Waiting 'Round to Die

"Waiting Around to Die" is a folk/country song written and recorded by Texas singer/songwriter Townes Van Zandt. One of Van Zandt's more famous songs, "Waiting Around to Die" chronicles the life of a fictional drifter as he passes sadly through the experiences of an abusive father, the abandonment of his mother, drug and alcohol abuse, fast women, and even prison. The song appeared first on Van Zandt's debut album, For the Sake of the Song, in 1967, and later on his 1969 release Townes Van Zandt. Several live albums, notably Live at the Old Quarter, Houston, Texas also feature the song. It also appears on the 1999 album Far Cry From Dead, a posthumous collection that presents new versions of several of Van Zandt's best songs.^[1]

The song appears on the classic documentary of 1970's outlaw country music, Heartworn Highways, where Van Zandt is seen performing in his Austin, Texas home with his good friend the "Walking Blacksmith" Seymore Washington.^[2] At one point during the performance, Washington, a 75-year-old man, is visibly seen crying as Van Zandt plays.

In a biographical documentary about the life and work of Townes Van Zandt, Be Here to Love Me, Townes' first wife is seen informing the audience that "Waiting 'Round To Die" was the first song Van Zandt composed during their marriage in his small apartment in Houston, Texas.

The song has been covered by The Goddamn Gallows, The Lemonheads, The Be Good Tanyas, Whitey Morgan and the 78's, The Devil Makes Three, and Michael Kiwanuka, and was featured in an episode of Breaking Bad, an episode of Billions, and an episode of Hell On Wheels (in a slightly modified form of the version from the album Far Cry From Dead).

References