James McMurtry is his own man
I had never listened to James McMurtry before and when I outlasted his 8 and a half minute version of Choctaw Bingo, I was impressed. Of course, I am a lyrics man and I actually listen to the words and they stories they tell. Choctaw Bingo tells a story. Yes, you Texans will pick up a lot of references to Texas, but that is because McMurtry has traveled the roads of Texas himself.
His mastery of the guitar also makes me jealous. I have never even tried to play anything other than an ‘air’ guitar, but if I could play, I would want to play like James McMurtry. I watched his fingers fly as I listened to his words. It was pure magic for me to both hear the words and ‘watch’ the music being played. Although he is probably tired to death of seeing it in print, the answer is yes, he is the son of author Larry McMurtry (Lonesome Dove) who has often said how very talented his son is with his music.
For those of you who are also into the philosophical meanings of songs, here is a semi-literate discourse on the song. I’m not at all familiar with any type of meth culture, but I have seen the results in desperate people headed downhill fast.
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