Lately, I've been working harder to pay attention to the words in lyrics. With the recent passing of Merle Haggard, I think a lot of people have sort of missed how important the words to the lyrics to many of his songs have been.

So many of them have such a poignant impact. The words to Wishing All These Old Things Were New or Misery and Gin ("looking at the world through the bottom of a glass"...).

Then, the other night while listening to a song I've heard many, many times, I really heard the lyrics for the first time and was struck at how simple and poetic they were. These were the lyrics to Beyond the Blue Neon sung by George Strait....

Swingin' doors, sawdust floors A heartache drowns as the whiskey pours There's a hole in the wall from some free for all The ringin' crack of that old cue ball

I've been fallin' in here for what seems like years Where the tears and the lonely belong And wonder what's going on beyond that blue neon

I hear tell, there's people out there Who don't know what losin' you means They don't have a heart that just falls apart At the mention of your name

I heard they pretend the world didn't end Right when I knew you were gone I guess life still goes on beyond that blue neon

I hear tell, there's people out there Who don't know what losin' you means They don't have a heart that just falls apart At the mention of your name

But it's a quarter 'til two and I don't have a clue As to what I'll do from now 'til dawn I wonder what's going on beyond that blue neon

Lord, what's going on beyond that blue neon?

I mean, look at the lyrics...they are minimalistic in ways, but evoke such mental imagery...sort of like how David Baerwald sings in A Secret Silken World or when in Black Mamba Kiss he declares how the woman had "hair like rope."

Mostly, I'm a rock and roll guy, but I also like music where the lyrics do matter and am growing to appreciate these artistic wordsmiths more and more.......