BJ the DJ

YOUR LINK HERE:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=zASLAoXw7Xo

One of the best received train songs last November came from the repertoire of Stonewall Jackson, so I thought I would start this year's story song series with a story song from him. This is a song that Tipper and I used to listen to as kids. We always liked it, even though it made us sad. Sometimes, our friends the Malpass Brothers perform this song. This is one of those songs that proves you can have a great melody with only two chords. Naturally, I had to do a little research before uploading, to see what I could find out about this song. Of course, I wondered if it might tell a true story. I assumed that Jackson wrote it. It somehow sounds a little like the song he sang about Herman Swartz. However, it turns out that BJ the DJ wasn't written by Jackson but was written by Hugh X. Lewis. Anyone who reads all of the descriptions that I write for our uploads is probably noticing some crazy irony right here: In the very last upload that I did on this channel, I commented that once upon a time, I thought Hugh X. Lewis wrote the song Too Late, which dad and I sang. What a crazy coincidence that one week later I would find out that Lewis wrote a song I had heard all my life and never connected to him. Lewis wasn't all that famous, but he wrote one of my favorite songs of all time: Tomorrow's Just Another Day to Cry. You can find me singing it with Pap on this channel. Anyway, according to Wikipedia, BJ the DJ is indeed a true story, written about a DJ that Lewis knew who burned the candle at both ends too much, driving fast to get to his various jobs and living with sleep deprivation, until it caught up to him in a fatal crash. His name/handle was apparently BJ the DJ Johnson, and just as in the song, his mother admonished him both about his lack of sleep and about his poorly maintained vehicle. One reason I always liked this song is because the mother in the song reminds me so much of my own mother (Granny). Even though I'm 50 years old, she still wants me to call her when I arrive wherever I'm going and to call her again when I leave that location to head home. When I was young, that bugged me, and I refused to comply. Now, I don't mind, and I know that it comes from her great love. It only takes a couple of minutes to set her mind at ease, so why not do it? Unfortunately, I can also identify with BJ's fast driving, especially when I was in my college years, and I'm thankful that I am here today and that I now have enough sense to know that it isn't worth it to risk my life or the lives of others just to get somewhere on time for something that isn't all that important to begin with (like for instance, spinning records). I appreciate Corie and Tipper coming out of semi-musical-retirement to help me with this song. I didn't sing or play as loudly as I should have in this video, so I placed the lyrics below. I got the bright idea of doing the door knock on my guitar for dramatic effect in this song, but I botched it. I know at least one more story song that Stonewall recorded, and I may include it in this year's series too. Hope you enjoyed this first installment, and thanks for watching! • A story 'bout a pal of mine, • Who worked down near the Georgia line, • As DJ in a little country station. • Everybody loved him dear, • For he played what they liked to hear. • He built himself up quite a reputation. • At record hops, he'd stay out late, • And his mom would always wait • To see if he had made it home alright. • She warned against his loss of sleep, • Driving fast in that old heap, • And that he had to be at work by five. • BJ the DJ, you're livin' much too fast, • And if you don't change your ways, • Don't see how you can last. • Every morning, just past four, • From the driveway he would roar, • Overslept and he was late again, • Then at break-neck speed he'd drive • To sign the station on at five. • He had lots of records he must spin. • His mom would sit by the radio • Till his voice told her hello. • She knew then that he'd made there alright, • Then she'd say a little prayer • That he'd be safe while he was there, • Then she'd wait up for him again that night. • Then one cold and rainy morn, • All four tires were badly worn. • Still, he scratched off just as fast this time. • BJ had a lot of nerve, • But he completely missed the curve, • And he signed off down near the Georgia line. • His mom sat by the radio. • The voice she heard, she did not know. • BJ'd never been this late before, • But with the road so bad and all, • She'd wait a while before she'd call, • Then she heard the knock upon the door. • BJ the DJ, only 24. • A wreck at 90 mph, • He'll spin the hits no more. • Listen to original singles released on Spotify: • https://open.spotify.com/artist/5VX6Z... • Listen to original singles on YouTube: • / @paulwilson6260 • Listen to Shepherd of My Soul (Album released in 2016): • https://open.spotify.com/album/4VnoOy...

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