Famously, Dickie Betts of the Allman Brothers wrote this instrumental in a Macon, Georgia graveyard that he liked to hang out in.
The fact that the songs is an instrumental leaves Elizabeth Reed's story untold, and lets us wonder.
Grampa Tim has spent many an hour, I'm sure, pondering such unknowable questions.
On top of being a carpenter, shop keeper, bartender, reluctant soldier, sketcher, clam digger, bird house builder, art installer, roofer, and handyman, he is also a stone carver.
And he'll do simple marker carving, like the slate-address-marker we have at our front door.
A few years ago, he was hired by the Brewster Cemetery Association to fix and restore over 300 gravestones in town. (Read about it in a Cape Codder article)
That job lasted ages, and gave Tim a lot of time to ponder just who those people were, what their life might have been like, and what their story had been.
But, despite his many talents, I don't think he wrote a song about it.
Throughout the holiday season, I'm writing stories about some of the family and friends who are making and selling art and such. When you think about dropping $50 at Amazon or Walmart, consider how much farther that money will go, how much better for the broader economy it would be, if you spent your cash with a small business owner.
While I don't know that your Mom would appreciate a Gravestone as a Christmas present, and you may not be interested in a massive, marble carved fireplace, take a look a Tim's site. There may be some more modest carving or stone bench or piece of rustic furniture or abstract art that would appeal to you.
Hear the song on Youtube.
Wow! Your grandfather has created some truly beautiful things. Obviously, very talented.
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to applaud your efforts to encourage people to buy from artists and craftsmen this holiday season rather than spending their money anonymously on mass-produced items. We need more people expressing this sentiment.