DESCRIPTION:
Robert Plant Band Of Joy - Story behind Harm's Swift Way (Townes Van Zandt cover song).

Band Of Joy tour preview mp3 with David Broza version of "Harm's Swift Way" from my radio blog on the episode posted here (Download, Listen on this link):
http://dgold.info/radio/webcast2010/music544

STORY behind where Robert Plant may have gotten the tape of Harm's Swift Way and first heard this song to cover. I found the story via Google. Someone else wrote the story not me. It is on the music.townes-van-zandt osdir.com forum. Check it out. Pretty interesting. Basic story is this couple gave Robert Plant a tape of Townes Van Zandt last demo recordings and told Robert that "Harm's Swift Way" was the last song Townes wrote. Robert checked out the song and eventually decided to play it with Band Of Joy in 2010.

LINK TO THE FULL TEXT OF THE TOWNES VAN ZANDT ROBERT PLANT FORUM STORY:
http://osdir.com/ml/music.townes-van-zandt/2008-07/msg00038.html

A quote from the story: "Robert said that he would sign the stuff I brought, and I told them about Townes' last song Harm's Swift Way I put in there, and how Townes never got to record it except for this work tape. That perked their interest.... I wish I could be a fly on the wall when any of these guys sits down and listens to Townes' last song. It's not just the last song he happened to write, it is the epitome of a genius troubadour's last statement."

LATER Robert Plant was asked about Harm's Swift Way in the newspaper. Plant told the Arkansas Times this quote: "[ The song ] kind of drifted around. His -- I'm not going to say 'reading' because that's really where we know we've gone right up our own sphincter -- his music was dramatic at times, sometimes lost and sometimes hugely found, and this was, maybe, according to one aficionado, the last thing he ever wrote. It's not a very happy tune in its original form. And basically it's not happy'ed up now, but at least it's got a driving beat and sounds like it just dropped off 'Sweetheart Of The Rodeo.'"

(RP's mention of the one TVZ aficionado probably refers to the writer of the TVZ forum post who gave Robert the demo tape backstage. Cool.)

LYRICS of the song!!



HARMS SWIFT WAY

THERE IS A HOME OUT OF HARMS SWIFT WAY
I SET MYSELF TO FIND
I SWORE TO MY LOVE I WOULD
BRING HER THERE
THEN I LEFT MY LOVE BEHIND
THE DESERT WAS LONG
THE MOUNTAIN HIGH
THE ROAD RAN STEEP AND WINDING
THE PROMISES SO EASILY MADE
UNBEARABLE, YET BINDING

OH ME, OH MY
WHO'S GONNA COUNT MY TIME

TIME WILL GO, IT NEVER STAYS
MEMORY LOCKED IN HER PASSING
TRY, OH TRY TO CLING TO HER
UNTIL SHE BECOMES EVERLASTING
THE WORLD'S STILL BLUE
MY WORD'S STILL TRUE
I FEEL I'M TURNING HOLLOW
SHE DOES AS SHE PLEASE
IF EVER SHE LEAVES
I'LL STRANGLE UPON THE SORROW

OH ME, OH MY
WHO'S GONNA MARK MY TIME

THE ROAD IS PAST, TOMORROW THE SKY
BETWEEN SOMETIMES IS BLINDING
SOMEDAY SOON WHEN I TURN TO CLOUD
I WILL FLY ON HER WINGS SOMEHOW
WRAPPED IN THE ROAD AND FILLED WITH ABOVE
THE GROUND SEEMS TO FADE AWAY
HOLD TO THE EARTH LIKE A NEW BORN CHILD
PRAY SHE RETURNS SOMEDAY

OH ME, OH MY
WHO'S GONNA MARK MY TIME

© TOWNES VAN ZANDT SONGS

Video from the 2nd show of the inaugural tour for Robert Plant and the new Band Of Joy (15 July 2010, Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.A.) with Patty Griffin, vocals and acoustic guitar, Buddy Miller, guitar, vocals, Darrell Scott, mandolin, banjo, acoustic and electric guitars, pedal steel, lap steel guitar, vocals, Byron House, Bass and Vocals, Marco Giovino, drums and percussion, vocals.

Inaugural Tour Dates
Introducing Robert Plant - Band Of Joy

July - the Southern USA
13 Memphis, TN - The Orpheum Theater Information available in May
15 Little Rock, AR - Robinson Center Music Hall (THIS SHOW PICTURED!)
16 Tulsa, OK - Brady Theater
18 Albuquerque, NM - Sandia Casino Amphitheater
20 Phoenix, AZ - Dodge Theater
21 Tucson, AZ - Anselmo Valencia Amphitheater
23 Dallas, TX Meyerson Symphony Hall
24 Houston, TX - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
26 Austin, TX - Stubbs Waller Creek Amphitheater
28 Mobile, AL - The Saenger Theatre
30 Clearwater, FL - Ruth Eckerd Hall
31 Miami, FL - Bayfront Park Amphitheater

UK dates later:
* HMV Forum, London - Thursday 2nd September 2010
* St David's Hall, Cardiff - Tuesday 26th October 2010
* Symphony Hall, Birmingham - Wednesday 27th October 2010
* Palace Theatre, Manchester - Sunday 31st October 2010

Robert Plant - Band Of Joy CD album comes out September 14, 2010.

Hear Band Of Joy Previews on http://dgold.info/radio