric Clapton (with whom he’d traded songs—“Tulsa Time,” “Lay Down Sally”) to Keith Urban (who guests on this release). One listen to the characteristically right-on-target vocals on this first Don Williams recording in eight years and his admirers will be wondering what he’s done to maintain that strength over the hiatus.
“Well, there are things that I don’t do,” Don laughs. “I don’t do a whole lot of sitting around chit-chatting, laughing, and carrying on—especially when I’m on the road, where that just makes you tired, anyway. Even at home on the farm there are literally days on end that I may not say anything but for an hour or two a day.”
This man who so clearly loves the quiet home life can still fill an auditorium or stadium across the U.S., the U.K., Europe and Africa; his special role as an international ambassador for American country and pop music is ongoing and his musical appeal, he has long since been astonished to find, is about the same from the Central Time Zone to central Africa.
“The weird thing about that is—no; I don’t change my show to go play England or Nairobi. I can pretty much choose anything from my repertoire and it works wherever I am, and that still amazes me, because you’re talking about different cultures, sometimes different languages, and the whole nine yards.”
The hundreds of memorable songs in that repertoire—over fifty of them major hits—whether contemplative ballads, affecting love songs or change-up rhythm numbers, have always been a core Don Williams strength and focus. Don and long-time producer Garth Fundis, who returns in that role on this new album, each credit the other with having contributed to their own song-picking and sequencing skills—skills well put to shared use again when Nashville’s finest writers submitted hundreds of songs for consideration for Don’s return to recording. They both knew what they were looking for in selections that would appear on And So It Goes:
“They’re very well written, they’re interesting, and the melody and the lyric are saying the same thing,” Don says. “Even when we’re starting looking for the songs, just experimenting, Garth and I are just in agreement; we just want to make good music that touches our hearts and, hopefully, touches others’ in the process. For many years, though, Garth has fussed at me about one thing— that we need to be sure and do whatever song that I wrote, because I would just pass over it. I get more excited about a new song that I’ve just heard than I do my own material!” (There are, in fact, two Don Williams co-writes among the ten outstanding songs on this new release.)
Riding and crossing the line between country and pop, and all the more distinctive for doing it, Don brought a sound and sensibility to the country charts that proved a smash—a development that was initially a surprise even to him.
“When I was just a wee lad,” he recalls, “I really appreciated people like Johnny Horton, Johnny Cash and Jim Reeves; all of those guys back then meant a lot to me, but at the same time, I really loved Brook Benton, and the Platters and all of those people. But even when I was ‘in pop’ myself, with everything that I wrote, the only people who really seemed to appreciate it were country fans. That has to tell you a little bit about where your heart’s at, whether your head agrees with it or not!”
Born in Floydada, Florida in 1939 and growing up near Corpus Christi, Texas, Don was playing guitar by age twelve, taught by his mother, and performed in folk, country and rock bands as a teenager. He first gained musical attention as a member of the pop folk trio The Pozo Seco Singers, which had six pop chart hits in 1966-’67, then was signed as a songwriter by Nashville’s Cowboy Jack Clement in 1971—the sort of songwriter whose demos demanded attention. Between 1974 and 1991, Don had at least one major hit every year, including such country standards to be as “ Good Ole Boys Like Me,” “Till the Rivers All Run Dry,” “It Must Be Love,” “I’m Just a Country Boy,” “Amanda” and “I Believe in You.” He also had a hit duet with Emmylou Harris on Townes Van Zandt’s “If I Needed You.” Don was the CMA Male Vocalist of the Year in 1978; his “Tulsa Time” was the ACM Record of the Year for 1979.
In 2010, Don received country music’s highest honor, with his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Don Williams died on 8 september 2017 after a short illness. He was 78 years old.
(2) Founder and owner of Mojuba & A.R.T.less Records and one half of the Tokomak Records company. He is the creative force behind these imprints and Tokomak's main founding member. His musical influences ranges from Classic, Funk and Jazz via Drum & Bass and Trip Hop to his beloved Detroit Techno and US House, which can be still enjoyed throughout his DJ-Sets. After a few releases on the legendary Pure Plastic imprint, he delivers tracks of his own brand of funk on labels like Rewired, Styrax Leaves and 100% Pure.
I Just Come Here for the Music
Don Williams Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It takes all the strength he's got
Just to walk up to her table
With his big ole broken heart
And he stumbles on the way
He tries his best to smile
And he finally just says forgive me
I just come here for the music, I get lost here in the sound
I ain't looking for nobody but could I buy you one more round
Don't that fiddle play so lonesome, don't that singer play so good
I just come here for the music, how 'bout you?
She doesn't mean to seem so cold
He's just asking' for a dance
And lord knows her body's willing
But her heart can't take that chance
She doesn't want to hurt his feelings
He's got an understanding smile
Like he can she's healing
Could he sit here for a while
I just come here for the music, I get lost here in the sound
I ain't looking for nobody, buy you could buy me one more round
Yeah, that fiddle plays so lonesome and that singer is so good
I just come here for the music, just like you
I just come here for the music, how 'bout you?
