Where Does the Sidewalk End? At a Honkytonk

When I was a young pup, I enjoyed reading Shel Silverstein's "Where the Sidewalk Ends." I liked the way he rhymed, and I enjoyed the fact that his poetry made me think. Many moons later, while looking at the liner notes of a honkytonk album, I saw a song that was cowritten by Shel Silverstein. I wondered if it could possibly be the poet I enjoyed when I was a kid, and it turned out that it was.

To my delight, I learned that the late great Shel Silverstein had written songs that were covered by the likes of Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, and Bobby Bare. He also co-wrote "The Taker" with Kris Kristofferson, which was covered by Waylon Jennings. Yes, Shel Silverstein was both a children's poet and a songwriter of the honkytonk variety. And that's where this blog post ends.

Here is "Ned Kelly," the title track for a 1970 Australian film for which Silverstein wrote the music. You will notice the pride of Littlefield, Texas, on vocals.