By: Keith Kappes
Columnist
Carter County Times
This commentary might make more sense if you take a few moments to go online to Google and search for and then listen to “Old Five and Dimers Like Me” by Waylon Jennings.
It was written and first performed more than 50 years ago by a great country songwriter, Billy Joe Shaver, who was part of the “outlaw” country music movement along with ole Waylon, Willie Nelson and others.
This song has been in my head for the last two weeks and I suspect it is related to my growing concern about the future of our country, especially the potential impact on the elderly and other vulnerable persons if our national economy goes sour.
As an octogenarian (82) myself, I worry that radical restructuring of the federal government and political retribution at the highest levels could endanger my Social Security and other benefits I’ve earned over more than 60 years of work.
More importantly, the ongoing, wholesale firing of federal employees without notice or perhaps even legitimate cause could create an entirely new demographic of poor folks facing hunger and homelessness.
Shaver and Jennings, now both deceased, combined their talents to describe the plight of ordinary people with a working-class background who may struggle to maintain a decent standard of living.
The reference to “five and dimers” goes back to the oldtime variety stores which sold inexpensive goods, much like the “dollar store” concept which is flourishing today.
Waylon Jennings soon will be gone 23 years but his life reflected the authenticity of that song since his singing career included a series of ups and downs, financial and otherwise. I hope my anxiety about the future proves to be unfounded but I’m sharing the lyrics of the song for you to think about.
I’ve spent a lifetime making up my mind to be
More than the measure of what I thought others could see.
Good luck and fast bucks are too far and too few between
Cadillac buyers and old five and dimers like me.
She stood beside me letting me know she would be
Something to lean on when everything ran out on me.
Fenced yards ain’t hole cards and like as not never will be
Reason for rhymers and old five and dimers like me
It’s taking me so long and now that I know I believe
All that I do or say is all I ever will be.
Too far and too high and too deep ain’t too much to be
Too much ain’t enough for old five and dimers like me.
An old five and dimer is all I intended to be.
Contact Keith at keithkappes@gmail.com.
