the DANIEL HUTCHENS
SONG CYCLE manifesto…
“It’s time to move on, time to get going...what lies ahead I have no way of knowing,” as Tom Petty said. The livestream thing is weird but interesting, and it’s the same thing I’ve done all my life, and it’s not the same at all...”Strange days indeed,” as John Lennon once said. Whoa. And I’m digressing like a champion.
Before the Coronavirus hit, I had just gotten into a project, aided and inspired greatly by my buddy Fred Adams...I was finally putting my book of complete lyrics together, which has been a lifelong goal. But Fred kept prodding me to dig deeper, and find “missing” songs, particularly by digging into the CASSETTES. I have tubs full of old “work cassettes” and live show cassettes, alternate mixes, home demos, everything all jumbled together in those tubs, hundreds of cassettes. I never thought I’d have time or energy to dig through ‘em all, but Fred does a lot of the work too, and it’s turned out to be pretty rewarding. Of course once we dove into the cassettes, the project got a whole lot more complicated, and more fun, and more hair-pulling frustrating at times. I always imagined I’d wind up an old man, buried in those work tapes and obsessively trying to make some sense of ‘em. And sure enough!
So as I assemble the lyrics book, my “official” song list has blown up to around 450 titles. I’d say a good hundred of those still need work, so at the moment I’m guessing I have around 350 “playable” songs (though I’ll have to relearn a lot of them.) Somewhere around 200 of those are on the “official” releases over the years. So those are the stats.
What occurred to me about this livestream stuff is that I want to try to play every one of my songs. I think it will help tie all the other projects together (I’m also working on a box set of unreleased home demos), and help me really make final decisions about which songs “make the cut” and go in the book, and which don’t.
It’s also a little bit of a challenge and might add an extra element of fun. Like a sporting event! “When’s he gonna come to his senses?” It sounds preposterous, even to me, to think of this in terms of, “Have a seat, I’ll play ya 450 songs!” (And actually, that bizarre number 500 is standing there in the distance, as old songs continue to reappear from the cassettes and the notebooks, and I’m still writing new material...I’d never want to just “pad” the songbook for numbers, and I’m pretty brutally critical of my own work—but I have to admit I’m just curious and, you know—aware where these things stand.)
But yeah...it sounds crazy to think of playing 400 songs or whatever. But I remember John Steinbeck said: “Abandon the idea that you are ever going to finish. Lose track of the 400 pages and write just one page for each day, it helps. Then when it gets finished, you are always surprised.”
If I add 10 songs to the “been played” list a week, that’s 50 weeks to hit 500. I’m not gonna restrict myself from requests, repeats, covers, or whatever I wanta play. It’s gotta stay fun. My friends and I have also come up with a few ideas for how to add a little variety as we go along, so—we’ll see. ( Many thanks to Fred and Larry and Deb Ruth Coons and Z Man and Eric Martinez and Jerry Joseph and everyone who’s offered advice and encouragement, cause I sure as hell don’t know what I’m doing here.) I’m gonna put up a list of “been played” songs on the website, and I’m sure this’ll evolve in different ways. Or else collapse into a big pile of “that was a stupid idea” wreckage. There’s only one way to find out! See ya there!
