Dave
Well-Known Member
"...And you see him by the railroad track each mornin', tellin' stories to the hobos sittin' 'round..."
--"Hobo's & Kings" by Bobby Goldsboro... From his 1969 LP, Today, which was also released on CD in tandem with It's Too Late... It's the Last Song and even available on a '45'... Obviously inspired by Bobby seeing hobos gathered around the railroad tracks in his travels, one seems to typically be "a king", "a savior" or just "a chief hobo" looking after his "fellow-bums"...
Why a "tear-jerker"? Because that "lead hobo" apparently dies, as paraphrased in the line: "...And his eyes are closed, though he's no longer sleeping..." --Not since "Honey" has Goldsboro sung a song in which there was a "death"... Naturally in the song, the rest of the hobos are worried that they no longer have their "king", until "...--YOU--Drink 'your story' from a bottle and now possess the crown...", according to the remaining lines in the song, as it fades away... Seems as though my CD was playing in my sleep, I dreamt I was walking by a railroad track crying out loud...
I somehow never appreciated Bobby's original albums and always stood by my Tenth Anniversary Album as "All The Bobby Goldsboro I Needed to Hear!"... Until Collectibles released a "pale imitation" of that compilation, on which I finally had someone burn those 23 songs, plus three others only available on Tenth Anniversary... but from the reissue of Honey, ("With Pen In Hand") Summer The First Time, ("Marlena"--the album seems sooooo unfinished closing with "Summer...") and "Muddy Mississippi Line", which unfortunately had to be a "re-recorded version" from another Compilation, which ends with an Interview with Wink Martindale and even comes with a DVD! Anyway, I have the so-far THREE CD's of Five-reissued albums (one appears TWICE) and seem to rank Bobby as one of my favorites, right down to enjoying ALL of his albums in their originality and completeness and if only MORE would come out on CD!
Dave
--"Hobo's & Kings" by Bobby Goldsboro... From his 1969 LP, Today, which was also released on CD in tandem with It's Too Late... It's the Last Song and even available on a '45'... Obviously inspired by Bobby seeing hobos gathered around the railroad tracks in his travels, one seems to typically be "a king", "a savior" or just "a chief hobo" looking after his "fellow-bums"...
Why a "tear-jerker"? Because that "lead hobo" apparently dies, as paraphrased in the line: "...And his eyes are closed, though he's no longer sleeping..." --Not since "Honey" has Goldsboro sung a song in which there was a "death"... Naturally in the song, the rest of the hobos are worried that they no longer have their "king", until "...--YOU--Drink 'your story' from a bottle and now possess the crown...", according to the remaining lines in the song, as it fades away... Seems as though my CD was playing in my sleep, I dreamt I was walking by a railroad track crying out loud...
I somehow never appreciated Bobby's original albums and always stood by my Tenth Anniversary Album as "All The Bobby Goldsboro I Needed to Hear!"... Until Collectibles released a "pale imitation" of that compilation, on which I finally had someone burn those 23 songs, plus three others only available on Tenth Anniversary... but from the reissue of Honey, ("With Pen In Hand") Summer The First Time, ("Marlena"--the album seems sooooo unfinished closing with "Summer...") and "Muddy Mississippi Line", which unfortunately had to be a "re-recorded version" from another Compilation, which ends with an Interview with Wink Martindale and even comes with a DVD! Anyway, I have the so-far THREE CD's of Five-reissued albums (one appears TWICE) and seem to rank Bobby as one of my favorites, right down to enjoying ALL of his albums in their originality and completeness and if only MORE would come out on CD!
Dave
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