Quote Of The Day By Townes Van Zandt: 'There Have Been Songs I Didn't Write Because ...'

Townes Van Zandt was one of the bad boys of outlaw country music. He influenced several well-known artists, such as Rodney Crowell, Nanci Griffith, Guy Clark, and even the great Willie Nelson — many of whom credit their fame to Van Zandt. And while the epic story behind "Poncho and Lefty" might remain a mystery, it was one of Van Zandt's hits, along with "If I Needed You," which hit No. 3 on the Hot Country chart when Don Williams and Emmylou Harris covered it.

This legendary country artist didn't reach the peak of his fame on the stage. Sure, he played and people listened, but he had no real commercial success, and like other musicians who found greater recognition posthumously, all of his accolades were awarded after his death in 1997. First, in 2007, the Americana Music Association gave him the association's President's Award. Then, in 2010, he was inducted into the Austin Music Memorial, followed by a 2012 induction into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame. Likewise, the Nashville Songwriter's Hall of Fame posthumously inducted Van Zandt in 2016.

Van Zandt's true legacy never lay in his music performances. It lives through his masterful songwriting and the way in which he influenced outlaw country. After all, Texas Monthly didn't call him "the most influential Texas songwriter of his time" for no reason. And that is why Townes Van Zandt is today's quote of the day.

"There have been songs I didn't write because I was afraid they might come true, kind of sad songs that I didn't want to hear."

Townes Van Zandt gave this quote in an interview with Graham Reid in 1988, published in the latter's online magazine Elsewhere in 2011. During their discussion, Reid and Van Zandt talked about an array of topics — everything from a joke album title that accidentally convinced people he was dead to how the singer-songwriter was finally living a stable life with his family. This stability was new, as Van Zandt had had previous trouble with the law and a propensity for hiding out in the mountains on a whim.

Van Zandt goes on to discuss, as this quote implies, the power he believes music has on shaping our reality — for better or for worse. And, since he'd live a less-than-perfect life at times, the idea of his songs giving fate a nudge to the dark side could certainly be frightening.

During his interview with Graham Reid, Townes Van Zandt talked about believing that writing a song could influence fate. His way of looking at it wasn't necessarily spiritual, but rather seemed to involve someone hearing a song and setting them on a path they wouldn't otherwise take. And, under this assumption, certain song topics could've been dangerous for Van Zandt or unsuspecting listeners.

The legendary songwriter had well-known personal issues that deeply impacted his life, and which brought him into contact with local police so often that they were on first-name terms with him — and not in a friendly way. Van Zandt was fully aware of the influence music and lyrics can have on our mindsets; he knew that if he were to write about certain sad topics, possibly ones that related to mortality or destitution, they may influence someone like him to make poor life choices with lasting consequences.

The topics Van Zandt referred to must've been fairly grim, since he'd already released an album in 1972 titled "The Late Great Townes Van Zandt." Any topic that would scare him to write about would certainly make us all shudder.

• "Like a lot of folks I was a person who couldn't do things halfway."

• "I just write songs for me and my soul — you know — and it's a real honor to me that somebody likes them."

• "I'm what you call a very lazy, philosophic sort of guy."

• "It seems like the record companies just pick out people — you know, young guys or girls and young men and women — and say, 'this is the next country star.' And that's what you hear."

• "Sometimes you get kind of a dead response, like at the bitter end. A lot of those people are coming there like tourists, ya know. They just want to see the bitter end."

• "I'm a hardcore rambler. I play anywhere, anytime, for any money. Give me the keys to the car, and I'm gone."