This piece is inspired and accredited to a man I consider a friend. The Texas country music legend from Abilene, Mr. Aaron Watson. I first met Aaron in 2009 at a concert in Robstown, Texas. In the years since, we have met and conversed several times more. He is a good man, a good songwriter, a good family man, and a good Christian. Aaron, I give all credit to you. This is for everyone out there scrapping and scraping by. The guys and gals with nothing but a couple of bucks in their pocket and a dream.
Now this is a true story for the most part
That occurred on the top floor of this
Publishing executives office in NYC
Now understand I’m not poking any fun or disrespecting anybody
God knows I love writing with all my heart and soul
And I love the writers hall of fame
But I do have a problem with someone who
Can’t even string together a sentence with a pad and pen
Telling someone with a dream that they won’t get far
So this story is dedicated to all those underdogs like me
Out there running around
Don’t get discouraged if you have a dream
Don’t be afraid to chase it down
This is how it goes
He said, “Son, don’t get offended by what I’m about to convey
I can see you have a passion
For the stories you write and say
But you lack what we all call commercial appeal
And you just don’t have what it takes
To make it out here in NYC
Ouch
Well my heart felt like a train wreck
But I conjured a smile on my face
I said, “Thank you for your time, sir”
Put my stories back in their case
Our little conversation was like a revelation
Redirecting my dreams
‘Cause God knows I’d never sell my soul to rock ‘n’ roll Or reggae or rap or anything in between
‘Cause you know I’d rather write my own stuff Than be a puppet on a string
I’ll share what I want to share
I’m gonna think what I wanna think
Heaven knows all I need
Is my faith, my fans, my friends and my family
Besides I’d rather be a fence post in Montana
Than the king of NYC
So I loaded up my pickup truck
And I drove back home to Helena
I took three years and I finished
My magnum opus a book I titled Pride of America
And for the first thousand days or so
Not a soul had hardly bought it
I thought about quitting every other day
But I just kept on trucking
Yeah, I kept hocking that book
Powered by Blood, sweat, and beers
And wouldn’t you know I became an overnight success
In just under twelve years
And now I’m packing out all the book stores
And the talk shows every night
I got a pretty wife, a ranch, a plane, a bus, a boat
I’d say I’m doing alright
And you know I’d rather write my own stuff
Than be a puppet on a string
I’ll share what I want to share
I’m gonna think what I want to think
Heaven knows all I need
Is my faith, my fans, my friends and my family
Besides I’d rather be a fence post in Montana
Than the king of NYC
Well, wouldn’t you know that old publishing man
Showed up one night at this spoken word bar
After my show he said,
“Son, I believe you might be the next big writing star”
He said, “We like how you keep it raw
We like how you keeping it real
And I think you may just have what
We all like to call commercial appeal”
Huh, ain’t that something
Well, sir
I’d rather do my own thing
Than be a puppet on a string
I’ll write what I want to write
And I’m gonna think what I want to think
Heaven knows all I need
Is my faith, my fans, my friends and my family
Besides I’d rather be a fence post in Montana
Than the king of NYC
I’d rather be just a fence post in Montana
Than sell my soul to rock ‘n’ roll
Or reggae or rap, or anything in between
Credited and inspired by “Fencepost”
Aaron Watson
The Underdog
2015
Best,
R.F.
