Friday Five: Apathy
There’s no shortage of songs that fit this theme by artists like Bill Emerson, Buddy Holly, Dale Watson, The Mavericks, Wayne Hancock, Two Dollar Pistols, Garth Brooks, and many, many more. I could dig a little deeper into my music collection and make this a super-sized Friday Five, but that seems sort of at odds with the spirit of this week’s list.
5. “I Don’t Care” – Justin Townes Earle
This heartbreaker from Yuma finds JTE singing “I don’t know where I’m going no more/I don’t know and I don’t care.” It’s a mighty fine song, but the other four on this list care a whole lot less than Earle does.
4. “I Don’t Care” – Webb Pierce
“I Don’t Care,” written by Pierce and Cindy Walker, spent about three months at Number One in 1955. Despite the title, it’s actually quite sweet, as Pierce sings that he doesn’t care if you’ve loved other dudes before, just as long as he’s the last.
3. “I Don’t Care (Just As Long As You Love Me)” – Buck Owens
Owens topped the charts with this song from his album I Don’t Care in 1964. As long as you love him, ol’ Buck doesn’t care if Earth stops rotating on its axis. Now, according to your friendly neighborhood astronomer, if such a thing were to happen instantly, we—and every single object on the planet—would continue moving at a speed of 1000+ miles per hour…you know, until you crash into something and turn into a fine pink mist. But who cares about instantaneous death? You’ve got love.
2. “I Don’t Care” – Hank Williams
So if the above situation were to actually happen, Williams wouldn’t care, because he’s “been lonely night and day ever since you went away.” Bocephus recorded the song in the early ’80s for The Pressure is On and a few others have tackled it through the years, but the Hillbilly Shakespeare’s version is the best.
1. “A Hundred Years From Now” – Flatt & Scruggs
It’s nice to have something to look forward too. In this song, Lester and Earl look forward to not caring about some unfaithful gal a century down the road. Personally, I’d look forward to running her cheating ass over with my rocket car while a freshly thawed Ted Williams rides shotgun, but they are far classier than I.
Check out the Infamous Stringdusters covering the song below.
Tagged In This Article
Buck Owens // Flatt & Scruggs // Hank Williams // Justin Townes Earle // Webb Pierce
Current Discussion
- Jon: That's my favorite song of the bunch, too, but the whole album is solid.
- Barry Mazor: The assumption that everybody would be signed if only they could be no longer is necessarily so..Given the relatively much ...
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- Occasional Hope: Is Patty Loveless free now, since she's implied she doesn't seem to have any plans to record again, but perhaps ...
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- Ken Morton, Jr.: BTW- Julie's been in the recording studio all this past week and will be unveiling something new soon.
- Ken Morton, Jr.: Jonathan, I actually had this exact conversation with Julie Roberts a couple weeks ago. She came out with Emily West, ...
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July 2, 2010 at 9:57 am
Also see The Byrds, Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde LP: “King Apathy III”
July 2, 2010 at 12:01 pm
I assume quality is one of those things you’re not caring about, right? In which case, there’s always Bread’s “It Don’t Matter to Me.”
July 2, 2010 at 1:01 pm
Tops on my list is
“If someone said I ever gave a damn,
They damn sure told you wrong” by the Hag.
And I’ll throw in “My Give A Damn’s Busted” by Joe Diffie, and “Here’s A Quarter, Call Someone Who Cares” by TT.
July 2, 2010 at 1:14 pm
“Ain’t That Lonely Yet” by Dwight Yoakam, YES, you tell it like it is Dwight!!!
July 2, 2010 at 3:06 pm
“United State of Apathy” by The Almighty. No you’ve never heard of them.
July 2, 2010 at 6:27 pm
Thanks for the links to the videos of Webb Pierce and Buck Owens. Its a good thing Webb had a voice that carried as the mic was probably above him just out of sight of the camera! Not exactly what you want for a hi-fi audio feed! (lol)
That must be a really early Hee-Haw since Don Rich was still alive to share the stage, pick and sing harmony with Buck. Don died in a motorcycle accident in July 1974 and Buck always felt guilty that he was somehow responsible since they had quarreled just before it happened. Buck’s detailed biography at the website of his Crystal Palace theater / restaurant reveals just how huge of impact Don’s death had on the remainder of Buck’s life. If there is a Hillbilly Heaven, I’m sure Buck and Don are performing together again! (no pun intended)
July 4, 2010 at 9:52 am
“Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all – the apathy of human beings.” – Helen Keller
Interesting theme, though I’d only heard #2 on your list. The only one I can think to add is ‘I Don’t Care (If Tomorrow Never Comes)’ by Hank Williams Jr. & George Jones.
July 4, 2010 at 12:05 pm
“A Thousand Miles From Nowhere” by Dwight Yoakam. Dad always said, “That’s Buck Owens son, they’re just not telling anybody.”LOL! He was so crazy!
July 4, 2010 at 3:01 pm
I’ll add in George Jone’ ‘I Just Don’t Give A Damn’ for some temporary drunken apathy – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPSE9OMzMXQ
July 8, 2010 at 11:54 am
Would “I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink” count? Or does ordering a drink mean you care about drinking?
July 8, 2010 at 12:19 pm
Don’t worry about it Buddy. I’m certain the songs I came up with weren’t songs about apathy, but I had fun trying.
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