Townes Van Zandt
Somebody Had To Write It
Townes: See, lot of times I take so little credit, and seriously, so little credit for the songs that when I say, "Yeah that's a pretty song." Something like that. It has nothing to do with, "Yeah, I wrote a pretty song." It could be anybody, I mean, I look at songs real objectively. You know? So whenever I say that it's not comin--you know?--doesn't--"Well yeah I wrote a pretty song." Well somebody had to write it. You know? And it just happened to be me. I happened to be sittin in the right place at the right time. You know, kinda with the right--prepared to do it. I did it and it is a pretty song. There's a lot of songs that, you know, that I just can't believe I didn't write. You know? Like Guy Clark's "Let Him Roll." I should've written that song, man. I should've heard that song and written it long ago. "Ira Hayes," I shoulda written that. (Laughs.)

Interviewer: Yeah, those are both songs that sound like you could've written them.

Townes: Mm-hmm.