About ten days ago, I discovered William Prince. He’s a Canadian country singer, with a smooth whiskey-edged baritone voice (and whiskey-edged lyrics to boot). Think Don Williams or Charley Pride. Some of his songs sound like the kind of country music I used to hear in Oklahoma when I was a kid, a long, looooong time ago.

His song, “The Charmer” just kills me, especially the choruses (“Ma’am, I hate to bother you, ….) I listen to it and I’m back in the ICU and The Woodmark (in Albuquerque) with my dad. I’ve been listening to the song on repeat, crying into my keyboard. (Really) (Ugh) I miss my dad.

Here’re a link to the song and the lyrics. Check it out.

https://open.spotify.com/embed/track/5ZrmpyhTEGm5mqIcJ96ykF?utm_source=generator

There he goes bein’ so sweet to the waitress again
Honey, what’s your name?
And where you been all his life?
Sittin’ ‘cross the table from his children and his wife

Such a charmer, what an honour this is
Underneath his arm, you should be proud to be his
If you’re gonna leave, go ‘head, get on with it
All your life

Ma’am, I hate to bother you
Is there a TV for my father’s room?
I’ll pay now the full 72, I guess
Watch yourself by the hanging wire
Fluorescent light and the squeaky tile
Guess it’s gonna be a while before the charmer rides again

No one there to coach the baseball team
Division none, youngest son, three times a week
’92 World Champions of the Dairy Queen

Ma’am, I hate to bother you
Is there a TV for my father’s room?
I’ll pay now the full 72, I guess
Watch yourself by the hanging wire
Fluorescent light and the squeaky tile
Guess it’s gonna be a while before the charmer rides again

No one said you had to live a dead man’s dream
Shake every hand, see everything he’s seen
I’ll just smoke and put on the record machine

Ma’am, I hate to bother you
Any word on what we should do?
Pacin’ past the ICU again
Making jokes with all the nurses
Almost like he was sick on purpose
Now every chorus, every verse
The charmer rides again
The charmer rides again
The charmer rides again