“The Green, Green Grass of Home”
I was going about my afternoon ritual of surfing though YouTube this afternoon, and just happened upon a clip from a U.K. TV station about Tom Jones on the occasion of his 80th birthday (two months ago). Now that is truly hard to believe. They had put together a 52-minute retrospective of his life and career.
Well, I had to pause because there was so much ahead on YouTube as I indulged in my craving for more and more serendipitous music clips, mini-documentaries, news and commentary, comedy sketches, and on and on. YouTube is vast and endless. So why should I takes look at this Tom Jones documentary? I never cared that much for his big, brash, loud sound. But I went ahead and started watching and was quite fascinated at what a pop culture icon he is. Elvis bought all his records and they became good friends. He had his own TV show. He performed at Vegas, and on and on.
He was apparently much more popular than my snooty dismissal of him way back in 1968 when he started having his big hits. I really disliked his over-the-top personally and way he belted out what I thought were pretty crummy songs. However, as you get older, time has a way of mellowing you and you become more amenable to giving artists another look, for old times sake if nothing else. I mean he was larger than life.
There was probably only one singer who could out blast Jones in the decibel department and they was Janis Joplin. They memorably performed together on his TV show in 1969. I’m afraid I got a headache listening to that.
The one song among several which I think he could really call his own, and which would long survive him and the others who recorded it, was “The Green, Green Grass of Home.” Tom Jones really put his heart and soul in that one. I’ve been listening to the music and words more closely than I ever had before, and what a truly beautiful and memorable song it is! I always liked it but haven’t heard it in years.
Interestingly it was a country song first made popular by Porter Wagoner in 1965. (I’m including the words to the song below).
If you do a YouTube search you’ll find dozens of artists who have recorded this song: Elvis (a truly magnificent version), Joan Baez, Charley Pride, Merle Haggard, Patti page, Dolly Parton, Glen Campbell — and that’s just a sampling.
I love that YouTube has helped me rediscover this song. I hope you enjoy hearing it again.
Green Green Grass of Home
Elvis Presley version
Joan Baez
And I can’t conclude this entry without this clip from his appearance on a popular British variety show. He is Welsh and is immensely popular in the U.K. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 2006. This comedy sketch just made my day. Jones has a great sense of humor and I had a really good laugh watching this:
“The Green Green Grass of Home”
Written by Curly Putman, Jr.
This is a sad song and I guess we’ll never know what the man was convicted of.
The old home town looks the same
As I step down from the train
And there to meet me is my Mama and Papa
Down the road I look and there runs Mary
Hair of gold and lips like cherries
It’s good to touch the green, green grass of home
Yes, they’ll all come to meet me, arms reaching, smiling sweetly
It’s good to touch the green, green grass of home
The old house is still standing tho’ the paint is cracked and dry
And there’s that old oak tree that I used to play on
Down the lane I walk with my sweet Mary
Hair of gold and lips like cherries
It’s good to touch the green, green grass of home
Then I awake and look around me
At four grey walls that surround me
And I realize, yes, I was only dreaming
For there’s a guard and there’s a sad old padre
Arm in arm, we’ll walk at daybreak
Again I touch the green, green grass of home
Yes, they’ll all come to see me
In the shade of that old oak tree
As they lay me ‘neath the green, green grass of home
I know someone who saw his Vegas show, and after that was a true fan. Apparently, live, he’s quite the entertainer.
@onlysujema He was definitely a big name Vegas entertainer.
Warning Comment
We used to sing that song in school!
@kaliko Was it a for a school chorus program?
Warning Comment
Every time someone says Tom Jones’ name, the word “Carlton Banks” floats into my head and I start laughing. I’m not a listener either, though. Not because I don’t like it, but because it was never my choice – when I play these links, though, they’re very soothing songs.
@thenerve I’m really not sure why I decided to do this entry on that song because I never liked Tom Jones. Lol. But it was kinda spur of the moment and Green Green Grass of Home is a classic. I always liked the Tom Jones version of it. People must be thinking Oswego has the weirdest range of tastes in music. Yep, but it’s mostly good stuff! To me, anyway. Lol
@oswego – I enjoyed this song! Eclectic is the way to go 😀
@thenerve 😁😊
Warning Comment
That song. My mother met my father in Tripoli, Lybia in 1961. He was in the Air Force and she was living there with her Aunt and Uncle who had come there from Sicily to find work. They married and she came to the States with him. When I was a little girl, she was very homesick for her hometown of Gela, Sicily. And because of that, this was her favorite song….I remember her requesting it whenever there was a band playing an event, or she just played the record on the record player.
@catholicchristian Thank you for sharing such a beautiful memory. That song affects so many people in a deep and personal way. I know it did when I was young, and it does now.
Warning Comment
Wow, I don’t think I ever paid attention to the last verse of that song. it really is sad, isn’t it?
@startingover_1 It really is. I hadn’t paid that much attention to it either.
Warning Comment