Lonesome ~ This word has a meaning that is unique and haunting. It is to have pangs of sadness in remembrance of times past. Places that have known tragedy, or life that is no more, are lonesome places. Things lonesome are the sound of a cow lowing at night, an abandoned house, or the sudden recollection of an old love. There is the term “high lonesome,” which meant a place high and remote in the mountains. “Lonesome” is a word that in modern times has been replaced by “lonely,” which is not at all the same.
—Mountain Born written by Jean Boone Benfield
I agree with Benfield, lonely is different than lonesome.
Granny always said being by herself made her lonesome. She wanted everyone to be at home with her. After we had all moved out she wanted us to be at our homes so she’d know we were nearby.
When the girls were growing up I didn’t miss them so much during the day if they were at school or gone somewhere, but if they weren’t home by the time it got dark I felt so lonesome without them.
I used to get lonesome at work sometimes. I’d start thinking about Granny and Pap and wonder what they were doing. Sometimes I’d just about get up and go home as fast as I could. I wanted to sit at the kitchen table with them and talk.
Pap always said talking about old times made him feel lonesome. One time when Pap and I went out to the VA Hospital at Oteen we got to talking about a family we used to be with a lot. Pap grew up with the husband and Granny loved the wife. We were at their house often, but it had been more than 30 years ago on the day Pap and I were remembering them. We both got lonesome. Lonesome for a family we no longer seen, lonesome for a time and place no amount of wishing could take us back to.
Paul ate supper with us last night. He said he was feeling awful lonesome for Granny. I am too.
Last night’s video: Another 30 Year Project Finished!
Tipper
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I never knew the defination of lonesome but thank you for sharing it. I always used to say I am alone but not lonely after my husband died because I still felt the close presence and love of family and friends but do think I feel lonesome for many things of the past I can never experience again. So glad you gave a name to what I feel. I agree it is such a different feeling from being lonely.
Good morning Tipper! This post is especially true for me. I feel lonesome all the time. I miss my mom and all those who are no longer with us. I find myself always wanting to go back in time and just sit with everyone and relive the moments that I miss so much. My world seemed to revolve around everyone back then. Life seemed so much better with them in it. I’m still figuring out how to find joy in the present. It just seems so dull and gray. The loneliness is overwhelming at times. Praying for comfort and peace❤️.
God bless you Trisha!!
Perfect words…….I’m so lonesome for my sister. I long for the days when we growing up in the holler playing at home and at our granny’s. She moved into our granny’s house after our granny died and it was a peaceful feeling going back to see her. Now no one except my brother in law lives in the holler. So yeah, lonesome is definitely not lonely!
I am lonesome for my Grandma. Today is my oldest Granddaughter’s 30th birthday. I wish Grandma had got to meet her. She would have loved her so much. I can’t believe Grandma has been gone so long. Big hugs and much love to you and your family.
Good morning everyone! It is rainy here and I would just like to curl up with a good book but life is busy today.
I will be 62 next month and I understand that feeling of being lonesome for family. I am an only child and I lost my Mother 12 years ago. I still have my Dad but he lives 3 hours away. He is 85 and I would love for him to be here with me. His health is not the best lately.
Our grown children don’t live close to us and so we only get to see them a few times every year.
I love all things old so I find myself thinking of all of them daily. I miss them all very much. I love to quilt, sew, craft and garden. Just like the love ones before me.
I still remember the first time I saw Granny on a video and I told my husband that I wanted one!
Tipper, My heart just breaks for all of you. Granny was such a blessing to us all. I really appreciate you and Paul sharing her with all of us. My life is better by being able to get to know her. Continued prayers for all
Of you❤️
Hi Tipper and everyone. TY for last nights video. Your driveway is beautiful. We had a busy day today. Ed and I went to see about some problems with his eyes. The Doctor is very young and kind. Ed has very dry eyes and today the doctor measured the dryness. The test was to place little paper strips (Litmus test) into his eyes and measure the tears they caused. There were almost no tears on the paper strips. The doctor placed some tiny Silicone “dams” in his lower lids in hopes to help trap some of the sparse tears he produces. We hope they help.
