shake the dust off of your wings, and the sleep out of your eyes

Yesterday felt like full-on summer crouching outside my door. I even went for a run so hard and lovely that I almost threw up. Awesome. Today is grey and rain just started falling on my office window, little rivulets gathering speed by the minute. I am wishing I didn’t wear open-toed shoes.

But the good thing about this weather is that it needs some pensive tunes to go with it, and I have just the one — the perfect song for this and all grey days. As I previously mentioned, Steve Earle is releasing a full album of covers of songs written by his friend Townes Van Zandt. Townes may be one of the greatest songwriters of the last generation, with so many hidden gems that I am still uncovering.

How about this one?

To Live Is To Fly (Townes Van Zandt) – Steve Earle

We got the sky to talk about
And the earth to lie upon

Well, to live is to fly
Low and high
So shake the dust off of your wings
And the sleep out of your eyes

The album features appearances from Allison Moorer (she must provide the lovely harmonies on this track), guitarist Tom Morello (of Rage Against the Machine and recent folkier project The Nightwatchman), and for the first time on one of his dad’s records, Justin Townes Earle. Considering his name, this is a fitting album for Justin to be featured on.

Townes is out May 12th on New West, with a preview EP available now.

Steve Earle covers Townes Van Zandt

In a Rolling Stone article published last week, Steve Earle talked about his relationship with the late singer-songwriter iconoclast Townes Van Zandt, and revealed that he’s currently putting the finishing touches on an entire album of Townes covers.

To get you thinkin’ in that direction, here are some live versions Earle has done of songs either written or performed by Townes the years.

STEVE EARLE COVERS TOWNES VAN ZANDT
Rex Blues
Tom Dooley
Brand New Companion
No Deal
Mr. Mudd and Mr. Gold
Lungs
White Freightliner

ZIP: EARLE DOES TVZ

BONUS UNRELATED COVER because it sounded good:
Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way? (Waylon Jennings) – Steve Earle

BONUS MOVIE: You can still be here to love Townes Van Zandt:

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Townes Van Zandt wants you to be here to love him

And by “here” I mean in front of your computer, because now you can watch the entire 2004 film for free from those SnagFilms folks (like the Dandys/BJM one). Rad.

ABOUT BE HERE TO LOVE ME
Perhaps one of the most underrated songwriters of the last century, Be Here To Love Me chronicles the fascinating and often turbulent life of Townes Van Zandt with a simple unpredictability that mimics the way the artist lived his short life. Directed by Margaret Brown, this haunting and lyrical film combines emotional interviews with Van Zandt’s immediate family and such luminaries as Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett, Steve Earle and Guy Clark with rare footage of Van Zandt at home and on the stage.