In 1983, six years after Emmylou Harris had first popularized it, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard covered his song "Pancho and Lefty", reaching number one on the Billboard country music chart. Much of Van Zandt’s life was spent touring various dive bars, often living in cheap motel rooms and backwoods cabins. For much of the 1970s, he lived in a simple shack without electricity or a phone.
His influence has been cited by countless artists across multiple genres, and his music has been recorded or performed by numerous artists, including Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Norah Jones, Emmylou Harris, The Counting Crows, Steve Earle, Robert Earl Keen Jr., Nanci Griffith, Guy Clark, Wade Bowen, Gillian Welch, Pat Green and Natalie Maines.
He suffered from a series of drug addictions, alcoholism, and was given a psychiatric diagnosis of bipolar disorder. When he was young, the now-discredited insulin shock therapy erased much of his long-term memory.
Van Zandt died on New Years Day 1997 from cardiac arrythmia caused by health problems stemming from years of substance abuse. A revival of interest in Van Zandt occurred in the 2000s. During the decade, two books, a documentary film (Be Here to Love Me), and numerous magazine articles about the singer were written.
Born in Fort Worth into a wealthy family, Van Zandt was a third-great-grandson of Isaac Van Zandt (a prominent leader of the Republic of Texas) and a second great-nephew of Khleber Miller Van Zandt (a major in the Confederate army and one of the founders of Fort Worth). Van Zandt County in east Texas was named after his family in 1848.
Townes's parents were Harris Williams Van Zandt (1913–1966) and Dorothy Townes (1919–1983). He had two siblings, Bill and Donna (1941–2011). Harris was a corporate lawyer, and his career required the family to move several times during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1952, the family transplanted from Fort Worth to Midland, Texas, for six months before moving to Billings, Montana.
At Christmas in 1956, Townes's father gave him a guitar, which he practiced while wandering the countryside. He would later tell an interviewer that "watching Elvis Presley's October 28, 1956, performance on The Ed Sullivan Show was the starting point for me becoming a guitar player... I just thought that Elvis had all the money in the world, all the Cadillacs and all the girls, and all he did was play the guitar and sing. That made a big impression on me." In 1958 the family moved to Boulder, Colorado. Van Zandt would remember his time in Colorado fondly and would often visit it as an adult. He would later refer to Colorado in "My Proud Mountains", "Colorado Girl", and "Snowin' on Raton". Townes was a good student and active in team sports. In grade school, he received a high IQ score, and his parents began grooming him to become a lawyer or senator. Fearing that his family would move again, he willingly decided to attend the Shattuck School, in Faribault, Minnesota. He received a score of 1170 when he took the SAT in January 1962. His family soon moved to Houston, Texas.
The University of Colorado at Boulder accepted Van Zandt as a student in 1962. In the spring of his second year, his parents flew to Boulder to bring Townes back to Houston, apparently worried about his binge drinking and episodes of depression. They admitted him to the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, where he was diagnosed with manic depression. He received three months of insulin shock therapy, which erased much of his long-term memory. Afterwards, his mother claimed her "biggest regret in life was that she had allowed that treatment to occur". In 1965, he was accepted into the University of Houston's pre-law program. Soon after he attempted to join the Air Force, but was rejected because of a doctor's diagnosis that labelled him "an acute manic-depressive who has made minimal adjustments to life". He quit school around 1967, having been inspired by his singer-songwriter heroes to pursue a career in playing music.
Van Zandt was addicted to heroin and alcohol throughout his adult life. At times he would become drunk on stage and forget the lyrics to his songs. At one point, his heroin habit was so intense that he offered Kevin Eggers the publishing rights to all of the songs on each of his first four albums for $20. At various points, his friends saw him shoot up not just heroin, but also cocaine, vodka, as well as a mixture of rum and Coke. On at least one occasion, he shot up heroin in the presence of his son J.T., who was only eight years old at the time.