I have always said I’ve never been lonely, and that is true. Your post today made me realize that I ‘m almost always lonesome. I have learned that this life is a test for what lies ahead. I have learned that I’m never alone. My GOD is always with me. What a loving Father HE is. I’ve sat cradled in HIS loving hand many times. I’ve learned that I am never lonely. My Messiah is my redeemer. But I am lonesome. There is a longing and grief deep within me for a place that is just beyond my reach. A place I have been, a place where I belong. It has been almost 3 years now since I stood on truly solid ground, surrounded by love, grace and glory. I long to be there again forever. I’ve learned that The Holy Spirit is here with me. Sent by GOD to be my Comforter on Earth until I’m called home. When questions about life’s uncertainties arise, turning to the Spirit-who actively applies the Word of God-brings lasting reassurance. This divine comfort transforms hearts, sustains in trials, and serves as an unwavering reminder of God’s love and faithfulness. Through Scripture, prayer, fellowship, and trust in the promises of God, the Holy Spirit offers an ever-present sanctuary of hope and peace. I am lonesome to be once again in the presence of GOD.
I keep everyone here and up Wilson Hollow in my prayers. I love y’all.
Thank you Barbara! I pray for you and Ed!!
Tipper,
I am 73 years old and at this age you find yourself lonesome a lot. Parents, little brother and so many extended family and friends are gone. Loss of someone you hold dear is a heartache like no other. Thankfully I have a wonderful, kind husband who I first met at 12 years old. We do not have children which is another kind of lonesome but I have a nephew who is always there for us. When I first lost my Mama everywhere I looked held a memory and the pain was nearly unbearable. Now all these years later when I look about…well those same memories are such a comfort and joy. It does get easier knowing that one day we will all be together again. My heart goes out to you all as you find your way through this grief. I so admire you and your family. You all are a wonderful testament to Granny and Pap. God Bless all of you. Peggy Conner
I think the best thing to do when grief hits you so hard is to remember God’s promises of his constant watching us and loving us. I often think of Mary how her perfect son that she loved with all of her heart could endure such loss and sadness. The heart must be a VERY strong muscle. Just today, I wanted to cry when my sister sent a text wanting to know if any of us wanted some shirts and dresses of mom’s and dad’s. It has been 2009 when they went home. Like your granny, pain is worse than death if there is no recovery. I just thank God for the gift of memory.
You know, Granny is home now and everything is in it’s place. Granny isn’t lonesome any more. Granny doesn’t worry where her children are any more. They are all right there with her. That’s what heaven is, perfection! I hope you understand what I am talking about. I am not a heretic!
I’m crying for all the lonesomeness we’re all feeling. I’m lonesome for a good childhood that I did not get to experience except for the love of my wonderful mother. I’m lonesome for the loss of my sister and my loving grandmother. I’m lonesome for my dear mother who died in my arms in 2018. I’m lonesome and devastated at the loss of my precious husband of 61 years who passed Thanksgiving 2 years ago. I’m lonesome for my sons who live several hours away, and I’m brokenhearted as my eldest son is battling a recurrence of cancer that has metastasized.
On a happier note, I so enjoyed watching you and Matt having your driveway fixed. Your excitement and joy were infectious, and I felt it along with you. It’s strange how one can feel love, joy, happiness and sadness along with those you only know from television. I’m thankful to know you and your family.
My maternal grandfather passed in 1969–I was 14 years old and he was a very significant part of my childhood. It took me many years to come to terms with his death!!! My grandmother never came to terms with his passing and she constantly said she was lonesome up until the day she died seven years later. Until today reading your post, I never really understood the meaning of the word “lonesome” which certainly gives me the most brilliant, new and very special understanding of the way not only my grandmother felt after my grandfathers death, but the way I felt as well. I am lonesome most all of the time these days myself—I find myself longing for so many people and things from the past. I am also profoundly lonesome for our daughter on a daily basis. Our daughter lived at home until she was 26, which made her departure from our nest even harder for me. I suppose this is true for everyone as they get older, but it surely doesn’t diminish or assuage this lonesome feeling. Your post today has really made a profound impact on my thoughts and feelings and I thank you for this!!! You and I come from such a similar family background which gives me such a special feeling about you and your family. I would love to be able to sit down with you to talk at length about our similar heritage. I sorely still miss my maternal grandparents who have been gone 57 and 50 years respectively—even more than I miss my parents; because, my grandparents primarily raised me to be the woman I am today. I inherited their home when my grandmother died in 1976, and I still live in it today. I miss Granny, too and my heart is broken for you and your family. I also miss Pap, even though he passed long before I met you here and on your wonderful YouTube channel. We both should write a book about our very special lives!!!!! Sending lots of love and fervent prayers your way. God bless you all!!!
