After time in the Army Reserves, Paxton moved to New York City where he frequented the city's Greenwich Village coffeehouse circuit. His early success in Greenwich Village coffeehouses led to an ever-increasing circle of work. He made his professional debut at the Gaslight, the renowned folk haunt that also issued the singer's first album. In 1962 Gaslight Records would press 2,000 copies of his debut album, I'm The Man Who Built The Bridges.
Paxton also auditioned to join the Chad Mitchell Trio, but although he failed, the group enjoyed a 1963 hit with "The Marvelous Toy," one of Paxton's early songs. Paxton performed at the 1963 Newport Folk Festival, a performance that would be recorded-and released-by Vanguard Records. Paxton would go on to record a second album with Vanguard-at the Newport Folk Festival the following year - but his association with that record company lapsed, and it would not be until the year 2000 that Vanguard once again released a Tom Paxton album, Tom Paxton: Best of the Vanguard Years. In 1964 Paxton was signed to Elektra Records for whom he recorded his best-known work. Then in 1965 he made his first tour of the United Kingdom - the beginning of a still-thriving professional relationship that has included at least one tour in each of the succeeding years.
He and his wife Midge have been married since 1963 and have two daughters, Jennifer and Kate. All three women have served as inspiration for many of Paxton's songs. He now has three grandsons, Christopher, Sean, and Peter.
In addition to songwriting, Tom Paxton has written many critically acclaimed children's books, some of which were inspired by his songs for children.
He has performed thousands of concerts around the world in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong, Scandinavia, France, Italy, Belgium, Holland, England, Scotland, Ireland and Canada. Paxton enjoys a strong relationship with fans throughout the world. His songs have experienced enduring appeal, including modern standards such as "The Last Thing on My Mind" (perhaps Paxton's best-known song, it has been recorded by dozens of artists, including Judy Collins, Sandy Denny, Dolly Parton, and Porter Wagoner), "Ramblin' Boy", "Bottle of Wine", "Whose Garden Was This", "The Marvelous Toy", and "The Hostage" (which recounts the 1971 uprising at Attica State Prison).
In February 2002, Tom Paxton was honored with the ASCAP Lifetime Achievement Award in Folk Music. A few days later, he received three Wammies (Washington, DC, Area Music Awards); as Best Male Vocalist in the "traditional folk" and "children's music" categories, and for Best Traditional Folk Recording of the Year for Under American Skies (the duo album he made with Anne Hills in 2001). This was the first Paxton album to receive an award of any kind.
Paxton has been nominated four times for Grammy Awards in his career, all since 2002.
In 2004, the Martin Guitar Company introduced the HD-40LSH Tom Paxton Signature Edition acoustic guitar in his honor.
In 2005, Paxton received a Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting at BBC Radio 2's Folk Awards at London's Brewery Arts Centre.
In 2006, Paxton received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the North American Folk Music and Dance Alliance.
On January 22, 2007, Paxton was honored with an official UK Parliamentary tribute at the British House of Commons at the start of his 2007 United Kingdom tour.
On May 3, 2008, Paxton was honored with a special lifetime tribute from the World Folk Music Association, and a concert was held at the Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center at Northern Virginia Community College, Alexandria Campus, in Alexandria, Virginia.
The Hostage
Tom Paxton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It was never a picnic social, never a date.
They never come in laughing and you know they never taught them how
It was damn hard work, and you wouldn't believe the pay.
It was early in the morning, Lord, I wasn't but a half awake,
When the Cons went nuts, and took us by surprise.
I never was one for shaking, but I found it hard to stand,
We could hear a siren blowing, somebody yelled in pain.
Then it got so quiet, you could hear a bird walk by.
They all had masks on their faces, and they spoke with a voice of Cain
"If they come in shooting, then you know you're bound to die.
If they come in shooting, then you know you're bound to die."
I turned to a buddy named Willie, I said "Willie It'll be all right,
If they meant to kill us we'd be half way down to Hell.
See, they high-jacked a plane in the dessert, and the government screamed and cries,
But to save some lives, they opened up a prison cell".
So the days kept coming and going, tension was getting high.
But I wasn't too worried, I figured I knew the score.
I knew they were talking to someone, I knew they were willing to try.
So I figured my freedom was a matter of a day or two more.
But, Jesus, early this morning, the whirlybird dropped the gas,
It made me puke and it brought me to my knees.
The bullets came like hail-stones, I heard the first ones pass,
Then they cut down Willie, and they got Jim Kelly and me.
They cut down Willie, and they got Jim Kelly and me.
They come in yelling curses, like they were caught in the River Rhine
Shot down every God damned thing they saw.
And while I lay they wounded, I took another one in my spine,
Poor Jim Kelly took another one in his jaw.
