Paul | Guitar Lessons and Performance - Paul Elwood

Whiskey in a Jar

“Whiskey in the Jar” (Roud 533) is an Irish traditional song set in the southern mountains of Ireland, often with specific mention of counties Cork and Kerry. The song, about a rapparee (highwayman) who is betrayed by his wife or lover, is one of the most widely performed traditional Irish songs and has been recorded by numerous artists since the 1950s.

The song first gained wide exposure when Irish folk band the Dubliners performed it internationally as a signature song and recorded it on three albums in the 1960s. In the U.S., the song was popularised by the Highwaymen, who recorded it on their 1962 album Encore. Irish rock band Thin Lizzy hit the Irish and British pop charts with the song in 1973. In 1990, the Dubliners re-recorded the song with the Pogues with a faster rockish version charting at No. 63 in the UK. American metal band Metallica in 1998 played a version very similar to that of Thin Lizzy’s, though with a heavier sound, winning a Grammy for the song in 2000 for Best Hard Rock Performance.

“Do it again on the next verse and people think you meant it.” – Chet Atkins

Paul2026-04-08T18:26:54-04:00

Sweet Home Alabama

“Inspiration may be a form of super consciousness, or perhaps of subconsciousness – I wouldn’t know. But I am sure it is the antithesis of self-consciousness.” – Aaron Copland

Paul2026-04-08T18:27:22-04:00

Edelweiss

“Anyone who loves music can never be quite unhappy.” – Franz Schubert

Paul2026-04-08T18:28:50-04:00

Hallellujah

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.” – Plato

Paul2026-04-08T18:28:21-04:00

Trashy Women

“If only the whole world could feel the power of harmony.” -Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Paul2026-04-08T18:29:14-04:00

Mr. Bojangles

“Mr. Bojangles” is a song written and originally recorded by American country music artist Jerry Jeff Walker for his 1968 album of the same title. It has since been recorded by other artists, including the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1969 whose version hit number 9 on the Hot 100 in November 1970.

Walker said he was inspired to write the song after an encounter with a street performer in a New Orleans jail. While in jail for public intoxication in 1965, he met a homeless man who called himself “Mr. Bojangles” to conceal his true identity from the police. Mr. Bojangles had been arrested as part of a police sweep of indigent people that was carried out following a high-profile murder. The two men and others in the cell chatted about all manner of things, but when Mr. Bojangles told a story about his performing dog who was killed by a car, the mood in the room turned heavy. Someone else in the cell asked for something to lighten the mood, and Mr. Bojangles obliged with a tap dance. The homeless “Mr. Bojangles”, who was white, had taken his pseudonym from Bill “Bojangles” Robinson (1878–1949), a black entertainer.

“Music is powerful. As people listen to it, they can be affected. They respond.” – […]

Paul2026-04-08T18:29:50-04:00

It Had To Be You

“Music is only understood when one goes away singing it and only loved when one falls asleep with it in one’s head, and finds it still there on waking up the next morning.” – Arnold Schoenberg, 1934

Paul2026-04-08T18:30:18-04:00

Desperados Waiting for a Train

“Desperados Waiting for a Train” is a song written by Guy Clark and originally recorded by Jerry Jeff Walker for his 1973 album Viva Terlingua. It subsequently appeared on Rita Coolidge’s 1974 album Fall into Spring, David Allan Coe’s third album, The Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy (1974), Tom Rush’s album Ladies Love Outlaws the same year, before Clark’s own rendition was released on his first LP, 1975’s Old No. 1. Clark stated that the song is about his grandmother’s boyfriend named Jack who was a grandfather figure to him.

The American country music group the Highwaymen released it as a single in September 1985. It was the second single from the album Highwayman. The song reached #15 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart.

Nanci Griffith recorded it for her 1998 album Other Voices Too (A Trip Back to Bountiful), accompanied by Clark, Jerry Jeff Walker, Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and Eric Taylor.

Jason Isbell covered the song for Guy Clark’s induction into the 2015 Austin City Limits hall of fame ceremony.

Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time

Paul2026-04-08T18:31:05-04:00

It’s a Jungle Out There

Paul2026-04-08T18:31:35-04:00

Blue Moon

Paul2026-04-08T18:31:59-04:00

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