Wanda your sentence “I myself longing for so many people and things from the past” perfectly describes how I feel nowadays. I was lucky in have an exceptional good family life with all of my family and when I married it just got better, my wife’s family treated me so good. When I say family, I mean the whole shebang – mother and father in law, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins etc, I loved and enjoyed all of them. I need to add friends to the list. Now so many of them have passed on.
Gene, I am familiar with the songs you mentioned except the one by Bing Crosby. I assume you are referring to the gospel song that has the lines “you gotta walk that lonesome valley by yourself, no one else can walk it for you.”
I know that your family is so lonesome for sweet Granny. I continue to keep y’all in my prayers. Lonesome is a feeling that is deep in your heart and soul. I believed my granddaddy hung the moon. He passed 36 years ago. I loved him and still find myself lonesome for him. Those we have loved so much are part of our heart and soul.
Praying for all the family. I”m like Granny – I am happiest when my children and grandchildren are all under one roof! What a wonderful day it will be when we are Home with our Jesus and all of our loved ones. May God comfort you with His love and grace. God bless!
Lonesome and homesick have similar meanings for me. I can get homesick sitting in my house.
Tipper, I understand the grief in losing a Mama and you will find that it is like the waves of an ocean: it rolls in and then will roll out again. Someone told me that when my Mama died and it was so true. I pray that you will be comforted by the memories and little reminders that you see everyday. We can rejoice in knowing that one day we will see our Mama’s again!
I miss my grandma.
Wonderfully put Tipper! I’m a loner by nature and never get lonely. But I do get lonesome for the people I love sometimes. FaceTime helps with my daughter and family. But the ones who have passed, it’s a little harder. When I lived near my parents grave, I would take a book on a nice day and sit on the bench near their grave and read. It helped.
Holidays are the struggles. I also miss and somewhat grieve for the simpler times. Days gone by! Keep Paul close. I worry about Corie too. She is so tender and feels deeply. Enjoy your day! 🙂
I sure know what you mean Tipper. When our daughter went out on her own after graduating high school, she was 4 hours away and didn’t make it home all that often. When I went past her bedroom I would actually cry. After my mama died, I would come across letters she’d written, she and I wrote back and forth all her life, ever since I was in high school and away at a convent, I had put them in books etc. Anyway I always cried then too. I feel your family’s pain. Hugs to all of you but especially you.
I get that lonesome feeling too. We also have a friend that needs a lot of prayers now. His mama passed and the day after they buried her, his dad passed. He lost both of his parents within five days. His dad’s funeral was Saturday. He was ninety-two and his mom was ninety. They were married for seventy-three years. Our friend is an only child, but so thankful he has a fine wife with a daughter and two grandchildren. They also lived across from each other. Please pray for them. They are devastated.
Tipper, when daddy passed, I didn’t think I could go on and that was 1997. Then mama passed in 2005, then my brother passed in 2018. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of them. The “sting” is not there but when that lonesome feeling comes, I just keep reminding myself, they are in a better place. I know the love you and your family had for Granny and in time as with Pap, it will get better. Continued prayers for all of you.
I will pray for your friend. So hard to lose them both!
Yes, lonely and lonesome are two very different words. I’m far too busy to be lonely, but experience being lonesome often. The word you used on your post Match 18, 2022, was Hiraeth. Now, this I also experience daily. ‘That bittersweet feeling of remembering and longing for a time that’s no longer here. Maybe it’s grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins who no longer walk the same paths you do. Maybe it’s our very family—father, mother, sister, brother, children. Or a homeplace that now belongs to someone else or has been erased by progress.’ I pray everyone has a great day! We had a blizzard in central Alberta yesterday and were snowed in at the moment. Temperatures are -30 Celsius and supposed to be -34 tonight. A little chilly!
Praying for the God of all comfort to be with us all . So grateful to love and be loved . Love & prayers for you all .
Some days you just can’t help being lonesome. Something can trigger it, maybe a song, or certain food. It’s easy to give into the lonesome feelings, but takes a lot of work and courage to pull yourself out of the doldrums. Hugs to you, Tipper, and family
my younger brother’s birthday is today–he would have been 67 but he died suddenly last April 19th and I am definitely feeling lonesome for him today……and it has affected me deeply the loss of your mom–she was such a total example of Jesus and the fact that best I can find out we are quite possibly related way way back many ancestors ago so it feels as if I have lost another close relative. Praying for you and all the family
Good morning Tipper, I know that lonesome feeling sometimes too. I get lonesome for my family in Arkansas. I wonder what they are all doing and wish I were there with them. Even though I live in Texas and always have I long for the Ozark Mountains and to live in them alongside my mom’s side of the family because I am like them. Sometime the lonesome feeling brings tears to my eyes, and this post did too because I grieve with y’all over Granny. Not as y’all grieve but as someone who cares about how y’all feel because we are in this YouTube Community and family. Thank you for sharing this.
