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Quiz about The Songs of Townes Van Zandt
Quiz about The Songs of Townes Van Zandt

The Songs of Townes Van Zandt Trivia Quiz


Steve Earle has been quoted as saying "Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world..." How much do you know about the songs of this legendary Texan?

A multiple-choice quiz by agony. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
agony
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
226,974
Updated
Jul 23 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
405
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. "The name she gave was Caroline
daughter of a miner
her ways were free
it seemed to me
that ______________"

Fill in the missing lyric from "Tecumseh Valley".
Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. "When the wind don't blow in Amarillo
and the moon along the Gunnison don't rise
shall I cast my dreams upon your love, babe
and lie beneath the laughter of your eyes

It's snowin' on ________
come morning I'll be through them hills and gone"

Where is the snow falling?
Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. "Living is dancing
dying does nothing at all
baby and I are laying here
watching the evening fall

Three dimes
hard luck and good times
fast lines and low rhymes
ain't much to say
Feel fine
feel low and lazy
feel grey and hazy
feel far away"

What song are these lyrics from?
Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. "A friend said he knew where some easy money was
We robbed a man and brother did we fly
The posse caught up with me, drug me back to Muskogee"
and
"Now I'm out of prison, I got me a friend at last
He don't steal or cheat or drink or lie
His name's codeine, he's the nicest thing I've seen"

What song are these lyrics from?
Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. "...she's a barroom girl
wears them sevens on her sleeve
Dances like a diamond shines
Tell me lies I love to believe
Her age is always 22
Her laughing eyes a hazel hue
Spends my money like water falls
Loves me like I want her to"

Who is this song about?
Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. "Living on the road my friend
Was gonna keep you free and clean
Now you wear your skin like iron
Your breath's as hard as _________"

Fill in the correct word, from this most well known of his songs.
Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. "Fella 'cross town said he's lookin' for a man
to move some old cars around
maybe me and _______ could find a burned-out
van and do a little settlin' down
Aw, but I'm just dreamin', I ain't got no ride
and the junkyard's a pretty good ways
that job's about a half week old besides
it'd be gone now anyway"

This has to be one of the saddest songs I've ever heard - who is it about?
Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. "Sunrise comes and I don't know why
living loves and the day does fly
soon the moon and baby and I
will be lyin' side by side
...
If I have to go I won't be long
maybe we'll move to Tennessee
leave these Texas blues behind
see ___________________"

Who will they be going to see, in Tennessee?
Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. "Mr. Gator he's a-slidin' down the bayou
Mr. Buzzard he's a-glidin' through the air
Mr. Turtle he's a-hittin' the highway
But I ain't goin' nowhere"

In which song can you hear these lyrics?
Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. So, about that Steve Earle quote...

"Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world and I'll stand on ________ coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that."

Whose coffee table is Steve planning to get bootmarks all over?
Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. "The name she gave was Caroline daughter of a miner her ways were free it seemed to me that ______________" Fill in the missing lyric from "Tecumseh Valley".

Answer: sunshine walked beside her

This is the first song I ever heard Townes sing, back in the mid eighties, at the Edmonton FolkFest. I'd heard his name before, because of "Pancho and Lefty", but was unfamiliar with his music otherwise. But, he was on the same workshop stage as Guy Clark, a favorite of mine, so along I went.
I'll never forget that - a hot summer late morning, and Townes holding the crowd spellbound, singing with his eyes closed.
2. "When the wind don't blow in Amarillo and the moon along the Gunnison don't rise shall I cast my dreams upon your love, babe and lie beneath the laughter of your eyes It's snowin' on ________ come morning I'll be through them hills and gone" Where is the snow falling?

Answer: Raton

"Mother thinks the road is long and lonely
little brother thinks the road is straight and fine
little darling thinks the road is soft and lovely
I'm thankful that old road is a friend of mine"
from "Snowin' on Raton".

The Raton Pass is in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, between Colorado and New Mexico. All the incorrect choices are passes in the Canadian Rockies.
3. "Living is dancing dying does nothing at all baby and I are laying here watching the evening fall Three dimes hard luck and good times fast lines and low rhymes ain't much to say Feel fine feel low and lazy feel grey and hazy feel far away" What song are these lyrics from?

Answer: At my Window

The title song from 1987's "At my Window", the first he was to record for Sugar Hill Records.
4. "A friend said he knew where some easy money was We robbed a man and brother did we fly The posse caught up with me, drug me back to Muskogee" and "Now I'm out of prison, I got me a friend at last He don't steal or cheat or drink or lie His name's codeine, he's the nicest thing I've seen" What song are these lyrics from?

