Loudon Wainwright III – My image of myself is as a songwriter
ND: You’ve worked with David Mansfield before.
LW: He’s been on just about every other record for ten years. He plays with me when I can afford him. He can play anything.
ND: And Steuart Smith?
LW: He’s younger than I am, but he’s been around. The interesting thing about Steuart is that he’s the newest Eagle. They kicked Don Felder out of the band, and he just finished touring with the Eagles. He’s a great, great guitar player.
III: I PLAY THE DYSFUNCTIONAL FATHER
ND: You’ve had the occasional acting gig throughout your career. What is up on the acting front currently?
LW: Have you heard about the TV show? Holy cow. This is big news! Tuesday night, 8:30pm (ET), on Fox, there’s a new show by Jeff Apato, the guy who created “Freaks And Geeks”. I have a recurring role in it. I’m in about half the episodes; we’ve done thirteen. It’s called “Undeclared”, about a group of college freshmen. I play the dysfunctional father. I don’t know where they got that from. It’s quite a stretch.
ND: Can I put you on the couch and throw a few verses at you? Just to get the first thing that comes to your mind?
LW: Well, lucky for you I’m already lying down. Go ahead.
ND: “And he don’t sleep late anymore/Up like a farmer half past four/When that sleepy sun pops up/He’s halfway through his second cup/And his day’s work is done ’round two/That’s when he starts in missing you.”
LW: Yeah. What can I tell you about that? It’s just a description of the lack of sleeping habits of an older fellow who is missing someone. You get up to pee or whatever and wind up staying up, keeping farmer hours.
ND: “We’d talk about my childhood and recap my career/When we got to my father that was when I’d switch to beer.”
LW: I don’t even remember. I was just writing the song, and it’s not uncommon when you’re drinking wine to switch to beer. It’s the joke in the song. When I perform it it gets a laugh. A cheap laugh.
ND: I’m not sure what’s funny about it.
LW: That makes it even better if you’re not sure.