Tipper, I am sorry you and Paul are so lonesome for Granny. Sometimes at night, when I am saying my prayers, I get lonesome for my mama…just because I know she’s 15 miles away in her own bed…all alone. It makes me want to give her a hug goodnight. She always calls or texts when she’s going to bed, and that makes us both feel better. I know this is not the exact lonesome you are feeling. I will continue to remember you in my prayers. May your hearts be flooded with happy memories.
I know well about lonesome and what you are experiencing over Granny. I miss my hubby and am lonesome for him every day even after just over 7 years. I am lonesome for my family who all live far away from me, and none live close to each other – with one in another province, and another in Oregon USA. I’d love nothing better than for us all to be able to move to a holler like your family is, Tipper, so we could be closer together. 🙂 I get lonesome for how life was when growing up, lonesome for my parents – and even how things were when my own children were growing up. The world has changed so much since those days – and not for the better! As a widow, and being ‘planted’ so far from family, my days are always with an undercurrent of ‘lonesome.’ Not lonely, just lonesome. I am thankful for the Lords Presence with me every day, but it would also be so wonderful to have the presence of my loved ones around me too. I think the world today is full of people who are lonesome, but also many who are lonely.
I’ve been around cattle pretty much all my 75 years and have never heard them “lowing”. I’ve heard “the cattle are lowing the baby awakes” in the song but never understood. Is “lowing” different from the normal mooing, bellering and belching sounds they make.
Ammons, I hear it more in the night. It’s a softer bellaring, or soft kind of unfinished mooing. Just cow sounds to me.
The lonesome place where I grew up still makes me so sad when I visit. It was the quiet, nothing to do but sit on the porch and stare into the dense mountains that made me so lonesome I could cry. My sister can’t stand to hear frogs, birds, roosters crowing, and bugs when she visits me at my home away from the city, which reminds her of growing up back home, and she will go inside or leave before she starts crying. Roosters crowing is one of the saddest sounds I have ever heard. The area hasn’t changed much in the last 50 years, except that some folks chose to stay and destroyed their life with drugs rather than find happiness away from those lonesome mountains. I would never go back if we didn’t have family buried there. Lonesome can’t be described unless you have lived it.
I understand lonesome. I am lonesome for my Mom and Dad.
So true! I tell my kids that I am homesick for what used to be. When my Daddy and grandparents were alive. My home before my husband passed away. It is hard.
Mark understands lonesome, too. He was lonesome for his Dad yesterday.
We are praying for Mark and his family and you all!!
Then there’s where Bill Burnett was born, actually called High Lonesome near the Swain-Macon County line.
And just down the river a ways on another mountain is where Yvonne is buried. So I know a little about lonesome and High Lonesome.
35.289322, -83.491902 is the beginning of High Lonesome Road. It begins in Macon County and ends back in Swain County where the community used to be.
35.3088159,-83.5255587 is where Yvonne waits for me.
Copy those numbers and paste them into our browser and you can see on a map where they are.
Well reading this post, Tipper, has me bawlin my eyes out knowing exactly the lonesome feeling ya all are going through. I’m missing my husband, mother and daddy, brother, aunts and uncles and dear friends. May God bless and keep ya all!!
I guess we need the lonesome, sad feelings to truly appreciate the joy. Prayers for all.
My father-in-law passed in May, and I felt lonesome for him on Monday. Missing his presence, his jsut being across the road from us.
Bless all of you. My Grandmother experienced a lot of tragedy in her life, she lost a baby girl, a six year old son and another son who left the area as an adult and never came home. Her husband died and she didn’t have the means to live alone, so spent the rest of her life alternating her time between her children. I was blessed that most of her time was spent with our family. She was my best friend and I loved her deeply. She often said in her quiet, gentle voice, “ this too shall pass” . Those words have stayed with me throughout my life, when I lost both parents and through many other difficult times. May the Holy Spirit fill , teach, protect and renew your spirit through this hard times.
