SONG Love of the Common PeopleSONGWRITERS John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins
PERFORMER Waylon Jennings
APPEARS ON Love of the Common People (1967), Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line: The RCA Years (1993), Nashville Rebel (2006), others
Country songs about familial love triumphing over poverty are as numerous as drunks in bar and often as maudlin. But when done right -- as by Waylon Jennings singing "Love Of The Common People" -- this theme can be moving and transcendent.
Unlike many of its counterparts, "Love" makes no bones about poverty: The first line is about food stamps and watered down milk. When you're poor, the world knows that your family doesn't have the most basic items necessary for survival: Food, drink, shelter, warm clothes. But, this doesn't necessarily rob the same people of their need for family and love: Poverty increases the need for the immeasurable tenderness found at "home, where it's warm" in the "smiles from the heart of a family man," and where "a dream to cling to" supplants material want.
Of course, poverty doesn't bring families together, it destroys them. Which is why the ultimate power of this song lies its wider message that love forged in difficult circumstances is more powerful and lasting than love arising from leisure. In this respect, the love of the common people stands as a great force for universal good, as the binding energy of emotional security and community. If we know what's good for us, Jennings seems to say, we will all live in the love of the common people.
Click here for Waylon Jennings' original rendition of "Love Of The Common People." Scroll down, find the song title, and click the play button to its left. This opens the Rhapsody media player. I've also included a video of Bruce Springsteen's version (below), which can be found on his Live In Dublin album.
LYRICS
Livin' on free food tickets
Water in the milk from the hole in the roof
Where the rain came through
What can you do?
Tears from little sister
Cryin' cause she doesn't have a dress
Without a patch, for the party to go
Oh, but she knows, she'll get by
She is...Livin' In The Love Of The Common People
Smiles from the heart of a family man
Daddy's gonna buy her a dream to cling to
Moma's gonna love her just as much as she can
she can
It's a good thing you don't have bus fare
It would fall through the hole in your pocket
Then you'd lose it in the snow on the ground
A walkin' to town, to find a job
Tryin' to keep your hands warm
But the hole in your shoe let the snow
Come through and it chills to the bone,
Boy, you better go home, where it's warm
Where you can...live in the love of the common people
Smiles from the heart of a family man
Daddy's gonna buy her a dream to cling to
Moma's gonna love her just as much as she can
she can
Livin' on dreams ain't easy
But the closer the knit,the tighter the fit
And the chills stayin' away
You take em in your stride, family pride
You know that faith is your foundation
And with a whole lot of love and a warm
Conversation,with plenty of prayers
Makin' you strong, where you belong
Where you can live in the love of a common people
Be the pride and the heart of a family man
Daddy's gonna buy you a dream to cling to
Moma's gonna love you just as much as she can
she can
Livin' in the love of a common people
Be the pride and the heart...
Ah, that's the great thing about the music from all of the outlaws - Waylon, Willie, even Kristofferson; their songs can be adapted to almost any genre and still sound great and make their point. I would never have thought to do "Common People" as a reggae tune, but the Boss did and it works. Waylon was a helluva songwriter!
ReplyDeleteRoy: If you don't have the 2CD expanded edition of Waylon Live, man are you missing out. This review is of the single CD rerelease, which added nine songs to the original eleven. The expanded edition adds 22 more songs, none of them filler. Recommended without reservation.
ReplyDeleteI'm familiar with that song as a reggae/rock steady cut by Nicky Thomas. I'm not sure what compilation it's on, but Bruce has obviously heard this version. I had no idea Waylon Jennings wrote it.
ReplyDeleteYou can listen to the Nicky Thomas version on You Tube and Google it to see a very sweet album cover.
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