EPISODE 1 May 18, 2020
1. Preacherman
2. Walking cane
3. Wide eyed kid
4. All dolled up
5. Yeah
6. Who do you belong to?
7. I Asked For Water
8. Coma Mona
9. Premonition
10. Swallow Fire
11. Lifer
12. Watch Out
Deportee (Woody Guthrie)
13. The Beautiful Vicious Cycle of Life
EPISODE 2 May 22/23, 2020
14. Little Miss Martyr
15. The Ugliest Part
16. East Atlanta Illuminations
17. Take a Bite
18. Pruitt
19. Absolutely Nothing
20. Crosses by the Highway
21. Birthmark
22. Summer in Georgia
23. Like This
24. Breaking Up On Me
25. Calling Back
26. Mythical Girl
27. True To My Nature
We’ll Meet Again (Parker/Charles)
28. Love’s Getting Older
I Asked For Water (repeat performance)
29. Ready Anytime
EPISODE 3. May 25, 2020
30. John Coltrane in Nagasaki
Lifer (repeat performance)
31. The Blue Skies Above America
32. Crazy In Love
Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory (Johnny Thunders)
Splendid Isolation (Warren Zevon)
East Atlanta Illuminations (repeat performance)
33. Little Blinking Lights
34. Together Alone
35. Dharma Knife
36. Still Brand New
37. Crosses
We’ll Meet Again (Parker/Charles)
38. 7 Days and 7 Nights
39. Right In Time
EPISODE 4 MAY 29/30
40. Thrill You
41. Unconditional
42. Shebang Delang
43. The Blues In Heaven
44. Modigliani Eyes (cuts off when stream goes down)
...
A Love of Speed (wrong tuning)
45. It’s Like Falling In Love
46. Liquor Ain't Love
Love In Vain (Robert Johnson/Stones version)
47. Haunting Montezuma
48. A Love of Speed
49. Wings and a Walking Cane
Deportee (Woody Guthrie)
Ooh La La (Faces)
EPISODE 5, June 5/6
50. Circle of Clay
51. Last Night Out
52. Ponce de Leon Avenue
53. Comeback Kid
54. Baby Sympatico
55. Privilege
56. Oh No
What’s So Funny Bout Peace Love and Understanding
(Nick Lowe)
57. Life’s Funny (but I ain’t laughing)
58. Blood
59. Taboo
60. Pie
We’ll Meet Again (Parker/Charles, popularized by Vera Lynn)
Summer in Georgia (repeat)
Dirty Dreams (incomplete version)
Ready Anytime (repeat)
61. Dirty Dreams
EPISODE 6, June 8
62. Black Jacket
63. Can’t Stand Up
64. Drummer
Bull Run (Mikey Houser)
65.Totally Wild
66. Night School
67. Rev. Jacob Nighttrain
68. Stolen Love
69. Worship You
70. I Looked Down
71. Life in the Minor Leagues
72. Sweet Tooth for Daiquiris
73. Depression Glass
74. Mud Between My Toes
Deportee (Woody Guthrie)
Clap Hands (Tom Waits)
75. Quarter Tank of Gasoline
Ooh La La (The Faces)
76. Never In Vain
77. One Bird Shy
EPISODE 7, June 12/13
78. Pray For The Car
79. Wicked Black Snake
80. View From The Top
The Times They are a Changin’ (Dylan)
81. Pretty Girls in Summer Dresses
82. Tin Roof In The Rain
83. What’s Wrong With Me
84. Heart & Soul & Cornbread
85. Rhododendron
What’s So Funny ‘bout Peace Love and Understanding (Nick Lowe)
86. Spend It All
87. Epitaph Town
88. All Golden Traces
We’ll Meet Again (Parker/Charles, popularized by Vera Lynn)
Love’s Getting Older (repeat)
89. Jazz Funeral
Hickory Wind (Gram Parsons/Bob Buchanan)
EPISODE 8 with Eric Carter, June 15
90. Little Simone
91. Hot Damn
92. Little Margarita
93. Speed Freak Highway
94. Can't Get High
95. Metal and Wood
96. Easter Eggs
97. Troutman
98. Beneath the Streets of Nashville
99. Man In Trouble
100. Wet Trombone Blues
EPISODE 9, June 19/20
101. I’ve Got Time
102. Lonesome Out Here
103. Idle Hands
104. Legend of the Desert Willow
