Perhaps best known for his distinct yodelling, he charted more than seventy singles on the Billboard country charts from 1950 until 1980, including the Number One hits 'I'm Movin' On' and 'I Don't Hurt Anymore'. Performing in lavish and colourful sequin-studded suits, Snow had a career covering six decades during which he sold more than 80 million albums, and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1979.
THERE IS A HANK SNOW MUSEUM CLOSE TO BROOKLYN IN LIVERPOOL, NOVA SCOTIA, APPROPRIATELY, IT IS HOUSED IN AN ABANDONED TRAIN STATION. VERY WELL DONE
I reckon Hank Snow was better known for his distinctive self taught guitar style. Hank was influenced by the famous Rail road blues singer Jimmie Rodgers and though Hank did copy Rodgers style in his early days, including the "blue yodel" he later abandoned this and developed his own gritty style of singing. His guitar playing was so good he once cut a duet album of guitar music with the late Chet Atkins, master country Guitarist and music producer for RCA Victor. Hank was with RCA Victor label for almost 50 years and towards the end of his waning career RCA dropped him, just before he would have celebrated his half century with that label-always thought that was a bit mean of them.. Hank Snow and his Rainbow ranch boys, with Chubby Hayes on fiddle gave really great live concerts and the singing and playing they did was superlative and sounded as good as, if not equal to their recorded works.
Friend
Hank Snow Lyrics
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And I lay there in the bunk between ailing beyond belief
A weary armful of skin and bone wasted with pain and grief
My feet were froze and the lifeless toes were purple and green and gray
The little flesh that clung to my bones you could punch it in holes like clay
The skin on my gums was a sullen black and slowly peeling away
They did not take the chance that was left and leave me alone to die
Or finish me off with a dose of dope so utterly lost was I
But no they brewed me the green-spruce tea and nursed me there like a child
And the homicide he was good to me and bathed my sores and smiled
And the thief he starved that I might be fed and his eyes were kind and mild
Yet they were woefully wicked men and often at night in pain
I heard the murderer speak of his deed and dream it over again
I heard the poor thief sorrowing for the dead self he had slain
I'll never forget that bitter dawn so evil askew and gray
When they wrapped me round in the skins of beasts and bore me to a sleigh
And we started out with the nearest post a hundred miles away
I'll never forget the trail they broke with its tense unuttered woe
And the crunch crunch crunch as their snowshoes sank through the crust of the hollow snow
And my breath would fail and every beat of my heart was like a blow
And often times I would die the death yet wake up to life anew
The sun would be all ablaze on the waste and the sky a blighting blue
And the tears would rise in my snow-blind eyes and furrow my cheeks like dew
And the camps we made when their strength outplayed and the day was pinched and wan
And oh the joy of the blessed halt and I did dread the dawn
And how I hated the weary men who rose and dragged me on
And oh how I begged to rest to rest the snow was so sweet a shroud
And oh how I cried when they urged me on cried and cursed them aloud
Yet on they strained all racked and pained and sorely their backs were bowed
And then it was all like a lurid dream and I prayed for a swift release
From the ruthless ones who would not leave me to die alone in peace
Till I waked up and I found myself at the post of the Mounted Police
And there was my friend the murderer and there was my friend the thief
With bracelets of steel around their wrists and wicked beyond belief
But when they come to God's judgment seat may I be allowed the brief
In Hank Snow's song "My Friends," the listener is taken on an emotional journey following the singer's experience of being cared for by a murderer and a thief while they are all stranded in the wilderness. The singer describes his physical state as "a weary armful of skin and bone wasted with pain and grief." He is sandwiched between the murderer and the thief, both of whom show unexpected kindness towards him. The murderer even speaks of his past crime and dreams about it. The thief starves himself so that the singer can eat. The singer's journey includes being wrapped in animal skins and dragged on a sleigh through the harsh snow, wishing for death but always waking up to another day of grueling travel. The singer ends up at the post of the Mounted Police with both the murderer and the thief, both of whom are described as wicked beyond belief.
The lyrics in "My Friends" describe the complexities of human nature and the unpredictable ways in which people can act. The singer is impressed by the kindness shown to him by those who society would deem as irredeemable criminals. At the same time, the singer recognizes the sheer cruelty and ruthlessness of their actions. The song prompts listeners to reflect on how people can simultaneously perform good and bad deeds or carry out good and bad parts of themselves.
Line by Line Meaning
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Marryann Lamb
Thanks loved listening.