Tom Paxton - The Honor of Your Company [Paperback]

Tom Paxton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2000

This festival of song, biography and memorabilia celebrates one of America's modern folk legends! Tom Paxton tells his story as only he can, from his early days in Oklahoma through the exciting '60s in Greenwich Village and London, up to the present, including his long interest in creating and performing children's music. Lavishly illustrated with photos and anecdotes throughout, this wonderful collection features music and lyrics to 89 beloved standards and songs of protest, love, humor and childhood. Includes: My Dog's Bigger Than Your Dog * My Ramblin' Boy * The Marvelous Toy * The Last Thing on My Mind * and many more.

Product Details

Sample Music Notation [24kb PDF]

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Cherry Lane Music (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575601443
• ISBN-13: 978-1575601441
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 9.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #685,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Honor of your company -review, December 23, 2003

By 

PATRICK WAINE (DUBLIN 12 Ireland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tom Paxton - The Honor of Your Company (Paperback)

For all Tom paxton fans most of his song lyrics are found here.
I also found out some unknown info ( Trivia) on the man himself.
Did you know that Paul Simon warmed up for him on one occasion.
Harry Chapin also. The book is not really an autobiography and is mainly taken up with Song Lyrics and where the songs came from what inspired them etc. Tom tells very little about his travels and rarely mentions the various artists that were around the coffee houses of the 60's. This is not for someone who is looking for any indepth reading. It is short of detail. Worth having for the ardent fan but disappointing that it wasn't a biography.

4.0 out of 5 stars Great songbook / so-so autobiography., July 30, 2009

By 

The Man On The Flaming Pie (The Foothills of the Headlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tom Paxton - The Honor of Your Company (Paperback)

Tom Paxton's The Honor Of Your Company is primarily a songbook, containing many of his most-loved songs. For musicians looking to play Paxton songs, it doesn't get much better than this: 89 songs with chords, lyrics, and melody written in standard notation. The only real problem I've had with this book is that some of the songs are not presented in their original keys. Tom often plays with a capo, so it's up to the reader to figure out which fret to capo, using the chord shapes presented. (For example, the chorus chords for "I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound" are Dm/G7/C/Em/Am/Dm/G7/C, as the book states, but you need a capo on the second fret in order to play in the key that Tom originally performed on the album.) The songs are diverse, including a fairly even sampling from across the years of Tom's career up until the book was written.
The biography portion of the book is also nice, albeit brief. The story is told by the man himself and, although he doesn't delve into much detail, you'll learn everything about Tom Paxton that you need to know. Tom's life story is an easy and pleasant read. Apart from his love for what he does and the people who've inspired him along the way, what shines through the most in this book is Tom's sense of humor. I bought the book to learn the songs, but ended up enjoying Tom's humorous anecdotes and quips almost as much. He also tells the stories of how many of his songs came to be and a generous amount of photographs are contained throughout the book.
I would say that non-musician fans of Tom might feel slightly short-changed in buying this book, but I still recommend it. For those guitar-playing, folksinging, ramblin' boys (and girls), I simply can't recommend this book more!

3.0 out of 5 stars Tom Paxton Pleases!, March 2, 2009

By 

J. R. Nathaniel "Soul Man in Contemplation" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tom Paxton - The Honor of Your Company (Paperback)

This book isn't about Tom Paxton's personal life but you get a very good idea of what motivated him to write so many wonderful songs. Being the ever so generous man, he has included music and lyrics so others can introduce and play his songs for future generations. Some of my favorite songs are "All night long, "Leaving London", "The Things I Notice Now" and of course "Now that I've Taken My Life". This is a good buy.