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T‐Bone Burnett — Primitives
Album: The Criminal Under My Own Hat
Avg rating:
6.5

Your rating:
Total ratings: 906









Released: 1992
Length: 3:10
Plays (last 30 days): 2
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Primitives dress in feathers and masks
To scare away their enemies
The frightening thing is not dying
The frightening thing is not living
Scientists guess which is worse we will ask
The medicine or the disease
The frightening thing is not dying
The frightening thing is not living

There's an old man living on the edge of town, edge of town
With a skull in his window and the shades pulled down, shades pulled down
And he laughs at fortune and he laughs at fame, he laughs at fame
And he laughs at scandal and he laughs at shame, he laughs at shame

Primitives dress in feathers and masks
To scare away their enemies
The frightening thing is not dying
The frightening thing is not living
Scientists guess which is worse we will ask
The medicine or the disease
The frightening thing is not dying
The frightening thing is not living

There's a young girl living on the edge of town, edge of town
With a light in her window and her hair falls down, hair falls down
And she loves me crazy and she loves me wild, loves me wild
And she loves me tender like a lonely child, lonely child

Primitives dress in feathers and masks
To scare away their enemies
The frightening thing is not dying
The frightening thing is not living
Comments (49)add comment
 cc_rider wrote:

Sure sounds like Jerry Douglas on slide guitar. Could be wrong, but TBB draws that level of talent.
c.


He is credited on the album, but he plays dobro
Posted 3 months ago by Greyerwrit    [ Reply ]
t-bone - one of the best producers and artists of our time.
Posted 1 year ago by tm    [ Reply ]
Excellent song from an excellent album
Posted 3 years ago by RabbitEars    [ Reply ]
Primitives dress in feathers and masks
To scare away their enemies
The frightening thing is not dying
The frightening thing is not living

2020 eh!
Posted 4 years ago by mjbaumann    [ Reply ]
Sure sounds like Jerry Douglas on slide guitar. Could be wrong, but TBB draws that level of talent.
c.
Posted 4 years ago by cc_rider    [ Reply ]
The (momentarily) frightening thing was the wild sonics coming out of the speakers mounted on the ceiling of my studio directly over my head. Had a moment of "*duck!* what the hell WAS that?!" as the first of those bass bows(?) slid overhead.
Posted 4 years ago by memoryboxer    [ Reply ]
Genious
Posted 4 years ago by LoveRParadise    [ Reply ]
To follow this up with The Ballad of Hollis Brown by Kevn Kinney (not Dylan's original) would be epic.
Posted 5 years ago by SmackDaddy    [ Reply ]
 govna wrote:
It's amazing that this guy has had his hand in some of the most impressive songs ever written, which usually are performed by other people. And then, when he writes and performs for himself, there's this...
 And it's quite impressive. 

Posted 5 years ago by SmackDaddy    [ Reply ]
 Proclivities wrote:

Yeah, all of them still have to drive taxis or stock groceries to make ends meet because they can't sing like Michael Bolton or Josh Groban.

 
Speaking of Michael Bolton, did I ever tell you about the time I got to hold his wallet? It was during an impromptu softball game here in Detroit one summer afternoon back in the early 1990s. He just handed his wallet to me on his way up to bat. 

Needless to say, I stood there slack jawed. 
Posted 7 years ago by Grammarcop    [ Reply ]
I applaud trying to weave an evocative Americana narrative into a good tune. RIP Gord the master of same.
Posted 7 years ago by Far    [ Reply ]
I know T Bone is supposed to be a national treasure or something, but this doesn't do anything for me. 
Posted 7 years ago by Grammarcop    [ Reply ]
Well, I like I this one a lot. Voice and all.
Posted 8 years ago by Dahlia_Gumbo    [ Reply ]
To add insult to injury, T Bone's song was preceded by one of his ex-wife's, both of which were released during their marriage. Bummer, man.
Posted 8 years ago by impediguy    [ Reply ]
 SmackDaddy wrote:

Yea I feel so sorry for him and Dylan, Young, Costello, Waits, and so many more.

 
Yeah, all of them still have to drive taxis or stock groceries to make ends meet because they can't sing like Michael Bolton or Josh Groban.
Posted 8 years ago by Proclivities    [ Reply ]
 jhorton wrote:
Poor bastid. To be so gifted, and yet saddled with this voice...

 
Yea I feel so sorry for him and Dylan, Young, Costello, Waits, and so many more.
Posted 8 years ago by SmackDaddy    [ Reply ]
Can't believe the negativity toward this. T-Bone may not be your preference, but shit this is not. Please learn the difference between shit and your taste.

Examples.

There isn't a Prince song that I like. He had talent, played well, and lots of people like it. I can't stand it. Does it make it shit? Only in my mind, but to most people.
Posted 8 years ago by SmackDaddy    [ Reply ]
Poor bastid. To be so gifted, and yet saddled with this voice...
Posted 8 years ago by jhorton    [ Reply ]
TheSicknessUntoDeath
by Sören Kierkegaard
A. Despair is a Sickness in the Spirit, in the Self, and So It May
Assume a Triple Form: in Despair at Not Being Conscious of Having
a Self (Despair Improperly So Called); in Despair at Not Willing to
Be Oneself; in Despair at Willing to Be Oneself
Posted 8 years ago by twoplain2sea    [ Reply ]
It's amazing that this guy has had his hand in some of the most impressive songs ever written, which usually are performed by other people. And then, when he writes and performs for himself, there's this...
Posted 8 years ago by govna    [ Reply ]
This song reminds me of that drivel played by the guy on the stairs in Animal House.  I only wish John Belushi crushed Mr. Burnett's guitar before he recorded this.  {#Cheesygrin}
Posted 8 years ago by jarcampbell    [ Reply ]
 goozer321 wrote:
what a load of fucking shit.

