I ran across this song on YouTube while doing some drafting.?ÿ It cracked me up so I went looking for the original writer/artist.?ÿ Google doesn't seem to know the answer.?ÿ I was able to find a version by Ray Stevens and and earlier version from 1979 on a local cable show, but I've yet to find the original songwriters name.
Some of you have more gray hair, or less hair in general than me and have been on this rock for more revolutions than I have so maybe you'll know where this came from. ?????ÿ
The tune is an old one called Daniel Prayed, about the biblical figure in the lion's den. I'd never heard these parody words.
This link indicated the original was written in the 1940's and first recorded in 1951, then covered by a long list if country and bluegrass performers. It didn't mention the parody.
https://secondhandsongs.com/work/138329
Edit: Maybe link is fixed now
I love Ray Stevens and Billy Strings both.?ÿ What a fantastic performance.?ÿ His (Billy) real talent of course is on the guitar and if you have time to watch his shows, it is worth it.?ÿ Never met him personally but he seems to know how good he is and its a wonder his head fits through a doorway.?ÿ I imagine life must be tough for those nearly autistically talented folks.
Patty Loveless and Ricky Skaggs did a great version of Daniel Prayed.?ÿ My wife is an excellent singer and she kept trying to get me to learn the harmony parts to sing with her and I was like an epileptic in mid seizure trying to tie his shoes.?ÿ Just couldn't get it at all.
Ray Stevens was from my "hometown" of Albany, Georgia.?ÿ This sounds like something he would "write", or at least parody.
As a side note, Ray's wife of many years died this week.?ÿ They were quite devoted to each other.
Andy
Stephen, that was beautiful on multiple levels. ?ÿThanks for sharing.
Edit: Maybe link is fixed now
When you paste links, you don't need the HTML code that goes along with it. Just the URL. The forum will link it automatically.
The only way to fix it is for me to dig into the database and clean out the HTML part of it. Not a big deal, now that I know that. But the first time it happened it was a bit of a challenge because the thread gets broken and even I can't hit the edit button.
Billy Strings plays Preston Thompson guitars which are made just down the road in Sisters, Oregon. We were friends with Preston who died in 2019 after a horrendous battle with pancreatic cancer. Weren't no quit in that Texan but cancer prevailed.
I've never seen Billy Strings play but I guess he'd drop by the shop in Sisters every now and again to test drive guitars and jam with Preston and the other luthiers. Would have loved to have been a fly on the wall during those sessions!
Strings does a pretty version of "Don't Think Twice" in this vid:
Just gotta say, once again, thank you so much for introducing me to Billy Strings! ?ÿLoving these guys.
A guitar picking friend of mine from North Carolina went to a destination wedding in Oregon and it was close enough that he was able to go through the Thompson shop and play on some very very nice guitars.?ÿ If I ever find myself within a couple hundred miles of there, it is on my bucket list.?ÿ Sorry that Preston had to go that way.?ÿ Better to be shot at 95 years old by a jealous husband ???? .
