There’s a story behind every song. It’s not always a good story, but there’s a story nonetheless. Sometimes even two or three stories, that may or may not change (substantially) along the way. I remember when I was a kid (this was long before MP3’s and iTunes), reading the liner notes for my tapes and records, was one of my favorite things to do. My favorite part of the liner notes, next to reading the lyrics, was when an artist would open up and share with me the stories behind their songs. Knowing the background always seemed to sharpen the focus and brighten the colors that the songs would paint in my head.
That’s what (I hope) this blog section of my site is about; me sharing my lyrics and stories that go along with the songs, and generally rambling on about whatever else may seem relevant to the song at hand. I will warn you in advance, if you’re looking to hear my best work, well polished for presentation, this is probably not the part of my site that’s for you. If my best is what you’d like to hear, or if you’re here because you’re thinking about booking me to play your venue, then click the Songs or Videos links above and forget you ever saw this page. The rest of you, come along, and I’ll tell you where it all came from.
— Jack Lambert
I have always loved the song Amazing Grace. It’s one of those things that is stirring and beautiful and memorable, even if you aren’t a Christian. I always wished I could write a beautiful song of faith like that. I don’t know if I ever have, but if I ever did, this is it.
A friend of mine commented once, that for a guy living in north Idaho, I sure had a Texas star hanging over my garage. I replied to my friend, that being a Texan is kind of like being a marine. Some may get out and go on to do other things with the rest of their life, but you never really quit being one.
Songs are like children in a lot of ways. Especially in the way that they don’t always turn out to be the little angels you’d hoped for, but somehow you still love them despite that. This here is one of my troubled kids, who’s attitude towards life is pretty different from mine.
I used to run with a pretty wild crowd, back in the day. Booze, drugs, fast cars, motorcycles, and all of that sort of thing. Somewhere along the way, by the grace of God, I got off that road. Not a lot of people from the old crew did, though. I wrote this one day while I was thinking about the various friends I’ve known along the way who died young from living the fast life.
Once upon a time, a some really good friends of mine were getting a divorce. It was a ugly piece of business, involving drugs, infidelity, and the usual list of marital woes (and some not so usual ones, too, now that I think back on it). I left them to their ugly divorce, and went off and wrote this tasty little blues song about the whole affair.