GUEST ARTIST, BYRON WALKER, ORIGINAL, lonnie barksdale

Lonnie Barksdale, copyright Byron Walker 2009

Byron is a long standing member of our song writers club in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. He is originally from Alabama and Tennessee. Byron is a fine singer and a really good song writer/folk historian. It is my pleasure to present him to you and I hope some of you enjoy his art as much as do I. Thanks for listening, Chuck.



Lonnie Barksdale met the panic straight head on when he was about 15
He may have seen some good years in his life, but a lot of them were lean
Built a house from rough lumber sawed from timber growin on his land
Cut 3 house patterns from the rest of the timber made a living with his calloused hands

He got a job in the foundry, moved to Chattanooga along about 53
He worked about 5 years, got laid off, moved back out on the mountain to breathe
He made every kind of box that had strings on it and he could play them too
When you stop to think about it, there wasnt much Mr. Lonnie couldnt do

He lived in the corner of Sylvania crossroads, at the flashing caution light
Didnt miss anything when he left the foundry, it took a lot of good mens lives
He worked hard raising chickens and building homes, trying to do things right
Raised 2 children about the best he could, and took good care of his wife

He carved the top of my violin from a piece of a spruce goose wing
Made the sides a little tad deeper, it soars as well as sings
He carved the scrolls with an old Barlow, he found cleaning out his chicken house
Somebody mustve thrown it on the sawdust pile after the blade was broken out

He bought the top and tuners for my guitar from a Stew-Mc catalog
Carved the neck from a piece of purple heart out of a blank hed sawed
Mated the neck with a tight neat joint, past the nut to a mahogany head stock
Braced it stout enough to use for a ball bat, itll take some hard knocks

If somebody made it, he could too, he had a can do attitude
He could make good instruments out of splinters, Ill give the man his just due
Nine mahogany strips for the back of my box, all bonded by hot hide glue
When hed fitted and finished the pieces, the tone was a different hue

He stamped LB on the back of the headstock, it was crafted by Lonnie Barksdale
The picture of the princess fits the lower bout so well

Category:

Music

Tags:

• GUEST ARTIST
• BYRON WALKER
• ORIGINAL
• lonnie barksdale

[GBarks219]

Mr. Walker,

Lonnie Barksdale was my grandpa. As a kid, I watched him turn rough chunks of wood and old metal pots into instruments. Mostly with hand tools. Everything I ever saw him make and definitely all of the instruments that he built for me have the L.B. and the # at the top of the neck. My papa was a treasure and I miss him. I just wanted to say thank you for thinking enough of him to take the time to write that song.

[chuxtrux]

hello there GBarks219. i just e mailed your comment to byron walker. i'm sure he will be pleased to hear from you. at one point when byron was writing this song he asked me if i thought he should change the name in case family would not like the song. i'm so happy now that he did not change the name. so nice to hear from you, hope you are doing real fine, chuck picklesimer.

[oldfolkiepad]

While I was in the States I read a fascinating book called "Guitar - An American Life" by Tim Brookes. It deals with its subject from all sorts of angles, including the process by which the author had a guitar made for him by a professional luthier, Rick Davis. This song reminded me of the book and it was great to hear someone writing and singing about this remarkable craft.

Best regards,

Paddy

[chuxtrux]

hi paddy. my friend don milhoan buit me many guitars over the years, and each one was special in it's own way. my wife once asked why i needed so many guitars and i jokingly said that i need variety in my life. marriage is my not variety and guitars provide the variety. someone did not laugh. be well, chuck.

[CurtisMateer]

The voice got to me immediately. He's the real deal for sure. Brilliant stuff.

[chuxtrux]

hi pete. i agree. byron is one of my very favorite writers. be well, chuck.

[byronleewalker]

Okay I'm slow. My guitar has "LB," the date 4/24/1991 and #11. Equally impressive is the violin Mr. Barksdale made for me. It has great bass and sustain. He also put the top on a violin that I've had for over 40 years, and gave it a new lease on life. Mr. Barksdale's achievements were great, but he was greater than the sum of his parts.

[byronleewalker]

I'm glad you like it, but the song really doesn't do justice to him. He was a much bigger man than that.

[GBarks219]

I thought it was great. I'm glad he didn't change the name. I called my dad about it late last night and he said that Mr. Walker had sent a copy to him and my Aunt. The family really appreciates it. You guys have all of our thanks.