The back story behind “Wise County Sky”
The song, written by John Williams, was about a funeral for Mamie Cates. Bill Cates, the widower, is
sitting in his old truck lamenting her loss.
Wise County Sky
Dedicated to Bill and Mamie Cates, Wise County Texas
On the outskirts of Decatur
Along a gravel road
Sits and old man in a pickup truck
Feeling tired and old
His house and family
They all have come to town
To bury Aunt Marie
In her Wise County ground.
He wonders to himself
Just how long it must have been
Sixty years or more
That it was her and him
They grew up and old together
Wise County was there home
Now he stares into the unset
And he's all alone
"And when the twilight sky
Becomes the misty dawn
I'll be alone,
Darlin' you'll be gone
When the harvest moon
Is on the rise
I'll look for you in that Wise County sky."
"Marie, you stood beside me
At that wedding in Oak Grove
We raised ourselves a family
And watched Wise County grow
I've got ninety years of memories
But now I can't recall
How I ever lived
When you were not around at all."
"And when the twilight sky
Becomes the misty dawn
I'll be alone,
Darlin' you'll be gone
When the harvest moon
Is on the rise
I'll look for you in that Wise County sky."
(John Williams)
Tone Deaf Cowboys
I grew up in East Texas in a town called Center. Near Nacogdoches, it’s deep in the Piney Woods. Behind
the Pine Curtain if you will…I was a class mate with Shelly Rogers, a student of her father and friends
with first the older, then the younger brothers, Carl and Ed. I’ve been to many of the family events,
funerals and weddings.
When Carl married and moved away from home to start his career and marriage, I began to hang
around with the younger of the brothers. Getting into trouble, riding around with nowhere to go… I
finally decided to join the Navy, being a fan of neither of the major industries in town: Poultry and
forestry.
Move forward a few years…Ed had moved to Waco. During this time, I had returned to DFW from my
Navy enlistment. My sister and mom lived in the Fort Worth area at the time. One weekend, my sister
informed me of Great Aunt Mamie’s death. Not knowing the family well ( my sister is 14 years older, my
mom was 40 and my dad was 54 when I was born ), you can see the separation. My sister and her
youngest child, Shannan, went to the funeral. Shannan was the youngest of all the family at the time,
walking around the services in the family cemetery with the then-oldest Lois. By all account its a
memorable moment for the family.
I soon got married. Ed moved to Austin. We fell out of touch for a few years. So life happened, as it
often does.
Ed and I managed to catch up to each other in Austin a few times. He and his musician friend, Chris, had
been going to Kerrville Folk Music Festival for a few years by then. As is the nature of Kerrville, the
different campsites often are piled upon each other. Without mentioning names, one camp was a
bunch of drinker. Another camp was a bunch of stoners. A match made in heaven! Ed and his friends
became part of Loser Kamp. Ed met and eventually married one of the members, Sanna.
I’m not married by this time, I’ve travelled to Austin to visit Ed and get invited to join them at Kerrville.
Falling in love with the event and the camaraderie. Some where in this period, I have bought a small PA
system and have run sound but a few times when Ed asked if I would run sound for a band he was in.
This band was comprised of folks he met at Kerrville. Rodger Harrison, Matthew Williams, et al…Oh, and
Bain Ennis. I had only met these folks a few times in my travels, all from the North Texas area. The
material that was played was mostly folk and Americana written by Ennis’ writing partners and former
Tone Deaf Cowboy’s bandmates , John Williams and Larry Martin.
As is my way of doing and learning, I asked to attend band rehearsal to learn more about the music and
my new PA gear as well. Much of the material was contained in a blue binder , the song lyrics and tabs
for each song. During songs, I picked up the binder and was reading the lyrics. One song stood out. Wise
County Sky. I kept returning to it, trying to figure out why it was calling my name. Finally, I read ( re-read)
the dedication, “To Bill and Mamie Cates”.
When my light bulb finally came on, I was dumbfounded. I shut the PA off, asked the drummer (John
Williams’ brother) how it was we were related. I had never known Matthew until a few months before.
His brother, the priest, had written this song about my dad’s Aunt Mamie.
So..my dad's aunt was Matthew’s grandmothers sister...third cousins or so.. Never knew each
other nor would have known it but for this song.
About the very funeral service my sister and niece had attended.
Several circles became intertwined.
BTW, it’s best to draw this on paper, it will make more sense.
Listen to the recording from Poor David’s here ( both links are to the same file. It’s large, so give it
time to load)
http://www.lineartraining.com/WCS/WCS2.wav
Wise County Sky