Tipper my heart aches for you and all yours! I like everyone else in the comments have experienced that deep lonesome feeling! Not one we like much! But soon all tears will be no more! Our Lord promises that!
I don’t comment too much on here or on ALL the videos but truly I was blessed to have known granny through your and Paul’s sharing! I will be praying for comfort and peace in days ahead!
My momma is 91 and so I know each day is a gift!
Lonesome is a word my maternal grandmother (b. 1913) would use quite often. She was a widow and lived alone. Even with her routines, visits, church, etc. I know now she experienced loneliness from time to time. I can remember her explaining to me as a very small boy what “lonesome” was after I had asked her. Her answer was put into children’s terms, and I left that evening knowing what her definition of “lonesome” was. I had not experienced what it was to be lonesome at that early age, but have since been “lonesome” about a person or a special time or experience. As we all know, loneliness is not exclusive to death, but I know I can get lonesome and “blue” (another term to dissect) missing folks I care about and/or love who have “gone on”. It is a very natural thing to miss those when they aren’t in our presence. Whenever I get “lonesome”, I take comfort in several scriptures and leaning on the the Lord’s “Blessed Assurance”. There are times when a “change of scenery (taking a trip) seems to help I also try to focus on the best of memories/experiences. One such Bible verse I take comfort from is ““He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.” (Pslams 147:3).
Paul took such good care of Granny. No wonder he’s lonesome for her. She was part of yours and Paul’s daily routine. With spring just around the corner I hope he can get out on the tennis court and work off some of that lonesomeness. He has such a musical talent. He loves the history of the songs and the people that sang them.
For you Tipper, I think the garden will give you healing from the lonesomeness. You love it so much.
You don’t recover quickly from grief, but one day, just out of the blue you’ll notice you went a whole half hour not missing Granny. You’ll always be lonesome for her. It’ll get easier. Love you and your family. God bless.
I know that lonesome feeling. I just can’t quite pin down what I am lonesome for, unless “the past” be sufficient. Maybe what makes us lonesome is anything we treasured but gone beyond return. In that sense I miss my youth when I was more able. What I miss most now though is a life I wished I had lived. I made a fateful choice thirty years ago that has affected everything since and stranded me on this suburban lot with Atlanta closing in. Guess you could say I am lonesome for what might have been. Can’t remember which poet, but one wrote, “Of all words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, ‘It might have been.’ ” But my choice was for good and sufficient reasons that were my responsibility, the common lumber of life.
I am 73. Love that old Hank song also. I am very lonesome for my sweet Daddy we lost last November right before Thanksgiving. I have also lost both siblings. When I feel lonesome I think of her. She choses to live her last days alone having lost two children and her husband of 74 years. That has to be the definition of lonesome.
When you have been born into such happy family memories it is so very hard not to be lonesome at times. I too had a wonderful family life, and many have passed on and yes you have the memories. Many times, the memories haunt you with such good thoughts and then you feel that aching lonesomeness. I know my Mom and Dad have been gone 25 years but the love and happiness they gave to me growing up will never leave me. I will however admit that I would rather have the lonesomeness due to the memories then not to have had the memories.
This is such a haunting yet very, very beautiful post. I cannot imagine how lonesome you and Paul feel for Granny. I am continuing to pray for you all.
I wanted to say I have been thinking of you and your family, and truly sorry for the loss of granny, it’s hard I know. Reading your post, I started thinking about all the loved ones I that have went home, thinking back to the younger me growing up, I was with my paternal grandma that we nick named her super grandma. I was holding her when she passed, I was in my thirty’s, and I thought my world was over, but somehow I managed to pull myself together, I read a scripture that night..I read in her bible and there is a scripture Revelation 21:4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, there shall be no more death, or sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things has passed away. You’ll always miss her, and all your loved ones before Granny, I still miss mine and I do get lonesome from time to time. God bless you and your beautiful family♥️
I too get lonesome for loved ones who have passed on, be it family or friends. I also get lonesome for those I love that are still living but live in another state and I don’t get to see or talk to very often.
I understand this lonesome feeling too. Sending hugs and prayers for y’all.
