Day #44 – Death Of An Unpopular Poet

Day #44 – Death Of An Unpopular Poet

The inspiration for this song, as mentioned by Jimmy in his Directed By Delaney interview, was a writer named Kenneth Patchen, an American novelist and poet. He died in 1972, and it seems like Jimmy was inspired by his being a relatively unknown author who died fairly young. In fact, Patchen was sixty years old at his death and had published several books on poetry and a few novels, but he was a man who also had experimented with Jazz music as well as photography and painting. A real Renaissance type of man, and what I have found out about him could go on for days.

I can honestly say that I have not read any of the works of Kenneth Patchen, and I don’t know if I ever will, mostly because when I look at his published works, the list is quite long, and I don’t know where to even start. I suppose if I do every start, it will be with The Journal Of Albion Moonlight, which inspired Jimmy.  Patchen was actually once quite popular on college campuses during WWII and in the years following. And while Patchen might have not received many accolades during his lifetime, since his death, he has not been forgotten, certainly by Jimmy in his song, but also in places like his hometown in Ohio, and in California, where he lived at the time of his death.

What I have not figured out is if Patchen had a dog or if that was all Jimmy? It seems like it might have been a nice addition contributed by Jimmy. If anyone knows, I would love to hear about it.

***

Original post from 10/15/2023

Day #44 – Death Of An Unpopular Poet

“I once knew a poet, who lived before his time, He and his dog Spooner, would listen as he’d rhyme, Words to make you happy, Words to make you cry, Then one day the poet suddenly did die”.

Death Of An Unpopular Poet was on Jimmy’s 1973 album White Sport Coat And A Pink Crustacean. It was his third studio album, and while it was recorded in Nashville, it was after he made his move to the Keys and is considered the beginning of his “Key West sound”, a sound that would become its own genre of music, something Jimmy termed Gulf and Western.

I recall the first time I heard this song. I had bought the CD in Billings and was driving home. I was so excited because I had acquired several new JB CDs to discover. I put it on and was listening as I cruised down the highway. And nearly came to a stop in the road when I heard the line about the poet dying.

I hadn’t expected that, nor had I paid attention to all the song titles when I bought the CD. This was a level of realism that wasn’t usually in the music I was listening to. It’s a song that is heartfelt and sad, a little melancholy but with a little happiness and a tender ending.

BTW, I was in the breaks, just north of Fred Robinson bridge, where I should be watching for elk and not tearful over an imaginary poet and his dog.

Spooner, the poet’s dog, his loyal friend and listener, is the one who reaps the eventual success of the poet’s work. How beautiful and fitting is that? I don’t know if Jimmy had a dog at that time, but one thing is certain, he certainly did love dogs.

Jimmy touches on this song in a video series with his daughter Delaney, and he mentions that while living in Coconut Grove with Jerry Jeff Walker, another song writer, Fred Neil (who wrote Everybody’s Talking among other great songs) gave him a book on poetry. He encouraged Jimmy with poetry as a way of making his song lyrics flow.

That book was The Journal Of Albion Moonlight by Kenneth Patchen. Jimmy said it was serious and dark, but he learned a lot from it. Kenneth Panchen had very little recognition before his early death; that came later. That early death was some of the inspiration for this song.

I suppose on some level, Jimmy must have worried that could be his fate too. Dying before you could reap the benefits of your own artistic endeavors. I am so thankful that Jimmy’s career was long and successful, and he very definitely was able to reap the benefits of his creativity and hard work.

This is one of the songs that Bob Dylan named when asked about his favorite song writers and why. The other song is A Pirate Looks At Forty, which we have already visited.

This one will get you right in the heartstrings! Please enjoy Death Of An Unpopular Poet. I have included the link in the comments below. 

***

Death Of An Unpopular Poet was featured in Jimmy’s interviews with his daughter Delaney, the series is titled Directed By Delany. Those poignant and priceless interviews lead to the album Song’s You Don’t Know By Heart, which was released in 2020. And Jimmy rerecords this song for that album and it’s a beautiful rendition of the song, this time with a lifetime of living in Jimmy’s voice. Jimmy has never shied away from mortality in his songs, but with a lifetime of living and learning under his belt, the 2020 version of the song is as beautiful as the 1973 version, although perhaps we hear in Jimmy’s voice the influence of nearly forty years’ worth of living. Although I am sharing the original version, I recommend listening to the 2020 version as well.

Stacy

Please enjoy Death Of An Unpopular Poet. I have included the link below. Enjoy!

The link is from Jimmy’s official YouTube channel, which I have no personal affiliation with.