David Olney, who wrote songs for music legends, dies
Source: AP
SANTA ROSA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — David Olney, a folk singer who wrote songs recorded by Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris, died following a heart attack while performing in Florida, his publicist said Sunday.
Jill Kettles said Olney was on stage in Santa Rosa Beach on Saturday when he was stricken. He was 71.
Olney, a native of Rhode Island, was part of the music scene in Nashville, Tennessee for decades and had recorded more than 20 albums, according to a release about his death posted to his website.
He was performing Saturday at the 30A Songwriters Festival. A biography on the festival’s website said Olney incorporated a variety of styles in his music, including honky tonk and rock. His songs explored offbeat topics such as a Nashville train disaster and late New York Yankees shortstop Phil Rizzuto, the release said.
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Peace to his friends and family.
From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Olney
(snip)
Performed by: Linda Ronstadt
Writer(s): David Olney
Oh the women 'cross the river carry water from the well at break of day
And they talk to one another; God only knows what they might say
You might get an education after years of dedication
You might finally get a glimpse of what is right and what is wrong
But the women 'cross the river; well they knew that all along
Oh the women 'cross the river work with tools that are ancient and hand-made
And they plow their fields in perfect rows and then they rest beneath the shade
Now we have learned to build, out of concrete, out of steel
And our buildings stand a thousand years but then even they are bound to fall
But the women 'cross the river never learned to build a wall
Oh the women 'cross the river are as gentle as the dew upon the ground
How I love to hear them laughing in the rain when it makes that perfect sound
Now a soldier with a gun and a battle to be won
Might kill you with a bullet and you never even know the reason why
But the women 'cross the river; they can kill you with their eyes
Oh the women 'cross the river; they can kill you with their eyes
RIP.......
like most writers we don't notice much until they're gone. He seems to have the talent of taking the listener quickly into the space of the song, both physically and emotionally.
Having been raised around Nashville and with the first part of my crazy career spent in the music industry, I enjoy reading his stories and scanning his lyrics. Parts of his pieces remind me of Kristofferson, Mickey Newbury and Tom T. Hall, all master story tellers.
From: "Nashville 1972"
Tom T Hall go drink your fill and blow us all away
There was this tight-rope-walker who called herself the queen of Poughkeepsie
Who ran away from the circus with some roustabout redneck gypsy
They were Townes Van Zandt fans and prone to combustion
They fought like dogs in Spanish and made love in Russian
I wish Newberry and Buck White would drop on by the house tonight
Things have changed round here you bet, but it don't seem much better yet
I first met Willie Nelson with some friends at a party
I was twenty-two years old and he was pushing forty
There was hippies and reefer and God knows what all I was drinking pretty hard
I played him this shitty song I wrote and puked out in the yard
KY........
