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.
Frisco Depot
Mickey Newbury Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If you can afford to fly
But it might as well be the moon, Lord
When you're as broke as I
Here I sit with my head in my hands
Watchin' the trains roll by
Lord, the helpin' hand mission man warned me
When you're cold there's nothin'
As welcome as sunshine
When you're dry there's nothin'
As welcome as rain
When you're alone there's nothin'
As slow as passin' time
When you're afoot, Lord
There's nothin' as fast as a train
Ol' Frisco's a mighty rich city
Now that ain't no lie
They have some buildings
That reach nearly a mile in the sky
Everyone's so busy
They can't tell me the reason why
Here's a world full of people
So damn many people alone
When you're alone
Life just don't seem worth livin'
While you're alive
Ya gotta learn to live with the pain
You've been gone for so long
There's no one left for forgivin'
You find yourself searchin' your mind
For the links to the chain
When you're cold there's nothin'
As welcome as sunshine
When you're dry there's nothin'
As welcome as rain
When you're alone there's nothin'
As slow as passin' time
When you're afoot, Lord
There's nothin' as fast as a train
The song Frisco Depot is a poignant commentary on the feeling of loneliness and isolation one can experience in a busy city. The singer of the song is broke and alone in San Francisco, watching the trains go by, and feeling the pain of his circumstances. He contemplates how the city could be a “mighty long way” for him, someone who can’t afford to fly, and he might as well be on the moon. His musing about the city being a “mighty rich city” contrasts with his own impoverished state, he feels uneasy and disconnected in such a place where everyone is so busy and preoccupied.
The verse “When you're cold there's nothin' as welcome as sunshine, When you're dry there's nothin' as welcome as rain” emphasizes the singer’s longing for comfort and warmth. Similarly, his sense of loneliness and boredom is heightened by the slow and agonizing passing of time, which is contrasted with the speed of the passing trains. Despite his despair and disconnection, the singer recognises that it is important to learn to live with pain.
Overall, Frisco Depot is a tale of urban isolation and loneliness, where the busy and prosperous city can still be a hostile and unforgiving place for those alone and struggling.
Line by Line Meaning
Frisco's a mighty long way
San Francisco is very far away
If you can afford to fly
If you have enough money to fly there
But it might as well be the moon, Lord
But it feels just as impossible as going to the moon when you're as broke as I am
Here I sit with my head in my hands
I am sitting here with my head in my hands
Watchin' the trains roll by
Watching the trains go past
Lord, the helpin' hand mission man warned me
The man from the shelter warned me
That the nights here got cold
That it gets very cold at night here
When you're cold there's nothin'
There's nothing better than sunshine when you're cold
As welcome as sunshine
It feels really great to have some sunshine when you're cold
When you're dry there's nothin'
There's nothing better than rain when you're dry
As welcome as rain
It feels really great to have some rain when you're dry
When you're alone there's nothin'
There's nothing slower than passing time when you're alone
As slow as passin' time
Time seems to move so slowly when you're alone
When you're afoot, Lord
When you're walking
There's nothin' as fast as a train
There's nothing faster than a train
Ol' Frisco's a mighty rich city
San Francisco is a very wealthy city
Now that ain't no lie
That is definitely true
They have some buildings
There are some buildings in San Francisco
That reach nearly a mile in the sky
That are almost a mile tall
Everyone's so busy
Everyone is very busy
They can't tell me the reason why
They can't explain why they are so busy
Here's a world full of people
The world is full of people
So damn many people alone
But there are so many people who are still lonely
When you're alone
Being alone
Life just don't seem worth livin'
Life doesn't seem worth living
While you're alive
Even though you're still alive
Ya gotta learn to live with the pain
You have to learn to live with the pain of being alone
You've been gone for so long
You have been gone for a really long time
There's no one left for forgivin'
There is no one left to forgive you
You find yourself searchin' your mind
You find yourself searching your mind
For the links to the chain
For the connections that tie together everything in your life
Contributed by Emily A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
burtonshone
Paganmaestro, you have once again compiled a great video to fit the music of Mickey Newbury. Your photos are stunning and lend so much to the overalll feeling of the music. I've been watching several of your postings today and have placed them in my playlist. You've created a visual impression to make me feel like I am there in the songs. Thank you for your artistry.
Jackie S.
Beautifully done, Doug. This song has special memories for me.
paganmaestro
@burtonshone Thank you so much for your kind words. I appreciate the support of the Newbury family in making these, especially for sending photographs which make the video experience so much more pleasing.
PoetryETrain
Thanks for this, added to our play list here, and on face book, thanks..
Tiger Elefant
Eine super Version dieses Liedes. In Deutsch hat es Freddy Quinn gesungen. Titel: Hamburg