Guy Charles Clark (November 6, 1941 - May 17, 2016)[1] was a Grammy Award w… Read Full Bio ↴Guy Charles Clark (November 6, 1941 - May 17, 2016)[1] was a Grammy Award winning American Texas Country and folk singer, musician, songwriter, recording artist, and performer. He has released more than twenty albums, and his songs have been recorded by other artists including Jerry Jeff Walker, Jimmy Buffett, Lyle Lovett, Ricky Skaggs, Steve Wariner, and Rodney Crowell. Guy Clark won the 2014 Grammy Award for Best Folk Album: My Favorite Picture Of You.

Clark was born in Monahans, Texas and eventually settled in Nashville, where he helped create the progressive country and outlaw country genres. His songs "L.A. Freeway" and "Desperados Waiting for a Train" that helped launch his career were covered by numerous performers.

He was an accomplished luthier and often played his own guitars. He achieved success as a songwriter with Jerry Jeff Walker’s recordings of "L.A. Freeway" and "Desperados Waiting For A Train". Artists such as Johnny Cash, David Allan Coe, Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Steve Wariner, Brad Paisley, John Denver, Alan Jackson, Rodney Crowell, The Highwaymen, and Kenny Chesney have recorded Clark’s songs. Emmylou Harris has accompanied him on several recordings, particularly his own version of "Desperados Waiting For A Train" on his first album, Old No. 1, released in 1975. Clark is frequently referred to as "The Fifth Highwayman".
Clark has been a mentor to such other singers as Steve Earle and Rodney Crowell. He organized Earle's first job as a writer in Nashville. In the 1970s, the Clarks' home in Nashville was an open house for songwriters and musicians and it features in the documentary Heartworn Highways, an evocation of the songwriter scene in Nashville at that time. (Snapper/Catfish, 1981/2003, with Townes Van Zandt, David Allan Coe, and Steve Earle). Numerous artists have charted with Clark-penned tunes. In 1982, Bobby Bare made it to the Country Top Twenty with Clark’s "New Cut Road". That same year, bluegrass leader Ricky Skaggs hit No. 1 with Clark’s "Heartbroke", a song that permanently established his reputation as an ingenious songwriter. Among the many others who have covered Clark's songs are Vince Gill, who took "Oklahoma Borderline" to the Top Ten in 1985; The Highwaymen, who introduced "Desperados Waiting For A Train" to a new generation that same year; and John Conlee, whose interpretation of “The Carpenter” rode into the Top Ten in 1987.
Steve Wariner took his cover of Clark's "Baby I’m Yours" to No. 1 in 1988; Asleep at the Wheel charted with Clark's "Blowin’ Like a Bandit" the same year. Crowell was Clark’s co-writer on "She’s Crazy for Leavin’", which in 1989 became the third of five straight #l hits for Crowell. Brad Paisley and Alan Jackson cover Clark’s "Out in the Parkin' Lot," co-written with Darrell Scott, on Paisley's Time Well Wasted CD. Jimmy Buffett has covered Clark’s "Boats to Build" and "Cinco de Mayo in Memphis". Clark credits Townes Van Zandt as being a major influence on his songwriting. They were best friends for many years until Van Zandt's death in 1997, and since then Clark has included one of Van Zandt's compositions on most of his albums. In 1995, he recorded a live album with Van Zandt and Steve Earle, Together at the Bluebird Cafe, which was released in October 2001. Other live material can be found on his album Keepers.
In 2006 Clark released Workbench Songs. The album was nominated for "Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album" at the Grammy Awards. He also toured with Lyle Lovett, Joe Ely, and John Hiatt in 2004, 2005 and 2007.
In May 2008, Clark canceled four concerts after breaking his leg. After two months on crutches, he began to perform again on July 4 at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, DC where he appeared with Verlon Thompson. On June 20, 2009, Clark announced a new album entitled "Somedays the Song Writes You" which was released on September 22, 2009. It features originals along with a Townes Van Zandt song entitled "If I Needed You".
In December 2011 This One's For Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark (a two-CD set) was released by Icehouse Music.

Guy Clark won the Grammy Award for Best Folk Album in 2014 for My Favorite Picture of You.

On May 17, 2016, Clark's death was announced on his Facebook page.

Clark was married to songwriter and artist, Susanna Clark from 1972 through her death from cancer on June 27, 2012.

Virginia
Guy Clark Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Gents to the middle said a young girl's fiddle
And you ain't got nothin' to lose
Allemande right she can play it all night
She can fiddle off the bottom of your shoes
Chorus
Oh me, oh my, how she makes that bowhair fly
How she hangs that music (crystal) in the air

Promenade down to the lonesome sound
Of a whippoorwill in the night
Sashay back look at old mad Jack
Hugging everything in sight

Chorus

Banjo Bill he stopped stock still
As the notes came a'rolling by
It filled his ears and eased his fears
And a tear come to his eye

Chorus

The old string bass he lost his place
And his arms they felt like steel
The guitar man dropped both his hands
And he swore it was not real

Chorus

It's golden strings on eagle's wings
To the callin' of the squares
There's fiddle tunes and there's fiddle tunes
But Virginia's splittin' hairs

Chorus

She cast a spell no tongue can tell
No prophet can reveal
Quiet as death hold your breath
She played Virginia's Real

Chorus

Overall Meaning

The song "Virginia's Real" by Guy Clark is a tribute to the art of fiddle playing, particularly that of a young girl whose skill is exceptional. The song starts off with the line "Gents to the middle said a young girl's fiddle, and you ain't got nothin' to lose". This line speaks of traditional square dancing where the men are invited to the middle of the dance floor to partner up with the women. The fiddle playing of the young girl is so exceptional that it is said to fiddle off the bottom of one's shoes. The chorus goes on to speak of her ability to make the bowhair fly and hang the music in the air.

The second stanza then goes on to speak of the beautiful sound of the fiddle as the dancers promenade down to the lonesome sound of a whippoorwill in the night. The mention of old mad Jack hugging everything in sight implies the carefree and joyous atmosphere of traditional square dancing. The third stanza speaks of the effect the fiddle playing has on those who hear it. Banjo Bill is stopped in his tracks as the notes roll by and it fills his ears and eases his fears resulting in a tear coming to his eye. The other musicians, the old string bass player and the guitar man, are also spellbound by the beautiful music.

The final stanza speaks of the exceptional quality of the fiddle playing with its golden strings on eagle's wings. Virginia's music is said to be so exceptional that it splits hairs between other fiddle tunes. "Virginia's Real" is a song that celebrates the ability of music to move people, to uplift them, and to transport them to another place.

Line by Line Meaning

Gents to the middle said a young girl's fiddle
A young girl's fiddle enthralled the audience at a gathering

And you ain't got nothin' to lose
The audience had nothing to lose by appreciating her music

Allemande right she can play it all night
She was skilled enough to play music all night long

She can fiddle off the bottom of your shoes
She was so good that she could even play the music on the bottom of one's shoes