As a result of Van Zandt's constant drinking, Harold Eggers, Kevin's brother, was hired on as his tour manager and 24-hour caretaker in 1976, a partnership that would last for the rest of the singer's life. Although the musician was many years older than he was, Eggers would later say that Van Zandt was his "first child." His battles with addiction led him to be admitted to rehab almost a dozen times throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Medical records from his time in recovery centers show that he believed his drinking had become a problem around 1973, and by 1982 he was drinking at least a pint of vodka daily. Doctors' notes reported: "He admits to hearing voices, mostly musical voices", and "Affect is blunted and mood is sad. Judgment and insight is impaired." At various points in his life, he was prescribed to take the antidepressant Zoloft and the mood stabilizer lithium. His final and longest period of sobriety during his adult life was a period of about a year in 1989 and 1990.
Van Zandt has been referred to as a cult musician and "a songwriter's songwriter." Musician Steve Earle, who met him in 1978 and considered Van Zandt a mentor, once called Van Zandt "the best songwriter in the whole world and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that." The quote was printed on a sticker featured on the packing of At My Window, much to Van Zandt's displeasure. In the years following, the quote was often cited by the press, much to Van Zandt and Earle's embarrassment; in 2009, Earle told the New York Times, "Did I ever believe that Townes was better than Bob Dylan? No." But he concluded at the end of the same article that, "As a songwriter, you won't find anybody better." Earle has championed the songwriter on a number of occasions: his eldest son, Justin Townes Earle, also a musician, is named after Van Zandt. Earle wrote the song "Fort Worth Blues" as a tribute to the singer in the late 1990s, and in 2009 released an album titled Townes, which featured all covers of Van Zandt songs.
His Texas-grounded impact stretched farther than country. He has been cited as a source of inspiration by such notable artists as Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Willie Nelson, Guthrie Thomas, John Prine, Lyle Lovett, Chelsea Wolfe, Scott Avett of The Avett Brothers, Emmylou Harris, Nanci Griffith, Cowboy Junkies, Vetiver, Guy Clark, Devendra Banhart, Norah Jones, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, The Be Good Tanyas and Jolie Holland, Rowland S. Howard, Michael Weston King, Josh Ritter, Gillian Welch, Garth Brooks, Simon Joyner, Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes, Caleb Followill of Kings of Leon, Laura Marling, Andrew Adkins and Frank Turner. Folk musician Shakey Graves has credited his fast-paced, rhythmic style of finger picked guitar playing partially to Van Zandt's influence.
In 1994, Israeli singer David Broza performed with Van Zandt during a Writers in the Round concert in Houston. When Van Zandt died, he left a shoe box full of unreleased poems and lyrics with a request that Broza set them to music. The resulting album was Night Dawn: The Unpublished Poetry of Townes Van Zandt.
In 2012, Van Zandt was inducted into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame.
In July 2012, Neurot Recordings released a three-way split album in tribute to Van Zandt, featuring Neurosis singer/guitarists Scott Kelly, Steve Von Till and doom/stoner metal legend Scott "Wino" Weinrich.
On June 18, 2015, Van Zandt was inducted into the second year's ceremony of the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame, along with Asleep at the Wheel, Loretta Lynn, Guy Clark and Flaco Jimenez. Gillian Welch inducted Van Zandt by telling stories about how he had come to her early gigs in Nashville and how he had bolstered her confidence in writing sad songs.
the Velvet Voices
Townes Van Zandt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll play upon my violin
Until the mountains ring
Of lonely laughter blindly thrown
And cause an endless sark of strings
The skies are sad
They're dancin' to a silent symphony
And the velvet voices all shall join
The hall is filled to every corner
By a tinkling hint of chimes
A melody careens and crumbles
Leaving just a trace behind
A rhythm (palter and) faintly fails
The silver on its wings
And the velvet voices all shall join
The singing
The cymbals flash, the drums they crash
The trumpets rise the song
The brass beton plucks its diamonds
From a glittering wall of almost dawn
The crystal chords they slash the wind
In humble majesty
And the velvet voices all shall join
The singing
The Velvet Voices by Townes Van Zandt is a narrative about music and its powerful effects. The song begins with the artist playing his violin with such fervor that the mountains around him seem to sing along. The laughter that springs out of the strings cause an endless sark of strings, which intensify the feelings of loneliness that are conveyed in the tone of the song. The skies are sad, and they dance to a silent symphony. It is as if the entire universe is in a state of melodic distress. The artist then brings in the velvet voices, a nod to the chorus that will come in later on, as the piece progresses.
