Too short

Lately I've been listening to Johnny Cash, and while he does have some pretty great songs, I've noticed a lot of his songs are just too short. Perhaps I'm just used to the average length of GL's songs, so maybe that's why they seemed short. I think a good bit of his songs would've had higher ratings or would've been better if they had been just a little bit longer. Fortunately, I have a much harder time finding this problem with any of Gords songs.
So, are there any Gord songs that you think would have been better if they had gone on just a bit longer? Mine are:

As Fine As Fine Can Be
Minstrel Of The Dawn
The Pony Man

(And those songs are not really all that short )

[SomewhereupinMichigan]

Hmmm....interesting topic. I think CRT and TWotEM should have been longer!

[Shazia]

I don't know but I think the Wreck should have been a tad shorter

Farewell to Annabel seems too short, and so does Whisper My Name

[joveski]

Cash songs are fine as they are. if he can fit whatever he has to say in that short time frame, why ramble on and make it longer?

[Shazia]

I like songs that are over 5 minutes long LOL

[Brian 57]

Billy Joel's take in his song "The Entertainer":

I am the entertainer, I've come to do my show
You've heard my latest record, it's been on the radio
It took me years to write it, they were the best years of my life
It was a beautiful song but it ran too long
If you're gonna have a hit you gotta make it fit
So they cut it down to 3:05

[Cathy]

I just bought a Johnny Cash greatest hits CD. It's the only Cash CD I own, but now I think I'd better get a few more, because I'm wearing this one out.

Cathy http://www.cathycowette.com

[SomewhereupinMichigan]

quote:Originally posted by TheWatchman:
Right on Joveski! Cash had something to say and if it took 2 minutes or 5 minutes, he didn't care. There will never be anyone to even come close to Johnny.

Presumably "A Boy Named Sue" would be the exception to this rule?

[BILLW]

SUIM,

"A Boy Named Sue" clocks in at 3:54 and was written by Shel Silverstein the guy who co-wrote "On Susan's Floor" which Gord did on Don Quixote. I don't think it's an exception just a good example of storytelling by old Shel who also wrote children's books among other talents. I think Johnny did a hell of a job with it as did Gord doing "On Susan's Floor".
"...kicking and a-gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer..."
Ya gotta love it......

Bill

quote:Originally posted by Cathy:
I just bought a Johnny Cash greatest hits CD. It's the only Cash CD I own, but now I think I'd better get a few more, because I'm wearing this one out.

Cathy http://www.cathycowette.com

Did you ever get the Johnny Cash Tribute album? You know, the double-disk set? Someone got it for me for Christmas. You should get that one.

Anyway, I only find that problem with some Cash songs, like "I Guess Things Happen That Way" and "Hey Porter" to name a few. "5 Feet High And Rising" is also short but it's fine like it is to me.
Other songs that are nice and lenghty include
Don't Take Your Guns To Town (My favorite, especially the re-recorded version)
Highwayman
The Wanderer
A Boy Named Sue
Ghost Riders In The Sky (My 2nd favorite
Folsom Prison Blues
etc.

I'm sh-t out of time. Bye.

[SomewhereupinMichigan]

Sorry Folks! A Boy Named Sue, for me, is just one of those songs that grates on me every time I hear it. And don't misunderstand...I like Johnny Cash, I played a lot of his library when I was a dj back in the 70s and early 80s (including A Boy...) and I am familiar with Shel's very extensive catalogue and obvious talent. However, all of that said, ABNS just ain't my "how do you do!"

I have 2 Johnny Cash albums. They're both Columbia. I inherited them at some point in my life. They don't have the basics like "A Boy Named Sue" and "Folsom Prison Blues" But, they do have songs like "Guess Things Happen That Way" and "One More Ride" I burned them to CD last year and love listening to both of em. R.I.P. Johnny

[joveski]

here's a message from johnny cash for his non-believers

[BILLW]

joveski,

where's the picture ?

Bill

[joveski]

i posted it yesterday.. it did appear for me.. oh well, watchman can do it when he wakes up. he seems to be a html expert!

[joveski]

thanks watchman, and johnny too!

[BILLW]

OK ! Now I get it...

Thanks,

Bill

Is that picture real? Did he get ticked off at somebody in a concert? Or did someone just doctor it or something?

[joveski]

as watchman said, its real and that was a "thumbs up" for people who think his songs are too short!

[Borderstone]

Unless the "suits'at a label twist your arm to make the songs shorter,songs are what ever length they may be,depending on how much the writer/singer has to say.
Some points can be made in 2 mnutes or less like,"Sixteen Miles To Seven Lakes".
Some in about 3-5 minutes like,"Endless Wire".
Then the sometimes,"this guys got a lot on his mind" kind of song that clocks in from 5-7 minutes like "CRRT" or "Wreck".

For my money,Gordon's songs are just right,with the little nagging feeling i have that "Summertime Dream" could have been maybe just a minute & few seconds longer. As for Johnny Cash,it's most likely the same idea. Been me,Aurevoir!

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"A knight of the road,going back to a place where he might get warm." - Borderstone

Is "Unsettled Ways" the shortest Gord song? I think it is. It's the only one I know that's shorter than 2 minutes.