"I am not one who was born in the custody of wisdom. I am one who is fond of olden times and intense in quest of the sacred knowing of the ancients." Gustave Courbet

06 June 2016

Singularly.

I mean a steeped-in-life, hardscrabble, hard-working, everyday kind of craftsman who seemed to be learning more about his medium even at the very end. He left a body of work respected by his peers and he achieved a high mark undeniable by pretty much anyone who has ever written a song.

There really aren’t that many of these guys around anymore. Hell, maybe there never really have been that many guys like him around. I do think his work came not from sheer talent alone, but from a life of dedication. The man wrote songs, built incredible instruments and smoked cigarettes. I never met him, but I’ve heard a lot of stories and I’ve never heard of him doing much more than those three things.

He lived a life dedicated to craft and that is increasingly rare.

When I look around I see a lot of talented people doing a lot of creative things. I don’t see a lot of them singularly focusing on being the best at what they do and being content with that. We live in a time where you can easily dabble in a dozen creative endeavors and be “just OK” at all of them. You can talk about them all on Instagram and while you’re at the coffee shop. That doesn’t make you good at any of them.


Guy Clark, "Anyhow I Love You"

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