The lyrics illustrate how music can awaken different emotions within us. They portray the power of music by highlighting the influence it has on mood and imagination. The hall that slowly fills up with a tinkling hint of chimes is also an indicator of how music can be spontaneous and communal. Music is not only felt by the individual making it, but it is able to infiltrate a crowd with shared sentiments. While the melody crumbles and leaves behind only a trace, it has the power to bring people together. The instruments in the chorus, cymbals, drums, trumpets, brass beton, and crystal chords, all come together to illustrate the grandeur and the range of emotions that music can convey.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll play upon my violin
I'll express myself through my music
Until the mountains ring
Until my music echoes throughout the landscape
Of lonely laughter blindly thrown
Of aimless and desolate laughter
And cause an endless sark of strings
And produce a never-ending melody
The skies are sad
The heavens are sorrowful
They're dancin' to a silent symphony
They move in harmony to the silent tune
And the velvet voices all shall join
And the soothing voices will unite
The singing
To produce a harmonious sound
The hall is filled to every corner
The room is completely occupied
By a tinkling hint of chimes
By a faint sound of ringing bells
A melody careens and crumbles
A tune swerves and falls apart
Leaving just a trace behind
Leaving only a faint memory
A rhythm (palter and) faintly fails
A beat weakly diminishes
The silver on its wings
Its pure and graceful rhythm
And the velvet voices all shall join
And the soft voices will come together
The singing
To form a melody
The cymbals flash, the drums they crash
The cymbals clang and the drums pound
The trumpets rise the song
The trumpets elevate the tune
The brass beton plucks its diamonds
The instrument produces its sweetest sounds
From a glittering wall of almost dawn
From a place just before the break of dawn
The crystal chords they slash the wind
The clear notes cut through the air
In humble majesty
In modest grandeur
And the velvet voices all shall join
And the smooth voices will collaborate
The singing
To create a euphonious and captivating piece
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing
Written by: John Townes Van Zandt
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Exile
I'll play upon my violin
Until the mountains ring
Of lonely laughter blindly thrown
And cause an endless sark of strings
The skies are sad
They're dancin' to a silent symphony
And the velvet voices all shall join
The singing
The hall is filled to every corner
By a tinkling hint of chimes
A melody careens and crumbles
Leaving just a trace behind
A rhythm [palter and] faintly fails
The silver on its wings
And the velvet voices all shall join
The singing
The cymbals flash, the drums they crash
The trumpets rise the song
The brass beton plucks its diamonds
From a glittering wall of almost dawn
The crystal chords they slash the wind
In humble majesty
And the velvet voices all shall join
The singing
Chad Allbrett
I stoped my car on a lonesome highway in eastern New Mexico, turned off everything but this song full blast, and enjoyed this hymn to the sky.
tripp
that's what lifes all about dude
Grandma Patty
I loved the singing, and his voice was strong, but the music seemed like it was trying to move him back to the old cowboy days of the 40's. I love and miss those old cowboy tunes. Some people are born old souls.
Maxine Corrington
Nice. Reminds me of Johnny Cash. Townes may be an old soul but he also has an innocent childlike quality.
wheelmanstan
wow another song of his I never knew about, this one is very different too, I like it
Harry Graham
Wow Townes poetry.
Mikko Leppänen
beautiful second guitar work and melody
yesiah suprees
Thank you. I needed this song
Exile
I'll play upon my violin
Until the mountains ring
Of lonely laughter blindly thrown
And cause an endless sark of strings
The skies are sad
They're dancin' to a silent symphony
And the velvet voices all shall join
The singing
The hall is filled to every corner
By a tinkling hint of chimes
A melody careens and crumbles
Leaving just a trace behind
A rhythm [palter and] faintly fails
The silver on its wings
And the velvet voices all shall join
The singing
The cymbals flash, the drums they crash
The trumpets rise the song
The brass beton plucks its diamonds
From a glittering wall of almost dawn
The crystal chords they slash the wind
In humble majesty
And the velvet voices all shall join
The singing
Exile
tintanmaster yes sir