“(Old Dogs, Children and) Watermelon Wine “
Tom T. Hall
Written by Tom T. Hall
Billboard
#1 (1 week)
January 27, 1973
Country music is so compelling when it lets the unheard and unseen have their stories told.
Few singer-songwriters have ever done this as well as Tom T. Hall, and you can hear his influence all over the Americana scene today, with its Isbells and Hawk Harrises.
It’s hard to believe a song like this could have been such a big mainstream hit, which is a credit to how Hall developed his characters so boldly that they transcend the intimacy of the performance. It’s like there’s this little private conversation, and Hall is letting us listen in.
The man he encounters in this song finds such strength in the few members of society that accept and don’t judge a man like him, gently prodding us listeners to look at those whom we are ourselves most likely to judge, simply by sharing his perspective on the few who have treated him with kindness.
The takeaway isn’t just an appreciation of old dogs, children, and watermelon wine. It’s a challenge to be more like them and less like the rest of the world that only sees such downtrodden men through a judgmental lens.
“(Old Dogs, Children and) Watermelon Wine” gets an A.
Every No. 1 Single of the Seventies
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