Lyle Lovett's "L.A. County" Changes Lives

Partly because Lyle Lovett played three Townes Van Zandt songs (alas, no “Pueblo Waltz”) during his set at Belly Up in Aspen, CO the past Sunday night, I feel compelled to drop a mention of it. But not only that, Lovett also explained some part of his relationship with Van Zandt—and his ardent admiration of the late singer-songwriter. He described his first interaction with Van Zandt: after an afternoon set at a small acoustic festival in Texas, Lovett descended the stage stairs only to come face to face with Van Zandt, who stuck out his hand and needlessly introduced himself. “I haven’t heard you play, but, according to the opinions of people I respect, I hear that you’re okay," Van Zandt said, according to Lovett. Apparently Van Zandt's descriptor “okay” was enough to set him into thankful ecstasy.

But beyond Lovett’s excellent performances (and stellar set-list), there was one other aspect of the concert that grabbed me. As you may know, one of my favorite Lyle Lovett tunes is the bizarre, love/murder ballad “L.A. County” (featured on Saturday Songs – Dec. 10). It’s a delicate balance between straightforward romantic jealousy and insanity. You feel a smidgeon of compassion for this narrator, but still desperately want to set up an appointment with a psychiatrist for him.

So while the performance of the song was riveting, what was even more riveting was the couple beside me. This husband and wife were jumping up and down, belting out the lyrics—the husband gave a few ill-placed whoops and yippee-ki-yays—and were breathless and cheering by the end of the song. Somewhere in the middle of the song, the husband had noticed my consternation at their enthusiasm (although it’s not as if I was staring them down for their indiscretion—I was singing along hoarsely myself) and, at the end, he turned to me to explain.

We played that song at our marriage, he told me, pointing to his wife. “She walked down the aisle to that song.” The husband related how they had met Lyle several years ago before they were married and told him about their wedding plans. His response to the couple who wanted to play this murder ballad that takes place at a wedding during their own wedding? “That’s true love!” Lovett told them, according to the husband. I laughed along with him—not only because it was ridiculous and whimsical, but because it’s great to see people connect so deeply with something like a country song on a level that you cannot. I love "L.A. County," but I will never connect with it quite the way that this couple does.


So those wedding bands on the hands of this whacko husband and wife glinted all night in the stage lights during the Lovett show. I love enjoying music all on my own…but it’s also nice to see other people enjoy it.