 
I continue to be impressed by the depth of thoughtful analysis expressed by listeners here. This commenter does not fall into that group.
 
Posted 9 years ago by bam23    [ Reply ]
 goozer321 wrote:
what a load of fucking shit.

 
some folks are so intelligent with their comments shame they are wrong as well
Posted 9 years ago by philinnz    [ Reply ]
 Lazarus wrote:
Everybody in my alien space craft loves this splendiferous song...

 
motel room -> hotel room -> church -> mega-church -> homeless camp -> alien space craft. Got it all down on the scorecard... 

{#Bananajumprope}

Can the Shat tag along? 
gif of Captain Kirk leering and swigging from a bottle

Man gets his drank on...

 
Posted 10 years ago by kcar    [ Reply ]
Everybody in my alien space craft loves this splendiferous song...
Posted 10 years ago by Lazarus    [ Reply ]
what a load of fucking shit.
Posted 11 years ago by goozer321    [ Reply ]
very diferent from the bone
Posted 11 years ago by oldfart48    [ Reply ]
just read your older entires. I see they're recently divirced.
Posted 18 years ago by sahlman    [ Reply ]
Is T-Bone Burnett still married to Sam Phillips? Love hearing Sam Phillips on your station. Long time fans of hers-- back to the "Leslie Phillips" days.
Posted 18 years ago by sahlman    [ Reply ]
thewiseking wrote:
i gave my love a chicken, it had no bone. geez. give me a break T Bone. Lighten up.
I was thinking more Monty Python: He was not in the least bit scared to be mashed into a pulp, Or to have his eyes gouged out, and his elbows broken; To have his kneecaps split, and his body burned away; And his limbs all hacked and mangled, brave Sir Robin! I like T Bone. I like what he did for bluegrass. But singing is just not his forté. Decent at best.
Posted 19 years ago by Roverfish    [ Reply ]
i gave my love a chicken, it had no bone. geez. give me a break T Bone. Lighten up.
Posted 19 years ago by thewiseking    [ Reply ]
Beautiful instrumentation; and authentic, evocative singing.
Posted 19 years ago by rKokon    [ Reply ]
KevDog wrote:
BTW, is this album out of print? I can't find it anywhere.
I think it IS out of print. I lent my copy to someone and never got it back. Had to look long and hard for a used copy. It's worth the search though!
Posted 19 years ago by Antigone    [ Reply ]
great segue from norah jones
Posted 19 years ago by philm    [ Reply ]
KevDog wrote:
And he's married to Sam Phillips, too. Oooh la la. :oops:
Not any more, he isn't. They were recently divorced - though he is still producing her music. I just wish T-Bone would do some more of his own albums - and tour too! He was possibly one of the (unexpectedly) funniest performers I've ever seen. Saw him at the El Mocambo in Toronto in the mid-eighties. Out of hundreds of concerts I attended over the years, it remains one of my all-time favorites.
Posted 20 years ago by Paddy    [ Reply ]
ladyj wrote:
ditto
Triple ditto. It is ironic. I was just thinking about a piece I heard on NPR about a man who is living with AIDS. He stated that he had been taking all the drugs (the AIDS cocktail) that his doctors were giving him, and it made him feel so terrible he wondered whether life was worth living. He finally made the decision to stop taking the drugs and enjoy the rest of his life without them. It was a powerful story and this lyric brought that home to me. How true.....
Posted 20 years ago by Mugro    [ Reply ]
Antigone wrote: Great lyrics: "the frightening thing is not dying, the frightening thing is not living." ladyj wrote:
ditto
double ditto
Posted 20 years ago by jadewahoo    [ Reply ]
I like this.
Posted 20 years ago by betterdaze    [ Reply ]
"MMMMMMMMMM....T-Bone.....Aurghhhhhhhh!"
Posted 20 years ago by trekhead    [ Reply ]
I keyed in right away on how sonically it sounds like "Skip, Hop and Wobble". Not surprising, because Jerry Douglas and Edgar Meyer are the backing musicians. Nice.....
Posted 21 years ago by Greg_O    [ Reply ]
Antigone wrote:
Great lyrics: "the frightening thing is not dying, the frightening thing is not living."
ditto
Posted 21 years ago by ladyj    [ Reply ]
Cool song-t bone is one of the \"just under the radar\" artists who get played here. Another of many reasons I\'m so grateful for this site.
Posted 21 years ago by paulmall    [ Reply ]
eh :roll:
Posted 21 years ago by mafe    [ Reply ]
Is this an original song. I\'m sure I\'ve heard someone else do this? Wondeful
Posted 22 years ago by simcha62    [ Reply ]
I first found out about T Bone Burnett because he produced the soundtrack from O Brother Where Art Thou. What an admirable effort that was, and such enjoyable results, too! I'd sure love to have a long lunch and talk to him.
Posted 23 years ago by MissJenn    [ Reply ]
One of my favorite songs! Great lyrics: \"the frightening thing is not dying, the frightening thing is not living.\" The title song off this album is great too!
Posted 23 years ago by Antigone    [ Reply ]