Some Songs about Thrift and Pawn Stores

 

The other day my son asked me what a thrift shop was. So I told him, not thinking anything of it. The next day my wife said I had to see this video, because our son was talking about it. She said it would help get my mind off of our flooded basement. I have to admit, it kept going through my head as I wet-vac'ed the basement.

 So this song goes out to all my thrift store/Goodwill shopping peeps , Yo Yo, Remington, Sheila, Timmy, Grancie, Lamont, and of course the person who introduced me to thrift stores, my dad (R.I.P) .Word! (Okay enough of that)

 

 

 

It also got me started thinking about other songs about thrift stores, (couldn't think of any) which then led to me thinking of songs about pawn shops.

This was the first one to pop into my head.

 

After that, I had a line from David Bromberg's Bullfrog Blues going through my head. "Hey Mr. Pawnbroker, tell me what do those three balls mean on your wall?" Bullfrog Blues only has a passing reference to pawn shops, but it reminded me of Blind Boy Fuller's Three Ball Blues.

 

Then of course I remembered Brownie McGhee's Pawn Shop Blues.

 



And the last one I could think of was Ronnie Lane's song Debris. Which he wrote about his father. It's not really about Thrift Stores or Pawn Shops, just looking for bargains at the market stalls discarded items. It reminds me in a lot of ways about my own dad, who like Ronnies, was always "sorting through the odds and ends, looking for a bargain"

 

Here's the Faces version.

 



Anyway, that's all of the songs that came to mind...today at least. If I think of any more, I'll post them. If anyone knows of others, just leave me a comment.

****UPDATE****

 

Well, I woke up this morning and had another song going through my head that mentions pawn shops.Steve Goodman and John Prine's song "Souvenirs". It's not really about pawn shops, but has the line, " I hate graveyards and old pawn shops, for they always bring me tears. Can't forget the way they rob me of my childhood souvenirs." This song is in some ways the opposite of Macklemore's "Thrift Shop", in that instead of "looking for a come up" or bargain, in "Souvenirs", it's a song of regret, of  things and time lost; graveyards, pawn shops, broken toys, and lost loves. In this aspect it's more like Sublime's "Pawn Shop"which says "what has been sold, not strictly made of stone, just remember that it's flesh and bone." Which I take to mean that the items in pawn shops, had been imbued with the feelings and emotions of the people that had owned them (flesh and bone) and that for them, the items may have been more than an item (stone). Or as the story goes, Bradley of Sublime used to pawn his guitar to buy drugs, and that the guitar was his life. As he states in "Same in the End" - "the day that I die will be the day that I shut my mouth and put down my guitar." And we all know how that story ends.

 

So, enough of that, let's hear "Souvenirs." Original audio

 

Live with John and Steve

 

Here's John and Marty Stuart doing it in 2010. A little slower, a little lower, a little more gravitas.

 

Did I mention that I love this song?

 



Steve Goodman

Music affects the emotions, this is a given. The reasons why are not so clear. Personally I find that there are certain pieces, songs, sounds and artists that have a certain effect on me, and I want to mention two artists that put me in a good mood at just about any time: Steve Goodman and Henry Thomas.

Two different types of artists, from different time periods, but whenever I hear them, I can’t help but smile. Oh sure, they both did sad songs, but overwhelmingly their music is happy, upbeat, and joyous. Or at least that’s what I get from it.

Let’s start with Steve Goodman. He was born 1948, and died 1984. The song he is best known for is "The City of New Orleans", which was a hit for Arlo Guthrie, and covered by a number of other artists.


The City of New Orleans

During his life he suffered from and eventually died from leukemia. But enough of the biography, what I get from Goodman, and what I think is the most important thing is fun. You can tell he is enjoying himself. His songs are funny, and his presentation shows that he is having fun performing. He also didn’t take himself too seriously. He could have easily gone down the suffering artist role, he knew he didn’t have much time, but instead of moping, he lived life to the fullest. In the song, "You Better Get It While You Can (The Ballad of Carl Martin)" although he’s talking about the musician Carl Martin, he could just as easily expressing his own outlook on life.

You Better Get it While You Can (The Ballad of Carl Martin)

This one, co-written with John Prine is one of my favorite songs.

John Prine and Steve Goodman - Souvenirs (plus You're the Girl I Love)