To The Artist Lyrics - Jerry Jeff Walker

Jerry Jeff Walker 

This song is a letter sung to a special friend of mine 

One who stopped his singing somewhere back along the line 

I wondered if he'd had enough of the rip-offs and the jive 

Or did he sing his song one night and lose the will to write 

It never was a business deal, this thing with your guitar 

It always seemed more a dance done deep inside your heart 

Tonight I wonder if it's true, like we felt it at the start 

That an artist truly does it best when he does it from the heart 

It seems to be much more than an art when the art you sell is you 

Be careful how you play the game or else the game plays you 

In the old days we'd stay up nights and laugh until we cried 

You said songs don't belong to us we just bring some thoughts to light 

The rule of thumb is never give the truth away to rhyme 

And a man can't lie when he tries to sing it betrays him every time 

We really write to understand more about ourselves 

And if we're lucky maybe then we touch someone else 

Well, I just got back from Europe friend where they hung on every word 

It made me feel a little better about my chosen line of work 

They asked me if I knew you wrote a lot these days 

I told 'em all I know is that you rarely ever play 

We start out singing what we like and just give it all away 

And wind up hating what we play and sit begging to be paid 

So let me say in closing friend, I want you to know 

I understand how hard it was to let your music go 

An artist must decide which parts to leave in and take out 

And if he no longer plays the game that's what the game's about