This Old Guitar

This old guitar ain't mine to keep
just taking care of it now
It's been around for years and years
just waiting in its old case
It's been up and down the country roads
It's brought a tear and a smile
It's seen its share of dreams and hopes
and never went out of style
The more I play it, the better it sounds
It cries when I leave it alone
Silently it waits for me
or someone else I suppose

This old guitar
This old guitar
This old guitar

This old guitar has caught some breaks
but it never searched for gold
It can't be blamed for my mistakes
It only does what it's told
It's been a messenger in times of trouble
in times of hope and fear
When I get drunk and seeing double
it jumps behind the wheel and steers

 

Did you know that Neil Young plays with a guitar that once belonged to the great Hank Williams, Sr.? You can hear This Old Guitar on the 2005 release of Young's cd, Prairie Wind, which has become a most frequent disc in my cd player. Of course, the Harvest album will always stay at the top of my list.

Here is a quote in an interview with Neil about that guitar:

No, nothing like that. I've got a Hank Williams' guitar, but I play it all the time. It's an old Martin D-28. I bought it from Tut Taylor. It's always great when someone understands what this is that they're holding, who understands the effect Hank Williams had on all of us. They are sort of awestruck by being in the presence of anything that he touched---to the point that to actually play his instrument elevates them to another level. It's a wonderful thing to have a guitar for that reason. A lot of people who should have played it, have played it. I'm careful about it, but I use it all the time. It's not on a wall in a museum.