I was alone in Alpine, Texas, having supper at the Reata bar. There was a woman sitting next to me also alone. She had travelled from a city much like Austin, or Fort Worth, and was in the small college town on a business trip. I was in town after camping and hiking in Big Bend and was attending the Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering at the college. It was February, 2013.
We had been exchanging pleasantries and telling why we were in Alpine and I told her that I was riding Amtrak and writing for my blog.
“What is the name of your blog?”
“Old Ones Dream.”
She produced her smart phone and her search produced “Old Ones Dream” with the banner photograph of a desert rainbow north of Kingman, Arizona and a quote attributed to Eric Taylor. She regarded me with an open smile and asked, “Are you Eric Taylor?”
For a split second I wished I were, but I wasn’t, and with my best straight mouth grin I replied, “No.”
The quote at the bottom of the banner is “. . . the old ones by the door … their heads to their chests, they told lies . . .” from Deadwood, written and recorded by Eric Taylor, and more notably recorded by his ex-wife Nanci Griffith. The song can be a powerful message to any sensitive soul, and it prompted not only the name of my blog, but helped to plant the seeds that sprouted to produce a quest across the high plains for “. . . the One they called Crazy,” his killers, “… the Black Hills they was a mountain of gold” and the heartbreaking aftermath of the battle of Little Big Horn.
My path and that of Eric Taylor never crossed, though his shadow crossed the bar at the Reata Restaurant that night. He was a man with a big poetic brain and a huge heart. Late in life he performed the YouTube video below, in which he spends some time talking about Pine Ridge and Fort Robinson, and about the writing of the song and some of what came after. He tells a story about how he discovered that the song had made him some money. It is a poignant telling of old stories, bringing a lump to his throat, and in itself is a fair tribute to the man.
Deadwood, South Dakota performed by Eric Taylor at the Two Rocks and a Hubcap, Cerillos, New Mexico, August 17, 2012.
And here is the Nancy Griffith recording that earned him the “…brand new BMW motorcycle.”
- Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group Deadwood (Live) (1988 Anderson Fair) · Nanci Griffith
He was considered by many of his more famous peers to be a heavy contributor to the Texas singer-songwriter body of work. Nanci Griffith called him “…a voice I consider the William Faulkner of songwriting.” He was born in Atlanta, Georgia.
Credit: Eric Taylor's obituary written by Bill Friskics-Warren appearing March 15, 2020 in the New York Times.
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If you would like to see my collection of Carolina Lowcountry memories—"Magnolia Elegy: Place In the Edisto Fork," you can view the book trailer here, and see the book page here on the publisher's website. The book is also available from Amazon, B&N, and your independent local bookseller.