Oh, Poor Jim Kelly took another one in his jaw.
They say we had our throats cut, by a band of desperate men,
Say they saved as many of us as they could.
Well the governor he should now it, but I think I'll say it again
That the governor cut my throat and he cut it good.
Let them take the governor, hold him for a couple of days.
See who goes in shooting to set him free.
Hell they'll open every jail in the country, they'd send them on their way
They'd never do to him what the governor done to me.
They'd never do to him what the governor done to me.
The song "The Hostage" by Tom Paxton tells the story of a guard in a prison who finds himself taken hostage by desperate convicts. The guard's description of his life before the incident highlights the harshness of being a prison guard and the lack of joy associated with it. When the convicts take over the prison, the guard tries to remain calm and hopeful that the situation will be resolved peacefully. However, things soon turn violent as the convicts face off against the authorities. The guard and his colleagues are eventually killed by the authorities in a brutal manner, and the guard is left feeling that justice has not been served.
The lyrics of "The Hostage" speak to themes of power, corruption, and violence. The song deeply criticizes the prison system and the way in which it dehumanizes both prisoners and guards. The violence and brutality of the system is portrayed as ultimately leading to the tragic events in the song. The governor is also portrayed as corrupt, willing to go to violent extremes to restore his power and maintain order, even if it means harming innocent people. Overall, "The Hostage" is a poignant commentary on the issues of power, violence, and corruption in society.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm a guard in the great iron prison, at least I was 'till now.
I used to be a prison guard.
It was never a picnic social, never a date.
Working in the prison was never easy or enjoyable.
They never come in laughing and you know they never taught them how
The prisoners never came in happy and carefree, and they don't teach them how to be good citizens.
It was damn hard work, and you wouldn't believe the pay.
Being a prison guard was tough and didn't pay well.
It was early in the morning, Lord, I wasn't but a half awake,
It was early in the morning and I wasn't fully awake.
When the Cons went nuts, and took us by surprise.
The prisoners went crazy and took us by surprise.
I never was one for shaking, but I found it hard to stand,
I wasn't usually scared, but I was struggling to stay upright.
With a six-inch blade held right between my eyes.
A prisoner was holding a blade just inches from my face.
We could hear a siren blowing, somebody yelled in pain.
We heard a siren and someone screaming in pain.
Then it got so quiet, you could hear a bird walk by.
The chaos stopped and it was eerily quiet.
They all had masks on their faces, and they spoke with a voice of Cain
The prisoners were all wearing masks and their voices sounded evil.
"If they come in shooting, then you know you're bound to die.
If they start shooting, it'll be deadly.
I turned to a buddy named Willie, I said "Willie It'll be all right,
I tried to comfort my friend Willie.
If they meant to kill us we'd be half way down to Hell.
If they wanted us dead, they would have killed us already.
So the days kept coming and going, tension was getting high.
Days passed and the tension increased.
But I wasn't too worried, I figured I knew the score.
I wasn't too worried because I thought I understood the situation.
I knew they were talking to someone, I knew they were willing to try.
I suspected that the prisoners were negotiating with someone and were considering a peaceful resolution.
So I figured my freedom was a matter of a day or two more.
I assumed I would be free in a day or two.
But, Jesus, early this morning, the whirlybird dropped the gas,
Suddenly, early this morning, gas was dropped from a helicopter.
It made me puke and it brought me to my knees.
The gas made me vomit and fall to the ground.
The bullets came like hail-stones, I heard the first ones pass,
The bullets rained down like hail and I heard the first ones fly past.
Then they cut down Willie, and they got Jim Kelly and me.
The prisoners shot Willie and Jim Kelly and me.
They come in yelling curses, like they were caught in the River Rhine
The prisoners entered shouting profanity, as if they were fighting in a war.
Shot down every God damned thing they saw.
They shot down anything and everything.
And while I lay they wounded, I took another one in my spine,
While I was lying wounded, I was shot again in the spine.
Poor Jim Kelly took another one in his jaw.
Sadly, Jim Kelly was also shot again, this time in the jaw.
They say we had our throats cut, by a band of desperate men,
It's said that we were murdered by desperate prisoners.
Say they saved as many of us as they could.
They claim they saved some of us.
Well the governor he should now it, but I think I'll say it again
The governor needs to know this, so I'll repeat it.
That the governor cut my throat and he cut it good.
The governor was responsible for my death.
Let them take the governor, hold him for a couple of days.
They should take the governor and hold him captive for a few days.
See who goes in shooting to set him free.
Let's see who will try to free him with violence.
Hell they'll open every jail in the country, they'd send them on their way
If they do that, they'll free all prisoners in the country and let them go.
They'd never do to him what the governor done to me.
They wouldn't treat the governor the way he treated me.
Contributed by Aaron M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.