Born Milton Sims Newbury, Jr. in Houston, Texas. As a teenager, Mickey Newbury sang tenor in a moderately successful vocal group called The Embers. The group opened for several famous performers, such as Sam Cooke and Johnny Cash. Although Mickey tried to make a living off of his music by singing in clubs, he put his musical career on hold at age 19 when he joined the Air Force. After four years in the military, Mickey again set his sights on making a living as a songwriter. Before long, he moved to Nashville and signed to the prestigious publishing company Acuff-Rose Music.
For a time, he was one of the most influential creative minds in Nashville and it's arguable that he was the first real "outlaw" of the outlaw country movement of the 1970s. Ralph Emery referred to him as the first "hippie-cowboy" and along with Johnny Cash and Roger Miller, he was one of the first to rebel against the conventions of the Nashville music society. After being disappointed by the production methods used by Felton Jarvis on his debut album, Mickey got himself released from his contract with RCA and signed the first offer he received to comply with his condition that he could either produce his own albums or hire a producer of his choice.
He went on to record three musically revolutionary albums in Wayne Moss's garage-turned-studio just outside of Nashville. The influence of the production methods can be heard in the albums Waylon Jennings went on to record in the 1970s (with instrumentation highly unconventional for country music) and his poetically sophisticated style of songwriting was highly influential on Kris Kristofferson.[citation needed] It was Newbury who convinced Roger Miller to record Kristofferson's "Me & Bobby McGee", which went on to launch Kristofferson as country music's top songwriter. Newbury is also responsible for getting Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark to move to Nashville and pursue careers as songwriters. However, he had no desire to cash-in on the Outlaw movement.[citation needed]
In 1974, he moved to a house on the McKenzie River in Oregon with his wife, Susan, and new born son, Chris, where they welcomed three more children over the years. He recorded several albums throughout the 1970s for Elektra and ABC/Hickory, all of them critically praised, but financially unsuccessful. In 1980, he was given the distinction of being the youngest songwriter ever inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Although he spent much of the 1980s retired from performing and recording music, he returned both to recording and touring in the late 1980s before he died following a prolonged battle with pulmonary fibrosis on September 29, 2002, aged 62.
Earthquake
Mickey Newbury Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Gray-bearded, ancient hermit.
Sadly starin' at the caption,
In the San Mateo Times.
It reads, "Today the prophets,
All agree that California
Is to be swallowed in,
The twinkling of an eye. "
He goes thumbin' through his growin',
Stack of half-unfinished rhymes.
Till he finds the one he once submitted,
To the New York Times.
They just laughed at him and said,
"You senile, wino, drunk, old fool,
Get outta here,
You must have lost your mind. "
So he went back to his mountain,
Where he began to pray.
He prayed for those in ingrorance,
Who would treat a man that way.
For the truth will fall like his mountain, Lawd,
On all that have grown deaf.
The day the world is swallowed up,
And California's left.
In Mickey Newbury's song "Earthquake," the singer is an old and gray bearded hermit who lives on a mountain. He comes across a newspaper caption from the San Mateo Times which reports that California is going to be swallowed up in a matter of minutes, something called an earthquake. He sifts through a bunch of half-written lyrics he has composed in the past until he finds the one he submitted to the New York Times. The paper and its editors mocked and dismissed him as a senile, wino, drunk old fool, and they asked him to leave as he must have been insane to submit such rubbish. The old man returns to his mountain and prays for those who have behaved cruelly towards him because the real truth will soon come out.
Newbury's song is an allegory for one man's search for truth in a world that dismisses him as being outdated and outmoded. The old hermit represents wisdom and truth, but in a society obsessed with newness and flashiness, he is considered outdated and irrelevant. His rhyme, drawing attention to the paper's mocking dismissal of him, is a commentary on the challenges of finding truth in a world that values spectacle over content. The earthquake that is predicted represents a kind of divine intervention that will reveal the truth, and the hermit's rhymes will then be seen as prophetic.
Line by Line Meaning
On his mountain there sits a long,
In a secluded place, there stands a tall mountain,
Gray-bearded, ancient hermit.
An old hermit with long gray beard.
Sadly starin' at the caption,
Looking at the news with a mournful expression,
In the San Mateo Times.
In the newspaper of San Mateo,
It reads, "Today the prophets,
The headline reads, "the prophets have said today
All agree that California
In one accord that the state of California
Is to be swallowed in,
Will soon be consumed by,
The twinkling of an eye."
In a very short time."
He goes thumbin' through his growin',
He starts flipping through his ever-increasing,
Stack of half-unfinished rhymes.
Collection of unfinished poems.
Till he finds the one he once submitted,
Until he retrieves the one he previously sent
To the New York Times.
To the newspaper company of New York.
They just laughed at him and said,
Mockingly, they said to him,
"You senile, wino, drunk, old fool,
"You are old, crazy, stupid drunkard,
Get outta here,
Leave right away,
You must have lost your mind."
You have lost your senses."
So he went back to his mountain,
Thus, he returned to his secluded mountain,
Where he began to pray.
Where he commenced his prayers.
He prayed for those in ingrorance,
He beseeched God to grant those ignorant
Who would treat a man that way.
To have a meaningful judgement for those who mistreat others.
For the truth will fall like his mountain, Lawd,
For truth shall descend like his mountain, Lord,
On all that have grown deaf.
On all people who have become insensitive to the truth.
The day the world is swallowed up,
The day on which the world will be engulfed,
And California's left.
And only California remains.
Contributed by Alaina C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@gwag8410
My goodness… Mickey could touch the deepest part of your soul… with his beautiful music……
@jlaw9336
Hank Williams pain songs Newberrys train songs..The best
@horsehide3039
And Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain
@jodycary1685
I love this man music lm 68yrs old and l remember listening to him when I was 17 on the outlaw radio station in my area
@lynnadams7017
I'm now 70. And I first got his 1st album at 20. He was so talented. And because he wasn't into all the hype hardly anyone knows his fabulous songs and lyrics
@jackschriver9375
@@lynnadams7017 I'm old too, and it breaks my heart that Mickey Newbury died at 50. He was an artist who could break your heart with a song!
@TheSirBuzzsaw
I'm 43, first heard Frisco Mabel Joy on Kenny Rogers The Gambler LP. Sad I barely missed the era when he was active online. Maybe could have met him. Between Mickey and Clarence White, that's my musical DNA. And Uncle Al who played the fiddle.
@michaelralls2498
Me too
@sandrariley5338
This is my favourite Mickey Newbury album, he was just wonderful RIP 💔
@bighgnoz5189
I am with y'all brothers... this man changed my musical life with this album. It has been the songtrack to my life. Thank you Aaron for this excellent dupe... I love the crackles of the album.