I totally understand your feeling of being lonesome, Tipper. I’d like to give you some really encouraging news like you’ll be feeling better soon, but that’s a big lie. You’ll mourn and be lonesome for your mother and daddy all the days of your life you have left to live. Don’t mind yourself if you cry on holidays, birthdays, a day in the garden, driving down the road or any old time you think of them. Bobby died in 1978 and mommy in 1996 and I can still cry any time any where cause I loved them THAT MUCH and knew they loved me… in all my life I won’t ever have any love that pure and sweet for me EXCEPT the Lord and don’t I know that! And thank God I had that, right? Hang in there, Tipper. Hang in there, Paul. You’re far from alone in this forlorn area… I love you all! I’m praying for you every day…Your parents were very wonderful indeed! Here’s a lift of my heart and eyes toward the Lord as I ask for his comfort and glory therein to flow this day for all who are in need of comfort! Thank you, Lord, for hearing.
Oh my, these lonesome feelings are very real. I can imagine everyone reading this has a lonesome story as I do….too many to share. Blessings to everyone.
I well understand lonely and lonesome. Sometimes a day will end with me realizing how lonely I was and that I had not spoken one word all day, mostly my own fault being caught up in everyday tasks. On the other hand, I can be in a crowd of loved ones but still feel so lonesome for my late husband and parents.
I understand that feeling of being lonesome for my husband, my parents and my sister who are in heaven now but I’m thankful for my younger sister and my kids, grandkids and great grandkids who are still here with me.
YouTube was down here last night so I didn’t get to watch all of your video about fixing your driveway. Hopefully it’s back up today.
Y’all have a blessed day. Sending prayers and love
Thinking of you and your family during this lonesome time. I know that feeling too. I hope spring will bring more joyful times.
When I read today’s blog, it brought to mind the day I moved to another State and away from my family. I backing out of the driveway after being with all of them and crying my eyes out. For months I was lonesome for them. Another time was when my two eldest sisters moved out and got an apartment together. I had been to a sleeping party and when I came home, they were gone. They were not far away, they were just not at home. I was so lonesome for them I cried for days. I was about 14. Prayers for you all.
Yes, that kind of lonesome is hard and painful. Lean on our good Lord and each other. Prayers continue for each of you.
It took me two years, Tipper, when my sweet mother died in 2001. I cried a lot at that time. If there were a TV show I thought she’d like, I’d pick up the phone and call her. Then I realized she wasn’t there. I’d visit my dad during my lunchtime and on weekends. He was hurting more than I was, as they had been married fifty-odd years. My dad said if he didn’t have me, he didn’t know what he’d do. My dad had gone now, too. After all these years, I still miss them, and a hug would be so nice.
Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted- Matt 5:4
I can understand your feeling, I have that lonesome feeling too when thinking about where I grew up, the people who were there that are now gone, along with those here where I live now that have passed on. I miss each and everyone one of them.
Only time will help and you both will always miss mama.
Good Morning yes I know that lonesome feeling well, and I don’t particularly like it either. I’m praying for you.
Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus, we call upon you today for mercy, please comfort Tipper and her family, they are lonesome for Granny, I understand this, please be with them Lord, comfort them I pray in Jesus name, God bless you, I’m going to talk with the gallbladder surgeon today, that don’t mean I’m jumping right in, I’ve got a heart condition, I’m taking medications, that might not work out with anesthesia, pray for me friend thank you and God bless you very much in Jesus name
I hope you find out what you need to know. I will keep praying!
I am not going to start this morning. I have and still experience everything said in what you have wrote. I have many happy memories of the past with my wife and so many others, but unlike with with some, the memories cut me like a knife, I know there will be no more good times with these people on earth. I visited a lifelong neighbor and friend (Andy) yesterday that is only a few days from dying from pancreatic cancer, the good memories of times with him, one he drove my school bus when I was in the first grade and he was in high school. I remember hearing am older man I worked with say “ I saw some of the coldest, hard hearted men in the war (Korean) cry like babies when they would hear Hank William’s song “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.”
Randy, I thought of that classic Hank Williams song too; also “Lonesome Valley”: “You must walk that lonesome valley, you got to walk it by yourself . . .” A cowboy song deals with this condition too: “. . . you don’t know what lonesome is ’til you get to herding cows.” I can envision a cowpuncher’s long nights alone on the prairie. There’s a reference to “a lonesome hobo’s squall” in “The Wabash Cannonball.” That one, by Roy Acuff, goes ‘way back. I used to have a 78 rpm recording of a song that refers to lonesomeness without using the word, yet precisely captures the blue mood. It was a slow, sad love song recorded by Bing Crosby: “Wearyin’ for You.” The writer of those lyrics had been down lonely street that turned out to be a dead end.