• Track: That’s How I Got to Memphis
• Artist: Tom T. Hall
• Album: Ballad of Forty Dollars
• Year: 1969

Lyrics:

If you want somebody enough
You’ll follow wherever they go
That’s how I got to Memphis
That’s how I got to Memphis

If you want somebody enough, you’ll follow wherever they go
That’s how I got to Memphis
That’s how I got to Memphis

If you love somebody enough
You go where your heart wants to go
That’s how I got to Memphis
That’s how I got to Memphis

I know if you’ve seen her you’d tell me ’cause you are my friend
I’ve got to find her and find out the trouble she’s in

If you tell me she’s not here
I’ll follow the trail of her tears
That’s how I got to Memphis
That’s how I got to Memphis

She would get mad and she used to say
She would come back to Memphis someday
That’s how I got to Memphis
That’s how I got to Memphis

I haven’t eaten a bite
Or slept for three days and nights
That’s how I got to Memphis
That’s how I got to Memphis

I’ve got to find her and tell her that I love her so
I’ll never rest, ’till I find out why she had to go

Thank you for your precious time
Forgive me, if I start to cry
That’s how I got to Memphis
That’s how I got to Memphis [17x]
If only ever they go

That’s how I got to Memphis
That’s how I got to Memphis

Get It:

Get your copy of Tom T. Hall’s That’s How I Got to Memphis right here:

Bobby Bare’s version is here:

DWB YouTube Channel:

Be sure to visit us on YouTube to see all the videos we’ve featured.

And now for something completely different…

When people ask us—and trust me, they do ask—if we like country music, our stock answer for many, many years was either “No” or “Hell no” depending on our particular mood that day. However, in the last 20 years or so, we’ve come to the realization that country music is just fine; in fact, it’s great. What we really don’t like is pop-country radio–style country being performed by corporate-created musicians pretending to be country musicians. Too many musicians operating under the label “country” were created in labs by music executives who take a good-looking guy or gal who can sing with a country accent, slap a cowboy hat, tight jeans, and boots on ’em, and put them on stage with formulaic and soulless country songs. That kind of country we can do without. That kind of country ain’t country.

Today’s track, however, isn’t that kind of country. As many of you know, Kentucky-born Tom T. Hall has been performing music (and writing books) since 1963. In the vein of real country artists like Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, and Waylon Jennings, Hall’s music is the real deal. It’s heartfelt, pure, and as non-corporate as it gets.

Your music curators here at the Dances with Bass grain silo have evolved musically over the years, and alternative country (alt-country) in the vein of Ryan Adams, Son Volt, Whiskeytown, The Wild Feathers, and many more has become one of our most listened-to musical genres, and has been the catalyst for a musical awakening of sorts that led us to old-school country like Tom T. Hall. Today, our playlists are a genre-whiplashing blend of rock, blues, country, soul, funk, and jazz (sometimes two or three of which are represented by a single artist or song).

Today’s track was released in 1963 by Tom T. Hall and was made a hit by Bobby Bare in 1970 (though Bare shortened the title to simply How I Got to Memphis. In the nearly 50 years since the song has been covered by many artists, most recently, The Avett Brothers (see below). Bare’s version soared to number 3 on the country music chart.

As was explained in the series finale of The Newsroom, the mean behind today’s featured track isn’t really about Memphis. Instead, Memphis is a metaphorical reference to how we get to wherever it is we need to go. In the case of The Newsroom’s Will McAvoy, “Memphis” referred to the journey of his friend and head of the fictional ACN network, Charlie Skinner. I won’t go into more detail because if you haven’t watched the show, I urge you (particularly if truth in news reporting and politics is important to you) to watch it now. Because the series was smart and laced with witty dialog and complicated topics, the show only lasted three seasons, but the creators knew the ax was about to fall and thus, they were able to wrap the storyline in the third and final season. Like other intellectually-driven Aaron Sorkin shows (see Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, The West Wing, and Sports Night), it didn’t survive as long as it should have survived. Instead, we get the traditional CBS and FOX drivel that is written for viewers with eighth-grade vocabularies and the attention spans of snow peas.

But I digress.

Give this one a listen and maybe think about your Memphis and how you got there (or how you will get there).

Video:

No official video was made for That’s How I Got to Memphis, but I do have an audio file, and a live performance by Jeff Daniels in the series finale of HBO’s The Newsroom:

And here Jeff Daniels’ version. Honestly, I had no idea that Daniels was an accomplished musician, and I would love to have a copy of his version of the song minus all the talking. Taken alone, the performance of the song in a television show seems a bit corny, but if you watch the whole series, you learn that the character played by Daniels, Will McAvoy, is a talented musician, and the bit about the song ties into the show’s theme. Also, Daniels and John Gallagher Jr. (Jim Harper in The Newsroom) perform Jonathan Edwards’ Sunshine (Go Away Today) in another episode during a party at McAvoy’s apartment. As it turns out, in addition to being a talented actor, Gallagher is a wicked talented musician, too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kp04NqmwWn4&list=RDkp04NqmwWn4

And lastly, here are The Avett Brothers (a Dances with Bass staff fave artist) performing That’s How I Got to Memphis and Head Full of Doubt live in 2015.