When he was a teenager in Las Cruces, New Mexico, Tom began writing song lyrics, and throughout his life he continued to find his greatest joy in doing so. For the amusement and bemusement of family, fans, and friends, I am posting on this site a generous selection of his individual songs over the years plus selections from the four musical plays he wrote (only the earliest of which was ever produced).
Much of the material included is also available in the supplementary material to Tom's family memoir, Baker's Daughter, Miller's Son.
The assortment of lyrics includes several not in that memoir, and it is possible I will be adding to them from time to time. The musical plays -- The Darwin Theory, The Stonewallya Kid (of course that one didn't have that name when first composed, as you will
see), A String of Banjos , and Booze -- are arranged according to the time of original composition, although as he reworked and rewrote over the years, newer material was added and sometimes older material (even from the songwriter's proverbial trunk) brought forward. (A separate spin-off publication. Tom's Songbook, is available for sale for those who wish to have just the songs but not the rest of the memoir.)
My main source for the songs and plays was a collection Tom had been working on during his last years, Lyrics and Limericks for Lasciviouis Occasions. It was the limericks that justified the adjective in that title (although, as you will discover, some of the lyrics, particularly in the middle two works, slant in that direction). While Tom had some vague hope of ending up with a publishable work, his primary goal was to pull together in one place material he had worked on for much of his life. And luckily, it was available to me in electronic format. You will, I think, be happy to note that I have elected not to include the limericks.
So go back to the button for this header and rest your cursor there and click on the subheads and browse away!
Much of the material included is also available in the supplementary material to Tom's family memoir, Baker's Daughter, Miller's Son.
The assortment of lyrics includes several not in that memoir, and it is possible I will be adding to them from time to time. The musical plays -- The Darwin Theory, The Stonewallya Kid (of course that one didn't have that name when first composed, as you will
see), A String of Banjos , and Booze -- are arranged according to the time of original composition, although as he reworked and rewrote over the years, newer material was added and sometimes older material (even from the songwriter's proverbial trunk) brought forward. (A separate spin-off publication. Tom's Songbook, is available for sale for those who wish to have just the songs but not the rest of the memoir.)
My main source for the songs and plays was a collection Tom had been working on during his last years, Lyrics and Limericks for Lasciviouis Occasions. It was the limericks that justified the adjective in that title (although, as you will discover, some of the lyrics, particularly in the middle two works, slant in that direction). While Tom had some vague hope of ending up with a publishable work, his primary goal was to pull together in one place material he had worked on for much of his life. And luckily, it was available to me in electronic format. You will, I think, be happy to note that I have elected not to include the limericks.
So go back to the button for this header and rest your cursor there and click on the subheads and browse away!