True To My Nature (repeat)
105. Paying What I Owe
106. Code of Honor
Deportee (Woody Guthrie)
Pretty Boy Floyd (Woody Guthrie)
107. Come Lean On My Fender
We’ll Meet Again (Parker/Charles, popularized by Vera Lynn)
108. One Way Ride
Pruitt (repeat)
109. Tennessee Williams
Lost Highway (Hank Williams)
EPISODE 10, June 22/June 23
110. Sticks and Stones
111. Freedom Fizz
112. Leave It Alone
113. Never Told Me Why
114. True Blood Assembly of Ravensville
Deportee (Woody Guthrie)
Together Alone (repeat)
115. The Viper
Pretty Girls in Summer Dresses (repeat)
I Asked For Water (repeat)
116. Rotgut
117. New Busted Shuffle
Life in the Minor Leagues (repeat)
True To My Nature (repeat)
We’ll Meet Again (Parker/Charles, popularized by Vera Lynn)
Lost Highway (Hank Williams)
Take a Bite (repeat)
118. Poor Sweet Baby
EPISODE 11, June 29
119. 8 Track Buzz
120. Dark Room Shine
121. When I Loved You
122. Break The Law
123. Something Falls
124. Rock Back Home
125. Five Dollar Frank
What’s So Funny ‘bout Peace Love and Understanding (Nick Lowe)
This Land Is Your Land (Woody Guthrie)
126. Yellow Ribbons
127. Trashy
Lifer (repeat)
The Beautiful Vicious Cycle of Life (repeat)
Waiting For The Man (Velvet Underground)
Lost Highway (Hank Williams)
All Dolled Up (repeat)
EPISODE 12, July 10/11
128. Gloryosky
129. Cantina Fever
130. Last Concert Cafe
131. Sweet Black Jesus Magic
132. Lifelike
The Beautiful Vicious Cycle Of Life (repeat)
133- American Country Ghosts
EPISODE 13, July 13
134. T.U.
Breaking Up On Me (repeat)
135. Can’t Find Myself
This Land Is Your Land (Woody Guthrie)
136. Devil’s a Good Old Boy
Tango til They’re Sore (Tom Waits)
137. Ghost Runner
138. Beneath the Green Window
Goodbye (Steve Earle)
Jesus on the Main Line (traditional)
139. Makes Sense To Me
140. Way Too Loud
141. At Long Last
Together Alone (repeat)
We’ll Meet Again (Parker/Charles)
EPISODE 14, July 17/18
142. One Man Band
143. Sing it All Over Me
144. 99 Miles
145. Cheap Speed
The Times they are a Changin’ (Dylan)
Jesus On The Main Line (traditional)
146. Orchard
147. Made You Mine
148. Piss and Vinegar
149. Slow Boat To Mars
Breaking Up On Me (repeat)
150. Eclipse
Wheels (Chris Hillman, Gram Parsons)
Splendid Isolation (Warren Zevon)
Leave It Alone (repeat)
Ready Anytime (repeat)
EPISODE 15, July 24/25
151. Transistor Radio
The Times They Are A-Changin’
(Bob Dylan)
Burnin’ and Lootin’ (Bob Marley)
152. Going to Church Tonight
153. I Don’t Plan On
154. Look Straight
155. Mean Mean Mina
156. My Skin
157. Dreamer’s Suitcase
158. Rockin’ The Bow
Loving Cup (Rolling Stones)
159. Something Shining Bright
Right In Time (repeat)
Who Do You Belong To? (repeat)
This Land Is Your Land (Woody Guthrie)
160. Home Before Dark
161. Good Time Over and Done
We’ll Meet Again (Parker/Charles)
EPISODE 16, July 31/August 1
162. The Waiting Room
163. The Last Hit
164. Perennial
165. Ghost In The Rain
166. Something To Say
This Land is Your Land (Woody Guthrie)
Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Harold Arlen/Yip Harburg)
Gimme Some Truth (John Lennon)
167. Everblooming Righteous Gospel Peaches…
168. Accounting
169. Perfume
Burnin’ & Lootin’ (Bob Marley)
Watch Out (repeat)
We’ll Meet Again (Parker/Charles)
EPISODE 17, August 3, Monday 8 PM
Everblooming Righteous Gospel Peaches (repeat)
