2018 – Kasey Chambers – ARIA Hall of Fame Poem

NOV 28, 2018

When I first saw you, Kasey
You were singing in a tent
To muddy bearded bikers
Against a pole I leant

You were singing Cripple Creek
I leant closer, getting chills
Your voice as bright as sunshine
And older than the hills

You wore a long, black dress of lace
And had those bikers cold
“Here’s a great long tale,” I thought
“Ready to unfold”

When we first hung out, Kasey
It was in a basement bar
A lock in after curfew
Passing ‘round the guitar

Lefty, Slim and Hank we sang
Gram Parsons and George Jones
The Louvin Brothers, The Stanley Brothers
Those songs were in your bones

The first song we recorded, Kasey
Was your song I Still Pray
The real deal old time country
Has always lit your way

The real deal old time country
Has never been one thing
It’s Blues and Holler, it’s High and Lonesome
Gut Bucket and an Angel’s Wing

Those rivers all run through you, Kasey
High waters, hidden lakes
And new songs keep pouring out of you
Just like a levee breaks

And all those fires burn fierce in you
Kasey, they’ll never call you tame
And that is why you live right here
In my own Hall of Fame