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Introduction
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I n t r odu c t ion Most Texas Poets Laureate are known only for the poems they have written—and perhaps for essays in poetic criticism—but Steven Fromholz is known for much more than his verses. He wrote “I’d Have to Be Crazy,” recorded by Willie Nelson, which garnered him two platinum records, and his three-part tribute to Bosque County, The Texas Trilogy, is one of the great classics of Texas music. Steven Fromholz, the actor, has appeared in several movies, including the Peter Fonda film Outlaw Blues, the Willie Nelson-Kris Kristofferson vehicles Songwriter and Cloak and Dagger, and co-starred in Andy Anderson’s Positive ID. His theatre work includes The Night Hank Williams Died, Sweeney Todd, The Immigrant, A Christmas Carol, A Little Night Music, and starring as the redoubtable Tevye in Fiddler On the Roof. Among my souvenirs is a clipping from the Denton Record-Chronicle telling how Steve Fromholz scored the winning goal in a basketball game between Denton High and one of its chief rivals. Although born in Temple, Steven grew up in Kopperl, Texas, and later Denton, where he attended high school and the University of North Texas. I can’t claim that I know Steven Fromholz, but I used to join him and a bunch of singers and guitarists when I would take my trusty Stella Guitar to Stan Alexander’s house once a week to try and learn to pick “The Wildwood Flower.” Stan Alexander, one of the finest singers and pickers in Texas, was on the English Faculty of UNT (then North Texas State University) and his weekly gatherings included a number of musically inclined students and the unmusical me. Among the students were Steven Fromholz, Michael Martin Murphy, B.W. Stevenson, and the other half-dozen who did not become famous. Even the great -01- chronicler of American country music, Bill Malone, got his early lessons from Stan and Company. After leaving UNT, Steven served in the navy and thereafter teamed up with Dan McCrimmon in Colorado, to form Frummox, a duo that developed a devoted cult following. When the pair went separate ways, Steven toured with Stephen Stills and eventually became a solo act. His best-known work is his celebrated Texas Trilogy, which narrates life in Kopperl, Bosque County, Texas. The three parts of the song, “Daybreak,” “Trainride,” and “Bosque County Romance,” have been recorded by Fromholz himself on his album Frummox: Here to There and also by Lyle Lovett on his CD Step Inside This House, Lovett’s tribute to his most admired songwriters. Fromholz and Don Toner, of Austin, co-authored a stage play, Bosque County Romance, based on the song. Author Craig Hillis and Photographer Bruce Jordan published Texas Trilogy: Life In A Small Texas Town in 2002 (University of Texas Press) using Fromholz’ song, Texas Trilogy, as their inspiration. Fromholz himself released his first book Texas Trilogy in August, 2007 (Esteban Press), which presents the narrative, never before published family pictures, an essay by the author on growing up in Kopperl, Texas, and a foreword by friend and author, Bud Shrake. Steven’s poetry appears in his songs and in the pure poems that he has written over many years. His lyrical “I Walked with My Daughter Today” was written not long after he got out of the navy in 1968. Even then, almost forty years ago, he captured in verse what many fathers feel when talking and walking with a child. The last stanza is: I walked with my daughter today. Chewing gum and baby’s breath -02- [54.226.25.246] Project MUSE (2024-03-19 13:06 GMT) Filled my face and she shouted “gum” And laughed as she hugged my neck. When we crossed the last street I walked with my daughter today And for a short time I was dragon slayer to a princess. This poignant poem about a daughter was followed five or six years later by “Here’s to My Old Man,” wherein the poet reflects on his father, now long gone. In the final stanza, he regrets that he never knew his father after he, himself, became an adult. But as a man I’ve one regret He never shook an older hand So fill your cups in calm respect. Here’s to my old man. Some of Fromholz’ poems are song lyrics. Song/poems like “High Country Caravan,” “The Last Livin’ Outlaw,” and “Where Are They All Now” are...