The lyrics of Don Williams's song "I Just Come Here for the Music" tell the story of two people who seem to be in the same place for different reasons but may find common ground in their shared appreciation of music. The first verse describes a man who is brave enough to approach a woman's table despite having a broken heart. He stumbles and struggles to smile, but he manages to invite her for a drink. The chorus reveals that he is not really looking for someone, only for music. He expresses how the music makes him feel, and he wonders whether she feels the same way.
The second verse introduces the woman's perspective. She is hesitant to dance with the man because she does not want to hurt him. She seems to be interested in him but maybe afraid of getting her own heart broken. He offers her understanding, and he is content to sit with her and enjoy the music. Like the man in the first verse, she also comes to that place for the music. At the end of the song, they share the chorus lines, indicating that they might have found a connection through their mutual love for music.
Overall, the lyrics of "I Just Come Here for the Music" touch on themes of heartbreak, healing, and the power of music to connect people. The song suggests that music can be an emotion-laden tool that brings people together, even if they do not initially share the same interests.
Line by Line Meaning
He doesn't mean to come on too strong
He doesn't intend to appear too aggressive or forward.
It takes all the strength he's got
Summoning the force of will that he has, he musters the courage to approach her.
Just to walk up to her table
Merely walking over to where she sits at a table is a challenging task.
With his big ole broken heart
He carries a heavy burden due to a heart that's shattered and bruised.
And he stumbles on the way
On his approach, he falters and stumbles.
He tries his best to smile
Attempting to appear joyful, he puts in his greatest effort to exhibit a smile.
And he finally just says forgive me
He apologizes, seeking forgiveness for his own shortcomings.
I haven't done this in a while
It's been a long time since he's been in a similar situation, and he's rusty.
I just come here for the music, I get lost here in the sound
He's there exclusively for the sake of music because the melodies envelope him and he becomes immersed in the tunes.
I ain't looking for nobody, but could I buy you one more round
Although he's not searching for anyone, he offers to purchase her another drink as a courteousy gesture.
Don't that fiddle play so lonesome, don't that singer play so good
He's attracted to the melodic but sorrowful tune of the fiddle and the singer's vocal prowess.
She doesn't mean to seem so cold
She's not trying to come across as indifferent or unfriendly.
He's just asking' for a dance
He requests that they dance together.
And Lord knows her body's willing
She's eager and enthusiastic; however, she's not willing to risk being hurt again.
But her heart can't take that chance
It's not just her body that's at risk; she can't risk having her heart broken again.
She doesn't want to hurt his feelings
She cares for him sufficiently as to not want to upset him or his heart.
He's got an understanding smile
He acknowledges her concern and responds with a smile that's empathetic.
Like he can she's healing
As if he knows, he expresses his belief that she's in a process of recovery.
Could he sit here for a while
He comes up with a quick and harmless request in order to ease the tension of the moment.
Just like you
He points out that they share the same passion and excitement for the melodies.
I just come here for the music, how 'bout you?
Inquiring as to whether or not she shares his interest in the music and if it holds the same values in her life.
Contributed by Sophia M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Daniel Gall
Plain and simple Don Williams is the man. This is what country music was meant to be; not songs about tractors and alcohol, but real, heartfelt, meaningful songs. Songs that are beautifully written, and performed just as well.
Delfina Cabagui
AS LONG AS THERE IS MUSIC PLAYING IN THE AIRWAVES THERE WILL BE ALWAYS MY DEAR GENTLE GIANT
DON WILLIAMS. 🍀
TheDinahD
As a woman, I feel every note this man sings. I dream of how life would have been if I would have had a Don in my life. I have always loved his music, and this album is great! God bless you Don Williams, and keep em coming.
zedal1
Rest in peace Don Williams! Thank you for decades upon decades of sweet, sensible music.
John Carter
We love your music
Kathy Lingo
Love Love Love Don Williams. No one can sing as smooth as he does. His music just makes you feel good!
BigCountry Ag
Got to see Don perform this song live this evening at the Whitewater Amphitheater in New Braunfels, Tx and was blown away. At 73, he's still kicking out amazing material. It was a lifelong dream to see him live and got to expose my 3 teenage sons to his music for the first time. Needless to say they are his newest fans. Truly awesome dude and just as sharp as ever.
Carolyn
Wow. Don Williams and Alison Krauss singing together. It doesn't get any better than that!
Kate Herman
My very favorite country singer! So much talent! His music leaves the listener wishing he would just go on and on. His songs are real life and real love stories. Thank You Don Williams!
Daniel Gall
30 Seconds into the song and I think it's safe to say Don Williams is still the greatest baritone in country music. Past and Present.