September 25, 20222 – Longview, Alberta
It is Ian Tyson’s birthday today. He is 88 – which is 264 in musician years.
A friend of a friend visited Tyson in hospital this week. He reported that the old cowboy appears to be nearing the end of the trail.
But what a ride! It would take more pages than I have time to scribble, to describe Tyson’s lifetime of achievements.
Wikipedia does a good job listing Tyson’s awards and accomplishments, if you want to read the whole catalogue, click here.
Tyson’s ranch is about 25 miles from our place, as the Magpie flies. We occasionally bump into him around town, at the hardware store or the steakhouse. We have been among the intimate crowd at the East Longview Hall several times when Tyson played there.
Ian Tyson has performed all over the world, at venues where the seating capacity stretches into the many thousands, but he is at his very best when performing for a few of us at East Longview, just out his back door.
When I turned 60, Bear arranged to have Tyson perform a concert in our barn. Many of you reading this were there. That evening was one of the highlights of my life.
Ian came for a visit ahead of the show to check out the venue. The tin ceilings in the barn were not up to his acoustical standard but he agreed to do the event anyway. We set up a stage and invited about 100 folks for the evening.
I interacted with Ian throughout the set-up and pre-performance, but he wasn’t very interested in anything I had to say. At one point we had to go up to the house to sign some paperwork and take delivery of a case of CD’s we had ordered. Like I said, he never paid much attention to me, but the minute Ian met Bear he turned on the charm. The old rascal can flirt like Casanova.
I have listened to everything Ian Tyson has ever written, about 100 times each. His music and his delivery are as good as it gets, but it is his songwriting that knocks me on the floor every time.
Never hit seventeen
When you play against the dealer
You know that the odds
Won’t ride with you
Never leave your woman alone
With your friends around to steal her
She’ll be gambled and gone
Like summer wages.
Ian Tyson performing at SX Ranch – Millarville Alberta.
As charming as he is, Ian Tyson is a lonely man. He is usually by himself when I run into him in town. He talks openly about being alone in interviews. Tyson’s songs and music portray a man whose life and love are often not in the same place, at the same time.
“I am going to write a book on how NOT to handle women. I am sure it will be a bestseller”.
(Referring to Four Strong Winds) “This song has paid a lot of alimony”.
“My love life has been rocky, but it makes for good song writing”.
Ian Tyson’s loneliness is a gift to the rest of us. The pain he feels is written in heartfelt lyrics; solitude reverberates in his voice.
I hope Ian finds joy on his birthday. But if he doesn’t, his voice reminds the rest of us that …
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