Answer: Waitin' 'Round to Die

"Sometimes I don't know where this dirty road is taking me
Sometimes I can't even see the reason why
I guess I keep on gamblin', lots of booze and lots of ramblin'
It's easier than just a-waitin' 'round to die"
5. "...she's a barroom girl wears them sevens on her sleeve Dances like a diamond shines Tell me lies I love to believe Her age is always 22 Her laughing eyes a hazel hue Spends my money like water falls Loves me like I want her to" Who is this song about?

Answer: Loretta

From the song "Loretta", first released on 1978's "Flyin' Shoes".

"Oh, Loretta, won't you say to me
Darling, put your guitar on
have a little shot of booze
play a blue and wailing song
My guitar rings a melody
My guitar sings, Loretta's fine
Long and lazy, blonde and free
and I can have her any time"
6. "Living on the road my friend Was gonna keep you free and clean Now you wear your skin like iron Your breath's as hard as _________" Fill in the correct word, from this most well known of his songs.

Answer: kerosene

"Pancho And Lefty" was covered in 1982 by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard, and went to Number One on the Billboard charts. I first heard it in a cover version by Hoyt Axton on 1977's "Snowblind Friend".
7. "Fella 'cross town said he's lookin' for a man to move some old cars around maybe me and _______ could find a burned-out van and do a little settlin' down Aw, but I'm just dreamin', I ain't got no ride and the junkyard's a pretty good ways that job's about a half week old besides it'd be gone now anyway" This has to be one of the saddest songs I've ever heard - who is it about?

Answer: Marie

A heartbreaking song of homelessness, poverty, and despair.
On the San Marcos Fire Station recordings, released on the CD "Texas Rain", Willie Nelson joins Townes on this song. This is also the song that Willie performs on "Poet", the tribute CD from 2001.

"The Pocono's down but the Chesapeake's runnin'
two freights everyday
if it was just me I'd be headed south
but Marie can't catch no train
She's got some pain and she thinks it's a baby,
says we gotta wait and see
in my heart I know it's a little boy
hope he don't end up like me"

"Marie she didn't wake up this morning
she didn't even try
she just rolled over and went to heaven
my little boy safe inside
I laid them in the sun where somebody'd find them
caught a Chesapeake on the fly
Marie will know I'm headed south
so's to meet me by and by"
8. "Sunrise comes and I don't know why living loves and the day does fly soon the moon and baby and I will be lyin' side by side ... If I have to go I won't be long maybe we'll move to Tennessee leave these Texas blues behind see ___________________" Who will they be going to see, in Tennessee?

Answer: Susanna and Guy

From "Pueblo Waltz".
Susanna and Guy Clark were close friends of Townes' - "Every single morning at 8:30 for years Townes called me for our 'morning call'. Guy would usually bring me a cup of coffee, because he knew we'd be on the phone for at least an hour....We talked about the language and words and poetry and songs. More often than not he'd read me his new poem of the day. Songs always had to work as a poem on paper first. Townes' rule." (Susanna Clark, from "Song Builder - the Life and Music of Guy Clark" by Nick Evans and Jeff Horne)

Guy Clark is a prolific and well respected songwriter himself, with songs such as "LA Freeway", "Heavy Metal (don't mean rock and roll to me)", and "Home Grown Tomatoes".
9. "Mr. Gator he's a-slidin' down the bayou Mr. Buzzard he's a-glidin' through the air Mr. Turtle he's a-hittin' the highway But I ain't goin' nowhere" In which song can you hear these lyrics?

Answer: Ain't Leavin' your Love

"I ain't leavin your love
Ain't leavin your love
Not for heaven above babe
I ain't leavin your love

The rich man's got him an airplane
Cruising through the traffic jam
A poor man's got him a Chevrolet
I'm stayin' right where I am"
10. So, about that Steve Earle quote... "Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world and I'll stand on ________ coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that." Whose coffee table is Steve planning to get bootmarks all over?

Answer: Bob Dylan's

Steve Earle, Guy Clark, and Townes played a benefit at the Bluebird cafe in Nashville in September, 1995. Susanna Clark had put the show together to raise money for the Interfaith Dental Clinic, and I wish I'd have been there. On the CD "...Together at the Bluebird", you'll hear songs like Clark's "Randall Knife", Earle's "Copperhead Road", and "Tecumseh Valley".

Townes Van Zandt died of a heart attack on January 1, 1997. He was 52 years old.
Source: Author agony

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Bruyere before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
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