Little Miss Martyr (repeat)
Ghost in the Rain (repeat)
Leave It Alone (repeat)
170. Success Yourself
Tennessee Williams (repeat)
171. I Just Want To Love Somebody
The Beautiful Vicious Cycle of Life (repeat)
Deportee (Woody Guthrie)
Burnin’ & Lootin’ (Bob Marley)
Watch Out (repeat)
Quarter Tank of Gasoline (repeat)
172. Ghost In The Van Band
Love’s Getting Older (repeat)
Atlantic City (Bruce Springsteen)
Splendid Isolation (Warren Zevon)
Breaking Up On Me (repeat)
Wheels (Chris Hillman/Gram Parsons)
True To My Nature (repeat)
All Dolled Up (repeat)
EPISODE 18 August 7-8
173. Church Meeting
174. Welcome
175. The Hard Stuff
176. Hold On To You
177. Gave Her Up
Together Alone (repeat)
178. Ferris Wheel In My Heart
179. Chat With a Daffodil
180. Poor Julie
Modigliani Eyes (repeat)
181. Dixie Mattress
182. Down Gets Up
183. Diggin’ Up the Bone
Loving Cup (Rolling Stones)
Jazz Funeral (repeat)
184. Led Astray
Tennessee Williams (repeat)
185. #1 Good Luck Charm
We'll Meet Again (Parker/Charles)
EPISODE 19, August 10, Monday 8 PM
(This One’s for Mikey)
186. Sleeping on Nails
187. Wait Forever
188. Shotgun Wedding
189. Tearing Up The Tiles
Bull Run (Mike Houser)
190. The Music
191. Ambulance
192. You Better Pray
Wheels (Chris Hillman/Gram Parsons)
Is Your Love in Vain (Bob Dylan)
Watch Out (repeat)
Mythical Girl (repeat)
193. Looking for Something to Steal
Privilege (repeat)
Together Alone (repeat)
Who Do You Belong To? (repeat)
Deportee (Woody Gutherie)
Lost Highway (Hank WIlliams)
Leave It Alone (repeat)
EPISODE 20, August 17
194. Hand Right in Front of Your Face
195. Thunderstorm
196. Dead Betty Blues
197. Halfway
198. Sugar and Rum
This Land Is Your Land (Woody Guthrie)
Burnin’ and Lootin’ (Bob Marley) (stream cut out?)
Watch Out (repeat) (stream cut out?)
199. Bookends
200. New Faces
We’ll Meet Again (Parker/Charles)
True To My Nature (repeat)
Quarter Tank of Gasoline (repeat)
Clap Hands (Tom Waits)
I Asked For Water (repeat)
Ready Anytime (repeat)
Ooh La La (the Faces)
Never In Vain (repeat)
EPISODE 21, August 21 w/ Jon Mills (a set for Todd)
What’s Wrong With Me (repeat)
True To My Nature (repeat)
201. Drive Home September
The Blues In Heaven (repeat)
Life in the Minor Leagues (repeat)
Can’t Find Myself (repeat)
White Freight Liner Blues (Townes Van Zandt)
Dharma Knife (repeat)
Leave It Alone (repeat)
Jazz Funeral (repeat)
202. End of the Show
Episode 22, August 24
BREAKING UP ON ME the movie
203. Resurrection Cookies (instrumental)
Break The Law (repeat)
T.U. (repeat)
Rhododendron (repeat)
Worship You (repeat)
204. Lars On Lithium (instrumental)
True Blood Assembly of Ravensville (repeat)
Ghost in the Rain (repeat)
Together Alone (repeat)
Mandolindy of the Show (instrumental version of End of the Show)
Breaking Up On Me (repeat)
205. Windshield Blues (instrumental)
206. Ain’t A Single Thing
Episode 23, August 31
207. Galactiwine
208. Fix It Up Man
209. Counting On You
210. Rooming House
211. Damage at Jack’s
212. Traveling Companion
213. Transfusion
214. Kingly
Raise The Roof (Widespread Panic)
215. New Horse and Carriage
Birthmark (repeat)
Drive Home September (repeat)
Rotgut (repeat)
216. Stars
Love’s Getting Older (repeat)
Wheels (Chris Hillman/Gram Parsons)
Leave It Alone (repeat)
Lost Highway (Hank Williams)
Dharma Knife (repeat)
Z
Lifer (repeat)